CHAPTER 18: CHAPTER 18 - SHE WANTS TO BE A WHAT?

A while later.

Lyra had finished talking. She had laid out everything she knew about Kael.

And now... Alenia sat stiffly on the wooden chair, her teacup going cold between her hands. Her long brown hair hung loose down her back. Her almond eyes—wide, caught somewhere between awe and fear—refused to leave the man on the sofa.

No. Not a man.

A dragon.

The word hit her over and over again. A dragon. One of the creatures people told children about to help them fall asleep. One of the things buried in scripture, written like myth.

Yet here he was. Slouched into a couch that was too small for him. His eyes shut, that crooked little smile tugging at his lips like he could read her thoughts without even trying.

Alenia’s mind spun. ’What the hell am I supposed to do? Kneel? Bow? Light incense? Pray?’

She swallowed, trying to clear her throat. "Do—uh—do I need to... call you something? Your Majesty? Your Grace? Lord Dragon?"

Kael cracked one eye open, golden slit shining in the lamplight. He looked at her with that smooth kind of charm that made even nonsense sound deliberate.

"I’d rather you not. I like hearing my name from others. Especially when they’re as beautiful as you are."

Her cheeks flushed and she laughed, a quick, nervous thing, but real. "Well... okay. If the dragon insists."

Rue, though, wasn’t listening. She had already shuffled her little body across the floor without anyone noticing. Suddenly she was standing right next to Kael, poking at his side.

"You don’t feel like a dragon. You’re squishy."

"Rue—?!" Lyra almost dropped her cup. "When did you—?!"

Kael didn’t even flinch. He just grinned, lazy as ever. "Squishy? That’s new."

He lifted his right arm, and like ink spreading, black scales shimmered down over his forearm, glossy and hard. "What about now?"

Rue’s eyes went wide.

"Wah! You really are one!" She squealed, hopping back, only to immediately leap in closer again.

Rina, quieter, stepped forward too. She tugged at her sleeve, staring up at him with those big eyes.

Kael reached out, patting her head gently. "It’s alright, little fox. You can touch them."

"Rina, you too?!" Lyra’s voice cracked. She didn’t understand—how did both of them move across the room that fast? She swore they had been right beside her only seconds ago.

Kael, though, saw everything. He knew.

He eased both of them onto his lap, one on each side. Rue immediately latched onto his arm, running her fingers all over the scaled surface. Rina hesitated, then slowly brushed her hand against it too.

Kael’s golden eyes flickered as he looked deeper.

.........

[Name: Rue Sorarai.

Race: Kitsunari (Beastkin – Fox).

Stats:

- Strength: F

- Defense: F

- Agility: F

- Mana: F

Skills:

- Space control (Active—Consumes high mana, allows manipulation of space.)

- Linked space manipulation (Active conditional—Consumes very little mana, requires both links to think the same thing to function.)]

.........

Rina’s page was the same, save for her name.

It wasn’t their weak stats that held his attention. It was the skills.

Space. Space itself bent for them.

The first ability, Space Control, was out of their reach. They didn’t have the mana for it.

But the second... Linked Space Manipulation. That was what had pulled them to his lap without anyone noticing. Both of them had wanted to reach him, and so space had folded and made it happen.

A broken, dangerous kind of gift.

Kael chuckled quietly, leaning back into the couch, letting the twins poke and prod at him as much as they wanted. "You two are the only ones who get to touch dragon scales without asking first, alright?"

Rue beamed, clinging tighter. "We’re special!"

Kael smirked, letting his eyes fall closed again. "That you are."

The room settled into quiet after that. A strange kind of warmth hummed between the walls.

Alenia, who’d been holding her breath through all this, finally felt her heartbeat slowing. The shock had dulled into something closer to... wonder.

Then Kael’s brow twitched. His eyes stayed shut, but he raised his head slightly like he’d heard something before anyone else.

Knock, knock.

The sound was soft. Too soft. But in the silence, it cut sharp, like thunder.

Alenia blinked, snapped back to herself. She was the one sitting closest to the door.

