Chapter 110
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 110
Chapter Title: The Line in My Heart (1)
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The next morning.
The Kell family's day always started the same.
A shared breakfast, light chatter.
"Yaaawn... I'll just have coffee. My stomach's acting up..."
"Noah. Were you up late again?"
"Working on the Gold Rush sales report... Hehe."
Even in a merchant house, family was family.
It was the start of a peaceful day, no different from any common household.
Of course, there was a small variation from the routine.
"Nom nom, more please. No, give me all of it!"
"Ughhh."
The table, which had been too big for just three people, was finally full again after so long.
Miriam looked around with joyful eyes.
Seven people at the meal.
Her son, back home after years away, and the three new women she'd come to know were adding a delightful twist to her unchanging routine.
But amid that happiness, she sensed something off.
From her son, sitting directly across from her.
She asked in a warm voice.
"Nathan, it must have been four years since you last slept in your room. Was it uncomfortable?"
"..."
"Son?"
"..."
No response.
The Nathan who had been perfectly fine yesterday—laughing, getting angry, flustered—was different now.
Creak, creak.
Like a soulless golem, he sat blankly, mechanically moving his spoon.
Half of it spilled before it even reached his mouth—it was deeply worrying.
And she realized someone was acting the exact opposite.
"Hm hm~ Hm."
It was Erzena, who had woken early this morning—second only to Miriam—to help prepare breakfast.
Her lips curved high, eyebrows raised, humming a tune.
What could make her so happy?
Miriam gave her a puzzled look.
Sensing the gaze, Erzena smiled faintly and said.
"More tea, ma'am... I mean, madam?"
"...Gladly."
"Yes~."
She was incredibly friendly.
This oddness wasn't just Miriam's feeling—the Mnatsil, who had just finished her ninth piece of bread, tilted her head.
"Erzena, has something good happened? You seem so excited today."
"Huh? Oh, no, just... vacations are really nice."
A casual remark.
But Miriam could tell.
Something had definitely changed.
"..."
Only Elaine showed no reaction, silently eating her bread with a complicated expression.
Noah picked up on the subtle atmosphere and looked flustered.
"Oppa. Did something happen yesterday? What's wrong?"
"..."
No answer from the frozen Nathan.
But Miriam caught his eyes moving for a split second.
One second.
His gaze met the golden eyes.
"...Eek."
Erzena flinched, her face flushing as she whipped her head away.
Miriam caught it perfectly.
...Oh my?
At the same time, Erzena's words from yesterday flashed in her mind.
- Nathan is protecting us because of the royal order and his duty.
Miriam couldn't help but smile.
"They say the quiet cat climbs the hearth first."
Royal order and duty? Please.
That was just the surface reason.
Miriam had easily read the emotions in the way those three women looked at her son.
It was the exact same expression she'd worn when gazing at Tillian Kell in her youth.
It was definitely... more than simple fondness.
I thought time would sort it out, so I tried not to meddle in his relationships.
She hadn't pried deeper to avoid interfering.
But on the very first night of their vacation, in her house, something had clearly happened between her son and her.
Bold or cute? Either way...
It felt like good news for the Kell family.
Miriam smiled, just like Erzena, and said.
"Erzena, pass me some more bread? Today feels like a really good day."
"Yes. It is a good day."
A very good day.
And Nathan...
Splatter.
...was still malfunctioning, spilling even the cream soup he usually loved.
Ah.
Aah.
Aaaaaah.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa..."
By the time I came to my senses, it was already night.
I was slamming my head against one of the walls in my room, letting out a guttural scream.
"Uwaaaaaah..."
Where was I?
Who was I, and why was I here like this?
Innumerable questions tore through my mind like mad.
Chaos.
Confusion.
Turmoil.
I could feel my clockwork thoughts breaking down in real time—the ones that always ticked perfectly.
And amid that mess, one thing stood out crystal clear.
- I like you, Nathan. Truly.
Erzena's tear-soaked confession and the feel of our lips touching.
Thud.
I banged my head against the wall again.
"No, no, no, no. We can't. Nathan, snap out of it."
Desperately trying to erase the memory.
"I can't mess up again. I can't lose anything else..."
My heart pounded wildly.
Reliving that moment over and over, etching it so I'd never forget.
But I forced deep breaths to push the emotions away, ignoring it all.
To stay calm. To not waver. To not hold onto it.
That was when it happened.
Click. Click.
Someone turned the doorknob.
Thankfully, my habit of locking it kept my pathetic head-banging from being seen.
Who could it be?
No one should visit me this late at night.
Probably mistaking the room for theirs—since it wasn't their home.
