Father, I Won’t Do Anything

‘How cute.’

The most eye-catching item was the large teddy bear Jaina had won from a dart tournament, occupying one corner of her room.

It looked cozy enough to lean against while sleeping.

“You came at a good time. I was about to call for someone since I needed help.”

Rather than being surprised by the unexpected visit, Jaina welcomed Rosian warmly.

Perplexed, Rosian allowed Jaina to lead him into her room.

“You need help?”

“Look at this.”

Jaina pointed to her mouth with her finger.

Only after examining her mouth could the confused Rosian understand her meaning.

With just a slight wiggle of her finger, her fang dangled loosely.

“I need to pull out this fang.”

“I’m not sure if I can help…”

Reminded of Mikael’s earlier derision about his uselessness, Rosian faltered.

‘Unlike mother’s swordsmanship or Mikael’s magic prowess, I can do neither.’

However, Jaina nonchalantly replied:

“If His Highness couldn’t help, I wouldn’t have mentioned it.”

In Jaina’s hand was a piece of string. Rosian tilted his head quizzically.

“I thought you needed help pulling out your fang?”

“Yes, that’s right. I’m going to use this string to pull it out.”

Rosian watched Jaina looped the string around her fang, tying the other end to the doorknob.

As she finished the preparations, Jaina spoke with a slight lisp:

“Now you jusht have to puww it.”

“What?”

Rosian recoiled in alarm – tying her tooth to the door and yanking it seemed extremely painful…

“Miss Jaina, that’s dangerous.”

Suddenly worried, Rosian instinctively grabbed her hand. But Jaina paid no mind as she replied:

“It’sh fine, it’sh jusht one tooth.”

Using gestures, Jaina began explaining the simple method.

Forcefully opening the door would cause the string around the doorknob to yank out the dangling tooth through the recoil.

Intelligent as he was, Rosian immediately understood. Yet his expression remained troubled.

“Even so, won’t it hurt terribly?”

“It’sh annoying to keep jiggling it, and if I don’t puww out the baby tooth, my permanent teeth won’t grow in shtraight.”

Rosian marveled:

“Miss Jaina is always so resolute, despite her tender age…”

Jaina nodded firmly before gesturing with her eyes to begin.

Squeezing his eyes shut tightly, Rosian pulled the door.

“Here goes!”

Bang!

But he lacked strength.

“Ugh!”

Worried for Jaina’s sake, Rosian had been unable to muster enough force, resulting in the fang merely wobbling loosely without dislodging.

Grimacing, Jaina rubbed her cheek on the side with the fang.

Seeing this, Rosian rushed over with a flustered expression, his reddened eyes brimming with concern solely for her well-being.

As she massaged her cheek, Jaina calmly stated:

“If you don’t pull properly, it will hurt more.”

“I’m so sorry. My clumsiness…”

“I’m not blaming you, but to end it quickly, you should do it decisively in one go.”

Jaina’s expression soon cleared. After letting out a deep sigh, Rosian resolutely declared:

“I’ll do it properly this time.”

Though unable to conceal his worry, Rosian soon set his jaw firmly, his eyes sparkling as he gripped the doorknob.

“Don’t look at the doorknob. Look at my face instead.”

For a mere twelve-year-old, Rosian wore an expression as if declaring, ‘Trust only me.’

Jaina let out a soft chuckle at his demeanor.

“Ah, Miss Jai-!”

“Hm?”

And in the fleeting moment Jaina’s attention was diverted by Rosian calling out to her, the doorknob was pulled.

Crunch!

This time, it worked decisively.

Her gums endured even greater agony than before. But the satisfaction outweighed the pain.

Gazing at her dislodged fang, Jaina felt an immense sense of relief.

“Are you alright?”

However, Rosian’s expression was one of utter dismay – teary-eyed, flustered, reminiscent of a prince witnessing his kingdom’s downfall.

‘No, he is a real prince, after all.’

As Jaina regarded the situation calmly, Rosian’s long lashes fluttered rapidly before he lowered his head.

“…Next time, ask someone else for help.”

Rosian blinked his eyes swiftly several times.

Gingerly caressing the corners of his eyes, he averted his body upon meeting Jaina’s gaze.

“I can’t do it a second time.”

Indeed, it may have been too much for a twelve-year-old.

‘I chose the wrong person to ask. I should have waited and requested someone else’s assistance.’

Jaina gazed at the blood-stained fang dangling from the doorknob.

Then, walking over, she retrieved it and wiped it clean with a cloth.

‘Wasn’t twelve the age when all permanent teeth should have emerged? This could traumatize him against tooth extractions.’

For some reason, Rosian looked utterly devastated, as if needing to recompose himself.

“Where did you learn this method?”

“I’m not human, after all.”

Rather than explaining it was a method from another world – specifically Korea on Earth – Jaina simply mumbled an ambiguous response.

