The Villainess Proposed a Contractual Marriage

Tina soared through the sky, spotting the Lotus Palace from high above.

Despite Second Prince Rayners' reputation, the Lotus Palace was breathtakingly beautiful. The pond, easily mistaken for a lake, boasted blooming pink lotus flowers, while the platinum palace reflected on the calm water's surface.

Tina glided skillfully through the air, approaching the palace. She knocked on the main entrance with her front paws. Footsteps soon approached from inside.

Naturally, the Lotus Palace teemed with court attendants. The first to witness the transformed Tina was a young maid.

"Huh...?"

"Beep?"

Slam!

The young maid hastily shut the door, needing a moment to process reality. Rubbing her eyes and repeatedly confirming her sanity, she slowly reopened the door.

"Umm...?"

Slam!

Once more, the main door closed instantly. This time, however, it reopened more quickly.

Fwip!

As the maid took in Tina's form one last time - a scream erupted.

"Kyaaaah! A monster has appeared!"

"Keeng!?"

As the maid fled in panic, Tina pursued her, desperate to clear up the misunderstanding. She frantically tried to draw attention to the note around her neck, but the terrified maid was in no state to notice.

"What's all this commotion about!"

Just then, an older woman - the head maid of the Lotus Palace - scolded the fleeing maid, but...

"... Huh?"

Her attitude changed in a flash.

"M-monster...! Look, knights! Rayners has been...!!!"

"Beep?!"

The misunderstanding seemed to be snowballing. Even Tina, driven largely by instinct, could recognize that much.

Thud, thud, thud!

Urgent footsteps echoed from afar. Judging by their weight and force, it seemed to be the knights guarding the Lotus Palace.

"W-what is that...?"

"It's small, but definitely a monster..."

"Why is it cute?"

Indeed it was.

While the maid and head maid had exaggerated their fear, shocked by such an unusual creature, a calmer look revealed an incredibly adorable appearance.

However, duty is duty, and personal feelings must be set aside.

Soon after, the knights formed a circle, surrounding the intruder.

Tina had been captured.

"What's all this commotion about?"

A solemn voice descended the spiral staircase. The knights maintained their formation while showing minimal respect. This person was likely someone the knights held in high regard - probably the master of the Lotus Palace.

"Moo?"

But Tina could only tilt her head in confusion. While the master of the Lotus Palace should undoubtedly be the Second Prince, the person who appeared bore only a slight resemblance.

The golden hair shining like sunlight and forest-green eyes were indeed features shared by Yulian and Rayners. However, the Rayners that Tina knew didn't have such a sharp jawline, nor did he give off the impression of having broad shoulders.

Judging by appearance alone, the man was no different from the surrounding knights.

"Hmm?"

He glanced at Tina with interest.

"Is that creature causing all this fuss? It could pass for a baby dragon, haha..."

"Y-Your Highness! It's dangerous! Please stay back!"

"It's fine. If someone has to get hurt, better me since I heal quickly. Besides, it looks harmless..."

Rayners approached the mysterious creature, his eyes sparkling. As he dispersed the knights' circle and drew closer, he noticed a large note hanging around Tina's neck.

"What's this...?"

"Kuu..."

"May I read it?"

"Keeng, keeeeng..."

The baby dragon vigorously nodded its head.

In truth, Tina felt utterly miserable. She had arrived at the Lotus Palace following Yulian's instructions, but instead of the mouth-watering strawberry cake she'd been anticipating, she was met with a terrified maid and intimidating knights.

It's not like she wanted to be like this, yet people showed hostility towards her.

This wasn't the first time, and as this treatment kept repeating, dusty memories gradually became clearer. The time when the instinct to crave blood dominated her body shared some similarities with the present situation...

'I don't like this...'

Though it seemed like a faded memory from long ago, in reality, not even a year had passed. The reason she could soothe her emotional wounds so quickly was undoubtedly thanks to Harte and those around him.

Come to think of it, everyone had been positive towards her since meeting Harte. That's why she had quickly forgotten the feeling of being persecuted by others.

'Dad...'

"Kuuuu..."

As Tina let out a weak cry, Rayners' face grew increasingly pale as he read the note left by Yulian.

"Wh-what...!"

"Your Highness? Is something wrong?"

"... No, it's nothing...! More importantly, your guard duty is over, so return to your posts!"

Despite Rayners' order, the knights and maids were reluctant to leave. After all, if Rayners were to be attacked the moment they left, they'd all lose their heads in succession.

"Come on! I said go!"

"... Your Highness, I apologize, but please allow at least one or two knights to remain."

"Fine, just do what you need to do."

"Yes, understood."

Only after obtaining this reluctant permission did the area finally clear out. Rayners could at last calmly reread the note.

'This child is Viscount Luminel's granddaughter from the ball...? And she's actually half-dragon? Is that even possible? Even if I scoured the secret archives, I wouldn't find a single successful case of dragon crossbreeding...!'

Rayners scrutinized Tina with disbelieving eyes. However, his preconceptions shifted quickly.

