Contrary to what people imagined, the sound of a blade cutting through flesh and bone is silent. What you hear at a butcher's shop is usually the knife hitting the bone or the chopping block.
When done correctly, it shouldn't make much sound at all.
Thankfully, Oathria excelled at butchering animals, thanks to her extensive study of anatomical weaknesses. All those years spent learning to be as efficient as possible in killing had finally borne fruit.
Yes. All of it for this very moment, so she could deliver the best cuts of meat, ready to roast for her beloved.
She had taken the elk's life as quickly as possible, with its eyes closed under her palm and its head resting on her lap. She had whispered her gratitude and prayers for an easeful journey for its soul.
Oathria was a lord, after all. Dragons were no longer the beasts of the past who hoarded wealth and burned cities. No. Dragons had evolved past that.
It was all thanks to the first Dragon Lord, Isaiah, named after the Dragon God of the East. Thanks to him, peace was brought upon the land, and all creatures were finally able to prosper.
After lifting the carcass to float midair with her telekinesis, she carefully drained the blood and began to carve the flesh.
Apparently, humans needed a very different diet from other races. They still needed fruits and grains… but well, she couldn't get grains yet. She had managed to find some wild apples, though. She hoped it would be enough for now.
To cook the meat, she tried to remember the details of how humans tended to do it. Heat it over a fire? For how long? It was embarrassing. Although she herself ate cooked food, she had never learned how to prepare it. Dragons' diet wasn't all that complicated after all.
Well, she would ask someone to teach her later when she returned to her castle. For now, she could use her mana to gauge whether the food was done by sensing if the internal temperature was safe for human consumption.
Good plan. Genius, Oathria. She nodded at herself.
After that…
Yes. Of course.
"Let's help him have his revenge and reclaim his title."
Somehow, that felt simpler than this.
Oathria wrapped up her work, rolled up the elk skin, and contemplated whether to bring the bones along to make a bone broth soup, but ultimately buried them. A woman had to know her limits, and bone broth soup felt like a much higher skill level than she currently possessed.
She gathered the spoils of her hunt, letting them float in the air behind her, and started to dash under the eaves of trees back toward the river.
She hadn't been gone a full hour, but she also shouldn't leave a human alone for too long in the woods, no matter how strong or talented he was. It was her role as the stronger partner. As his beast mate. After all, eliminating potential worries was the least she could do to make him feel safe…
…after the betrayal he experienced last night.
But suddenly, a light cut through the forest gloom from the riverside.
"Wha—"
Arriving at the edge of the trees, she saw a blinding radiance enveloping the man she was bonded to.
Cecilius was kneeling on the ground. From his chest, a blinding light poured forth, and something was breaking through it.
Little by little, a carved, long object emerged from the light, floating in the air before him. His hands cradled it without touching, his eyes closed in deep concentration. Strands of his long hair floated around him, framing his body like the flares of a sun.
It was an exquisite walking cane.
It was sturdy, tall, and straight. Majestic, yet made of an elegant wood with a deeply organic grain that snaked and interlocked along its entire length.
Just as suddenly, the light dimmed, retracting back into the cane itself, which transformed, somehow becoming more polished and gilded than before.
And then it happened again. Light spread from him a second time, absorbed by the cane, which transformed once more with even sharper details and misty jewels now marbling its surface.
Twice. He had transformed the already exquisite walking cane, twice!
The light started to dim. Oathria thought it was over, but no. Glowing ancient texts snaked out from his very being, floating up to forge themselves into the cane's core. Once… Twice… Thrice—no, four times this time!
What in the divine name was this?
When it was finally over, the cane floated gently down to settle into his waiting hands. It landed with a surprisingly hefty weight. His eyes snap open.
"Prophet!"
Oathria darted forward, catching his shoulders to steady him. Her eyes were wide, bewildered, her voice a rasp.
"What on earth did you just do…?"
Sees blinked and looked up at her. His excited smile hit her at the back of her head.
DING!
[Congratulations! Oathria Alicei's Love Points have increased by 10!]
"Ahem, you're back?" Sees greeted her, attempting to seem nonchalant, which only made her frown deeper.
"You have no heart and are still performing these divine tricks. Can't you just settle down while a lady hunts?" Oathria scolded, the concern hidden beneath the gruff tone eliciting a chuckle from him.
