Evil Dragon Chapter 13: Overcome!

Chapter 13: Overcome!

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: CaiCai, Kris

When Lin Nuo woke up, Rennes was not in the room. He was certain of it because his body could move freely again. Lin Nuo propped himself up, his little head swiveling around, confirming that the person in question wasn’t there. Moreover, he quickly noticed that the window this time wasn’t closed properly, and the curtains were gently swaying.

Lin Nuo flew into the air, glancing at the clock on the wall—it was 5 o’clock. Great, just in time to return to his room without anyone noticing. Lin Nuo didn’t leave immediately. He landed back on the table, facing the coins on it, torn between his desire and his conscience. He really wanted to take them, to increase his own stash…

Currently, he only had two coins, and one of them had to be handed over every day, practically making it useless… If he took these two coins back, his collection would double!

Lin Nuo lifted his little claw… But, would this be right? These coins weren’t ownerless; they belonged to Rennes Clement now. Lin Nuo shook his head, recalling that in his past 19 years of ‘human’ life, even during the toughest times, he had never stolen anything from anyone.

Even now as a dragon, he didn’t want to change that. Struggling against his instincts, Lin Nuo felt miserable, rolling in place before fiercely nuzzling the coins once and then reluctantly flying out through the window without them.

Outside, it was still dark, with only faint moonlight, the whole world awaiting the sunrise. Except for the patrolling guards, there was no one on the ground. Lin Nuo flew slowly, feeling the air lightly brush against his face, cool and pleasant. But… Rennes’s touch seemed even cooler, more relaxing.

Hey, what am I thinking? Lin Nuo stopped this pointless train of thought and began to miss the two coins he had left behind. Come to think of it, why did Rennes leave two coins on the table?

Lin Nuo remembered the scene when he first saw the man in the training room; Rennes was constantly flipping the coin. Could it be that his teacher, besides secretly raising magical creatures as pets, also enjoyed playing with coins at home? In Lin Nuo’s mind, an image emerged of Rennes with a composed face counting coins under a light, ending with a smirk while playing with them.

Hmm, that’s too incongruous. Shivering, Lin Nuo didn’t want to dwell on it anymore.

—

In the morning, Lin Nuo woke up a bit later than usual. Before turning back into his human form, he carefully examined himself in the mirror and noticed that the wings on his back had thickened slightly. They were no longer a nearly transparent cherry blossom pink but had taken on a slightly deeper red hue. Even the horns on his head had darkened a bit.

So, was last night’s strange situation because the young dragon was starting to grow? Just like how human kids easily get fevers during growth spurts, would a young dragon developing into a huge dragon also be prone to fevers?

Speculating randomly, Lin Nuo realized he was starving. Fortunately, apart from feeling particularly hungry, there were no other symptoms. The transformation into human form went smoothly without any obstacles. As he sat down to have breakfast, he noticed Baron Duval, the steward who was always around, was nowhere to be found.

Other servants told Lin Nuo that Baron Duval had an urgent matter at home and hastily left the palace in the middle of the night. Lin Nuo found it strange. Why would Baron Duval leave so abruptly? Normally, a servant of his position would formally bid farewell before leaving the palace. Could it be that someone in his family fell ill?

Lin Nuo asked the people around him for more, but they all seemed tight-lipped, lowering their heads and staying silent.

Lin Nuo had no choice but to give up and obediently start eating breakfast. The agreed departure time with Rennes was three o’clock in the afternoon, so Lin Nuo’s other scheduled lessons remained unchanged. After finishing the morning etiquette class, as usual, Lin Nuo slipped into the backyard and spent some time swinging with Nana. 

Before saying goodbye, Lin Nuo squatted down and earnestly told Nana that maybe he wouldn’t be able to come tomorrow to play with her. He advised her not to worry or wait for him. Moreover, when he returned, he promised to bring her a gift. The little girl, who had been laughing excitedly on the swing just moments ago, now wore a disappointed expression, her face drooping, even her eyes reddening. Nonetheless, she proudly lifted her head, determined not to shed tears. 

Lin Nuo tousled Nana’s messy hair and gently said, “Don’t be sad. Think about what kind of gift you’d like.” 

Nana huffed, “I’m a lady! Ladies don’t ask for gifts!” 

Unable to hold back a laugh, Lin Nuo added, “How about a toy bear for the lady?” 

Nana’s eyes brightened briefly, though she feigned indifference, saying, “If you insist on giving such a gift, a lady wouldn’t decline.” 

Laughing again, Lin Nuo assured the young lady once more that he would return as soon as possible. But instead of brightening up, Nana’s eyes dimmed upon hearing these assurances. 

With an ‘I don’t care’ expression, way beyond her years, she considerately said, “It’s okay. Brother Linno must have something very important to do. Thank you for being with me during this time. Goodbye, brother.” 

After saying this, the little lady bowed to him and walked away, leaving Lin Nuo watching her departure, feeling oddly troubled by her mature words. 

Overly mature children often meant they had encountered hardships and challenges not typical for their age, learning to conceal their emotions. Knowing they could be abandoned at any moment, they avoided forming attachments to prevent getting hurt when parting ways. Lin Nuo understood this defensive mechanism all too well, making the situation even more uncomfortable. 

