" Blep. "
" B-Blep? "
I, Asher Makarios, for the first time in my whole life including my past one, have found...
" A dragon?! "
' Calm down! You don't want to get caught, do you? '
I covered my mouth and stared at the small creature sitting on top of the table with several vials and other weird-looking things.
A baby dragon with black scales, purple eyes, and horns that are yet to grow.
" Blep. " It said with its tongue sticking out innocently.
It's so cute!
' Fascinating, to think that Albert has a dragon as a pet. '
" Rina didn't mention anything about having a pet though. Is King Albert keeping it a secret? "
But to be honest, I can't think of any reason to hide it. Considering that dragons reign supreme among the powerful beasts. Wouldn't it boost the family and the kingdom's reputation?
" Blep... "
" What's wrong? Are you okay- " I reached out for the dragon but the moment I touched it got dispelled as if it's just a dark mist.
An illusion?
' I don't think it is. Normally, illusions need the host to be relatively near for it to work. '
I looked at each corner of the small room and it looks like your typical laboratory then looked back to the place where the dragon was.
" Let's go back to the arena before they start searching for us. "
' As you wish. '
God transferred me out of the room. I checked around to see if someone saw me but there's no one around. With that, I went downstairs and head back to the field.
[ Back to the arena ]
" Asher! Over here! " Rina waved and signaled me to sit with them on the benches not too near the match field.
While making my way to them, I looked at the center field and saw Vale warming up with some stretches.
" Where's King Albert? " I asked Rina as I sat down beside her.
" I believe Father is having a private conversation with Lord Douglas at the moment. "
" Is that so? "
I remembered the dragon from earlier, it looked too real to be an illusion, and surely the aura it gave...
I need to know more after the matches...
My train of thought suddenly stopped when I felt an arm wrapped around mine.
" I can't wait for you to win me over~ " Rina looked at me and smiled.
" Y-Yes, ma'am! "
Rina giggled and let go of me. " Asher is really cute and cool. The perfect one for a princess such as myself. "
" What about Vale though? He's cute, cool, and not a commoner like me. "
" That's...true. " She looked at Vale from afar. " You know, back then, Vale and I were really close. He would come to visit me every time and we would play in the garden. But he suddenly changed that one day when my father decided that it's about time I choose who to marry in the future. "
I looked at Vale too. He saw us staring and waved his hand at us with a wide smile.
" Lord Douglas might've done something to him that made him act like that. "
" Of course, I know Lord Douglas is bad enough to fool his son on doing something for his gain and it's not like I hated Vale after that. I just wish he can at least tell me what he's going through. "
" You like Vale a lot, huh... "
" I-I do like him but not in a romantic way. For me, Vale is family, like a brother. " Rina reached out for my hand and hold it. " Besides, I already found a lover... "
Both of us got flustered and stayed in awkward silence for a while until King Albert showed up with Lord Douglas following behind him.
" Both of the participants are here! We will now begin the second match! "
______________________________________
[ To Be Continued ]