Sophia had been lying in bed for eight hours, planning to sleep for ten.
Her body agreed with the plan.
Especially after Aurina’s antics, which had already wasted over an hour of her sleep time.
“Sophia, Sophia, big sister.”
Accompanied by repeated calls was relentless pushing.
Aurina tirelessly shoved at Sophia under the thin blanket, causing white waves to rise and fall across Sophia’s chest.
Sophia pretended to sleep, her body heavy with drowsiness.
Even with Aurina’s persistent pushing, if she stopped, Sophia could slip back into dreamland in less than half a minute, savoring the bed’s softness and tranquility.
But Aurina was tireless, pushing nonstop while chanting various incantations.
“I’m still a child… I’m still a little girl… I’m young and naive… Do you know how much psychological trauma this causes a child?… I’m still a little sister.”
Sophia kept sleeping, and the more she listened, the more she felt Aurina was truly a young dragon, clueless about human society, as innocent as a child—if only her personality were as cute as her appearance, or at least if she didn’t keep trying to wake people up.
Aurina stopped pushing.
Sophia’s fading drowsiness surged back, overwhelming her wakefulness, which retreated completely.
Aurina, deep in thought, realized her incantation was wrong.
She resumed pushing Sophia, switching to a new “fiancée incantation” she was still refining.
“Sophia, Sophia.”
Starting by calling her true name to lock onto her target, Aurina prided herself on her arcane knowledge.
She chanted, “I’m Richard’s fiancée, wake up quick, or I’ll go find Richard!”
The incantation worked instantly.
Sophia’s precarious wakefulness, on the verge of being snuffed out, launched a counterattack, obliterating her drowsiness.
Sophia shot up, the red blanket sliding off her pearl-white body, pooling at her thighs.
She stared at Aurina with wide blue eyes. “Lord, what?!”
“Fiancée, fiancée, this king is his fiancée!”
She’s still a child, a child.
Sophia took a deep breath.
“You can’t just say that. You’re still a child.”
Aurina propped her chin.
“So that’s how it is? A conflict in the incantation. Gah, I’m so clever.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Go call Richard,” Aurina said.
“He’s a coward, scared of this king, retreating from battle, too afraid to fight me anymore.”
Sophia tucked a strand of golden hair behind her ear.
“What are you saying?”
“Richard’s scared,” Aurina said.
“I went to him, and he was muttering about saving some assassin’s family, something about Thousand Crows’ Eye, saying he’d cook dinner later and shooing me away. Gah, he’s definitely scared of this king, so you need to order him to show him my might.”
“You mean he didn’t cook your meal?”
Sophia felt her stomach full; even after sleeping, she wasn’t the least bit hungry.
She ate too much yesterday.
Water for breakfast should do.
“He didn’t finish that fish from yesterday,” Aurina said.
“I’m going to destroy it.”
Sophia looked at Aurina skeptically.
Aurina, in front of the female, proudly puffed out her flat chest and patted her equally flat stomach, as if showing off.
Sophia couldn’t help but glance down at her own stomach, her view blocked by two peaks.
She pressed down on the peaks with one hand, bending to look, where faint traces of abs had once been visible, now lost in pearl-white fat.
Wait, what am I thinking?
Sophia looked up, her messy golden hair falling beside her neck.
Seeing Aurina flaunt her flat stomach, she finally realized something alarming.
“You digested it all?”
“Of course, a mere swordfish,” Aurina said. “It’s become part of this king’s power. That strongest little insect still has to get up every morning and swing a wooden stick at a sword dummy—how pitiful.”
Sophia said, “Let’s not bother Richard. He’s in charge of planning and will let us know if something’s up.”
“No.”
Aurina threatened the female before her, raising both hands into claw shapes.
“Go call him now.”
Sophia took it to mean, If you don’t agree, you can forget about sleeping.
For the sake of sleep, let Richard suffer a bit.
She said, “Fine, you win.”
With that, urged by Aurina, she slowly got up to wash, dress, and freshen up.
Aurina, impatient with Sophia’s pace, spat a puff of fire at her.
The flames washed over Sophia like water, leaving her feeling warm and refreshed, as if she’d just bathed.
“So magical,” Sophia said, shaking her body.
She took off her last piece of modesty, sniffed it, and noted a sun-dried scent.
“Everything’s clean, even the clothes, like they’ve been washed and dried in the sun. How do you do it?”
“Don’t dawdle,” Aurina said.
“Because this king is a true dragon.”
“Dragons are such magical creatures,” Sophia said, setting aside the modesty piece and starting to dress, bare.
“So slow.”
Aurina grabbed Sophia’s clothes, spun her around a few times, and Sophia was dressed.
Sophia gasped. “So fast.”
Before she could marvel further, Aurina grabbed her hand, pulling her along, running to a meeting room, and kicking the door open with one foot.
