The Encounter Between the Forsaken Healing Magic’s Beloved Child and the Betrayed Black Dragon Princess of Calamity - 9

Chapter 9: The Day I Was Acknowledged

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“Why…”

“Huh?!”

A very beautiful woman appeared from behind the shadow of a tree and came in front of me. Her long, glossy black hair was darker and more lustrous than the night sky of the Dark Forest and her pale skin looked almost translucent given how fair she was. Her face was perfectly sculpted, almost like a sculpture and her soft, red lips looked incredibly alluring. But most importantly, her gleaming crimson eyes were so beautiful that I could find myself lost in them. 

“Why…. Why were you so hell bent on protecting me even after they abused you so much?”

“Huh…?”

Unable to understand the meaning of her words, I unconsciously let out a confused voice. After all, this was my first time meeting this woman, and I definitely didn’t expect for her to stand so close to me right now. Besides, the one I was trying to protect was the dragon, not her. 

“Ahahaha, it seems you’re mistaken, but I actually wasn’t trying to save you or anything…”

I scratched my head and laughed awkwardly to avoid escalating the misunderstanding even further, but the woman just shook her head. Upon closer inspection, I realized her beautiful crimson eyes were glistening with tears. 

“U-Umm… The injuries from those people weren’t that bad though.”

“Like hell they weren’t bad…”

This was bad. We weren’t on the same page. Besides, I didn’t say any lie. This kind of thing happened all the time back at the imperial palace. I could return to normal in an instant thanks to the healing magic. In fact, I was feeling more embarrassed than anything. 

“Really…”

“Huh…?”

“You’re really…”

The woman suddenly closed the distance between us and hugged me tightly. She smelled amazingly good and her embrace felt so soft and warm. However, I couldn’t understand why she was hugging me. All I could do was remain stiff in her arms.

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“Ahem… I apologize. I got a little carried away.”

Finally pulling away from me, the woman cleared her throat lightly before giving me a short apology. She looked a bit composed now. Her demeanor was somewhat amusing though and I couldn’t help but smile a little at that. 

“…What is it?”

“-?! N-no! It’s nothing!”

She shot me a glare, and I quickly shook my head in a panic, trying to dismiss any misunderstanding. This woman… She was incredibly beautiful, but at the same time she felt cold and terrifying somehow…

“S-So? What exactly are you?”

I decided to ask the question that had been bugging me. After all, the two men from earlier had asked if I had seen either the black dragon or the black haired woman with crimson eyes. Her appearance matched their description and considering the Dark Forest wasn’t a place a human would set foot into under normal circumstances, this woman must be the person they had been searching for. No, wait. Something didn’t add up. No human would consider the Dark Forest as a place to escape to. So… This woman wasn’t a human, especially if she was chased by those two men. They looked really inhuman too after all. 

“My apologies for not introducing myself earlier. I am the princess of the Dragroar Kingdom…Or to be precise, the former princess. My name is Mercedes Drake Fafnir.”

The woman placed her hand on her chest and introduced herself. 

Wha-What? Sh-She’s a princess of a kingdom?!

“I-I see… I’m Gilbert Furst Hylics. I’m… Well, I’m the Sixth Princes of the Hylics Empire, or so I was told…”

I introduced myself, but my voice sounded hesitant. I trailed off nearing the end of my sentence. It wasn’t just the fact that she was a princess, but also because… It felt a bit presumptuous of me to claim to be a prince when I had been forsaken to this forest. 

“Gilbert… What a lovely name.”

“I-Is that so…”

No one ever complimented my name before, so I didn’t know how to respond. But the way this woman—Mercedes-san—spoke to me was so gentle. This was something I had never experienced before either. 

“As you may have already guessed, I’m the black dragon you’ve saved.”

Mercedes-san said and I fell silent. 

I had suspected as much, but hearing the person said so left me feeling complicated. Half of me believed in her, but the other half was confused. After all, who would believe such a huge dragon could turn into a human?

But…

“Tha-Thank goodness…”

But at the same time, I was filled with a feeling of relief. I had been worried about the dragon, especially considering how badly injured the dragon had been. But, Mercedes-san looked fine now. Perhaps she had a much higher recovery rate compared to a human since she was a dragon.

