“No! You’re not allowed to invite a teacher here!”
“Mm-hmm~ The Princess’s required courses must be perfected~”
Zhu Xiaxia had already decided what to do next.
She turned around, preparing to leave.
Zhu Qiu immediately grabbed Zhu Xiaxia’s hand.
“You aren’t allowed to leave! Explain yourself! I don’t want to learn that stuff!”
However, Zhu Xiaxia ignored her.
She broke free and walked straight toward the second floor, looking back with a glance that told Zhu Qiu to figure it out herself.
‘That annoying Zhu Xiaxia, she’s trying to mess with me again! Waaah~’
Feeling miserable, Zhu Qiu also went up to the second floor, planning to return to her room.
But Zhu Xiaxia was standing right at Zhu Qiu’s door, looking at her with a mischievous grin.
Zhu Qiu felt a surge of anger the moment she saw her.
“What are you doing at my door! Even if you find another teacher, I’m not learning that kind of thing!”
“Why does my daughter not want to learn? As a Princess of the Dragon Race, mastering these things will make the other dragons think you’re excellent~”
“Who’s a Dragon Princess! I’m the Human Sword Saint, so I’m already excellent. My Swordsmanship and my Holy Sword are the things I’m proud of. I don’t need Etiquette to highlight anything.”
“Is that so?”
Zhu Xiaxia walked slowly to Zhu Qiu’s side, grabbed her right hand, and held it high.
“Then, little Dragon Cub who calls herself the Human Sword Saint, can you show me your Holy Sword?”
“Hmph, of course! Don’t let the Holy Light of my Holy Sword blind you in a moment!”
“Alright, Mother is very much looking forward to it~”
Zhu Xiaxia let go of Zhu Qiu’s hand, allowing her to perform.
“Watch closely, Zhu Xiaxia.”
Zhu Qiu closed her eyes and kept her right hand raised, posing impressively.
“Holy Sword! Jian Ge Yi!”
Nothing happened.
‘Eh? That shouldn’t be right. Usually, the Holy Sword appears at this point.’
She tried again.
“Holy Sword! Jian Ge Yi!”
Still, nothing happened.
Zhu Qiu’s hand remained empty.
‘What’s going on? Why is it like this!’
“Holy Sword! Holy Sword! Holy Sword!”
Zhu Qiu called the name of the Holy Sword several times in a row, but no miracle occurred.
The Holy Sword simply would not appear.
Zhu Xiaxia continued to look at Zhu Qiu with a mischievous grin.
“Little Dragon Cub who calls herself the Human Sword Saint, where is the Holy Sword you’re so proud of? She seems to be quite shy. Even after you’ve summoned her like that, she still refuses to come out?”
“I… I…”
Zhu Qiu was completely flustered.
“Why wouldn’t the Holy Sword come out at such a critical moment!”
What was happening?
The Sword Saint was her most loyal companion.
No matter if it was wind, rain, or lightning, they had experienced so much together.
It was completely unreasonable that she couldn’t summon it.
Excluding internal possibilities, it had to be that someone was preventing her from summoning the Holy Sword from the outside.
‘Could it be…’
“Zhu Xiaxia, what did you do to my Holy Sword!”
Zhu Qiu glared at the grinning Zhu Xiaxia.
The woman had been smiling ever since she saw her.
It must be her doing.
“Oh? Can the Human Sword Saint no longer summon her Holy Sword?”
“Don’t laugh! It must be you! Give my Holy Sword back to me right now!”
“How can my precious daughter slander her own Mother? Mother has been standing right here the whole time. You’ve been watching me; when would I have had the chance to steal my daughter’s Holy Sword? ~”
Faced with Zhu Xiaxia’s flawless explanation, Zhu Qiu actually had no reason to refute her.
But besides Zhu Xiaxia, there was no one else around her recently.
Xiaguang hadn’t been in the Imperial Palace for the past few days, so she couldn’t be suspected.
Besides, she had never even seen the Holy Sword, so how could she steal it?
Thinking it over and over, only Zhu Xiaxia was a suspect.
“Zhu Xiaxia, don’t push me too far! Even if you steal my Holy Sword, I won’t willingly be your daughter or the Little Princess of the Dragon Race. If you don’t give it back, I’ll find a way to get it back myself.”
