Evil Dragon Chapter 48: A Good Story

Chapter 48: A Good Story

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: CaiCai

 

The palace. It’s the second day of the “Summer Carnival.” In previous years, the palace would be filled with laughter, dances, card games, and feasting from morning till night during this time. This year, amidst the usual commotion and revelry, the absolute protagonist of the grand feast, Crown Prince Otto, was nowhere to be found.

At the same time as Otto’s disappearance, the second prince, Josef, was ill and resting in the palace away from everyone. Various gossips and rumors swiftly spread. Some said Crown Prince Otto angered the old king and was banished overnight to the borderlands, never to set foot in the royal city again. Others claimed a quarrel between the Crown Prince and the Second Prince resulted in one death and one injury, which made the old king sick. There were even tales of a conspiracy between the Second Prince and the young Prince, plotting against the Crown Prince…

In short, unreliable gossip flooded in one after another.

At this moment, a pivotal character in the gossip, Second Prince Josef, was indeed lying on his large bed, “resting due to illness.” Although it was daytime, thick curtains and bed drapes blocked out all external light. The room was illuminated only by dim everlasting lamps, casting a gloomy light through the wafting incense smoke.

Josef’s complexion was a sickly shade, his eyes open, once handsome golden hair now scattered like dry grass. His hands clutched the sheets like claws, breathing heavily, eyes filled with resentment and disbelief.

After an unknown period, a cheerful and eager voice finally came from the crystal placed under his pillow, “Your Highness, are you in such a hurry to find me because there’s something important?”

Josef, with cracked lips and hoarse voice, said, “My crows, my crows were destroyed by that stupid dragon, and I was afflicted by magic backlash…Quick, give me new crows… Once I have new crows, I can quickly drive away that stupid dragon and fulfill our agreement…”

The other party paused for a while before slowly saying, “Agreement? What agreement?”

Josef’s pupils shrank as he said, “Didn’t we agree that I would do everything to push Otto deeper into trouble, and then you’d ensure that, in the end, only I, the sole and pure-blooded heir, remained?”

The other party laughed. The laughter held no pity or mockery, only pure pleasure, “Correct. Your Highness, aren’t you now the sole and pure-blooded heir? Since both parties have fulfilled the agreement, the magic crows lent to you will expire. Correspondingly, the temporarily granted magic will be taken back. As for the gold and silver you collected, you don’t need to give them to us; please keep them for yourself. Prince, farewell. It was a pleasure working with you.”

After saying these final words, the voice completely disappeared, and even the crystal turned into powder. Josef sat up completely, his fingers almost tearing through the luxurious sheets. He yelled hoarsely as he struggled, “No, no, no! This wasn’t supposed to happen!”

His yelling was so loud that his personal attendant burst through the door, wrestled down this disheveled, barefoot master, and called for a doctor.

While the Second Prince acted rudely and danced barefoot on the floor at Sarost’s palace, the Sarost’s young Prince, Lin Nuo Heinrich, had also jumped off Rennes’s bed barefoot. When he realized he was in a “candid meeting” with Rennes, his first instinct was to run away.

As he stood on the floor, he realized he couldn’t go anywhere without clothes. He jumped back onto the bed and clumsily wrapped himself from head to toe in the sheets, exposing only his face. In the end, no matter how you looked at it, he resembled a caterpillar bread roll with cream filling.

Now, this caterpillar, holding its breath, looked at Rennes with fear in his eyes.

Oh, is he suspicious? Did he see the entire process of me transforming from a “creature” into a person? Looking at the caterpillar in front of him, Rennes, who was originally sitting on the edge of the bed, crossed his legs on the floor slightly unnaturally.

After several seconds, Rennes finally spoke slowly, “Why is Your Highness’s first reaction always to run away?”

Lin Nuo widened his eyes, thinking: Every time? What does that mean? Uh, is he referring to the “drunken” incident? Or… the other day in the garden? But, I didn’t seem to run away.

