Evil Dragon Chapter 31: Acting Like a Scumbag

Chapter 31: Acting Like a Scumbag

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: CaiCai, Kris

 

Lin Nuo felt like he was burning up. His whole body was feverish, emitting heat. Every breath he exhaled was scorching, carrying a temperature akin to flames. Unconsciously, he tore off his own shirt, desperately grasping the only thing that could bring a bit of coolness amidst this unending heat. He grabbed the hand of the humanoid ice pillow, pleading in a teary voice, mixing commands with dissatisfaction, ordering this aloof ice pillow to obediently cool him down, bit by bit.

Finally, a cool palm landed on his forehead. Forehead, cheeks, ears—the palm soothingly glided, taking away a bit of the heat. But was it enough? Lin Nuo, panting heavily, eyes reddened, pulled the hand of the ice pillow towards his neck, continuously muttering, “No, not enough…”

When the ice pillow finally fulfilled his wish, gently touching his burning neck, inexplicably, Lin Nuo felt even more uncomfortable. The skin touched by the ice pillow seemed to cool down, but the areas untouched burned even fiercer. Lin Nuo kicked his legs against the smooth, cool fabric, attempting to pull the ice pillow over, covering himself with it—whatever worked, as long as they could be together, top to bottom.

After futilely attempting to maneuver the ice pillow closer by kicking and pulling with his fair legs, Lin Nuo turned in agony. He buried his head in a pile of fabric, crying out, “Come here, come… touch my tail…”

He vaguely remembered, back when he was still a dragon, this ice pillow had once touched his tail. He instinctively knew that if the ice pillow would just squeeze his little tail, it would surely relieve him from this unbearable fever.

The once obedient ice pillow suddenly refused to comply. No matter how Lin Nuo twisted and turned, pleading with a crying voice, the ice pillow wouldn’t budge. So, with closed eyes, disregarding everything, Lin Nuo attempted to lunge towards the ice pillow—

Finally, the ice pillow moved. It wrapped around Lin Nuo’s shoulders, firmly confining the completely befuddled little prince in its embrace. Then, the humanoid ice pillow’s lips brushed against Lin Nuo’s ear, word by word, asking, “Your Highness, to what extent do you want me to go? What do you want me to do for you?”

Do… what? Yes, what exactly do I want him to do? The bewildered little prince pursed his lips, hot tears streaming down his cheeks. He didn’t know what he wanted Rennes to do. Lost and bewildered, he reached out, hugging the solid arm and pressing his tear-stained face against it.

Rennes sighed deeply, freeing one hand to gently stroke Lin Nuo’s head, repeatedly petting his hair. The internal heat found no release, transforming entirely into tears streaming down incessantly.

Amidst sobs, Lin Nuo finally realized something and murmured repeatedly. At first, Rennes couldn’t make out his words and had to lean closer to Lin Nuo’s mouth to finally understand. The intoxicated little prince kept repeating, “How would I know what to do? You’ve taught me everything. Why aren’t you teaching me anymore?”

Rennes lifted his head, an extremely complicated expression on his face. After a while, when the intoxicated prince was nearly exhausted from crying and his body temperature had finally lowered, Rennes gently laid him flat, placed the pillow back under his head, and softly pressed his forehead, saying, “In the future, I will slowly teach you, my prince.”

It was midnight. The room was dimly lit. Lin Nuo groggily opened his eyes, only to find someone sitting beside him. This person exuded a refreshing coolness and carried a pleasant, cold fragrance. Still not fully awake, Lin Nuo rolled over and ended up with his face pressed against the person’s thigh, falling asleep again.

When he woke up again, it was already morning. He struggled to lift the covers and sit up. Rennes was sitting on the armchair by the window, reading a book. Seeing Lin Nuo wake up, Rennes didn’t immediately approach. He closed the book in his hand and looked at him calmly.

Lin Nuo rubbed his eyes, saying, “Teacher…”

He wanted to ask why Rennes was in his room. But as he spoke, he was startled by his own voice. Why was his voice so hoarse? It sounded like he’d been crying all night. Crying… all night? What had he done? Was he scared into tears by a strange dream?

Lin Nuo grabbed his hair, looking at Rennes with confusion. In a raspy voice, he struggled to say, “Teacher, why are you here? I remember we were supposed to be on the road, right?”

