Chapter 1

Everyone thought I was deeply in love with Erik Pendragon, including Erik himself. Because of that, he had no qualms about hurting me again and again, forgetting that we were only bound by a contract. Once the contract ended, I would be free.

Clara Beech leaned into Erik's arms. As if showing off, she lifted her hand to brush back her hair, revealing the ring that marked her identity as the Dragon Queen. Her eyes were full of a victor's pride and provocation.

But I was neither angry nor upset. I simply handed her the spellbook that detailed the festival procedures, then turned and left the great hall.

The contract was about to expire. Without me presiding over the festival, the dragon clan would be thrown into chaos. Still, now that Erik had found his true love to take my place, I felt as if a great weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

Back at the castle that Erik and I shared, I began to pack my things.

Three years had gone by in a blur. When I saw the walls covered with photos from past festivals, I felt momentarily dazed.

Back then, the Dragon God had descended and proclaimed that I would be Erik's one and only soul-bonded mate. Erik had looked down on me, a mere human, yet for the sake of the dragon clan's stability, he'd still signed a three-year contract with me.

On the day we signed the contract, his ice-blue eyes had been devoid of warmth.

He'd said, "I don't know why the Dragon God chose you. You're just a human who can't even fly—you're unworthy of me. But I won't defy the Dragon God's prophecy. I'll form a contract with you.

"This is nothing more than a transaction for the sake of the clan's stability. In three years, the contract will dissolve on its own."

I'd been rescued by the dragon clan when I was a child, so I was willing to do whatever I could for them. I'd nodded naively.

After that, Erik had started grooming me to be the Dragon Queen. No matter how busy clan affairs got, he'd always made time to teach me etiquette, how to dress and do my hair, and the procedures of the Frostmoon Festival.

"Even though you're just a human, you're still my soul-bonded mate. You need to learn these things," he'd said.

During that time, he had come every day to check on my progress. But at some point, he stopped coming altogether.

Because of my identity as a human, Erik refused to attend the festivals with me, yet he still had to observe proper decorum. All the fussy details of the festivities that were supposed to be handled by the two of us ended up becoming my work alone.

I hadn't wanted to let down Erik after all he'd taught me, and I'd cherished the chance to contribute to the dragons. So, I'd always started preparations three months before each festival to make sure nothing went wrong.

I had always made sure to personally check everything, from the placement and varieties of frost roses to the choices and preparation of the food. I reviewed the guest list of dragon clan members, inspected the venue, and arranged every part of the program.

Erik had once told me that for the last festival before our contract ended, I could arrange everything however I liked.

And so, for my 19th Frostmoon Festival, I had everything set up according to my tastes and even prepared a montage of our memories. I'd planned to use it as a quiet end to my relationship with Erik.

But by the time I hurried to the venue, I saw that everything had been changed.

All the frost roses I loved had been replaced with bright, blazing crimson roses, and the tablecloths had been swapped out for colors that matched them. The video I had painstakingly put together had been replaced with footage of Erik and Clara being sweet and affectionate.

I'd thought I wouldn't be all that upset. After all, I was about to leave. Yet when I remembered the scenes in that montage, I still cried.

Those images held the few memories Erik and I had shared over the past three years—the moment he used his powers to form a frost rose for me, the day he'd spread his wings to shield me when a fire dragon had invaded, the first time he'd given me a birthday present…

A dull ache started in my chest when I thought of all that and saw how the festival that was supposed to be my farewell had been turned into a celebration of Erik and Clara.

I wondered if Erik would remember that this was the last festival I would arrange for the dragon realm. When he held Clara close, would he think about how there were only three days to go before our contract ended and our bond dissolved?

Back in my room, I stared at the photos from the previous 18 festivals hanging on the wall. They were all precious memories to me and proof of my hard work.

I took them down one by one. As I removed the final memory crystal, I felt Erik's dragon-soul resonance.

His tone was full of accusation. "Aurora, you did this on purpose, didn't you? The festival procedures are so complicated that even I can't understand them. How is Clara supposed to?"

I felt resigned, but I also believed I should take responsibility for this last festival. So, I asked calmly, "Do you need me to come back and preside over it?"

He was silent for a long time.

"Forget it. You'd better not come," he finally said.

Just like that, our conversation ended. But before I was done packing, Erik stormed back into the Dragon Palace.

"Not letting you be the Dragon Queen was the smartest decision I ever made! Do you think walking away halfway is how a queen is supposed to act?"

He tugged irritably at his collar, and I happened to catch the red marks on his chest.

Clara entered the Dragon Palace behind him, her eyes filled with tears. "Erik, your formalwear got dirty. I brought you a clean set. It's all my fault for not being familiar with the procedures…"

Erik's face softened with indulgent concern. "It's not your fault. This is all on Aurora. She's the one who made the procedures so complicated. If you hadn't handled all those guests and that tedious festival program on your own today, I don't even know how much worse things would've gotten."

He then turned to me, his expression brimming with anger. "Aurora, don't you think you owe me an explanation? Why did you hide away and shove Clara out there instead?

"Luckily, she's much smarter than you and could handle it. Otherwise, I can't even imagine how chaotic things would've been!"

I looked at him and said quietly, "You're right. I was wrong."

Erik, who had been ready to keep tearing into me, looked surprised. A flicker of astonishment flashed in his eyes, and he was at a loss for words for a long moment.