Mira quickly guessed who Lance’s “acquaintance” was.
She didn’t sense anything unusual at first—was the black dragon really in the palace?
Had he also transformed into a human form and hidden here?
What was he trying to do? Was Maria in danger?
Mira thought about the Demon Dragon. From Maria’s account, the black dragon, Nathaniel, had been corrupted by demons, becoming a true dragon of terror and disaster. Was he already in this state now?
Too many questions flooded Mira’s mind, but she couldn’t think of any possible answers.
Lance noticed Mira’s expression—she looked too confused.
Lance assumed she was trying to guess the identity of this acquaintance. He hesitated, wondering whether to reveal the black dragon’s name.
If he did that, Mira might discover his true identity as a dragon.
Lance thought, Should he keep hiding for a few more days? He wasn’t ready to confess yet. If he was going to be honest with Mira, he’d have to tell her about the Heart Scales.
The Heart Scales were a secret for the blue dragons.
It had something to do with his late mother and represented a powerful magical technique.
Lance didn’t like the idea of an intermediary, but in this world, there was no better intermediary than a blue dragon itself.
He wasn’t afraid to tell Mira that he was a blue dragon, but he was worried about her reaction.
“Will there be trouble?” Mira asked softly.
“Maybe.” Nathaniel had become strange. He often spoke provocatively without meaning to, and Lance wasn’t surprised by anything coming out of his mouth.
But the fact that he hadn’t done anything when meeting his enemy was odd.
Nathaniel was always quick to anger. Lance still remembered his expression when he had driven Nathaniel out of the tower.
Nathaniel held grudges and wouldn’t let go easily. But now, when his enemy was right in front of him, Nathaniel had only muttered a few meaningless words?
The black dragon wasn’t one to endure. His behavior had changed too drastically. What was his purpose in disguising himself as a human duke?
What had Nathaniel experienced on the Demon Scar?
Mira observed Lance’s serious expression.
Perhaps this situation wasn’t just tied to Maria and her father. It had to involve the real Dragon of Terror, and Mira knew it had to be dangerous.
“I need to know what your friend took from the kingdom.” Lance paused and decided to ask about the item Maria had taken—an artifact that applied complex magic and allowed one to see the future.
Nathaniel was an ancient black dragon who had seen many things beyond human comprehension. Clearly, the wealth of a kingdom wouldn’t entice him.
Lance could only think of that artifact that had allowed Princess Maria to see the future.
Mira agreed to help.
Maria was removing her earrings in front of a mirror.
When she heard Mira mention the Demon Dragon, her hand trembled, and the sharp earring pierced her ear.
Maria frowned and placed the bloodstained earring on the table.
“The Demon Dragon is in the palace?”
Mira shook her head, then nodded.
She wasn’t sure, because Lance hadn’t revealed exactly who his acquaintance was.
Mira only suspected it was Nathaniel.
Maria silently calculated the time in her mind.
In another world, war had occurred a year later, but now it seemed like, unnoticed by many, war was already brewing.
“I will call for a royal council meeting in my father’s name tomorrow,” Maria said. “I hope to get some help.”
Mira nodded. She stood up and approached Maria, using magic from her fingertips to heal the wound on her ear.
Maria smiled up at her. “I can’t show the mage the artifact anymore,” she said, her tone growing silent. “After Sam and I left that world, it shattered and disappeared.”
“It shattered and disappeared?”
Mira thought of the broken magic hub crystal.
She hesitated to ask, “Do you know when you two returned to this world?”
“Last month,” Maria answered firmly.
Mira looked thoughtful.
It must have been after the Ghillian town. Was the broken artifact also a medium crystal? But its form was different from what most people would recognize.
Just like magic scrolls store spells, a crystal used as a medium should also serve a similar function.
“What did the artifact look like?” Mira asked, trying to learn more about it.
“It was a mirror,” Maria replied.
“The front was our world, and the back of the mirror was the world Sam and I entered,” Maria said. “After it shattered, it disappeared completely. Sam and I didn’t understand magic, so we couldn’t figure out why it happened.”
Mira’s guess was that it was a medium crystal, but if it was a mirror, the magic could have dissipated, causing it to shatter.
She needed to ask Lance about it.