“My daughter is truly cute~”
“Don’t call me cute!”
Listening to Zhu Qiu’s suspicions, Zhu Xiaxia found it inexplicably funny.
“As a Holy Sword Wielder, not even knowing that a Holy Sword cannot be stolen — if that isn’t cute, then what is? ~”
“Huh?”
Zhu Qiu was stunned for a moment.
“Once a Holy Sword has chosen its favored Holy Sword Wielder, it will follow her for a lifetime. A Holy Sword will not run away on its own, nor can it be stolen. As for the specific reason why my daughter cannot summon her Holy Sword, you should look for the cause within yourself~”
‘Is… is that how it is?’
Although Zhu Qiu had gained the Holy Sword’s recognition when she was very young, she truly didn’t know these things.
The previous Holy Sword Wielder of the Human Race had been dead for many years, and they hadn’t left behind a manual on how to use the Holy Sword.
Usually, she relied on her own experimentation to use it.
Now, Zhu Xiaxia was actually teaching her how to use the Holy Sword.
‘Waaaaah! I’ve completely lost face for the Human Sword Saint!’
“Alright, Mother is going to rest. The new Etiquette teacher will be here soon. My precious daughter should get ready~”
“Huh?”
‘Can’t you just let me go? I really don’t want to learn this anymore, waaah~’
Seeing Zhu Xiaxia walk away, Zhu Qiu quickly ducked into her room and locked the door.
She lay flat on the bed, pressing her pillow beneath her, and clenched her fists.
“I hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it!”
Zhu Qiu weakly punched the pillow with her small pink fists.
The Holy Sword was gone, and she still had to continue learning those painful things.
‘How annoying! Waaah~’
After lying there for a few minutes, the huffy Zhu Qiu suddenly looked up.
‘That hateful Zhu Xiaxia! The Human Sword Saint will never just sit and wait for death!’
Even though the Holy Sword couldn’t be summoned right now, as long as the Holy Sword was still with her, she was still that Human Sword Saint.
She would find a way eventually.
As for that Etiquette class…
A thought bloomed in Zhu Qiu’s mind.
Running away.
As long as she escaped the Dragon Race Imperial Palace, Zhu Xiaxia wouldn’t be able to find her, and she wouldn’t have to take those annoying Etiquette classes!
Furthermore, she wasn’t some Little Princess of the Dragon Race to begin with, so leaving this place was only natural.
Thinking of this, the previously huffy Zhu Qiu was filled with confidence again.
She crawled up and walked over to the window, gazing at the scenery outside.
The blue sky was dotted with a few drifting white clouds.
But now a problem had arrived.
This was her first time in the territory of the Dragon Kingdom, and she didn’t know the surrounding environment.
How exactly was she supposed to get back?
Moreover, the Dragon Race Imperial Palace seemed to be built on top of the clouds, didn’t it?
How was she supposed to get down to the ground?
If she jumped straight down…
Zhu Qiu shook her head, dismissing the idea.
‘If I jump, I’ll definitely end up as one piece here and one piece there.’
Unfortunately, she didn’t know how to fly.
If she could fly, she wouldn’t have to consider so many things.
What should she do?
Zhu Qiu fell into thought…
‘Eh? Xiaguang knows how to fly, right? Wouldn’t it be fine if I just asked her to take me down!’
Maybe she could even take her straight home.
Now that she had a plan, Zhu Qiu immediately sprang into action.
She crept downstairs, not forgetting to press her ear against the door to listen for any movement when she passed Zhu Xiaxia’s room.
‘Nothing. It’s safe!’
When she reached the door to Xiaguang’s room, she didn’t care about the consequences and pushed the door open to enter, closing it again once she was inside.
“Xiaguang~”
Zhu Qiu called out in a soft, quiet voice, but Xiaguang had already fallen asleep.
She felt bad about disturbing someone’s sleep, mostly because she hated being disturbed when she was sleeping.
‘Forget it, I’ll wait until Xiaguang wakes up. Tomorrow at noon, she’ll definitely be awake at that time; I’ll come find her then.’
Zhu Qiu prepared to leave.
Before she went, she noticed some rolled-up items in a box next to Xiaguang’s bed.
‘Eh? What’s this?’