💕 💕 💕
AS soon as Lars laid eyes on Raphael, he let out an ungodly hiss, not unlike a frog exploding.
I could’ve sworn he’s made that sound before.
I cast a sidelong look at Raphael, but he smiled innocently and ignored me.
It was the day of Operation: Saintify Lady Lecia’s after party, as Raphael dubbed it, but it was clear he only wanted to see the result of Lars’ transformation into a hallowyrm. He was invited to the palace with Elizabeth, as she felt she had to thank him for teaching her and Lecia.
The entire time Elizabeth gave Raphael her thoughtful thank-you gifts, Lars sat beside her and stared at the purple-haired mage, his legs dangling off the table in contempt. He was the same as ever on the inside, transformation or no.
They reminisced at length about the training, after which they cordially exchanged smiles and bows. The conversation was neither too long nor too short, and he seemed a little too comfortable with her.
I hope he shrinks. Does he need to be that much taller than her?
I glanced at Lars to find him looking at his claws, up at Raphael, and back again. He was missing the massive talons he’d had when he was a giant. I gave him an awkward pat on the shoulder as if to reassure him.
“Now, then,” Raphael suddenly said as he snapped to face us, “do you mind if I take a look at him?”
“You don’t mind, do you?” Elizabeth asked him.
Raphael was smiling innocently enough, but I could tell from the look in his eyes that he was dying to study the little hallowyrm. Murderous rage would be more reassuring, honestly.
Lars shivered, but he was powerless to deny his mistress’ request. He boldly stuck out his tail and flew to Raphael.
“Raphael says he’d like to see your mana,” Elizabeth explained. “He’d like to have one of your scales, too.”
He nodded. “They say hallowyrm scales can cure any illness, after all.”
In other words, he wanted to help people. I couldn’t imagine he would go so far as to steal one of Lars’ scales by force, but Elizabeth wanted to aid his efforts. Lars trembled again, his eyes watering, but he couldn’t refuse for fear of making Elizabeth look bad. He nodded.
Raphael grinned. “Excellent! Don’t mind if I do, then.” With that, he grabbed hold of Lars’ tail.
“Hold on,” I interrupted. “We’ll give you some space to work.”
I took Elizabeth by the hand and led her out into the garden, where we sat at a picnic table prepared for us. I doubted his ability to hide his eccentricities given the circumstances, so it was better if Elizabeth was out of sight.
We’d made many memories in the garden, which was the main place where Lady Lecia and Elizabeth practiced their magic. Most of the flowers were still in full bloom, despite winter fast approaching, and it felt oddly warm.
Is this the result of Lady Lecia’s powers? Holy magic is truly amazing.
I strained my ears a little to listen for Raphael and Lars.
“Don’t worry, this won’t hurt a bit,” I heard him coo. “You’ll only feel a little pinch, and you should grow it back in no time.”
“S-Sqeeeegh?!”
“Oh, do you mind if I take one of these, too? You’ve got such strong mana in the scales on the back of your little head!”
“Queeeeeeh!!”
Wait, did he just take two?
Elizabeth didn’t notice, either because of her trust in him or the tantalizing assortment of pastries in front of her. She didn’t so much as glance in the direction of her familiar.
Shortly after, Raphael rejoined us with Lars lying limp in his arms.
“Thank you so much for your cooperation! I got wonderful samples, and they’ll make a great addition to the Ministry of Magecraft’s archives.”
“Lord Lars!” Elizabeth cried. “Are you all right?!” She hurriedly took him from Raphael and set him down on her lap. The only sign he was still awake was the sporadic twitching of his tail.
“Oh, he’s just a little tired from having his scales taken,” Raphael explained. “It depletes his mana. He’ll be fine with a little rest but don’t spoil him too much, or your fiancé might get jealous.”
I laughed stiffly. “Who, me? I’m not the jealous type.”
Elizabeth giggled. “No, not jealous at all.”
Elizabeth was the only one of us who didn’t know how envious I could be. It wasn’t a joke in the least.
Lars’ eyes slowly flickered blue as he came to.
Good. Let’s have Raphael take another scale or two now.
Raphael let out a heavy sigh. “I must admit, I’m rather disappointed. Hallowyrm scales are valuable, yes, but I would’ve loved a matching fellwyrm scale or two to accompany them. I can’t imagine he’ll ever be a fellwyrm again, either.”
“I suppose not,” Elizabeth said as she looked up.
“Not with all his miasma having been purified.”
“Isn’t that wonderful, Lord Lars?” she said to the little dragon. “Now, even if the contract between us is broken, you’ll be free to do as you please!”
“Qwergk?!” He bounced to his feet. The thought had never even occurred to him.
“Hold on, now,” I cut in. “We wouldn’t want rumors getting out that our hallowyrm has left us so soon. I’d appreciate it if you’d look after him for a while.”
I hated to admit it, but hallowyrms were supposed to bless the land on which they lived. They were even said to bless their charges with great bounties of mana.
Elizabeth nodded. “I know. Don’t worry, I’ll treat him well.”
The crazed fear rapidly faded from Lars’ eyes.
Good, he’s back to normal.
I grabbed him and removed him from Elizabeth’s lap. He spread his wings and hissed at me, but Elizabeth scolded him for his rudeness, and he calmed down.
I turned to Raphael. “Now, about that fellwyrm scale—as it happens, Leohardt stole one during his visit. I’ve been keeping it safely in the palace.”
His eyes widened, and he clapped with glee. “Really?! Why, I knew you were my favorite prince!”
Hey now. What did I tell you about composing yourself in front of Elizabeth?
I didn’t mind too much, as Elizabeth pondered my words. Just as she had likely thought, it was the same scale that Marquis Vilienne used against us in Orion. It had to have come from Lars.
I leaned down to the little dragon’s ear.
“Leohardt told me everything, you little creep,” I whispered. “You traded one of your scales for that handkerchief Elizabeth touched, didn’t you?”
He averted his gaze. From what I’d heard, the trade hadn’t been worth it—Elizabeth found it balled up in a nest Lars had made, and she had it washed and returned to Leohardt immediately. He had lost a scale with nothing to show for it.
As an aside, fellwyrm scales were thought to retain their miasma even after being separated from the dragon. Since Vilienne kept the scale so close to his bare skin, it likely addled his brain and gave him all manner of delusions. When I asked Leohardt if he had experienced anything similar during his time with the scale, he reported nothing odd despite having touched it repeatedly with his bare hands. In other words, he was too dark and twisted for a fellwyrm to corrupt.
“Don’t you ever try to pull something like that again,” I hissed at the drake. “If you do, I’ll tell Elizabeth, and she’ll nullify your contract on the spot.”
“G-Gwrrm.”
Lars’ tail drooped sadly, and he shot one last reproachful look at me before flying back to his mistress.