'No, that's not right. She's Sir Harte's daughter, isn't she? Whether she's half-dragon or half-demon, it's not surprising. I don't need to understand it, just accept it...'

Above all, the part emphasized in bold letters - [Please serve her as much strawberry cake as she wants.] caught his attention. Looking at this, how could he not believe that this dragon was a young girl?

"Um... well..."

Rayners found himself in the rare position of addressing an animal that couldn't speak.

"So... Miss Tina?"

"Keeng..."

"Do you like strawberry cake?"

"Beep, beeep."

"I see. You do like it..."

Though he couldn't understand a word she said, he could understand the meaning of her nodding or shaking her head. Thus, Rayners completely let his guard down and began to guide Tina.

"Please enjoy yourself to your heart's content until you return home. You can eat until the Lotus Palace's budget runs dry!"

"Moot!"

Whish, whish!

Tina vigorously headbanged in response. Faced with such overwhelming positivity, Rayners let out an awkward chuckle.

"Haha..."

Afterwards, Rayners' amazement continued.

Tina's appetite as she shoved sweet snacks into her wide-open maw was astounding. Though Rayners had confidently promised to serve her until the budget ran out, he struggled to find a way to procure more ingredients once they were depleted.

Thus, with Tina's concession, the joyful time at the Lotus Palace came to an end as the sun set beneath the evening glow.

---

---

As the moon chased away the sun, ushering in the darkness of early evening.

Tina spread her wings and took flight from the Lotus Palace. It was time to return to the Duke's mansion, so she planned to bid farewell to Yulian. However, Tina's flight path took an odd turn not long after.

"Dad... it hurts. Sob..."

"It's alright... You'll be fine. How could I have brought you here otherwise? Someone of the Imperial Palace's caliber will surely find a way."

Somewhere in the main palace, the groans of a sick child and the trembling voice of a middle-aged man could be heard. Using her dragon-like hearing to pinpoint the location, Tina secretly headed towards the source of the commotion.

It was an exceptionally luxurious room on the third floor, even among the other opulent chambers. Given that the Emperor's office was located on the third floor of the main palace, all the spaces there were special in their own right.

In that sense, the man and child were receiving quite the special treatment.

However, it seemed that fate didn't consider them quite so special.

"... I'm sorry, Viscount. At this late stage of leukemia, there's nothing that can be done, neither through medicine nor magic."

"What...?"

The Imperial physician delivered an objective and cold judgment. However, the Viscount, the child's guardian, clutched the physician's sleeve and wept.

"Th-this can't be. There have been cases of leukemia being cured completely..."

"I have nothing more to say. However... the cases you're aware of were caught in the early stages, quite different from Young Eon's situation."

"I, I just thought... it was just a common illness. I never imagined it would worsen to this extent... Not at all..."

"... Most patients are like that. Unless daily check-ups are routine, like for His Majesty the Emperor, catching it early is considered lucky."

"Ah... Aah..."

As the Viscount let out a despairing sound, the child who had been lying quietly in bed shed a single tear.

"It hurts."

"..."

"Does that mean... I'm going to die...?"

"..."

Even for an Imperial physician who had seen it all, it wasn't easy to bluntly pronounce a death sentence. However, sometimes silence can be more frightening than affirmation. For the young boy, this was precisely such a moment.

"... I don't want to."

"Son..."

"Please save me... Dad. Please save me... Doctor... I'm in so much pain..."

"..."

"I don't want to die... I don't want to die. I said I don't want to die... I'm scared..."

There was still so much left undone. He was too young to seriously contemplate the concept of death. Yet the impending death before him was utterly terrifying.

"I haven't even apologized to Mom for being so cranky. I was just in so much pain that I said whatever came to mind. I've only been irritable with the maid sisters who take care of me every day... It's all my fault, isn't it? I should apologize, right? But even now, I feel irritated. So I don't think I can apologize even if I go back now..."

The Viscount wanted to cover the child's mouth as he rambled on.

To think that the firstborn son he had in his twilight years was destined to meet such an early demise. To have to bid farewell to a child showing such vulnerability.

Parents should never have to bury their children. The pain of losing a child was like having one's soul battered.

"Sob..."

As an indistinguishable voice of lament spread a gloomy atmosphere.

Tina, stuck to the wall like a gecko, pondered.

'Leukemia? Blood? Is the blood in pain? But how can blood be in pain? How can blood even feel pain?'

Tina's limited knowledge couldn't grasp what leukemia specifically was. However, her actively working brain drew a very astute inference.

'Anyway, good blood should fix it!'

Truly a fun and cool conclusion. Therefore, Tina skillfully opened the terrace door with her front paws and crept inside.

"Waaah!?"

"Huk...!"

The Imperial physician and the Viscount fell hard on their backsides. Paying them no mind, Tina flew to the bed where the boy lay and landed. The boy also gasped, his face turning pale blue.

"Wha... What is this...? This is... Mmph..."

"Kyuut."

The boy's words were cut short. Tina's front paw had planted itself on his face with a soft thud.

