Father, I Won’t Do Anything

* * *

Bezrice’s former comrade was also Diamid’s old comrade.

Princess Elia had been with them until the moment the Demon King was slain, so she deeply lamented how the two lovers had drifted apart.

She constantly interfered with Diamid, saying Bezrice’s actions must have been a misunderstanding and that he should take responsibility for Jaina.

However, as her meddling intensified, Diamid ended up killing Princess Elia, and her death prompted the once foolish Rosian to take up the sword and become an avenger.

‘Princess Elia was truly the catalyst for the whole story.’

The Princess Palace she was invited to was beautifully decorated. Unfamiliar rose tunnels lined the path, as if she had come to a flower festival.

‘I arrived early, so I can take my time getting there.’

Jaina planned to leisurely admire the surroundings as she headed to the meeting place.

However, strangely, the closer she got to the Princess Palace, the more her body felt unstable.

‘Huh? That’s odd… Unless I let my guard down, my tail shouldn’t come out.’

But the strange sensation didn’t subside and only grew stronger.

Starting from her head, then her hands, arms, and her entire body felt strange.

‘My transformation is unraveling!’

Jaina squeezed her large eyes shut. It seemed there was a magic circle at the palace that restricted magical power.

‘If I transform into a dragon here in the Imperial Palace, I could really become an ingredient or a holy sword.’

Jaina hurriedly controlled her inner magical power, barely managing to stop her transformation from unraveling.

However, she couldn’t prevent her tail from popping out.

Swish!

A black tail emerged from under Jaina’s skirt.

Swish!

Next, small horns suddenly sprouted from her head.

‘If my wings come out too, people will immediately notice I’m a dragon…’

Had it not been the relatively secluded Princess Palace with few people coming and going, her identity as a dragon would have been exposed right then.

“Get in!”

Jaina grabbed at the protruding horns with her small hands.

But despite it being her own body, the horns refused to obey.

‘What do I do…?’

The eyes of Izren, who was with her, grew wide.

But he too had transformed into an appearance different from usual, just like Jaina.

“A cat…?”

“Meow.”

The difference from Jaina was that instead of horns and a dragon’s tail, he had sprouted cat ears and a tail.

‘He said he was from the Neandra race, so this must be Izren’s true form.’

Izren fidgeted nervously before pulling Jaina towards him and throwing his cloak over her.

For a moment, Jaina found it strange that he, Diamid’s servant knight, was trying to help her, but she had no time to dwell on it now.

“We have to escape.”

Whether dragon or demi-human, their true forms couldn’t be exposed as it would be dangerous.

‘But where should we go?’

“Kwik!”

While Jaina was lost in thought, Izren’s knees, tightly holding onto her, buckled.

It was because the magically weakened Jaina had failed to control her weight.

In that dire moment of crisis.

“Ah!”

Jaina let out a small scream, startled by the unseen hand that had approached her.

“You didn’t react much even when ambushed from behind.”

“Princess Elia?”

“Impressive. That was a compliment.”

The beautiful woman with her golden hair styled high flashed her crimson eyes as she swept her gaze over Jaina from head to toe.

Jaina’s pupils wavered under her scrutinizing stare.

The horns, tail, and mixed blood. Having been persecuted for being different from ordinary people until now, Jaina’s body flinched for an instant.

‘I need to stay calm.’

As she tried to move her stiffened legs somehow.

“I’ve heard much about you from my nephew and son.”

Contrary to her expectations, a soft voice flowed from the woman before her.

“I am Elia El Isni Delaide, Princess of the Empire. May I have the honor of your formal introduction as well?”

Then, Princess Elia extended her hand.

Jaina hurriedly reached out her small hand onto the Princess’s large one, finding her sun-bathed face dazzling.

“My name is Jaina. It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness.”

* * *

As Jaina took her seat, raspberry scones, fruit sandwiches generously filled with fresh cream, and orange peel cookies were served in turn. The tea, perhaps chosen with consideration for Jaina, was a sweetly fragrant milk tea.

It was an excellent afternoon tea set befitting the warm afternoon.

“Help yourself. The palace chefs specialize in desserts, and since I don’t enjoy sweets, this is a rare chance for them to showcase their skills. I hope they suit your taste.”

Jaina first picked up an orange peel cookie with a rich buttery aroma.

The nutty flavor blended with the tangy orange peel allowed Jaina to easily finish one cookie.

“If you like them, tell Irma to pack some desserts for you.”

At that moment, Jaina’s fondness for Princess Elia grew.

“The reason your appearance changed like that is because there is a barrier set up at the Princess Palace to disperse magical power.”

