MHHC Chapter 29

'Last night wasn't a dream, was it?'

Adelheid scanned the room with desperate urgency. She needed to find evidence that yesterday's events hadn't been a dream. Or, better yet—far better—something to prove the whole thing had been a cruel joke or lie from the very beginning.

She searched everywhere: the nightstand, beneath the bed, even the spot where she'd thrown the dagger last night.

Finding even a single piece of evidence would satisfy her. But the room held no traces. It was empty, silent, untouched.

The dagger was gone. Even the green medicine in its glass vial that Padre had given her had vanished. Stranger still, her thin nightgown—which should have been torn from last night's struggle—was pristine, exactly as she'd first put it on. The sheets that should have been stained with blood were spotless.

Adelheid slowly lowered both hands.

'Was... all of it really a dream?'

She retraced her memories carefully. Valentin had confessed to being a dragon. He'd told her about some terrible contract. The lives of Ansgar's people had been held as collateral. And she'd made a pact to prevent it all.

Under the midday sun, thinking about it seriously felt not just absurd but utterly preposterous.

And, of course, as proof that she'd made that contract...

'Right, the mark!'

Adelheid scrambled out of bed and stood before the large mirror. Suddenly, she felt an odd sense of déjà vu about the mirror's position. When she'd last seen it the night before, it definitely hadn't been in this spot...

'Doesn't matter.'

She cast one uncomfortable glance at the mirror, then pulled her nightgown down below her shoulders. He'd said there would be a mark—some kind of pattern etched somewhere on her body as proof the contract had been sealed. If it really existed, then last night hadn't been a dream.

She twisted and turned before the mirror, searching for the mark. It was difficult to spot, and she'd spun around several times when—

"What... are you... doing? Adele."

Hic. She gasped and hurriedly yanked her nightgown back up. Valentin had somehow approached without her noticing and was watching her with a curious expression.

Adelheid's entire body flushed the color of the setting sun.

"Wh-when did you get there?"

"From... the... beginning. When I... woke up. I've been... watching... the whole time."

He blinked drowsily, then the moment their eyes met, he smiled broadly—a smile so innocent, so radiant, it seemed to know nothing of life's worries or shadows, the kind that could enchant anyone. But Adelheid's face crumpled as she put more distance between them.

From the beginning? She hadn't noticed him at all. He was a monster—had he used some trick? Or had she simply been that careless? Either way, he should have made his presence known. Not stayed silent like this...

"Adelheid."

His voice had grown closer. When Adelheid flinched and looked up, she saw Valentin reflected in the mirror, having drawn near. Her husband, encountered in the afternoon sunlight, looked several times more striking. Even his pupils, which had narrowed like a beast's last night, had returned to a more human roundness.

Remembering last night darkened Adelheid's expression. Valentin approached, turned her body to face him, and gently brushed her cheek with his fingers. When she reflexively averted her gaze, a tense, constricted sound escaped him.

"Look... at... me."

"......"

"Why are you... suddenly... like this? Like you're... on... guard."

"......"

"Hm?"

Adelheid firmly controlled her expression before it could crumble. She pulled his hand away from her and turned her head sharply. No matter how affectionately he acted, she reminded herself dozens of times that a monster was still a monster.

'I absolutely cannot let my guard down.'

She'd grown up learning to fear monsters her entire life. Hideous in appearance, cruel by nature, depraved, gnawing away at divine sanctity. She'd been taught that even approaching them was like being smeared with filth.

Whether that was true or not didn't matter. Prejudice, once rooted, was this solid. Adelheid blurted out the words she'd been rolling around in her mouth.

"I think you could speak like you did yesterday. Instead of speaking so haltingly like this... The meaning could get distorted too."

"Can't..."

"Why not?"

"You're... scared... of me... Adele."

"..."

"If I act... like a fool... like this... you won't be... as scared. Right?"

Adelheid stared at him with disbelief.

"So you're saying you've been speaking like this on purpose this whole time?"

"N-no... No."

He waved his hands frantically, but Adelheid was already watching him with narrowed, suspicious eyes. Valentin stammered his excuse.

