It was not very windy as he stood on the ground, but he could feel the harsh wind hitting his face as he sped forward on a dragon.

But if he traveled with his back straight, his face would be red when he landed because of the wind in his face. So he leaned forward like a biker on a racing bike and gripped the yellow feathers on the Jade Dragon's back tightly.

He was lucky that he was sitting on the part with the feathers rather than on the scaly skin. Otherwise he would have had unnecessary pain in his buttocks and groin when he went down, but now he was traveling comfortably on the feathers.

He would have liked to look down or across, but the dragon's back was so wide that from here he could see nothing. Maybe he would have to sit on the dragon's neck for that, but he was certainly afraid of moving in the air and changing his position.

「What is this thing about turning back time?」 asked Jade Dragon.

“That's the specialty of the Libra Blessing. As I understand it, by sacrificing a person, Keichi activates the Blessing and rewinds time to a certain point.”

Only Yu traveled on the back of the Jade Dragon. The Jade Dragon allowed only those with whom he had made a direct agreement to travel with him.

The day of the deal was over and a new day had dawned. Other ships might still be on their way, but the one with Yurine and Sivina had arrived at the camp.

Of course, the enemy soldiers in Vermia would not allow a single ship to pass. To prevent anything going wrong, the Jade Dragon showed itself. They escorted the ship below from above.

「Don't think the deal will be broken even if time is turned back,」Jade Dragon said.

“You said I would never get my hand back, but I have one now,” Yu replied. “But don't worry, I will keep my promise, with or without a magical pact engraved in our souls.”

He had made false pacts, thinking that magical pacts didn't exist, but now he had a magical pact with the dragon that could really hurt him.

“Life is interesting,” he said. “I wonder what you'll do when you get your heart back?”

「I don't know. I was so focused on getting my freedom back that I never thought about what I would do after I got it.」

“Hmm... May I advise you to be my friend?”

The Jade Dragon remained silent.

“I guess that's a no.”

His life would be easier if he had the help of a dragon. Maybe he could go straight to Ethalot and not have to deal with the whole Mora thing.

“There's something I've been wondering, maybe you know.” He believed dragons were wise, and here was a dragon who had lived for centuries. “Are there any diseases that cannot be cured?”

「I don't think so. Anything is possible in this world.」

“What about me, do I have a disease?”

「I don't have powers related to healing, I don't know.」

Yu was disappointed. He had hoped that with his help, or at least His advice, he could overcome his illness.

「When will we land?」Jade Dragon asked.

They were circling above Vermia. People must have already noticed them and turned their attention to the green object floating in the sky.

“Can you fly a little lower and roar?”

The dragon did not refuse him, but descended lower and roared in a voice that sounded like a combination of an elephant and a tiger as its body cast a shadow over the places it passed.

His roar caused Yu's ears to ring, or rather he realized it, having heard the roar so closely.

“Oh, I forgot about the tinnitus.”

It was something that had been there for months, but he hadn't paid attention to it for months. Now it was ringing in a way reminiscent of a television signal.

“Let's go down on the ramparts,” Yu said. Can you pick the most crowded place?

If he could strengthen his voice with mana, he would have preferred to land on the roof of the castle inside the city, but he didn't think he could be heard from there, nor did he think the roof was strong enough to support the weight of the dragon.

The dragon did not reject Yu again. It descended and slowed down as its wing beating became harsh. As it landed on the ramparts Yu heard the sound of crunching stones, the walls barely holding the dragon.

As Yu clung to the Jade Dragon's feathers and climbed up its neck, the Jade Dragon roared again. This time he roared with the same force and terror as when it had attacked them. He, too, did not want to drag things out into battle.

When he climbed up to the Jade Dragon's neck, close to its head, and he lowered his head, Yu got a good view of the scene in front of him.

The soldiers lined up in front of their commander was trembling with fear. He could see none of the commoners, only the royal soldiers were here.

Yu took a deep breath after the Jade Dragon roared once more, making some of them fall to the ground in fear.

“My name is Yu Valarfin!” he shouted. He struggled to be heard clearly. “I speak in the name of Cardinal Neko of Virgo; you have until the sun rises. By then you will open the city gates, lay down your weapons and surrender. Otherwise we will show no mercy to any of you!”

