His World, To Me
Lucia’s hot, damp lips slowly withdrew from Pay’s forehead.
Now they could see each other clearly.
Her hazel eyes, once brimming with endless sorrow, now overflowed with joy and emotion as they gazed at him. His dark eyes, usually clouded with worry, softened like velvet as they tried to gently embrace her.
It was enchanting.
It felt as though he had gathered both the morning sun and the evening sunset into himself. Pay instinctively knew their hearts had become one.
Just as her clear lips parted to speak, tears still streaming down her cheeks—
“Wait!”
Thud.
Lucia suddenly dropped to his knees and shouted.
Pay, who had been about to speak, called out to him in surprise.
“Lucia…? What’s wrong?”
“Hold on, Pay. I absolutely cannot let you steal this moment from me. I have… my pride to consider, after all. Just wait a little longer. It won’t take long!”
“What? Ah…”
Come to think of it, Momo had once given her similar advice when they visited his dragon lair. Just wait, he’d said…
Surely not?
“One day! One day is all I need. Just one single day! Just close your eyes, sleep, and wake up—please.”
He pleaded almost desperately.
“……”
It was difficult to respond to words spoken with such sincerity.
“I’m begging you.”
His eyes, looking up at her from his knees, were filled with earnest longing. It was a look he had never shown before—he who had always been the strong one. Pay hesitated, then nodded.
Her lips, now firmly closed, couldn’t even manage a simple “good night.” She feared that speaking would shatter this fluttering feeling in her chest.
That night.
‘I… I can’t sleep.’
What was Lucia planning to say tomorrow? Pay had her suspicions, yet she couldn’t fall asleep at all.
She felt both expectant and dazed.
The kisses he had pressed again and again to her eyelids and forehead today—surely the words that would follow were obvious.
What should I do? What would I even say to Cassel later? I’ve already decided who I love. If I said we were going to live outside the capital, would he be all right with it?
Her imagination had already flown far ahead, to the point of picturing setting up a household with Lucia somewhere.
‘Ugh, this won’t do. I need to think about something completely unrelated.’
She tossed and turned in bed, desperately trying to focus on other thoughts.
The rumor still hadn’t spread through the Magic Tower.
The rumor about the mysterious attendee named Baroa at Raphael’s charity ball of atonement.
Even if people knew, it would take time to realize that Baroa was the same person as the former Tower Master, wouldn’t it?
‘Lucia said he’ll continue pretending to be Baroa and appear in various places. Hmm, will that be all right? I trust him since it’s his decision, but… won’t it make him too busy?’
Suddenly, the serious expression he had shown her today floated vividly in her mind.
Tonight there was no moon, yet he filled her heart as brightly as a full moon.
Pay shook her head.
No. Even when he’s happy, Lucia rarely shows a bright smile. He’s more like a slender crescent moon, isn’t he? Instead of lifting the corners of his mouth, he often just raises his eyebrows slightly. Even then, he’s so handsome…
“What am I thinking again!”
She decided to stop her meaningless “thought diversion.”
Part of her wished tomorrow would come quickly, while another part wanted the dawn to break a little later so she could hold onto this tender feeling a while longer. It was truly ridiculous. And then…
“Piyuuu~~”
“…It must be nice for you, Momo, not having to think about anything.”
If I lived like that carefree drakan—eating, sleeping, and playing day and night—would I even understand this happiness I feel when I’m with Lucia? No, I like who I am right now.
That day, Pay ultimately spent the night merely opening and closing her eyes, unable to sleep at all.
The next day, after staying awake through the night filled with happiness and excitement.
“……”
I look terrible.
Pay sighed deeply as she examined her reflection in the mirror Cassel had bought her during his time as Sir Leon.
She hadn’t slept at all, so her eyes stung and her shoulders ached. Rolling around in bed had left her shoulders and back stiff in places.
“Cure.”
Ever since learning this high-level recovery spell—one of the few water spells with healing properties—she had been using it whenever she felt tired.
Pay got up and spent her time half-heartedly flipping through a magic book while waiting for Lucia to come for her. It was the first time since arriving at the Magic Tower that she couldn’t focus on her studies at all.
After waiting and waiting, the moment finally arrived.
Knock, knock.
At the sound of a knock on the closed door, her breath seemed to catch in her throat. He’s here, finally!
She didn’t even need to look to know.
It was Lucia.
“Come in…!”
Her voice cracked at the end from tension. It was embarrassing that a mistake she had never made even in front of the Crown Prince was happening so easily before him.
Creak.
The person who entered with the sound of the opening door was, as expected, Lucia.
Ah!
Normally, he wore simple everyday clothes with a robe or half-coat. True to his mage nature, he almost never wore white robes, favoring dark tones like dull brown, black, or deep navy.
Today’s attire was strikingly different.
A white robe similar to the one Baroa had worn when he came to rescue her over ten years ago…
The color made his brilliant silver hair stand out even more, shining as brightly as if they had arrived in a winter kingdom.
You are my gentle first snow.
Unable to contain the surge of emotion, Pay tightly closed her eyes.
“Should I go change? Did I do something wrong?”
His worried voice reached her ears in less than a second.
She shook her head.
“…No, it’s fine.”
When Pay opened her eyes again, she nearly gasped at the cool, beautiful sight before her, like gazing at a radiant moon.
