“It might be better for them to stay put in their rooms for now,” I said.
“Indeed.”
Next, I informed them about Count Disque Praline’s change in behavior.
“He started showing you respect, and his belligerent personality is starting to calm down... Huh.”
“He might have been annoyed by the way I normally conduct myself around him,” I suggested. If that were the case, he must have deemed Sir Chouquette Salée’s act as me to be worth acknowledging more than my own.
“I see. I will order my knights to do a more detailed investigation on Count Disque Praline.”
“Yes, please do.”
The topic shifted to the upcoming clear weather, and we made plans to begin excavating tomorrow.
“I will accompany all of you as well!” Lady Opera cried out and excitedly raised her hand. She seemed ready to join right in.
That night, I heard a knock on my bedroom balcony’s window. I approached it while holding a magicstone lamp, and outside, I saw Van’s tiny dragon form clinging to the glass pane. He pleaded to be let in as there was a strong wind outside. The squirrels swiftly unlocked the window and Parfeil let him in. A cold breeze blew into the room. I grabbed Van, who had been hanging onto the handle, and held him close to my chest while the white squirrels closed the window again. Roche was nowhere to be found, so it seemed that Van had come here alone.
“Brrr... I thought I was going to get blown away!” he exclaimed.
I held him near the magicstone heater to warm his freezing body.
“Ahh... I feel alive again!” he cried out.
Apparently, he had come here to sleep beside me. Parfeil took the hint and left. She would probably sleep in Madeleine’s room.
“Mille-Feuille, am I bothering you by coming here?”
“Not at all,” I said. “I’m glad you came.”
“Good to hear.”
Tomorrow, we would finally start excavating the hot springs. We needed to get a lot of rest tonight. I took Van to my bed. The white squirrels also figured out what was going on and left my bed. They piled into a basket stuffed with cotton and rolled themselves into balls.
“I was so lonely sleeping all by myself,” Van said.
“Even though you’d been sleeping all alone before getting married?”
“Now that I’ve tasted the bliss of sleeping by your side, there’s no way I could go back to sleeping by myself.”
Hearing this, I suddenly remembered Lady Opera’s words. She had said that the lifespans of the Dragon Duke’s family were much longer than those of other dragonkin. I would most likely depart from this world earlier than Van would. Once that happened, how would Van feel? If he went berserk like he had when Charlotte was murdered, it would be a crisis for the entire nation.
For a moment, the thought of Van taking a concubine crossed my mind. It might be better for him to have another person to comfort his heart and soul.
“Mille-Feuille, what are you thinking about?” Van asked.
“Nothing in particular,” I replied.
“But you were thinking about something. I can tell by how furrowed your brow is right now.”
I touched my hands to the valley between my brows and was greeted by the feeling of wrinkles between them. It was just as he said.
“You’ve been thinking of something that can’t be solved in the short term, haven’t you?” he asked.
“How did you know that?”
“Of course I could tell. I’m your husband, after all.”
Was I really thinking that deeply? It seemed that Van had read me like a book.
“So, what are you thinking about?” Van repeated.
“Well...”
“We are husband and wife. You are free to speak your mind.”
Van touched his tiny hand against my finger and gazed up at me. I couldn’t keep quiet any longer.
“Remember what Lady Opera said yesterday? About how your family lives longer lives than most? I was just worried about what would happen if I passed away before you did,” I confessed.
“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that. The moment you married me, you became different from all other dragonkin. In other words, your lifespan should be about the same as that of my blood relatives.”
“Really?!” I asked.
“Did I not tell you about this?”
“First I’ve heard of it.”
“I see. I’m sorry for not telling you earlier. I didn’t think you would be so worried about leaving me behind,” Van said.
“I was. I even considered preparing a concubine for you for when I pass away.”
The moment I mentioned a concubine, Van’s brow furrowed—a facial expression that was ill-fitting for an adorable tiny dragon.
“Mille-Feuille, are you all right with me having a concubine?” he asked.
“Of course I’m not. But I didn’t have any other ideas.”
“I see. So that’s why you had such a serious expression on your face,” he said. “You don’t need to worry, then. I only have eyes for you, Mille-Feuille, so I have no need for concubines.”
Van might think that way now, but he might change his mind in the future. I still need to prepare for the possibility of him having a concubine, I thought.
However, it seemed that Van thought differently.
“Eventually, we’ll be blessed with children. That’s why even if you leave me behind, I won’t feel lonely at all.”
“Oh?!”
Right. He’s right. We might have children someday. Having children with Van was something that my past incarnation had never managed to do.
“Still, even if we don’t have children, Opera might. And even Madeleine or Parfeil may become mothers someday. That means I’d have so many people around me. They might ask me to sing lullabies for them or have me teach them how to fly through the skies. I’ll be so busy that my head will be spinning. Considering all that, do you still think I’d need a concubine?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“See?”
Before I knew it, I had started to cry while I was listening to Van talk.
“Mille-Feuille, what’s wrong? Did I say something strange?”
“No, not at all. I’m not crying because I’m sad,” I said. Instead, imagining a future where he was surrounded by so many little dragons had made me so, so happy.
Even if I die ahead of him, Van will be fine. Unlike what had happened in my past life, Van now had so many people whom he could trust, like a real family.
“Let’s go to sleep. We’ll be quite busy tomorrow.”
“Indeed.”
I went to sleep with the little Van in my arms.