How To Break Qaq If The Dragon Catches The Wrong Person? Chapter 16

Chapter 16 Integrity

Due to the events of the day, Mian was inevitably a bit dispirited.

Loria, feeling guilty, abandoned her usual mischief and spent the entire day carefully trying to cheer him up. Even Ovi, who must have heard about it somewhere—likely bored at home—rushed to the palace, claiming he wanted to visit.

After learning the full story, Ovi looked at Mian with sympathy, then said with lingering fear that he was glad it hadn’t been him, as he happened to have a slight cold recently.

Kairis also sat with Loria all day.

With everyone’s company, the memories experienced in the illusion gradually faded, and their impact on him lessened considerably.

Mian initially thought this had become a vague dream he had experienced, and he would no longer be afraid of it.

But when night fell, he realized how naive his thinking was.

The rain outside the window was still falling, having not stopped all day. After dinner, it was time to rest. Kairis had some matters to attend to, so Mian was led back to his bedchamber alone by a servant.

After thanking the palace attendant who opened the door for him, Mian closed the door.

The room was exactly as he had left it during the day: a corner of the quilt was turned back, and the curtains were wide open, allowing a view of the outside.

The room was unlit. Because of the rain today, there was no moon in the sky, and no light outside.

As night deepened, the wind picked up, occasionally howling past the window, making an unsettling sound, like something was whispering or wailing softly.

The blurred branches and leaves of the apple tree swayed in the rainy night wind, suddenly becoming terrifying.

Mian stared at the scene before him for a moment, swallowed, and forced himself to walk calmly to the candlestick. He struck a match and lit the oil lamp, then quickly ran to the window with his eyes closed, pulling the curtains shut with a whoosh.

After the curtains were drawn, Mian breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, as he turned around, his gaze involuntarily fell upon the only light source in the darkness—the flickering flame.

After the day’s events, the normally ordinary flame suddenly seemed to transform into something alive, quietly watching him.

Mian: “…”

A timely clap of thunder sounded outside the window.

Mian’s heart gave a heavy jump. He quickly blew out the lamp, then, without a moment’s hesitation, ran to the bed, pulled the covers over himself, wrapping up tightly, and squeezed his eyes shut.

In the darkness, the frantic drumming of his heart was clearly audible; it felt like his heart might leap out of his chest.

Mian tried to force himself to clear his mind and fall asleep quickly, but even after repeatedly telling himself, “Just sleep, and everything will be fine by tomorrow morning,” the speed of his heartbeat didn’t slow down at all.

The memories of the day surged back like a tide under these circumstances. Mian became more awake and more frightened the longer he lay there.

Although the curtains were drawn, this only increased the imaginative space for what the scene outside might be, what might appear, or what might be happening.

Mian struggled for a long time against his unstoppable thoughts and racing heart, a struggle he utterly lost.

He felt like he was no different from being back in the Monster’s lair.

The oxygen inside the blanket was gradually being depleted. Because among the many uncontrollable images in his mind was the sight of something standing by the bed outside the covers, he didn’t dare poke his head out.

After agonizing for a few seconds, he closed his eyes and opened a tiny slit.

The cool air instantly invaded, and Mian shivered.

He realized this couldn’t continue.

So, he silently made a decision.

The rain had been falling all day and showed no sign of stopping, even into the night. The faint rumble of thunder outside sounded clearer in the quiet environment.

Kairis finished washing up and sat down by the bed with a normal expression. His pale golden hair was slightly damp at the tips.

He casually brushed the stray strands from his forehead, his gaze resting on the small box on the table.

It was the one he had previously ordered to be examined.

Several medical officers had thoroughly inspected it and found nothing unusual. Fearing an oversight, they had even taken it to Farg for a look.

Their final conclusion was no different from what Loria had said: it was indeed just a harmless prank toy.

Yet, Mian’s reaction to it had been extreme.

But the Little Dragon’s body was clearly very healthy.

Both visually and according to the medical officers’ examination results.

…Was he truly healthy?

Kairis frowned slightly.

The Dragon Race’s self-healing ability was a fact known to everyone.

—This was also one of the reasons why this race was so powerful.

Their wound healing ability should, in theory, be several times faster than a human’s, yet the injury on Mian’s leg took several days to heal.

It was even slower than a normal person’s recovery speed.

Kairis lowered his eyes, his knuckles tapping lightly and unconsciously on the table as he pondered something.

The Dragon Race was also famously energetic. According to records, they could even fly continuously for two days without rest.

But wasn’t the Little Dragon a bit too… easy to fall asleep?

Was the Dragon Race royalty different from other dragons? An exception?

Before he could sort out his thoughts, a knock suddenly sounded on the door.

It sounded hesitant, and the noise wasn’t very loud.

