Father, I Won’t Do Anything

‘There’s only one chance.’

She cannot fail.

Jaina slightly opened her eyes and once again checked her body. Slowly, very slowly, so Moben wouldn’t notice…

“Heuk, heuk, huu…”

And at that moment when the exhausted Moben staggered and lost his balance.

Jaina struck Moben’s ankle with her tail.

Pow!

Then, as he lurched forward off-balance, she struck his face at her height.

Bam!

His face slammed against the wall with a loud bang and heavy vibration. Moben immediately lost consciousness.

Tightly bound but having exerted all her strength with her tail, Jaina too lost her balance and toppled over.

Bam!

Partially reverting while in human form was extremely difficult, but her tail was an exception as humans lacked one.

Fortunately, Moben had neglected to properly restrain her tail vertebrae when binding her body.

‘It’s over.’

Jaina checked the fallen Moben repeatedly. In that state, he wouldn’t regain consciousness for a while.

She had to escape.

She had to escape, but…

‘It hurts too much…’

With Moben down and the tension released, she could no longer keep her eyes open. Until now, she had endured through sheer willpower beyond human capability.

Her vision blurred and faded to black as she lost consciousness once more.

* * *

Even after lunchtime had passed, Jaina didn’t show up at the dining hall.

Mikael uttered crude curses unbecoming of his dazzling, elegant appearance.

“Ah, I’ve completely lost my appetite.”

Mikael fidgeted with his legs as he stabbed plain, undressed greens.

The people in the dining hall pretended not to notice as they stole furtive glances at him, but his gaze remained fixed on the entrance.

“Did some old hag gobble her up?”

“She’s too scrawny to be gobbled up.”

Hilvenzia’s lovely lips curved into a beautiful smirk as she retorted to Mikael, appearing no different from usual.

However, she was just as vexed as Mikael, enough to refrain from admonishing his discourteous treatment of the food she had prepared.

Unnoticed by the two, a prickly aura gradually spread around them.

Amid this, one of the Magic Tower’s magicians gulped audibly before approaching them with trembling steps.

“Um, sir Mikael, lady Hilvenzia…”

Even when addressed, Mikael didn’t turn around, keeping his chin propped on the table, effectively treating the magician as invisible.

As the magician fidgeted, unsure of what to do, Hilvenzia smiled and spoke up.

“My, how frightening. What seems to be the matter?”

While she responded, Hilvenzia was no easy person to deal with either, smiling but giving the impression she might whisk the magician away for research at any moment.

“Well, my colleague was found collapsed on the second path to the library…”

The magician opened his mouth haltingly, but Mikael remained indifferent.

“S-sorry. I’ll take my leave…”

Thinking he had spoken out of turn, the magician began backing away cautiously.

However, the offhand remark he provided took root sharply in the two’s ears.

“Ah, I only mentioned it because the one found with my colleague resembled the child you two cherish…”

Bang!

Upon hearing about Jaina, Mikael immediately blocked the magician’s path with magic.

“H-huh?”

The magician flinched, confirming an invisible barrier before him.

Uncharacteristically grinning broadly, Mikael demanded with a menacing aura ill-befitting his handsome face:

“You should finish what you have to say. What happened to the child?”

“She was found unconscious, tightly bound by restraining magic…”

Before he could finish, Mikael and Hilvenzia rose from their seats.

Restraining magic?

Could the reason for her absence be…?

The two instantly transported to the location mentioned by the magician.

They immediately knew where the second passage was without needing to ask.

“What in the world happened inside the Magic Tower? Why hasn’t the restraining magic been undone until now?”

“The level was too high, even the unseal master Gezes couldn’t undo it and passed out.”

“But why was such a young child lying here alone?”

“There was originally one more person collapsed beside her, but they immediately claimed to be fine and disappeared.”

Murmuring filled the air as magicians surrounded the unconscious Jaina like an interesting spectacle.

Mikael directed an intimidating expression he had never shown anyone before as he spoke in a low, suppressed voice:

“What are you all doing here?”

Despite the quiet, low tone, an overwhelming pressure left no room for defiance.

Everyone present froze, unable to so much as budge in the face of Mikael’s presence.

Roughly shoving aside those rooted in place, Mikael entered the circular crowd.

And then abruptly stopped in his tracks.

“…”

Jaina’s body was covered in bruises, as if lashed by a whip – likely inflicted by magic.

And there were deep marks from being tightly bound by chains.

‘Who in this tower could have…?’

