Father, I Won’t Do Anything

“Kwaaaaaak!”

A thunderous roar erupted from Sitail’s mouth, shaking the very heavens and earth.

However, Diamid appeared unfazed, having only sustained a slight wound to his shoulder.

Jaina couldn’t close her gaping mouth.

“For those who proclaim themselves the pinnacle of all races, this is the extent of your ability?”

With a faint smile, Diamid calmly formed his next hand seals.

Chiiiiiik!

In that instant, the sky seemed to darken as an immense force appeared to coalesce.

‘This is the Tower Lord’s magic…’

Though they shared the ‘Sky’ affinity, unlike Jaina who could only wield wind magic at best, Diamid seemed capable of freely manipulating lightning.

Diamid muttered quietly.

“Begone.”

And with those parting words,

Bababang!

A bolt of lightning struck down upon the crumpling Sitail.

“Aaaaaaargh!”

The twin dragons’ cries shook the heavens and earth, erupting in deafening roars that resonated painfully in one’s head.

“Human male, no, Diamid!”

“You dare! You dare defy the dragons!”

Unable to accept defeat, the two enraged dragons began thrashing violently.

Raikis squeezed out his mana, chanting a spell, while Sitail bared his sharp talons as he charged at Diamid. The saliva dripping from his mouth melted everything in its path.

Though the two dragons unleashed their desperate assaults upon Diamid, they amounted to mere tantrums.

Babaang!

Once more, lightning rained down from the skies, and the two airborne dragons lost their balance, plummeting towards the ground.

And Diamid didn’t miss this chance. He instantly teleported before the falling dragons.

“Are you hoping for a ‘proof of impurity’… to live happily?”

“If, if you extinguish us like this, your kind won’t remain unscathed either!”

“Silence.”

Then, summoning lightning spears in both hands, he unhesitatingly plunged them into the dragons’ necks.

Puk!

And so, the two dragons would never again open their eyes in this world.

“Kwhik…”

As the dragons’ last breaths escaped them, Diamid collapsed to the ground.

The wound on his shoulder seemed to be spreading, endlessly bleeding.

‘The Curse of Blood…’

A curse left by dragons upon their demise, impervious to power or mana.

“Tower Lord…!”

Finally reaching Diamid’s side, Jaina tearfully asked:

“Why… didn’t you hand me over?”

Why did you sacrifice yourself again to protect me?

Jaina looked down at Diamid with an expression of incomprehension.

By now, all semblance of calm had vanished from her face.

Her voice trembled, her eyes reddened.

“If something like this happens again… just hand me over.”

If other dragons storm the Magic Tower, if she faces a life-threatening situation again, would he still sacrifice himself to protect her?

But why?

“I’m the child born in exchange for my mother’s life. I’m the one who caused your beloved Bezrice’s death!”

Having heard the dragons’ words, Diamid must have had his misunderstanding cleared by now.

That Bezrice had never betrayed him, merely choosing to part ways so he wouldn’t witness her demise, the path she thought would cause him less pain.

So no more…

“There’s no need for you to protect me any longer.”

“I didn’t protect you. Rather, you’ve been protecting me.”

Diamid extended his hand towards Jaina.

Jaina was momentarily startled when he pulled her into his embrace.

“Tower Lord…?”

Within his arms, Jaina could sense his intense turmoil.

Surprisingly, the ever-cold and composed Diamid was trembling uncontrollably.

In this moment, she wasn’t the only one who had lost her calm demeanor.

“If not for you, I couldn’t have endured misunderstanding and resenting Bezrice… You’re the one who saved me.”

‘The Tower Lord had been thinking this way all along…?’

His soft-spoken words seemed to reverberate in her heart, one by one.

“You’re not the accursed child who killed your mother. You’re the blessed child who kept your dying mother’s flame alive, the one who revived your father from the depths of disbelief and resentment…”

Jaina’s eyes widened in shock.

Words she had never expected to hear from Diamid were spilling from his lips.

“Jaina, please don’t disappear from before me again. For I have no reason to live in a world without you.”

“…”

“Could you grant me just one chance? To be able to look after you whenever you’re unwell, to gaze upon you whenever I wish. To be able to love and protect you in this world bereft of your mother…”

Diamid murmured, his words crumbling.

“Please… won’t you become my daughter?”

* * *

‘What did I just hear today…?’

Jaina looked down at the dampened spot on her shoulder where Diamid had leaned. It seemed his warmth still lingered there.

‘I feel strange…’

She had thought a father was unnecessary, no different from the bread she had eaten yesterday or the water she had drunk.

No matter how others pitied her, she hadn’t considered herself a lacking child, and that belief remained unchanged.

So it had been fine. Even if Diamid didn’t see her as his true daughter, even if the dragons viewed her as a spy they had sent.

But suddenly, he was asking her to become his daughter?

‘Is he only now trying to play the role of a father?’

Until now, she had thought he disliked her presence at the Magic Tower.

That anything he had given her, attending the recital together, saving her life when she was dying, was all because he stood to gain something from her. A relationship born of necessity.

