How To Break Qaq If The Dragon Catches The Wrong Person? Chapter 9

Chapter 9 Marriage Alliance

After picking him up, Kairis walked in the direction Mian had originally come from.

“I just came from that way,” Mian reminded him quietly.

“Mm.” Kairis acknowledged him, stating flatly, “You were walking the wrong way.”

Mian: “…”

He shut up.

Kairis was still wearing the clothes Mian had seen him in during the day. He looked like he had been dealing with State Affairs all day, yet there was little sign of fatigue on his face.

“Where is this?” Mian couldn’t figure out why Kairis would appear in such a secluded place. It couldn’t be that he had foreseen Mian getting lost and came specifically to find him. After a moment, Mian was too curious and asked softly.

“Turn one more corner and we’ll be at the Royal Study. Usually, no one comes here unless summoned,” Kairis replied. He paused, then commented almost admiringly, “You ran quite far from Loria’s place to here.”

Mian: “…”

He didn’t think that was a compliment.

This was the second time Kairis had mocked him for getting lost.

Mian decided not to speak to Kairis for the time being.

He had played with Loria for too long earlier and lost track of time. Now he realized it must be very late.

They didn’t encounter many people on the way back, only a few scattered Palace Guards on night duty dutifully patrolling in formation.

—Then, upon seeing Kairis holding Mian, they simultaneously lost their composure.

The originally neat formation instantly fell into disarray.

Kairis walked past with an unchanged expression.

Noticing the small commotion, his gaze swept over them calmly.

The next moment, the group of guards immediately withdrew their gazes and marched away in an orderly fashion.

However, if one looked closely, they might notice that a few of them seemed to be walking out of sync.

The same scene occurred at the entrance to the sleeping quarters.

Mian’s room was not far from Kairis’s bedchamber, located on the same long corridor.

At this moment, several night-duty housekeepers and maids were idly chatting in low voices, guessing when the Prince would return tonight and what interesting things had recently happened in the Palace. The atmosphere was peaceful and pleasant.

So when they suddenly saw Kairis appear in the corridor holding Mian, they froze for a moment. When they recovered, their jaws dropped.

Then, everyone watched as the Prince walked without stopping, carrying the person directly into his own bedchamber.

The few people were so shocked their eyes nearly popped out.

Mian didn’t notice the maids’ reactions.

While he felt a little embarrassed by Kairis holding him, he didn’t feel anything was wrong—it reminded him of his childhood.

In the past, whenever he played outside and forgot to go home, his father would pick him up by the scruff of his neck and carry him back.

Kairis’s current behavior felt no different to him.

So, as Mian wrapped his arms around Kairis’s neck and passed by, he even had the leisure to greet Sasha.

Sasha responded to him with a seemingly calm demeanor.

Kairis always ignored such things. The servants standing on both sides opened the door for him with trepidation, and he walked in composedly, holding Mian.

This was Mian’s first time entering Kairis’s room.

Placed on a nearby sofa by Kairis, he looked around curiously.

Kairis’s room was slightly larger than his, but had far fewer decorations. The overall look was cleaner and more streamlined, though consequently appearing a bit monotonous.

It was very much like the impression Kairis himself gave.

While he was lost in thought, Kairis returned with gauze and ointment.

Mian looked up as he approached, then naturally knelt down in front of him, not having time to say that he actually didn’t need treatment.

Unlike humans, who take two or three days to recover from a minor scrape, the Dragon Race’s self-healing ability was always strong.

The scrape on his knee, while looking a bit alarming, would actually heal completely in another two hours.

Mian felt it again carefully and realized the fall seemed a bit severe, perhaps even injuring the bone slightly.

Hmm, in that case, five hours.

A good night’s sleep would fix it.

Just as he was thinking this, a cool sensation suddenly touched his knee, and Mian instinctively flinched.

Kairis was applying an unknown ointment to his wound with a cotton swab.

It was the middle of the night, and calling the physician would be too much trouble, so the Prince decided to handle it himself.

“Does it hurt?” Noticing his small movement, Kairis asked casually.

“Mm,” Mian replied weakly.

After the initial coolness, the pain gradually spread… it hurt even more than before the medicine was applied.

Mian paused, starting to recall if he had offended Kairis in any way over the past two days.

“Bear with it,” Kairis’s indifferent voice sounded at the right time.

Mian: “…”

He definitely had!

Despite his words, Kairis’s movements became much gentler.

The moonlight outside the window was bright. Unlike the terrifying pallor in the corridor earlier, perhaps because there was another person nearby, it now felt only peaceful and luminous.

The moonlight shone through the window, reflecting on Kairis’s light golden hair. The shadow cast by his long eyelashes showed a unique kind of focus.

Mian looked down at him, thinking that while Kairis had been a bit fierce during the day, he seemed somewhat gentle now.

