Chapter 92

Chapter 92

Translator: Yonnee

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I’d been trying to avoid this topic, but I didn’t expect Albert to bring this up first.

I had a hunch that I would have to say goodbye to Blanc if I failed to convince Albert properly. But I didn’t expect that the moment of truth would come to me this fast.

To be honest, if I come out and say that I’m thinking about becoming Blanc’s contractor, then I had a stronger hunch that he’d just go ahead and throw Blanc out, frosty eyes and all.

No, it’s not just a hunch at this point. I’m certain of it.

When I hesitated to answer him, Albert continued speaking calmly.

“I didn’t say anything because you seemed to be relying on it a lot, Rosé, but once we leave the tower, you’ll be able to meet more people. You won’t have to pay attention to it anymore—you won’t have to be lonely anymore.”

Throughout it all, it seemed like he completely figured out why I let Blanc in. I mean, considering how he already hated Blanc from the very beginning, it’s amazing that he didn’t say this until now.

“Don’t you already know? What usually happens to dragon fledglings and how dangerous it is to be around them at the time of their death.”

At the truth bombs he kept dropping at me, I inevitably flinched. If he really knew me, then he’d know what I was afraid of.

And because I was the person he likes, I know that he’s only saying this for my own good. And I already found out how dangerous it was to continue being with Blanc.

“Why aren’t you answering me?”

However, despite Albert’s urging, my lips were tightly shut.

“Rosé.”

What should I say? I can’t open my mouth easily.

If I don’t say anything here, Albert was going to keep driving the nail into the coffin, and it’s as good as saying goodbye to Blanc for my own good. It felt like I was going to be separated from him right away.

“Rosé?”

His urging eventually made me speak. I didn’t even know what I was saying. My mouth just started speaking on its own.

“W-Would it really be dangerous if I become Blanc’s contractor?”

“…What?”

Albert stared at me blankly.

He was lying on his back this whole time, but he sat up right then. The wet towel that had been on his forehead fell to the floor. However, that wasn’t the problem here.

In an instant, there was an entirely cold look on his face that shut me up right away.

Maybe I said it for the sake of trying my luck, but my thoughts really spilled out of my lips before I could stop them.

I wouldn’t have said it in any other normal circumstance, but I couldn’t think of a way to bring it up better.

When someone’s cornered, they’d really say anything that came to mind, huh?

Sighing, I leaned down to take the wet towel from the floor. However, over my bowed head, Albert’s voice resounded ferociously.

“Rosé.”

In the end, I decided to just be honest. I placed the towel back on the tray. While avoiding his vicious glare, I answered.

“I’m seriously thinking about becoming his contractor. After spending a lot of time with Blanc… Compared to the pain that I read about in a book, saying goodbye to Blanc would hurt me so much more.”

“…….”

There was never a time when the silence around Albert was as frightening as it was now. I hurried to explain.

“I can start learning magic. If it turns out that I can become an incredible mage within a year, then I can become Blanc’s contractor successfully through this sheer incredible talent that might just be in me.”

“……”

Compared to any horror I could think of in my imagination, Albert’s silence no matter what I said was all the more terrifying.

“Prince, I’m really, really scared, so can’t you say something, please?”

Albert’s hand moved. As he reached for one of the books I brought with me earlier, he spoke so quietly that it was almost like a whisper.

“Maybe you didn’t read it properly.”

Albert opened the book, went to the page where it explained what it meant to be a dragon’s contractor and showed it to me.

He couldn’t even see the contents of the page as it was turned to me, but he recited the contents without a hitch.

“The contractor will receive the ordeal’s pain as it is. In the process, different people experience various levels of pain, but it could last for as long as a month until the dragon becomes a full adult.”

What he read out loud was much more detailed than what I read earlier. Albert must have memorized this book by heart.

Still, I countered him.

“…But if I can endure the pain, as a dragon’s contractor, I’ll have a body that’s close to a half-dragon. It says there that it’s almost like being ‘reborn’.”

But at this, Albert immediately retorted.

“But while a dragon goes through the process of becoming an adult, some say that the contractors fall to an isolated place where it’s impossible to ask help from others.”

Mmh, neither of us seemed to be convinced by the other side when it came to Blanc.

As he closed the book and rested his chin on one hand, Albert looked straight at me.

“I can’t bear to watch you walk straight into a fire.”

“I haven’t decided for sure yet.”

“Then it’s better if you can see it for yourself.”

“…See what?”

Albert narrowed his eyes dangerously. Those crescent moons suddenly made me have a bad feeling.

“You’ve heard about the dragon fledgling that’s dying. Go and see it for yourself—just how devastating its surroundings has become. What you’ll see is only a fraction of what you’ll experience personally.”

“Prince, I can’t possibly leave you alone…”

He spoke in a low voice.”

“This is an order.”

And so, it was something I couldn’t refuse.