“Hmm, I’ve never seen a necklace like this before. Can you take it off and let me take a look?”
Without thinking, Zhu Qiu’s hands bypassed her brain and instinctively answered, “Of course you can!” As she spoke, she removed the necklace.
The moment she took it off, the handsome, sharp-looking youth before Soderland’s eyes vanished without a trace. In his place stood a young dragon, a Loli under five feet tall.
It was the exact same one he’d seen at the doorstep earlier, delivering steamed buns—no mistaking it.
“You… who are you?” Soderland’s voice trembled as he forced the question out.
“Me? I’m your son, of course!” Zhu Qiu replied with her soft, syrupy voice.
Sensing the strange atmosphere, she blinked, trying to reboot her brain.
And once it booted up—it hit her. How did she end up taking off the necklace?
‘Crap!’
She’d guarded against everything, every precaution, and in the end, her own hands betrayed her?
Without a second thought, Zhu Qiu used her Darkness Integration Magic to make a run for it, leaving Soderland alone, stunned in the wind.
Soderland took a long time to snap out of it. He had just witnessed his own son transform into a Dragon Race member—a female young dragon, no less.
He knew his son’s personality and mannerisms inside out. What he’d just seen couldn’t be fake; it had to be the truth. She… he supposed it was “she” now. She was Sote.
He had no idea why Sote had become a Dragon Race member, but the evidence was right in front of him. Denial was impossible.
No wonder his son had been keeping his distance lately, refusing to get close, even dodging hugs. It was all because of this fear.
“Sote, you’re running away. Your father is disappointed in you.”
Soderland returned to his room alone, lay down on the bed, and locked all the doors and windows tight.
He no longer held any hope for this world. Such a perfect family, first Sote’s mother, Xing, went missing, and now even the last spark of hope had been extinguished. The moment he witnessed that truth, the final light in Soderland’s heart went out completely.
Then there was Sote’s younger brother, Sot, taken away by a Magician, and he himself was stripped of his Human status. It seemed they’d never meet or reunite again.
And finally, Sote himself—there was nothing left to say. He wasn’t the same person anymore. Keeping everything from him, hiding, avoiding him. Their bond had long since weakened, growing distant.
She’d grown up. It was time for her own life.
Thinking this, Soderland even felt like just leaving it all behind.
But he still had two regrets he hadn’t fulfilled in this life: first, why his son had become a Dragon Race member, and second, after all these years, Xing still hadn’t come home.
So Soderland decided to first get the truth out of Sote, then go search for Xing until the day he died.
Since these had become regrets, he simply couldn’t rest without resolving them.
If he found her, he could at least tell her about the Humans and their sons’ situation. It would be some form of closure.
‘Better get started, then.’
Soderland planned to wait at home for his son’s return first. He didn’t have enough food stored up. Knowing Sote’s character, she wouldn’t just abandon him.
But…
What if Sote was too afraid to meet him because of her transformation and really didn’t come? He’d need a backup plan. After all, he still had to find Xing.
Soderland went back to his room, pulled out Xing’s photo, and stared at it intently. He ran his rough palm over it repeatedly, carefully avoiding her face in the picture. If he scratched it, he’d never get to see her again.
After grieving for a while, he put the photo away, picked up the hoe from the living room, and pulled himself together.
‘This box of stuff… it must be the seeds Sote sent, right?’
Soderland guessed so because it matched his impression of seeds, and he’d specifically asked Sote to bring them. It was unlikely she’d get it wrong.
So without hesitation, he decided to plant the whole box. Only by preparing thoroughly could he lay a solid foundation for the search ahead.
Meanwhile, back at the Dragon Race Imperial Palace, Zhu Qiu came scurrying in, flustered.
“What’s wrong, my daughter? With that expression, something bad must have happened. Your mother can definitely help you.”
“Oh? What’s made you so unhappy? Tell me all about it.”
“Ugh… Mother, I’m not happy at all today.”
Hearing Zhu Xiaxia say she could help, Zhu Qiu couldn’t hold it in anymore and burst into loud sobs.
“Waaah—”
“Don’t cry, now. Your mother is here, I’ll help you.”
“Ugh… Don’t ask me. Just let me be alone for a while, ugh…”
Zhu Qiu scurried off to her room and slammed the door shut.
“What’s gotten into Zhu Qiu today?” Zhu Xiaxia scratched her head, looking puzzled.
Inside the room, a young dragon was sobbing her heart out, her pillow soaked through with tears.
Zhu Qiu knew Zhu Xiaxia couldn’t help with this. It was all her fault—she just had to act like an idiot and take off the necklace. Everything would have been fine otherwise.
“Getting recognized by my father… I don’t want that, ugh…”
‘How am I supposed to explain this to him now?’
The Little Princess was in a bind.
She couldn’t just hide in the Dragon Imperial Palace forever, could she? Her father would starve.
The more Zhu Qiu thought about it, the more frustrated she got. The more frustrated, the worse she felt. The worse she felt, the sleepier she got. And the sleepier she got, the more she just wanted to sleep.
‘Forget it. Sleep through the trouble. Nothing a good nap can’t fix.’
Zhu Qiu cast aside the burden in her heart, hugged her pillow, and drifted off to sleep peacefully.
‘Maybe it’s all just a dream, right? Yeah.’
Downstairs, Zhu Xiaxia was keeping watch in Xiaguang’s room, guarding the mother and daughter.
She was even more worried about them than Zhu Qiu was. After all, Xiaguang was her own people. She absolutely couldn’t let anything happen.
“Xiaguang, please wake up soon.”
And the Xiaguang lying on the bed with her eyes closed seemed to hear Zhu Xiaxia’s voice. Her fingers twitched slightly, showing some response.
And so, she stayed in the room, keeping watch. As time passed, the sun climbed higher, and soon it was noon.
Zhu Xiaxia was overjoyed. At least, regardless of anything else, Xiaguang wasn’t in any danger.
By now, Xiaguang had opened her eyes, staring blankly at the person in front of her.
“Her Majesty the Queen… I failed. I’m sorry for troubling you.”
The first thing she did upon waking was apologize to Zhu Xiaxia.
“Xiaguang, it’s enough that you’re safe. Nothing else matters.”
Xiaguang instinctively tried to sit up, but as soon as she moved, a sharp pain shot through her head, forcing her to clutch it and lie back down.
“Your Majesty…”
“Xiaguang, your injuries are still healing. Don’t overexert yourself.”
“Then… alright.” Xiaguang agreed. “By the way, Your Majesty, what time is it now?”
“It’s almost noon. I’ll go prepare lunch. You rest well.”
With that, Zhu Xiaxia stood up and headed for the door.
Since the Queen had said so, Xiaguang had no reason not to keep lying down and resting.
Watching her retreating figure, Xiaguang let out a relieved smile. She never expected the Queen to take such good care of her. It was truly surprising.