Chapter 4: Have you been guarding my door all this time?

In the Kingdom of Londe, within the capital city of Elan, inside the royal palace.

Atop the grand hall, a middle-aged man wearing a crown looked at the elderly man seated below and said with a smile, “Minister Freeman, is the development plan for Dragon’s Roar Valley ready?”

The speaker was King Duncan of Londe, and Dragon’s Roar Valley was the domain of the silver dragon Lucia.

Hearing His Majesty’s words, Freeman, with his white hair and beard, nodded with a smile.

A former wealthy merchant, he had risen to a position second only to the king by funding Duncan’s ascent to the throne.

Their conversation turned to this topic because, half a month ago, Fratina, the continent’s most renowned adventurer and titled Hero, had been hired by Londe to slay the silver dragon Lucia.

Five years prior, Londe had secretly sent an exploration team that discovered a massive mineral vein beneath Dragon’s Roar Valley, one valuable enough to potentially make Londe the dominant power on the continent.

The kingdom had attempted to negotiate with Lucia for mining rights, but she refused.

Undeterred, Londe sent mining teams to extract ore from the valley’s edges, only for Lucia to discover and destroy them each time.

Teams sent to confront Lucia directly rarely returned, with only a few escaping in disgrace.

From then on, the valley became a forbidden zone for nearby humans.

In recent years, a Hero named Fratina had risen to prominence.

She defeated the giants of the Northern Snowfields, slew the massive sea monster plaguing merchant ships, and repelled the demon invasion of several southern nations.

Seeing hope in her, Londe had hired Fratina to defeat Lucia.

By now, she should have been close to returning from her mission.

At that moment, footsteps echoed from outside the hall.

A guard hurried in, bowing to King Duncan on the throne.

“Your Majesty, we’ve received news from Dragon’s Roar Valley.”

“Oh?”

Duncan’s brow lifted, his voice tinged with excitement.

“Has the Hero slain the dragon?”

Minister Freeman, seated below, also turned to the guard.

But the guard shook his head.

“No… that’s not it. It’s been two days since Hero Fratina entered the valley, and she hasn’t returned. Our scouts searched the surrounding area and found no trace of her.”

“What!?”

Both Duncan and Freeman froze, stunned. Duncan quickly stood.

“You’re certain the Hero has been missing for two days?”

“Yes, and just yesterday, we heard the dragon’s roar from outside the valley…”

A dragon’s roar meant it had been provoked, making a battle almost certain.

Yet, a full day after the battle, with no sign of Fratina, only one conclusion remained.

The dragon in the valley had killed the Hero.

Realizing this, Duncan abandoned his earlier calm and urgently commanded, “Quick! Summon all the kingdom’s elite forces back to the capital and hire every adventurer nearby!”

Duncan was no fool. He knew that after killing the Hero, the dragon would likely deduce who had sent her.

In the past, Londe’s minor provocations hadn’t bothered Lucia much.

But this time, they had sent humanity’s greatest champion. The dragon’s wrath would surely fall upon them.

If that happened, not only Duncan but the entire Kingdom of Londe might pay the price for this reckless move.

Freeman, realizing the gravity of the situation, stood as well.

“Your Majesty, if the treasury lacks funds, my personal coffers are at your disposal.”

The plan and funds to hire Fratina had come from Freeman. If Lucia came for them, he would be the first to fall.

Seeing their urgency, the guard understood the severity and rushed out to relay the king’s orders.

*

In the afternoon, Lucia woke from her large bed, rubbing her eyes.

The girl yawned lazily and stretched.

Last night, she had barely slept, tossing and turning.

Not only had she transmigrated into a new body and gender, but she was also in the body of someone destined to die.

The thought of survival alone was enough to keep her troubled.

Though her efforts to win over Fratina seemed to be working, she had no way to read the Hero’s true intentions.

It wasn’t until the latter half of the night that exhaustion finally pulled her into sleep.

Lingering in bed a bit longer, she eventually got up.

Looking in the mirror, Lucia still felt a twinge of unease at her reflection.

Shaking her head, she lightly patted her cheeks, donned her hood, and stepped outside.

As she opened the door, she saw Fratina leaning against the wall.

Seeing Lucia emerge, Fratina gave a slight nod and a respectful bow.

“Good afternoon, Lord Lucia.”

“…Huh? It’s already afternoon?”

Lucia blinked, caught off guard by Fratina’s words.

“To be honest, Lord Lucia, it’s been nearly two days since you last left this room.”

Lucia’s expression grew even more shocked, though the hood hid it from Fratina.

After a brief moment of surprise, she cleared her throat.

“Ahem… Well, the battle the other day was quite taxing, so I rested a bit longer.”

Fratina frowned slightly, puzzled.

From her perspective, the battle had been entirely one-sided.

After the contract, her strength had returned almost instantly, yet Lucia, the victor, had slept for over a day.

Fratina’s gaze drifted to the tattoo on her hand.

The dark red iris looked rather beautiful.

But ever since it appeared, she felt an odd sensation whenever she saw it.

Could her rapid recovery be tied to the contract?

As Fratina pondered, Lucia regained her composure.

“So, these past two days, you’ve been standing guard at my door?”

Lucia studied Fratina, finally taking a moment to observe the Hero.

Fratina’s beauty rivaled her own, and despite being under twenty, her years of adventuring lent her a mature, reliable air.

After bathing and changing, her golden hair was tied into a neat ponytail, and she wore a sleek, professional outfit that accentuated her slender, graceful figure.

The Hero now looked every bit like a capable steward.

“Oh, not quite.”

Fratina shook her head, and Lucia relaxed slightly.

“I’ve been handling daily chores, and when there’s nothing else to do, I wait here for your orders.”

Lucia’s relief vanished instantly.

Wasn’t that practically the same as standing guard?!