* * *

“Hehe… My Lady, are you warm?”

“Ahem, I told you to heat the water, not to talk.”

“Yes!”

Bermut was working hard, breathing fire under the bathtub. Soaking in the hot water, I quickly relaxed.

As Bermut continued to breathe fire, his pink tongue lolled out as he panted.

Bermut, the Sacred Beast of Maya.

He was the final boss of Part 1 and the worst villainous dragon in the story.

Though right now, he was just heating my bathwater.

I quickly accepted the reality. Seeing Bermut clinging to my leg and crying made me feel strangely guilty.

The conversation we had replayed in my mind.

“I’ll only eat one meal a day! I’ll bathe myself! And if you’re interested in crossbreeding… I wouldn’t mind if you forced yourself on me….”

“Are you out of your mind? I don’t need that!”

Sighing as I held my throbbing forehead, I wondered if I should take responsibility since I’d picked him up.

If I left this pitch-black sacred beast to his own, who knows what kind of trouble he might cause? Just the thought sent a chill down my spine.

“Master, I’ve heard that filthy humans love cute things! Let me show you something unbelievably cute.”

Bermut rolled over, exposing his pink belly as he squirmed on the ground. He looked pitifully eager to win my favor.

I swept back my wet hair and shot him a sharp retort.

“More importantly, shouldn’t you be in the divine realm? What are you doing here in the human world?”

At my pointed question, Bermut’s ears drooped as he stopped rolling around.

“I-I don’t know either… When a dragon reaches adulthood and faces death, they return to an egg. I’m certain I was in the divine realm until I entered hibernation…”

I watched indifferently as Bermut wiped his tears with his short front legs.

“To think I’d wake up from hibernation just to serve as a bath attendant for a puny human girl…”

“A puny human girl, huh… You still don’t get it. Attention. At ease.”

Bermut quickly sprang to his feet, standing at attention. With my arms resting on the edge of the tub, I probed further.

“Dragons form a master-servant contract with the first being they see after hatching, right?”

“Yes! But in doing so, we receive something in return.”

“Something in return?”

“That would be the contractor’s lifespan… Hehe.”

I stared at the wickedly grinning Bermut. Despite all his attempts to act cute, he was still a divine beast at heart.

He looked like a stuffed doll you might find in a claw machine, but the thought of him being a divine dragon who had lived through countless cycles of death and rebirth for thousands of years sent a shiver down my spine.

“…Is there any way to pay with something else?”

“Pardon?”

“I mean, come on. What’s a dragon, who lives for eternity, going to do with a few years of a human’s lifespan? Don’t you have anything you want from me? Be honest.”

Even though he looked like this, the Bermut in the original story was a divine dragon that nearly brought the empire to ruin.

Carlisle had to fight him across 20 timelines just to finally bring him down.

If I couldn’t get rid of him, it would be better to tie him to my side before someone else could snatch him away.

Unaware of my cunning thoughts, Bermut answered cautiously.

“I… I want to be free.”

“Free?”

“Yes, as you said, dragons live forever. But there’s only one way we can die: by being absorbed into the Nether Tree, the grave of divine beasts.”

The Nether Tree, huh? I’d heard of it before. The Nether Realm was a middle world between the human realm and the divine realm.

While the divine realm governed birth, the Nether Realm governed death.

That’s why living beings couldn’t freely enter the Nether Realm, except for that man who was called the ‘Bloodstained Warrior.’

As Bermut looked at me with an expression that said, ‘You think that’s possible?’ I nodded.

“Okay, I’ll take you there.”

“B-But the Nether Tree only exists in legend, so I don’t even know if it’s real…”

“We’ll search for it together. It’s better than serving another human as a master after I’m gone, isn’t it?”

Bermut’s eyes sparkled as he stomped his feet in excitement.

I quickly leaned against the wall as the ground shook.

“Really? You mean it?!”

“Stop stomping! You’re making the ground shake!”

‘He’s so small, yet how dense is his body that the ground shakes like this?’

Bermut, seeming pleased, began humming a tune. I then asked him a loaded question.

“By the way, can you transform into a human?”

“Of course! I possess magic far superior to those filthy humans. Behold, my great transformation magic!”

Bermut spun around, and with a puff of smoke, a sturdy-looking boy appeared. He had tanned skin and gentle, downturned eyes, giving him a rather cute appearance.

“How do I look? Don’t I seem like a pretty cute human boy? With this, I should be able to serve a lovely young lady, right?”

As I watched Bermut shrug his shoulders, I smirked darkly.

“Yeah, the age is just right… You’d make the perfect butler.”

“Pardon?”

“How do we form a master-servant contract?”

“Ah, would you please give me your hand for a moment?”

I obediently extended my hand at Bermut’s request. He quickly grasped it.

Then, tightening my grip on his hand, I pulled him closer.

“Listen carefully, Bermut. I’m going to hire you as my personal butler. Help me, and I promise to set you free. And in case you haven’t realized it yet…”

I abruptly stood up from the bathtub. Bermut’s eyes widened in shock at my sudden movement.

“I’m not a young lady. I’m a man.”

Bermut’s face turned pale as he met my gaze at my center.

Panicking, he tried to pull away, but I tightened my grip on his hand. A large magic circle appeared beneath us.

“In the name of the contractor, I command you…”

“No! No! I don’t want to serve a human man! I don’t want to! He’s even at that rebellious age! He’ll probably run off without eating breakfast, even if I carefully prepare it!”

