“Your Grace, he has come out to mortal world because he couldn’t resist curiosity about your roses, so just answer to his questions and everything will be fine.”

“He’s not…a human, is he?”

“Answer my question first!”

Ios put his face right in front of hers and yelled. His highly raised eyebrows and stubborn lips clearly showed he had a temper problem. Even Minos, who was now in his usual goblin form, was saying it would be fine if she just answered his questions, but he wasn’t saying he was kind.

‘I can’t tell him about Lord Sesar. It might endanger him.’

Rubica managed to reply in shaking voice.

“I didn’t get it. It has been made.”

“Made? Oh, has that man succeeded on making something new again? But pale purple rose wasn’t among the roses he told me about!”

Ios clenched his fists and yelled angrily. He sounded like he already knew about Lord Sesar.

“You know Lord Sesar? Where have you met him?”

“At goblins’ party that took place in Mount Flenus.”

Oh, it turned out Lord Sesar hadn’t been talking nonsense. Rubica anxiously grasped her skirt. It seemed like Sesar had brought a really huge problem.

Edgar had said he was a walking trouble and she shouldn’t have taken it lightly.

“I should have kidnapped that human and lock him in my territory.”

Ios stared at the flowers and smack. If only if he could, he wanted to plant the new rose deep in his territory and enjoy it alone. Humans couldn’t appreciate its beauty as it was and cut it to decorate their house, and it was just too good for them.

But what he hated even more was the fact that it had been a human who made such beautiful rose.

“Umm…. What are you?”

Rubica got rid of most of her dear and asked. Although Ios’s eyes and words were sharp, the way he looked at the rose was kind of familiar.

“What am I? Ios, of course.”

Rubica doubted her ears for a second. She asked the goblin.

“Really?”

“Yes, he is Ios the Golden Dragon.”

Minos smiled awkwardly and opened his bag wide to take out a stone.

“It’s for me.”

“…For me?”

What he was offering was a stone that was common on beaches. The goblin was surprised more than anyone to see her reaction. What he had brought was a mermaid’s heart that nymphs extremely liked.

“Oh, you’re not the one.”

It seemed like his guess had been wrong. If the duchess was not the nymph, was it her husband then? He wondered how he was supposed to gain an audience with the duke as he was even harder to meet than the duchess. But then Ios yelled.

“I’ll give you one of that each month, so hand me Sesar.”

Ios was not clever like Minos. He started to say his terms, thinking Rubica was the nymph.

“And I want all roses he had made till now bloom only in my territory. And I also want that thing on your chest. Tell me what you want in return.”

“In…. return?”

“Yes, I will pay for taking what belong to you, so tell me anything you want. Oh, but not this and this and this among the plants that grow in my territory.”

Rubica looked at the dragon for a moment. Although she couldn’t understand more than half of what he was saying, she could notice something strange in it.

Ios was thinking of her as an entity that was equal to himself. She already knew how scary and fickle he was through numerous stories and legends, but she decided to give it a try.

“What if I don’t want it?”

“What?”

Ios’s face turned red. Being refused was something he didn’t get to experience much.

“But why? I must spend at least a week deep in the sea to get one heart of mermaid. That thing is really hard to get!”

Even though he said, he didn’t burn the mansion or started to smash things.

It seemed like he couldn’t just take Lord Sesar and his roses without her permission. Rubica soon realizing this was a negotiation going on and she had the upper hand in it.

“….Fine, two. I can’t do more than that. I can’t leave my territory for more than half of every month, I must take care of my plants.”

Rubica imagined the dragon watering and manuring flowers. She almost laughed hard at that.

“I’m sorry, but this thing is not what I want.”

She hated it even more after hearing it was heart of a mermaid. But that really frustrated the dragon.

“What? But aren’t you all crazy about that thing?”

Rubca carefully replied, trying not to break his misunderstanding.

“We can all have different tastes.”

“That’s right.”

Simple Ios bought that and nodded. Then he ruffled his hair into a mess. He wanted to turn the mansion into a mess as well, but the pale purple rose was just too fascinating.

“Okay, then what do you want? Name your price.”

Rubica gulped hard. Name your price? That was the hardest demand possible.

‘Can’t you let people farm on part of your plain?’

She really wanted to say that, but she couldn’t as she didn’t know what the dragon with temper problem was thinking she was. He still couldn’t take his eyes off the rose. She carefully asked.

“Do you want the flower that much?”

“Of course I do. I’m taking Sesar, so tell me what you want in return?”

“Lord Sesar is a human being. He isn’t a thing that can be traded.”

“…..What? Isn’t he your underling?”

“He is a member of this family, but he gets to decide where he goes and what he does with who, not me.”

Ios scratched his head. He couldn’t understand what Rubica was talking about.

It seemed like a huge gap between humans’ common sense and dragons’ common sense.

“I’m saying you should offer your terms of employment to him, not to me.”

“Are you saying I should make a deal with a human?”

Ios bit his lips. His pride had just been hurt a lot. Minos quietly shook his head to signal danger. Rubica gave up explaining a deal and employment were two different things.

“Anyway, Lord Sesar wouldn’t want to go with him, so I cannot make him do it.”

“What are you talking about? He should be honored to become my underling.”

Rubica smiled awkwardly. Why did things like this keep happening to her? She had never imagined there would come a day she had to convince a dragon.

“You said you wanted his flowers bloom only in your territory.”

“Yes, such beautiful flowers should be protected in my terrotiry.”

“But Lord Sesar wants to share the beauty of his flowers with many. He didn’t make them just for one to enjoy.”

“But humans don’t know how to appreciate the real beauty of flowers.”

“Still, you didn’t bring this rose to this world. A human did.”

Ios’s lips shook. He had nothing to say to that. Minos was surprised by Rubica’s courage of convincing the dragon. Even though Ios was thinking she was a nymph, she was actually a weak human.

“I will give you this pot of roses. Take it and plant it where you want.”

“I want more than a few roses.”

“I’ll also give you Taylor Rose. And I will give you the roses Lord Sesar will make in future if you want.”

Ios pouted. But Rubica’s promise of sharing roses with him made him a little better and the frown on his forehead faded. The tensed mood became a little relaxed. Minos let out a sigh of relief.

“And I also want one of those things on your chest.”

“You can have it.”

“So, what’s the price.”

“I don’t want any price.”

“You don’t want anything in return for giving me what belong to you?”

“I just want you to make the roses bloom beautiful.”

Actually, what she really wanted was the troublesome dragon to leave the mansion quickly. But she hid that and smiled brightly to Ios.

“I don’t get it…”

Ios frowned again. It was only natural to pay a price in return to get something. He’d been told nymphs were metaphysical beings, and he was having a really hard time understanding what she was saying.

“I don’t want to take anything without paying a price! Just tell me anything you want.”

“But I do not want anything right now….”

Rubica couldn’t know what to do. Even though Ios was saying she could ask for anything, she knew he would be enraged if she asked for anything he really liked. Making a demand could reveal the fact that she was only an ordinary human.

“I’ll tell you when I get to want something, so why don you take the roses first?”

She decided to postpone her answer. It seemed like it would be better to make the ill-tempered dragon leave and talk to Minos. At least she wouldn’t have to worry about losing her life while talking to the goblin.