IBTDOMD Chapter 115

 115

After returning from Ilnord, everything had been so chaotic that we had overlooked an issue that had been set aside for some time.

Delight spoke up, facing Luciel.

"Teacher may have returned, but we still deserve an explanation."

Even though Delight had traveled all the way to Ilnord to save Luciel, there was still unresolved tension between the two.

"Let me explain."

In the end, it was a problem caused because of me.

Just as I stepped forward to explain.

"No. This is my issue. I'll explain it myself."

Luciel firmly interrupted and stepped forward.

The previously warm atmosphere quickly dissipated.

Luciel slowly parted his lips.

"You already know, but my dragon powers have been sealed."

That was something Delight already knew.

And what Luciel was about to confess to Delight began from here.

"Dragons maintain the balance of power through contracts with humans."

"……"

"And I am under contract with Ilnord."

"So it was true."

"What? You knew?"

Unexpectedly, Delight reacted calmly.

"When I visited Ilnord, I noticed an unusual number of dragon paintings on the murals."

"……"

"That made me suspect something."

"I see."

Though none of the murals in Ilnord's palace directly featured dragons as the main subject, they were hidden like in a game of 'Where's Waldo.'*

"The fact that they were hidden like coded messages actually made them feel even more significant."

Which led his to connect dragons and Ilnord in his speculation.

Luciel gave a slight nod, almost relieved, and continued.

"Then you'll understand quickly. The reason I couldn't save Sherina back then… was also because of the contract."

"……"

"I cannot harm Ilnord."

"That's why when Teacher left back then…"

The truth Luciel had kept hidden from Delight for so long was finally revealed.

It wasn't that he didn't help me, he couldn't.

"Even so, if I had truly willed it, I might have been able to protect her. So it's only natural that you resented me."

That's what Luciel said, but for him to choose to protect me would've meant accepting a devastating blow as a dragon.

So in the end, it wasn't entirely true that he didn't save me.

I finally opened my mouth again.

"It's true Luciel couldn't act because of the contract… but I also told him not to step in."

"……"

"I thought ending everything with my death would solve it all."

Back then, I was so exhausted with everything.

My life was a failure.

I saw no reason to keep struggling through such a meaningless existence.

As I spoke, veins appeared on Delight's neck.

He was clearly holding back a surge of emotion.

"I…!"

Eventually, Delight couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Was that why you drove me away? And I didn't even realize it...!"

Delight's face twisted, as if reliving the memory.

It was a nightmare that had tormented him for decades.

Seeing him like that, my heart ached.

I opened my mouth heavily.

"I'm sorry."

The words I had always wanted to say to him.

Just one sentence couldn't possibly make up for all those years, but even so, it was something I had to say.

"I made the wrong choice."

Before I knew it, his eyes had turned red as he looked at me.

His lips parted slowly.

"Would you make that same choice again?"

"Only if I'd gone completely insane to leave you behind."

"……"

Even then, his expression still looked unconvinced.

"Even if it costs me my sanity, I will never make that choice again."

When I firmly gave my promise again, like driving in the final nail.

Only then did Delight's lips curl into a faint smile.

"Then I forgive you."

Huh? Really?

Surprisingly, he let it go just like that.

"That means you'll forgive me too, right?"

Luciel suddenly butted in, trying to take the chance to reconcile as well.

It was a blatant and opportunistic move.

Luciel looked at Delight with hopeful eyes.

But Delight's expression had already turned cold and sharp.

"Don't tell me you think you can just slip out of this that easily."

He drew a clear line between them.

"Why not? You forgave Ollia."

"You and Teacher are completely different."

"How am I different? That's discrimination!"

Luciel cried out in protest and gave me a look, silently pleading for support.

But I...

"…"

Turned my gaze off into the distance.

I'd just barely been forgiven, what if that got taken back too?

Sorry, Luciel.

I could feel his eyes burning with betrayal.

Perhaps sensing the awkward tension between us, Delight sighed quietly.

"Then why didn't you tell me all this earlier?"

If he'd just explained things honestly, I wouldn't have resented him so one-sidedly all those years.

"A dragon's contract is also my weakness. I can't just go around talking about it lightly."

"...That's true."

Delight nodded, seemingly convinced.

But the real reason Luciel had never said anything probably wasn't that.

He must have been shaken seeing how much Delight was suffering all those years.

And maybe, by becoming someone Delight could hate, he gave him something to hang on to, so he wouldn't lose himself.

"Is there any way to undo the seal?"

"Only with the contractor's consent."

Of course, the contractor was the emperor of Ilnord, Vitian.

And there was no way that man would willingly cooperate with Luciel.

"Can't the contractor be changed?"

"The condition for the contract is that the contractor must be the legitimate emperor of Ilnord. That can't be changed."

"What if that bastard Vitian dies?"

"So when the emperor dies, the contract automatically transfers to the next emperor?"

"......"

"What kind of ridiculous contract is that?!"

Delight shouted in frustration.

"A dragon isn't some subordinate. Isn't this just a scam contract?!"

From his perspective, it clearly seemed like the contract was unfairly one-sided against Luciel.

But dragons are beings beyond humanity, so overwhelmingly powerful that they require a form of control.

And that's exactly why contracts with dragons contain an element of subjugation.

"That's why contracts must be made with great caution."

"Haha… True. I never imagined I'd end up in this mess either."

"So are we just going to sit around doing nothing? Do you really have no way to fix this, Teacher?"

Uh-oh. The question was now aimed at me.

If I said there was no plan, Delight would definitely glare daggers at me.

"No. I do have something in mind."

"Really?"

Delight narrowed one eye, skeptical, yet somewhat hopeful.

Ugh. I wish they wouldn't expect so much.

Feeling the pressure from his gaze, I just said whatever came to mind.

"First, we kidnap Vitian and beat the crap out of him."

"..."

"We just force him to change his mind."

"That was your plan?"

The look in Delight's eyes clearly said, Of course it was.

"So you hadn't prepared anything until now?"

Delight rubbed his temples.

"If you try to forcibly break the contract while the current contractor still lives, Luciel could be in serious danger."

That's why we couldn't make any reckless moves.

The 'safe' option would be to obediently cooperate with Ilnord's emperor but that was absolutely out of the question.

A heavy silence settled again.

Then.

"There's something I've been wondering."

Serdin, who had been quietly pondering throughout the conversation, finally spoke up.

"What happens if the emperor dies… and the next emperor isn't crowned right away?"

"...Huh?"

"What happens then?"

Luciel paused at his question. I was also taken aback.

Because.

"That's… never happened before."

"But what if, just what if that situation really occurred?"

Serdin wasn't asking whether it had happened before, but what might happen if it did.

And there was something subtly meaningful about his question.

"In that case… would Luciel be unable to do anything until the next emperor is crowned?"

A sharp, pointed question.

"Or…"

"It's never happened before, but if something like that were to really occur…"

Just as Luciel began to answer carefully.

Footsteps approached from outside.

Rushed, hurried steps.

The faint rustle of paper.

Whispers.

Then, suddenly, the dining hall doors burst open.

"Ilnord has finally made its move!"

"...!"

The situation was too urgent for any formalities or protocol.

So it had come to this.

Ilnord had finally taken action.

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𝟭𝟭𝟵-𝟭𝟮𝟬 [New Added, Nov 16]

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🍓; *Where's Waldo is a visual puzzle game where players search for a character named Waldo, hidden among large, detailed crowd scenes.