Bound To The Ice Dragon King
Chapter 49: Farewell

Chapter 49: Farewell

Rhea fell silent as she tried to digest Draven’s words. Her mind drifted back to when she’d first seen a ghost.

When Rhea was younger, her relationship with her step sisters hadn’t turned sour yet. However, Zoorah had a conceited personality, but her inner character wasn’t terrible. On the other hand, Delia was friendlier despite her arrogance. Whenever Rhea was being starved by her stepmother, Delia would secretly stash away food for her to eat.

Despite Delia occasionally displaying arrogance when giving her the food, her character was commendable. Even though Zoorah tried to create conflict between them, Delia would not pay attention and continued to seek out Rhea.

Rhea had taken the little Delia as her only friend and sister. However, not long, Rhea had begun to see strange things. She would often find herself surrounded by shimmering figures, flickering in and out of existence. These ethereal beings would whisper in her ear, their voices echoing through her mind like distant echoes.

At first, Rhea was frightened by these encounters. But then one fateful night, as the moon bathed the land in its gentle glow, Rhea ventured into the large garden of their mansion. The air was thick, and the rustling leaves whispered secrets only she could hear. It was here that she encountered her first ghost, a small faded figure with sorrowful eyes.

The ghost, who had been lingering in the mortal realm for centuries, unable to find peace. Intrigued by Rhea’s ability to perceive him, he approached her cautiously. With trepidation, Rhea extended a hand, and to her astonishment, her fingers brushed against his translucent form.

However, who would have thought that innocent ghost would become her worst nightmare. The ghost had been alone for a very long time, but after discovering that Rhea could see him, he started following her everywhere. Whenever Rhea was playing with Delia, the ghost would appear and drag her away to play alone.

At first, Rhea didn’t mind keeping the lonely ghost company, but later, it started to appear at anytime of the day and would insist on playing without giving her a time to rest.

Rhea started to feel highly irritated by the ghost, but she was unsure of how to make the ghost leave. The residents of the capital city began referring to young Rhea as a crazy girl because they would witness her walking alone and suddenly making hand movements, speaking, or yelling at nothing.

Her extremely strange behavior made many parents forbid their children from associating with her, but despite that, Delia would still play with Rhea in her courtyard.

On the night of Delia’s ninth birthday, Delia secretly brought delicious snacks and cakes for Rhea to eat.

Rhea was staring at the cake In anticipation as her sister unwrapped it. But suddenly, the ghost appeared, it made a huge fuss to make her play. However, Rhea ignored the annoying ghost. But that only made it angry.

The ghost walked towards Delia who was oblivious to it’s presence, it made a menacing gesture, as if attempting to choke her. Its expression revealed a clear intention to harm and possibly kill Delia.

Little Rhea’s eyes widened, reacting swiftly, she grabbed a rattan stick from the courtyard and swung it at the ghost. However, the ghost vanished into thin air, causing the stick to accidentally strike her sister’s face instead. The force of the impact caused Delia to lose her balance and fall, hitting her head forcefully against the ground.

In the end, everyone had misunderstood the situation and called Rhea a hateful sister, who scared her sister out of jealousy. Delia’s face was scarred badly, it was her mother, Selena, who used some spells to get rid of it. However, Rhea had received Delia’s hate in return.

After the incident, Rhea was taken to their father, who questioned why she hurt her sister. Rhea didn’t know what to say, but when she saw her father was about to use his magic on her, she hurriedly told him she could see ghosts, and she hadn’t meant to hurt Deila.

And that was how she became a freak and a bad omen to everyone in the mansion. If it weren’t for her foster mother, Irene, she would have been thrown out long ago, and her life would have been worse than this.

Nevertheless, it turned out this core had always been the cause of her misfortune right from the start. Rhea raised her head to look at Draven, the two were quiet for a long time.

Draven was the first to break the silence, saying, "I’m sorry..." His words were so direct that Rhea was momentarily shocked. She lowered her head and gently asked, "Why are you apologizing?"

He then muttered, "On behalf of my core..."

Rhea looked at his face. In reality, there was no reason for her to blame Draven for her misfortunes. Perhaps he also never wished for the core to ever leave his body. Although the core had caused many difficulties in her life, at least it granted her immortality.

Knowing she would live forever was the most important thing, but again, what was the point of living if there was nothing to hold onto for eternity? Rhea thought.

