บท 17: 1.17 A Dragon's Respect

Sir Azra (Nero heard his brother refer to this knight a while back) appeared not too long after. The knight wandered his gaze all over the place. He lent a helping head to Dr. Valentina when he saw her still on the ground. "My Lord," he greeted but Nero cut him off with a single wave of a hand.

"Don't fret. They were merely surprised by the dragon," Nero explained why the two were on that state. "And I'm fine so release the tension on your face." Sir Azra blushed at the underlying tease of the young lord's words. Nero continued to pet the dragon.

"It seems that she likes you." An angelic voice talked to him. Nero looked up and saw the Monrell heir smiling at him, but he was no fool to not notice that the smile was merely a façade.

"You!" Sir Azra was back to his stiff stance, ready to draw out his sword.

"Yes, me." Lumierre rolled his eyes. "You might want to check on your friend."

Sir Azra gritted his teeth in anger. "Go on," Nero calmly urged. "Bring the two with you," he instructed. He gave a pointed look at their hesitance which made them finally follow his orders.

"What's her name?" Nero asked when it was only the three of them left. He continued to stroke the dragon's skin making it purr and roar softly as if it was a child's laughter. Lord Lumierre seemed to be taken a back at that.

"Snow," he replied. Hearing her master's call, Snow lazily opened her eyes. That's kinda a lame name, Nero thought to himself. The bird's choir were carried by the soft sighs of the wind as each second ticked by. Silent it was for a few minutes.

"Snow." Lumierre repeated, this time with a firmer tone. The two looked at each other and Nero guessed that they must be conversing through their mind link. Yet another minute passed without Snow moving. Lumierre's face have also become serious.

"Snow," Nero tried. They were both surprised when she moved and trudged to her master's side. Nero ignored the Monrell's heir stare at him as he focused his gaze to Snow, wondering as well why she only followed when he ordered her to.

"Not only did your dragon nearly attacked my brother, you casted a sleeping spell on my knight?!"

Lumierre calmly looked outside the window where he can see his dragon resting as it was surrounded by the Second Knights. The Monrell heir was pointedly ignoring the Lanchaster's heir nagging as Calix went on about him not staying and all that whatnot. While it was a top source of entertainment for him to watch Calix explode like a cute kitten hissing, he was too immersed in his thoughts.

A while back, Lumierre felt Snow's movement through their spiritual link. His raised his left brow which garnered the attention of the two knights. He smiled at the both of them but they only exchanged glances and proceeded to do their assignment on guarding him.

Lumierre pursed his lips in confusion when he sensed Snow's emotions. The dragon was feeling rather bright today. Which was actually a first. Lumierre couldn't think of an instance when he had seen a dragon that happy. He could feel how excited Snow was as it flapped its large wings.

Snow was so delighted the whole Lanchaster estate can feel it. The two knights went on guard when Snow's roar reached the building.

"No need to be so cautious," he spoke as he placed down the cup of tea they prepared for him. "Snow is just having her fun," he reasoned out. The two knights looked at each other once again. Lumierre chuckled at that. I feel like I'm being bullied, he thought to himself.

"I'll go check," Sir Azra said as he nodded to the dame. Sir Azra then bowed down to Lumierre before he proceeded to leave the room to inspect the situation outside.

"You know, I should thank you," Lumierre spoke to the Lanchaster knight once it was just the two of them. The dame was obviously intrigued by his suddenness but she kept quiet and continued to stare at the wall. Was the wallpaper that interesting?

"Dan was tough case," he continued as he picked up his cup. He smirked when he felt the dame lost her composure for a second. Lumierre sipped the already warm drink and gracefully put it back to the table. He then calmly dabbed the small cloth to get rid of the nonexistent spill on his lips. Honestly, screw etiquettes. "The man's skills were barely passable. If it weren't for his family's loyalty to the dukedom, he wouldn't be ranked as a mid-level mage."

"Resources were wasted with such clumsy techniques. I feel bad for the runes assigned to that man." He sighed deeply. "Such laughable skills could even taint the dukedom's image." Lumierre faced the dame and gave her a smile which hid all his cunningness.

"So, thank you for doing the job," Lumierre said, his smile fading into a sinister smirk when the dame's figure swayed recklessly until she fell on the sofa.

The Monrell heir fiddled the magical rune between his fingers which helped him cast a sleeping spell. He flipped the rune, catching it, then bringing it back to his pocket. With the spiritual link, he was able to navigate his way to his dragon's location. And my, what a surprise it was to see Snow comfortably resting by the cursed child's side.

Dragons are not known as friendly beings. They are intelligent creatures and have pride for their majesticness. It is not a walk in the park to form a bond with them. One must be able to prove that they are worthy of the bond. Dragons look for a human's value, their overall strengths maybe it be for evil or good.

The thought of the child of the prophecy bonded with a dragon is not shocking. Nero was destined for great evilness. He is the one that will turn the most powerful empire into nothing dust. With that power, dragons would be naturally drawn to him.

But again, these creatures are not friendly. They may purr in contentment when petted but that's just it. They won't wag their tails in adoration and ask of you to pet them. A dragon's bond meant partnership. It's just business, nothing about being companions.

Yet Nero Lanchaster...

Lumierre felt a chill crawl up on his spine when he felt, not only fondness, but Snow's worship to the cursed child. Why would a majestic being like it respect a person known to have the power to ruin the most powerful empire?

"Are you even listening?!" Calix fumed.

Lumierre shook the feeling off, telling himself to let his family deal with it. He regained his focus back to Calix, properly looking at his stressed face. Thick brows were furrowed and a few beads of swear were on his temple. Lumierre smirked, feeling intoxicated by how attractive the other looked.

"Of course, darling. My attention's all yours." He sweetly smiled to the Lanchaster heir making him earn another round of nagging, much to his pleasure.