“It was a form of spatial magic and event magic reinforced onto a carrier, a prototype of scroll magic,” Lance explained quickly after hearing Mira’s description.
“That artifact has been around for a long time.”
“Maria said it was passed down through the royal family’s bloodline, so it must be several hundred years old.”
“Lance.” Mira thought for a moment and then voiced her doubt. “Could this mirror be another form of artificial medium? Maria said it shattered and completely disappeared.”
“It’s possible. But it predates the appearance of artificial mediums.”
After hearing Lance’s explanation, Mira felt relieved. If it was an artificial medium, did it mean the magic hub was also involved?
She felt uneasy, and that unease only grew stronger.
"Who gave you the authority to summon the royal council without permission?"
The king was truly furious this time. He ordered Princess Maria to be confined to her chambers until the royal council was over, and both Mira and Lance were also placed under house arrest.
Fortunately, Mira was a spellcaster, so being locked in a room didn’t mean she couldn’t do anything.
Once the royal council was convened, it couldn’t be casually canceled. This was a decree set by the monarch who established the Eastern Kingdom. If a king were to call and cancel a royal council at will, it usually meant that he was no longer fit to rule.
At that point, regents and noble family members with titles would join forces to decide whether or not to strip the king of his power.
This was a regulation left by the kingdom’s monarch many years ago to prevent future rulers from abusing their power. However, no king had ever been dethroned for this reason.
The king was furious. Since his beloved daughter returned, it was as though she had lost her mind, spouting strange and crazy words.
She wanted the king to return the taxes to the people and to reduce the farmers' tax burden for the next 20 years. She also wanted to stop all offerings to the high tower.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
She claimed the Dragon of Terror was no longer in the tower.
She was speaking nonsense.
How could the Dragon of Terror not be in the high tower? The dragon had to remain there at all times.
If the dragon left the tower, it would mean that everything in this world was a lie.
Maria was still just a little girl. She didn’t understand what fear truly meant.
A royal council? What would they discuss? They would only say that no more wealth should be offered to the dragon, that they must unite to raise an army and completely eliminate the shadow the dragon had cast over the kingdom.
Maria had learned to use their words. The king even had reasons to suspect that during her six months of disappearance, she had been held captive by an official who didn’t like him and had been brainwashed with strange ideas.
Most people in the kingdom had never experienced true terror. Of course, they were confident, naïve, and foolish, believing that rebellion would bring hope.
No, that wasn’t the case. Maintaining the status quo was the best.
Maria needed to calm down. She would soon realize how hard-earned the luxurious life in the palace was. If the Dragon of Terror was not in that tower, everything would be nothing more than a vain illusion.
Mira? Yes, Mira.
She had to be sent back to the dragon. The king didn’t know how Mira had left the tower, but she had to stay there as the princess. Only in that way could the dragon’s wrath be quelled.
The teleportation spell brought Mira to Maria's room.
Today was the day of the royal council meeting.
According to Maria and Mira’s plan, the mage would bring the princess into the royal council meeting, where she needed to gain the support of the kingdom's ministers.
Maria didn’t want to kill her father as stated in the bounty order, but she needed to gain control over the conversation.
This was the only idea she could come up with.
Earlier, Mira used a reconnaissance spell to memorize the layout of the entire palace.
The plan was simple: the guards wouldn’t enter Mira and the princess’s room, so Mira could use teleportation to precisely target Maria's room, and then use teleportation again to bring Maria to the council meeting hall.
From there, it would depend on Maria.
She had to see if she could convince the ministers in the shortest amount of time and gain their support. Of course, the king would also appear at the meeting, and if necessary, Sam would temporarily take away his ability to speak.
Maria didn’t want to go that far.
Could she change her father’s mind by showing him the state of the kingdom?
But he wouldn’t even give her the chance, locking her up in her chambers.
“The time is about right,” Mira calculated the time. She raised her hand and began to form a blue teleportation portal.
Maria put on her princess’s attire and firmly nodded at Mira. The two of them entered the portal, one after the other.
Mira and Maria had different destinations.
Maria appeared in the center of the meeting hall, while Mira appeared at the entrance of the hall.
Mira used a sleep spell to incapacitate the guards at the door.
Before Maria finished speaking, Mira needed to ensure no one would interrupt her.
