For a moment, the blue dragon’s expression was one of panic.
Mira was sure she hadn’t imagined it, but she still forced a smile, looking at Lance with curious eyes as if the thought hadn't been intentional, but rather because a strange idea had suddenly appeared in her mind.
The blue dragon also thought that was the case.
He carefully considered the feasibility of Mira's words.
Lance had never carried anyone before. As a dragon, while soaring in the air, he never considered whether there was anyone else on his back. If that were the case, the priority wouldn't be flying as freely as possible, but rather flying steadily.
“A dragon can carry a person,” Lance answered Mira. After a moment of thought, he added, “For a dragon, it’s not difficult, but riding a dragon, the challenge is for the person sitting on the dragon's back.”
“Why do you say that?”
Lance looked at Mira and softly said, “The back of a dragon is not comfortable, Mira. You can imagine, dragons have hard scales, and there are no handrails on a dragon's back. A dragon rider has to maintain balance themselves, but dragons don’t always fly normally. They suddenly rise, they dive, and if the weather is bad, they’ll break through the clouds and fly higher into the sky. That place is very cold, and there’s no air.”
Mira looked surprised; this was something she had never considered.
“It sounds dangerous,” Mira said.
“Mm.” Lance spoke honestly, but he hoped to dispel this strange idea from Mira's mind.
It was fine now. She didn’t know she was a dragon. If one day she found out and wanted to ride a dragon to greater heights,
it would be hard for him to refuse.
Mira wasn’t too concerned about the issues Lance had raised. As a mage, she studied magic to solve problems.
No air, coldness, the lack of something to hold onto on the dragon's back—these could all be solved with magic.
The key thing was courage. During the ascent or dive of the dragon, one must not show any fear.
That was the real challenge Mira saw in wanting to ride a dragon.
Lance knew Mira was imagining how to ride a dragon, but she had only seen Nathaniel's dragon form.
Lance’s expression turned serious as he pulled Mira into his arms.
“Time to sleep.” He didn’t want Mira thinking about that fickle black dragon. Nathaniel’s scales were harder than those of a blue dragon, and his back had bone spurs growing from it, making it even less suitable for riding.
Mira nuzzled against Lance’s chest.
What kind of dragon did the blue dragon look like? She tried to replace the image of Nathaniel with blue scales in her mind.
When the fierce, irritable giant dragon was turned blue in Mira's imagination, it resulted in a strangely indescribable image.
Mira gave up on picturing Lance’s form.
She snuggled closer to him, reasoning that it shouldn't look bad; Lance's human form was quite handsome. His dragon form should be the same, right?
The princess who had been missing for half a year had returned to the royal city once again.
When this news was conveyed to the king by the palace guards, the white-haired old man, who resembled a dead tree, was once again filled with vitality.
Maria walked up the steps leading to the royal audience hall, step by step, with Mira following her.
Her expression was serious.
When she looked up and saw the white-haired old man, Mira noticed her serious expression fading, replaced by an indescribable emotional expression.
Mira followed Maria's gaze toward the king.
In just half a year, he seemed to have aged thirty years.
Mira remembered the first time she had seen the king. He had been a middle-aged man with a face full of anxiety, wearing a golden crown, and his black hair shone beneath it.
At that time, he had been worried about finding a replacement for his daughter, and naturally, his face had been full of worry. But he did not seem old.
The king was thirty-nine this year, still in the prime of life, and he should not have aged so much.
But now, his hair had become mottled, with strands of gray mixed in with the white, and his movements had lost their former authority; every action seemed to take great effort.
Maria ran a few steps and rushed toward the king.
Mira stopped in place, and Lance stood beside her.
He was not a good king. During their journey, Mira had seen many refugees, people who had fled their homes due to disaster, unable to pay taxes, and forced to escape in poverty.
Some of them had even sold their children for a morsel of food.
Because the king was a bad king.
But at this moment, Mira could not bring herself to criticize him.
She fell silent, though her thoughts didn’t stop.
The blue dragon sensed the magic flowing through Mira, and he knew it was her power.
Mira and Lance settled in the royal palace.
The king was overjoyed that his daughter had returned to the palace, and in the next three days, he planned to hold a feast for everyone in the city.
Delicious food and wine, countless gifts, and song and dance—he wanted to share his joy with everyone in the royal city.
The kingdom’s princess had returned to her home.
He ordered the slaughter of cattle and sheep to feast his guests. The entire palace was bustling with preparations for Princess Maria’s return.
