Gardenia’s Heart

Walking along the open corridor of the visitors’ wing, a group of girls moved cheerfully beneath the moonlight.

Carefully, both a silver-haired girl and a blonde elf carried a small child in their arms, followed by a rabbit-eared woman hopping along with a white canvas in hand.

“Selene, I know you’re excited, but at least watch where you’re going,” Lily sighed, looking at Selene, who had already drifted away from the group after spotting a landscape that caught her interest.

Twitching her rabbit ears and puffing out her cheeks, the beautiful woman in the red dress returned to the others’ side. “But they said we’re allowed to go anywhere around here.”

Noticing the girl’s eager expression—like that of a child who could barely wait to go play—Lily couldn’t help but let out another exasperated sigh.

After walking a few more meters, a modest sliding door separated the corridor from a large room filled with thick steam.

Though simple, the dragons also had a dedicated room for communal bathing. Preheated, the water sat at the perfect temperature, a tempting sight for the entire group after dinner.

Opening the door and heading inside energetically with Cherry, Thelira wasted no time making her way toward the bath. After checking several times and confirming there was no one else nearby, Nia leapt out of Lily’s body, landing gracefully on the floor.

“Lily?”

However, when she looked at the silver-haired girl standing motionless, Nia couldn’t help but tilt her head in confusion.

Still by the entrance to the bath, Lily gently lifted a drowsy Rose from her arms and held her out toward the metamorph.

“I’m going to keep an eye on Selene to make sure she doesn’t get herself into trouble. In the end, we were the ones who brought her along, so we should take care of her too. You can go ahead and bathe with them.” Placing a soft kiss on her wife’s forehead, Lily lightly hugged the two girls, her gaze drifting toward the rabbit-eared woman who was already nearly out of sight, distracted once again.

Hearing her wife’s words, a hint of unease reflected in the metamorph’s crimson eyes. Though reluctant, Nia could still keep watch over Lily, since part of her body would remain within her. It wasn’t as if they were truly separating.

“Let me know if anything happens—I’ll come right away!”

Giving her wife a gentle kiss on the lips, Nia walked into the bath with Rose in her arms. Since Lily wouldn’t be bathing now, it meant the bathroom would be theirs alone later, so it wasn’t entirely a bad situation.

Watching her wife and knowing exactly what was going through her mind, Lily couldn’t help but laugh softly before running off to catch Selene before she vanished.

Leaving the cluster of buildings in the visitors’ wing, the long corridors separating the rooms gave way to grassy plains dotted with rolling hills.

“It’s like another planet up here! There are so many incredible landscapes! I really want to draw some of them to show Sis when we get back!” Gazing at the shining stars—so close due to their proximity to space—Selene skipped across the mountainous terrain at the summit, brimming with excitement.

“But we didn’t leave the planet, you know,” Lily replied, though she couldn’t deny how unique the view from this place truly was.

As if the closeness to the vast blackness of space weren’t enough, being above the upper limit of the mist meant a sea of white clouds stretched out below, surrounding the city of Athamas on all sides.

Even though she supposedly had permission to wander anywhere, Lily knew there were certain places she should avoid. Like two districts of the same city, another cluster of buildings stretched out at the farthest point her eyes could reach on the horizon. That area—the Wing Clan’s district, where Fafnir’s body had been taken—didn’t seem particularly safe to explore.

“I wonder where the Scale Clan lives,” the silver-haired girl murmured.

Up to that point, Lily had already seen members of two different clans. The Wing Clan, said to be the political clan, was easily identified by the presence of an extra pair of wings on their backs. Likewise, from what she could tell, all members of the Fang Clan, responsible for culture, wore helmets that covered their eyes.

However, even as she scanned her surroundings, she hadn’t spotted a single member of the clan supposedly responsible for the dragons’ military power—or at least no one with a distinctive trait that would let her identify them as such.

Turning her attention back to her surroundings, Lily found Selene trying to choose the best spot to paint the scenery. Since they were technically on the Fang Clan’s side of the city, there was no risk of a confrontation breaking out.

As she watched the girl, however, Lily suddenly crouched down in a sharp, abrupt motion.

“Is this for real?!”

The sudden movement startled even the usually distracted Selene.

“What is it, Rival? Is something wrong?”

Walking over to Lily, who was staring at the ground with only one blue eye visible beneath her bangs, Selene tried to see the cause of her alarm.

“This! Don’t you see it? Right here!” Lily pointed at the ground several times, her voice filled with excitement as her gaze stayed fixed on a flower with a red stem and petals.

