Father, I Won’t Do Anything

“I was informed you said there’s no need for you to return.”

The gatekeeper’s heavy stance suggested he wouldn’t budge easily.

Raikis licked his lips.

It would be entertaining to kill this insolent human male and storm the Magic Tower, leaving a trail of carnage.

However, he exercised patience.

“Then relay that I have information regarding the dragon Bezrice. You’ll undoubtedly be granted permission.”

The gatekeeper used communication magic with a perplexed expression, unsure if he should convey this message.

However, a response seemed to arrive swiftly, as his demeanor immediately shifted to courteous.

“Please, enter. Would you require an escort?”

“That won’t be necessary.”

Raikis was promptly led to the Tower Lord’s reception room. It was his first time as the Tower Lord’s guest, not Jaina’s.

Raikis sank into the plush chair, crossing his legs. Soon, Jaina hurriedly rushed in.

Her uncharacteristically frantic manner, unlike her usual composure, made Raikis quirk the corners of his lips.

“Long time no see. Have you been practicing the harpsichord diligently?”

“What are you?”

“What am I, you ask? I’m still your teacher, am I not?”

“Is wishing misfortune upon your student a teacher’s proper conduct?”

Raikis exaggeratedly widened his eyes in feigned surprise.

“Oh dear, you’ve caught on?”

“What was your intent in infiltrating human society as a harpsichordist?”

Jaina fixed the brazen man before her with a cold gaze.

‘I had wondered what grudge you held against me, but were you associated with the dragons?’

Only now did she understand the inexplicable sense of familiarity she had felt upon their first meeting.

The long-absent scent of a dragon, that was what had subconsciously drawn her in.

‘I certainly let a troublesome one into the Magic Tower.’

Jaina stared intently at the man before her.

Not just his scent, but his hair and eye color proved he was of unmixed dragon blood, unlike herself.

While heterochromia wasn’t uncommon, blue irises were a rarity.

“Are you of the Blazing Flower clan?”

He shrugged nonchalantly.

“You’re neither of the Black Night nor the Blue Sky clan.”

Raikis’s eyes chilled to an icy glare, as if they had never sparkled to begin with.

“A dirty half-breed brat.”

At that very moment, a massive chain of mana rushed towards Raikis.

“…!”

The hurled chain darted straight at Raikis’s torso, as if to bind him. Raikis rolled aside, swallowing his humiliation.

“Ughk!”

However, unable to fully evade the chain, Raikis chose to sacrifice his right arm.

‘Insolent human male!’

Not only was it tightly coiled, but the gradually tightening chain made Raikis bite his lip hard enough to draw blood.

‘While I had pondered if such measures were necessary, it seems alerting the Black Night clan was wise after all.’

If Diamid sought to protect his daughter, then eliminating Diamid would suffice.

But if he couldn’t harm Diamid through force?

“Tower Lord, I have something to say…!”

“Silence.”

However, Diamid didn’t give Raikis a chance to speak.

Having partially sealed Raikis’s movements, Diamid immediately conjured wind blades.

Wheeeeeing!

In the confined space, there was no room to escape. Yet Raikis instantly transformed into a dragon, bursting through the reception room walls and taking flight.

Baaaaaang!

A section of the Magic Tower resounded with a deafening crash.

Jaina, aware the tower’s walls weren’t easily breached, was greatly shaken, but this had been Diamid’s intention all along.

“Sitail!”

Having emerged outside the Magic Tower, Raikis barely managed to break free of the chains before soaring skyward.

Jaina was startled to see another dragon lying in wait beyond the shattered wall.

‘That’s the dragon that tried to kill me before!’

At his signal, the massive flames undulating from Sitail’s mouth, waiting outside, came into view.

Jaina’s face paled with shock as tremors rocked the surroundings, threatening to collapse everything.

‘The Dragon’s Breath unleashed by the Blazing Flower clan…!’

Jaina recalled the contents of the history books she had read in her clan’s library as a child.

[…The Dragon’s Breath exhaled by a fully-grown Gold Flame dragon so powerful that no magic could compare.

For dragons, magic was merely a supplementary means for situations where the Dragon’s Breath couldn’t be used.

However, unaware of this fact, humans arrogantly believed themselves the mightiest race and ventured to hunt dragons.

“We shall hunt you all!”

Taking the vanguard were the Blazing Flower clan, known for their fierce temperaments. They didn’t even bother refuting the humans’ claims.

For merely demonstrating their power was enough.

Kwaaaaaaa!

Humans engulfed by a dragon’s flames vanished without a trace, reduced to ashes.

A blaze akin to a meteor rained from the heavens upon the city.

That day, a city disappeared from the map.]

Could even Diamid withstand a dragon’s might?

The Dragon’s Breath’s only weakness was its lengthy recharge time, but his opponent seemed thoroughly prepared this time.

Unable to even contemplate summoning her mana, Jaina froze in place.

For she knew no magic could counter the Dragon’s Breath.