Yes, because he had wasted two days, so he needed to hurry and retrieve the crystals as soon as possible. Then Martin came to find him, saying he found a coin nearby. Next, he found the coin but then returned it. Later, Martin gave him a strawberry-like dry fruit and asked him to eat it. The taste of that dried fruit was so strange… Ah! After that, it seemed like he… got drunk?!

Lin Nuo’s face turned pale instantly. All those jumbled images and fragmented sounds came rushing back. At that moment, Rennes slowly stood up, walked to Lin Nuo, and handed him a glass of water, saying, “Your Highness, you said yesterday that you wanted to take a walk, but you returned in a tipsy state.”

Lin Nuo was in turmoil and couldn’t meet Rennes’ gaze. He obediently took the glass of water and started drinking, struggling to swallow. As he tilted his neck to drink, he sneaked glances at Rennes’ expression. Ah, Rennes’ expression seemed pretty normal, no sign of disgust.

At this moment, Lin Nuo recalled all the embarrassing things he did while intoxicated. The most embarrassing and cringe-worthy was how he held onto Rennes’ hand and repeatedly asked the man to touch him… No, it didn’t stop there. He even tried to tackle Rennes… He couldn’t remember what happened afterward.

The paladin must have knocked him out in exasperation? Ah, what kind of alcohol was this? Everything I did under its influence was so bizarre! I have drunk beer and wine in my past life but didn’t have such a disastrous drinking tolerance! No wonder the original body was asked to refrain from drinking. With this kind of reaction after drinking, it was a disaster! But… Why did I act so bizarrely, insisting Rennes do this and that? Holding the chilly glass, he tried to clear his mind. Yes, after getting drunk yesterday, I was confused, thinking I had turned into a dragon— when I seem to enjoy being touched by Rennes from head to tail— hence making such terrifying and potentially harassing requests. Ah, it’s terrifying.

He glanced at Rennes again, noticing the paladin was observing him. Realizing this, Lin Nuo’s hand trembled, and he choked on the water, coughing heavily. Rennes immediately took the glass from him and patted his back helplessly. During this choking fit, Lin Nuo quickly made a major decision:

I will pretend to be a scumbag who lost his memory due to alcohol! I know nothing about what happened last night! If asked, I was drunk, so I don’t remember anything! Otherwise, how can I even be around Rennes?

[System Alert! System Alert!] The mysterious System was back:  [The host’s behavior might be interpreted as requiring censorship, unsuitable for children’s literature. Can the host provide an explanation?]

Lin Nuo’s face flushed, internally screaming, “W-What censorship? I was drunk! Just drunk! Just tipsy!”

The System remained silent for a moment before saying, [Considering the host’s previous and subsequent behavior, the explanation is deemed acceptable. Please avoid such censorable behavior in future actions. In case of unexplained inappropriate behavior, the System will punish the host according to the severity of the act. Please be aware.]

Lin Nuo gasped. Punishment? So, if he didn’t stick to children’s literature guidelines, he might be punished? Was it that scary?! Lin Nuo thought calmly: As long as I don’t get drunk again, strip off my clothes, or do anything inappropriate, I won’t trigger such punishment. So, it’s not that scary.

With regained composure, Lin Nuo recalled various classic scenes from movies and TV series, where scumbags denied their actions after getting drunk. He blinked at Rennes, vaguely asking, “Oh, so I got drunk? Oh, that’s bad. I don’t remember anything I did after getting drunk… Teacher, did I do anything strange?”

After saying this, Lin Nuo deliberately blinked, trying to appear more believable.

Rennes casually put the glass aside and calmly replied, “Yes.”

Lin Nuo’s eyes widened, thinking it wasn’t supposed to happen! Rennes was supposed to downplay it and say ‘nothing much’ or ‘pretty normal’, and that would be the end of it, right? Would this knight really spill the embarrassing details?

Rennes returned to the window and pulled the curtains open, letting the sunlight flood in and forcing Lin Nuo to shield his eyes. Now he couldn’t see Rennes’ expression or even his movements clearly.

“Yesterday, Your Highness kept bothering me…” Rennes slowly said.

“B-Bothering you…” Lin Nuo was flustered and embarrassed, curling up involuntarily, even his toes feeling awkward.