The king’s voice came from inside the room.
He was initially surprised, then became angry, shouting for someone to seize the princess and take her away.
Mira stood by the door, using magic to make the soldiers who came running in circles around the palace.
This gave Maria enough time.
“Gentlemen,” Maria raised her head and addressed the ministers sitting on either side of the long table, explaining the purpose of her visit.
“I called this meeting.” The princess directly stated her intentions. “The reason for this pre-selection meeting is to discuss gradually stopping the tribute to the dragon, and I also want to ask your opinions on the issue of heavy local taxes.”
“Enough, Maria. This is not a place for your nonsense.” The king angrily slapped the armrest of his chair.
“Where are the guards? The royal guards? Get the princess back to her room!” He shouted, but no one followed his orders and left.
Maria bowed to the ministers.
“Apologies, but this is out of necessity, and I hope you all can understand my decision.” Princess Maria walked to the front seat and addressed the ministers: “During the half-year I spent outside the palace, I saw many things we could never see within the city. I saw countless citizens outside the capital who are homeless due to heavy taxes.”
“The royal family is responsible for the current situation,” Maria said in a deep voice. “As far as I know, the dragon has already left its tower. We no longer need to offer treasures to the dragon or send cattle and sheep. These coins and livestock should belong to our people.”
Maria took off the gemstone ring on her finger. The king had given this ring to Mira, but now Maria brought it back.
“Inside this ring are the treasures we took from the tower. These are the treasures the Eastern Kingdom has been offering to the dragon for decades. To the dragon, these treasures are just decorations piled up in the tower, but they could feed our people and provide them with comfortable homes.”
“How did you bring these back?” An elderly minister stared at Princess Maria. “Everyone knows the princess voluntarily married the dragon for peace. Why are you here?”
“I…” Maria was momentarily stunned. This reaction was completely different from what she had imagined.
The kingdom’s ministers shouldn’t be more concerned about how to restore the country to its former prosperity?
“This is not the key point.” Maria quickly said.
“This is the key, Your Highness,” the old minister stood up. “If it had been ten years ago and you had given this impassioned speech, the ministers here would have supported you. But now is not ten years ago. The kingdom can no longer endure more fear.”
“You say the dragon is not in the tower. No one can prove your words. Because the princess belongs to the dragon, not to the kingdom.” The old minister stared into Maria’s eyes. “Your best outcome would be never to return to this kingdom, and everything that has happened here would be none of your business. Why? Why return?”
“I don’t understand your meaning,” Maria said in surprise. Even after ten years of life in another world, she couldn’t comprehend this statement.
The princess belongs to the dragon, not to the kingdom?
What does that mean?
Maria took a step back. She realized that returning to the kingdom was itself a mistake.
The old minister glanced around. The other ministers lowered their heads, as though they hadn’t heard Maria’s words.
“Summoning the royal council without reason and canceling the royal council without reason. Our king is no longer qualified to rule this kingdom. Therefore, I, as the chief elder of the cabinet, am initiating a righteous judgment against King Edward II, and I nominate Duke Bona to be the next king of the Eastern Kingdom. The rest of you may now express your stance.”
“We called this royal council to discuss important matters. Why say it was for no reason…” Maria fell silent.
None of the ministers present opposed his words, meaning they had already reached an agreement to overthrow the king’s rule before this.
No matter what she said, it was useless. Because long before her disappearance, long before the king sent Mira to the dragon, the princess had no more connection with this kingdom.
Her ideas might have been good, but if it were ten or twenty years ago, many people would have supported her.
But it wasn’t like that now. After repeated compromises and concessions, people were thoroughly disappointed with the current king.
A princess who had disappeared for so long, and whose whereabouts were unclear, no one would believe her words. It would just be another lie.
Because the princess had married the dragon.
Whether it was Maria or Mira, no one cared.
Maria took another step back.
Her uncle, Duke Bona, stepped out from the shadow of the meeting hall.
Mira, who had been silently observing the situation, burst through the door.
She immediately saw the handsome duke with black hair and black eyes. Mira quickly realized that the familiar person Lance had mentioned was the Duke Bona, who exuded a strange aura.
“The little game of saving the world is over.” His voice was like a nightingale’s song, “Take Princess Maria and her friend back to their room.”