As I sank back into the vortex of chaos, confusion, and turmoil,
Click click click click click.
This intruder stubbornly kept trying the knob.
My patience finally snapped, and I flung the door open.
Click.
"Sorry, I can't answer right n—"
"Oh ho. Looks like you were expecting someone."
Instead of the expected sky-blue hair, blazing red hair filled my view.
I called her name in surprise.
"...Lady Mnatsil?"
"And our little cutie Kirva too."
She lifted the egg cradled in her tail tip.
After about two seconds of silence, I said quietly.
"You can't sneak in here like this."
"Why? What's different about here?"
"Because this isn't my place—it's my parents' house."
"Hm. Still your nest all the same."
Such brazen confidence.
Where did it come from?
As I wondered, my eyes drifted downward.
And I immediately understood the source.
"Why are your clothes like that?!"
Mnatsil stood there with the pajamas Miriam gave her almost completely undone.
A slight breeze would reveal her voluptuous body entirely.
She shrugged.
"The clothes Miriam gave me were tight. Just loosening them to breathe."
"Now I have nowhere to look!"
"Meaning you find me an attractive female."
With a satisfied smile, she tried to open them further.
I panicked.
"No, this is my parents' house, not mine! They'll misunderstand for sure!"
"See, Kirva? Your guardian is rejecting us."
"What are you even saying? I'm just saying this is trouble."
My mind was already a mess—how could I rest with you doing this?
Seeing my face drain to black in real time, Mnatsil finally chuckled.
"Kidding. I just wanted to check on your condition."
"My condition...?"
"No human has ever taken dragon tongue before, so it's worth a look."
"Oh, that's it?"
No reason to refuse then.
"Come in. But please fix your clothes first."
I stepped back, letting her in.
Mnatsil sat me on the bed's edge and took my right arm.
"You looked unsteady earlier. Not fully healed?"
"Not that bad. Just... some aches here and there."
"Hm."
She checked my pulses.
"It's nearly healed, so no need to worry."
She shook her head at my reassurance.
"Erzena's holy power saved me from death, but dragon tongue is different. Better check with dragon eyes."
Erzena.
Hearing the name brought yesterday rushing back.
- I like you, Nathan. Truly.
Our touching lips, her trembling eyelashes.
Still so vivid.
"..."
My mind grew complicated again.
Then,
Mnatsil, carefully checking my pulse, asked calmly.
"...Did you mate with Erzena yesterday?"
"Gack, cough! Hack!"
I choked hard.
"No, hack! What kind of, cough! Nonsense is that!?"
Totally unexpected.
"What kind of thoughts do you have to jump to that conclusion!?"
"Your scent's on Erzena, and hers on you."
She shrugged like it was the most trivial question.
"Plus, today I saw her drop her usual poise and show her female side."
Aah, so crude.
This person—no, this dragon—thinks so differently from us.
As I thought that, Mnatsil released my arm.
"Actually, that's not the only reason I came."
"Pardon?"
Surely not my body?
I quickly covered up.
"I knew it!"
"...You can be so weird sometimes."
Amused, Mnatsil thwacked the floor with her tail, hugged Kirva, and said.
"I owe you this second life. And Kirva's life too. That's more than enough reason to give you everything."
"I told you, I didn't do it expecting—"
"Quiet. Just listen."
For the first time, her playfulness vanished from her expression.
"I didn't choose you because you're special."
"Pardon?"
"Just lucky, unique, with power no one else has."
She slowly set the egg down.
"Don't measure my words by those, Nathan Kell. You, at least, will hear them straight."
Nothing lay between us now.
Just a meter or so.
"You rejected greed, lust, even honor."
"That's why I'm drawn to you. Not as nature, but as a thinking being."
"Even without dragon tongue, my mind was set. It just drove the nail."
Mnatsil's voice trembled.
"Don't you get it? Or are you pretending?"
A question missing "what."
"Nathan."
She stepped closer, calling my name.
"When you collapsed, I swore to my old kin lost to sky and sea."
One more step.
"That I'd spend this second life with you."
She took my hand, placing it on her chest.
Thump. Thump.
Not the fierce dragon heartbeat, but a faint, clear pulse.
"But now, my heart pulls me there more than any oath."
Mnatsil plainly bared her feelings.
No playfulness.
No usual brightness.
Just calm, like a quietly burning flame before me.
She slowly reached out, cupping my cheeks.
Then pressed her forehead to mine and whispered softly.
"Haleck Diak, Haleck Paharbe. (= My guardian, my mate.)"
"Rias Morte. (= Let us be eternal.)"
That was it.
Tremble.
The egg between us shook in response.
The line in my heart was crossed once more.