"And I am now a dragon under Noah's authority."
On the child's wrist, the same mark that was carved on Park Noah radiated brightly. Park Noah vaguely repeated the child's words to herself. My authority.
"This mark binds the master and their pet and cannot be undone until one of the two dies."
The child's voice penetrated Park Noah horrifyingly, realizing that there was no turning back. Goodbye, my peaceful life.
"Thank you for imprinting with me…." However anxious she was about her decision, seeing the child with his deep red tearful eyes who looked at her as she were a god, Park Noah could only heave a deep sigh, thinking, "What can I do?".
It has been exactly five minutes since the imprint had taken place, and Park Noah decided to dismiss all worry and bitterness she felt moments ago.
"You should have told me earlier that imprints are so good!" She beamed. Park Noah's body was full of energy, a result of what was called the 'resonance of existence.' Imprinting allows the dragon's magic to be suffused to its master.
Park Noah has never experienced too much energy circling within her body. Her heart beat fast, feeling as if she chugged three cups of caffeine in a row.
She tried to calm herself down by pressing on the left portion of her chest, but it had no effect. Is it because too much energy filled my body at once? She muttered, her breathing different from before. "Wow, this is really…I think I can run a marathon right now!"
While staring intently at her palms, feeling the thumping pulse, a thud on the door was heard.
"Huh?" Park Noah broke free from her trance, her head swiftly turning to the door.
Knock, knock, knock.
Just by the sound of the restless thumping, she could already recognize the person behind the wooden door. Frantic, she looked around. Aside from the mess, the dragon's magic was still orbiting around the room.
If Kyle Leonard were to discover about what transpired only a few minutes ago, the baby dragon would be taken away! And now that the imprint has been made, no matter how much he tries to evade, the child will not be able to hide more from the merciless investigator.
"Let's just be honest…" Running out of excuses to say, Park Noah rose from her seat, heaving a sigh. As she was about to open the door, the knob twisted, and the door flung wide open.
"Huh? I didn't lock the door…?"
Opening the door and entering the house was, as expected, the mighty and the witch's temporary butler, Kyle Leonard. Immediately, his eyes swept through the house. Park Noah could tell that he was observing the dragon's magic, which was still present in the atmosphere, and not on the clutter left all over.
"Lord Leonard?"
The look on Kyle's was entirely foreign to Park Noah. It was neither a grimace nor contempt. Rather, it was a look of complete blankness. She has never seen such impassiveness from the investigator, especially recently.
Park Noah frowned. She has already oriented herself that her life would be not as easy anymore, but she didn't expect to be confronted immediately by life's very first obstacle.
She bit her lips and cautiously opened her mouth to speak. "Sir, I think we need to have a conversation. What do you think?"
As if her nervousness had been sensed by the child, the child hugged her leg and clung to her, glaring at the man across them.
The man's gaze landed on the child briefly. The next moment, he was staring intently at Park Noah.
Overwhelmed, Park Noah stood frozen. Still, there was no answer from the man. Suddenly, a deafening noise erupted in the room.
"...!"
A silver bullet flashed between Park Noah's eyes, missing her by an inch.
"Leonard… Sir." Stupefied, she could barely utter a word.
"I'll ask you." With his black revolver still aimed at her, Kyle Leonard opened his mouth to speak, his eyes devoid of emotion.
"Eleonora Asil, is that you?"