"Eblana... what are you doing?"
Zuojian stood up, deliberately ignoring the way she kept swinging her legs in front of him.
Why had this girl suddenly decided to come talk to him again? Hadn't she been giving him nothing but cold looks before?
"Get down first. Don't sit on the desk."
He frowned slightly. A thin layer of dust had already gathered on the writing desk. The room clearly hadn't been fully abandoned, but it also obviously hadn't been cleaned in quite some time.
And yet Eblana, having just changed into fresh clothes, had gone and sat right on top of it.
Honestly, that bothered Zuojian far more than anything else.
So much so that his attention stayed fixed on that one fact. As for the girl's attempts to act provocative in front of him, they barely even registered.
Damn it. Don't sit on a dust-covered desk right after bathing and changing into clean clothes, you troublesome kid...
As for Zuojian's reaction, Eblana seemed to have expected it.
She already knew this man had seen through her thoughts long ago. That was why, in their earlier little skirmishes, he had kept pushing her into a disadvantage over and over again. He was several times harder to deal with than she had first imagined.
But that was fine.
If anything, that only made him more interesting.
She wanted him to reveal his true face—to expose the desires in his heart, to strip away the mask and lay his real intentions bare in front of her poor, foolish, easily manipulated little sister, so that Loughshinny would finally understand what reality actually looked like.
And what drove Eblana to do all this was not some noble sense of sisterly duty.
In a certain sense, none of this was even really for Loughshinny's sake.
It was simply because, in her eyes, this clash with Zuojian had become interesting. The uncertain outcome was enough to excite her.
Both sides hid their true thoughts behind false masks, using lies to cover their aims while trying to extract what they wanted from the other.
She could practically imagine the result if she lost this contest of lies and schemes: she and Loughshinny would both become his pitiful puppets, their bloodline and even their bodies treated as things he could shape and use however he pleased.
But if he lost—if he showed his true self—then everything would move toward the ending she wanted.
Even now, she still remembered what it had felt like when she killed the assassin who had broken into their home and murdered her parents.
The blood had poured out wildly, life and hope draining away with it, and yet as a child she had felt no revulsion at all. She had not liked it, nor hated it. What she felt was only a strange calmness unlike anything she had known before.
Like killing some beast that had threatened her.
Perhaps that was simply because she was, by nature, an evil red dragon.
So since she had already stained her hands with blood once, she would not mind doing it again.
When the time came, she might even try to use her own flame to make his corpse rise once more, so that she could control him in death instead.
But all of that would only matter if she won this contest first.
Killing him would be the result of victory—not the method of achieving it.
And because all of his earlier responses had left her unable to find any flaw in his mask, Eblana had come up with a better plan.
If deception through pretense no longer worked, then she would drop the disguise, lay out some truths between them openly... and then use truth itself as the lie.
"You don't like it? I even braced myself mentally for this little exchange, and yet you're being so cold~"
"Or is it that... what you're after is something even further beyond this?"
As she said that, Eblana lifted a foot as if to lean in closer again.
But Zuojian, sharp-eyed, sidestepped in time and avoided her at once.
"What exactly are you trying to do?"
At this point, he was genuinely getting annoyed. In fact, after seeing her shift around on the dusty desk again, his discomfort had reached its limit.
Seriously, what was this kid even talking about? And could she please stop getting dust all over herself?
You're doing this on purpose just to irritate me, aren't you? You naturally troublesome little menace...
"What am I trying to do? Surely you already know. Since you've seen through all the disguises, there's no point dancing around it anymore."
At that, Eblana let out something like a self-mocking laugh. She lowered her eyes, letting just the right amount of defeated disappointment flicker through them, then raised her head and spoke.
"I'll be direct. I'm willing to cooperate with you voluntarily. Whatever you want—my bloodline, my fire, even... myself."
As she said it, she looked like someone steeling herself to sacrifice everything in order to protect something precious.
"But in return, I want you to leave Loughshinny alone. At the very least, in front of her, I want you to go on pretending—just like you did today—so that she can continue living in that fantasy you've built for her. In exchange, I'll do anything—"
By the end of those words, all the earlier teasing and provocation had vanished from Eblana's face. What remained was the resolute expression of an older sister determined to shield her younger sibling at any cost.
