Night settled over the estate like a calm blanket after a storm.
Warm lights filled the hall. Food was set out. Everyone gathered—closer than usual, quieter than usual.
And at the center—
Mia.
She sat with Leo beside her, Vinson across, a few trusted staff lingering nearby.
"…So yeah," Mia finished, exhaling slowly. "That Abyss Sovereign… Varkryth… is probably my father."
Silence.
Leo blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Then—
"WHAT?!"
"SO YOU'RE TELLING ME—your dad is a ruler of abyss??
Mia winced slightly.
"…Yeah."
Leo slowly sat back down.
"…That's insane."
"…Tell me about it."
A pause.
Then Mia looked up at Vinson.
Her expression shifted.
Serious now.
"…Sir Vinson."
He met her gaze.
"Yes?"
"…How did you get me?"
A beat.
"…When I was still an egg."
The room went still.
Vinson didn't answer immediately.
Then—
"…I bought you."
Mia blinked.
"…What?"
Nine Years Ago
The market was loud.
Chaotic.
Voices clashed like blades, gold changing hands, merchants shouting over one another.
Vinson walked through it with his guards, expression calm—but his eyes sharp.
Then—
something caught his attention.
A crowd.
Too loud.
Too eager.
"STEP RIGHT UP!" a man shouted from a raised platform. "A rare opportunity! A genuine dragon egg!"
The crowd surged closer.
"For research! For power! For status! Whatever your heart desires!"
Vinson's gaze narrowed.
On the platform—
an egg.
Dark. Large. Radiating faint mana.
And around it?
The worst kind of buyers.
Vinson's eyes hardened.
He recognized some of them.
Slave traders.
Experimenters.
People who treated life like tools.
The seller raised both hands.
"Alright! Let's make this fair! Starting price—10 million gold coins!"
The crowd stirred instantly.
"I'll go 12 million!" one shouted.
"That's it? Pathetic. 13 million," another sneered.
"14 million. Don't waste my time."
"15 million!" a rich noble snapped, glaring at the others.
"Back off, rich head," a rough-looking man spat. "16 million!"
"16? That's pocket change," someone scoffed. "18 million!"
The tension climbed.
Voices sharpened.
"Cheap bastard."
"Say that again and I'll gut you."
"Try it. I'll buy your corpse too."
The seller grinned like a vulture.
"18 million! Going once—!"
A pause.
Then—
"30 million."
The voice cut through everything.
Clean.
Calm.
Absolute.
The crowd froze.
Heads turned.
"…Count Vinson?"
Murmurs spread.
"That noble?"
"What's he doing here?"
The seller blinked—then recovered instantly.
"Ah! 30 million! Going once—!"
"33 million!" another buyer snapped quickly, glaring at Vinson.
"Trying to show off, Count?"
Vinson didn't even look at him.
"…40 million."
Silence.
Heavy.
Crushing.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
A few cursed under their breath.
"Damn it…"
"Not worth it…"
"Forget it…"
The seller raised his hand high.
"40 million! Going once!"
No response.
"Going twice!"
Still nothing.
"And… SOLD! To Count Vinson!"
Present
Silence filled the room again.
Mia sat frozen.
"…You paid… that much…?"
Her voice trembled slightly.
"…You didn't even know me…"
She looked up.
"…Why?"
Vinson looked at her.
Then at Leo.
Then back again.
"…Because I already had a child."
Leo blinked.
"…Huh?"
Vinson's voice remained steady.
"I know what it means to be responsible for a life."
A pause.
"And I knew exactly what would happen to that egg… if I walked away."
His gaze hardened slightly.
"I wasn't going to let that happen."
The room fell quiet.
Not empty—
but heavy.
Mia's hands tightened in her lap.
"…Even though I wasn't human?"
Vinson shook his head.
"That never mattered."
Simple.
Firm.
"Human or not… a child is still a child."
Mia lowered her head.
Her vision blurred slightly.
"…That…"
She swallowed.
"…Thank you… sir…"
Soft.
Small.
But carrying everything.
Vinson didn't reply.
He didn't need to.
Because in that silence—
it was already understood.
Why she was here.
Why she was safe.
And why—
this place had become her home.
Mia lowered her gaze slightly.
"…I'm really grateful, sir. Truly."
Vinson didn't reply with words.
He just gave a small, quiet smile.
That was enough.
Later that night
The barn hadn't changed.
Clean. Warm. Familiar.
Like it had been waiting.
Mia stepped inside, taking a slow look around. The scent of hay, the soft creak of wood, the quiet comfort—it all settled over her like a blanket.
