I Thought I Was the Monster Duke's Fake Tranquilizer - Chapter 1
“His Grace, Duke Edward Le Thesseron, returns!”
Rumble.
At the urgent cry, the temple soldiers parted to clear the way.
Soon, someone’s sigh cut through the air.
“His return is far too swift.”
“Perhaps he is struggling greatly.”
Amid the murmuring voices, a current of deep, troubled concern flowed.
“This is grave.”
“The guardian dragon who remained to protect us…”
At those words, the history they all knew flashed unbidden through their minds.
Thousands of years ago.
Humanity multiplied beyond measure, the world’s balance shattered, demonic beasts emerged, and taint spread across the continent.
The dragons, unable to endure it, sought to depart for their homeland, the demon realm.
Even as they made to leave, the demonic beasts grew ever stronger and more vicious. The humans clung to the departing dragons and begged.
“Please, O Dragons!”
“Take pity upon us!”
In the end, a small number of dragons, moved by compassion for the humans, remained on the continent. They mingled their blood with humans and founded families.
Thereafter, in those families, once every few generations, a dragon incarnation was born.
Beings of overwhelming martial might and magic alike — as if a dragon had been reborn in truth.
They hunted demonic beasts and drove the taint from the land, but…
“The intervals between his seizures grow shorter.”
A bitter whisper drifted through the air.
The dragon incarnations had dwindled with each passing generation. Now, Edward was the last.
And the reason his seizures came so frequently…
“Surely it’s because he has no mate to purify him.”
“Even receiving temporary purifications must be a strain on him.”
“…That’s likely why his temper grows steadily worse as well.”
It was because he had no true mate.
An incarnation takes only one mate in their lifetime — a single person whose wavelength matches their own.
For the instinct of a dragon, yearning to return to the demon realm, and the taint of the continent would corrupt them and drive them into rampage.
It was their human mate who purified such incarnations and bound them to the earth.
Thus, a mateless incarnation lived always in peril of a rampage.
They could receive temporary purifications from those who possessed holy power, but there were limits.
“Once he finds his mate, his temperament should ease somewhat.”
“When will His Grace…”
Clank!
At the sound of armor, all fell silent.
“…”
Clank, clank!
Soon after, the duke’s massive frame strode into the temple, radiating a murderous aura.
‘He is terrifying today as well.’
‘No matter how many times I see him, he doesn’t seem human…’
The soldiers watched him with a mix of fear and awe.
Though he was clad head to toe in solid armor, the duke’s blazing red eyes, visible through his helm, were vivid beyond compare.
“Your Grace!”
A woman rushed out to greet him.
“Lady Sepina was here?”
“Then we can rest easy.”
The black-haired woman called Sepina took the duke’s hand and drew him inside.
“I shall purify you. This way…”
Only in her presence did the duke rein in his surging energy and lower his stance.
The soldiers, watching, resumed their murmuring.
“As expected, might the rumors that Lady Sepina is his mate be true?”
“That would be a good thing. She is a saintess, after all.”
“But she bears no stigmata.”
“She could be hiding it…”
And so the whispers flew about the temple…
In the underground dungeon.
“Uwaaah!”
A small, grimy woman bound in chains clawed at her own head.
“Why, of all novels, did I have to end up in this one?!”
