Chapter 16: Chapter 16

Why is he calling the witch Noah?

“She said that? Wow, what a surprise.” Kyle Leonard said mockingly.

“Don’t curse at Noah!” The child glared at him, his eyes full of rage. The investigator sighed, and closed the lid of the stew.

“Listen carefully, child.” Kyle Leonard switched the stove off and poured some stew in a bowl. He then grabbed a bottle of milk and placed it in the child’s hands. “If you continue to stick with her like this, you might suck up all her magic and eventually kill her. Do you still want to stay with her?”

The child was rendered speechless; his round eyes wide open in shock. “I haven’t thought about that. But if I imprint… she’ll get well again…” He trailed off.

Kyle suppressed his frustration over the past few days and spoke calmly. “Eleonora doesn’t seem to have any intention of imprinting herself with you when her life is at stake.”

“If you help me….”

“There’s a limit to what I can do. Isn’t it obvious that even though you’re a dragon, you don’t have the right to imprint on someone without their permission?”

The child’s face turned pale. ‘The uncle seemed to be right,’ he thought. Tears welled up in his eyes. The child put down the bottle of milk and bowed his head.

“I don’t want Noah to be sick but she’s sick because of me. And she won’t leave me because she’s nice.” The child’s ideas were getting extreme.

While Kyle was preparing the soup, he glanced at the child across the living room whose shoulders were drooped. With a sigh, he eventually approached the child. He hoisted the child and placed him on top of the table.

Grabbing a chair, he positioned himself in front of the child. “Do you like her that much? Why should it be her?”

“Because Noah took me out of the egg…”

So she’s the one who stole the eggs.

Kyle contemplated for a moment whether or not he should record the child’s words, but then gave up on the idea. Although he looks human, it is rather uncomfortable to get the “truth” from a baby dragon that looked like a three-year-old. He’d rather have Eleonora Asil confess her crimes.

But his prior investigations reveal that the witch had never actually left her shoddy cottage in Sorrent for nearly two years. In addition, how could Eleonora manage to infiltrate a fortress, bounded by a shield with her biometric information registered? Even though she is the infamous Laurent witch, she could not possibly break it alone.

Unless…

Kyle’s mind buzzed with conspiracies.  Is there an accomplice? “Did you ever see another human when you came out of the egg? Or heard a different voice?” Kyle asked in case.

“Another voice..?” The child shook his head, confused.

“Yes, another human voice.”

“I think I heard it while I was in the egg. Something like a human voice.”

“You heard that?”

The child flinched at Kyle’s sharp tone and shook his head again. “I don’t know. I was half asleep at the time, so I can’t remember….”

Was there an accomplice? This case becomes more complicated in no time unless there is only one person who had made contact with the dragon’s egg.

Eleonora’s profile unfolded in his head. He thought of each person who might be looking for plans to steal the dragon’s egg. The minister of magic? That person is pretty suspicious too. It’s quite possible for the man who helped ridiculously reduce Eleonora’s sentence for being a wizard of rare genius.

As soon as he recalled the fuzzy face of the boss, Kyle Leonard’s forehead creased. The minister of magic was the second most frustrating human being to Kyle, after Eleonora Asil.

If it wasn’t him, there was another wizard who was famous for his admiration for Eleonora and was strong enough to break through the walls of the fortress.

Kyle glanced at the child as he tried to string together his thoughts. “You don’t intend to find another master?”

“Noah, Noah, Noah… If you really say no….” Tears fell endlessly from the baby dragon’s eyes.

In more than 500 years, there were few options for a child who had fallen into the land alone without another kin. And it was Kyle who couldn’t find any other way. It was the first time in his life that he had seen a dragon, which he believed as a mere legend. There was no record in any ancient book that dragons shed tears like humans.

At this rate, you look like a real child. Kyle sighed and wiped the soft, tear-stained cheeks with the back of his hand.

“What did the master say about the tough baby?”

“Oh, I’m not crying…”

“Yes, let’s not cry and drink milk.” Kyle brushed his curls. The child stopped crying and drank milk. It was milk soaked with tears.