“From your earlier remarks, it seems you already figured out I’m a dragon. Am I right?”

“Yes, Mikael made it quite obvious. Also, the presence of a child in the Magic Tower was unusual.”

Without further probing, Rosian simply nodded in acknowledgment.

“But Your Highness, won’t you ask for the return of your cloak I’ve been borrowing?”

Despite Jaina’s abrupt change of subject, Rosian remained affable.

“I’ll lend it to you for another ninety-nine years.”

It was only after receiving the cloak that Jaina learned: items bearing the imperial crest could never be permanently possessed by non-imperial individuals.

‘Lending it for ninety-nine years is essentially giving it…’

Though puzzled at first, Jaina soon nodded in acceptance.

‘I wouldn’t be able to use it for more than a few years anyway.’

Jaina tugged on Rosian’s hand, then opened his palm with a quizzical look.

“Since you lent me your cloak and helped pull out my fang, I’ll give you this as a gift.”

Rosian stared perplexedly at the fang placed in his hand, too stunned to even consider declining such an unexpected present.

“This is… your tooth from just now, isn’t it Miss Jaina?”

Not that he found it unclean, but gifting one’s own fang…

Though initially flustered, Rosian soon realized the fang’s significance when he sensed mana stirring around it.

Crackle!

“Be careful!”

Jaina’s voice rang out in warning. Startled, Rosian inadvertently dropped the fang in his hand.

In that instant:

Whoosh!

“What is this…?”

“Ah, I should have explained faster.”

Accompanied by a thudding sound, the previously adorable fang had morphed into a gigantic size and embedded in the floor.

“…”

Rosian stared dumbfoundedly at the fang lodged in the floor.

It hadn’t fallen from a great height, nor had he dropped it forcefully, yet it was driven so deeply into the ground.

Glancing beside him, it seemed Jaina had anticipated this situation.

“Though not a permanent tooth, as a dragon’s fang, it should still be rather useful. You may not be able to forge a longsword, but a dagger should be manageable.”

“A dagger?”

“Just think of it as a light self-defense weapon.”

Jaina then added with a shrug:

“Or you could give it to someone else, if you prefer.”

Seemingly considerate of his previous lament about struggling with swordsmanship under his mother’s tutelage.

With a dazed expression, Rosian took in Jaina’s features – her soft, gentle voice, the slight crease of her left dimple when she smiled faintly, her neatly groomed jet-black hair…

And those blue eyes.

“Thank you for today.”

Though the same hue as his cousin Mikael’s, her soft gaze conveyed warmth and kindness toward him instead – not scorching like crimson flames, yet warmer than the indifferent looks from other ladies.

For some inexplicable reason, Rosian found himself unable to turn away from those eyes.

* * *

“Miss Jaina, remember when we first met at the marketplace?”

It was Rosian’s suggestion that prompted Jaina to venture outside the Magic Tower grounds.

“Let’s revisit it together, for old time’s sake.”

Even a simple invitation to an outing was delivered with an endearingly radiant smile.

Narrowing his eyes as he smiled, he seemed innately aware of how to best accentuate his charms.

His subtle, graceful eye-smiles belied his imperial princeliness.

Inwardly admiring him, Jaina responded:

“But I can’t freely use the transit gates.”

Rosian flashed a sly grin.

“I have my own methods.”

He explained that by combining certain sacred artifacts in his possession, instantaneous travel to the imperial palace was possible.

Hearing this, Jaina’s expression turned astonished.

‘A power separate from magic… I wonder what principles govern it?’

Though curious, as a young dragon, she would likely struggle to comprehend or utilize such principles even if explained.

Jaina shook her head resignedly.

After using Rosian’s artifacts to transit to the palace, Jaina constantly pivoted her head to take in her surroundings.

Observing her from behind, Rosian chuckled:

“I’d love to give you a tour of the palace, but let’s save that for another formal occasion.”

Before Jaina could properly survey the imperial grandeur, Rosian headed toward a concealed entrance before she could fully admire it.

“This is a secret imperial passage, known only to me and no one else.”

So that was why she had encountered Rosian at the marketplace previously.

As Jaina slowly nodded in understanding, a thought occurred to her.

‘Is it really okay for him to divulge such things so freely?’

Not only had he gifted her a cloak bearing the imperial crest, but now he was nonchalantly revealing the palace’s secret passages.

Just as Jaina was about to voice her doubts, she sealed her lips – since he had offered unprompted, there was no need to interrogate him further.

‘Perhaps his young age makes him careless.’

If she continued experiencing such privileges, she might face repercussions for being an ‘imperial favorite’ in the making.

Or worse, be eliminated for ‘knowing too much’…

“Miss Jaina, don’t raise your head so high or else…”

Rosian began to caution her while leaning down, but soon closed his mouth with a faint smile.

‘There’s no risk of her bumping into anything.’

Since Jaina was much shorter than him, her movements were unimpeded, granting more freedom than he had expected.