Damn Reincarnation

t?” asked Eugene.

“From books and TV,” answered Raimira.

Eugene’s desire to spare her lessened as he spoke with her further.

“Intruder, you said you changed your mind about killing this lady, so don’t you think it’s time you let me go now…?”

“I said I wouldn’t kill you, not that I would let you go,” said Eugene.

“How difficult.
Then what do you plan to do with me…?” asked Raimira.

“I’m going to take you out of the Dragon Demon Castle.
I’m just thinking how best to do it,” responded Eugene.

Raimira became wide-eyed at his answer.
“Did you say you would take this lady with you?”

“Mhm.”

Raimira regarded Eugene with a serious expression.

”Are you planning to kidnap this lady and demand a ransom from the Dragon Demon Castle? ” she asked, hoping to catch him off guard with her sharpness.

However, Eugene simply regarded her with a blank expression, not bothering to answer what he considered a stupid question.

Instead, he changed the topic.

“Don’t you want to run away?” he asked, staring at her with squinted eyes.
“Everything I said is true.
Seeing that you aren’t mindlessly insisting that I’m lying, you must have some idea about the war.”

“O-Of course.
This lady is a dragon.
Dragons are the greatest and the wisest race in the world,” answered Raimira.

“So, I’m asking if you want to run away,” said Eugene once more.

Raimira didn’t answer right away.
If it had been a question of whether she wanted to die or not, she could have given an answer very easily.
Naturally, Raimira did not want to die.
She had finally been freed from her prison for the first time in two hundred years, so there was no way she was willing to die.

“If you don’t run away, you will die,” said Eugene.

It wasn’t like he could read her thoughts, though.
He was simply pressing her for an answer since she had remained silent for a while.

Raimira finally responded, “T-This lady does not want to die.
However, she is the Black Dragon’s blood… destined to become the master of the Dragon Demon Castle.
How could a lord abandon their castle and….”

Eugene furrowed his brows and asked, ”Do you have any obligation or loyalty to save these bastards? ”

Raimira ’s mouth opened and closed repeatedly, but she couldn ’t give a definitive answer.
Loyalty? She had known them for two centuries, but it wasn ’t as if those long years had been filled with affection and friendship.

The only ones who knew of her existence in the Dragon Demon Castle were the Four Divine Generals, and they had kept her locked up in the secluded palace after Raizakia’s disappearance.
Since the Four Divine Generals had signed a direct contract with Raizakia, Raimira had been unable to command them even with the red jewel.
None of them had ever shown affection to her even once.

Did Raimira have an obligation to save them? She didn’t.
She cared little for the Four Divine Generals, who had never served her.
In the end, she was a dragon after all.
Raimira didn’t care whether the Four Divine Generals, who were neither her vassals nor friendly toward her, lived or died.

“But the Dragon Demon Castle…,” Raimira ’s thoughts were consumed with the Dragon Demon Castle and her father, Raizakia, causing her to hesitate.

The red jewel on her forehead was proof of Raizakia ’s madness and fixation.
She knew this because as a dragon, her memories were vivid from birth.

Raimira could never forget the intense gaze of her father, the Black Dragon, when she first emerged from her egg.
He knew that her existence was solely for him.
Although she didn ’t know why Raizakia had allowed her birth and raised her, she knew that her purpose and future were tied to her father ’s obsessions.

Therefore, leaving the Dragon Demon Castle was not even a possibility for Raimira.
Despite being appointed as the castle ’s lord, she believed it was only temporary until her father, the Black Dragon, returned.
Her entire existence had been for her father, and she was convinced that as soon as he returned, she would willingly give up her position and all her power to him without hesitation.

In the end, Raimira couldn’t agree with Eugene.
It was not because she didn’t want to run away but because she couldn’t possibly imagine going against Raizakia’s commands.

‘But… what’s actually important for the Black Dragon shouldn’t be the Dragon Demon Castle but this lady’s existence, right?’

