NOVEL WEB Book 6: Chapter 34: Who Are You?
Master?
Lilith froze for a moment, but quickly recalled who Princess Estelle's master was. He was none other than Taylor, the Aurora Dragon whom she had never met since birth.
Bound by a contract with the Holy Dragon Empire, he was forced to guard it for ten thousand years which explained why he was unable to attend her birthday celebration back then.
However, according to Ciel, Taylor wasn't guarding the empire because of the contract, but rather due to an order given by Lilith ten thousand years ago.
Lilith wasn't sure if that was true. But if it was "her" own order, then asking Taylor directly might reveal part of the truth.
Even if she had forgotten, Taylor shouldn't have.
Otherwise, why would he have spent ten thousand years guarding this place?
Even for dragons—whose lifespans were unfathomably long—ten thousand years was not something one would waste for nothing.
With that thought, Lilith stopped in her tracks. Instead of leaving, she calmly returned to her seat.
"Afraid now, huh? Hah! Even though my position isn't what it once was, as long as Estelle remains the disciple of the Guardian, a wild stray like you has no right to be barking here!"
Lilith looked at her coldly, like one would a walking corpse.
"Well, you're just another dog who dares to bark because your owner is around. I thought you were calling him over? Go ahead. I'm waiting."
"P-Preposterous!" Imperial Consort Jadeite was livid. She turned to Estelle, who hesitated by the doorway. With a trembling finger, she pointed outside and barked, "What are you waiting for? Go summon Lord Guardian immediately!"
"B-But… calling Master over for something this trivial is…"
"Trivial? You think this is trivial?" Imperial Consort Jadeite had completely abandoned all pretense of decorum at this point, spitting her words at her own daughter.
"Your mother has just been insulted, and you still think this is a trivial matter? You heartless child! Have you forgotten who raised you? Before Lord Taylor took you in as his disciple, I was the only one who ever cared for you!"
Princess Estelle lowered her gaze, her expression unreadable. Her lips curled into a bitter smile as she replied, "Please calm yourself, Mother. I was wrong. I'll go summon Master right away."
With that, Estelle turned and left the room.
Ignoring Imperial Consort Jadeite's murderous glare, Lilith casually pushed aside the bowl piled high with food the woman had forced on her. Instead, she retrieved her own exquisite cutlery and began leisurely enjoying the other dishes on the table.
After all, she figured she shouldn't waste a free meal.
Surprisingly, for all of Imperial Consort Jadeite's arrogance and stupidity, she wasn't a liar. The food was actually pretty good. The only problem was their portions were… too little.
The room fell into silence, the only sound being Lilith's unhurried chewing as she savored her free meal.
Eventually, Imperial Consort Jadeite sneered and broke the silence.
"I'm surprised that you can still eat so calmly," she remarked.
Lilith glanced up at her with an odd look while stuffing her face. "Why not?" she responded while chewing.
Imperial Consort Jadeite scoffed and gave her a pitying look. "Oh, don't tell me—you really have no idea who Estelle's master is. No wonder you're so arrogant. It's because you're ignorant."
Lilith looked at her speechlessly.
I wonder which one of us is the ignorant one here.
Imperial Consort Jadeite continued smugly, "Once Estelle's master arrives, you'll be sorry."
Lilith swallowed her bite and tilted her head. "Oh? And what exactly do you intend to do?"
Imperial Consort Jadeite curled her lips in a triumphant smirk.
"We'll break one of your legs first as punishment for your insolence toward me. Then, we'll have you crawl on the ground like a dog. That should teach you who your master is."
"Uh-huh. Break a leg first, then crawl like a dog. Got it."
Well, that wasn't a bad plan.
For those who constantly looked down on others, forcing them onto all fours—so they could only look up like a dog—was perhaps the best cure for their arrogance. Especially if the one doing it to her was Taylor, the very person she regarded as her greatest ally.
Hm, I'm truly merciful.
The conversation ended as both parties fell into silence, each lost in their own thoughts while waiting for Estelle's return.
Moments later, the soft clink of bead curtains echoed through the room.
A palace maid stepped forward and announced, "Her Highness Estelle has arrived with Lord Guardian."
"Hurry up and let them in."
Imperial Consort Jadeite's previously sour expression immediately brightened like a blooming flower.
"Never mind. Considering Lord Guardian's status, having mere servants receive him would be disrespectful! I shall personally go greet him." She practically beamed as she stood up, swaying her hips as she strutted out gracefully—each step oozing smug satisfaction.
She even turned back to shoot a glare at Lilith, her expression practically screaming:Just you wait, you little brat. Your time is up.
Lilith didn't even need to read her mind to know that was exactly what she was thinking. But she remained seated and didn't even bother getting up. There was no need for her to.
'Hmph. Who the hell is Taylor? He didn't even bother attending my birthday party or sending a gift. He better make up for it first—otherwise, he'll have to face my wrath,' Lilith thought arrogantly.
From outside, a sickeningly sweet voice rang out.
"Oh my, Lord Guardian! What an honor it is for you to personally come all this way…! Having you visit my humble abode truly fills it with radiance."