"Didn't... need... human... language..."

"......"

"I understood... everything... but never used... my tongue... before..."

He stuck out his tongue slightly, like a boy caught misbehaving. Then he glanced at Adelheid and grinned. The sight of his sharp, cleanly arched eyes curving pleasantly was fascinating no matter how many times she saw it.

Men—the noble men she'd known, anyway—didn't smile openly like that.

'I know what's inside is a terrifying monster, but when he does that, he seems just like a normal person.'

The very idea that this enormous frame could look boyish made no sense. And now... she was even starting to find him a little... cute.

'Cute? Am I insane?'

Adelheid blinked, startled by her own thought. Why had she suddenly felt that way?

Perhaps it was because the atmosphere surrounding Valentin had subtly changed since yesterday. She couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was, but now when she looked at him, she distinctly felt a gentle warmth.

"It's because... of the... contract."

As if he could read her thoughts just from watching her expression, Valentin answered.

"The contract?"

"I received... your energy... and you received... mine... so we've become... similar."

"Similar..."

"You smell... like me... now."

His cheeks flushed red as he brought his lips to her plump ear and whispered shyly.

"And I... smell like... you."

"......"

"I'm... happy..."

The warmth spreading softly at her ear was one thing, but the overwhelming joy conveyed through Valentin's voice left her bewildered. Sometimes she wondered what she meant to him. She couldn't understand why he was so desperate over a mere human woman.

The only explanation she could guess at was that the 'husband' before his death had loved her, and the dragon occupying his body and soul had been moved by that emotion... Adelheid shook her head coldly, snapping out of her daze.

'That makes even less sense.'

It would be more convincing to think that because his true nature was monstrous, he was instinctively targeting her weakness. Perhaps he'd noticed she craved human warmth and was showering her with affection to keep her confused and off-balance?

"......"

Adelheid glanced at Valentin, whose face had grown slightly sullen. Outwardly he seemed harmless—almost like God's most cherished creature—but the reality was that he was a dragon of unparalleled terror.

Adelheid struggled to harden her softening heart.

"Yesterday you said you were essentially trapped in that body until you fulfilled your contract with my husband. The contract was to elevate the name of the Grand Duke of Ansgar so high it would be recorded in history."

"Y-yes..."

"What should I do from now on?"

She asked, clasping her hands together and fidgeting.

Of course, she should have confirmed these details thoroughly before and after making the contract. But after sealing it yesterday, she'd been so exhausted she'd collapsed into sleep. She hadn't realized that making a contract consumed such tremendous energy.

Valentin looked at her and answered calmly.

"The contract... must be... fulfilled... no matter what."

"You already told me that."

"Then? What are you... curious about?"

"I don't know how I should help Your Grace going forward."

"You can... help me... or not. Either is... fine. If it's... uncomfortable... I can erase... your memories."

Erase her memories? Adelheid considered the tempting offer, then finally shook her head. If her memories were erased, she wouldn't be able to convince Padre.

If Padre gave up now, that would be one thing, but if he continued digging into this case alone, he would eventually reach the truth that "Valentin" was the Dragon of Bitzleben. Then Valentin would try to kill Padre by any means necessary.

'He said if a contract made on his name isn't fulfilled, he loses all his power. The dragon must be desperate too.'

Even if she convinced Padre and then had her memories erased afterward, she didn't want to live like a fool, unaware of what contract she'd made.

Adelheid clenched her fists and lifted her head.

"My contract conditions yesterday were two things. First, spare the people of Ansgar Castle whom you received as payment. Second, when the contract with my husband is complete, return that body to my husband if possible."

"...That's... right."

"And in exchange, you, the Shadow—"

"Call me... Valentin."

"But—"

"Unless you... don't mind... people finding it... very suspicious. That's... fine with me too."

His response was oddly cold. While Adelheid hesitated, he smiled with chilling amusement. His golden eyes glinted cruelly.

"I have... one question too. Adelheid. You said... to return... that man's soul... when it's over."

"......"

"Do you love him?"