But hidden behind that determined mask, Eblana was coldly waiting to see how he would answer.
Without question, it was a risky move—but it was also one that could instantly let her seize the initiative again.
From the start, his goal had been to control her. Everything he had done for Loughshinny was, in her mind, merely a means to that end.
Yet now she had shoved the result directly in front of him, even adding extra temptation on top of it. She had offered him her own weakness outright: her precious sister, Loughshinny.
If he continued indulging Loughshinny the way he had today, then he would effectively gain a Draco who would obey him without resistance.
It would save him time. It would let him make use of her while she was still a child. It would let him advance all his plans years ahead of schedule.
Efficient. Valuable. Controllable.
And yet deadly.
Eblana was like an angler scattering bait across the surface of the water, waiting for the fish to rise and take the hook.
Perhaps he would realize there was danger beneath it. But what did that matter?
Her words had exposed his aim. He had no room to retreat now.
She had seen through all of his plans. Either he accepted her proposal and aligned himself with her, or he had to abandon both her and Loughshinny altogether—because no one would willingly keep a red dragon who distrusted him by his side and raise her to adulthood.
She did not believe anyone would turn down such a great temptation.
And once Zuojian agreed, he would fall fully into her rhythm, onto the path of defeat and death that awaited him.
Even if he refused... she had plans for that too.
Come on. Let me see your struggle. Let me see what choice you make. Whatever it is, I'll gladly accept it.
Just as Eblana narrowed the eye visible beneath her fringe, fully prepared to enjoy the changes that were surely about to appear on his face—
Zuojian suddenly stood up, reached out with both hands, grabbed her beneath the arms, and lifted the small red dragon girl clean off the desk.
"...?"
Suspended in midair, Eblana blinked, momentarily stunned by yet another abrupt move from him—one whose purpose she once again could not predict.
But that confusion did not last long.
The next instant the world spun. Her body was flipped and laid across him horizontally—and then, after a dull thump, the meaning of what had happened finally hit her all at once.
Her eyes went clear in an instant.
And her whole face flushed with raw humiliation, without the slightest trace of pretense.
"Wh-What are you doing?!"
"You little troublemaker! I've been telling you again and again not to sit on a desk covered in dust, and you wouldn't listen!"
"And you don't even wear your shoes properly. If you're already like this now, I don't even want to imagine what kind of chaos you'll grow into! I have to teach you a proper lesson right here so you understand what you did wrong!"
Zuojian sat there like an angry father scolding a misbehaving daughter, stern-eyed and immovable, and continued his reprimand.
"Mm!"
"And all that strange nonsense you were saying earlier too—what kind of unhealthy things are you filling your head with at your age?"
"S-Stop..."
"And using yourself as some sort of bargaining chip? What kind of habit is that supposed to be?"
"I said—stop...!"
"I don't care where you picked up that kind of talk, but as long as you're here, a child is going to act like a child!"
Humiliation flooded through Eblana with a force she had never felt before.
He was not even hitting her hard—really, the strength behind it was hardly more than enough to dust her off. And yet every single reprimanding swat made the shame sink deeper.
It spread from the tips of her toes through every part of her body. And though, in terms of strength, she could have broken free with ease, as Zuojian's scolding voice grew firmer and louder, something like fear began rising in her chest.
It was as though her limbs no longer obeyed her at all.
As though she physically could not act in open defiance.
And Zuojian, in that moment, truly did look like a strict father disciplining a daughter who had gone too far, continuing until the proud little dragon sprawled across his lap was reduced to stifled, embarrassed sounds.
If Loughshinny had seen it, she would have stared in disbelief.
Because the sister who always wore such a composed, false face now had tears in her eyes, cheeks burning red with a mixture of anger, shame, grievance, and a dozen other tangled feelings, even her tail drooping with the rest of her.
At last, Zuojian set Eblana back down.
She stood in front of him with her head lowered, saying nothing, fingers clenched tightly in the hem of her skirt.
Seeing that, he could only sigh in resignation.
