Fire Trial

The night came. Edna was already dressed in her servant's uniform. She convinced herself that everything would be fine, and as per instruction of her master, Edna came to her master room, standing at the door warily.

Her hand hanging in the air, afraid of knocking on the door before her. She then took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly to calm her beating heart.

Edna mustered up the courage to knock on the door of her master's room.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!!!

"Come in," said Maximillian from inside his room.

Every step Edna took made her get even more nervous. The girl could not calm down her nervousness. She kept wondering what made her master want to meet her.

Edna stood by the door after closing it again. She thought there would be Luca as well, but there was only Mr. Maximillian inside.

Maximilian, who had just finished reading a book, turned to Edna. He had some suspicions, but no basic evidence was found to satisfy his curiosity, and he didn't need the opinion of his subordinate, Luca. That young dragon had a strange and disgusting way of thinking, hence as the young dragon was busy outside, Maximilian would prove his suspicions.

Maximilian looked at his servant carefully. Eden. He had heard that name somewhere. He was sure that his friend had told him or mentioned Eden's name, but he didn't listen to it, thus he forgot the context of what was said.

Last night, Eden was able to withstand his flame.

And that was still a mystery. Maximillian couldn't just let it go. He had tried to put that aside to focus on finding a cure for his best friend. However, he could not get rid of the curiosity that gnawed at him.

He only knew two humans who were able to withstand his flame. Even other dragons were unable to withstand his flames, one of them was Luca. Meanwhile, the two humans who were able to withstand her flame were both an exception.

Maximilian had his suspicions that the servant in front of him had the same powers as his other two human friends. Thus, if this servant had the same power, then it was very likely that would be of use to him in the future.

"Come here," Maximilian ordered.

Edna approached the man slowly.

Maximilian could see his servant was terrified. The boy had seen many sides of him. He wasn't surprised if the boy was frightened by him.

"I'm sure Luca has told you who we really are."

Edna nodded hesitantly.

"Good, I don't need to waste my time explaining it anymore. I have heard from Luca regarding the agreement."

"My agreement with Luca?"

"About you who become a servant in this mansion, for you will be taken away from this kingdom."

Actually, Luca didn't tell him anything about the agreement. However, Maximillian had the power to read minds, and Luca, a young dragon who wasn't trained enough, left his mind open wide so Maximillian could read everything. Not a single thing was hidden.

One of them was the reason his servant asked him to run away from the guards. It seemed the boy had committed a heinous crime that resulted in killing someone. Therefore, the boy did not want to be seen by others.

"But that's not what I wanted to say. I want to offer you a new agreement," Maximillian said, making Edna instantly look up. He added, "I've usually never been this good with humans. Consider yourself lucky that I didn't kill you since I first time saw you on the bridge."

Edna's heart was beating fast. She felt nervous just knowing the fact that her master remembered her, the person who ran away from the people and accidentally met him on the bridge that night.

"T-thank you, Sir."

Maximilian waved his hand. He didn't need any courtesy. He just wanted to know why the blood of the boy in front of him smelled sweet and intoxicating. Moreover, why was the boy able to extinguish his hottest flame?

Maximillian wanted to know the answer.

Judging from the facial features as well as the proportion of his body, his servant looked like an ordinary village youth. When Maximillian first saw him, the boy even looked shabby. Now he appeared more neat, although his brown hair still looked messy.

That boy simply lacked the charms of a man. He was too small. It could even be said that his body was smaller than most women's. Maximilian laughed mockingly. It was obvious that the boy would have a hard time finding a woman to be his wife.

Maximillian stretched out his hand until a small ball of flame appeared above his palm. If his servant was able to put out the flame, Maximilian was sure that the boy might be one of the descendants of the Gods scattered all over this world.

If that was the case, then Maximillian was planning to use the boy as his final plan before leaving this kingdom.

"Put it out," Maximillian ordered curtly.

"Excuse me?" Edna tilted her head in confusion. She didn't understand why her master suddenly asked her to put out the flame that appeared in his palm.

Edna was still admiring the magical power before her eyes, then her master suddenly asked something beyond reason.

"Didn't you put out the flame in my hand last night too?" asked Maximillian.

Edna didn't remember what happened last night. She only remembered jumping between Maximillian and Luca to save Luca. She knew that she had embraced the flame that was in her master's hand. The flame was warm, but then she passed out the next second.

Thus, if the flame Edna touched last night was warm, then the flame on Maximilian's palm right now must also be warm. That alone made her obey her master's order.

She stepped closer. Her little hand then stretched out. However, before her hands could touch the blazing flame, Edna felt an extraordinary heat. It was different from how she felt last night.

Edna closed her eyes. Her master had ordered her to extinguish the flame, and she didn't want to disappoint him. The girl bit her lower lip, then touched Maximillian's palm tightly.

"Aaaah!!!"