‘But that wasn’t the case…’

Jaina admitted to herself that she had lost her composure. She was unsettled. No matter what else she did or tried to think about, Diamid’s words kept circling in her mind.

-In this world without your mother, let me love and protect you… won’t you become my daughter?

The dragons who had tried to kill her were undoubtedly dead, and yet her heart still raced like this.

‘For now, I should sleep. Sleep, and think about it again when I wake up.’

Jaina closed her eyes, trying her best to forget the thoughts surfacing.

‘I’ll feel much better after a night’s rest.’

However, no matter how many stars she counted in the night sky, no matter how many sheep she counted, Jaina couldn’t fall asleep.

Though her mind was hazy, whenever she closed her eyes, Diamid’s voice kept echoing in her head.

‘In the end, I stayed awake all night…’

Having tossed and turned all night, Jaina only made her way to the dining hall upon her maid’s summons.

Perhaps due to her lack of sleep, she had no appetite.

As she listlessly picked at her food, Mikael and Hilvenzia watched her from across the table with disbelieving eyes.

“You little kid… Were you badly hurt yesterday?”

“Could you have fallen victim to some mind magic?”

Mikael grabbed Jaina’s cheek, stretching it out before flinching and gently caressing it instead.

“For you to stay still even as I manhandle your cheek like this.”

“You weren’t manhandling, you were tormenting her.”

Hilvenzia gazed at Jaina with evident concern etched on her face.

“Is something troubling you, perhaps?”

Though their pupils shook mercilessly at her unfamiliar demeanor, the magicians soon regained their composure and resumed eating.

After all, it wasn’t the first or second time those two had discriminated against someone.

“Not so much troubled, but… an unsettling incident occurred.”

“What happened?”

“What could it be to leave you in such a state?”

Their careful voices seemed to burst forth in unison, awaiting her response.

“…”

When Jaina simply raised her brows without answering, Hilvenzia firmly grasped one of her hands.

Jaina gazed at Hilvenzia for a moment before turning her attention to Mikael seated across from her.

The two weren’t aware of the exact circumstances behind the dragons’ attack on the Magic Tower.

Neither Diamid nor Jaina had divulged any details.

“The reason the dragons came to the Magic Tower yesterday was…”

“Ah, wait a moment…!”

Mikael swiftly cast a soundproofing spell, confirming it was properly in place before nodding for Jaina to continue.

“How careless can this girl be… Alright, go ahead now.”

“The dragons came to the Magic Tower yesterday to kill me.”

“What?”

Mikael and Hilvenzia’s expressions instantly contorted, as if struggling to suppress an explosive rage.

Gritting his teeth, Mikael asked:

“What do you mean, to kill you? Why would those bastards want to kill you?”

“The incident where my debutante dress was torn was likely their doing too.”

It seemed Diamid hadn’t informed Mikael and Hilvenzia of the full story, as they had assumed Jaina’s presence during the dragon attack on the Magic Tower was mere coincidence.

As Jaina continued her explanation, Mikael and Hilvenzia’s expressions shifted by the moment.

“The dragons referred to me as a ‘proof of impurity’ or a ‘half-breed’. They did give me the name Ashrid, but I was rarely called by that name. To my clan, I was a source of shame, a flaw to be hidden.”

Jaina rubbed her eyes.

“You see, I don’t possess the black eyes that a Black Night clan member should have.”

In a flat tone devoid of inflection, as if recounting someone else’s story, Jaina spoke of how she had lived at her clan until now.

The detached, matter-of-fact voice, lacking any emotional undulation, struck heavily at the two’s hearts.

“Why… Why are you so calm, as if recounting someone else’s tale? It must have been so painful, so difficult… Cry, get angry instead!”

“…Jaina, you’re not a child devoid of emotion.”

“No, I was never bothered by it. I had accepted it as something unavoidable, having been born this way. I was even prepared to be killed by the dragons.”

Jaina’s downcast gaze fell upon the rounded wooden patterns of the dining table.

Like the placid growth rings etched over countless years, she wished she could remain equally undisturbed.

“But yesterday, something more surprising than the dragons coming to kill me occurred.”

“Wh, what was it…?”

“The Tower Lord asked me to become his daughter.”

Upon hearing that the Tower Lord had asked Jaina to become his daughter, Mikael and Hilvenzia were rendered speechless.

“…”

“…”

Silence ensued. The two could only part their lips, unable to utter a single word.

Had the Tower Lord truly made such an entreaty to Jaina?

That the arrogant, composed man had pleaded to such an extent?

It was simply unbelievable.

However, now wasn’t the time to dwell on such disbelief. What mattered most was Jaina’s own feelings.

“So… what are your thoughts on this?”

“I’m not sure why the Tower Lord said such a thing. Which is why, I need some time to think.”

Time away from the Magic Tower where Diamid resided, time alone to contemplate.

Nodding at Jaina’s words, Mikael and Hilvenzia accepted her need for a night’s leave, despite their usual reluctance.