While Draen remained occupied inside the Silvaris Estate, holding a private discussion with Alon, the head of the Intelligence Order and the one person he trusted most as both a loyal subordinate and butler, far away from them, an entirely different atmosphere lingered elsewhere.
In another place hidden far beyond Draen’s reach, Drakar quietly sat nearby with one arm resting lazily against his seat while his gaze remained fixed on Lewis’ sleeping figure.
There’s also a slow smirk that eventually formed across his lips as his eyes gleamed with clear amusement as though merely watching Lewis’ sleep was enough to entertain him.
The sight before him felt strangely fascinating.
Lewis remained completely unaware of the dangerous dragon observing him so openly, despite being taken far away from the Silvaris Estate.
For someone capable of capturing Draen’s obsession so thoroughly, Lewis looked far more ordinary than Drakar initially expected and perhaps that was exactly what made him so interesting.
After finally having his fill of staring at Lewis’ face, Drakar slowly leaned closer with undisguised curiosity flickering within his eyes.
Without the slightest bit of shame, he lifted the hem of Lewis’ shirt just enough to expose the skin near his navel.
Almost immediately, the dragon mark etched against Lewis’ pale skin came into view, glowing faintly beneath the dim light of the room.
The golden mark pulsed weakly as though still responding to the one who had placed it there despite the enormous distance separating them.
Drakar narrowed his eyes slightly at the sight before letting out an amused hum.
Even with the full-scale barrier surrounding his palace, powerful enough to isolate the entire territory from outside interference, the connection between Draen and Lewis had not completely disappeared.
Though weakened and disturbingly faint, the bond still remained intact.
“How troublesome.” Drakar mumbled and the realization only caused the smirk on his lips to deepen further as amusement flickered across his expression.
“A possessive little dragon until the very end, hm?” he muttered softly while staring at the glowing mark.
“Hmm, let’s see…”
Drakar narrowed his eyes while openly examining Lewis from head to toe without the slightest bit of subtlety.
“Ash-brown hair, clear pale skin and hazel eyes,” he muttered lazily as though listing ordinary objects rather than describing a person.
“Nothing particularly extraordinary.”
Then his gaze slowly trailed lower before pausing briefly on Lewis’ slender figure.
There was obvious disdain laced within his voice as he clicked his tongue softly in irritation.
“Still, just how could this ugly human possibly become that little dragon’s bond?”
Drakar rolled his eyes dramatically before throwing himself back against his seat with careless arrogance.
Crossing one leg over the other, he rested his chin against his hand while staring down at Lewis with undisguised judgment, as though the sleeping man before him was some incomprehensible mystery he could not make sense of no matter how long he looked.
To Drakar, Lewis appeared painfully ordinary.
Nothing about Lewis looked worthy of standing beside a dragon like Draen.
Yet the faintly glowing dragon mark on his skin remained intact, silently proving Drakar was wrong no matter how much he disliked it.
Just as Drakar was about to leave, the figure lying on the bed suddenly stirred faintly.
Lewis’ eyelashes trembled before his hazel eyes slowly opened, still clouded with exhaustion and confusion from having only just awakened.
For a few seconds, he remained motionless while clearly disoriented as his gaze wandered around the unfamiliar room.
Then his eyes finally landed on the man seated arrogantly beside him.
“Y-Your Grace…” Lewis called weakly but his voice was still hoarse from sleep and exhaustion.
The moment those words reached his ears, Drakar’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.
Because contrary to what he had expected, Lewis possessed an unexpectedly beautiful voice.
Soft and gentle yet clear enough to linger strangely in one’s ears.
It was nothing like the annoying or overly delicate tone Drakar had imagined a fragile human like him would have.
For the first time since bringing Lewis here, Drakar looked genuinely caught off guard.
“W-What?” he blurted out instinctively before immediately catching himself.
His expression twisted at once as though irritated by his own reaction.
Drakar also abruptly stood from his seat with a deep frown, staring down at Lewis with visible confusion etched across his face as if he suddenly had no idea what he was supposed to do next.
The situation felt strangely awkward.
After all, terrifying enemies, ancient dragons and bloody battles were things Drakar knew how to handle with ease.
But a supposedly ordinary human looking up at him with sleepy eyes and speaking so softly?
That was somehow far more troublesome.
“U-Uh… I see,” Lewis murmured softly while still sounding weak from exhaustion as he lifted himself seated on the bed.
“But… where is His Grace and…”
His voice gradually trailed off as he finally began properly observing his surroundings.
With slightly widened eyes, Lewis slowly scanned the unfamiliar room around him with confusion immediately settling across his face.
The place itself was undeniably luxurious.
Massive dark furniture carved with intricate patterns filled the room while expensive rugs covered the floor beneath him.
Paintings framed in gold decorated the walls alongside countless ornaments that looked far too valuable for ordinary nobles to possess.
Everything around him screamed wealth and authority and yet…
Lewis’ brows slowly furrowed.
Despite the elegance of the room, the atmosphere surrounding it felt deeply unsettling.
The air itself felt heavy and strange, carrying an oppressive presence that made his stomach churn unpleasantly.
It was subtle at first but the longer he remained awake, the more nauseating it became as though the entire place was rejecting him.
Instinctively, Lewis pressed a hand lightly against his chest while suppressing the urge to vomit.
“Where… is this place?” he asked quietly before finally lifting his gaze toward the unfamiliar man standing nearby.
Then, a hint of wariness appeared within his hazel eyes.
“And… who are you?”