Honestly, he hadn't really "hit" her at all. The force he used had been little more than enough to pat the dust off her clothes. But looking at the way she now stood there, shoulders tucked in, eyes still red and damp as though she had suffered some immense injustice, he understood one thing immediately:
This child had clearly never been properly corrected at home before.
That was probably how she had ended up with such a temperament.
Zuojian did not believe in violence for its own sake. But he did think that when a child did something wrong, some degree of discipline was necessary. Blind indulgence only raised children who could no longer tell right from wrong.
And now that he was, in name at least, Eblana's adoptive father, then he had a responsibility to correct her before her character twisted into something worse.
Of course, discipline alone was not enough. It was only a method, not the goal.
So, after watching her stand there in silence, Zuojian stepped forward, gently rubbed her head, and spoke as softly as he could.
"I'm sorry. Maybe I didn't control my strength well enough. Does it hurt?"
"..."
Eblana said nothing.
"But since you called me 'father'—even if you only meant it as an act—then I still have a responsibility to you. That means correcting you when you're wrong, whether that's in your behavior or the way you think."
"..."
She still didn't react.
"What you said today... honestly, it made me sad. Not because it made me look bad in your eyes, but because your way of thinking has already become this warped."
"At your age, you really shouldn't be carrying thoughts like that."
After saying that, Zuojian looked at the silent girl for a moment more, then slowly extended his hand.
"I don't know why you came to think that way. Maybe losing your parents left you with all kinds of fear and uncertainty. Maybe that's why you've started seeing everyone else through such a twisted lens."
"But even so, I sincerely hope you'll give me a chance to prove myself. I really do want to help the two of you."
"I don't have any experience at this. But I'll do my best to become a proper adoptive father... So, are you willing to try trusting me?"
His voice was earnest. There was not the slightest sign of insincerity in it.
And in truth, they really were his honest feelings.
At this moment, Zuojian genuinely wanted to try becoming a proper father for these two children.
And he genuinely hoped that sincerity would reach Eblana too.
So when he saw her give a small nod and place her hand into his palm, relief washed over him completely.
At least this child could still be reasoned with.
What he did not know, of course, was that beneath Eblana's lowered face, her expression had already become so twisted it was almost unrecognizable. Her mind was overflowing with humiliation and murderous fury.
For a moment, she even found herself thinking of reducing him to ashes with her violet flames.
But she endured.
She could not act now.
If she killed him in this moment, then he would die wearing the face of a good father trying to guide his adopted daughter back onto the right path.
No.
She had to endure. Endure. Endure.
She had never imagined this man would have such an absurd, unexpected way of breaking her trap. And coupled with that almost flawless "performance" of his, he had not only overturned her scheme, he had humiliated her thoroughly in the process.
Damn him. Damn him. Damn him.
Her own real father had never disciplined her like this.
In all her life, she had never suffered such an insult.
And precisely because of that, she had to endure it. Otherwise, she would never be able to settle this humiliation for the rest of her life.
She had to wait.
Only then would she be able to repay everything she had suffered today—with interest.
Fine.
If this man wanted to play the role of her good father, then she would let him.
She wanted to see how long that mask of his could really last. She wanted to see whether he could truly go on playing house with two Dracos every day and remain untouched by his own desires.
The moment he slipped—even once—she would make him pay—
"Wah!"
Before her thoughts could get any further, she was suddenly scooped up again.
"Wh-What are you doing now?!"
This time, apparently worried he might go mad again, she instinctively clapped both hands over her backside.
Seeing that, Zuojian grinned.
"Didn't you say you wanted to cooperate with me? Since you're so worried, then instead of explaining things with words, wouldn't doing something practical be a better way to put your mind at ease?"
He held Eblana in one arm and lifted the manor blueprints in his other hand.
"So, would you be willing to help me? Little Eblana—I really do need your assistance right now."
"I-I know already... but put me down first!"
"So it doesn't hurt anymore?"
"I-I never said it hurt!"
"Then why are you still covering it?"
...
This man!!
Endure. Endure.
You have to endure, Eblana.
Everything that happened today—you'll make him pay it all back someday.
So endure.
-------
My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
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