Yuriko shook uncontrollably from her jostling.
After she steadied herself, she said:
“Since this is a request from Tiamat, I’ll agree to it. I don’t need your reward, but I have one condition. On the way back, you can’t run off, you can’t act stubborn, and you have to listen to everything I say. Can you accept that?”
“Got it. I’ll listen to you.”
The little dragon girl clung tightly to Yuriko, unwilling to let go, as if afraid she might escape.
‘So gullible.’
‘It’s lucky she ran into me, and not someone with ill intentions. Otherwise, who knows what she’d get tricked into doing.’
“Let’s get a cab first.”
Yuriko called a taxi on her mobile phone and sat in the back seat with Longyu.
This place was far from Longyu’s residence, a full twenty kilometers away.
Yuriko honestly had no idea how Longyu’s tiny legs had managed to get here.
“You can hail a car with this thing?”
Longyu stared curiously at Yuriko’s phone.
“That’s right. You can use it not only to get a ride, but also to make calls and send messages. Mobile payments are very common in Pilgrim City now. With a phone, you can pay without needing cash, so you won’t forget your wallet anymore.”
The journey was long, so Yuriko introduced some of the phone’s features to Longyu.
During their conversation, Yuriko learned that Longyu was truly clueless about phones.
She only knew they could make calls, and she was also ignorant of any payment method besides cash.
“Your family hasn’t taught you this stuff?”
“We don’t have things like that at home. Phones and calls are stuff for servants to use. At most, I usually just watch TV.”
Although the royal family might be different, Yuriko still found Longyu’s situation peculiar, so she searched for the Dragon God Kingdom on her phone.
The information showed that the Dragon God Kingdom was a country ruled by dragons.
The majority of the nobility were from the dragon clan or mixed-blood dragon descendants.
The Dragon God Kingdom had powerful military strength, but the nobles within the country were mostly conservative.
They had no interest in emerging technologies and didn’t invest many resources in development.
Yuriko scrolled through some pictures of the Dragon God Kingdom and noticed the architectural style was relatively old-fashioned, especially in the areas where the nobility lived.
“Ah, that’s my house!”
Longyu pointed at the largest palace in one of the pictures and shouted.
Yuriko clicked into an introduction about the Dragon God Kingdom Palace and discovered that the palace was over a thousand years old.
“Can all you dragons live that long?”
Yuriko asked.
“I don’t think it’s that long. Dad’s only lived for over three hundred years, and he can only live for another one or two thousand years, ya know.”
‘One or two thousand years isn’t long?’
‘Don’t you realize that many countries’ histories aren’t even as long as your lifespan!’
But this also helped Yuriko understand why Longyu seemed a bit dumber than the average person her age.
By dragon standards, how was she any different from a babbling baby?
Moreover, since the Dragon God Kingdom’s nobles were mostly dragons and dragon descendants with long lifespans, it was understandable that they were more conservative and reluctant to accept new things.
No wonder Longyu was so clueless.
The road was smooth with no traffic jams.
After a twenty-minute drive, they arrived at Longyu’s residence.
Although it wasn’t a palace, it was still an extremely lavish manor, inhabited only by Longyu and her maids.
“We’re here! This is my house!”
Longyu excitedly jumped out of the car and ran to the gate of her manor to ring the doorbell.
Her loud and boisterous behavior made Yuriko a bit exasperated, but Longyu was still young, after all.
Throughout the ride, Yuriko noticed that Longyu was far from quiet, but she’d never seen her play with anyone at the Academy. Could it be that she was being shunned for being too stupid?
Considering Longyu’s status as a princess, being shunned was unlikely.
Yuriko figured it was more because Longyu spent all her time after class focused on eating snacks.
Less than five seconds after the doorbell rang, a young girl dressed in a maid uniform came out to open the door.
Upon seeing Longyu, the young maid immediately gathered her skirt and ran over.
“Your Highness! Your Highness, you’re finally back!”
The girl opened the iron gate of the manor and embraced Longyu tightly.
“I’m fine, Raine! You’re hugging too tight! I can’t breathe!”
The maid, named Raine, finally let go of Longyu.
She held her shoulders, looking her over left and right, and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming Longyu wasn’t hurt.
“Phew~ I’m glad you’re okay, Your Highness. You suddenly disappeared, and you had us so worried! If something happened to you, what would we do?”
“Ugh, I’m back safe and sound, aren’t I?”
Raine sighed in relief and noticed another person standing beside Longyu.
She straightened her body, smoothed her dress, and gave Yuriko a respectful bow.
“Hello, I am Her Highness’s personal maid and the head maid of this manor, Raine. Thank you so much for your help this time. We will repay your kindness later.”
‘I haven’t even said anything yet, how do you know?’
But this maid already seemed much smarter than Longyu, so it wasn’t strange that she could deduce what had happened.
On top of Raine’s head grew a pair of brown dragon horns, and the tip of a tail was vaguely visible from under her maid skirt.
It seemed she was also a dragon.
“It’s nothing. As classmates, we should help each other. Please don’t let Tiamat run off alone anymore. If she ran into bad people, it’s hard to imagine what they might do to her.”
“Ah, are you saying Her Highness was out running around on her own?”
Raine’s gaze fell on Longyu, and the relief in her eyes shifted to scrutiny.
“Your Highness, you snuck out by yourself, didn’t you?”
Longyu guiltily looked away, making it clear that Raine was right.
Raine’s face darkened at a visible rate, sending a chill down Longyu’s spine, and she quickly hid behind Yuriko.
“I’m already sixteen! I’d be fine on my own!”
Longyu insisted stubbornly.
“How can that be? Even if you’re capable of going out alone, you are still a person of noble stature. Without our protection, what if some reckless fool hurts you?”
Longyu shrank her head, completely unable to fight back against Raine’s scolding.
“I came back safe and sound, didn’t I…”
“I will report this to His Majesty.”
“No!”
Longyu wailed.
She tugged on Yuriko’s sleeve, pleading with her, “Ruri, save me! Dad is definitely going to dock my allowance!”
Yuriko shook her head.
This was a family matter, and she was powerless to help.
‘And you should be grateful it’s just your allowance being cut. If the discipline at home were stricter, your rear end would be in for a spanking.’
Raine pulled Longyu out from behind Yuriko, then bowed to Yuriko once more.
“Thank you for your help. I will also inform His Majesty of your deeds. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, His Majesty will reward you.”
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