Moreover, his sudden appearance in that situation, and his willingness to bring Mian back without holding a grudge (though Mian didn’t know what grudge there was), further proved that Kairis was a good person.

“Done.” After treating the wound, Kairis lowered his eyes and put away the supplies. “Don’t let it get wet for the next few days.”

Mian nodded, feeling a little embarrassed. Although he was grateful for the help, the wounds should be healed by tomorrow.

“Go back and sleep,” Kairis said after a moment of silence.

So Mian, carrying two honored legs personally bandaged by the Prince, walked out of his bedchamber and happily returned to his own room under the even more shocked and bewildered gazes of the servants outside.

Waking up the next day, Mian’s hopeful thought proved wrong.

He discovered something rather absurd.

His legs had not healed.

Mian sat on the edge of the bed, completely baffled.

He certainly didn’t think Kairis would deliberately apply medicine to slow down healing; he would never do such a thing.

So it was even stranger.

With his usual healing ability, this minor injury should have long since mended. How could it still not be recovered, even with the aid of healing medicine?

Mian couldn’t figure it out, and there were no dragons here to ask, so he could only attribute it to the fact that he was now in Human Form.

Although the speed of wound healing had drastically slowed, it was indeed slowly mending. The only thing affected was Mian’s plan.

Having received news from Annie, he had planned to leave the Palace today to find Miya, but going out with two injured legs was too conspicuous. So, he had to temporarily put the idea aside, thinking it wouldn’t be too late to go once he was fully healed.

Unexpectedly, this postponement lasted for several days.

Mian sat on the sofa, looking at the faintly bruised marks on his legs, which had mostly healed, feeling deeply confused.

Why was the healing so slow?

He tried lifting his leg, then put it down.

It still hurt a little.

He sighed.

“What’s wrong, Little Dragon?” The person sitting next to him, equally bored, spoke up.

Hearing his sigh, Ovi immediately leaned over with interest.

After a few days of adaptation, Mian had gradually gotten used to life in the Castle.

Perhaps because the first medicine Kairis used was only available to him, he consistently applied the medicine himself for several days.

Mian had initially thought about doing it himself, but the medicine was unstable and the application process was complicated. After messing up two or three times, he handed the task back to Kairis.

Consequently, the two had become quite familiar, and Mian’s prejudice against Kairis, which had arisen from the scene in the Castle Dungeon a few days ago, had long since vanished.

“Nothing.” Mian withdrew his gaze from his legs, feeling a bit bored, and stood up from the sofa.

“Where are you going?” Ovi’s gaze followed his movement, and he asked subconsciously.

Mian didn’t answer, but walked toward Kairis.

—They were currently in the Royal Study.

The weather was nice today, and the sunlight outside the window was bright. Not far away, Kairis was sitting behind a massive desk, looking down at official documents, his expression focused.

Because of his injury, Mian was temporarily confined to the Castle, and his movements were restricted.

…And Kairis seemed to have noticed his terrible sense of direction. To prevent him from running around and getting lost, forcing people to search for him, Kairis had been keeping him close recently.

Since he wasn’t used to human shoes, Mian usually avoided wearing them when possible, and he was currently barefoot.

The entire Royal Study was covered in a thick carpet, which was very comfortable to walk on, making him even less willing to be confined.

Walking up to Kairis, he leaned in and curiously peered at the official document in his hand.

Kairis’s expression was unchanged, showing no intention of concealing it.

Ovi’s eyes nearly popped out when he saw this.

He first gasped in surprise, then quickly looked around, confirming that there was no one else in the Royal Study besides the three of them before relaxing slightly.

“…Hey, you.” Ovi swallowed, looking at Kairis with a complicated expression. “You’re just letting him look? Is that okay?”

These official documents were confidential. Even he only looked at them when Kairis requested it. Unauthorized viewing of these documents would warrant ten trips to the guillotine.

“Why wouldn’t it be okay?” Kairis didn’t lift his head, turning the page of the document in his hand as he spoke.

He seemed completely nonchalant.

Ovi: “…”

What did that mean? What did that mean?

A terrifying guess arose in his mind, one he dared not dwell on.

Was the engagement to restrain Fes just a pretense? Had their Prince, who seemed destined to be eternally estranged from the word ‘love,’ actually fallen in love with this Little Dragon at first sight?!

He knew it! He had sensed something was off, and now, sure enough…

Just as his expression became increasingly twisted and incredulous, Kairis spoke again.

“Do you think he can read it?” His voice was calm.

Ovi: “…”

Mian: “…”

All of Ovi’s thoughts suddenly froze at that moment.

Then they transformed into a puff of air.

“Oh, I forgot.” Ovi shifted his gaze from his friend, looking at Mian, who was staring earnestly at the document in Kairis’s hand, yet subtly radiating confusion. He suppressed a laugh. “You’re illiterate.”

Mian: “…………”

Mian withdrew his gaze, lowering his eyelids in annoyance.