So, Lin Nuo just looked at Rennes somewhat puzzled. Rennes didn’t say anything further but got up and walked to a nearby round table. The caterpillar, wrapped in the sheet, stared blankly at Rennes’ back as he picked up a tall silver jug and then brought over a crystal glass.

Is he going to pour me a glass of water? Lin Nuo guessed.

As expected, Rennes poured a full glass of water. Rather than turning around immediately, he held the cup until visible ice formed inside the water.

Huh? Is he going to give me ice water? Lin Nuo was puzzled. 

Rennes lifted the glass and drank the ice water himself.

? Lin Nuo was even more confused.

After drinking a whole glass of ice water, Rennes poured another glass of fresh water and then turned around to sit back at the edge of the bed, offering the glass to Lin Nuo. “Your Highness, have a drink first.”

The caterpillar, half-kneeling, obediently nodded, preparing to take the glass and drink. He awkwardly realized that he haphazardly wrapped himself in a way that restricted his arms from lifting the cup to his lips.

In other words, although he could hold the cup, he couldn’t raise it to his lips. Lin Nuo struggled a bit, only managing to free one shoulder and a bit of his arm from the sheets. He ended up exposing a bit more than intended but failed to lift the cup.

Uh, forget it, why not use magic? Use magic to levitate the cup. Lin Nuo scolded himself silently while making this decision.

Just before he attempted to use magic, Rennes preemptively took the cup back, saying, “Open your mouth.”

Uh… Lin Nuo blinked in confusion.

Rennes’s face remained calm. “I’ll feed you.”

Oh… Lin Nuo quickly tilted his head up slightly and opened his mouth to allow Rennes to bring the rim of the cup to his lips.

“No need to tilt that high,” Rennes said, “And you don’t have to open your mouth so wide. Keep your tongue flat.”

Lin Nuo obediently adjusted the angle. For some reason, Lin Nuo felt that Rennes’ voice was different from usual today. It seemed unusually hoarse and deep, making Lin Nuo feel a bit dazed.

While he was lost in his thoughts, the cool liquid poured into his mouth along the cup’s edge. Lin Nuo didn’t dare to think of anything else but focused on drinking the water. Although Lin Nuo cooperated very well, the cup was open, and in such a pouring position, it was inevitable for some water to trickle out of the corners of his mouth.

Once Rennes took the cup back, Lin Nuo instinctively wanted to wipe the droplets from the corners of his mouth with the back of his hand, but then remembered his arms were wrapped up. He decided to use his tongue to lick them away. As Rennes turned back, Lin Nuo was still half-kneeling, focusing on using the pink tip of his tongue to remove the droplets from the corner of his mouth.

Rennes, who had planned to sit on the edge of the bed, changed direction, moved closer, and sat on a high-backed chair, propping one leg unnaturally over the other.

After Lin Nuo finally cleared the water droplets, Rennes began to ask, “Your Highness, do you know where you are?”

Lin Nuo thought, “In your room! I’ve slept here more than once!” But on his face, he could only nod blankly and say, “I don’t know, it’s so unfamiliar! I’ve never been here before!”

After all, human-form Lin Nuo had never been to Rennes Clement’s private residence, so how could he know where he was? Rennes wasn’t surprised by Lin Nuo’s response. He continued, “Your Highness, this is my private residence in Faro City.”

The cream caterpillar Lin Nuo thought, “That’s right, my clothes were taken off by the servants.” He felt relieved.

Seemingly unaware of Lin Nuo’s expression, Rennes continued, “When you were attacked by the giant crows, did you hear the ticking sound from the pocket watch I gave you?”

This time Lin Nuo could confidently nod and say, “Yes!” Even though he was in a haze after defeating the crows.

Rennes thoughtfully said, “Hmm, I inscribed a magic circle in that watch. When the wearer encounters a crisis, this magic circle will automatically activate, emitting a rhythmic sound. Then, using the sound to induce nearby creatures, the magic circle guides these creatures to send the person to the nearest and safest place.”

After hearing Rennes’ explanation, Lin Nuo was relieved. He was able to cleverly craft a story despite the urgency of the situation, creating a logical and fitting narrative. He sighed with contentment, ending the story with a genuine compliment, “Teacher, your magic circle is amazing! It saved my life once again!”

