NMP 3.2

There were too many things to correct.

Jeno crumpled the paper in his hand. It was news from the palace. In an effort to impart dignity, a red seal was stamped on high-quality paper engraved with the royal crest. They even tied it with a string made of twisted gold thread. And it was a letter from a father to his daughter.

If he wanted to establish real prestige, shouldn’t he change the messenger who runs away as soon as he hands the letter?

The people of the palace were always afraid of Jeno. The fear of Jeno spread to awe toward Hildian, who treated him casually.

And now that Hildian was gone, no one seemed to think there was anyone who could control the dragon.

‘They must have thought I’m a violent guy who sets a village on fire when I’m bored.’

Jeno had just ignored it that way, but now he felt a desire to live up to human expectations. Flames seemed to be boiling in his stomach.

The king said that Mikaela would be deposed as a princess.

He expressed regret that the damage to the princes and young men of neighboring countries was so severe that they had no choice but to gather public opinion. He then announced the birth of a fourth brother that was born to the new queen.

“How old is the human king?”

It was time to be a little cautious, but it was wrong to constantly produce children. He was a person who did not look good even if he lived only by breathing. Hildian didn’t even ask her husband to look after her. The only reason he hadn’t turned the palace into a sea of fire was because of Mikaela.

But this was how he returned his gratitude?

“And this happens to arrive at this time.”

Jeno looked up in the direction of the princess’s room. Three days had passed since ‘that happened.’ Mikaela was avoiding Jeno to the point where she couldn’t be more obvious.

When he said he had made lunch, he said he would leave it at the door and she should eat it. He pretended to put it down and tried to hold on in front of the door, but then gave up.

It wasn’t until well over ten minutes after he said he would leave that Mikaela opened the door and looked out into the hall. His keen senses could tell when the princess opened the door and sneaked out on her tiptoe and where she was heading.

But Jeno just pretended not to know, deliberately made a meal for two, put the remaining half in the oven, and left the kitchen. He purposely stood in the hall so as not to overlap with Mikaela’s movements.

He had no intention of forcing the princess who did not want to face him.

But he was slowly running out of patience.

He was not angry at Mikaela for avoiding him. Nor was he frustrated. It was just that he really didn’t know what to say except that he was fucking crazy.

“I couldn’t forget…”

As the amount of time spent alone increased, it was spent solely thinking about Mikaela.

The problem was that Mikaela didn’t seem to hate it.

That day, Mikaela didn’t push Jeno away. On the contrary, she cried asking not to go or asking where and what to do.

When he thought of the look on her face when she said those words, even when he was fixing the swing chair or lying on the bed to sleep, his whole body would feel hot.

The experience of blood rushing downwards. It was the first time his body had reacted just by thinking about such thoughts, so it was embarrassing for the dragon.

“Why are you here!”

Mikaela shouted in surprise.

“You were going to clean the warehouse. Weren’t you there?”

“I was there.”

Two hours ago.

Suddenly, he had a question. Was Mikaela’s bedroom soundproof? Or did she cover her ears with cotton in the room? Even if she was not as sensitive as he was, she knew that outside sounds were heard to some extent in all rooms of the castle.

Therefore, Mikaela woke up every morning annoyed by the shouting of the princes.

What was this little lady doing in her room?

“What, shouldn’t you tell me that you’re moving when you move?”

“I said it twice.”

“I mean… Very loudly.”

“I told you in front of your door.”

The nut-colored eyes swayed like candles in front of the wind. He faked a cough. It was a bit suspicious, but he decided to ignore it for now.

“What are you looking for?”

“Looking for? What are you talking about?”

From the moment she came in, Mikaela had been staring at the brown chest of drawers, but feigned indifference.

“If you tell me what you need, I’ll tell you where it is.”

He had been watching the princess from the side for 18 years. He already knew how to deal with Mikaela. Sure enough, her eyes scrambled between the chest of drawers that filled one wall and Jeno, as if satisfied by the fact that she could find what she needed right away.

She seemed to have made a decision right away.

“Knitting thread.”

“Fourth row from the left, fifth drawer from the top.”

“Ah.”

Mikaela ran to the front of the chest of drawers. Jeno watched as she swept all the white knitting threads in the drawer into the small basket, glanced at him, and put a bundle of yellow yarn in as well.

Was she thinking of weaving a ladder with knitting thread to get out of the castle?

Suppressing the thought of what thread needed as much as that, he quietly called out Mikaela’s name. The princess, who was about to rush back to her room without saying thank you, stopped.

“I have something to show you.”

“I, I don’t want to see it. I’m not curious.”

Mikaela shook her head frantically.

“It’s not good to act like that without listening. Mikaela Priscid.”

“That tone again.”

Her pinkish lips pouted in dissatisfaction.

“You’re treating me like a kid.”

He couldn’t believe his ears for a moment. Did she just mumble stupid Jeno? He raised her to be an honest young lady who was far from acting ostentatiously, and no matter how angry she was, she should not say anything so openly.

Where did he and Hildian go wrong with their way of education?

Rather than the way she was educated, wasn’t the whole problem started when he started touching that child in his dreams?

…It was a foolish question.

“This is news from the palace. It’s from your father.”

Mikaela, who was about to cover her ears and slap her head, widened her eyes.

“I’ll tell you beforehand, but it’s not very pleasant.”

“When was there a pleasant conversation, huh?”

“Read it.”

Jeno handed her a thick piece of paper. Mikaela held it with a bitter expression. The content was not very long. All but the first two lines of greetings were just lame excuses.

Jeno waited for the princess to finish reading the letter. What was she thinking? He wanted to look inside her head.

He was worried about her as she looked down at the letter without saying a word with a slightly stiff face. And he was angry at the king who acted as he pleased, as if he had been hit by a fragment of a cannon on his head.

Maybe it was because he had been passive for so long. The king seemed to have forgotten that the one standing behind his daughter was a dragon.

Well, 10 years was enough time to become complacent.

Jeno said in a low voice.

“What do you want to do? Just tell me. Do you want to go to the palace and claim your rights? Or punish……”

“Is he dethroning me as a princess?”

“As you can see.”

“Jeno.”

Just as he was about to tell her that he was ready, Mikaela’s expression was strange. Rather than being shocked by her father’s decision, she seemed surprised for some other reason. Was that a confused look? Was she dubious? It didn’t seem like joy.

He was retracting what he said that he knew how to deal with her. Jeno still had a hard time reading the human woman’s mind.

“There’s no mention of me leaving the castle.”

“That is…”

Maybe that guy didn’t even feel the need to comment on his treatment of Mikaela because he was the only one who knew. All he had to say was that the letter was full. And blah-blah-blah about his sad and difficult situation where he had no choice but to make such a decision.

Regardless of the reason, it wouldn’t be strange if she was angry at her father saying that this was too much.

That’s the situation, wasn’t it?

“It seemed like he had forgotten me completely.”

Mikaela’s mouth fell open. And before Jeno could say anything, she jumped out of her seat and ran to her room. The basket of knitting thread that she was holding dearly fell on the floor.

If she cried, he would not leave the king alone. Jeno followed Mikaela, gritting his teeth. She would need comfort more than ever.

However, it was a little different from what Jeno expected to see five minutes later.