Princess Elia then clearly explained to Jaina why her transformation had unraveled.

“But it’s not really magic.”

“It’s a barrier that suppresses even the slightest magical power.”

Hearing this, Jaina’s curiosity piqued.

“This is the first I’ve heard of such a meticulous barrier. We didn’t have anything like that at the Magic Tower.”

“The Magic Tower is a place for studying magic, so they can’t have magical power being dispersed.”

Princess Elia said in passing.

“Well, since it’s a barrier made by Diamid, you’ll just have to ask him to show it to you later.”

Princess Elia shrugged her shoulders.

‘So she already knew who I am.’

When the name ‘Diamid’ came up, Jaina was momentarily startled, but also understood why the Princess was showing her kindness.

“I was an old comrade of your mother Bezrice and your father Diamid. We had each other’s backs, fighting to save one another…”

As if reminiscing about the past, her gaze briefly softened. It seemed her memories of Jaina’s mother Bezrice were fond ones.

But that was only for a moment, as her eyes soon clouded with sorrow. Jaina remained silent, wanting to give Princess Elia time to collect herself.

After a long silence, Princess Elia gazed at Jaina as she slowly opened her mouth.

“You resemble Bezrice so much.”

-Yes, you definitely resemble your mother.

The first words from her lips were the same as what Diamid had said to Jaina when she first came to the Magic Tower.

Jaina quietly lowered her eyes as she spoke.

“I don’t remember my mother’s face.”

Princess Elia tilted her head in puzzlement.

“You don’t know? I thought you would have seen her portrait at least.”

“Portraits are part of human culture. My mother was a dragon.”

“Of course, but your mother enjoyed that human culture. You might still be able to find one if you look. One of my friends was quite talented at painting and made many for her.”

Elia took out a necklace from a jewel case she had. The locket necklace she handed over contained a portrait of a woman.

Jaina couldn’t take her eyes off that portrait.

It looked just like her own appearance a decade or so from now.

“Your mother.”

“Mother…”

The only difference seemed to be the color of her eyes.

Now Jaina understood why Diamid had said she wasn’t ‘his daughter’. She shared no resemblance with him.

“It seems you should have this.”

“But it must be a precious possession for you, Your Highness.”

“If it wasn’t precious, I wouldn’t give it as a gift.”

Princess Elia took Jaina’s hand and firmly placed the necklace in her grasp.

“For a daughter to have never seen her mother’s face until now…”

The warmth transmitted from her fingertips felt like Princess Elia’s affection for Bezrice, leaving Jaina’s heart heavy.

“What kind of person was my mother?”

“She was a child who never frowned even in difficult times. Her tone was light and lively. But I always felt like she might suddenly fly away somewhere.”

Princess Elia’s expression soon became troubled.

“Who would have thought the dragon said to live for a thousand years would be the first among us to die…”

Covering her face with her hand, Princess Elia continued speaking.

“Still, I’m relieved you exist. Bezrice must have been happy when you were born. That girl who said she didn’t want to leave anything behind in her life… I never imagined Diamid would change her so much.”

At the mention of Diamid, Jaina flinched momentarily, but Princess Elia paid it no mind and kept talking.

“I hear Diamid has been mistreating you. That he refuses to acknowledge you as his real daughter? I don’t want to pry into others’ family affairs as much as possible… but I cannot understand how you were unable to even see your mother’s portrait. Let me talk to Diamid about this.”

“Please don’t.”

“Diamid is under a misunderstanding. There’s no way Bezrice betrayed and left him, not when she even had a child with him…”

“The Tower Lord believes I am the daughter of another man.”

“That can’t be. Bezrice wasn’t that kind of person. I know her.”

Letting out a heavy sigh as she looked at Jaina, Princess Elia soon continued with a resolute expression.

“One way or another, I must see you take the Bellafanian name. Otherwise, I won’t be able to face the deceased Bezrice.”

But Jaina shook her head.

“Please don’t mention anything about my mother to anyone. Especially the Tower Lord.”

When Elia gazed at her with a puzzled look, Jaina continued.

“As you know, I am a dragon. Dragons have no fathers. Moreover, I have never thought of him as a father, nor do I have any expectations from him. So I don’t wish to unnecessarily stir his heart by calling myself his daughter.”

Jaina opened her hand.

“I want to live with sir Mikael at the Magic Tower. Lady Hilvenzia, who cares for me, is also there. All I desire is to quietly remain there with them.”

“But…”

“Even if I must one day acknowledge him as my father, it doesn’t seem to be the right time yet.”

As Jaina shook her head, Princess Elia took a step back.