As he sighed and walked back along the garden path, a figure suddenly appeared. “Prince, Your Highness!” 

Looking up, Lin Nuo was surprised to see Roy Clement. This handsome young man, dressed in a light yellow shirt, exuded a lively and sunny disposition, with a smile in his eyes. 

“Your Highness, what’s wrong? You seem a bit low in spirits,” Roy inquired. 

Masking his emotions, Lin Nuo replied, “Nothing much, just a bit tired from the morning. Taking a walk to refresh myself.” 

“Oh, perfect! I was feeling a bit tired from rehearsal too, so I came out for a walk. How about we walk together?” Roy suggested cheerfully. 

Lin Nuo hesitated briefly, thinking it might be a good chance to ask this Clement about Rennes. After all, as long as he didn’t deceive or harm anyone, a few more words shouldn’t trigger the original storyline, leading Lin Nuo to harm this bright young man, right? 

Moving aside to give Roy space to walk alongside him, Lin Nuo casually asked, “Rehearsal? What are you rehearsing for?” 

Roy replied with a smile, “A play! Isn’t the Summer Solstice Festival coming up soon? Following the royal ceremonies, it’s our turn for a theatrical performance.” 

Oh, it was for the Summer Festival. Lin Nuo knew about this festival, one of Saros’ most important events, lasting a whole seven days. During this time, both royalty and commoners indulged in a week-long celebration of song, dance, drama, feasts, and games. 

Lin Nuo chatted about the festival before steering the conversation towards what he was truly interested in, “By the way, I heard Sir Rennes is skilled in capturing magical creatures? He even keeps them as pets?” 

Roy tilted his head, pondering, “Well, when it comes to dealing with magical creatures, there’s no one better in the kingdom than Rennes.” Roy continued, “But keeping them as pets? I haven’t noticed that. Actually, about a month ago, I saw this cute little winged creature and wanted to keep it, but he strictly forbade it.”

The winged creature shivered inside and thought, Thanks, but no thanks. I don’t want to be kept. Could it be that Rennes was secretly keeping magical creatures? Lin Nuo pondered. Was this an undisclosed quirk of his? 

Seeing Lin Nuo lost in thought, Roy was curious and questioned, “Why do you ask? Is Rennes teaching Your Highness how to deal with magical creatures?” 

Lin Nuo chuckled, “No way. My daily routine is just about chasing a coin around, getting beaten up by it.” 

Roy widened his eyes, “Beaten up by a coin? What kind of strange course is that? Wait, does Rennes just watch you get beaten up by coins?!” 

Feeling that his explanation was getting off-track, Lin Nuo added quickly, “Not exactly. After getting beaten up, Teacher always heals my injuries.” 

Roy realized, “Oh, with that special powder, right? Rennes makes it himself. It heals wounds quickly; it’s very effective.” 

Lin Nuo hesitated for a moment before saying, “Not really… He uses healing spells to treat me.” 

Or sometimes, he just touches my wounds and heals them. 

Roy’s eyes widened in astonishment, “Healing magic? Rennes uses healing spells to treat Your Highness?!” 

Lin Nuo hadn’t anticipated Roy’s strong reaction, making him even more uneasy. “What’s wrong? Is something odd?” 

Roy sighed, “Well, the thing is, Rennes excels in offensive spells. Using healing spells consumes a lot of his magic. So, he doesn’t even use magic to heal himself, just some powder is enough.” 

Hearing this, Lin Nuo gasped and froze in place. 

Seeing Lin Nuo’s bewildered expression, Roy quickly added, “Of course, using healing spells would be more effective. Rennes must be considering Your Highness’s well-being in doing so.”  Seeing Lin Nuo’s lack of reassurance, Roy changed his tack, “And, Your Highness, don’t worry. Rennes is much stronger than an average person. The magic consumption doesn’t pose a threat to him.” 

Lin Nuo nodded slowly and, after hesitating for a while, finally asked, “If using healing spells consumes a lot of energy, would directly transferring magic through physical contact reduce the consumption?” 

After all, direct point-to-point transfer could avoid inefficiencies, couldn’t it? 

Upon hearing this question, Roy appeared genuinely confused, “Huh? Direct contact to transfer magic? I haven’t heard Rennes talk about that… but I guess it might reduce some consumption?” 

Lin Nuo nodded thoughtfully.  By then, they had reached the square from the courtyard, concluding Roy’s ‘walk’, and he hurried back for rehearsals. Before parting, Roy grinned and said, “Your Highness, please don’t tell Rennes I told you this. He always scolds me for talking too much! I don’t know how many times he has told me! Oh, and Your Highness, make sure to watch the play I’m in during the festival!” 

Lin Nuo agreed with a nod. Walking back alone to his suite, Lin Nuo touched his right hand, treated twice by Rennes yesterday, feeling somewhat uncomfortable. Despite the knight’s cold and fierce demeanor, he didn’t want to owe him. Besides, today he saved me once too… though it was in dragon form…

After some contemplation, Lin Nuo gritted his teeth and decided: If drawing a healing circle would consume extra energy from Rennes, then I’ll actively request using physical contact to transfer magic in the future! It’s just placing our hands together, right? I can handle that little bit of ‘stimulus’ during the contact! Yes, I can!

 

 

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