Raikis harshly inhaled as he struggled to laugh while regarding Diamid.

“Tower Lord Diamid, do you know why your beloved Bezrice died?”

Seeing Diamid unable to retaliate against the impending Dragon’s Breath, Raikis opened his trembling lips.

“Bezrice, afflicted by the Demon King’s curse, returned to her clan’s lands! Until then, she could have lived. But she died from the strain of giving birth. And yet you still shelter the ‘accursed child’ that caused the death of the woman you loved?”

If he couldn’t directly deal with the half-breed, he would force Diamid to kill her himself.

“I’ve confirmed all these facts by visiting Bezrice’s own Black Night clan!”

Jaina tightly shut her eyes.

“If you directly kill that filthy half-breed brat, Diamid, I’ll spare your life.”

‘So this is the end.’

Yes, she had known she would die at seventeen.

Ever since learning she was in the world of the novel .

She had been steadily preparing for death since the age of ten.

Abandoning any desire to live, she had resolved to simply indulge in small luxuries before closing her eyes…

‘And yet… why do I feel this lingering attachment as death approaches?’

Initially disliked, Mikael and Hilvenzia had somehow become the first people she thought of at some point.

‘If I had known, I should have called them Brother Mikael and Hilvenzia from the start.’

Next, her mind turned to Izren, who had joined the Magic Tower because of her.

‘Having become the runner-up in the martial arts tournament, he need no longer remain solely as my guard. That’s a relief.’

And then… Rosian.

The temple had said many things had changed because of her.

Indeed, gradually but surely, the world of the novel and the world she now stood in were diverging.

In that case…

‘Doesn’t it mean His Highness Rosian need not grieve the loss of his mother as in the original?’

She wanted to confirm it. To see if he could remain the pure, ever-smiling person she knew, instead of becoming consumed by vengeance, neglecting even himself.

-You’re beautiful.

The memory of their time at the lake resurfaced. That day, she had wanted to ask why he had said those words to her.

‘But I can’t.’

Once her eyes closed, this world would slip from her grasp.

‘The Tower Lord will turn his back on me.’

Just as in the novel, .

‘For I’m not worth that much to him.’

Memories of her time with Diamid flashed through Jaina’s mind.

-I thought I made it clear the first time. You are not my daughter.

-It seems they’re trying to use my power through you, but do I look that soft?

Though he had initially coldly rebuffed her, at some point…

-I won’t leave you be.

-It holds no meaning without you.

-Wait for me here at eight o’clock, one week from now.

-Grasp my sleeve.

Jaina closed her eyes. Now, she had to let go of everything.

Though he had claimed it held no significance, the person who had deeply embedded themselves within her would undoubtedly turn his back on her…

‘Still, I’m relieved the Tower Lord can live on.’

However, one thing seemed strange.

‘Why don’t I feel any pain?’

With her eyes closed, Jaina felt her death was too slow in coming.

No matter how calm she tried to be, she didn’t have the fortitude to face her demise for so long.

Yet sensing neither the Dragon’s Breath nor the Tower Lord’s magic, something had clearly occurred.

Jaina quietly opened her eyes. And unwittingly, her lips parted in shock.

“What… are you doing, Tower Lord?”

The blood flowing from Diamid’s shoulders as he embraced her.

The numerous magic circles unfurled in the air.

“…”

Unable to believe the scene unfolding before her eyes, Jaina could only blankly blink in a daze.

The searing Dragon’s Breath had already been sealed by Diamid.

However, not a word came from Diamid’s lips.

Jaina fell deep into contemplation.

‘Could it be he was listening to buy time for constructing these magic circles?’

At that moment, a gust of wind erupted from Diamid’s focused hands.

Wheeeeeeeing!

An ordinary wind would only further fan the flames, being a friend to fire.

However, Diamid’s wind was powerful enough to slice through the blaze, scattering it into the void.

The formidable Breath had been extinguished by Diamid’s hands.

“This madman…!”

Baaaaaaang!

The dispersed flames unable to reach Jaina rained down on the mountains surrounding the Magic Tower. The intense force instantly vaporized the mountains, unable to even set them ablaze.

“Insolent human male!”

Immediately after deflecting the Dragon’s Breath, Diamid formed hand seals.

‘No, it’s too reckless.’

When dragons manifested their true forms, inflicting harm was no simple task.

Their scales were tougher than any iron or diamond.

Their saliva could be used as venom, and blades forged from their fangs were reverently called holy swords.

How could one possibly slay such formidable beings?

“Human male, you…!”

With the Dragon’s Breath blocked, Sitail charged at Diamid, baring his sharp fangs.

Sitail’s saliva alone caused the Tower’s walls to melt away.

‘No!’

The remaining flames flickered in Sitail’s mouth.

Though an intimidating sight, Diamid unflinchingly met the dragon’s gaze.

“You underestimate me.”

Diamid didn’t miss the chance when Sitail opened his maw.

In an instant, Diamid summoned his mana, firing a powerful wind spear directly into Sitail’s mouth.