Behind the door, Richard was discussing with several masked figures, each wearing a harp emblem on their clothes.
“Richard!”
Aurina opened her mouth wide, revealing porcelain-white shark teeth, one hand holding Sophia’s, the other pointing to her throat.
“Swordfish!”
Almost everyone turned to Richard, who sighed.
“Aurina, I’m busy right now, keeping my promise, searching for Thousand Crows’ Eye’s hideout to free the assassin’s family, and to catch his hidden minions and unveil his secret identity—”
Aurina didn’t care, pulling Sophia forward and looking at her.
“Quick, quick, use the fiancée incantation.”
Sophia said, “Richard, just take some time to finish the swordfish. She’s hungry again.”
Richard said, “Didn’t she almost finish it last night?”
Aurina puffed out her chest proudly.
“The past is the past, now is now.”
“Unbelievable, your appetite outweighs your dragon form,” Richard said, shaking his head helplessly.
“Sorry, everyone, you see I’ve got something to handle. It’ll take less than twenty minutes.”
One of the harp-wearers lowered their hood, revealing the face of a red-haired matron, smiling.
“Kids, huh? No choice. I can lend a hand.”
“Thanks for the help.”
The red-haired matron moved deftly, Richard worked quickly, and Aurina provided the fire.
Amid Richard’s “Smaller flame,” “Bigger flame,” the last adult-sized portion of swordfish was roasted.
This time, Richard took a shortcut, preparing only four different flavors of roast fish, earning a few complaints from Aurina.
Sophia routinely cast “Detect Poison,” and after a flash, the roast fish showed no toxic green glow.
“Looks delicious,” the red-haired matron smiled.
“Can I have a piece? Please tell my companions.”
Richard said, “Sure, I’ll head out now. Please keep an eye on Aurina. She’s milder when eating, but don’t show her gold coins or anything like that.”
“Dragon-slaying hero,” the red-haired matron said, “you’re more like a housewife than I am.”
Richard chuckled and hurried off to continue the discussion.
In the face of the roast meat’s aroma, Sophia had little appetite.
“I’m tired of meat. I’m going to morning prayers and will be back later.”
Only Aurina, wielding a knife and fork, savored the meat.
For her, not shoving it directly into her mouth was already eating slowly and delicately.
As she ate, she grumbled, “So plain. The beast of burden’s getting lazier. Once this king masters the incantation, you’ll see.”
Behind Aurina, the red-haired matron secretly pulled a small leather pouch from a hidden bag, unmarked but clearly dangerous to her.
It contained venom from a wyvern, potent enough to knock out a bull with just a few drops.
She quickly found a special syrup among her bottles and jars, poured it in, and shook it.
This made the poison more palatable and discreet.
“What are you doing?”
Aurina suddenly appeared before her, startling enough to make one drop their bottles.
But the red-haired matron perfectly hid her surprise, smiling.
“Child, I’ve got some exotic seasoning here. I’m mixing it.”
“Seasoning?”
Aurina’s interest piqued.
“Quick, give it to me! That pouch looks familiar—it must be mine.”
“Right, it’s yours,” the red-haired matron said, handing over the pouch.
She cursed the faulty intelligence.
Aurina wasn’t the terrifying, scale-covered humanoid beast who’d eat people on a whim, as the reports claimed.
She was an ignorant child, perfect for her plan.
Aurina pulled the cork and sniffed it. “Smells sweet, but a bit weird.”
“It’s exotic seasoning,” the matron coaxed. “You put it on the roast meat and cook it together for the best flavor. After cooking, add more. Eat slowly, I won’t stay. Oh, one spoonful at a time—no more, no less. Return the rest to me when you’re done.”
Aurina licked the pouch, clutched it, and said, “I licked it, so it’s mine.”
The red-haired matron said helplessly, “Just don’t use too much. One spoonful.”
“Got it.”
“I’ve got to go.”
The red-haired matron headed for the door.
She prayed Aurina’s poison was one Sophia couldn’t cure, making the antidote valuable.
She wondered if she should stall Sophia.
As she reached the door, she saw Aurina pour the entire amber-colored poison pouch onto the plate, mixing it with the roast swordfish, and opening her mouth to eat.
The matron froze—such a dose could kill a dragon.
How would I explain this to Thousand Crows’ Eye?
She rushed forward. “Wait! That’s not how you eat it!”
But Aurina ignored her, swallowing half the plate of fish in one gulp.
“Spit it out!”
“Delicious!”
Aurina devoured the other half, licked her lips, and looked at the shocked matron.
“So good! Quick, give me more!”
A flood of thoughts surged through the matron’s mind.
Should I risk exposure and get Sophia to cure her?
I’m here to knock out a dragon, not kill one.
If the dragon dies…
The thought of Thousand Crows’ Eye’s punishment sent a chill down her spine.
In that moment, she began praying Sophia could cure the poison.