The investigation continued until sunset. Park Noah shadowed Kyle Leonard as he asked numerous bystanders around the marketplace, her breathing ragged.

“You’d better go now unless you want to fall down again.”  

“Huck, huck…. No, I can walk a little longer. It’s okay.”

“I don’t think it’s very good, though.” Kyle Leonard grabbed Park Noah’s shoulder and forced her to turn around.

To the investigator, Park Noah appeared to be in a constant state of blankness. She was impractical and frivolous. She excelled on nothing except for the time she ate, slept, and messed up her house. In fact, Kyle Leonard suspected that there was still information she withheld from him.

There were many moments when Kyle Leonard noticed a lie escape her lips. There was no need to pay deep attention to it because she wasn’t very good at it — she stutters and refuses eye contact.

“Ah.”

“Careful.” Kyle Leonard pulled the woman’s shoulders up insincerely and dragged her to the sidewalk, grabbing her wrist.

The body part which mana is most prominent is the left portion of the chest where the heart is slightly tilted to. Next is the abdomen, and lastly, just below the wrist or behind the ear where the pulse can be felt immediately. 

“But Miss Noah, why did you leave this dragon to the butcher at once?” Kyle Leonard asked suddenly, feeling the flow of mana in Park Noah’s wrist.

“I told you, Uncle Walter went to the capital…huck, he said he was going to the capital.”

“Why was it the capital?”

“That’s…”

This time, Park Noah was quick to react. Immediately, she clasped her wrist around his hands for support, feeling lightheaded. The mana Kyle Leonard felt in his fingers earlier has disappeared.

“Oh… Oh, my. My head. I think I’m in a bad condition, sir. My legs are shaking.” She whined, struggling to avoid the investigator’s penetrating gaze.

“You just said confidently that you were fine.”

“I’m serious. Can’t you see I’m sweating?”

Park Noah wished she was faking it too, but unfortunately, she didn’t look very well. Kyle Leonard eventually gave in, sighing. “Let’s go. I’ll take you there.”

“Oh, yes!” Noah enthusiastically agreed.

Her answer came in a heartbeat. Park Noah instantly let go of his hand and took the investigator by the forearm. His stoic countenance, the way he twisted his head robotically and his impassive gestures reminded her too much of a stiff cane that had come to life.

Meanwhile, the latter was engrossed in his own thoughts. The witch said she didn’t know how the dragon came to her, but his investigator senses couldn’t make him believe without a doubt that she was clueless. 

Moreover, she also insinuated that there must be a mastermind for the missing dragon back in the capital…

“What do you mean throw it away? I was just going to send it back to its original guardian!”

That’s what Park Noah had said the first day they met.

She went in and out of the post office four times after picking up the dragon for the first time. Although the package was successfully shipped to the capital, the dragon returned to Park Noah again. As a result, she had no choice but to entrust the dragon to the butcher who was planning to go to the capital.

The recipient’s address remained the same every time: The capital, Tezeba, No. 35 in Ezet, the Countess Valtalere.

Clearly, it was whom Park Noah believed to be the owner of the dragon.

Perhaps, a week ago, the culprit came down to the countryside with the egg and placed it along Park Noah’s path, and after seeing her pick it up, the culprit must have took the train to return to the capital.

The dragon egg’s thief. The first imprint. Countess Lenia Valtalere.

Kyle Leonard was determined to find the answers to the seemingly endless mysteries. 

*

Pink and purple streaks painted the sky. Soon, the sun was below the horizon; it was already twilight. As soon as they returned home, Park Noah threw herself on the sofa with Muell running nervously after her. Kyle Leonard, on the other hand, went straight to the kitchen and prepared a glass of water.

“Don’t skip your medicine. If the mana starts to be out of control again, it may shock you…”

“Please don’t say that.”

Kyle Leonard stood across her with his arms crossed as she glared at the medicine. Park Noah exhaled deeply, then closed her eyes and gulped down the medicine. Breathing a sigh of relief, she positioned herself comfortably on the couch.

“Goodbye then, sir.” Park Noah waved her hand at him, recalling today’s events — they visited her favorite shop despite his frustration, she trailed behind him until her legs hurt, and she almost collapsed.

Meanwhile, Kyle Leonard pondered until the end. Should he question Park Noah with her relationship to Lenia Valtalere? Or should he free Park Noah from suspicion and let her be?

Noticing that Kyle hadn’t budged a bit, Park Noah looked at him with a slight glare. “Do you have anything left to say?”