6 - Chapter 6
Episode 6: The Baby Dragon Saves the Duke's Family
Startled, Ashil froze.
One voice belonged to the man who was Edenber's aide yesterday, but who was the other?
She needed to practice becoming a ferocious Dragon beast-man more, but she wasn't ready to show herself to humans yet!
Flustered, she grabbed a cushion from the floor and pretended to sleep.
The voices continued.
"I heard there was an attack."
"Thankfully, everyone is safe."
"Whether it's fortunate or not remains to be seen. Don't follow me. I'll go in alone."
"Pardon? ...It could be dangerous, Elkai-nim."
"Dangerous for me?"
The other person chuckled as if he was dumbfounded.
Then, as if the argument had ended, after a moment of silence, the owner of the voice entered the Beast-man's room.
Ashil squinted and checked the person.
He was an old human with sparse golden hair and purple eyes, similar to her husband but with sharper features. He was very sturdy, probably a swordsman.
...An old human who looked like her husband?
"Bbiya-bbi?" (Father?)
He seemed a little too old to be her father, but her mom said, "Your husband's grandfather is sick."
The human in front of her didn't look sick at all, so he must be her father.
As she was thinking, Elkai's eyes met hers, and she squeezed her eyes shut.
Elkai, who had been carefully observing Ashil, muttered.
"It sounded like it was making 'bbi-bbi' sounds."
"...Bbi-hyu-uu-uu, bbi-hyu-uu-uu-uu."
"Was it breathing?"
Even as he said that, his gaze didn't leave her easily.
Why was he looking at her so menacingly? Ashil was sweating profusely.
Then, after his gaze disappeared and she heard the door closing, she let out a sigh of relief, "Bbi-hyu," and got up.
'Now I need to practice becoming a ferocious Dragon beast-man again.'
But then.
"So, you weren't sleeping after all."
"BBI!!!!"
Startled, Ashil fell on her butt.
Elkai clicked his tongue lightly and reached for the sword hilt at his waist.
"You're a very cunning one. I should cut you off at the root."
"Bbiya-bbi bbi!!!" (Ashil is not tasty, Father!!!)
"What?"
Elkai froze in place, his hand still on his sword, at the unexpected words. His purple eyes widened.
"What did you just say..."
"Bbi-iya bbi! Bbi-iya!!!" (Ashil is too small to be tasty! You won't be full even if you eat me, Father!!!)
She was so surprised that she forgot all about being a ferocious Dragon beast-man.
Ashil touched her neck. She was trying to show that she didn't want to fight by waving a scarf, as her kindergarten teacher had taught her.
But alas, she didn't have a scarf.
The scarf that had been torn in yesterday's attack was already in pieces.
She had no choice but to wave the white cushion she was holding.
"Bbi! Bbiyaa-aa-!" (Ashil surrenders! Surrenderrrr-!)
Elkai, who was watching her with clouded eyes, stammered.
"...You, what did you just say?"
"Bbi?"
"What did you call me?"
"Bbiya-bbi...?" (Father...?)
"Why am I your father? I've never had a daughter-in-law like you."
Ashil, who was waving the cushion, paused. If he wasn't her father, what should she call him?
He smelled similar to her husband. Her mom said that a man who looked similar to her husband was her father.
Ah, maybe her husband and father were switched?
Ashil mumbled without confidence.
"Bbi-iya...?" (Then husband...?)
"What are you saying that could cause such a big problem!"
"Bbi!"
She was being scolded by a human she had never met before! Ashil shrank back.
Then, belatedly realizing that a ferocious Dragon beast-man shouldn't act like this, she puffed out her chest and retorted forcefully.
"Bbi-yat bbi bbi-yat!" (You should accept Ashil as your daughter-in-law!)
"What are you saying, you little rascal? My sons are already married!"
"Bbit!?"
"What are you so surprised about? They're married, so they have children."
"Bbit?!"
Her husband was already married and had children?! Startled, Ashil covered her mouth with the cushion.
Just then, there was a light knock, and Edenber entered.
"You've arrived. I apologize for not greeting you at the gate. If you had contacted me in advance, I would have gone out..."
"Never mind. More importantly, I'm hearing things I've never heard before in my life. This tiny thing wants to be your stepmother. What do you think?"
"Pardon?"
"...Bbiya?"
Something was strange? Confused, Ashil blinked.
Just before coming here, her mom had given her a few important instructions.
"There's a human you need to be most wary of there."
"Bbi?"
"Elkai Munrepe. The male lead's grandfather and the previous Munrepe Duke."
Her mom, with an unusually stern expression, explained in detail about the human named Elkai.
How he had led the Munrepe Dukedom to its peak by single-handedly annihilating the Wyvern hordes that had threatened the empire for years.
How he had retired after passing the title of Duke to his son, but how he occasionally showed his face whenever there was a major event after Edenber became the Duke.
"According to the original story, Elkai doesn't like Ashil because she resembles a Wyvern. Moreover, he's suffering from an unknown illness, which makes his already bad temper even more sensitive."
"Bbi..."
"That's when the female lead appears and cures Elkai's illness. That's how the male lead becomes interested in the female lead."
Her mom continued to explain diligently, but the content was so difficult that Ashil only remembered a few things.
'Grandfather doesn't like Ashil and is in poor health.'
'A pink-haired human named the female lead cures Grandfather.'
Only those two things remained.
So now that she knew that Elkai was her grandfather, not her father.
Ashil was glancing at Elkai at the head of the table with a puzzled expression.
'Mom said Grandfather was sick.'
Except for the slightly gray hair, he looked very healthy.
She couldn't imagine that he was on the verge of death, as her mom had told her.
'Mom wouldn't have given me the wrong information.'
Why was it different?
Sitting in a high chair prepared by the maids in the dining room, waiting for her food, Ashil tilted her head.
Elkai, who had been observing Ashil with narrowed eyes, opened his mouth.
"What can you do?"
"Bbi?"
"I'm asking what abilities you have. Do you have tremendous strength? Or can you skillfully use magic?"
"Bbi-yat-bbi bbiya. Bbi-iya." (Ashil is good at climbing trees. She's also good at swimming and singing.)
To avoid being looked down upon, she had to become a ferocious Dragon beast-man, but lying was bad.
Above all, this level of strength was basic for a Dragon beast-man.
So she only said what she was better at than other Dragon beast-men.
Elkai looked dumbfounded.
"You're going to make this thing your Divine Beast?"
"She was the only one who wasn't injured during last night's attack."
Edenber quickly added an explanation.
"The attacker was Baron Benedict and his men."
Elkai fell silent at the mention of the unexpected person.
Baron Benedict. He had a fiery personality and lacked a sense of hierarchy, but his skills were undeniable.
Edenber continued slowly.
"It's taking time to figure out how much of the Baron's statement is true and how much is false, so the investigation is delayed."
"Why, what did he say?"
"He said that thing breathed fire."
As he said that, he glanced at Ashil with distrust, but Ashil only stared back blankly with a strange look.
'Are there Dragons that can't breathe fire?'
Of course, Ashil breathed it.
Just as humans don't call waving their arms and legs an ability, she just didn't think of something she could do naturally as an ability.
Ashil, who didn't know what kind of animal Edenber thought she was, thought so.