A deep, hearty laugh followed.
"How could I not come when my good disciple invites me?" The voice belonged to a middle-aged man. He must be Taylor!
It was only then that Lilith realized something. Among all the dragons, Taylor was one of the three she was least familiar with. After all, she had never met him until now.
That said, every dragon had their image carved onto the dragon monument on the Dragon Island, so she at least knew what he looked like.
As for the other two unfamiliar dragons… One was the legendary Earth Dragon, who had buried himself underground and remained dormant for centuries… The other was the Eclipse Dragon, who had spent years on the run after kidnapping the Demon King's daughter.
Huh? Wait… Eclipse? I've heard of that name somewhere recently.
The familiar name was about to pull something from her memory but before she could grasp it, a gruff voice interrupted her thoughts.
"I heard there was a little trouble here, so I figured I'd stop by and take care of it for you."
"Oh, it's just a little brat who doesn't know her place. It hardly needs your personal attention, Lord Guardian."
"It's fine, it's fine. If it's just a little bug, I'll crush it with my bare hands… Hahaha…"
"Oh my, how scary, Lord Guardian!"
The voices grew louder as the group entered, their presence washing into the room like a gust of wind.
"Hey! You're that little brat who doesn't know her place right?!"
The owner of the rough voice glanced around the room, scanning for their target.
When he realized that the only person sitting there was Lilith, who was busy stuffing her face, he immediately snapped, "Don't you know where you are? How dare you act up in our territory? Are you tired of living?!"
"Oh?" Lilith smirked coldly. "My, my. You seem awfully comfortable in your position as Lord Guardian. Looking down on me with such arrogance…" She paused, then continued with a slow, deliberate tone. "Since you're so bold, how about I let the entire clan know about your glorious past, Taylor?"
A long silence ensued.
Heh.Lilith couldn't help but snicker to herself.This guy is probably already panicking by now.
After spending plenty of time with these idiots, Lilith had long since developed a foolproof method for handling them. It was a simple strategy: Never let them get too comfortable. Always keep them in check, otherwise, these guys will always find a way to crash and burn.
"What's wrong, Taylor? Cat got your tongue?"
Lilith gracefully cut the food on her plate, not even bothering to glance in Taylor's direction. It was as if his presence in the room was so insignificant, she couldn't even be bothered to acknowledge it properly.
Imperial Consort Jadeite—who had been calling her a little brat just moments ago—suddenly looked at her in horror.
It was then Lilith finally heard the idiot's confused response.
"Who's… Taylor?"
"Eh?" Lilith looked up in shock.
And there, standing in the middle of the room, was a burly man.
The man was wearing a ridiculous outfit—an old fashioned singlet that barely covered his bulging muscles, shorts that were completely out of season, and an atrocious choice of footwear.
One foot wore an ordinary pink slipper with the picture of an overly voluptuous woman. The other foot was a nearly broken flip-flop, one side already snapped off, held in place only by the grip of his toes to keep it from flying off as he walked.
Well, it did match the image Lilith had of Taylor in her head. But there was just one problem.
Her eyes trailed upward. The candlelight was shining on thick, wavy black hair that swayed gently with the breeze from the window. But according to the monument on the Dragon Island… Taylor should have been bald!
The other dragons had also mentioned to Lilith that Taylor had been bald since birth, with exactly three strands of hair on his head.
Every ten thousand years, he lost one. By the time he reached thirty thousand, he had lost all three—officially making him the youngest bald dragon in history.
Even Akarin, the oldest and most qualified butler, was in a better condition than this guy. After living for who-knew-how-many tens of thousands of years, he was only semi-bald.
"Who are you?!" Lilith suddenly stood up, knocking over her chair. Her expression was dark.
The man raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised.
"How can you not know who I am?"
"Why should I?" Lilith shot back.
"Oh my." Imperial Consort Jadeite let out a mocking sneer, her voice dripping with amusement. "And here I thought you were so bold. It turns out you're really just ignorant. To think you can't even recognize Lord Guardian…"
"Guardian?" Lilith frowned and turned to look at the unfamiliar burly man. "Isn't the Guardian Taylor?"
The man's expression grew increasingly strange at her words. "That's exactly what I'm asking you—who is Taylor?"
Lilith's face twisted in disbelief. "You don't even know Taylor? He's the Guardian of your empire!"
"I am the Guardian of this empire, but I am not Taylor and I've never even heard of that name!"
"Nonsense!" Lilith's voice suddenly rose in anger.
"Who else could the Guardian of the Holy Dragon Empire be if not Taylor? Hasn't he been guarding the empire for ten thousand years?!"
The entire room fell still. Even the palace maids turned toward Lilith, giving her strange looks.
"What? Am I wrong?" Lilith's voice faltered slightly as an inexplicable sense of unease suddenly crept into her chest.
At that moment, Princess Estelle—who had been silent this entire time—suddenly let out a sigh. Her gaze filled with something disturbingly close to pity.
"Actually… I've been meaning to ask you this back in the carriage. Where exactly is this Holy Dragon Empire? There is no such empire on this continent. You're in the Holy Sky Empire right now."