Chapter 73: The Emperor’s Personal Guard

“I’ll do it.”

Sophia walked into Richard’s room expressionlessly and said, “I see my dear fiancé is exhausted, carrying you every day without a single complaint. As his fiancée, I’ll take some of that burden off him.”

Aurina tilted her head, looking at Sophia. 

“Sophia, why does your face look so bad?”

“Indeed, what’s wrong?” 

Sophia glanced at Richard. 

“Must be because I didn’t sleep well last night, right, dear?”

“Cough, cough,” Richard fake-coughed. 

“Sophia makes a good point.”

So that’s how it is.

“Gah!” 

Aurina smacked her palm with her fist. 

“I get it! Big sister Sophia, come carry me quick!”

“Alright, come on, little sister Aurina.”

Aurina jumped up and climbed onto Sophia’s shoulders, saying, “Sophia, your chest is so soft!”

With that, she glanced down at Richard with a sly look.

She noticed he didn’t react like a “husband” would, getting angry.

What kind of nonsense is this?

She vaguely recalled that when she touched the chest, face, or legs of female bugs like wives or ladies, their fiancés or husbands would leap up, faces red, hair standing on end, yelling incoherently.

“Hehe,” Sophia said. 

“Of course, little sister Aurina, you’re so light—lighter than I imagined—”

Sophia’s tone shifted. 

“No wonder, Richard, you carry Aurina all day long. In front of strangers, in front of passersby, in front of my friends and family, it must be so easy.”

Richard said, “I don’t want it this way, but Aurina, she—”

“Exactly,” Sophia said. 

“It must be Aurina clinging to you, making a grand dragon-slaying hero helpless against a young dragon.”

“Sorry, Sophia, I know this isn’t appropriate for me. I’ll firmly refuse Aurina from now on.”

“Huh?” 

Sophia feigned surprise, lightly covering her open mouth. 

“Do you think I’m jealous? How could I be? I trust your character, Richard. I believe you have no desire for Aurina, and you wouldn’t dream of having both, right?”

Richard wished he could sink into the floor, his face burning red.

“Of course, our Aurina is just too strong,” Sophia said, lifting Aurina’s small foot. 

“So tiny, yet she can beat a dragon-slaying hero into submission.”

“Naturally, gah!” 

Aurina puffed out her chest proudly. 

“I’m the ten-time red dragon champion, the Red Dragon King of Kings, slayer of seven in one strike, the Dread Dragon—”

Wait! Could these two little bugs be scheming to trick this king?

Aurina quickly added three words: “—’s daughter, gah, yes, daughter! Easily defeating Richard.”

With that, she flicked her tail toward Richard.

“Alright, stop messing around,” Richard said, grabbing Aurina’s tail. “I won’t carry you anymore.”

“What! What are you saying?” 

Aurina fumed.

Her beast of burden dared to defy her? 

The audacity!

No, it must be that the little girl spell’s influence had weakened.

It was Sophia—yes, Sophia’s fiancée spell.

She had just cast the fiancée spell.

“Sophia,” Aurina leaned down to her and said, “I’m still a little girl.”

“If Richard won’t carry you, big sister will.”

“Fine.”

Until this king fully masters the fiancée spell, I’ll make do with Sophia as a temporary mount.

With that thought, Aurina reluctantly accepted Sophia as a makeshift mount.

The ship gradually approached the imperial capital’s port, a grand city built by the sea, situated between two continents.

From afar, they could see the forest of sails crowding the harbor.

The two humans and one dragon prepared themselves.

They stood by the ship’s rail, watching the imperial capital draw closer.

Sophia kept chattering, “Oh, Aurina, your calves are so delicate and slim. I’m so jealous.”

“Of course, this king is a true dragon.”

“Nowadays, men love the thin, youthful, and petite,” Sophia said. 

“A fat woman like me is so envious of you.”

She shot a sideways glance at Richard.

Aurina exclaimed, “Gah? What are you saying, Sophia?”

Sophia said, “You’re the lucky one, so small yet so honest, unlike someone who’s grown so big but stands there like an armor rack, motionless.”

“It’s only natural to envy this king,” Aurina said, pointing to her face. 

“This king is a true dragon, gah. Even in this female bug form, you can barely see the tip of my tail.”

Her bluntness left Sophia momentarily stunned.

Aurina leaned down, rubbing Sophia’s face with her small hand.

“Your face is pretty nice.”

She then touched Sophia’s chest, like a merchant appraising goods. 

“But, big sister Sophia, your chest is really impressive.”

Sophia was at a loss, looking to Richard for help.

Richard, to avoid suspicion, turned his gaze elsewhere, like a woman wrapped tightly in a super-conservative region.

“Aurina, did Richard teach you this?”

“Him? How could he teach me anything?” 

Aurina lowered her head, lifting Sophia’s chin to look at her. 

