"...!"

Malrik was completely stunned.

What?

What the hell was that human saying?

Ideally, no one should’ve even known it was him. To connect his name to any of this was simply intolerable!

Besides, he was wearing a rare artifact to alter his appearance as an added layer of security. There was no way he looked remotely like his usual graceful self. More than that, he was dressed in drab, pitiful rags that would’ve been unthinkable for someone of his stature.

Moreover, most of the people there had no idea what the Chancellor really looked like anyway, since he was one of the most private dragons due to the nature of his position.

If anything, the fact that he didn’t and wouldn’t be radiating dragon mana should’ve been enough for Kael and Karion to disregard him or leave him to the lower employees.

Right. This one was probably just grasping at straws.

But unbeknownst to the proud Chancellor, he was facing a being who was on an entirely different level when it came to shamelessness.

"I remember him!" Riley continued, voice carrying easily through the crowd. "When my husband brought me to the dragon estate as a guest!"

"S-someone like the Chancellor would be easy to forget!"

The onlookers, who’d been shaking in fear just earlier, were now more invested in the drama.

The murmurs grew louder.

People leaned in, pointing, whispering, their fear momentarily replaced by curiosity and intrigue.

Malrik tried to speak.

Tried to deny it.

But all that came out were strained, useless sounds caught in his throat.

Then suddenly—

A heavy thud disrupted Riley’s vicious claims.

Not far from them, Kael and Karion had finally subdued the red dragon. The beast was down, restrained but alive—a result that had clearly taken more effort than Kael would have preferred.

For a fleeting moment, Malrik thought the shift in attention would help.

A distraction.

A chance.

Then—

"Honey! The Chancellor! The hooded man is Chancellor Malrik!"

"!!!"

The words hit like a slap.

Malrik’s gaze snapped toward Riley, fury blazing.

Shut up! SILENCE!

How dare this puny little human say such a thing?!

The audacity—

The sheer audacity of a mortal to throw his name out like that, as if it meant nothing—

His vision tinged red.

This insignificant creature had grown far too bold, clinging to a dragon and mistaking borrowed protection for status.

Fine.

He would remember this.

And the moment he had the chance—

That human would be the first to die.

But before he could dwell on it further, Kael moved. In an instant, the Dragon Lord appeared in front of Riley.

And just like that, the human dared interject again.

Riley, who had been shouting so brazenly just seconds ago, suddenly looked shaken. As if only now realizing the danger. As if Malrik’s glare had finally reached him.

He moved quickly, stepping into Kael’s space, pressing close as if seeking protection.

It was almost convincing.

Almost.

But as he leaned into the dragon lord, that blasted human looked up.

Their eyes met.

And this time—

There was no fear.

Only a clear, unmistakable smile.

A goading one.

"...!

Something inside Malrik snapped.

The restrained Chancellor felt his entire body heat up with pure, unadulterated wrath.

Just as Malrik felt like he was about to implode, the scream that built in his chest never made it out.

It turned inward.

He swallowed it, and the pain that followed had nowhere to go but his own ears.

Something tore.

His leg—the same one Orien had been injured on—split open. Blood sprayed out in a violent arc, as if something had driven straight through it in a single, ruthless strike.

There had been no obvious movement.

No visible weapon.

At least nothing that even he could see.

The onlookers gasped, recoiling as their eyes searched for an explanation that wasn’t there. The man they were now whispering about as the Chancellor was still suspended midair, untouched by anything visible.

And yet—

He was being torn apart.

If the crowd was shocked, Riley sounded even more so.

At least, that was what they heard.

But Malrik could see him.

The vapid mortal’s back was resting against the dragon lord’s chest, hidden from the others by the dragon lord’s sheer presence.

With Kael’s body blocking, the people behind them couldn’t see Riley anymore, though they could still hear his outbursts.

At this point, it was only Malrik who could clearly see him.

And what he saw made everything else fade.

That person’s true colors.

He was so flabbergasted that he didn’t even think to prioritize his leg. He simply watched as Riley tilted his head slightly, almost curiously, a wide smile spreading across his face. It didn’t match the situation. It didn’t match the chaos around them.

But it wasn’t actually the smile that unsettled him.

The real concern that had Malrik’s spine tingling and him suddenly breaking out in a cold sweat were those eyes.

When the mortal blinked, those all too human eyes opened to reveal something else.

Slitted emerald ones.

Bright with something that definitely didn’t belong in a mortal.

Malrik’s breath caught.

Then he noticed the hand.

Riley’s hand was raised loosely, his posture relaxed, almost bored. His pointing finger moved dismissively.

A flick.

Nothing more.

But what should have been nothing had the air tightening and condensing around him.

And just like that, Malrik’s other leg ruptured.

Another unseen strike.

Another clean puncture.

Another burst of blood.

What the—?

But the shock that had him nearly passing out wasn’t over.

The very being who’d been entirely human earlier repeated the gesture, and Malrik’s other leg got stabbed again.

However, like the lunatic that mortal was, he actually dared to scream for "Kael!" as if he were trying to stop the dragon lord from being too violent.

This—!

Malrik’s face twisted, his mouth opening in a scream that never came. The pain was immediate and overwhelming, sharp enough to drown out everything else.

It was excessively painful for a being that, in centuries, hadn’t even experienced pain until relatively recently.

Worse—

The wounds weren’t healing.

They remained open, bleeding steadily, refusing to close no matter how his body tried to respond.

Just like the one he’d gotten from the insane consort of the Wyvern King, his regeneration was suddenly failing him.

"...!"

It didn’t make sense.

There was no trace of the primordial dragon. Nothing in the air that should have caused this.

And yet, it was happening.

But the Chancellor, who clearly couldn’t think straight because of the unexpected pain he hadn’t prepared for, didn’t get much time to settle himself.

Because before he could process things, the people started screaming in horror.

What?! What was happening?!

Malrik felt it before he understood it.

Something familiar.

Something wrong.

The Chancellor, who could only move his eyeballs, tried to look down.

And what he saw drove a spike of real fear through him.

The blood wasn’t just spilling across his body, it was streaking.

Now, while that wasn’t extremely unusual, he was certain, as someone who could be considered an ancient, that his own blood was being sprayed on him in a pattern.

Actually, no.

It was more like—moving to form a pattern.

And sure enough, even in his state, even through the pain, he knew what he was looking at. It was a pattern so sinisterly similar to runes.

Then, when Malrik, the same prideful bloke who was currently choking on understandable fear, looked back at the dragon lord and the human he held in his arms, he was certain he could see the mortal moving his hands.

The movement was oddly relaxed and precise, as if tracing invisible lines in the air. Each motion matched the pattern forming across Malrik’s body with unsettling accuracy.

Then, as if confirming his supposed momentary irrational fear, the dragon lord’s aide actually smiled at him.

"!"

It was a pleasant, business-like smile that Kael Dravaryn would’ve considered as beautiful as it was deadly.

However, he wasn’t the wife-obsessed dragon lord.

No.

He was someone who happened to be on the shit list of said aide.

As such, Malrik felt his heart drop at that sight of that smile.

But then, the mortal clicked his tongue as if he were suddenly annoyed.

Well, of course. How could Riley not be annoyed?

They were just starting with the repayment plan. So how could this Chancellor try to die so early?

Definitely not on Riley’s watch!