'A half-dragon...'
He was a half-dragon just like Phoebe.
He had the same deep golden hair and golden eyes as Phoebe.
If he didn't know that they were all half-dragons with different bloodlines, they could feel like siblings with such similar features.
The only difference was that his horns were pointing upwards, unlike her threatening forward-pointing horns.
And the fact that his horns looked like deer antlers showed that he had the blood of the Gold Dragon, the Emperor Dragon, flowing through him.
There were four surviving half-dragons during the Astheria extermination incident.
Two of them surrendered to the empire, one went missing, and the last one miraculously survived a near-death situation.
One of the two who surrendered to the empire was Gorgan Garcia, the vanguard commander.
He abandoned the name of the Astheria family, who were accused of plotting a rebellion, and adopted the empire's name, taking on the surname 'Garcia'.
Phoebe and Gorgan locked eyes.
The woman who kept the name of the Astheria family and the man who abandoned it.
However, without any tension, they opened a friendly conversation.
"Oh my, Gorgan. Long time no see."
"Have you been well, Phoebe?"
"Yes, Gorgan has become a really cool man. The armor is pretty, and the sword on your back is awesome!"
"You've changed... a lot too."
Phoebe, laughing with a piece of bread stuck on her lips, didn't even notice.
Gorgan looked down at Phoebe with a dignified face.
It didn't feel like a hostile conversation.
"How is Saul? Is he still as mischievous as ever?"
"He's the same. He says everything is boring, but he keeps trying to cause trouble."
"He's such a child. I remember being so upset about that back then. Oh, it reminds me of the old days."
Phoebe smiled, lost in memories.
Unlike Phoebe, Gorgan stared at her with a cold face.
Phoebe chuckled at Gorgan's expression.
"Gorgan, please smile. You used to smile at me a lot, and you'd say you don't laugh."
"I'm on official duty now. You seem to be living leisurely."
"Me, I'm on official duty too! I didn't come to play today!"
"Take the bread off your mouth and hide the candy in your hand before you speak. Aren't you ashamed in front of the tower master you serve?"
"Huh? Oh, I can't help that!"
In a hurry, she removed the bread piece from her mouth and put it in her mouth.
"When will you abandon the name of Astheria?"
At Gorgan's question, Phoebe's floating atmosphere sank.
"...We agreed not to talk about that, didn't we?"
"He's a man who caused us pain. We have no reason to follow him."
"Gorgan might think that way, but I don't resent him. I won't change my mind because he cared for me."
"...Your feelings haven't changed, Phoebe."
"Gorgan, it's because my feelings haven't changed that I was able to change."
Phoebe smiled.
Gorgan showed a dissatisfied expression, but he didn't try to criticize her.
Just as Gorgan had his own beliefs, Phoebe had her own.
Knowing that she had followed the master more than anyone else, he could understand that her feelings wouldn't change easily.
And he glanced up at the man who allowed her to keep such feelings.
Gray hair and golden eyes.
A man who made her fall for him as much as the previous master, if not more.
As Reed felt his gaze and turned his head, Gorgan bowed his head and greeted him politely.
Reed also smiled and accepted the greeting.
"The game will start soon, Your Highness. It would be a big deal if you miss the exciting opening ceremony, wouldn't it?"
"Haha! That's right. I came to enjoy the day, and it would be a big deal if I can't enjoy it properly, wouldn't it?"
"Then we'll go ahead. I hope you have a good day."
After exchanging polite greetings, Morgan II turned and walked to his seat.
As soon as they turned around, William, who had been wearing a smug smile, scowled and glared at their backs.
"Gorgan."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Is that half-dragon also an experimental subject of the Astheria family?"
"Yes, she is."
William looked at Phoebe.
She seemed to be an unmistakable lady, sticking to the Tower Master's side.
She felt no different from the many women who flirted with him.
"No matter how I look at her, she seems more useless than you or Saul. Wouldn't she be of little use to the empire?"
Gorgan was a somewhat arrogant man, although not as much as Prince William.
He always underrated Saul and the missing half-dragon, but for some reason, he always rated Phoebe as a person above himself.
It was rare for him, the vanguard commander of the imperial knights and William's closest aide, to praise someone highly.
"She may look that way, but she was once our leader."
"Leader? You mean the leader of the half-dragons in your Astheria family?"
"Yes."
William, wondering if he had misheard, asked Gorgan again.
"Does that make sense? That dog-like woman? She looks stupid, though."
"Her being stupid... I can't deny that, but there's a reason why I have to acknowledge her."
"What is it?"
"Because she, who inherited the blood of the black dragon, possesses unparalleled combat instincts. When she was called the mad dragon, she single-handedly fought hundreds of knights we struggled against."
"And she's still alive?"
With that number, there must have been some noble knights mixed in.
Confronting nobles was a clear felony.
"At that time, the Tower Master, Jude Roton, negotiated with the empire. And they spared Phoebe's life and civilized her."
"He negotiated with the empire? Was he a bloated magician?"
"But there was valuable information."
William wasn't curious about what that information was.
He just didn't like the fact that the Silence Tower tried to compete with the empire.
"She must be nothing special. You, who have received several martial arts medals, must be confident in fighting and winning against her now, right?"
"Yes."
Gorgan, who had fought for years, and Phoebe, who hadn't fought for years.
Considering the situation, he answered because it was advantageous.
But Gorgan wasn't sure.
She had changed.
But did she really forget her true nature?