“I’m sure of it—this is a Rubra Berula! I’ve only ever seen this flower in books!”

“Is it really that amazing?” Lily’s enthusiasm hit Selene like a bucket of cold water, making her roll her pink eyes.

“Of course it is! When I checked the elven library, every book said it had gone extinct!”

Even with the nearly endless variety of flowers and herbs in the elven forest, there were still plants Lily had never been able to find for her garden. With such a rare subspecies of mana herb right in front of her, it was impossible for her not to get excited.

“This one… and this one too! It’s incredible that they grow here!”

Was it because of the terrain? Or some rare coincidence, perhaps the unique winds of this region carrying seeds here? Lily couldn’t say.

Turning her head quickly to continue explaining to Selene why those plants were so special, Lily suddenly frowned.

“She ran off and left me talking to myself?”

On the moonlit plain, where the night wind pushed through the damp grass, the silver-haired girl could see no sign of the rabbit-eared woman.

Sighing and thinking about how she would pinch Selene’s cheek later, Lily stood up and began to walk.

Though the rare flowers had thrilled her, she could always ask for a cutting later—there was no need to rush now.

Because of the mountain’s terrain, most of the buildings followed the slopes, while the flatter areas were used for farmland and communal leisure spaces. Although this urban layout was clearly designed to make the most efficient use of space, it also resulted in the need for a large number of stairways.

However, since dragons had wings, Lily assumed the stairs were meant more for aesthetic purposes than practical ones.

As she walked, Lily carefully observed each structure she passed. Though they weren’t completely identical in appearance, most of the buildings clearly served as residences. The soft sounds coming from inside indicated that families lived there. The absence of signs and the lack of people out on the streets at night suggested there were no shops like those found elsewhere, implying that dragon commerce might function differently from that of other peoples.

Lily thought that a place where sharing and communal life mattered more than individual enrichment didn’t seem so bad.

Among the many low buildings, a single three-story structure set apart from the rest caught her attention. Its entrance hall, framed by pillars and large double doors, made its importance immediately clear. Like a modest temple rising within the city, the beautiful building was so finely detailed that one could lose themselves for hours studying each wall. Even without being as skilled as Nia at sensing presences, Lily could still feel the aura Tiamat emitted. Combined with the elaborate architecture, she was certain this was the woman’s private residence.

“Damn it!”

At the very instant a shrill shout echoed out, halting the movement of the world, Lily ran through the frozen flow of time and hid behind one of the pillars.

Kicking open the double doors of the three-story temple, a beautiful woman in a black dress, with short indigo hair, fumed openly, vapor spilling from the air around her mouth.

“The sister of a coward is nothing but a frightened rat.”

Careful not to be seen, Lily watched as the woman she immediately recognized as Ignis stomped the ground several times, destroying much of the grass surrounding the entrance.

Adjusting the hood over her head, Lily didn’t need long to understand the reason behind the woman’s rage.

With Fafnir’s death, the Wing Clan would need a new leader. Even though Lily obviously didn’t know all of its members, the way that woman had commanded everyone before made it clear she held high status within her clan.

By coming to speak with Tiamat, Ignis was likely seeking the Fang Clan leader’s support for retaliation against the elves.

“Damn that Tiamat—she’ll pay for this! This won’t end here. I won’t accept it!”

Her fists clenched so tightly that veins bulged beneath her pinkish skin, sharp nails digging in, Ignis continued to curse, her black eyes fixed on the building behind her.

Then, all at once, the dragon woman’s head snapped to the side. Leaping forward, her sharp claws dug into one of the distant pillars, ready to strike. However, where Ignis’s claws landed in search of blood, she found nothing but empty space.

A look of clear confusion crossed her face as Ignis scanned the area several times, unable to find the one she was searching for.

“A dragon’s sense of smell is stronger than I expected.” Letting out a relieved sigh, a silver-haired girl twirled the staff with floating butterflies in her hand a few times before securing it once more at her waist.

Hundreds of meters away from where she had been, Lily removed her hood and was greeted by the night breeze. A confrontation with Ignis right now would bring nothing good to the situation. Even if it could serve as a way to prove her strength and make things easier for Thelira, she doubted the other members of the Wing Clan would simply stand by, turning it into a large-scale battle.

“Fighting opponents who can keep going even after being decapitated isn’t exactly encouraging.” Letting out a sigh, Lily continued walking along the outskirts of the Fang Clan’s district, careful not to remain within Ignis’s sight. “But now… that Selene. Where did she get herself into?”

