I was drifting in thought when Marco, ever the pragmatist, added, "I think it's perfectly normal for anyone to be enraged upon discovering betrayal. The reason I trust His Highness, despite his dominance, is because he's strong." He crossed his arms proudly.
"Power and leadership, when combined with competence, breed trust. His people may not always like him, but they know the empire thrives under his rule. That's why the warriors respect him. You must've noticed it yourself, spending time around them."
His words stirred memories—warriors recounting tales of the prince's bravery, their faces glowing with admiration. I also recalled my first day here, the general bantering with the prince while the emperor presented him with an award. It was a clear sign of the respect the prince had earned.
"That's right! I can't speak for the others, but once our work is done, I want to become a court official," Leon said with quiet resolve. Despite the weight of his words, he appeared at ease, taking notes as he spoke. Curious, I leaned in. "Why?" I asked.
He paused, his quill hovering in mid-air. "So I can continue supporting His Highness," he finally replied, his voice soft yet firm.
'Wow, he's truly loyal! Even though he almost died from a grape stem not too long ago,' I marveled silently.
"How about you, Rowell?" I continued, eager to shift the focus.
Rowell tilted his head thoughtfully. "Hmm… I'm not quite sure yet, but I want to teach people. I want them to learn the pain and excitement I experience."
"I didn't know you had a secret passion for teaching," Marco said, amusement twinkling in his eyes. Rowell just smirked. "Teach you lot anything? Please. Everyone here is too smart for me to teach you anything new," he replied with an exaggerated sigh.
But as I thought back on their banter, the knot in my chest tightened. Leon, Marco, Rowell… They're good men, in their own way. Am I really okay with lying to people who, for better or worse, have started to feel like something more than just allies? Every joke we shared, every moment of camaraderie—it all felt heavier now, tangled with my own deception. I glanced at Leon, his brow furrowed in concentration. If he knew the truth, what would he think of me? Would he see me as nothing more than a traitor?
I shook off the thought. No. I can't afford these distractions.
"What about you, Marco?" I asked, eager to shift my thought.
"Well, I'm a noble, so obviously, I'm destined to settle affairs and become the lord of my house," he said, leaning back with a grin. "And you?"
I paused, thinking about my dreams for a moment. 'Hopefully, I'll find the key and get back to my world soon. When that happens, I want to travel more, while juggling my work as a user interface designer. Maybe even start my own freelance company... but that's going to take time.'
"I think I need to stick by His Highness's side as his advisor until he learns the heart," I finally said, pretending it was a lighthearted goal. But deep down, it felt more like a burden than I cared to admit.
"Hmm… now that you mention it, those really are complicated," Marco mused. "No wonder it's tough to find the power we're after, but you seem pretty knowledgeable, Tuk."
"Well, it's not that easy to tap into the power of love," I said, struggling to keep a straight face. "But thanks to some folks I knew, I've picked up a thing or two before they, uh, breathed their last." The truth behind that statement hit harder than I expected, and I forced a smile to hide my discomfort.
UGH! The secondhand embarrassment is REAL—I feel like I just read my old Facebook posts from 2012. And don't even get me started on my title! Out of ALL the badass names out there, this dude really slapped 'Love Advisor' on me like I'm running a medieval version of a relationship podcast. Like bro, do I look like I give good love advice?! I can't even decide what to eat for dinner!
No matter how much I loved romance dramas and novels, love always seemed to avoid me. I used to wonder why it never stirred the same feelings in me as it did in others. Some online friends suggested I might experience the world differently, that maybe I wasn't interested in romantic love at all. The truth is, I don't feel it. I love people, but never in the way they seem to expect.
I glanced at the others, who seemed to accept my vague explanation for now, and mentally, I breathed a sigh of relief. I'd play along with this role as long as I had to. I was enjoying watching this whole concept of love unfold around me. But at the end of the day, it wasn't something I truly understood. The irony wasn't lost on me—I was the love advisor with no personal experience of romantic love.
"Now that I think about it, Sire Leon, why did the prince believe the power came from the heart of the scroll's owner?" I asked, my chin resting in my hand as my quill scraped absently across the paper.
Leon paused mid-scribble, frowning slightly in thought. "Hmm… now that you mention it, I don't think you were around when we discussed those theories." He leaned back, his gaze drifting toward the ceiling.
"The more we decode the scroll, the more we encounter the word 'heart.' There are old legends from Elthor that say the hearts of certain individuals were bound to the dragon's essence. These people were believed to carry the dragon's power within them, a gift that made them extraordinary. So far, every person who's possessed this scroll has shown some kind of unique ability."
He paused, choosing his words carefully. "Some scholars even proposed examining the hearts of the scroll's owners—thinking one of them might carry a remnant of the dragon's heart. But as you can imagine, no proof... yet."
"But wouldn't a dragon's heart be too big for a person to carry? I mean, how massive is this dragon supposed to be?"
Leon blinked at me, startled by the question, as if I'd said something strange. "Wait… you don't know? The dragon isn't just some gigantic beast. It's more like a force of creation, an essence that breathes life into the world. When people speak of a dragon's heart, they don't mean a literal organ. They're referring to the dragon's mana, its life force, which is believed to bind itself to certain individuals."
I hesitated for a second; I didn't think what I just asked was a stupid question to them. "Well, I don't really talk about it, but I grew up as an orphan. In my hometown, I barely learned to read and write, thanks to a merchant I worked for. There wasn't much time for stories."
"I'm sorry to hear that. I know people like you back in my village," Rowell said, looking at me with sympathetic eyes. I shyly scratched my nape at the sudden lie.
But Leon just studies me, his expression unreadable. "I see. You must've worked for a well-knowledgeable merchant." He pauses, then adds, "Anyway, the dragon we're talking about isn't just any dragon—it's the creator of the world. Everything we have today is said to be born from its mana, passed down through our ancestors."
I blinked, processing this new information. So, the dragon wasn't a fire-breathing beast—it was more like a god? That was a lot to take in, but in this world, I shouldn't have been surprised.
"Are there more dragons out there?" I asked, trying to keep my tone casual. "I mean, if it's the heart His Highness is after, wouldn't there be more than one?"
Leon chuckled, shaking his head. "There's only one. It's said its essence was scattered throughout the world after the Great Fall. People believe that whoever possesses a fragment of that essence has the power to reshape the world."
Before I could react, the door creaked open, and in stepped Lord Nixon, the prince's private secretary. His sharp eyes swept the room, searching. The moment our gazes locked, my breath hitched. Déjà vu?
"Historian Tuk," he said, his voice as cold and formal as ever. "His Highness the Prince is looking for you."
Me? Why?