“…”

How trivial for a divine beast to be concerned about such things…

Momentarily distracted by Bermut’s comment about adolescence, I cleared my throat.

“O divine beast, divine dragon, I command you to submit to my call and be bound to me.”

I recited the binding incantation that I vaguely remembered from a fantasy novel.

I was right in assuming that including the key words would be enough.

A bright light enveloped us, and identical magic circles were engraved on both my hand and Bermut’s.

‘To think I’ve managed to bind the final boss of the first part. Maybe Jeanne…’

The glowing magic circle soon faded into our skin, disappearing completely. Seeing that, I quietly smiled.

‘I might be really lucky after all.’

Now, the only question was how I would make use of this. Feeling light-hearted, I stepped out of the bathtub.

“Humans… are truly cruel…”

I walked past Bermut, who was clutching his hand and sniffling, as I dried my hair with a towel, speaking cheerfully.

“Well then, I look forward to working with you, divine dragon… No, trainee butler Bermut.”

✽ ✽ ✽

Ding— Ding—.

The academy bell rang out across the vast training ground.

Carlisle, who had been swinging a wooden sword at Luke, paused his attack.

Noticing Carlisle’s opening, Luke swiftly closed in.

Thud!

The wooden sword slipped from Carlisle’s hand and rolled on the ground. Luke sighed as he picked up the fallen sword.

“You’re not focusing on your training today. If that had been a real battle, you’d have lost your head. Instead of this wooden sword, your head would be rolling on the ground.”

“That’s harsh. Your choice of words is harsh. And that’s treason against the royal family.”

“Is it? I thought it was just a normal criticism from a loyal subordinate.”

Luke picked up the training record book. Just by looking at the records, it was clear.

Carlisle had been off lately. His training had been sluggish, as if his mind was elsewhere.

“The academy is particularly noisy today.”

Carlisle walked over to the window and looked outside.

Students in uniform were marching out of the academy in orderly lines. Luke spoke in a disinterested tone.

“It’s the first time a creature with the blood of both demon and human has appeared. Not only the guild masters of the top guilds but also skilled saints and priestesses have all been summoned.”

“Have they decided on a name for that strange creature?”

“Yes, the church reported today that it will be called a Heretic.”

A Heretic, huh? A smile spread across Carlisle’s face. The name reflected the conservative atmosphere of the temple.

Still, to call something that was once human a ‘heretic’…

As someone who didn’t believe in the god Maya, Carlisle found the church to be a completely incomprehensible organization.

“More importantly, Carlisle, how did you deal with that Heretic? Being a first-of-its-kind creature, you wouldn’t have been able to defeat it by ordinary means.”

“I didn’t defeat it. A young lady I happened to meet did.”

“Don’t be modest. How could a well-bred young lady defeat a Heretic?”

Carlisle merely shrugged in response, not offering a counter-argument. Luke, who had been transferring records, paused.

With a blank expression, Luke asked again.

“So?”

“So, what?”

“I’m asking what kind of person she was.”

Carlisle crossed his arms and squinted his eyes. Luke waited quietly for Carlisle’s response.

After a moment of reflecting on his memories, Carlisle let out a faint chuckle.

“Like a wild boar…”

“Excuse me? A wild boar?”

“Oh, I suppose that’s a bit rude for a lady. Let me correct myself. It was more like a mating-season fire ant.”

“Are you serious? That’s even more insulting.”

Luke spoke with a weary tone, while Carlisle shrugged nonchalantly.

“Anyway, she was quite unusual. There’s a different vibe about her compared to other noble ladies. I heard she’s the adopted daughter of the Duke of Efilia, Jeanne, was it?”

“You remembered her name, so you must have taken a liking to her. Should I arrange a meeting for you?”

“Luke.”

Carlisle’s calm voice made Luke shudder.

Though Carlisle usually seemed relaxed, when something irked him, he could be mercilessly cold-blooded.

Carlisle continued speaking calmly.

“I won’t touch a woman until I become Emperor. You don’t need to worry.”

“…I understand. My apologies for being rude.”

“It’s fine. Your rudeness is part of your charm.”

Carlisle playfully winked as he patted Luke’s shoulder.

Luke quickly averted his gaze, avoiding Carlisle’s eyes.

Carlisle’s gaze lingered on Luke’s reddening neck.

“Feeling hot?”

“I tend to run hot. But shouldn’t you be heading to the guild meeting soon?”

“Ah… I don’t want to go. I’d rather be eaten by a passing Chupacabra.”

Grumbling, Carlisle finally started walking.

Watching his retreating figure, Luke clenched his pen tightly.

With a snap, the pen broke, and the shattered pieces rolled on the floor.

The image of Marquis Bernie apologizing for losing the pocket watch he had reserved flashed in his mind.

“Father! That item… it’s a crucial gift for the upcoming birthday celebration of the Great Saint. How could you let it be taken so easily?”

“Lu, Luke. I’m really sorry. It’s just that the Duke of Carlotte showed up with a lady in town… and she insisted on having it.”

“…What was that lady’s name?”

The hesitant Marquis Bernie lowered his head and confessed.

“Jeanne, I believe.”

Luke, recalling the memory, smiled faintly. It was basic social etiquette not to claim something another noble had reserved first.

An arrogant noble lady who didn’t even know that basic etiquette.

Smack!

Luke angrily threw his notebook aside.

As he left the training grounds, contempt filled Luke’s eyes.

As an adopted son of a low-ranking marquis family, Luke had never wasted a single moment. He had one belief:

“This really bothers me.”

To repay wrongs twice over.

* * *