A thought occurred to Raimira.
She realized that the Dragon Demon Castle, despite having existed for hundreds of years, was not irreplaceable.
The Black Dragon was powerful enough to create dozens of similar castles if he wished.
Raimira also acknowledged that the lives of those who lived in the castle were insignificant compared to the life of a single dragon.
Ultimately, she did not want to die.

‘This lady cannot die this fast, not in this way.
This lady exists for the Black Dragon, so she cannot die without the permission of the Black Dragon.’

Raimira clenched her fists and renewed her resolve.

“Hmm….
Intruder, I understand what you are saying.
Since you want to take this lady out, I will especially grant you the opportunity to save me,“ said Raimira.

[Why don’t you just kill her instead, Sir Eugene?] grumbled Mer while pinching Eugene’s waist from inside the cloak.

“But… as I said before, this lady is connected to the Dragon Demon Castle.
As long as the central core of the Dragon Demon Castle is strong and intact, she cannot escape from the Dragon Demon Castle,” explained Raimira.

“Then I will just have to destroy that core,” said Eugene with an uncaring expression.

Raimira started to have hiccups.
Contrary to Eugene’s expression, his answer was brazen.

“If you destroy the core, the Dragon Demon Castle will fall to the ground!” Raimira exclaimed with shock.

“Of course, it will,” replied Eugene.

As long as Raimira was tied to the core, it was impossible to sneak her out.
In that case, wasn’t it better to just bulldoze through everything? In the first place, Count Karad would soon be invading the Dragon Demon Castle with Jagon leading the way.

Eugene didn’t know exactly how they planned to launch the invasion, but when the time came, the chaos in the Dragon Demon Castle would reach its peak.
If the castle were to be engulfed as a battlefield, who would really care whether the Dragon Demon Castle started to crash before or after the destruction of its core?

[No, Sir Eugene.
Who would not care? Of course, they would care.
Who wouldn’t when such a big castle starts to fall?] said Mer.

‘Things just happen in war.’

[Be honest.
You just want to break it because you dislike the Dragon Demon Castle.]

Eugene didn’t deny that.
It was true that he had the desire to drive this forsaken castle into the ground.

Meanwhile, Raimira was in disbelief and stared at Eugene silently, at a loss for words.
She couldn ’t help but question whether this was all a dream.
However, the pain from earlier was still fresh, and the throbbing on her forehead was a constant reminder that this was, in fact, reality.

After acknowledging it, Raimira felt her pulse start to speed up.

The intruder would crash the castle, the Dragon Demon Castle of the Black Dragon, by destroying the core of the Dragon Demon Castle…? It was a vicious act that Raimira had never imagined, even in her wildest dreams.
Her lips suddenly felt dry, a side effect of her excitement.

“E…hem.
If there is no other choice, then I guess you must.
Will you be heading there right away to destroy the core?” asked Raimira.

“Do you know where it is?” questioned Eugene.

“It is located in the basement of the castle.
If you….
If you want to destroy it right away, this lady can guide you there personally.
The castle is far too vast for a commoner like you to imagine, so you won’t be able to find your— Waaaaghh!” Raimira’s words ended with a scream of pain.

Eugene had flicked her red jewel.
He didn’t like how she tried to show off, even though there was nothing to flaunt.
Raimira flopped left and right while screaming.

“I’m not going to break it right now,” stated Eugene.

He could, but it would be much too noticeable.

After hearing Eugene’s answer, Raimira suddenly stopped screaming and returned a look of disappointment.

“Then how long do you plan to keep this lady for? If she doesn’t return, the Four Divine Generals will send a group to find me,” said Raimira.

“Well, I’m sure they will.”

The Four Divine Generals needed Raimira for the upcoming war.
However, Eugene couldn’t simply release and send her back to the Dragon Demon Castle after making contact with her.

“I will send you back if you make a few promises with me,” said Eugene.

“What?”

“If you do not, I will keep hitting your forehead,” threatened Eugene.

Dragons could not break promises made with Draconic.
Although it was just a childish threat, to Raimira, it was more horrifying than anything else in the world.