"Guards! Guards! My son, my son...! He's being attacked! Guards!!!"

The Viscount raised a ruckus.

Though it was an unseemly display for a man of his age, it was certainly effective. Given the special management of the third floor, the guards' response time was quite swift.

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!

Moments later, the guards rushing down the corridor urgently flung open the door.

"Who dares, in His Majesty's quarters... Huk!"

"Who's the intruder... What...?!"

"Wh-what is this...!?"

They froze in an instant despite their initial charge. Though the Imperial guards were an elite group, none of them had ever actually seen a dragon.

However, seeing Tina, who bore a striking resemblance to descriptions of dragons, they hesitated for a moment.

Was this a being they could safely confront?

Perhaps rash action might result in the Imperial Palace being reduced to rubble.

"Muu..."

Flinch!

The crimson dragon let out a cry. Simultaneously, the guards' stiffened shoulders twitched.

Pat, pat, pat.

Soon after, the dragon removed its paw from the boy's face. Then, adeptly moving on all fours, it climbed down from the bed and squeezed through the window gap onto the terrace.

Flap!

As they watched Tina spread her wings and glide towards the pale moon, the guards swallowed hard.

Only after the unprecedented creature had completely vanished did the tense atmosphere in the room finally ease.

"S-son...!!!"

The first to regain his senses was the Viscount. He was worried about his son's condition after being attacked by the unknown creature. But contrary to his concern, the Viscount's son was blinking his eyes, perfectly fine.

"... Dad."

"Y-yes. It's Dad. I'm so relieved you seem alright..."

"Dad..."

"Yes, it's Dad. It's Dad."

"My body..."

"Your body...? Don't tell me that beast did something to you...!"

"No! That's not it..."

The boy unconsciously felt his body. After sequentially touching his arms, chest, head, and stomach, he shook his head. The Viscount grew a bit fearful at his son's inexplicable behavior.

But that was short-lived.

The boy uttered miraculous words.

"My body... doesn't hurt."

"... What?"

"My body doesn't hurt at all. I feel like I could even run around right now..."

"Th-that's impossible! It can't be!"

The Imperial physician immediately refuted. Not out of malice, but because it was medically impossible.

However, as they proceeded with careful re-examinations, the Imperial physician had no choice but to confirm the existence of a miracle. The child who had been given an extremely short life expectancy had transformed into the very picture of health in an instant.

What could be the cause of this?

Intuitively, only one thing came to mind.

"Oh... my son."

"Yes, Dad."

"It seems the Divine Dragon has shown you mercy."

The Viscount's eyes filled with reverence. And his son's eyes mirrored that reverence.

"The Divine Dragon... You're right. Come to think of it, that was definitely a dragon's hoof."

"That's right... The Divine Dragon's hoof stamped your face. It bestowed a blessing upon you."

"Divine Dragon..."

They had heard of it before.

That somewhere in the world, there existed dragons with baptismal names. And that people praised and revered such dragons, calling them Divine Dragons.

Everyone present recalled the legends of the Divine Dragon.

"Thank you..."

The boy's gratitude marked the starting point of rumors about a red Divine Dragon suddenly appearing in the Imperial Palace.

A few days later, an anonymous donor would deliver a massive contribution to the temple.

It was an amount equivalent to three years of revenue from a mid-sized territory.

While everyone was confused, only the Pope smiled bitterly.

"My goodness... You've attracted wealth without even going anywhere."

[A child of human and dragon. What a fascinating being.]

"Surprisingly, it's Sir Harte's daughter?"

[Somehow, that makes it all the more understandable.]

The being talking with the Pope had elegant wings with pure white feathers fluttering gently. Its smooth scales were as white as a snow field after a blizzard, and its golden eyes sparkled like the sun on a beach.

Though it had polymorphed to a manageable size to avoid drawing attention, its powerful presence was hard to conceal.

"Come to think of it, Divine Dragon, you were close friends with Sir Harte, weren't you?"

[He was the most devout human I've ever encountered.]

"I see you don't say 'How dare a mere human~' like your relatives outside."

[I may have a baptismal name, but I'd still die if my head were cut off.]

"Ahaha, joking even."

[...]

"Ahaha."

[...]

"..."

After an awkward silence, the holy white dragon spoke again.

[Your Holiness, I want Harte to be happy.]

"It's good to wish for someone else's happiness."

[Though my wish is a bit selfish.]

"Ah, I see what you mean."

The Pope quickly grasped the Divine Dragon's meaning.

[I absolutely don't want to see such a devout human cross the line and destroy the world...]

As devout as he is kind, as devout as he is strong. Harte seemed like a product of chance, formed by densely packed miracles.

Such a good person should never face the tragedy of becoming twisted and cursing the world.

This was the Divine Dragon's true feeling.

[May blessings be upon the peace you've finally found...]

---

[Raei: this was in the author's afterword:

That sin of betraying humanity. As deep and dark as the abyss.

Thus, I pronounce sentence here.

At dawn, when the sky turns navy blue, behead the greatest villainess - the great criminal, Elphisia Luminel.]

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