The conversation was over. Benjamin made a mental note of Duke Berthier’s misstep and decided to find a book titled something like “How to Talk to Your Teenage Daughter” for the study.
Violet was scheduled to visit that afternoon. Adelaide had set up a canopy and arranged seating in the garden.
Amy praised Adelaide’s choice, saying the cool weather made it perfect for enjoying the scenery, but Adelaide had other reasons.
When guests were received in the drawing room, the maids, moved by Adelaide’s unwilling acts of kindness, would wander in uninvited and make nuisances of themselves. They would form attachments on their own terms and push freely past the boundaries Adelaide had drawn.
Adelaide’s room was already on display: cheap ribbons she had no use for, cubic zirconia, homemade cookies, and even a pretty stone someone claimed to have picked up off the road. Without the curse she would have thrown them out the moment she received them, but no matter what she did, she couldn’t bring herself to toss any of it in the bin.
“Adel!”
Amy had said Violet enjoyed a fine reputation for carrying herself like a single white lily.
“Adel! I missed you!”
She couldn’t see where anyone was supposed to find a lily in the sight of someone bunching up her long dress above her ankles and running toward her.
“Adel. I brought you a gift.”
“A gift?”
Violet smiled shyly and gestured to the maid waiting behind her. The maid was holding a cloth-covered cage.
Adelaide had expected something along the lines of flowers at best, and felt a bad premonition. Common sense held that people who had only recently begun an acquaintance should bring something safe and simple, but Violet was not a person Adelaide could measure by common sense.
“What is it?”
“Open it, Adel.”
“Tell me what it is first, and then I’ll look without worrying.”
“It’s a surprise, so it’s a secret until you see it yourself.”
“Lady Violet.”
“Go on, it was very hard to get.”
Adelaide swallowed dryly and lifted the cloth.
“This is…….”
She met a pair of small, round eyes. Still young, judging by their pale color, the creature spotted Adelaide and gave a tiny yawn. It snorted, and sparks crackled from the puff of breath.
“Violet!”
“Do you know what it is?”
“This is, this is…….”
“It’s a dragon!”
The little dragon, unsettled by the commotion around it, thumped its long tail against the bars.
“You said you wanted a dragon, Adel. My cousin works as a mage at the mage tower, and apparently she came across a baby dragon. She thought of you right away and brought it over.”
Adelaide reached her fingers through the bars as though in a trance. The baby dragon stared at Adelaide without blinking its flat eyes, then crept closer and rubbed its face against her fingers.
“It’s adorable…….”
“Do you like it?”
“So adorable I could eat it up.”
“Apparently when it’s fully grown you can ride it and fly. They say a dragon, once it chooses its owner, won’t recognize anyone else as its master, so this is my first time seeing one in person too.”
When Violet brought her fingers near the bars, the baby dragon spat a threatening burst of flame.
“It’s already chosen you as its owner, Adel.”
“To think that I’d have a dragon…….”
“Adel, it’s a gift to celebrate you becoming my friend.”
Adelaide upgraded Violet from headache to friend. After receiving nothing but cheap ribbons, cubic zirconia, and pebbles, getting a dragon felt like floating on air.
And there it was. Adelaide had a weakness for things.
“Violet.”
“Yes, Adel?”
“Let’s bathe.”
“Pardon?”
“You wanted to bathe with me, didn’t you? Let’s do it now. Amy, prepare a large tub. Have it ready to use in two hours.”
“Adel……!”
Violet threw herself at Adelaide. Even as she caught Violet and held her, Adelaide couldn’t take her eyes off the cage.
‘I have a dragon now. A little curse is nothing.’
Adelaide held Violet back and thought of all the things she could do with a dragon.
‘This one needs to eat more too. There’s nothing to hold onto.’
Violet was praised for being willowy and slender, but to Adelaide she felt like nothing more than a stiff plank of wood. It was probably the dragon talking, but somehow Violet felt a little closer to her now.
Adelaide named the dragon Draco. It meant dragon in the ancient tongue.
“Don’t you think the dragon might feel a bit put out at being called Dragon?”
Amy offered the opinion carefully. Lionel nodded quietly beside her. The two headaches had come running over without being called and were now sitting side by side, debating the name, and Adelaide’s mood soured.
“I think it’s a fine name.”
Lionel, quick to read Adelaide’s mood, flipped his opinion on the spot. Amy shot him a look of betrayal. Benjamin had said that a good servant must have the courage to offer advice the master doesn’t want to hear.
Amy wanted to be a good maid, so she held her ground.
“If Draco ever meets another dragon, he might get teased, my lady.”
“How many people in the empire keep dragons? My lady is the owner, so I think she can name him whatever she likes, Amy.”
