“What should I name it……. Since it’s golden, maybe Gold……. But that’s too lazy, right? It’s no different from naming a tabby cat ‘Yellow.'”
“…….”
Yellian’s muttering struck a chord with Leonard. In the past, he had tried to name Yellian ‘Yellow’ just because of their yellow fur, only to be scolded by Elton. Unaware of Leonard’s inner thoughts, Yellian was completely focused on coming up with a name.
“It’d be nice if it were a cool name……. Something with ‘Gold’ in it, but cool……. A name that makes everyone go, ‘Wow, that’s an awesome name!’……. Ugh, this is too hard. Is naming a form of creative art?”
Yellian was so deep in thought that they clutched their head in agony. Coming up with a name so cool that everyone would get chills just hearing it was no easy task.
After racking their brain for a while, Yellian suddenly looked up at Leonard with a spark of inspiration.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“What’s its gender? Leonard, you know, right? I heard from Elton that a veterinarian came to check on the dragon. Didn’t they tell you its gender then?”
“It’s a male.”
“Aha! So it’s a boy!”
Gender was apparently an important factor in naming. Knowing the dragon was male, Yellian sank back into thought.
“A cool name……, an insanely cool name……, a unique name that sounds like it belongs in a novel…….”
After muttering to themselves for a while, Yellian’s eyes widened. Life sparkled in their ash-blue eyes. Pointing at the dragon with their index finger, Yellian shouted boldly.
“Geumdong! Your name is Geumdong!”
“…….”
[…….]
Leonard looked at Yellian with an expression that seemed to ask, ‘Are you serious?’ Even the dragon, who had been excited with anticipation just moments ago, seemed to exude a vibe of disbelief. Of course, Yellian was the only one oblivious to this strange atmosphere.
“……A boy, so Geumdong?”
“Yes!”
Nodding vigorously as if a buzzing sound might come from their head, Yellian faced Leonard, whose expression had darkened even further as he asked.
“Then what if it were a girl?”
“Geumsoon.”
“……Yellian, you should be grateful to me for the rest of your life.”
Because I named you Yellian.
Swallowing the rest of what he wanted to say, Leonard shook his head and turned his gaze to the parchment documents on the side table.
Not understanding what Leonard meant by being grateful, Yellian tilted their head in confusion before shifting their attention back to Geumdong.
Was it just their imagination? Now that they had given it a name, Geumdong seemed even prettier and cuter. They couldn’t quite explain it, but it felt, well, like family.
Meanwhile, Geumdong felt something akin to betrayal. Thinking that the uncool name Geumdong was now its name didn’t sit well with it.
Dragons recognize the first living being they see after hatching as their parent. That’s why Geumdong had tracked Yellian by scent and followed them.
Truthfully, whether it was Geumdong or Yangdong, a dragon’s intelligence couldn’t precisely discern whether a name was lame or cool. Even so, it could vaguely sense that its name was definitely on the lame side.
As Geumdong drooped its wings dejectedly and let out a heavy sigh, a startled Yellian rushed to embrace it.
“What’s wrong, Geumdong! Why are you sighing like that?”
Watching Yellian fluster, Leonard clicked his tongue. He understood why Geumdong…… was acting like this, but Yellian seemed completely clueless.
Realizing that the person he liked had rather poor taste, Leonard briefly questioned his own judgment before dismissing the thought.
After all, the sight of Yellian cuddling Geumdong was undeniably endearing. There was no doubt his judgment was sound.
Well, after repeating it to himself a few times, the name Geumdong didn’t seem so bad after all.
‘Knock knock’
At the sound of the knock, both of their gazes turned toward the door. The faint smile on Leonard’s lips vanished, replaced by his usual stern expression.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me, Elton.”
“Come in.”
At this hour, there were only a handful of people who would come to his room and knock. The butler Thomas, his adjutant Elton, or his close friend Anderson. Abigail didn’t count since he’d barge in without knocking.
Elton’s expression was grim as he entered the room. Instinctively sensing that his visit wasn’t for a good reason, Leonard asked in a flat tone.
“What’s the matter?”
“Well, just a moment.”
As Elton approached quickly, he glanced at Yellian. Seeing this, Leonard turned to Yellian and spoke.
“Yellian, take Geumdong to the next room.”
“Yep.”
Leonard’s bedroom and office were connected by a door. Yellian didn’t know why Leonard was suddenly asking them to leave, but they followed his instructions and took Geumdong to the adjacent room.
After seeing Yellian close the door, Leonard shifted his gaze to Elton.
“What’s the matter?”
“It’s about those guys.”
“Those guys……? Ah, right. Did you find out anything?”
By ‘those guys,’ he meant the ones who had shot Yellian with an arrow during the hunting competition.
Leonard stared at Elton with a murderous expression. His aura was so intimidating that Elton, despite having done nothing wrong, couldn’t help but shrink back.
“One of them died in prison.”
“Is it the one I intended to kill?”
“Yes, that’s the one. I thought he’d die quickly from excessive bleeding, but surprisingly, he held on for a while.”
“Good. I’m glad he didn’t die right away.”
Though he said it was good, Leonard’s anger hadn’t subsided. If he could, he’d bring the dead guy back to life just to butcher him dozens of times over. Even then, he wasn’t sure if his rage would be quenched.
“The other one…… is a bit strange.”
“What do you mean by strange?”
“Well……. It’s hard to explain. I think you should see for yourself, my lord.”
“Alright. Let’s go now.”
“Yes.”
Leonard neatly set down the documents he had been reading and left the room with Elton. A quiet silence settled over the space he left behind.
* * *
The prison was outside the castle walls. Therefore, the two rode on horseback to get there. They could have taken a carriage, but a horse was more convenient for moving quickly.
Arriving at the prison after a swift ride, Leonard and Elton entered without delay.
“Who are you?”
At the guard’s question inside the prison, Leonard pulled down his hood to reveal his face.
“I am Duke Abrams. You must have heard the message from the imperial palace.”
“Gasp, my lord! Yes, yes! Of course. Please, go inside.”
Startled, the guard bowed deeply and quickly unlocked the door leading to the underground prison.
Normally, prisoners were managed by the imperial palace. However, Leonard couldn’t just sit idly by until the palace resolved this matter.
That’s why Leonard had personally asked Abigail to allow the lord’s household to manage these criminals, and after much deliberation, Abigail had granted his request.
The deeper they descended into the underground prison, the more damp and musty it smelled. The more heinous the criminal, the lower the level they were confined to. Attempting to assassinate Duke Abrams was a grave matter, so the prisoner in this case was under strict supervision.
“Argh! Aaah! Save me, save me, urgh!”
“Aaah! Aah! Please, stop, forgive me, aah!”
“Gaaaah!”
Upon reaching the basement level where the torture chamber was located, screams of agony echoed from every corner. Leonard’s expression remained unchanged as he followed Elton straight to the innermost torture chamber.
“Hah, uh, urgh……. S-save, save me…… please, sob…….”
Though the man’s face was covered in blood, swollen, and bruised, Leonard recognized him as one of the two who had tried to kill him.
“Please, s-save me…….”
Looking at the trembling man begging for his life with an emotionless expression, Leonard removed his robe and handed it to Elton.
In truth, killing or sparing this man wasn’t a difficult decision. Honestly, the fact that someone tried to assassinate him wasn’t something that angered him much. Even if he had been the one shot by the arrow, he wouldn’t have wanted to tear this man apart alive like this.
The problem was that Yellian had been hurt. Because of that, any trace of mercy he might have had for them completely vanished.
“Who’s behind this?”
Leonard muttered in a low voice as he picked up a pair of torture tongs.
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