Maria shed her hero’s attire and changed into the beautiful and exquisite puffed dress that Mira had first seen her wearing.
Maria’s hair had been cut short, her skin had darkened, and the expression in her eyes was no longer the carefree happiness it once was.
She was no longer the worry-free princess she had once been.
The king also rewarded Mira and Maria with many jewels. He didn’t ask her how she had escaped from the magic dragon’s tower or why Maria had returned to the palace with Mira. To him, as long as Maria was back, nothing else mattered.
But the princess did not think so.
Mira knew they had had a fierce argument. She didn’t know the exact cause, but it wasn’t hard to guess.
At the feast, a long table full of delicacies was placed before Mira. But she couldn’t bring herself to eat.
Lance had no such worries. He and Sam were the two most indifferent people at the feast.
Sam hid in a corner eating a chicken leg, while Lance was in a better state. He sat at his seat, still eating, but even with his slow, graceful demeanor, he managed to eat five times more food than Sam.
Mira didn’t know how many cattle and sheep the king had ordered to be slaughtered, but enough to feed a giant dragon, yet the banquet table was still full of food.
“Mira,” Lance said, pushing a plate of food in front of her, “eat something.”
Mira looked up.
She was a little sad that she couldn’t eat. How could this blue dragon still eat like that?
Lance seemed to understand what she was thinking.
He lowered his head, patiently using a knife and fork to cut the food on the plate into smaller pieces.
“A lot of things will happen in this world,” Lance said in a calm tone, as a dragon, he was an observer of human life.
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Even though he didn’t enjoy interacting with humans, in his past experiences, he couldn’t completely separate himself from their society.
“But nothing is more important than eating and sleeping.” He offered Mira several different dishes.
The palace’s cooks were quite skilled. The blue dragon carefully selected meats he thought Mira would enjoy. Knowing that human girls needed a balanced diet, he also included some vegetables and risotto.
“But…” Mira didn’t know how to counter Lance.
“You need to eat well before you can face what comes next,” Lance said, pushing the cut food toward Mira. “Once you’re full, you’ll find that many things aren’t as difficult as you imagined.”
The blue dragon’s wisdom was ancient. When the dragon clan was born, there were no mortals in this world. The ancestors of the blue dragons had observed the emergence of humans from their sky city, watching their lives for thousands of years. In the beginning, humans who lived in caves only concerned themselves with the simple need to find enough food to survive.
Now, they had many more problems to solve, problems of various kinds, hidden beneath many layers of complexity. But the most important thing remained how to safely find enough to eat.
Lance handed Mira a fork and poured her a full glass of juice.
Mira took the fork.
The blue dragon’s wisdom was ancient, even though they were the smartest and most magical of all dragons, they still possessed the oldest wisdom in the world.
Mira felt sorrow for Maria and her king father’s situation, and for the displaced people.
But sorrow would solve nothing.
Lance was right.
Mira picked up a piece of food and put it into her mouth. Soon, her eyes brightened. Lance looked at her, and Mira smiled at him.
“The palace cooks are really good,” she whispered to him.
Mira agreed with him; their skills were far better than hers.
"Uncle."
The problems Maria faced were not just the argument with her father; she also had enemies who were eyeing the throne.
Her father had no male heirs, and the only child he had was Princess Maria. After him, she was the sole heir to the throne.
But she had an uncle.
Duke Bona, the current king's younger brother, ruled over the western part of the kingdom, which was widely considered to be the wealthiest region in the entire kingdom.
The current eastern kingdom still maintained its position mainly due to Duke Bona’s influence.
It was he who, long ago, had invited Master Karl of the Magic Hub to act as a mediator between the human kingdom and the magic dragons.
In the years that followed, it was also him who had continually suggested that the cowardly and indecisive king offer financial tribute to the magic dragons in exchange for the kingdom's safety.
However, in recent years, he had changed his stance, advocating for war against the magic dragons to reclaim everything that had been lost.
But the king rejected the heroes Bona had recommended, as well as his proposal for war.
Now, within the eastern kingdom, there were many people who hoped that Duke Bona would replace the current king. They believed he should be the true ruler of the kingdom.
If Maria had not spent ten years away from the palace, she would have naively thought that Duke Bona genuinely wanted to improve the kingdom.
But when it came to royal power, greed was the eternal theme.
Duke Bona had indeed gained control of the kingdom in that world, but it was also because of him that the eastern kingdom became the stepping stone for demons to enter the human world.