Even during her time as Morgana, and even after accepting Silas’s requests and visiting the imperial palace, she had seen plenty of people in splendid attire.
But… was there anyone more beautiful than the Lucia she was looking at now?
Instead of a golden cord, a navy-blue tie fastened the front of his robe. His silver hair was neatly combed without a single strand out of place.
His usual expression—one corner of his mouth slightly raised—was absent. His firmly closed lips were particularly red and striking, and even they were beautiful.
There were so many other charms about him that it was impossible to count them all.
‘Oh!’
Pay belatedly realized her mistake.
Lucia had clearly put in great effort to dress up for… whatever he was planning to do, yet she had been too nervous and exhausted from lack of sleep to bother changing out of her casual clothes.
She was wearing the same loose, comfortable outfit as usual—nothing but a light dress, no robe at all!
She couldn’t even ask him to step out for a moment.
“Are you really all right?”
“Yes.”
Should she say something, or not?
While inwardly scolding herself for having spent her time idly with just a book open, Pay awkwardly stood up.
Even Momo, who usually acted boldly around Lucia thanks to Pay’s reliable backing, was unusually well-behaved today, as if he had some sense of the situation.
If he caused trouble today, it would truly be “the end of his rebellious days.”
Lucia quickly approached her as if running and lifted her into his arms.
Pay’s face, suddenly held in his embrace, flushed bright red like a tomato.
“Ah…!”
“Let’s go.”
Soon after, their figures vanished along with a spatial teleportation spell.
“Pipi… pipiiiiiik…”
Left alone, Momo puckered his beak and sang his usual “march” before flopping over into his basket.
If those two got together, wouldn’t he have to live seeing that terrifying Lucia for the rest of his life…?
The days when he had boldly rebelled, using his new mistress as a shield, were now coming to an end.
With a small popping sound, they arrived at a place completely different from what Pay had imagined.
She had wondered if they might go to the Dragon God Temple again, but instead, they had teleported to an interior as lavishly decorated as the imperial palace. Before her stood countless mannequins dressed in outfits.
Not one, not two… three… four… there was no end to them!
Each mannequin wore a dress in a different vibrant color, and on the table behind them were jewelry boxes containing matching accessories.
For reference, the room was so enormous that it couldn’t even be called a single room—its end was impossible to gauge.
Am I getting married to the Crown Prince or something?
Even the imperial family wouldn’t be this extravagant all at once. At a loss for words at the dazzling display before her, Pay turned around, and Lucia quickly made an excuse.
“I was trying to pick a dress that suited you, but I just brought them all.”
“…This is excessive.”
“From today onward, there’s no such thing as ‘excessive.’ I’m going to do everything I can for you.”
“……”
Honestly, her own feelings weren’t much different at their core.
When Pay remained silent without answering right away, Lucia asked cautiously.
“Shall I choose for you?”
“No. I’ll pick.”
If she had the right to choose, she would exercise it herself without yielding it to anyone.
That was the one principle Pay always upheld.
After scanning the splendid dresses one by one, Pay chose a soft lemon-yellow one. The color, which she had rarely worn during her time as Morgana, somehow appealed to her.
Was it because she had never been able to run around in a chick-yellow dress as a child?
“Sylphid, help me.”
「Yes.」
“I’ll come back in when you’re done.”
Click.
Once Lucia closed the door and left, Pay’s curiosity about where they were grew. She thought she might be able to tell by looking out the curtained window, but Sylphid pulled her away.
「Please get dressed quickly.」
‘But I’m curious.’
Even while changing, Pay’s mage-like curiosity wouldn’t let her give up. She stared beyond the curtains, trying to figure it out. But no matter how many times she looked with eyes lacking clairvoyance, she couldn’t tell.
Where on earth is this place?
When Lucia saw Pay again, now fully dressed in the lemon-yellow gown, he held out his hand.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
Their hands touched, and once again, they teleported somewhere through magic.
Pay, who had briefly closed her eyes, felt a soft, refreshing breeze.
‘Hmm… Ah?’
A vast ocean stretched out before her.
Startled, she looked down and realized they were standing on the deck of a ship.
A mysterious sky tinged with soft golden and gentle sunset hues, and the gentle waves of the sea rippling below the ship.
Small spirits were playing atop the tiny splashes that barely qualified as waves.
There was an even more astonishing sight.
Near the massive ship where they stood was a fairly large island. On the beach, she could see not only the unicorns of her kind but also sirens smiling as they played harps.
Far out at sea, unknown marine creatures swam, showing their backs and tails.
Overwhelmed with wonder beyond mere admiration, she murmured,
“Where is this?”
“I recreated the ancient sea.”
“Wow…!”
The ancient era. A vanished world that Lucia, as a dragon who had lived through long ages, knew well—a world where her ancestors had existed and that could now only be glimpsed through the few remaining relics.
Whether this was reality or not didn’t matter. Where else could she ever experience something so precious?
Feeling as though she had stepped into a world of fantasy, she tightly grasped Lucia’s hand, enveloped in a sense of mystery.
“The terifria flowers I gave you before are blooming somewhere on that island too. Later—much later—we can call the unicorns and go to the island. It’ll be an unforgettable, joyful memory.”
“It’s amazing.”
He shrugged.
“I prepared it in a hurry, so the ship’s range isn’t very wide. Except for that island, it’s all ocean. Still, there are plenty of beings nearby that are now extinct.”