Rue stayed glued to Kael’s arm, poking away at his scales. Rina rested her head against his chest, her little hands curled into his coat like it was the safest spot in the world. Neither moved. Even Lyra only sipped at her tea, acting like it wasn’t her business.

Only Alenia looked to Kael for what to do.

He didn’t open his eyes. He just lifted a finger and twirled it lazily toward the door. "Would you kindly, Alenia?"

She nodded, set her cup down, and got up. She opened the door.

A girl stood there.

Black hair spilling like silk down her back. Crimson eyes sharp under long lashes. A simple cloak over travel-worn boots, the hems still dusty.

Alenia knew her. She knew every girl on this street. "Eve...?"

The girl’s eyes flicked to her briefly before settling past her, onto the man inside.

"I... came to see him," she said quietly. "May I?"

Kael opened one golden eye halfway, a crooked smile pulling at his lips. "Let her in."

Alenia stepped aside, and Evethra walked in carefully, stiff like every step might be the wrong one. Her eyes darted around—at the cozy little room, the twins clinging to Kael, Lyra sipping tea. At the strange calm here.

Kael gestured lazily toward the table. "Sit. Drink something warm before you start reciting whatever you’ve been practicing in the mirror."

Evethra blinked. "I—... huh?"

He tilted his head back against the sofa. "You’ve rehearsed this speech, haven’t you? Until your nerves wore themselves out."

Alenia stifled a laugh. Lyra just shook her head.

Evethra flushed. ’H-how does he know?’ Still, she sat quickly, almost afraid he’d change his mind.

Alenia poured her tea without a word.

The vampire girl clutched the cup, holding it close. She sipped. Her eyes flicked to Kael once. Twice. Three times.

"Speak," Kael said, not looking her way. "Or I’ll fall asleep, and your chance will die with my nap."

Evethra swallowed. She set her cup down, stood, folded her hands in front of her lap like she’d been trained. "I came here to ask for something."

Kael’s eye cracked open again. "Oh? I’m listening."

She bowed low. "Please... let me work for you. Let me be your maid."

The room stilled. Rue stopped poking his scales. Rina lifted her head. Lyra stared. Alenia froze halfway to her chair.

Kael raised an eyebrow. "Didn’t I free you so you wouldn’t have to be a servant anymore?"

Her voice was steady. "Yes. That’s why I’m asking this now."

Her words shook, but her resolve didn’t.

"I couldn’t thank you properly. For saving me. For saving all of us. I was too shocked, too lost. And then you were gone. But I’ve been thinking since then. About how to repay you. And this is all I have to give."

She lifted her eyes, locking onto his. "I can serve. I can make tea, cook, clean, run errands, prepare baths. Whatever you need. This is my choice. My freedom. I want to give it to you. It’s how I’ll thank you."

Kael leaned his head back, shutting his eyes again.

Her heart sank. Had she said too much?

Then his lips curled. "Tea and baths, hmm... Not a bad deal."

Her breath hitched.

His golden eyes opened again, gleaming. "Alright. I accept."

Evethra dropped into a deeper bow, her shoulders trembling in relief.

Kael yawned, stretching his arms. "Though I’ll warn you, my messes aren’t exactly dirty dishes."

"I’ll clean all of it," she whispered. "No matter how big."

A laugh slipped out of him. "That’s the spirit."

Rue piped up, tugging his sleeve. "What’s a maid?"

Kael smirked at her. "Someone who keeps a dragon’s hoard neat."

Her eyes lit up. "Ooooh! Can I be a maid too?!"

"No," Lyra and Alenia said at once.

Kael chuckled, low and content.

His eyes slid back to Evethra. She wasn’t trembling anymore. She sat straighter, like someone who’d finally claimed her own name again.

He let his head sink into the couch. His golden eyes glowed faintly in the dim light. A dragon, surrounded by girls, sipping tea in a warm little house. As if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Truly," he murmured, "this world is a delightful place."

Silence settled again.

Then Alenia, ever the one to notice the little things, spoke up. "So... what are you going to do now?"

Kael didn’t answer right away. His lips just curled into a grin.