"…Home."
She let herself drop onto the hay with a soft whump, wings relaxing, body stretching out.
Her eyes closed.
And sleep took her almost instantly.
Next morning
A gentle tapping.
Soft.
Rhythmic.
"Morning, sleepy head. Up."
Mia groaned, one eye barely opening.
Leo stood beside her, patting her chin like he was trying to wake a very large, very grumpy cat.
"…No."
"I knew it," Leo grinned. "You're going to hibernate, aren't you?"
"…No."
"Then get up."
"…No."
Leo crossed his arms.
"…Get up, or I'll make you."
Mia slowly cracked one eye open, amused.
"Oh?"
A lazy flick of her tail.
"If you can move me even a tiny bit… I'll get up."
Leo smirked.
"Ha. Consider it done."
He walked over, braced himself, grabbed onto her foreleg—
and pulled.
Nothing.
He tried again.
Harder.
Still nothing.
Reality hit him like a brick.
"…Why are you so HEAVY?!"
Mia didn't even move.
Didn't even twitch.
Just lay there like a mountain that refused to acknowledge gravity.
Leo strained, face scrunching.
"Grrr—! What have you been eating?! Stones?!"
Mia lazily opened one eye.
"…Did you move me?"
Leo froze.
"…No."
"…Then you lost."
Leo groaned and grabbed a handful of hay—then tossed it at her.
Mia flicked her tail, sending it right back into his face.
"Hey—!"
She yawned, already settling back down.
"…Go to the academy, Leo."
A tiny smirk.
"You clearly need to study how to lift a dragon."
Leo squinted.
"…Very funny."
Then—
he smirked.
"Oh, I don't need strength."
He stepped closer.
"…I know your weakness."
Mia's eye opened slightly.
"…Don't you dare—"
Too late.
Leo started scratching right under her chin—
that exact spot.
Mia froze.
Then—
"Prrrrr—"
Her entire body betrayed her instantly.
"…S-stop…"
More scratching.
"…Prrr—stop it…"
Her back leg twitched.
Scratch kicks activated.
"H-hey—! That tickles—!"
Leo burst out laughing.
"Got you!"
Mia tried to hiss—
"…Hiss—prrr—stop—!"
Completely ruined by purring.
Dignity? Gone.
Leo kept going, grinning like he just discovered the ultimate cheat code.
Mia squirmed slightly, half-annoyed, half-melting into it.
"…I hate you…"
"Yeah, yeah. Get up."
"…No."
"Then I'm not stopping."
"…You monster…"
But she didn't actually stop him.
Because… honestly?
After everything—
this wasn't so bad.
Leo kept scratching under her chin while Mia pretended she absolutely hated it.
"Prrrr…"
"…Stop that."
"Never."
"Traitor."
Eventually, with one long stretch, Mia pushed herself upright.
The barn creaked slightly under the movement as the massive black dragon extended her wings, claws digging into the earth, tail swaying lazily behind her.
She yawned.
A very dragon-sized yawn.
"…I'm going for a walk."
Leo perked up instantly.
"Oh? Need a leash?"
THUD.
Mia's head slammed directly into his chest.
Not full force.
Just enough.
Leo folded dramatically.
"OOOF—!"
He stumbled backward, clutching himself.
"MIA!! That hurt!"
Mia snorted, looking entirely unapologetic.
Her form shimmered, black scales dissolving away as she shifted into human form.
The obsidian necklace appeared against her chest as the transformation completed, faint purple light flickering briefly before fading.
Leo noticed it immediately.
It looked strange on her.
Not bad.
Just… important.
Mia adjusted the necklace absentmindedly, then turned with a smug little hum.
"Hmph."
"That was mercy."
Leo pointed accusingly.
"You weaponized your forehead!"
"You deserved it."
"For a leash joke?!"
"Yes."
"…Worth it."
Mia rolled her eyes and started walking toward the estate gates.
Naturally—
footsteps followed behind her almost instantly.
She didn't even turn around.
"…Leo."
"Yeah?"
"…Why are you following me?"
Leo blinked innocently.
"You said you were going for a walk."
"…And?"
"And I'm walking too."
"That's not how privacy works."
"You're a dragon. You don't get privacy."
Mia stared at him flatly.
"…That sentence makes no sense."
"Too late. I already said it."
She groaned dramatically and kept walking anyway.
Leo grinned and caught up beside her.
And just like that—
after Abyss Sovereigns, near-death battles, and emotional reunions—
the terrifying black dragon's greatest enemy returned once more:
One annoying teenage boy with too much free time..