Even though it wasn’t saved exactly as he described. In fact, he was the creature being induced. When he encountered danger, according to the magic circle, he flew to the safest place.

After hearing Lin Nuo’s explanation, Rennes nodded as if he understood. Seeing Rennes appear to comprehend, Lin Nuo quickly asked a series of questions to avoid further inquiries, “Oh, how’s Grandpa? Is Nana okay? And has Otto been… ‘fished’ out?”

Regarding the octopus-like Otto, Lin Nuo thought the term “fished out” was most appropriate. Rennes answered each question one by one. Grandpa, the King, was fine, just in a low mood, being advised by the doctor to rest. Nana had been frightened but only had some superficial injuries and was recovering, allowing Lin Nuo to visit her after a short time.

As for Otto, after Rennes “fished” him out of the artificial lake, fixed his form with a magic circle, and sent him to the High Tower for imprisonment. In other words, even after self-destructing, Otto couldn’t escape the “pleasant time” of being imprisoned in the High Tower.

After hearing about his elder brother’s fate, Lin Nuo sighed deeply, thinking: This person can be so ruthless to his own daughter, his own brother, and his lover. Now being locked in the tall tower, it’s his own doing.

What happened to the pitiful child, the true Little Prince Lin Nuo Heinrich, whose magical seal was cut off by him back then? What connection does he have with my original form, this “Little Prince” who transformed from the Dragon Clan?

As Lin Nuo pondered, his brows furrowed involuntarily until Rennes spoke up, asking, “Your Highness, we found a charred magic raven on the ruins of the island in the lake. Do you have any other clues about these magic ravens?”

Snapping out of his thoughts, Lin Nuo hurriedly said, “Right, these magic ravens, inside their mouths…Oh, my hand, I need to use my hand for this, this…”

While trying to describe the magic array he had seen, Lin Nuo found his arms tightly wrapped, unable to break free.  Seeing Lin Nuo’s face turning from creamy to strawberry-filled frustration, Rennes sighed, took two steps forward, and helped Lin Nuo untangle the sheet that was almost tied into a knot behind him.

“Ah, finally, I can use my hand!” Lin Nuo breathed a sigh of relief as he pulled his hand out from the sheet. Not only his hand but most of his body slid out from the sheet.

A dark napkin brushed off the plate. On the white and smooth porcelain plate lay cherries resembling desserts. If dipped in a little cream, these cherries would undoubtedly be an unparalleled delicacy. Rennes was not fond of sweets. Yet, even so, he momentarily lost himself staring at the cherries for a second. But he said nothing, nor did he move forward. Instead, he stood upright and walked to the door.

Meanwhile, Lin Nuo had gestured the magic array with his hand and concluded: the person controlling the magic ravens and the person controlling the gold-swallowing beasts are the same!

Then, Lin Nuo boldly voiced his speculation, “Teacher, if the ravens wanted to save Otto, could the one controlling them be Otto himself?”

Leaning against the door, arms crossed, Rennes replied, “Not necessarily. I will investigate in that direction.” After speaking, Rennes turned the doorknob and said, “Alright, Your Highness, rest for a while longer. Later, I’ll have your clothes sent over and take you to the adjacent guest room.”

Hearing this, Lin Nuo was puzzled, “The adjacent… guest room?” Why would I go there?

Rennes paused, then said, “If Your Highness is willing, you can also use my room for these days.”

Even more confused, Lin Nuo asked, “Use your… room?” Use your room for what?

Only then did Rennes turn around casually and say, “Oh, it’s like this. His Majesty the King and I are both concerned that someone might pose a threat to Your Highness and are urgently inspecting all palace attendants and guards. For the time being, to ensure safety, Your Highness will temporarily stay at my place.”

Stay at… your place? Lin Nuo’s mouth formed a perfect “O.”

Author’s note:

Rennes: Here, have some water.

Lin Nuo (raising his head obediently): Ah…

Rennes: My mistake. Turn around.

Lin Nuo: ?! Mmm!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

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