I'll Stop Regressing and Raise a Baby Dragon - Chapter 2

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 2
The Highest Level of the Magic Tower.
I’d ridden through the night on the unit commander’s horse to reach this place, yet it was far more austere than I’d imagined—nothing remarkable to see.
The moment I climbed the stairs, all that greeted me was a short corridor and a worn door.
“Wait here for a moment.”
Liliana said that, then knocked and announced her name and title.
The door swung open at once, and the moment she stepped inside, it slammed shut with a bang.
I wondered what they were discussing in there, but not a sound escaped through the wood.
I stroked Kai in my breast pocket while waiting for their conversation to end.
‘The cracks are spreading more each day…… I hope everything is settled before it hatches properly.’
As I examined the egg with worry, the door flew open and Liliana emerged.
“Dear one. The Magic Tower Master says he wishes to see you alone.”
“Not the egg?”
“Bring that along as well.”
Liliana knocked again.
Then she opened the door and held the handle so I could enter.
I walked inside, shielding the egg’s cracks with my body as much as possible.
The moment I crossed the threshold, the door shut behind me with a heavy sound.
My nerves frayed with tension, I took slow steps forward.
The room was packed floor to ceiling with thick volumes.
A pair of guest sofas faced each other in the center, with a small refreshment table between them.
But the Magic Tower Master wasn’t sitting on the sofa.
Instead, he stood at a very long desk positioned behind it, frantically sorting through papers.
‘Mountains of paperwork—actual mountains.’
Even the materials I’d seen at the Research Facility didn’t come close to this.
He paid me no mind, absorbed in his work.
His pale platinum hair was neatly arranged.
His eyes, as blue as the sea, looked even colder because of their upturned shape.
‘Magic Tower Master and Duke of the Croyman House. Luke Croyman.’
Harna—the legendary hero who saved the Empire and the greatest Archmage of all time.
And Kai—likewise a legendary hero and the Empire’s foremost Sword Master.
Born to them both, Luke possessed such overwhelming talent that he claimed the position of Magic Tower Master at fifteen.
Luke Croyman set down the feather pen he’d been holding with a soft tap.
Then he slowly raised his head and looked at me.
Gulp.
My mouth went dry with tension as I met his dark gaze.
‘……He certainly is handsome.’
But I mustn’t be fooled by that face, carved as if by divine hands.
Who knew what demon might lurk beneath that flawless exterior.
Luke’s eyes took in my gaze, my entire body, the egg nestled in my arms.
Then he slowly opened his mouth.
“Where did you find it?”
Apparently he had no interest in a simple introduction or pleasantries.
“I didn’t find it.”
“Then who gave it to you?”
“Actually…… I stole it.”
“From whom?”
“…… From the facility that’s been managing me until now.”
“So they keep an ordinary child and top-grade contraband in the same place?”
Luke continued speaking in a flat, colorless tone.
“And that contraband being a Dragon Egg—worth more than several nations combined.”
His eyes were measuring whether my words held truth or lies.
I lifted my chin and straightened my spine.
In a situation like this, I had to be even bolder.
“That facility is somewhere nearby. Check for yourself if you doubt me.”
“Yes. I sincerely hope, just this once, that you’re not lying.”
Unlike Liliana, who was gentle with children, Luke was cold.
I already knew that Luke’s nature wasn’t one that warmed easily to anyone.
“I apologize for deceiving the unit commander.”
“Don’t trouble yourself over it. You were only trying to protect yourself.”
……What’s this?
‘He’s not as sharp as I thought?’
Confusion settled over me.
He was the first person I’d met whose intentions I couldn’t read—whether ally or enemy.
I glanced at Luke, then turned my gaze to the egg and answered.
“Thank you for understanding.”
Instead of replying, Luke pointed to a sofa nearby.
“Sit.”
“Yes, of course.”
The moment I sat where he’d indicated, he rose from his seat and settled onto the sofa across from me.
He murmured something incomprehensible under his breath.
A Tea Set and refreshments flew down from the shelf, and a spread appeared before us.
Wisps of steam curled up from the warm liquid in the teacup.
To be honest, I hadn’t taken a single sip of water on the way here, and I wanted to gulp it down immediately.
The Cookies arranged neatly in the center of the table too.
