Frozen Wolf, Fire Dragon

Chapter 5

* * *

I was just about to pack up and head home when I heard a voice.

“Miss Savior.”

“Yes?”

“That thing over there...” Rahel said, pointing at something. I turned my gaze to see what she was pointing at. It was a dreamcatcher displayed in a store window. “What is that?”

“That’s called a dreamcatcher.”

“Dream... catcher?” Rahel’s hood slid off slightly as she tilted her head in confusion.

Readjusting her cloak, I explained, “It catches your nightmares while you sleep.”

“Nightmares...” Rahel muttered quietly, her bright red eyes immediately becoming dull at the word.

Seeing her reaction, I remembered more details from the novel. After losing her only family member and killing all the wolves, the Crimson Cloak had trouble falling asleep. Every time she’d try to sleep, the image of her brother trapped in a whirlwind of fire, screaming out in pain and begging to be saved, would appear in her head. Rahel would then wake up gasping for air. She’d had no choice but to stay awake after those nightmares. Even when she wasn’t asleep, the nightmarish visions would continue every time she closed her eyes. The only thing that filled her empty heart was thoughts of revenge.

Well, it seems like there’s still a lot of time before the novel actually starts... I thought as I remembered the future of the child holding my hand. It was only when she met Sion, my brother, that she was able to escape the pain of her nightmares. After meeting Sion and discovering love through him, she was finally able to sleep soundly. I couldn’t imagine the immense pain this young girl was carrying. It’s what losing a family member can do... Which is why I was fighting to protect my family. They say life is what you make of it, even though it seemed like my plans had gotten a bit derailed. While I was deep in thought about my plans, Rahel continued to stare at the dreamcatcher.

“Do you want it?”

Her eyes widened at my question. “N-no, I was just...” She shook her head but still couldn’t take her eyes off it.

Her childlike absorption made me laugh. “Come on,” I said, tugging her along with me as we headed to the store.

“How much for this?” I asked in my low, fake voice.

The vendor gave me a weird look—I was excessively bundled up, after all—and then said, “It’s fifty shillings.”

Upon hearing the price, I hesitated for a moment. It was much more expensive than I had thought.

“I’ll... I’ll take it.”

Since I had made a decent amount of money today selling the fire plants, I figured I could afford it. She’ll need it after all.

After paying, I walked out with the dreamcatcher.

“Here you go.”

Rahel looked at it and asked shyly, “Can I really have it?”

“Of course.”

She took it in her hands gently, looking thrilled. Smiling slightly, I bent down to make eye contact with her. “Now you’ll only have good dreams.”

Hearing this, Rahel blinked her big eyes at me and smiled. “Thank you, Miss Savior.”

Even through her mask, I could see her big smile, which made me smile even more.

“Let’s go.”

“Okay.”

This is how I slowly became the guardian of the Crimson Cloak, the female protagonist that would eventually kill me.

* * *

The sun tends to set early in the north. Relying on the bright moonlight, I walked through the forest. Off in the distance, I could see our small cabin peeking through the trees. When I opened the door, two round heads swiveled to look my way as if they had been waiting for me.

“Sis!”

“Eve!”

Ruby had been playing with Sion’s hair. Oh, by the way, Ruby is the name we gave her. It’s not like I could just tell her that her name was Rahel. Her crimson eyes shone like rubies, so the name fit her perfectly.

“Eve, you’re back! Did you make a lot of sales today?” Ruby said as she ran toward me. I nodded and gave her a smile.

Contrary to my expectations, the kids got along very well. I had worried that Sion wouldn’t be able to hide his ears and tail properly, but it seemed he was doing a good job of it. The frightening speech I gave him must have worked.

“Doesn’t Sion look cute with this new hairstyle?” Ruby asked excitedly.

“Very. You look great, Sion!” Smiling, I lowered my heavy basket down to the floor.

The children’s expressions were like innocence itself. I felt terrible knowing I had worried about all the dark things that had occurred in this R-rated story.

This is going really well. I hope it can stay this way.

I smiled rather proudly then and said, “You’re both hungry, right? I’ll have your food ready in a minute.”

I rummaged through the basket. It was heavy since I had to buy groceries for two different meals, but I had no other options. Sion and Ruby were still young, so they didn’t eat that much, but their tastes were completely different.

Actually, to be more precise, it was their body chemistry that was different. I thought back to what had happened a few days ago. Sion was more susceptible to the cold than I was as he did not have ice magic like me, so he preferred to eat food that was almost boiling hot. Honestly, I preferred it that way too.

However, that was the problem. On the third day of us eating a hot stew, Ruby had just stared quietly at her plate when I put it in front of her. She didn’t look happy at all. I thought maybe she was tired of eating the same thing several days in a row, so I counted the money we had in my head. Excluding the money I had saved up to buy us noble titles, we didn’t have much. However, I still wanted the children to eat well.

Maybe I was too inconsiderate when choosing the meals.

I decided that the next day, I’d cook something else, but I didn’t know what she liked. After pondering a bit, I said, “Eating the same thing over and over gets kinda boring, doesn’t it?”

“Huh?” Ruby had looked up at me in surprise.

“I’m sorry. I’ll cook something else tomorrow. What would you want? Do you have any memories of certain foods you like?”

She had shaken her head vigorously in disagreement, denying my words with a look akin to panic. It was so clear she was lying.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to force yourself to eat it.”

“I-I’m not forcing myself, I swear.”

Ruby had shaken her head again and picked up her spoon. She finished her portion and even asked for more.

Initially, I had thought it was a great sign that she’d eaten well. I sighed softly at the memory. I had been really stupid, and as usual, I regretted my actions.

That night, Ruby had gotten sick. Her small body was burning up. I had to hold her hand to cool her the whole night. After staying up the entire night, her fever had finally lowered, and I’d suddenly realized the problem.

Even without memories, a dragon was a dragon. Although she was a small child, her fire magic was tremendously powerful. How could I be so dense as to give a dragon hot food? Their fire magic was so powerful that it could kill them if they don’t share their heart eventually.

Even after remembering everything from the novel, I still forgot this! I’d blamed myself as I watched Ruby, who’d continued to sleep fitfully.

After that day, I made sure to prepare completely different meals for both of them. Sion got hot food and Ruby got cold food. Also…

“Eve, your hand?”

“Ah, yes.”

I even held her hand while she ate, to keep her cool. Ice magic, which is generally useless up here in the north, was like a cure-all medicine for her. Even though eating with one hand being held must have been uncomfortable, Ruby kept smiling like she was enjoying it.

I stroked her head and smiled in response. “Enjoy your meal.”

Sion, with a pouty face, demanded, “Hey, what about me?”

“Ah, you too. Enjoy your meal, Sion.” I grinned at him and poked his soft cheek.