Since Selene wanted to paint landscapes, Lily didn’t think the girl would be reckless enough to wander into the Wing Clan’s district, likely choosing instead the open fields surrounding the city. After searching for a few minutes, Lily considered asking Nia for help in finding the rabbit girl—but just as she was about to do so, something caught her attention.

Though not as tall as Tiamat’s residence, a building of undeniably imposing size rose amid the mountainous scenery, isolated from all other structures. The absence of windows—even opaque ones—piqued Lily’s curiosity, and she walked up to the double doors, carefully trying to open them. With no resistance at all, the entrance gave way, and the scent of thick, heavy air reached her nostrils.

Shelves as tall as cliffs rose in concentric circles, climbing upward until they vanished into the dark vault above. Spiral staircases made of black wood connected the floors, which were softly illuminated by small lights set into the walls.

“A library?” Tilting her head as she stepped inside, a small feeling of excitement began to stir within her.

Ever since she had started learning how to read and write, Lily had grown interested in literature. While she couldn’t say she enjoyed long adventures, short chronicles she could tell her daughter before bedtime were something she truly cherished.

Moreover, a place filled with documents meant there might be information about the locations of labyrinths in the Athamas region, which would be invaluable to find.

Inside, even the faintest outside noise vanished. The place was completely soundproofed, designed to aid the reading and concentration of those within.

“Hm?”

Before she could begin her literary exploration, however, several framed paintings along the walls caught her attention.

Arranged in an orderly fashion, numerous works depicting everything from people to landscapes adorned the walls. Normally, such things wouldn’t have been enough to draw Lily’s focus—but one painting in particular could not escape her gaze.

With four wings on its back and a massive body of indigo scales, an enormous dragon soared through the sky at sunset.

Studying the painting, Lily couldn’t help but notice how much the dragon in the artwork resembled the one she had fought. The colossal reptilian body was rendered with such meticulous detail that she could easily lose herself in contemplation. Still, despite the similarities, the piece was so distinct that Lily concluded it wasn’t Fafnir—after all, she had seen the real thing before.

“Maybe he was younger… or another member of the clan?” Leaning closer to the painting, Lily noticed small letters inscribed in one corner of the frame. “Rain…?”

Speaking the word she had read, Lily frowned.

The phenomenon of rain? She wondered—but quickly dismissed the idea, realizing it couldn’t be that.

The small, modest word was clearly a signature. Making a mental note to show the paintings to Selene later, Lily finally decided to explore the shelves and try to pick up a book.

However, once again that night, Lily was met with another surprise.

“Scales?” Staring at the rough, rectangular object in her hands, the silver-haired girl’s eyes widened in confusion.

From indigo-toned scales to yellowish ones with a soft golden sheen, every shelf was filled with scales. Like large papyrus sheets made of a single page, each one had letters carefully carved into its surface, forming dense blocks of text.

Walking through the entire place, Lily continued pulling different items from the shelves. Yet, no matter how many times she tried, she found nothing but what she concluded were scale tablets.

“I wasn’t expecting visitors at this hour…”

The gentle voice, so low it bordered on a whisper, tore Lily from her thoughts. A chill ran down her spine as her hand instinctively closed around the staff at her waist, and she turned her head toward the center of the library.

Seated at a table, several scale tablets spread out before her and a small chisel in hand, a beautiful woman with white hair rose from her chair, a golden mask covering her eyes.

“Lady Cicuta, is it? I hope I’m not disturbing you.” Letting out a relieved sigh, Lily loosened her grip on Akasha, calming the tentacles that had reacted to her sudden fear and gone on alert.

Ever since meeting Cicuta before, Lily couldn’t help but notice how faint her presence felt compared to the other dragons.

If she were to make a comparison, it was like a small wolf that never grew in size, even while surrounded by a pack of raging Akashas. In a group where everyone shone and radiated overwhelming brilliance, this woman remained dim.

“You can just call me Cicuta, Elder Sister… Lady Tiamat values the presence of the elven delegation greatly, so there’s no need to worry. You’re free to go anywhere.” Folding her arms, the woman dressed in a long white robe bowed deeply. “I was simply surprised. I didn’t expect a visitor.”

Thinking it would be improper to continue speaking from such a distance, Lily walked closer to the center of the library.

“So you’re the younger sister of the Sovereign Tiamat, Cicuta?”

“Yes.”

“You were the one who gave Selene the blank canvas, weren’t you? Thank you very much for your kindness.”

“Gratitude is unnecessary.”

The curt reply, followed by the dragon woman returning to her work as if Lily weren’t there, made Lily narrow her eyes slightly.

