The Countess Lady's Pet Dragon - C6

Chapter 6: Fifteenth birthday

The Valentine estate was bustling more than ever.
A variety of people filled the halls and the household servants were busily coming and going.
“Haah…”
Amidst it all, Milia hid in a corner, out of sight, and let out a quiet sigh.

“You’re looking pretty worn out.”
Just then, a girl approached her with a bright, cheerful face and asked.

She was about two heads taller than Milia, making her quite tall for a girl her age.
With sharp features and reddish-brown hair, her deep orange eyes sparkled beneath.

Arze Pen Rumenia.
She was the princess of the Rumenia duchy, one of the five great houses of the kingdom, and one of the few people Milia was personally close to.

“Don’t even get me started…I never imagined it would be this exhausting.”
All she had done was respond to greetings from people.
It was a simple enough task, but when the number of greetings approached hundreds?
Even if it took only a minute per person, that meant a hundred minutes for a hundred people.

“Just accept it. It was the same for me, too.”
“Somehow, that makes me more annoyed…”
Milia squinted her eyes and grumbled at Arze’s expression, as if saying, “As long as it’s not me.”

Then, at that moment…
“Hello, Lady Valentine.”
“Hello.”
A man approached and greeted her. Milia quickly changed her expression to one of polite composure.

‘Who was that again…?’

He looked to be about her age, a boy with an innocent-looking face.

“Forgive my late introduction. I am Rible Black of the Rible Count’s house.”
“Hello, Lord Rible.”

As she replied with a practiced smile, Milia began to recall information about the Rible family.
Although a noble house located in the central region, it had no significant territory or influence, often overshadowed by baronial or viscount families.

“So, what brings you here?”
“It’s nothing important. I just thought, since we’ve met, we might have a little conversation.”
“I see.”

Milia smiled in response, though she wasn’t clueless enough not to see through his intent.
For a small, powerless family like his to survive, connections with powerful houses were essential.
The Valentine family, being an influential count’s house, was an ideal target.

“You came all this way, but I’m afraid I’m quite tired today.”
“Ah…but…”

Black’s voice wavered in surprise at Milia’s weary tone.

“Please understand. She couldn’t sleep at all because she was so excited about today.”

Black, unable to abandon this opportunity, seemed to rack his brain for ways to keep the conversation going. But Arze’s follow-up completely sank his attempts.

“I understand…”

If he persisted even after being rebuffed by a princess from one of the kingdom’s five great duchies, he would either be a fool or have a death wish.

Unable to hide his disappointment, Black turned and melted into the crowd, dejected.

“Thanks, sis.”
“You owe me one.”
“This doesn’t count as a favor.”

Milia spoke with an indifferent expression, then looked out the window.

“Is Schwarz doing okay…?”

Even though it was her birthday celebration, her thoughts were consumed by her dragon.
Honestly, she wanted nothing more than to escape the stifling party and fly through the night sky with her dragon.
But doing such a thing today would surely result in a ban on leaving the house, so she couldn’t.

“Time flies, huh? The little crybaby is already fifteen. I’m so proud,” Arze said sentimentally.
“Can I hit you once?”
“You want to kill me?”

Arze chuckled, knowing Milia wasn’t serious.

“Anyway. You’re fifteen now, so you should start thinking about it.”
“Huh? Thinking about what?”
“What do you think? A boyfriend, of course.”
“Wha-what!?”

Milia, tilting her head in confusion, stammered at Arze’s blunt response.

As a young woman who inherited her mother Melissa’s beauty,
Milia was quite a beauty herself.
Yet she had no romantic experience whatsoever.

“No way…”
“…”

Arze sighed in disbelief at Milia’s feigned indifference.

“You’re going to end up in a convent and die an old maid.”
“Mind your own business!”

Naturally, Milia had no intention of doing so.

“Stop training all the time and meet some guys. I bet they’d be lining up for a chance to date you.”
“Sis!!”

Unable to endure Arze’s nagging, Milia shouted, causing nearby eyes to briefly turn toward them.

“Ahem…Let’s talk about this later when we’re alone.”
“Sigh You’re impossible.”

After a brief awkward cough, Milia felt embarrassed, while Arze shook her head in exasperation.

Soon, the surrounding attention dispersed.

“I’m leaving.”
“Yeah, go rest. You look really tired.”

Seeing Milia visibly worn out, Arze nodded.
She had greeted enough guests, and even Vernus wouldn’t have much to say about it.

Milia waved goodbye to Arze, then carefully made her way out of the party and headed to her room.
Once inside, she collapsed onto her bed.

“A boyfriend, huh…”

Murmuring to herself, she flipped over and stared at the ceiling.

“I don’t care.”

For Milia, the most important thing was the promise she made five years ago.

[I’ll become stronger. Strong enough that no one can ever hurt you.]

Once she was strong enough to keep that promise, maybe then she’d consider it seriously.

Thinking such thoughts, Milia let out a big yawn.

“Sleep, it is…”

She had to wake up early again tomorrow.
Murmuring, she changed into her nightgown and lay down to sleep,
unaware that someone was watching her, even in her dreams.

‘It’s noisy.’

From the direction of the mansion, the refined sounds of classical music and the chatter of people were unending.
Of course, to Schwarz, it was nothing more than loud noise.

“Fuu…”

No matter how much he tried, the noise made it impossible for him to sleep.
In the end, reluctantly, he got up and opened the barn door, stepping outside.

Though it was spring, the night air was quite chilly.

“Grooo…”

Letting out a low groan, he stretched his body, resembling a cat as he did so.
Clicking his tongue softly, he looked up at the sky.

Scattered clouds, stars adorning the sky and a large full moon.

‘Should I go for a walk?’

There was no point in staying here since he couldn’t sleep due to the noise.
It would be better to go for a walk until things quieted down.

With a low growl, he spread his wings and began to flap them slowly when…

-Rustle.

“…?”

At the sound coming from somewhere, Schwarz tilted his head and looked toward the source of the noise, but there was nothing there.

“Groo?”

Did I hear wrong? He thought, starting to flap his wings again.

-Clack.

“Grrah?”

But again, the strange sound echoed.
This time, it came from above. Schwarz raised his head toward the source of the noise.

“Groo?”

Then, he saw it: Milia’s window was open.

But something was off.
Even though the window was open, Milia was nowhere to be seen.

He might have dismissed it, but Milia always greeted him whenever she opened her window.
Yet no matter how long he waited, she did not appear.

Then…

“…!!”

He noticed something strange.

The night was perfectly still—no wind, not even the sound of leaves rustling.
Yet the curtain at Milia’s window was moving unnaturally, as if something invisible had slipped inside.

There’s something there.

As soon as that thought crossed his mind, Schwarz began to change his form without hesitation.
He couldn’t afford to worry about being seen.

Within seconds, he transformed into a form that was half-human, half-dragon, and leapt toward the upper floor where Milia’s room was.

What he saw upon arrival chilled him to the bone.

A man holding a dagger stood before Milia, raising the blade, which glimmered with a cold blue light, high into the air.