Chapter 149 - North Korean rabbit

Episode 149

"Are you afraid that I might desire you or put you in danger?"

Artanus had read my fear with perfect accuracy.

Even though I had not expressed it aloud.

No, to be precise, I had been in this state continuously since earlier.

"You need not worry, my bride. Originally, a dragon and its bride are each other's sole and absolute existence."

"Just as Istride was to me, that child is your only one."

Unconsciously, I let out a sigh of relief.

Simultaneously, I felt as though my heart had softened.

For a being of such greatness, no less, had affirmed that Arpad and I were each other's sole existence.

And I regretted that Arpad could not hear this.

'I wish we could hear it together...'

There was also reassurance.

It meant I need not worry about Artanus devouring me.

I was finally able to regain enough composure to look around a little.

Though it was all darkness, the light emanating from Artanus's body served as a light source.

Thanks to this, the shapes of the floor, ceiling, and walls were faintly visible.

It seemed to be a natural cave. Stalactites hung from various points on the ceiling, sharp and pointed.

Whenever Artanus's colossal body moved even slightly, the position of the light source shifted, causing the shadows of the stalactites to sway chaotically.

Within a cavern of immeasurable scale, Artanus sat coiled with its massive body.

It was not strewn with all manner of jewels and treasures as in the dramas and movies I had seen in Korea before my regression.

Excluding Artanus, it was a rather ordinary cave, one that might even feel a bit damp.

Once again, the dragon seemed to have read my thoughts.

"Are you disappointed?"

"Ah, I didn't have such high expectations. Nor do you have any obligation to meet my expectations."

More importantly, where is this place?

"As you surmise, it is my dwelling."

...I cannot tell if this is convenient or inconvenient.

"Hmm, if my bride finds it inconvenient..."

"Let us converse with our voices then."

Proportionate to the size of its immense body, Artanus's voice was also enormous.

Perhaps the large cavern acted as a megaphone, for the sound boomed and echoed, becoming much louder.

It felt as though my entire body was vibrating.

'My ears—no, my whole body aches!'

Then, Artanus's voice entered my head without passing through its great maw or vocal cords.

"Is this not simply better?"

I could not argue. I merely nodded weakly.

'To meet Artanus in person. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I must extract as much information as possible.'

But there was something more important.

Shaking Arpad, who was still unconscious, I made a request to the dragon.

"Could you perhaps wake this person? I believe Arpad would also have things he wishes to ask you directly, Lord Artanus."

"I cannot wake him yet. For my business with you remains unfinished."

Business?

Does that mean you put Arpad to sleep because you have a reason to speak with me alone?

* * *

The Archbishop meticulously treated Evangeline's wounds with divine power.

He was practically pouring out divine power, so the swelling of the wounds had greatly subsided. The bruises had long since vanished completely.

Immediately after the treatment ended, Evangeline was too busy venting not gratitude, but rage.

"It's still not completely healed!"

"Nevertheless, you have recovered significantly."

"What does that matter! With such unsightly marks remaining on my face, I cannot appear before others!"

"There is no need to worry. By the time you must reveal yourself, you will be able to conceal the scars with makeup."

The Archbishop's words were not what Evangeline desired.

She had hoped he would say she could return to skin that was flawless, even smoother and more perfect than before.

But the Archbishop was not one to make impossible promises.

To the deeply dissatisfied Evangeline, the Archbishop posed a serious question with a grave expression.

"However, Apostle. While deciphering the <Book of Fate>, I have encountered a strange section."

"A strange section?"

"Yes. As only an extremely small portion of the content was verifiable, it is a part I had overlooked until now. There are chapters where similar, yet different, content repeats intermittently. Might you have any idea what this could be?"

"Repeats?"

Evangeline's expression hardened.

* * *

"Arpad would be furious if he heard this, I think. What is it that he must not hear?"

"He would be exceedingly angry. And that child... he detests me greatly."

"?"

Questions surged within me.

Arpad detests Artanus? I have never heard such a thing before.

No, even before that, the nuance felt strange.

Currently, Artanus's voice was conveyed directly into my mind, transmitting its will.

Because of this, the hidden meaning was also immediately understood, and that was peculiar.

'It's as if... it speaks as if it knows Arpad well?'

As if they have met at least several times and have conversed directly.

"Your thoughts are correct. For that child is also a very special child to me."

The meaning contained in Artanus's words was conveyed to me with increasing clarity.

It... was truly speaking of Arpad as if he were its own and Princess Istride's child.

"That is not a greatly inaccurate analogy. For that child is my successor."

"Successor?"

"He is the one who must inherit my place and uphold the world; there is no other fitting expression but successor."

The Dragon's successor.

Come to think of it, Arpad was said to have been born with the densest dragon's blood among all imperial descendants in history.

Even the first emperor, who was literally a half-human, half-dragon born from Artanus and Istride, was never described with such an expression.

Until now, I had never pondered this deeply.

But what if even that had a clear reason?

If there is a reason why the expression 'successor,' which even the dragon's own child did not receive, was attached only to Arpad, what could it be?

"It is as you have thought. That child is the one who will succeed me, become the dragon, and fill my vacant place. Therefore, he is the one who will send me to my rest, to the side of my bride."

The colossal body of Artanus, which had been tightly coiled, began to move slowly.

Though as massive as a mountain, its movements were extremely delicate, producing almost no sound.

I soon understood why Artanus moved with such care.

What the dragon had been coiled around, cradling preciously, was a large, transparent crystal.

Within it, a pink form was visible.

Only after a long while did I realize it was a coffin in the shape of a crystal, and that inside lay a woman with pink hair.

Artanus had clearly just mentioned 'my bride.'

And if the being sleeping within the coffin this dragon so preciously cradled could only be one person...

"Princess Istride..."

The protagonist of the marriage of abduction legend, the dragon's bride... and also one of Arpad's distant ancestors.

"Correct. My Istride. The woman who completed me, my wife. The master of my soul."

"I must go to her side."

Within the words that reverberated in my mind, will and meaning were contained, but there was no emotion.

I knew this was the dragon's own consideration for me.

When Artanus's words, which for the first time stirred my mind, carried emotion, I found myself shedding tears without even realizing it.

"...?"

I realized a moment later.

That Artanus's emotions affected me.

To the extent that even physical reactions synchronized with the dragon against my own will.

"Though you are not my bride, you are the bride of my successor, so the synchronization is likely stronger."

Tears flowed endlessly. A sense of emptiness, longing, and pain, as if a hole had been punched through my chest, shook my entire spirit and body.

Artanus suppressed its emotions again for my sake. For it feared I would be overwhelmed and collapse.

"The family you call the imperial house is a family that exists to obtain that child. To me, that is its only meaning. It was somewhat different for Istride, though."

I barely managed to collect myself and focus on what Artanus was saying.

Words tinged with lament, sighs, and regret echoed once more in my head.

"But my sole successor, the one who would grant me rest, died without properly awakening."

"Because he did not meet his bride."

I thought I understood what it was trying to say.

'It's talking about the time before my regression.'

My first life.

The image of Arpad, who ran amok, shed the blood of countless people, and was then killed by his own father's hand, came to mind.

But.

"No."

The denial was excessively firm.

'What?'

"Until then, his bride did not exist in this world. Therefore, he could not become complete and had to die."

"I could not abandon my only chance for rest."

What does this mean?

I was clearly born into this world at that time, wasn't I?

The enormous crimson pupils turned fully towards me.

"That is why I... decided to turn everything back. However many times it took."

I asked in a dazed voice.

"Could it be that you... are the one who has been causing my regressions?"

Romance, Fantasy,