The blankets draped over Kyle from behind, obscuring his vision as the curtains, wrapped into tight cords, tightly bound his upper body. With his arms restrained behind him, the man shouted ferociously, “What do you think you are doing?”
“Allow me to confiscate this.” I reached around his waist to remove the revolver from its holster.
“Eleanora Aiselle!” Kyle shouted, gritting his teeth in frustration.
“Well, then. I’m going back to bed. You should try to get some rest as well, Sir Kyle. I’ll see you later this afternoon.” With those parting words, I swiftly retreated to my room, carrying the baby dragon under my arm. The child looked around in a daze from his spot on my hip as he was swept up the stairs along with me.
* * *
Kyle Leonard was supposed to be the leading male character in this novel. If I remembered the story correctly, he was the second son of Duke Leonard. As a high-ranking official in the Investigation and Security Bureau of the Laurent Empire, he was currently placed as the head of the Tezeva division. Additionally, he served as the commander of all of the Laurentian districts. Due to this, he was positioned just below the ministers and vice ministers of Laurent, allowing him to wield substantial influence in the empire.
However, his official titles were far from the most impressive thing about him—Kyle Leonard was also an extraordinarily talented individual. He had been only fifteen when he graduated from the military academy and joined the Imperial Army. Soon after, he was recruited by the Investigation and Security Bureau. With his uncanny instincts and brilliant mind, Kyle had quickly become infamous for cracking numerous cold cases across the empire, earning himself nicknames like “The Genius Detective” and “The Youngest Chief.”
While known for his investigative prowess, his true expertise lay in his dreadfully accurate marksmanship. Kyle never missed his target, and he wielded firearms with an uncanny familiarity, treating them as though they were extensions of his own body. The revolver he bore was his signature—a weapon painstakingly customized by the enigmatic blacksmith Janak, a master of mystical arms and self-proclaimed descendant of dwarven lineage.
As such, Kyle would have easily overpowered me if I hadn’t dragged him inside, especially since I had no clue how to use Eleanora’s magic outside of the house. Furthermore, I was well aware that Eleanora and Kyle had a deep-seated history. Not only did Eleanora endlessly torment the heroine and her dragon in the novel, but she also clashed fiercely with Kyle. Even without Eleanora’s conflict with Renia, Kyle held a deep personal hatred for her, as she was involved in more than eighty percent of the incidents plaguing Laurent.
To Eleanora, detectives were her natural enemies. In fact, Kyle was a significant reason I had fled to the countryside once I realized just whose body I had possessed. Meeting Kyle as Eleanora was the last thing that I wanted. I flopped over on my bed with a groan. Things had suddenly become more complicated again, and the catalyst of all of my problems was sitting innocently on my floor.
“Master…” The child looked at me with pleading eyes, crawling over to latch onto my leg.
Letting out a deep sigh, I lifted him onto my lap as I contemplated how to navigate this predicament. Fortunately, the dragon had been in human form when he encountered the young chief. Just the mere thought of what could’ve happened if that hadn’t been the case was starting to give me a headache. It was more than likely that Kyle would’ve immediately shot me in the head, no questions asked.
I leaned down to whisper into the child’s ear, “Sweetheart, remember not to reveal your true form in front of that man, okay?”
His burgundy eyes widened, blinking a few times as he tried to comprehend my words. Eventually, he nodded vigorously. “Okay, Master, I won’t.”
“On that note, you also shouldn’t call me ‘Master,’” I continued.
“Why not?”
“Because I’m not your master.”
“But you are…”
“I’m not, though,” I tried to gently explain. It was true—I hadn’t given him a name yet, which meant that while some form of imprinting had clearly occurred, the process was still incomplete.
The entirety of Laurent seemed to be in a frantic search for this dragon right now, and I was being unfairly suspected as the thief. Most importantly, I lacked the requisite emotional and mental capacity to raise a child. I mean, I could hardly take care of myself at the moment, let alone another living creature! Besides that, my life’s goal was to live as peacefully and with as little stress as possible. The black dragon and the male lead were only leading me further from achieving that goal.
Letting out a deep sigh, I gently patted the child’s back while he clung to my neck. “I’m at a loss about what to do with you.”