“Yeah, Your Highness kept bothering me, asking me to…” Rennes trailed off, making Lin Nuo’s heart almost stop, wishing to immediately explode into pieces and disappear. “Asking me to give you… a class,” Rennes finally finished. Then he added, “Your Highness’s dedication to learning truly moves me.”

Huh? Lin Nuo was genuinely lost in confusion. He remembered rolling over to cuddle but falling asleep afterward. In these memories, there was nothing about asking for a class.

Standing in the light, Rennes calmly said, “Your Highness seems too eager. After all, to study, one must be sober.”

Listening to Rennes’ usual serious tone, Lin Nuo nodded instinctively, “Uh-huh, you’re right. We need to study soberly and seriously.”

Rennes stepped forward, touched Lin Nuo’s forehead gently, using an unusually gentle tone, “Good child.”

After that, he withdrew his hand, returning to his stern voice, “Your Highness, you’ve wasted another day. We can’t afford any further delay from now on, understood?”

Lin Nuo immediately jumped off the bed, landing barefoot on the floor, quickly saying, “Understood, understood. I’ll freshen up and change… Huh?”

Only after he jumped off did he realize he was wearing loose, comfortable sleepwear. Yesterday, he definitely tore off his clothes, so did Rennes have servants change him into sleepwear? Yeah, that must be it.

By now, Rennes was exiting the room alone, leaving behind a statement, “Departure in fifteen minutes.”

As Lin Nuo changed, he pondered: Why did Rennes make up a topic about a class? Was it because he was concerned about my embarrassment, so he deliberately said that? Indeed, if he claimed I didn’t do anything strange, it would be too fake. By saying something so absurd, would anyone believe it’s true? So… this cold paladin is actually considerate sometimes?

Moreover, by saying that, did it mean he didn’t care about what happened yesterday? He just came up with an excuse to cover for me?

Ah, that’s great. Thinking about this, Lin Nuo was almost happy.

As Lin Nuo finished changing into his shirt, preparing to put on his coat, a *tap-tap-tap* echoed from the window again. Hearing the sound, Lin Nuo hurriedly rushed over and opened the window, fearing it might attract other people’s attention. Sure enough, a chubby grey pigeon darted inside, fluttering around Lin Nuo incessantly, “Young Master, you’re okay! Young Master, you’re okay! Sob! It’s all our subordinates’ negligence!”

Before Lin Nuo ate the dried strawberry, the sounds emitted by the pigeon while maintaining its bird form were all *coo-coo-coo*, devoid of any actual meaning to him. But now, Lin Nuo could completely understand what the pigeon was saying.

He gestured to the pigeon to keep it down and whispered, “It’s okay; I can’t drink. I get drunk with just a sip.”

The pigeon flapped its wings desperately, filled with remorse, “Yes, yes, I understand now. It was my mistake. I shouldn’t have given you anything with alcohol!”

Normally, a pigeon shouldn’t have such a sorrowful, heart-wrenching expression, but Lin Nuo couldn’t shake the feeling that this pigeon was on the verge of tears.

Unable to do much else, he reassured it, “You were doing it for my good. Look, thanks to that miraculous dried strawberry, I can understand your speech now. So convenient!”

The pigeon flapped its wings and still seemed a bit dejected, “But I found out later that it wasn’t the most effective dried strawberry. The most effective dried strawberry was the one stolen 18 years ago! The creatures said that the stolen dried strawberry not only allowed people to understand the language of monsters but might also let them hear the inner thoughts of monsters! How useful! If the young master had eaten that dried strawberry, as long as I stayed by your side, you could know what I was thinking, sob…”

Lin Nuo furrowed his brow, saying, “Wouldn’t that be mind-reading? What’s good about that?”

The idea of being surrounded by a bunch of creatures and goblins, with their thoughts filling his mind, made Lin Nuo feel faint. Too terrifying. Even if he ordered them not to speak, could he force them to stop thinking? That would be incredibly noisy.

He comforted the pigeon by patting its smooth feathers, “It’s alright. Being able to understand is good enough. And right now, I’m fine. You don’t have to blame yourself.” He pondered for a moment and asked another question, “By the way, did those creatures tell you who took that dried strawberry?”