…It took only an instant to guess who the knocker was.

Kairis collected his thoughts, tossed the small box into a drawer, walked to the door, and opened it for the person who had just been on his mind.

Mian seemed surprised that he had opened the door so quickly. The hand he was hesitatingly about to use to knock again froze in mid-air. He looked up slightly at Kairis, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

Because it was raining outside, the windows at the end of the long corridor were tightly shut, and the servants had all retired to their rooms, so the surroundings were silent, save for the muffled sounds of rain and thunder accompanying the wind occasionally howling through the glass.

Suddenly, a flash of lightning illuminated the entire corridor.

The person in front of him paled.

The next moment, a clap of thunder sounded, startling Mian into instinctively shrinking his shoulders.

Snapping back to reality, he pursed his lips, a slight redness appearing around his eyes. He hesitantly looked up at Kairis, his emerald eyes inexplicably brimming with a layer of moisture.

“Is something the matter?” Kairis looked down at him for a moment and asked.

“I…” Mian stammered for a while, seemingly feeling a bit ashamed, and his ears quietly turned red.

But fear ultimately won him over, so, as if making a firm decision, he whispered, “I’m a little afraid to sleep alone.”

“So?”

“So, can I sleep with you…”

Kairis frowned slightly and refused, “No.”

Mian: “…”

“Actually, there’s a question I’ve wanted to ask you for a long time,” Mian suddenly said after a moment of silence.

Kairis raised an eyebrow, signaling him to ask.

“Do you dislike me?”

Night always amplified emotions. The question Mian had been thinking about all day, coupled with his fear, finally completely overwhelmed him the moment Kairis rejected him.

His Prince was unwilling to even sleep in the same bed as him.

…And he had refused before Mian even finished speaking!

Mian actually felt a little wronged.

Kairis’s consistently cool attitude towards him was vivid in his memory. Although his rational mind told him this was due to Kairis’s personality—that he treated everyone this way—he understood the logic, yet he was still very sad.

Recalling everything that had happened since arriving at the castle, Mian pursed his lips.

First, he was delayed for several days because he got lost before finding the castle, then he got lost in the palace, then he was injured and needed someone to apply medicine, and he didn’t even understand human writing.

…Kairis must think he was stupid and troublesome.

But he didn’t want to be like this.

He didn’t know what was wrong with him lately; it was as if all the bad luck he hadn’t encountered in the dozen years since his birth was being repaid to him all at once these past few days.

But even so, he had tried very hard.

During these days, he was alone in the castle, knowing no one. Although many things were new to him, there was more discomfort than novelty. Moreover, Kairis was very busy and often unavailable—Mian felt they spent less time together than he spent with Sasha.

He actually missed home secretly every night, but he never said anything.

He did all this because he wanted to leave a good impression on his Prince.

Although he had long felt it wasn’t working, at this moment, receiving the blatant result that Kairis didn’t even want to sleep with him, Mian couldn’t hold back his emotions.

He was now both sad and slowly becoming a little angry.

Thinking this, Mian lowered his eyes, which were now even redder.

It looked like he was about to cry the next second.

Kairis was silent for a moment.

He didn’t have mind-reading abilities, so he couldn’t glimpse the myriad thoughts swirling in the Little Dragon’s mind in those few seconds.

…Why was he about to cry again?

He rubbed his temples, feeling a little helpless.

After a moment, he finally compromised, stepping aside and saying, “Come in.”

Mian heard his words, raised his emerald eyes to look at him, the tears welling in his eyes threatening to fall at any moment.

He parted his lips, wanting to say something, looked at Kairis with a sullen expression for a long time, his small chest rising and falling twice, then he sullenly closed his mouth again.

Kairis: “?”

Mian, upon hearing Kairis tell him to enter but realizing his attitude was clearly one of helplessness—that he didn’t genuinely want him in but was only being pressured into it—felt a sudden rush of emotion. He really wanted to turn around in a huff and never speak to Kairis again.

But the flame of determination had only half-ignited before it was thoroughly doused by his own terrifying imagination of the room behind him.

Mian remained silent, and ultimately, he went inside.

His only way of venting was by not saying thank you to Kairis as he passed through the doorway.

Mian sometimes felt he had absolutely no integrity.

But with someone nearby… especially Kairis, the tension he had carried all day completely dissipated, and he felt an immense sense of security, utterly lacking in backbone.

Mian huddled in the warm covers, watching Kairis, who was still sitting against the headboard, calmly reading a book, oblivious to him. After a moment of silence, he quietly turned around, presenting his back to Kairis.

Well… starting tomorrow, he really wouldn’t talk to Kairis anymore.

Mian, resting on Kairis’s pillow, covered by Kairis’s blanket, and sleeping in Kairis’s bed, once again made up his mind.