“I…” the child stammered, “I want to stay here…”
“What?”
“Please keep me!” he shouted, releasing his hold on me. His words were tinged by a lisp that betrayed his youth, and he clenched his fists with resolve. “I will protect you, master!”
I gazed down at the tiny three-year-old and chuckled. How could this child protect me?
As if hearing my doubts, sparks of fire shot out from the child’s little fists as my amusement turned to shock. “What on earth?”
“I can protect you, I promise!” He blew into his tiny palms, causing the already formidable flames to grow rapidly.
A chill ran down my spine at the expression of power. Is that dragon’s breath?
The child, nonchalantly exhaling small dragon’s breaths, spoke with unwavering confidence. “I won’t let you down!”
“W-What are you planning to do?” I felt an inexplicable sense of unease run through my veins.
“You’re in trouble because of that human, right?” the dragon inquired. His body was tense within my arms, his posture rigid with the seriousness of his assertion. “I’ll get rid of him for you.”
Did I hear that correctly? My jaw dropped, and I was momentarily rendered speechless. I asked hesitantly, “You’re going to kill that man? For me?”
“Yes, I don’t think it will be very hard,” the child stated casually. His expression was pure and innocent as he looked at me, standing in stark contrast with his words.
“But weren’t you being held by him earlier?”
“That was because that human said he would take me to my mommy—I mean—master,” he explained. Looking at the child, it was hard not to feel endeared. Faced with his youthful visage, I couldn’t help but want to pinch his adorable, round cheeks. His appearance had made me forget that no matter how cute or human he seemed, he was still a dragon—an otherworldly being with a fundamentally different perspective from us humans.
As my silence grew longer, the boy began to grow restless. His round, innocent eyes darted about the room. “Are you going to abandon me again?”
“No, I won’t.” With a sigh, I came to a decision. I couldn’t bring myself to cast this child aside again—at least not at this moment. You say such dangerous words far too casually. I can’t send you off anywhere like this. What if you get in major trouble?
Thinking about it now with the benefit of hindsight, this dragon had been responsible for killing countless individuals in the original novel solely because of his obsession with the heroine, Renia. The readers didn’t realize the true extent of his obsession until the story ended. After the climax, when the villain Eleanora was defeated, Renia and Kyle finally confessed their feelings for one another. However, instead of having the golden sunset and fairy-tale ending that the readers craved, the dragon whisked Renia away to a different dimension and vanished. No one knew what happened to her afterward—potentially not even the heroine herself. At the end of five long volumes, Renia’s loyal companion turned out to be the final boss, separating her from her lover forever.
That was where the novel ended, not even bothering to describe the male lead’s life following those events. This was why the story was infamous for its frustrating conclusion. After all, it was an absurd way to end a romance novel. I, myself was also livid after spending so long eagerly anticipating the love story between the main characters. Moreover, all of these events occurred within a single chapter, as if the author had run out of interest in finishing the story properly.
In any case, what happened to the main characters was none of my concern. Ultimately, I would meet my end at the hands of this very child way before Kyle and Renia’s tearful farewell. The mere thought sent shivers down my spine. Ugh, if I’m going to keep him, he might require some special training before we can live peacefully.
The dragon, sensing my unease, inquired anxiously, “Master, are you unwell?” I paused a moment too long, allowing him to jump to another dangerous conclusion. “It’s that human again!”
“No!” I tightened my grip on him in a panic as he prepared to leap off the bed.
It’s all because of you, you little troublemaker! I gripped his tiny shoulders, delivering a stern warning. “You can’t just kill humans impulsively, do you hear me? Don’t even joke about it. And you’d better not take my life either.”
“Why would I kill you?”
“Exactly! Why would you kill me? Right?”
The child gazed at me, confusion clear in his eyes. I sat him upright and emphasized, “Repeat after me. ‘I will not kill living things. Not even a seemingly insignificant flower on the side of the road.’”
“I will not kill!” As he eagerly parroted my words, I got the sinking feeling that he didn’t fully comprehend their meaning.
“Don’t harm people without cause, don’t lie, and don’t steal. Only do those things if,” I thought briefly before concluding, “I give you permission. Got it?”
I could only hope he would commit these words to memory, even if he didn’t fully understand them.