Chapter 197: Mercer Cravel

Of course it wouldn’t be easy.

Julian didn’t want to be blunt and tell Felicya to become his disciple.

Who knew what would happen if he did?

What reaction Felicya would have was sure to be interesting, but Julian wasn’t ready for it. He also still had time, not much, but at least enough to give him a reason to keep trying.

Namely, starting by getting to know Felicya better. Before, Julian hadn’t dared, afraid that anything he did would offend Felicya and invite disaster.

But Felicya had actually been very obedient. The girl hadn’t caused Julian any trouble at all, knowing when to be put down for a moment even if she wasn’t pleased about it.

What’s more, her strength had fallen far below Julian’s own. With all that, what was there left to be afraid of?

In fact, now was a golden opportunity to understand more about this girl.

It wouldn’t be easy at all.

Julian looked at Felicya, who was still in his arms. The girl had already leaned her head back comfortably, as if their earlier conversation had never happened.

’...Where should I start?’

Julian actually had quite a few questions.

From Felicya’s origins, to how the girl had come to have such extraordinary abilities, to why she always felt so comfortable near him.

But after considering it, Julian realized that asking too many questions at once might not be the right approach.

What’s more, Felicya herself didn’t even know the answer to why she had come to the human world.

’...In that case, I should start with something simpler.’

There was no use forcing something Felicya couldn’t answer yet. Julian only needed to talk with her more often, understand what she liked, and try to learn how the girl actually saw him.

At the very least, that sounded reasonable enough.

The problem was, Julian wasn’t very good at dealing with someone like Felicya, either.

The girl didn’t talk much. Even when Julian tried to start a conversation, sometimes Felicya would give only a short reply before closing her eyes again.

But that didn’t mean she wasn’t listening.

Julian had noticed several times that Felicya was actually paying attention to what he said, even though she seemed too lazy to give a long response.

’...Maybe I’ve been too careful all this time.’

Julian felt a little amused remembering his own attitude.

Before, he had always tried to make sure Felicya wasn’t bothered by his actions. Even when he wanted to ask something simple, Julian had sometimes had to consider whether the question was worth saying or not.

And now, after spending quite a lot of time together, he was beginning to feel that all those worries might have been a bit excessive.

Felicya was hard to understand, but so far the girl had never deliberately made things difficult for him.

So it seemed he didn’t need to rush.

As long as he still had the chance, Julian would try to get to know Felicya slowly, without making the girl feel she was being asked to do anything.

After all, he wanted Felicya to become his disciple of her own will.

And if everything went well, perhaps they would find a way to deal with the Qiezhuran’s problem before the remaining time ran out.

***

Day 5 of the festival preparations.

In the territory of the Drazhuel Clan, a man was standing in his study.

The room was fairly spacious, decorated with beautiful paintings hanging on the walls. Some of them were quite large, while the rest were neatly arranged among the furniture and various ornaments that filled the room.

There was something slightly different about this study.

Although it was used by a Clan leader with enormous power, the place wasn’t entirely filled with objects displaying its owner’s rank or strength.

It was the paintings that drew the most attention.

And among them, there was one painting not far from the desk.

A painting of a woman.

A woman so beautiful, with an appearance that could make anyone stop for a moment just to admire it.

The woman who had once been the leader of the Qiezhuran looked so lovely in that painting. A gentle smile adorned her face, while her whole appearance gave an impression that was a pleasure to look at.

And now, a man stood right before it.

Mercer Cravel.

The leader of the Drazhuel Clan, a Rank-SS Dragon whose name alone was enough to make many parties cautious.

But at this moment, Mercer showed none of the manner usually expected of a leader of his standing.

He simply stood quietly, looking at Clyne’s painting without saying anything.

His gaze moved slowly, as if he were confirming something on the face of the woman in the painting.

’...Clyne.’

The name rose in his mind.

Mercer had known that woman for so long. Because of that, he didn’t even need to read anything or hear someone else say her name to remember who stood before him.

But of course, a painting was still a painting.

No matter how beautiful her appearance, no sound would come when Mercer said her name. No change of expression would appear either, however long he looked at that face.

And Mercer himself already knew that.

Even so, he stayed standing there.

Behind him, the fairly large desk was piled with documents. There were a number of matters still requiring his attention, and as the leader of the Drazhuel, Mercer could not neglect all those responsibilities.

But for the time being, he chose not to think about them.

Mercer’s gaze remained on Clyne.

A beautiful painting.

Even compared with the other paintings in the room, Mercer still felt that Clyne’s had something the others lacked.

Perhaps it was because he knew the woman so well.

Or perhaps there was another reason he didn’t need to explain to anyone.

Mercer didn’t dwell on it.

He simply raised one hand and slowly touched the edge of the painting’s frame.

His fingers stopped there for a few moments.

’...It’s been so long.’

Mercer still remembered many things about Clyne.

Not all of them were pleasant, but that didn’t mean he wanted to forget.

So much time had passed, while the circumstances around them kept changing. Even now, with so many problems already right before him, Mercer could still remember that woman very clearly.

But he didn’t say anything.

He only drew back his hand and looked at Clyne’s face once more.

For a moment, Mercer’s expression seemed to change a little.

It was hard to say whether he was feeling happy, sad, or thinking of something else entirely.

His face stayed calm, but the gaze directed at the painting held something not easy to understand.

And in the middle of that silence, Mercer finally lowered his head.

"...."

A small breath escaped his mouth.

He didn’t lift his head right away. Instead, Mercer stayed where he was, letting a few moments pass without doing anything.

Outside the room, the Drazhuel’s various affairs naturally continued on.

But inside the study, no one else disturbed him.

Only Mercer and the paintings that had always been there.

After a while, he finally lifted his head again.

His eyes once more rested on Clyne’s face.

No smile appeared on Mercer’s face, but his expression didn’t look like that of someone angry either. It was even hard to tell what the man was truly thinking.

He simply looked at the painting calmly.

Then, after a fairly long silence, Mercer finally opened his mouth.

"Just as you said, this is about to be over."