The Jade Dragon roared once more. The last time he roared, the flames in his throat flashed. A few brave soldiers aimed their arrows at it, one even took aim and released an arrow, but it never came close to the dragon.

“Think well!”

Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

The dragon flapped his wings hard and began to rise. As he rose, part of the wall crumbled and stones fell down.

***

They were not focused on the ship because of the dragon in the sky. The dragon came circling above the ship, then headed towards the city and started circling above the city.

Even though the city was now in enemy hands, it was still Cornelia's home and she couldn't deny that she was afraid. She did not want the Jade Dragon to harm her home.

When the Jade Dragon landed on the wall and faced the city and roared, Cornelia's heart leapt, thinking he was going to burn the city, but fortunately he took off again before that could happen.

After a few more circles over the city, the dragon flew towards their camp. Since the distance was short for a dragon, it took less than thirty seconds to reach the camp.

“Lady Vermilia,” a soldier called out. He was addressing Cornelia, who was behind her army, standing opposite the dragon on the ground.

Cornelia was uncertain which way to look. Standing above her komodor, she turned her body sideways and looked at the soldier calling her name. Then she saw those behind the soldier.

There was a silver-haired female knight riding a brown horse, on his lap sat a white-haired girl with cat ears.

They were flanked by thirty lion-shaped creatures that looked a little over two meters tall.

“I guess you didn't notice us because of Yu,” said the silver-haired knight. “Sivina Ecues, Knight of Virgo.”

After introducing herself, the knight nodded to the girl in his arms. “Virgo Cardinal Neko, but she prefers the name Yurine.”

Cornelia took a good look at them both and then turned her face back to the dragon. “What's going on here?”

“We have come to take the city,” replied the girl named Yurine, the Cardinal of Virgo. The letter she received said she was a cardinal. “As a cardinal, I must protect my entourage.”

She was so focused on the dragon that she couldn't even greet the newcomers properly or pay attention to what they were saying. The dragon craned his neck and a figure jumped down from his neck.

“His name is Yu Valarfin, he is on our side.” Sivina spoke. “The soldiers need not fear.”

Cornelia called out to her soldiers after the words of the knight named Sivina. “Open up, let him come.”

As the Jade Dragon lay on the ground in a semicircle, a young man named Yu Valarfin approached them. The closer he got, the more his details became clear.

His black left hand caught her attention first. Even from a distance it looked hard, the fingers extending and tapering towards the tips and resembling a claw.

His other hand was normal and white, unlike his left hand. His face was young and handsome. He had enchanting eyes the same color as amethyst and hair the same color as fertile soil. Every detail of his face was beautiful.

As Yu Valarfin got closer and closer and Cornelia could see him better, her heart was racing. At last he came to the front of the soldiers, the soldiers made way for him to pass and Yu Valarfin arrived in front of Cornelia's komodor.

She didn't have to get off, but a sudden warm feeling in his heart forced him off his komodor. She jumped down and faced Yu. They were almost equal in height.

“Yu Valarfin,” said the handsome dragon rider who suddenly took Cornelia's hand. “Pleased to meet you, Duchess Cornelia.”

He brought Cornelia's hand to his lips and placed a light kiss on it, then gently released it.

***

Given their normal status, it would have been the Cardinal of Virgo who should have been sitting in the chair opposite Cornelia, but technically it wasn't.

Instead, Yu Valarfin sat at the rectangular table, directly opposite Cornelia, and the Virgo Cardinal sat on his lap.

Neither of them was smiling, but Yu Valarfin was less sullen than Yurine.

“Very... very handsome...” Cornelia's heart was beating faster than it ever had before. “What the hell am I thinking? Whoa! He's so handsome.”

Just looking at Yu Valarfin made Cornelia's head spin. She couldn't take her eyes off him and longed to hear his voice again, the voice that had lulled her into sweet dreams.

So much so that she forgot about the other people sitting at the table. To her right and left, her brother Cecilus and Sir Devan Bishory, the vice-commander of her army, were looking at her bewildered, but Cornelia didn't care.

