D-Day
“Heh heh.”
A low chuckle escaped from Jinas’s lips as he leisurely sipped the steaming tea. Gretel, who was also drinking with him, smiled and asked gently,
“Did something good happen, Chief Administrator?”
“No, it’s just... I was remembering what this estate used to be like just a few months ago.”
Ever since the death of the former lord and their family, Jinas had endured hellish days. He’d scraped together every last coin, hoarded even single scraps of parchment and crumbs of bread, all to preserve the estate his ancestors had managed for generations. Those days, where he’d barely gotten two or three hours of sleep a night and nearly collapsed from overwork, flashed vividly before his eyes.
And yet now, he was drinking high-quality tea with a capable administrator at his side. Even the fierce snowstorm whirling outside the window looked beautiful now.
“It’s hard to believe that this estate was on the verge of collapse just because we couldn’t pay 300 sel in interest.”
“Right? Lord Ayra is truly incredible.”
Gretel beamed, eyes sparkling with admiration. Jinas understood why Gretel looked up to Ayra so much. Indeed, their lord was an exceptionally rare figure in Solar. While she did have the flaw of being overly fixated on ma-beasts, she was otherwise flawless.
And besides, I’m fairly sure she’s the dragon’s mate.
Jinas thought of the man who hadn’t left Ayra’s side recently. Crimson eyes and hair—those were signs he was no longer human. On the outside, he looked like a perfect human, but there were times when simply looking at Janus made the hairs on Jinas’s neck stand up with primal fear.
Yet that fear was mixed with hope. An estate with a dragon was bound for prosperity. Just thinking of that made it easy for Jinas to tolerate a bit of dragon-induced terror.
“I think we’re lucky to have a dragon by our lord’s side.”
At his words, Gretel’s cheerful expression darkened a little. He forced a quiet “Yes...” in response. He had an especially strong fear of dragons.
Just then, as the two chatted, their rings pulsed twice with a vibration and flash of light. It was a signal from Ayra, who had crafted the summoning artifact in the form of rings. A double blink of light meant an emergency meeting.
The two immediately stood and straightened up, heading to Ayra’s study. On the way, they ran into Bloom and Hera. Normally, those two were often out patrolling, but it seemed they happened to be in the castle today.
If Gretel had been a puppy, his expression would have been like a tail wagging wildly in joy as he ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) greeted them. Bloom gave a light nod of acknowledgment, and Hera—who always found Gretel especially endearing—greeted him with a look that seemed to ruffle his hair with her gaze. Flushed with excitement, Gretel said,
“I wonder what Lord Ayra called us for this time?”
“Hard to say. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary in the estate.”
“If it’s urgent enough to call an emergency meeting, then it must be something important.”
Puzzled, Jinas opened the study door—then froze. Inside the estate’s most secure and guarded space was someone who absolutely shouldn’t be there.
The man had been staring out the window at the raging snowstorm, but upon hearing the door open, he slowly turned his head.
It was none other than Attera te Act, the High Priest.