Even if Jaina lacked a guardian, he couldn’t fathom someone causing such a disturbance right under the Tower Lord’s nose.

Still, just in case, he had issued her a warning…

-Dragons are a precious ingredient. But adult dragons are strong, so they usually target young dragons who haven’t awakened yet. That’s why adult dragons protect the young until they awaken, but you have no guardian right now, right?

-It can’t be helped, I’ll just have to deal with it. Thank you for your concern.

-……Well, there probably isn’t anyone bold enough to cause trouble without the Tower Lord’s permission.

Because he knew Jaina’s current location well.

-You’re not an official member of the Magic Tower. For now, even if you suddenly disappear one day, officially they can’t look for you. Although everyone is refraining themselves because the Tower Lord dislikes disputes…

He had understood the situation so well that he even offered such advice, yet in the end, he had done nothing until Jaina ended up in this state.

Mikael ground his teeth audibly as a vivid light swirled in his eyes, and mana began to surge violently around him.

The faces of the surrounding magicians turned deathly pale.

At this moment, only one person could dissuade Mikael.

“Calm down. Treating Jaina’s condition is the priority.”

It was Hilvenzia.

“First, undo the restraining magic. This isn’t my specialty.”

The two, their attention fixated on Jaina before them, failed to realize that this was the first time the proud Hilvenzia had readily admitted her limitations before Mikael.

“Which bastard… did this…”

Mikael approached Jaina and knelt before her, extending his hand to manipulate his mana.

Wooooong!

The tightly woven mana, rather than responding to its original command, reacted to its new master.

The mana forming the restraining magic began dissipating one by one at Mikael’s fingertips.

“Ohhh…”

White mana materialized and sparkled in the air, a rare sight that elicited hushed exclamations from the surrounding magicians.

Ordinarily, Mikael would have taken pride in showcasing his ability, but now even such admiration only irritated him.

How could they care about magic when a child lay fallen before them?

A thought he would never have entertained before, but through his time with Jaina, Mikael too had unconsciously undergone subtle changes.

“They really prepared thoroughly. What kind of bastard would go this far…”

Mikael gazed down at Jaina.

Battered and bruised.

A helpless child who had received no aid.

His previously impassive gaze quietly closed.

Since he had spoken such words, he would have to take full responsibility.

And there was someone else who bore even greater responsibility.

Mikael abruptly rose from his kneeling position before Jaina.

“I’m leaving the child’s treatment to you.”

“Where are you going?”

Mikael’s lips twisted bitterly.

“To her father.”

He knew better than anyone that Diamid wasn’t one bound by blood ties.

His own father and Diamid had apparently been on very good terms.

With their considerable age gap, Diamid was doted upon without any bullying.

Yet Diamid didn’t even attend his beloved brother’s funeral.

A being without blood or tears.

That was the current Tower Lord, Diamid.

Mikael too only regarded Diamid as the Tower Lord, not his uncle.

After all, aside from glimpses in his vague childhood memories, Diamid held no personal connection – it was nonsensical to expect familial affection.

Mikael remained at the Magic Tower because it allowed him to develop his abilities.

And he had earned that privilege through demonstrating his skill, not by blood relation.

Channeling his mana, Mikael swiftly made his way to Diamid’s study.

“Tower Lord.”

“What is it?”

“The Tower Lord’s daughter has been found collapsed. It seems another magician discovered her dragon heritage and plotted against her.”

But still… Surely a nephew and daughter were different, weren’t they?

Jaina’s eyes resembled Diamid’s.

Perhaps Diamid deliberately distanced himself from familial bonds due to resentment toward the dragon Bezrice.

‘Surely even the Tower Lord will react differently upon hearing a child has collapsed.’

It was a stretch to call it fortunate, but perhaps this incident could lead to Diamid acknowledging Jaina as his daughter. That would be for the better…

“So?”

“Pardon?”

“Whether that dragon lives or dies, what does it have to do with me?”

But once again, Diamid’s response defied Mikael’s expectations.

“Dragons are an arrogant race that doesn’t treat humans as equal lifeforms. If one of that kind is injured… Yes, it would be fine if it died like this.”

Mikael clenched his fist tightly. As if seeing through Mikael’s emotions, Diamid spoke.

“I warned you, Mikael Bellafanian. Don’t allow emotions to sway you.”

Whether the child was hurt or not, it didn’t matter to him?

How could he not show the slightest change in expression?

‘I refuse to believe it, even after being told she is his daughter.’

Cold words pierced Mikael as he hung his head.