She just wanted to look at Yu Valarfin a little longer, because looking at him filled her chest with the most beautiful feelings she had ever felt, tickled her soul, infused happiness into every fiber of her being.

“Sister, are you awake?” Cecilus asked.

“Be quiet!”

Cornelia didn't mean to shout at the moment, but her voice came out a little harsh, annoyed at being distracted.

Then she realized that she had made a bad impression on Yu Valarfin. Not only did she look like a bad big sister to him, but she was also watching him without taking her eyes off him.

When she realized what she had done, her face flushed in a way she had never blushed before and her white cheeks matched her hair. She lowered her eyes in embarrassment, but she still wanted to look at him. This caused her to glance at him furtively every now and then.

“How long are you going to stare at us?” Yurine asked.

“I-” Cornelia suddenly choked and stammered. “I-I'm sorry...”

Yurine didn't seem angry, and it wasn't even clear if she felt anything. Still, she had to be wary of making her angry, she was a cardinal after all.

“Sivina, have you met?”

“Yes, Yu.”

The silver-haired knight answered Yu Valarfin's question as if she would fall into him.

“We all know each other, so-”

Yu was suddenly interrupted. The person who interrupted him was Sir Devan, who was sitting to Cornelia's left.

“Not all of us,” he said. There was hostility in his voice. “Neither I nor Lady Vermilia know you.”

Cornelia was also angry that Sir Devan had interrupted Yu Valarfin. She clenched her fist and turned angrily towards him, but Yu Valarfin spoke.

“Yu Valarfin, father of Virgo Cardinal Yurine, Dame Sivina Ecues, leader of the guards Kigaro, and Kigaro’s deputy Dimen.”

“Her father?” Cecilus's eyes widened. “Didn't she have a mother?”

“She is no more because of someone.” Yu Valarfin's words were laced with a greater sense of hostility than Sir Devan's voice.

Cecilus held his breath and was suddenly silent.

“Cornelia, you can call me Yu. Or even call us all by our first names, it doesn't matter.”

“Hmm-hmm!” Cornelia nodded. She felt like a young girl.

She was so caught up in Yu Valarfin's spell that she didn't even notice the tension that the atmosphere had just taken on.

“I will say so, Yu.” She didn't realize that the joy in her voice was clearly making Sir Devan jealous. “It's a lovely name, and it's a lovely thing to say.”

“Thank you.”

When she received a thanks from Yu, she felt her heart skip a beat. It was as if she had lost her breath and her mind had left her head. She had caught the disease called love so fast that she had forgotten what kind of person she had been just an hour ago.

“So...” Yu cleared his throat and Cornelia paid attention to his words. “We will take back the city today. When I landed on the city walls with the Jade Dragon, I gave them until noon and told them we would attack if they did not surrender.”

“Without our approval-”

“Shut up.”

Yu did what Sir Devan had just done and interrupted and silenced him. Sir Devan stood up suddenly, his chair fell to the floor and he grabbed the sword at his waist.

“You're not going to speak,” Cornelia said.

No one in the room moved except Cecilus and Sir Devan. Cecilus trembled with fear and Sir Devan turned red with anger.

“Madam, behave yourself!” shouted Sir Devan with the same anger.

“Kigaro, when Sir Devan speaks again, cut off his head.”

“Okay.”

Sir Devan's eyes widened a little in anger, he gripped his sword tighter and opened his mouth to shout, but swallowed his words when the half-lion they called Kigaro bared its sharp teeth.

He was still angry, so angry that his hands were shaking with anger, but despite this anger he could not speak.

“Sit down,” Cornelia ordered.

Even though she had just met Yu Valarfin, she was not going to allow this handsome young man to be disrespected.

As Sir Devan took his seat, Yu resumed speaking.

“If they don't open the city gates and surrender by noon, we will destroy part of the walls with the dragon. The dragon's role will end there, then our soldiers will go in and we will take the city.”

“The rest of our troops will be here soon,” Sivina added. “In the evening you will sleep in your own bed.”

Cornelia looked at Yu when she used the words bed and sleep. She blushed a little more at the naughty thoughts that came to her mind.

“Then you will be Duchess of Vermia,” Yu continued, standing up. “Let us continue our conversation and preparations outside.”