Maria greeted her uncle with a smile, but her words were full of testing and caution.
Lance’s gaze shifted the moment it landed on Duke Bona. He narrowed his eyes, unleashing the full power of his dragon sight.
It seemed the duke also sensed this gaze.
He turned around and, amidst the crowd at the banquet, their eyes met.
He furrowed his brows but smiled.
"Excuse me for a moment, my dear niece," Duke Bona said with a smile. "I’ve just run into an old friend."
“Nathaniel.”
Lance turned around and looked at the tall figure slowly walking into the garden.
It was Duke Bona, or rather, Nathaniel, the black dragon disguised as a human.
The black dragon wouldn't use magic, and by taking on this appearance, it was clear that he had killed the duke and donned his skin.
The man smiled naturally, his expression gentle as he took slow steps towards Lance, his every movement exuding an almost evil elegance.
“My brother.” Nathaniel laughed, “I was surprised when I felt some strange energy as I stepped into the palace. I didn't expect we would meet here.” His gaze shifted away from Lance. “I didn’t think you'd actually come out of that dilapidated house. How rare.”
Lance's expression remained unchanged. His eyes were locked on Nathaniel. The blue dragon had no idea what Nathaniel’s purpose was in disguising himself as a human.
Nathaniel drew closer. As he approached, Lance could smell a pungent scent—a scent from the Demon Scar.
“Lance, I don’t care why you left that crumbling tower. But now, don’t spoil my plans,” Nathaniel’s voice was low, filled with menace.
“What are you doing on the other side of the Demon Scar?” Lance asked.
“If it weren’t for your magic...” Nathaniel’s eyes flashed with resentment, but the venomous look quickly faded, replaced by a cheerful expression.
He took a few steps back, laughing.
“I know why you left the tower now.”
“I remember the agreement. The king promised to give the eighteen-year-old princess to the dragon as a bride. After I left the tower, you became the ‘dragon.’ Looks like you've taken my woman?”
Lance furrowed his brows.
“Princess Maria.” He smiled, “The naïve little princess suits you well.”
Lance didn’t want to talk about Maria or Mira with Nathaniel.
“What do you want?” Lance asked, stepping closer to Nathaniel. “Anything to do with the Demon Scar, I won’t let you—”
“Can you stop me?” Nathaniel laughed. “Thank you, Lance. If it weren’t for you, I might never have experienced this power.”
As his words fell, the surrounding air seemed to go still. The shadows rushing through the palace slowed, becoming rigid and unchanging. Countless sounds began to revive from the silence.
“Disgusting old man.”
“Why are there so many alive?”
“Damn head maid. I just rested for a minute, and she made me clean the toilet. No wonder she’s an old woman no man wants.”
“Why didn’t Princess Maria die outside?”
“Closing the deal. Made a fortune this time.”
“If I could spend one night with that noble, I could be a master served by others in the future.”
“Next time, next time, I’ll make my money back!”
Various voices, murmurs filled the air, pressing in on Lance, like a swarm of ants.
“Human greed and foolishness.” Nathaniel whispered in Lance’s ear. His black eyes filled with deep contempt and disdain. “They only think about how to get something for nothing, how to gain more wealth, more power. Sometimes, I really think Cecilia’s sacrifice was so foolish, to protect such a race by giving up her heart-scaled armor.”
Cecilia was Lance's mother, the previous queen of the blue dragons.
“Don’t let me hear you speak her name.” Lance's expression darkened instantly.
Nathaniel, however, wore a mocking smile.
“Oh. Almost forgot. You’re Lance. The infamous ‘mama’s boy’ among the dragon clan.” He stepped back, his real form hidden under the human disguise, but the sarcasm in his eyes couldn’t be hidden.
“Go back to your tower,” Nathaniel said. “Don’t interfere with my affairs. The tower is yours if you want it. If you like that human girl, take her with you and don’t let her disturb my plans.”
Nathaniel withdrew his magic.
“The arrival of the demons is unavoidable.” His figure gradually faded, completely vanishing before Lance.
Lance was gone.
Mira was surprised to realize that the blue dragon, who had been by her side just moments ago, had disappeared.
Where had he gone?
Mira searched around the banquet hall, but she couldn't find Lance anywhere.
Maria walked up to her.
"What's wrong? Mira?"
"Lance is missing," Mira said, mentioning it to Maria. "So, how did your conversation with your father go?"
Maria shook her head.