While he hadn’t understood a single word… that was only because of the language barrier.

Kairis made it sound like he was some uncultured dragon!

Mian pursed his lips, then angrily pulled a blank sheet of paper from the desk and wrote a few characters on it.

“Do you know what this means?” He moved the Dragon Race characters he had just written in front of Kairis and asked him coldly.

Kairis glanced at it and raised an eyebrow slightly.

“What does it mean?” he asked, taking his time.

“See, you can’t understand what I wrote either.” Mian looked at the characters and answered seriously, “It means ‘idiot’.”

Kairis paused subtly at the words, then the corner of his mouth curved up.

“Is that so?” he asked.

Mian’s gaze drifted, his tone firm: “Yes.”

“Right, you still haven’t answered me.” Afraid Kairis would delve deeper, Mian quickly changed the subject. “When are you planning to leave with me?”

As the words fell, the atmosphere in the room suddenly paused. Even Ovi, who had been enjoying the spectacle, instantly quieted down.

Kairis narrowed his eyes.

After a few breaths, he asked, “Must I go with you?”

“Of course, always.” Mian didn’t understand why he would ask this question, which was almost common knowledge, but he answered truthfully: “My aunt… the current Dragon Race Queen, is like that too.”

Because every Dragon King must ensure a marriage alliance with the Fes royal family, the Dragon Race’s succession model was somewhat unique.

Generally, the Dragon King marries a Fes Princess as Queen, but they do not reproduce. Instead, the child of the King’s brother becomes the next King, passing down the line this way generation after generation.

It was a troublesome method, and one that cost the Dragon Race a great deal.

Setting aside the fundamental reason for the centuries-long alliance between the two nations, the Little Dragon in front of him was about to become the King of the Dragon Race.

…Kairis found it hard to imagine if such a foolish dragon could truly manage a country without problems.

Thinking of this, he suddenly asked, “What about your brother?”

“My older brother has a dragon he loves,” Mian was quickly distracted, and answered without much thought, his tone a little disgruntled: “So it had to be me…”

However, it wasn’t as bad as he thought.

Thinking this, Mian looked up at Kairis and felt somewhat satisfied.

Although his Princess was a bit fierce, at least… she was very good-looking.

Kairis couldn’t discern what Mian was thinking, only finding it perplexing that the Dragon Race had to make such a great sacrifice for the marriage alliance with Fes.

Every Queen had to be a Fes Princess; this was more than just a friendly relationship between two nations.

Furthermore, the Dragon Race was powerful and didn’t need any assistance from Fes.

It was almost as if… something was forcing them to do this.

Mian finally realized he had been led off-topic. After recovering his thoughts, he pondered for a moment and interpreted Kairis’s change of subject in a different way.

“You don’t have to feel too reluctant,” he said understandingly. “We can still come back later.”

“…” Kairis rubbed his forehead, feeling that saying more was pointless.

Mian continued on his own: “In any case, we must leave before summer arrives.”

Hearing that specific time, Kairis raised an eyebrow: “Why must it be before summer?”

“I’m not sure,” Mian shook his head. “But it’s always been like that.”

“If you don’t leave before then, what are the consequences?”

Feeling like he was about to hear a Dragon Race secret, Ovi couldn’t help but prick up his ears.

But Mian frowned, thought for a while, and finally deflated: “I don’t know either.”

Ovi: “…”

“But anyway, it’s better not to,” Mian added.

“Understood.” Kairis was silent for a moment, then agreed: “I will accompany you back before summer arrives.”

Ovi’s eyes widened again.

For a moment, he couldn’t tell if Kairis was purely humoring the Little Dragon or not.

Suddenly, a knock came from the door, and the voice of the guard outside, muffled by the door, was somewhat indistinct: “Prince, the Little Princess sent someone to ask if young master Mian is here.”

Ovi’s heart tightened at the first half of the sentence, then relaxed at the second half.

Recovering, he looked at Mian with a hint of schadenfreude, only to see the Little Dragon excitedly running to put on his shoes, and responding in the interim: “I’ll be right there!”

Many human toys were ingenious, especially those from the royal family. Mian had been very happy playing with Loria’s delicate little objects recently. One needed someone to share with, and the other had a strong thirst for knowledge, so they hit it off and often spent time together these past two days.

Since he had received Kairis’s promise on the most important matter, Mian felt much relieved and was immediately distracted by other things.

Ovi watched Mian’s retreating figure, shaking his head and clicking his tongue.

After Mian had completely left, he turned back to Kairis.

—The Prince who had just agreed to go back with the Little Dragon for a marriage alliance, becoming increasingly inscrutable.

Somehow, he suddenly recalled how Kairis had specifically asked him to go and explain things to the Little Dragon two days ago, an effort that resulted in him being tormented by the Princess all afternoon.

Thinking of this, he was silent for a moment, then lamented half-jokingly: “Are you really planning to go back with him for a marriage alliance?”