The fact that there might be another person in the world who could understand the language of monsters intrigued Lin Nuo. And deep down, there was a vague concern in him. This estate was managed by the Clement family. Could it be that the dried strawberry was eaten by a young Rennes…? Surely not, right?

Proudly, the pigeon patted its wings, saying, “Young Master, I knew you’d care about this question! I asked those creatures, and they said, 18 years ago, it was a human who was tall and strong, mightier than a windmill and sturdier than a waterwheel, who, despite their opposition, snatched the dried strawberry from them and ate it right in front of their eyes!”

Tall and strong? A windmill? A waterwheel? Listening to these odd metaphors, Lin Nuo couldn’t fathom what kind of person that could be. But at least, it definitely wasn’t Rennes. Back then, Rennes was just a three-foot-tall kid, maybe even prone to tripping while running. How could that fit the description of the culprit described by the creatures?

Relieved, Lin Nuo praised the pigeon, “Hmm, very thoughtful!”

Grateful for the young master’s praise, the pigeon raised its head, foolishly smiling. This inexperienced pigeon would never have thought that even the flora and fauna creatures had their pride. For the creatures, it was humiliating to claim that a dried strawberry was stolen by a child barely taller than a strawberry bush. How could they say that to other species of monsters? To save face, they’d definitely claim that it was a ruthless, extremely powerful bully who snatched the dried strawberry.

The pigeon, oblivious to this layer of complexity, flew a few more circles around Lin Nuo, murmuring anxiously, “Young Master, are you really okay?”

Lin Nuo vigorously nodded, “I’m fine.”

The pigeon sighed with relief. “That’s great! Yesterday, I was so scared that I almost lost my feathers. All of a sudden, you couldn’t stand properly— I wanted to help, but I was worried that reverting to my human form might cause trouble for you. Then that cold, terrifying knight dashed over! Ah, his aura… just thinking about it makes me shiver!”

Hearing the pigeon mention Rennes, Lin Nuo’s expression changed slightly. He looked at the pigeon pacing back and forth on the table with its wings folded and said, “Oh? The knight…”

The pigeon flapped its wings. “Yes! The knight was originally ten meters away from you, but when you couldn’t stand, he swooshed right in front of you. His expression was really scary at that time. Also, he seemed to glare at me very fiercely— I almost thought he would capture me for a soup! Coo-coo-coo! It was terrifying! But then, he just picked you up and left in a hurry. Young Master, did he do anything to you afterward? I was so worried after being left behind! I was perched on the window all day, sticking to the window seams. I was thinking, if he dared to do anything to you, I’d protect you even if I ended up as soup!”

Lin Nuo’s face flushed. He cleared his throat and said, “You were perched on the window seam? The whole day?”

Did the pigeon hear all those weird, outlandish words said in his confusion?!

The pigeon nodded earnestly, “Yes! But maybe the knight had cast a silencing spell; I couldn’t hear anything.”

Oh, thank goodness. Lin Nuo touched his slightly warm face and said, “He didn’t do anything to me, just guarded me the whole night.”

Really, even when he pulled the knight’s hand, he didn’t do anything.

The pigeon, pacing on the table, suddenly flapped its wings, having an epiphany, “I get it!”

Lin Nuo was puzzled: Get what?

The pigeon held its head high, saying proudly, “I understand! It must be because your disguise is so convincing! The knight completely sees you as the prince, Your Highness; that’s why he was so worried! That’s why he’s so dedicated to guarding you! Ah, the goblin told me before that you had completely fooled that scary paladin. I didn’t believe it until now!”

Lin Nuo, speechless, finished putting on his coat and told the pigeon , “Martin, I’m about to hit the road again. There’s nothing to worry about on my end. Please don’t follow too closely; don’t make the knight suspicious, alright?”

The pigeon nodded, “Got it! Before, we were worried that the cold knight wasn’t treating you well enough, so we wanted to stick close. Now we’re all at ease!” Finally, the pigeon stopped on the table, looked up at Lin Nuo with admiration, and concluded with, “Young Master, you’re amazing!”

Lin Nuo, with black lines all over his head, adjusted his scarf and opened the door to head downstairs.

After getting onto the carriage, Lin Nuo peeked out the window, scanning around with his eyes. Fortunately, there was no trace of the pigeon. He relaxed, sitting up straight again.

