Chapter 41
As the snows receded, the divide between north and south slowly began to close.
New routes were established between Imresia and Tatsuno. The humans, hesitant at first, gradually grew accustomed to the mild climate of the southern lands and to living alongside the Dracoserpens.
The sunlight was gentle, the seas rich with life, and the skies vast and clear. Before long, people began to find peace in that land.
Meanwhile, in Imresia—
Antonius Imresius, Crown Prince and Prince-Regent, was raised to stand as King Alexios’s equal.
In reality, however, Antonius steadily gathered the Royal Guard and the knightly companies of the entire kingdom under his authority. One by one, every sword in the realm came to answer to his will, until the Crown Prince possessed power that, in all but name, surpassed even that of the king.
At his side stood Theodoros, Sword Secretary to the Prince-Regent, advising and serving him in both war and statecraft.
The skies above Imresnople filled with more and more Raptor wings. The Royal Guard Aerial Steedraptor Cavalry Battalion now numbered nearly a hundred riders.
At its head stood Andri Chaire, Lord Commander of the Royal Guard. And beside him—his adjutant, Drake.
Thus began an age in which humans and Dracoserpens stood side by side.
And yet, this peace was only temporary. In the face of the looming threat of the Dragon of Doom, they continued their preparations without pause.
“...To think there would come a day when a human would order a Dragon of Doom about so casually.”
Drake spoke in a low murmur as he stood beside Andri’s desk in the office of the Lord Commander of the Royal Guard. Yet even now, a trace of disbelief lingered in his voice.
Andri gave a faint, rueful smile without looking up from his work. Before Andri rose towering piles of paperwork, his pen moving steadily across the page.
“Indeed, father.”
Perhaps the two of them truly were being used by both Imresia and Tatsuno.
Once, Andri would surely have resented being treated as little more than a tool.
But now, somehow, he no longer did.
Because it was they who asked it of him.
They were the kind of people who made others want to follow them of their own free will.
At last, the scratching of his pen came to a halt.
“When the day comes that I desire something with all my heart... I believe they would honor that wish.”
He lifted his head and smiled toward his draconic father.
“That is why I wish to stand with them. Even if only in some small measure, I would be honored to help build the future they seek.”
For a brief moment, Drake said nothing. A faint emotion stirred behind his ancient eyes.
“...And if there were aught that I myself desired?”
For reasons even he himself did not seem to understand, the question came hesitantly.
“Wouldst thou honor that as well, Andronicus?”
Andri nodded at once.
“Of course, father.”
Then, after the briefest pause, he added—
“—Provided it does not involve the destruction of the world.”
And at last, the faintest smile touched Drake’s face.
At length, Andri seemed to remember something and spoke at last.
“...There is something I have long wished to ask.”
He paused briefly, choosing his words with care.
“‘Andronicus’... that is my true name, is it not?”
“It is,” Drake answered.
“...Then who gave me that name? Was it you, father?”
Drake glanced back over his shoulder with the faintest trace of a smile.
Two figures stood at the open doorway of the study.
Crown Prince and Prince-Regent Antonius — and beside him, Theodoros, Sword Secretary to the Prince-Regent.
“It was your mother,” Antonius said gently.
Theodoros quietly continued.
“‘Andri’ was the name His Highness chose for you, Lord Commander.”
Antonius lowered his gaze slightly.
“The King and the court officials continued calling you ‘that creature’ for far too long.”
Antonius exhaled softly.
When Irina had been executed, even the smallest traces she left behind — her diary, her earrings — had all been cast into the flames. Had the King learned the name came from her, he would never have allowed it to remain. In truth, he had never intended to give the child a name at all.
So Antonius had taken the same initial their mother had once given him, and from it granted his younger brother a name of his own.
“I would ask your forgiveness for having concealed the name mother left behind for so long. Before those wretches could speak it from their own mouths... I should have been the one to tell you.”
“...Your Highness. There is nothing for me to forgive. You have done me no wrong. Truly.”
For a long moment, Andronicus simply lowered his eyes.
Andri. Ando. Andronicus.
Only now did he begin to grasp the weight each of those names carried.
Every name he had borne carried within it the love and wishes of those who had given it to him.
Human and dragon.
Once fated to remain apart, they now stood undeniably bound together.
And Drake watched over that bond with the quiet resolve of one who had already chosen what he would one day sacrifice for it.