[Congratulations! Oathria Alicei's Love Points have increased by 10!]
"I know you are a diligent prophet, but can't you just be my good boy for one hour?" the woman narrowed her eyes, her mangled jaw tense.
Her good boy…?
Wo—
Sees's face exploded in red.
This woman kept saying the most unintentionally outrageous things!
That 'impressive' line… that 'can I hold your hand' line… that 'it's nice to die with you' line… that 'the last thing I want to see is your smile' line!
He had tried so hard to ignore them all, but he couldn't get enough now! Pause! He had enough! Not the opposite! He did not not want it to continue! Pause!
Aaah… now his internal monologue was short-circuiting.
"I am alright, Your Majesty," he said, distractedly shoving the cane toward her to create some distance. She, equally distracted, took it from his hand.
The moment it settled in her grip, the cane felt… perfect. The gilded handle was the exact size for her palm, and the height was ideal for her stature. The woman instantly felt the rightness of the hold and raised her eyebrows in shock.
"I'm actually very okay right now. This doesn't deplete my power at all," he assured her, brushing off her concern. "Anyway, happy birthday. This is for you."
Oathria's eyes faltered as she turned back to him, her gaze widening once more. "What?"
Sees tilted his head, frowning. "Y-you want me to say it again…?"
…
…
…
"Fine! Happy birthday, Your Majesty! Thanks for bonding with me and saving my life!" he snapped, flustered, not annoyed like how he snapped at her last night.
Oathria's mind went completely blank. A supernova detonated in her hippocampus.
[Congratulations! Oathria Alicei's Love Points have increased by 10!]
[Congratulations! Oathria Alicei's Love Points have increased by 10!]
[Congratulations! Oathria Alicei's Love Points have increased by 10!]
[Congratulations! Oathria Alicei's Love Points have increased by 10!]
[Congratulations! Oathria Alicei's Love Points have increased by 10!]
[Congratulations! Oathria Alicei's Love Points have increased by 10!]
DING!
[Love interest affinity level up!]
[Lv. 1 —> Lv. 2]
[Claim rewards?]
[Yes/No]
What? What? Why did both kinds of points increase at the same time? Was she that happy? But her face was just… frozen.
"Your Majesty…?" Sees waved a hand in front of her eyes. "Are you mad? I know, it was yesterday and I was late, but remember, yesterday we were supposed to die. So of course I got you your gift late."
Sees clicked his tongue, shaking his head. He narrowed his eyes at her silence and sighed. He jokingly said, "So ungrateful."
After all the rainbow colors finished flashing behind her eyes, her system finally rebooted enough to catch his words.
Mad?
Late?
Ungrateful?
No. First of all, how did he know yesterday was her birthday? She never told anyone. Her mother surely wouldn't have told anyone. It was impossible. She had even forgotten herself. You tend to after 400+ of them. She had never even celebrated them.
Oathria blinked, utterly dazed.
The cane he had materialized from nothing with all that divine light and ancient text… was her birthday present.
"No. Thank you. I forgot yesterday was my birthday. Forgive my confusion," Oathria said, her voice unusually stiff.
Sees jokingly sneered. "That makes sense, you've had 440 of them already. You must've gotten bored of it by now."
Oathria narrowed her eyes, looking pointedly at Sees's back as he stood up and eagerly approached the spoils she'd brought. "Ooh, apples? Ah. Meat. Nice," he nodded solemnly, "…it's nice to be alive…"
As he admired the marbled fat of the elk meat, his mouth watering, he didn't see the intense look in the woman's eyes behind him. He just smiled without turning to her and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
What a Dragon Lord, he thought. She must've been away from her home for so long she'd forgotten her own birthday. If she was in her domain, of course her servants would celebrate it. It was common for a lord's birthday to be widely known. He'd memorized several beast kings' birthdays for political purposes in the past.
Surely the Dragon Empress's birthday was just common knowledge, right? He made a mental note to read more history books…
So engrossed in the prospect of food was he, that he failed to notice how deep Oathria's gaze upon him had become.
"Prophet Cecilius…" Oathria suddenly began. "Why are they saying you are a fake prophet?"
Sees froze.
Ah.
He's dead.