In terms of personality, Cicuta was cold and direct—the kind of person who would take several steps back without hiding her discomfort if you tried to get closer, simply because she didn’t appreciate your presence. Lily didn’t particularly mind; she was fairly certain she spoke the same way to most people herself.

“By the way, is painting a common hobby among dragons?”

Though she knew Cicuta probably wasn’t interested in explaining, the chance to visit such an important cultural space of another species wasn’t something that happened every day.

Even as someone who preferred spending her days quietly at home with her wife and daughter, avoiding excessive social contact, now that she was here, there was no reason not to take the opportunity to learn something.

“Most prefer to test their strength through duels or hunting. Work that demands precision or has artistic purposes is more commonly done by the Fang Clan, and tends to be neglected by the other two clans.”

Using a chisel so sharp it looked more like a knife, Cicuta resumed carving text into the small golden scale on her table—the work she had interrupted due to the girl’s sudden appearance.

“Are all the books here like this?” Lily asked.

“Leather- and paper-bound books, even when preserved with great care, rarely last more than five hundred years. The effort required to renew their contents by rewriting them is excessive and unnecessary. Scale tablets are far more practical.”

Without interrupting her movements, Cicuta continued carving into the scale, her two white wings—soft and feathered like celestial plumes—swaying gently.

“Some dragons from each clan donate their scales, and those skilled in writing carve the records of our history directly onto them.”

Setting the chisel down, Cicuta extended an open palm toward the other tables, where several freshly carved scales lay. Lily took it as an obvious gesture: Cicuta wished to work in silence, signaling that the girl was free to look at whatever she wanted as long as she didn’t disturb her.

Even though she wanted to ask more, Lily knew better than anyone that it wasn’t good to force conversation. So, leaving Cicuta to work in peace, the silver-haired girl began examining the other tablets.

Given Cicuta’s explanation, Lily concluded that the indigo tablets—like Fafnir’s scales—belonged to dragons of the Wing Clan, while she guessed the golden ones likely came from the Fang Clan.

Since she had been allowed to read them, Lily thought there would be no problem taking some time to search for useful information. Yet as she casually scanned the items, deciding which one to start with, a particular tablet caught her attention.

Its shape was the same as the others, but its appearance was completely different.

Like a crystal formed from the solidification of air itself, a white scale—nearly as transparent as glass—rested alone on one of the tables.

Its uniqueness made Lily want to examine it more closely, so she carefully picked it up to inspect it.

“Ah—!?”

The moment the white crystal tablet was lifted, a bluish glow spread across its surface, followed instantly by a sharp cracking sound, like glass shattering on the floor.

Though her hand wasn’t hurt and her reaction was exaggerated by surprise, the same couldn’t be said for the tablet. At the lower corner of the crystalline rectangle, a small crack spread from a chipped fragment, branching into spiderweb-like fractures that now ran across part of the material, rendering all the text carved there unreadable.

“Tablets are more practical—provided they are handled properly.”

Approaching Lily with slow steps, Cicuta took the crystal tablet from the girl’s hands.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—” Lily began apologizing quickly, but Cicuta shook her head.

“It’s fine. Only the Scale Clan can create crystallized scales. Thanks to that clan’s innate ability, this material reflects any form of spell, so it reacts to any mana that comes into contact with it. Because of that, it must be handled while allowing almost no mana to leak from one’s body.”

Explaining in her usual low tone, Cicuta adjusted the mask on her face, her white wings swaying softly.

“However, since it’s no longer part of a Scale Clan dragon’s body, the small amount of mana you normally emit around your hand shouldn’t have been enough to trigger such a destructive reaction…” The dragon woman fell silent for a moment before continuing, a faint hint of amusement in her voice. “You’re stronger than you appear, aren’t you?”

Seeing Cicuta question her, and given the complexity of the current situation involving the elves, Lily decided it would be better to change the subject. “Can it be repaired? If there’s a cost for the restoration, I can cover it.”

“There’s no need.” Shaking her head to dismiss Lily’s concern, Cicuta lifted the tablet with one hand, and for the first time, her lips curved upward slightly. “That document wasn’t very important. In the end, it was nothing more than a flashy decorative piece that’s difficult to carve.”

With a sudden flash, the entire crystal tablet crumbled as a powerful greenish flame erupted around it.

“A small file burn like this isn’t a problem. Things like this don’t need to be recovered.”

Eyes wide, Lily watched as the crystalline material vanished from the dragon woman’s hand. Decades—perhaps centuries—of carefully carved writing disappeared without a moment’s hesitation.