CHAPTER 104: A NEW FORM OF SECURITY.

"What the fuck is that?!" Ciel yelled as she pointed. "Why is it so small?!"

Dorian nervously glanced at the new dragon, which was now moving toward his feet, its eyes filled with innocence.

From where he stood, he could sense the creature’s energy, and while it wasn’t anything to write home about, it still had that predatory aura that most monsters would easily sense.

’So this is a Dragon-kin?’ he thought to himself, bending down and picking up the dragon. For some reason, he instinctively knew it would not hurt him.

’When Ciel hatched, she was in a humanoid form and also a fully grown adult. Whereas this little guy is small and not humanoid. We can assume it doesn’t know about the humanoid form since it’s so small, but this is fascinating nonetheless.’

"M-master..."

"Hm..."

Dorian turned his head to face Ciel.

Upon seeing her, shock quickly made its way onto his face when he noticed she had her hands stretched out, probably about to use her invisible slashes again.

"Please put the child down. I shall eliminate it."

"Hmm?"

"Please put the child down. I shall eliminate it."

With a deadpan look, Dorian uttered, "Why would you want to eliminate a baby dragon?"

"Why?" Ciel paused, as though thinking of a good reason. "For starters, I refuse to let such a weaker creature serve you. I feel embarrassed knowing this was my creation. It needs to be destroyed."

’Logically, she is the mother here. You’d think she’d be more protective.’ Dorian sighed.

"Just because the dragon is small now doesn’t mean it will always remain small. All creatures start from a small size like this. At least, most."

Ciel lowered her arm slightly. "Were you born small too, master?"

"Yes."

"I see." She now folded her arms back. "Please forgive my outburst."

Smiling at her, Dorian turned his gaze back to the dragon.

’There is so much to learn about dragons. If I were to start now, I would definitely miss my engagement tomorrow. So for now, I’ll leave it here and let Ciel continue to nurture them. If this batch of dragons goes well, then my plan can spread further.’

He paused.

’Ciel isn’t exactly the ideal mother, so I need someone to look after this one...’

An idea popped into his head.

Dorian placed the dragon on the ground and immediately turned to the system.

`[Summoning Station has been opened.]`

`[Cost: 90 points.]`

`[Current points: 16,580 points.]`

’Hopefully, this one will be something that can act as a motherly security. I could take the dragon back to the mansion, but that in itself is risky. I’d rather keep this dragon away from the human population.’

*Click!*

`[90 points has been deducted.]`

`[Congratulations, you have pulled for a new summon.]`

A familiar golden portal appeared right in front of Dorian, energy shimmering around it, leaving sparks of flames at the edges. Though Ciel was curious, she wasn’t quite impressed.

From within the portal, a large cat walked out. It stood waist-length to Dorian, its fangs shot out from its mouth, and its tail blazed with fire.

`[You have summoned a Sabertooth Fire Beast.]`

`[Rank: Tier I]`

`[Description: A Sabertooth Fire Beast is a fire elemental capable of fighting aggressively and also acting as a source of security and a personal guard. It has the ability to shoot flames from its tail.]`

Dorian’s eyes lowered in disappointment. "Somehow, this is even worse than Ciel."

His new summon looked up at him, wagging its tail smoothly while shaking its hips excitedly.

"You’ll work, I guess."

Dorian went to his knees and placed one hand on the cat’s head. He noticed right after that the cat was reacting to his touch, moving its neck about as if wanting Dorian to keep petting it.

"Listen, I want you to look after this baby dragon in my absence. If you can protect this child, I will upgrade you to a higher rank. Do you understand?"

The beast shook its head.

"Good, I am counting on you."

Dorian stood back up, turning to look at Ciel.

"Yes, yes, I know master, I won’t harm the child. I’ll focus on making sure the rest of the eggs are healthy," Ciel quickly spoke before he could nag at her.

"I am glad you understand. I’ll be back tomorrow; we still have a lot to discuss. Don’t go running off again."

"I won’t. I’d rather we spend more time together. As a dragon, it’s imperative that I remain at my master’s side at all times. But those humans around you really make me uncomfortable."

"Is that so?" Dorian smiled as he turned around. "You should try speaking to Maria. You’d love her."

With a single step, he zoomed off.

Sigh.

Ciel freed a hand to scratch the back of her head as she watched the cat quickly put itself right in front of the baby dragon.

"Do you speak?" she asked.

The giant cat beast hissed.

"Of course you don’t. You are of low intelligence," she grunted, frustratedly, her back against the wall again.

"A dragon such as myself is born of pride. My race is my pride. And yet, when I speak to my master, this ache in my chest... Am I sick? No, a dragon such as myself can’t fall ill."

She closed her eyes, her face tilted to the side to think more.

However, the moment she did this, all she could remember was her time in his room, when no one was around and she needed to take his white seed.

Immediately, she opened her eyes, clenched her fist, and punched a hole so deep into the wall that it shot out the other end of the mountain.

"What the hell is this? Am I being tested by my master?! Is he underestimating me?"

She glanced at the cat once more, noticing how it was looking at her as though she were a lunatic.

"Shut up."

...

The very next day, just as Stella had promised, the engagement was going to take place.

Unlike in his former world, where an engagement could be done both privately and publicly, in this world, it was done rather differently. It was called the Hiden tradition.

The financé intending to be engaged would be seated in front of an orb, said to be blessed by the Goddess of Love.

When blessed by the goddess, the relationship is said to be blessed with luck and fortune, giving the couple a tighter bond than ever before.

Not many people followed this tradition, mainly because the men who don’t most likely already had it at the back of their minds not to be loyal, and so did the women as well.

Because to cheat is to be cursed.

But for those who wanted to spend the rest of their lives with their loved ones, it was almost a dream come true for them.

With that said, the ceremony took place.

Inside the small hall were some of the villagers who were excited to see who their beloved "miracle baron" was getting married to.

It wasn’t just them; Seraphina’s parents made it there on short notice, the Viscount, even Maria’s father was there.

And of course, the man of the hour, who was standing at the back of the room with his father right beside him, Dorian.

...

[A/N]

Seems like we got to half the mark, as such, two extra Chapters this weekend.