CH 202

“You think it’s easy having to stick around you all day long?!”

“Where’s the difficulty in that?”

In spite of herself, Tania found herself unable to answer. There was nothing difficult about babysitting Girgantia, it was merely annoying. After all, the dragon was so obedient that he was practically acting like an imperial now.

Once, she asked him, “Hey, don’t you have any ambition or desire to kill people and drive the world into chaos anymore?”

“Heck, why should I? Staying here, I get fed and a bed too. I’m just going to enjoy living like this. Not like I’ve got any power right now anyway. I’ll just suffer if I try to break out,” Girgantia replied languidly.

‘Honestly, I don’t know if he’s still a dragon, or the dog of the imperial family.’ Tania clicked her tongue and ignored Girgantia as she climbed the stairs at the end of the villa.

Upon reaching the balcony on the roof, she could see out across the scenery of Aluna over the villa fence. Her expression darkened when she spotted the comers and goers on the street outside. The streets were filled with couples.

“Must be nice for all of them,” she grumbled to herself. Taking out the flyer from her pocket, she looked at the abundant heart decorations that made it obvious the festival was targeted towards lovers. Flipping it over to look at the back, Tania looked at what was printed in large letters: For those who have yet to find their fated one!

There were a myriad of events listed for people who were still single. It made Tania remember the resolution she’d made when she left home. Her biggest desire had been to see the imperial palace, but in truth, it hadn’t been the only aspiration she’d held. There was something else she’d been hoping for before coming to the capital.

‘My romance! I’m sure that somewhere in the capital… there’ll be a duke that’s cold and rational, but warm when it comes to his woman.’

Dukes—the number one occupation of male protagonists in the romance novels she’d read. That was why she’d set her sights on searching for dukes after entering the imperial palace. To her dismay, there were hardly any to be found there. ‘I didn’t know that His Majesty killed most of them!’

When Estian dethroned the previous emperor, he’d also wiped out quite a number of nobles. At the time, a good portion of the already scarce dukes had lost their lives under his sword, and their houses had been brought to ruin. As for the few that had survived… Tania thought back to the dukes she’d encountered.

“My granddaughter is your age, but she’s still immature. You said you’re the daughter of Margrave Kaniche, yes? You can call me Grandpa from now on,” one had said upon meeting her. There was no cold duke of the north to be found. In his place were only plump, good-natured grandfathers that placed candies in Tania’s hand.

‘This isn’t going to work.’ The imperial palace was hopeless—the duke she sought didn’t exist there. The best she could hope for was a romance between colleagues, but Tania had learned from books that such romances usually ended in more harm than good.

‘If that’s the case, then… this is a chance.’ Tania made up her mind. She vaguely remembered that there were often fateful encounters in festivals like this in romance novels. Glancing at the festival flyer again, she felt her heart speed up. Fated one—it was a thrilling phrase. ‘By God, I’m meeting my fated one today.’

Girgantia was watching the people passing on the streets beside Tania when she said to him, “Hey, you can have all of my chicken today. Don’t follow me. Just keep pretending to keep your chains on while I’m gone, alright?”

“Where are you going?”

“I’m off to find my destiny. Don’t stop me.”

With those words, Tania climbed down the balcony stairs, leaving Girgantia behind. The dragon watched her go with narrowed eyes.