“Hehehe… It was just a simple healing magic, but I’m glad I could help you even if it’s just for a little bit.”

I said while scratching my head and smiling shyly. I knew Mercedes-san could quickly get back to her foot because she was a dragon, but still… If my magic could help her, even just for a tiny bit, I would be happy. After all… I had been nothing but a useless child for the last past 10 years… Huh?!

“U-U-U-U-U-Umm…?? Mercedes-san?!”

“Just for a little bit? You’re selling yourself too short. You saved me. I was on the brink of death and you… Not only did you heal me, but you also protected me despite those men torturing you. You endured all that pain… For my sake.”

While gripping my hands tightly, Mercedes-san said. Her words sounded so genuine. She wasn’t trying to give me an empty compliment. She truly meant everything from her heart. The warmth of her hand and the sincerity reflected in her crimson eyes was proof for that. 

Hence…

“Th-That’s not true… I’m just a useless child… My healing magic can only heal minor wounds…”

I looked away, giving her another self-deprecating smile as I said so. After all, if I were truly useful, I wouldn’t get thrown in the Dark Forest like this. 

But then…

“No.”

Mercedes-san firmly denied my words.

“Your healing magic is extraordinary. For a human… No. Even among us dragons, there is no one who can use healing magic as well as you.”

This woman… What is she talking about? Up until now, all I’ve healed were small injuries. There’s no way I could hear serious wounds. Because…

“I’m just a useless child…”

Everyone said that. Everyone told me that without any exception. Hence why, I didn’t want this woman to misunderstand. I wasn’t a great person, not like what she thought. 

“Phew…”

Mercedes-san let out a deep sigh and shook her head. 

Does she understand me now?

“Enough already.”

Suddenly, she took my face into her slender, delicate hands and forcibly turned my face to look at her. Mercedes-san’s beautiful face was incredibly close, but… She looked extremely angry too.

“If you are useless… Then everyone in this world is useless… Including myself.”

“Wha-What?!”

“Listen to me. The one who healed my injuries… The one who saved me… It’s you, Gilbert-kun. There’s no way you’re useless… No. That’s not it. You have great courage residing within your small body. You faced your fear and stood your ground to side with me. Even though you were hurt in the process, you still tried to protect me. There’s no way someone like that can be useless.”

She stared straight into my eyes, not allowing me to look away or avert my gaze. She said all that with unwavering determination, confronting my self-doubt head on.

“But… But! Everyone said so! They said I’m useless… That I’m just a liability! Everyone… Including my father… They all said that to me…”

Even though I had given up on everything… Even though I had decided to die here because of how useless I was… So… Why?

“Why do you say something like that? If you say that, then… Then I… Then I will end up believing that I’m not useless after all! I will get the wrong idea!”

The emotions I had been holding back overflowed. Tears flowed down my eyes like a broken dam. I had tried not to have any expectations by denying her kind words. I had done that in order to protect myself from sadness, but now… Her words ruined all my effort.

“I’ll say it as many times as it takes. You are not useless… You are a wonderful boy. You’re stronger and kinder than anyone else.”

Refusing to budge, Mercedes-san said that with a gentle smile on her face. She didn’t say that for nothing. Her words weren’t just empty words. She meant everything. She was merely stating her truth. It was clear from her eyes and from the warmth of her hand… I could feel her sincerity flowing to me. 

“…Really?”

“Yes.”

I asked, my voice trembling. It took everything I had to ask that and Mercedes-san nodded firmly in response. 

“I’m… I’m not useless…?”

“No. You are not useless.”

“I… I…”

Ah… I can’t. I can’t anymore. There’s no way I can endure this… There’s no way I can hold it in…

“Hic… Uu… Uwahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!”

I cried. I cried with all of my heart. Back in the imperial palace, I never cried no matter how many times I was beaten, kicked, harassed, insulted, or mocked. 

“You are not useless… You’re not useless at all.”

“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Mercedes-san gently hugged me.

That’s right… I’ve been waiting for someone to acknowledge me… To not deny my existence in this world. I want to be someone important to someone else… And today… For the first time ever… Someone finally acknowledged me.

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