"He didn’t listen to a word I said." A flash of sadness crossed the princess’s eyes. "It’s as though he’s gone mad. He doesn’t believe, nor does he care about the things we’ve seen. Whether the people are alive or dead, starving or freezing, he doesn’t care at all. He even wants to take me on a tour." Maria sighed. "My uncle, Duke Bona, is also here. He wants me to convince my father to send troops to fight the dragons, otherwise, he might not be able to remain king."
Maria showed a troubled expression. "I’d rather solve this peacefully." She lowered her head.
In another world, she had seen the consequences of war. Demons would seize the opportunity to possess the bodies of those tormented by the war, causing even more bloody slaughter.
Demons were aimless beings, or rather, their only purpose was to bring about destruction—destroying everything in their sight.
“We will find a way,” Mira reassured Maria.
“I know.” Maria had considered other ideas.
“Uncle Bona suggested I convince my father to abdicate.” She raised her head. “His reasons are quite convincing, but…” Maria shook her head, her hand resting on her chest. “I feel uneasy.”
If Lance were here, he would surely be able to tell that this was a sign from the Hero’s Soul. The human Duke Bona was already dead, and now the body was occupied by Nathaniel, the black dragon.
The dragon’s current goal was no longer to take the tower. During his recovery, he had gone to the other side of the Demon Scar.
“You could convince your father, maybe you could become king,” Mira offered, suggesting something bold.
The black dragon had become nothing but a lie.
There was no dragon in the tower. Starting a war over this was foolish. Mira thought they should have many ways to resolve the situation now.
Lance would even be willing to return the treasures from the tower. Why start a war?
Humans didn’t know that the dragon was no longer in the tower. Would revealing this information stop the war? Mira wasn’t sure. She hadn’t experienced such a thing before and hadn’t thought it through completely.
“Maria, maybe you should consult some more experienced people.” Mira knew that the kingdom had a royal council, composed of the most respected ministers. There would surely be sages among them who could help Maria with her current confusion.
Maria nodded. She had gained ten more years of time thanks to the kingdom's treasures. But in those ten years, she had mostly focused on swordsmanship, and in other areas, she was not as skilled as the kingdom’s sages and ministers.
Asking for their advice seemed like the best course of action. Trying to convince her father or replacing him directly to change the kingdom she had lived in since childhood might be a challenge.
It would certainly be more fitting than needless killing and ruthless war.
Maria had seen war before. But that wasn’t a war between humans. It was one where humans were ruthlessly slaughtered by another race.
Now, she wanted to make this kingdom better, to stop it completely before the coming catastrophe.
As a princess, she had many responsibilities.
“Thank you, Mira,” Maria said, appreciating Mira’s advice. She needed to think carefully about how to handle this matter.
----------------------------------------
Mira found Lance's figure in the back garden. He was standing still, his gaze fixed on a crooked tree, lost in thought.
Mira approached him from behind, but he didn’t seem to notice her approach.
“Lance!”
Lance blinked and turned around. Mira was standing right behind him.
“How did you end up here by yourself?” Mira tilted her head, asking. “Shouldn’t you have said something?”
Lance smiled faintly.
Nathaniel hadn't noticed Mira. He thought the dragon’s bride was Princess Maria of the kingdom.
“I ate too much,” Lance told Mira.
“Mhm.” Mira could understand. The kingdom's chefs were truly skilled.
His expression wasn’t relaxed. On the contrary, Mira could see the thoughts behind his eyes.
Lance was hiding something from her.
Mira furrowed her brows slightly before relaxing her expression.
“Lance.”
“Hmm?” The blue dragon looked at her. “Is there something?”
“What exactly are we to each other?” Mira asked, looking serious.
Lance chuckled. “A couple?”
“Mhm.” Mira nodded with satisfaction.
“Do you know what being a couple means?” Lance asked. He didn’t quite understand why Mira was asking this. She often had strange ideas, but he liked the way she acted.
“What does it mean?” he asked her.
“Take a guess.” Mira didn’t want to give him the answer directly.
“Does it mean we can kiss secretly in the king’s garden?”
“Not that.” Mira blushed for a moment, then became serious again. “It means we shouldn’t hide things from each other.”
As she said that, she felt a little guilty.
She had been hiding the truth about him being a dragon...
Lance understood what she meant.
He smiled, but then his smile faded as he thought of Nathaniel.
“I ran into an old acquaintance just now.”
“I didn’t want to meet him, Mira.”