“We should deal with the crimes of my dear royal brother now.”
A sword flashing with a cold light appeared at that moment. The red-haired swordsman leaped from above, holding a dragon-slaying sword, pointing it at Nathaniel.
The disguised black dragon frowned. He could feel the chilling aura coming from the sword.
Just like when Lance first faced this sword, Nathaniel also sensed the blood of the giant dragon on it.
There was no doubt—this was a dragon-slaying sword, and his injuries hadn’t healed.
“Bold! Who allowed you to enter the hall with weapons?” Several ministers stood up to reprimand Sam’s actions.
The red-haired swordsman simply looked coldly at them.
He stood in front of Mira and Maria, blocking all accusations and insults.
Mira was also ready for battle.
The temperature of the blue dragon scales began to rise, and magic was prepared to be released at her command.
This fluctuation attracted the attention of another person in the room.
Nathaniel, the black dragon, could not use magic, but he could sense it.
Duke Bona slightly narrowed his eyes, and a strange red light appeared in his black pupils.
He looked at Mira, noticing the magical fluctuations around her.
The black dragon suddenly realized he might have made a mistake.
The little princess hadn’t gone to the tower. It was another girl who entered the tower, and she seemed to have some connection with Lance, having even obtained a dragon scale.
Nathaniel recalled the deal made with the human mages. They wanted to acquire the medium kept in the tower by the dragon.
Nathaniel couldn’t cast spells, and it didn’t matter to him whether they received the broken stones. What he wanted was a way to open the Demon’s Scar.
But he overheard that the Magic Hub had lost something very important.
The greatest man-made medium in history.
Nathaniel had a suspicion. His gaze moved past the swordsman and fell on Mira.
A seemingly ordinary little girl with no apparent special traits.
He slightly narrowed his eyes, and dragon might surged toward Mira.
The moment he moved to attack, a blue figure appeared, lightly tapping her fingers and sending all of Nathaniel’s terrifying dragon might back at him.
Lance, who had been silently watching the situation unfold, finally appeared.
Duke Bona smiled.
That girl had so many secrets.
She had actually made Lance leave the tower. She had made Lance appear before humans.
The foolish blue dragon would walk the same path as his mother.
Deceived by humans, used by humans, falling in love with humans, until sacrificing his heart scales to protect them.
Nathaniel couldn’t help but laugh. During every night he was tortured by magic, he had imagined how to make Lance experience this pain.
Now he had a better idea.
Destroy everything that Lance cared about—that would be the best revenge.
Lance turned back to look at Maria and Mira.
Clearly, they could no longer stay in the human kingdom.
A teleportation portal appeared behind them, and the king on his throne disappeared from everyone’s sight.
Nathaniel watched Lance leave.
Where else could he go? Only the tower.
He had been worried that there would be no one to play the role of the dragon after Lance left. But now, he was back.
Duke Bona secretly chuckled, then displayed a sorrowful expression.
He turned to the ministers in the royal council, showing a sorrowful face.
“I truly apologize. My dear niece has caused you all so much trouble.” Bona’s expression was very sincere, and he even took out a handkerchief to pretend to wipe away the tears.
“But I think she also realized how serious things are for the kingdom. Even the innocent Maria understands the gravity of the situation. We can’t just sit by and wait.”
The majority of the ministers in the royal council were already in Bona's pocket. The remaining ministers, seeing the chaos earlier, no longer believed that King Edward II and his daughter could change the situation.
“We’ve reached an agreement with the Magic Hub,” Duke Bona paused and gradually restrained his sorrowful expression, revealing a smile filled with determination. Nathaniel looked around, speaking the prepared lines.
“After so many years of tolerance and compromise, the dragon's appetite has grown bottomless. I can understand Princess Maria’s intentions, but she is too young, and her thinking is too simplistic.”
“Once we stop the tribute to the dragon, based on the dragon’s nature, it certainly won’t let us off easily.”
“Only by killing the dragon, securing a safe environment for our people, and reclaiming the tower for the mages is what’s truly important.”
“Only by killing the dragon can we prove to the people that fear can be defeated.”
“Only by killing the dragon can the royal family’s rule continue, and we can continue to live comfortably in our current positions.”