The duo sat silently until Rhea’s stomach growled loudly. Draven immediately looked at her stomach upon hearing the noise, while Rhea cleared her throat, feeling embarrassed.

Without speaking, he handed her the roasted meat. Rhea accepted it, muttering a thank you.

As they ate in silence, the sun started to set outside, illuminating the empty building with its golden light. As time passed, Draven, who had been walking all day, eventually fell asleep on the ground with his head against the wall.

Upon discovering that Draven had dozed off, Rhea slowly sat up. She looked at him with a sad expression, then softly whispered,

"Dragon, I would have loved to accompany you on your quest for vengeance, but I must separate from you to find purpose in my eternal existence." She murmured, "I also want to thank you for the small acts of kindness and for carrying me all the way here. Though many fire controllers will now be in pursuit of you, if you conceal your scent, you can freely move about and complete your mission alone. Just be cautious of encountering that witch, Alina." She smiled faintly,

"However, I must bid you farewell." Rhea took his coat, which she had used as a pillow, and placed it over his body. "I know if I informed you of this, you wouldn’t allow me to leave. Thus, I hope we never cross paths again in the future. Goodbye, Draven." With one final glance at his face, Rhea exited the rundown building.

Rhea strolled along the empty street, allowing her flowing silver locks to conceal the injury on her neck. She couldn’t accompany Draven on his quest to discover his dragon form when she lacked a sense of purpose herself. It would be more beneficial for both of them to pursue their individual paths.

Rhea had no money on her, thus she planned to resort to her old methods of obtaining funds; stealing. Upon arriving in the next town, it was already morning. She proceeded to inquire among the townspeople, asking, "Who is the wealthiest and most greedy lord in this town?" After some time, everyone she questioned directed her to a specific mansion.

"Well, taking little from a wealthy greedy lord wouldn’t harm anyone." She muttered to herself.

With confidence, she entered the lord’s residence, pretending to be a servant of the household.

Before long, Rhea discreetly left the mansion, carrying a pouch of gold coins and two expensive dresses belonging to noble women. She found a secluded spot to change into one of the dresses, and then searched for an inn to spend the night. She bought herself several meals before going back to the inn.

Rhea laid in bed gazing at the night sky through the open window. She sighed deeply, early in the morning she’d be departing to the capital. Just the thought of it made her feel a bit depressed. She’d have to look for good excuses to give to her father for returning.

While lost in her thoughts, Rhea observed the moonlight streaming through the window, casting its radiant glow across the floor. Wide-eyed and unable to sleep. Rhea usually spent nights like these contemplating ways to improve her life. However, tonight was different.

Her thoughts about returning to the capital quickly faded as her mind fixated on a particular individual - Draven. Was he safe? Had the shadow stalkers discovered him and taken him away? But if they hadn’t captured him yet, he must be searching for her. She couldn’t help but wonder about his current state, with no money or place to stay.

Why was she so concerned about him? Rhea suddenly felt a sickness deep within her bones for worrying about someone like that dragon. The intensity of her emotions made breathing seem painful. She understood that the bond between them was the cause of all these feelings. She could feel his anxiousness. Could he be out there, anxiously searching for her?

What sort of bond was this? She couldn’t even be her own self anymore. Rhea angrily thrashed about on the bed, burying her head under the pillow in frustration. However, at that moment, she suddenly felt another sharp pain in her chest. But this time, it was even more severe than the annoying dull ache she had felt before. Her body trembled in agony.

Rhea felt another sharp pain in her head, then it went to her leg. She painfully rolled onto her side and grabbed her head. Draven was in pain. What did he get himself into?!

Rhea hadn’t finished wondering when she felt another stabbing pain in her stomach. This time, it made her cry out in agony and fell from the bed. Rhea sucked in a sharp breath. Just then, she heard Draven’s voice in her head.

"Rheanna!"

The sharp pain stabbed her again. She closed her eyes shut, when an image flowed through her mind. An imagine of a long bony creature hoovering around Draven.

Draven!

Rhea’s eyes snapped open. She could see things through his eyes! His leg was bleeding badly.

Draven had been detected. That doesn’t look right. If he got killed, she would die as well. "Hell and damnation, he mustn’t die!"

Rhea immediately stood up. Without any hesitation, she yanked open the window without even bothering to wear her robe, she leapt out only wearing the sleek night dress she had purchased and followed her instinct to find Draven.