I’d only ever watched others eat such things from a distance.
‘Now that I’m seeing them up close, they look even bigger and more appetizing than I imagined.’
Gurgle—
……Wait, did that sound just come from my stomach?
When I looked at Luke with wide eyes, his eyebrows quirked up and he let out a quiet laugh.
“My, I should have brought dinner instead.”
Was he teasing?
‘Why now of all times…… How humiliating!’
Too embarrassed to speak, I busied myself with the teacup.
After watching me for a moment, Luke used Magic to retrieve the Cookies, saying:
“Usually children your age adore Cookies, but you’re not even touching them.”
“I’m truly grateful, but my stomach……”
I was about to say I wasn’t hungry.
Until that assertive gurgle echoed in my memory.
Mortified as I was, I couldn’t think of another excuse.
And I certainly couldn’t say I wouldn’t eat food he’d given me because I didn’t know what might be in it.
That wouldn’t be honesty—it would be rudeness.
“That’s a strange reaction for gratitude. More like you’ve been handed poison.”
He delivered the remark—whether jest or barb, I couldn’t tell—with a slight lift at the corner of his mouth.
Those days in the Research Facility.
The subtle smile of the researcher who’d secretly slipped potent toxins into everything I ate came rushing back.
A chill ran through me.
I pulled the egg closer, cradling it tightly.
‘That’s in the past. Now I only need to worry about what’s coming.’
In any case, Kai had to be my priority.
What happened when I failed last time……
I didn’t want to remember that more than the researcher’s vicious smile.
Watching me fall into thought, Luke tapped his brow lightly.
At first I wasn’t sure what the gesture meant, but I understood much later that he was telling me to relax my expression.
As I struggled to smooth the tension from my brow, Luke dropped a bombshell.
“The facility that was managing you—it was something like an Illegal Research Facility, wasn’t it?”
“……”
I quickly composed my expression, but I couldn’t hide the tremor that began in my hands.
Should I hide it?
Or should I be honest?
From what I’d seen of Luke so far, he seemed to dislike lies.
Yet he didn’t strike me as someone who’d readily extend his hand to help me because of it.
After a moment’s hesitation, I let it out.
“Yes.”
In this life, I’d already staked my survival on him, so there was no choice but to see it through.
I steeled myself once more and met his gaze with renewed composure.
Luke’s expression grew grave.
“That egg.”
Luke took a sip of his tea before continuing.
“Is it precious to you?”
“Do you want the egg?”
Luke raised an eyebrow slightly, set down his teacup, and answered.
“Yes. Give me the egg, and I’ll see to it that its original owner doesn’t harm you.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can give up the egg for that.”
She refused the proposal outright.
The Research Facility director would protect her only insofar as he didn’t harm her himself?
Who’s to say the Magic Tower wouldn’t send assassins to kill her quietly, without anyone knowing?
Besides, the proposal made no mention whatsoever of protecting Kai.
The Magic Tower Master seemed to have anticipated her refusal. He took another sip of tea and opened his mouth.
“Then I shall grant you one wish.”
“A wish?”
She’d taken the bait.
Laughing inwardly, she spoke without hesitation.
“Will you be my father?”
For the first time, Luke’s expression fractured subtly as he set down his cup.
“Are you serious?”
Of course not.
Even she thought the proposal was absurd.
Her real goal had always been to become affiliated with the Magic Tower.
But the reason she’d led with this ridiculous proposal first was simple.
It would make him more likely to grant what she truly wanted.
She nodded shamelessly.
“Yes. I need a family.”
He was wavering.
His composure remained intact, but for the first time she glimpsed a crack in his armor.
The absurd proposal had left him speechless.
‘Time to wrap this up and move on to what I really want.’
She watched his expression carefully and began to speak.
She’d given him enough time to consider. Now for the second proposal—
“Try to convince me why I should accept that offer.”
What?
She blinked, utterly taken aback.
Luke rested his chin in his hand and studied her with keen interest.
“Convince… me?”
“Yes. Convince me.”
Why on earth was he asking her to convince him?
Without meaning to, her confusion must have shown on her face as she stared at him.
Luke, observing her carefully, spoke softly.
“That’s the only way I’ll fall for that offer.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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