Zhu Xiaxia’s train of thought left Zhu Qiu speechless for a moment.
“I obviously know you aren’t teaching me magic, but that’s not what I meant.”
“Then what do you mean, daughter? Are you not planning to learn etiquette anymore?”
“Ugh, this has nothing to do with etiquette!”
The little girl hopped around in frustration.
How could Zhu Xiaxia not understand what she was saying?
It couldn’t be that she was playing dumb, could it?
“My point is, you should be teaching me magic right now—magic that will turn me back into a human—not etiquette!”
“So, does that mean you still don’t want to learn etiquette?”
Zhu Xiaxia’s face darkened in an instant.
She was completely fed up with Zhu Qiu.
‘I have every reason to suspect that Zhu Xiaxia is playing dumb on purpose. She’s intentionally avoiding the topic of changing back and using etiquette lessons as a shield.’
‘Hmph, you have your shield, but don’t I have my sword?’
“Zhu Xiaxia, don’t tell me you forgot what you said yesterday!”
“Did I say something yesterday?”
“You’re still making excuses! You said yesterday that you’d teach me the magic to turn back into a human today. Don’t you dare try to back out! You are the Queen of the Dragon Race. If word gets out that you’re a liar, I’m afraid you’ll be the laughingstock of all the other races~”
The little girl stood with her hands on her hips, regaining her confidence through her own impassioned speech.
Now it was Zhu Xiaxia’s turn to be speechless.
She walked up to Zhu Qiu, pressed down on her shoulders, and said softly, “When did I ever say I was going to teach you magic?”
“Impossible! Then what did you mean yesterday when you said you were going to teach me some things?”
“I meant exactly what we’re doing now. I, your Mother, am personally teaching you etiquette. This is a required course for you as a Dragon Princess.”
“Huh?”
Zhu Qiu could hardly believe her ears.
The confidence she had just built up was instantly crushed.
‘No, let me think this through…’
But no matter how she thought about it, what Zhu Xiaxia said was technically correct!
‘Ugh, I should have asked for clarification yesterday. I really didn’t expect Zhu Xiaxia to not follow my script at all.’
“So you don’t plan to teach me the magic to turn back into a human?”
Even at this stage, Zhu Qiu still wanted to struggle a bit more.
Hearing Zhu Qiu’s question, Zhu Xiaxia’s expression became calm and serious.
“First of all, it is very necessary for me to explain something to my daughter. It’s not that I won’t teach you magic; it’s just that the time isn’t right yet. The process involved is very complex. Secondly, while magic is miraculous, it’s not at all what you imagine. It cannot change one’s race. At most, it can only temporarily alter the caster’s physical form, and even then, the duration is not very long.”
“I’m afraid my precious daughter’s plan to turn back into a human through special magic is going to be a complete failure~”
Zhu Qiu’s pupils dilated, her face filled with disbelief.
Setting aside why Zhu Xiaxia knew about her plan, that last sentence—that magic could not change one’s race—was equivalent to a death sentence for Zhu Qiu’s hopes of becoming human again.
In other words, magic was useless.
All the effort she had put into preparing was for nothing.
“Is it really impossible to change back?”
“It’s true~ My good daughter should just settle down and be a happy little Dragon Princess!”
“No way… no way… there must be another way. There has to be a way to change back.”
Zhu Qiu’s voice grew smaller and smaller as her confidence completely vanished.
Moreover, if even magic—which was claimed to be capable of anything one could imagine—couldn’t change a race, Zhu Qiu couldn’t think of any other way to become human again.
There really was no way…
If that was the case, she would have to accept reality and spend her entire life as a member of the Dragon Race, and a dragon little girl at that.
“No, I’ll definitely find a way to change back. I… I’m going to go find it, wah~”
Zhu Qiu pitifully wiped away her tears and tried to move Zhu Xiaxia’s hands off her shoulders, but her strength was far inferior to Zhu Xiaxia’s.
“Waaaah~ Let me go! I want to go out! I want to find a way to change back, waaaaah~”
“No, no. My daughter is a Princess of the Dragon Race. You should be in the Dragon Race Imperial Palace seriously studying etiquette, not running around all over the place.”
Zhu Xiaxia firmly refused.
“Waaaah~ Let me out!”
“That won’t do. This lesson hasn’t even started yet. How can you be thinking about skipping class~?”
Zhu Qiu looked at Zhu Xiaxia piteously, as if pleading for mercy.
It felt like she would break down and sob at any moment.
“Waaaaah!”
And she did.
Zhu Qiu slumped onto the ground and could no longer control her emotions, bursting into loud sobs.
Her only ray of hope had been extinguished; how could she not break down?
Looking at the teary-eyed Zhu Qiu, Zhu Xiaxia didn’t know what to do either.
This lesson… looking at Zhu Qiu’s mental state today, it didn’t seem like it was going to happen.
By her count, there were only five days left until her daughter’s National Debut Meeting.
At that time, all the important dragons in the country would come to see Zhu Qiu.
If Zhu Qiu were to do something embarrassing that day, the impact would be quite negative.
Zhu Xiaxia felt a bit of regret now.
Why had she been in such a hurry to set such an important event for only seven days later?
Just having Xiaguang send out the notifications was exhausting enough.
She should have made more thorough preparations first.
“Sigh.”
Zhu Xiaxia let out a sigh.
As the Dragon King, she seemed to have been a bit inconsiderate.
‘Whatever, I’ll let Zhu Qiu cry for a while. Maybe she’ll feel better after she’s done.’
Without offering any further explanation, Zhu Xiaxia straight-up left the room and closed the door.
She returned to her own room, tidied up her wardrobe, straightened the bedsheets, and lay down.
‘Since my daughter is in a bad mood today, I’ll let her rest. I’ll check on her tomorrow.’
Zhu Qiu was a girl, and with her own special teaching methods, she should eventually learn etiquette seriously.
—
Time flew by, and soon it was noon.
In order to coax Zhu Qiu back into a good mood, Zhu Xiaxia had specially prepared a gift for her.
The gift was a Custom Baby Bottle.
Compared to other bottles, this one was rounder and cuter, and it even had a photo of Zhu Xiaxia herself printed on the side.
Surely Zhu Qiu would like it, right?
Zhu Xiaxia used the bottle to prepare some milk and went to the room where she had intended to teach Zhu Qiu.
She knocked on the door.
“Daughter, open the door. Mother has brought you lunch.”
After waiting for a long while with no response from inside the room, Zhu Xiaxia stopped waiting, opened the door, and walked in.
“Good daughter, it’s time to eat. Come see what Mother brought for you.”
Zhu Qiu was leaning against the window with her back to the sunlight.
Her head was lowered against her thighs, and she was hugging herself with both arms.
She had shut herself away.
From Zhu Xiaxia’s perspective, Zhu Qiu looked like a poor little girl living on the streets, starving and looking as if the whole world had abandoned her.
“Time to eat. Come look at the gift Mother has for you.”
Zhu Xiaxia walked over and squatted in front of Zhu Qiu, holding out the baby bottle.
“How is this bottle? Do you like it? It even has Mother’s photo on it.”
Zhu Qiu looked up at Zhu Xiaxia for a split second before burying her head again.
Seeing that Zhu Qiu was still unresponsive, Zhu Xiaxia placed the bottle on the floor and decided to use her ultimate move.
“Don’t be sad, daughter. Mother is here with you.”
Zhu Xiaxia leaned closer to Zhu Qiu, forced her head up with both hands, and placed a kiss on her forehead.