“Viscount Lavota, are you saying I’m going against my lady’s wishes?”
“That’s not what I mean, but if something Amy said struck a nerve, it might be worth thinking about why.”
“My lady! Listen to what the Viscount is saying! What do you think, my lady?”
“My lady, I wasn’t wrong.”
Draco, who had been dozing, startled awake at the noise and struck the bars with his tail. Adelaide opened the cage door and lifted the squirming Draco onto her palm. His protruding eyes found Adelaide and narrowed with what looked like relief.
“Stop startling Draco. Both of you, out.”
“I’m your dedicated maid, my lady. Viscount, isn’t it nearly time for your lesson? Go on, off you go.”
“The etiquette lesson scheduled for this afternoon was cancelled due to the teacher’s personal circumstances. I have no plans for the next six hours.”
With Draco to look at, even the two headaches felt bearable. Adelaide stroked his cool, smooth skin gently. Dragon or not, Draco was still just a baby and needed a great deal of care.
Because the curse compelled her to help those in need, while she was tending to Draco, the youngest and most fragile creature at the Berthier estate, it didn’t trigger no matter who tripped or stumbled around her. To put it precisely, it was triggering constantly, but only for Draco.
“My lady, I started sword lessons yesterday.”
“Is that so?”
“It was a wooden sword, and it was my first time holding one, so it’s just a small scratch, but I got a cut here, on my hand.”
“I see.”
Lionel’s palm, thr*st forward with great anticipation, was thoroughly ignored. Amy covered her mouth with her hand and giggled.
“My lady, I fell yesterday and bruised my knee!”
“Falling is something to be proud of, is it. If you’re both going to talk nonsense, get out. Lionel, if I recall correctly, the Duke said you should make a habit of studying on your own even when lessons are cancelled?”
“That’s right, Viscount. Self-directed learning is important.”
“Amy, I’ll be staying in my room, so I don’t particularly need you here. I’ll call if I need something, so go take care of your other duties and don’t bother me.”
Adelaide’s orders had absolutely no effect. Lionel clamped his mouth shut and began pretending to fawn over Draco, while Amy dusted furniture that didn’t have a speck of dust on it.
“Oh, my lady. Lady Vivian has sent another invitation.”
Amy pulled a letter from her apron and held it out to Adelaide.
Lately, Adelaide had been starting her mornings by opening her eyes, finding the letters piled on her vanity, and setting them on fire.
Amy had devised a strategy of setting aside the letters she hoped Adelaide would reconsider and delivering them at moments when Adelaide seemed to be in a good mood.
“She’s persistent, I’ll give her that. I’m not going.”
“My lady, Lady Vivian really does seem to want to get to know you. Everyone is desperate to attend Lady Vivian’s banquets.”
“Do you think I’d like someone who invites every person alive just to have them celebrate her birthday?”
“My laaady. This would also be a good chance for the Viscount to make an unofficial social debut. Don’t you think, Viscount?”
Lionel, in the middle of a staring contest with Draco, didn’t catch on right away, and Amy had to repeat herself.
Lionel had no idea who Lady Vivian was and no interest in celebrating anyone’s birthday, but it occurred to him that Adelaide probably wouldn’t take the still-young Draco along when she went out.
“The Duke also advised me that I need a great deal of experience.”
“Then go along to the banquets the Duke attends.”
“The Duke said I need to spend time with people my own age. If you helped me, my lady, both the Duke and I would be very happy.”
“Lionel. The happiness of you and the Duke is not something I concern myself with. When exactly do you plan to understand that?”
Adelaide ran her fingers gently along Draco’s rough skin. It was the first time Lionel had ever been on the receiving end of Adelaide’s words and actions matching, and the blow landed. That ugly reptile had stolen Adelaide’s attention away from him.
“My lady, my lady……!”
“What?”
“You like Draco more than me!”
Lionel stormed out. Adelaide, left behind, had every intention of going back to petting Draco without a second thought, but unfortunately Lionel’s wounded feelings appeared to run rather deep.
“Oh, for crying out loud! Stop right there, Lionel!”
Adelaide set Draco down and went after Lionel.
Left alone with Draco, Amy panicked. She hadn’t said anything, but Amy had a fear of reptiles. Furry animals were cute, but reptiles without fur were neither cute nor anything other than revolting.
“My lady! You can’t just leave Draco here! Put him back in the cage!”
She couldn’t abandon her lady’s precious pet and leave either. Amy stamped her feet, caught between two impossible options. Draco looked at Amy and opened his mouth wide.
“Eeek!”
Draco seemed to find it entertaining that Amy screamed every time he opened his mouth, and began crawling toward her.
“Don’t come over here! Draco! Stay back! Good boy, stay right there!”