“By the way, your eyes are quite pretty, like gems. Not bad.”

Sophia locked eyes with Aurina.

In her golden eyes, Sophia saw a child’s innocence—and behind it, an unrestrained disregard.

This disregard was like someone spotting a pretty pebble on the roadside, picking it up to examine it.

After looking, Aurina directly kissed Sophia’s lips.

“Ah!” 

Sophia jumped up. “Richard!”

“What’s wrong?”

Aurina also looked at Richard. 

“Nothing, I’m just playing with Sophia. I’m still a child, you know.”

Richard asked, “Sophia?”

“She… she… she just kissed my lips.”

“I see,” Richard said. “You two seem to get along well.”

“Of course,” Aurina nodded, placing a hand on Sophia’s head. “So much fun.”

Richard said, “Good.” 

He turned back, continuing his imitation of a proper knight.

The heat from Aurina’s palm seeped through Sophia’s golden hair into her scalp.

Yet Sophia felt a chill, her sharp senses detecting Aurina’s attitude—this dragon didn’t see her as a person at all.

In a daze, Sophia saw a vision: Aurina snapping a fluffy foxtail grass because it pricked her hand.

She said, “What a pity, gah, it’s pretty big.”

With that, Aurina tossed the broken foxtail grass aside and skipped off to play in the grass.

The broken foxtail grass lay on the path, sap oozing from its break.

That was her.

“Aurina…” Sophia said, “What were you… doing just now?”

“Playing,” Aurina said matter-of-factly.

She suddenly pointed. 

“Look! Those dragon ship bugs offering tribute to this king, gah.”

Following her gesture, Sophia and Richard saw ten massive dragon ships, sails full, heading straight for the dock, laden with fully armored North Peninsula men.

Sophia couldn’t help but ask, “Are they here to raid the port?”

Richard’s hand rested on his sword hilt.

“Impossible. They couldn’t possibly breach the imperial capital’s port. It’d be a one-way trip.”

“This king has an idea,” Aurina said. 

“Let’s recruit them as servants and pick up all the money in the port, gah.”

Richard said, “You mean rob it.”

“No, pick it up!” Aurina said. 

“Because all the wealth in the world belongs to this king.”

“Tonight, you’ll copy thirty times: ‘Robbing is robbing, picking is picking. Robbing is taking others’ property by force.’”

“What, gah? This king is still a child!”

Hearing Aurina’s childish complaints, Sophia began to wonder if her earlier perception was a misunderstanding.

Aurina was clearly still a child, just a dragon who didn’t understand human sarcasm.

Add in a dragon’s natural arrogance, and it made sense.

But Sophia still felt a faint worry.

As a priestess, she could sense the Lord’s vague blessings brought into the world.

She trusted her instincts.

This worry was soon overshadowed by concern about the North Peninsula men.

Their questions were answered in half an hour.

“Look, it’s the emperor’s guard.”

Sophia pointed to a dock halfway across the port.

The flag of the Yanting Empire and the emperor among the royal guards were visible.

Too far to see clearly, they could only make out a blob of purple amid the plate-armored royal guards.

The North Peninsula men’s ships lowered their sails, slowly approaching.

The fat-faced captain slapped the back of his head. 

“I remember now why there are so many North Peninsula men in these waters.”

Richard asked, “Why?”

“Because the Yanting Empire’s royal family has a tradition of recruiting North Peninsula men as personal guards, called… Var-something…”

Richard asked, “Varangian Guard?”

“Yes, yes, that’s the name. How did you know? You’ve never been to the capital.”

“Some storybooks mentioned it,” Richard said.

“Loyal to the emperor, incredibly fierce, very famous. I didn’t expect them to be North Peninsula men. They’re so far from here—probably a continent away.”

“I’d bet an ocean away.”

During their conversation, the merchant ship prepared to dock, ready to lower a small boat to guide it.

“We’re almost there,” the fat-faced captain said, extending a hand to Richard. 

“You three should pay the fare now—ten gold coins each, thank you kindly.”

Richard said, “I’ll pay, but before I do, we should discuss you breaking the secret contract with Haisha Port’s commander.”

The fat-faced captain’s expression didn’t change. 

“We’re all at sea. You think I leaked your whereabouts?”

“Yes, through carrier pigeons and ravens.”

“Gah gah,” Aurina said. 

“Finally, we’re robbing! Beast of burden, you’re so slow.”

The fat-faced captain’s face turned pale, becoming a white-faced captain. 

“You… this is the capital.”

“Relax, captain. I won’t rob you,” Richard said. 

“And the capital can’t protect you from the consequences of breaking a contract.”

“It’s just a piece of paper. Does it matter?” 

Aurina said impatiently. 

“Quick, quick, Sophia, make Richard use Holy Slash! Stop dawdling! We still have to rob the whole port.”