At this moment, Rennes spoke, “Your Highness, what are you looking for?”

Lin Nuo quickly responded, “I’m not looking for anything. Just— just wanted to have another look at the beautiful estate.”

Rennes leisurely remarked, “Oh. I thought Your Highness was looking for a pigeon.”

Lin Nuo’s expression changed slightly, hastily denying, “What pigeon? There’s no pigeon. I wasn’t looking for a pigeon…”

Rennes glanced at him, “Yesterday, when Your Highness was drunk, a gray pigeon kept flapping around above your head. I almost thought it was your pet.”

“Ah… really? No, no, I don’t have a pet!” Lin Nuo completely forgot about this, stuttering in an attempt to cover it up. Not skilled in lying, he couldn’t confidently say: I have no idea where that pigeon came from!

Rennes leaned back, a hint of a smile on his lips, “Too bad.”

Too bad?! Lin Nuo immediately realized this was the second time Rennes said ‘too bad’. He bit his lip, trying to hold back, but finally couldn’t resist, “Does the teacher want to keep a pigeon as a pet?”

“Hmm?” Rennes sounded puzzled. “Why would I want to keep a pigeon?”

Lin Nuo’s fingers traced over the velvet, “Uh, then why do you always suggest that I keep pigeons?”

“Oh?” Rennes chuckled softly, “I never thought of that. I was just… remembering my own pet.”

Hearing Rennes mention his own pet, Lin Nuo’s heart raced uncontrollably, fingers digging into the velvet seat. In the swaying carriage, he struggled to control his breathing, not wanting Rennes to notice how nervous he was. After a moment of silence, Lin Nuo finally asked hoarsely, “Teacher, what kind of pet do you have?”

Rennes crossed his arms, one leg casually raised, “Your Highness, take a guess.”

At this moment, the carriage entered a valley. The sunlight was completely blocked by the surrounding rocks, making it exceptionally cool. Light and shadows alternated, dimming the carriage’s interior. In the semi-darkness, Lin Nuo felt slightly dizzy. After a while, he said, “You bought a cat toy the other day, so I thought you had a cat. But then you said it wasn’t that. I can’t guess; I don’t know what else a cat toy could entertain.”

Without realizing it, there was a hint of audaciousness in Lin Nuo’s voice, something only the sole listener would notice.

“Indeed, not a cat,” Rennes said, “Not a cat but still very cute.”

Lin Nuo couldn’t help but turn to look at Rennes’s almost perfect profile, murmuring, “Very cute?”

That silly little dragon was flat-nosed with eyes like little beans; how was that cute?

Rennes also turned, with his deep, starry eyes fixed on Lin Nuo, saying, “Hmm, cute. That winged little fellow doesn’t do anything except run around everywhere. After I caught him, he rubbed against my palm, staring at me with those bean eyes—”

Rennes’s tone, unlike his usual sharpness and aloofness, was inexplicably gentle.

The description of a cute little creature that would rub against Rennes’s palm made Lin Nuo’s heart uncontrollably beat faster. Hearing Rennes praise the little mischief-maker as cute, he felt both happy and… strangely sour. In this person’s eyes, my human form probably wasn’t as cute as the little mischief-maker… With this thought, Lin Nuo’s face fell, his mouth involuntarily pouting.

Rennes seemed not to notice the expression on His Highness the little Prince’s face, continuing: “Of course, sometimes I wonder what if this little guy really were a cat.”

Lin Nuo was taken aback, “A cat?”

What did that have to do with a cat?

In the dim carriage, Rennes spoke slowly, his voice tinged with huskiness, “If it was really a cat, it would probably lie there, allowing me to touch it. If it was really a cat, it might crawl under my blanket, pressing against my chest. If it was really a cat… it might even let me kiss its little nose, its forehead… Ah, when I kiss it, it would probably make cute noises from its throat…”

Suddenly, the carriage brightened, probably exiting the valley. Rennes’s voice instantly returned to its usual coldness. Maintaining his posture with one leg raised, he calmly looked at Lin Nuo, saying, “Your Highness, what’s wrong? Why is your face suddenly so red?”

 

Author’s Note:

Rennes: To take this class, one must remain sober.

Lin Nuo: Yeah, Teacher is right. We must learn with a clear mind and seriously.

 

 

 

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