Evil Dragon Chapter 51: Tell Him

Chapter 51: Tell Him

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Aika

 

To want or not to want? These two words continuously collided in Lin Nuo’s mind. Vaguely, he remembered just a few days ago, swearing to control his desires and not let himself be influenced by the dragon-shaped cravings. But now, this sensation, this warmth and sweetness, this feeling that made his whole body go weak, wanting nothing but to collapse right there—could it really be controlled by sheer willpower?!

Wait, what did that book say again? Between a Flame Beast and its mate, intimate acts are repeated spontaneously, increasing intimacy and strengthening magic. So, for Rennes and me, are these uncontrollable actions? But Rennes isn’t the mate of a little evil dragon… But… Rennes is the one helping the little evil dragon through its mating period…

And most importantly, what am I to Rennes? What am I doing right now with him? Can I… have things I want too? Do I… want? Mmph!

While Lin Nuo was still muddled and confused, Rennes’ lips pressed down on his once again. This kiss wasn’t a fleeting touch or a butterfly’s flutter. It was an unrestrained deep kiss, carrying almost a sense of possession and conquest, causing his consciousness to swiftly scatter. His so-called resistance crumbled, making him forget where he was and what was happening.

His hands initially clawed at Rennes’ arms, then reached around to his back, fingers tightening so much that even the tips turned pale. Was it to resist or to urge on? In this relentless, merciless assault, Lin Nuo even forgot to breathe. His face turned red from lack of oxygen, emitting pitiful wheezing sounds.

Rennes had to reluctantly release him, holding his chin, instructing, “Breathe through your nose.”

Lin Nuo gasped for air, seeing stars, his mind a whirlwind, almost unable to comprehend what was happening. As the sweet-smelling air filled his lungs, Lin Nuo’s hands finally fell weakly from Rennes’ back, dropping onto the island countertop, hitting a spoon that lay abandoned by both of them.

“Ding!” The silver spoon collided with the crystal glass bowl, emitting a crisp sound.

That sound made Lin Nuo’s heated body shiver slightly, and it helped him gather back some scattered consciousness. What am I… doing? Yes, I was supposed to make rice pudding for Rennes. Incredibly delicious rice pudding, my favorite rice pudding, something absolutely not to be wasted.

Thinking of this, Lin Nuo’s hand reached behind, fingers gripping the edge of the glass bowl, pulling it forward, while the other hand grabbed the spoon and handed it to Rennes, saying, “Here, have this first!”

Rennes leaned forward, one hand on the cold tabletop, setting the spoon aside casually, his voice hoarse, “No rush…”

Unexpectedly, Lin Nuo blocked Rennes’ chest with his elbow, his expression oddly serious. “This is urgent! The taste changes if left for too long! This is absolutely not to be wasted!”

Just a pudding, but apparently more important than the interrupted kiss?!

Rennes was momentarily stunned, lowered his head, and looked into Lin Nuo’s eyes. In Lin Nuo’s eyes, there was purity and determination, or perhaps, stubbornness. This kind of stubbornness, Rennes had seen more than once.

At the beginning, when Lin Nuo’s magical abilities were abysmal and he was beaten by coins, never once did he beg for mercy, only getting up time and again to continue practicing; Later, scared by the Goldswallower but still insisted on rushing out to save people; Then, dedicating himself to picking gifts for an unappreciative girl and spending time with her; And just now, barely mastering elemental power yet using all his strength to stop the approaching hailstorm; and… in the underground lake, insisting on that kiss no matter what…

His eyes were as pure and stubborn as they were now.

What a stubborn fool.

Rennes supported himself on the table, standing still for a minute, almost wanting to pour a bucket of ice-cold water over his head. But he restrained himself, picking up the spoon again. The intoxicating atmosphere in the kitchen just moments ago vanished completely.

Rennes looked at the soft, fluffy rice pudding in front of him, sighed deeply, and forced a smile. “Fine, not wasting it.” Yet, he didn’t eat immediately. Instead, he picked up another dessert spoon and handed it to Lin Nuo. “Together.”

Lin Nuo’s eyes immediately sparkled. “Can I eat with you?”

That gleam in his eyes was similar to when he saw gold coins.

Rennes smiled. “Of course.”

Lin Nuo quickly dragged a chair over, sat beside Rennes, and started eating happily. While eating, he carefully drew a line on the pudding with the dessert spoon—Rennes’ side and his side. This way, he wouldn’t mistakenly eat Rennes’ portion. Seeing Lin Nuo’s actions completely unrelated to any “royal demeanor,” Rennes pursed his lips in thought but didn’t ask anything.

After finishing most of his portion in one go, Lin Nuo turned his head, propping his chin up, and watched Rennes eat. In front of him was a simple dessert, with no fancy presentation. Even the container was just a crystal glass bowl Lin Nuo grabbed, not some exquisite, gold-rimmed dessert plate. But Rennes ate with exceptional grace, sitting straight with a sleek and smooth posture. The arc of his raised elbow, the wrist’s poise—everything was impeccable yet natural, clearly a habit formed over many years, not a deliberate pose.

Noticing Lin Nuo’s intense gaze, Rennes put down the dessert spoon and responded with a look as if to ask, “What’s wrong?”

Initially shaking his head, Lin Nuo couldn’t help but smile. “I’m just happy watching you eat.”

Rennes didn’t immediately speak, just slightly quirked his lips and, after a while, said, “I imagine, Your Highness, must have put in a lot of effort to learn to cook such a dessert.”

Lin Nuo raised his head and almost blurted out, “Not really, I…” 

He initially wanted to say, ‘Not really, I ate it many times when I was young, and after a few more times, I learned how to make it.’ But halfway through the sentence, he realized: the original owner probably never had the chance to eat something this simple, let alone try making it.

If he spoke the truth, it would only confuse Rennes, perhaps even make him suspicious. So why did he impulsively decide to make this dessert for Rennes? In the past two months, he hadn’t acted so impulsively, had he? Thinking about this, Lin Nuo couldn’t help but feel anxious.

Thus, he merely mumbled a response and lowered his head again, eating his portion silently.

Seeing the sudden change in the little prince’s expression, Rennes’ hand paused for a moment, a hint of inexplicable darkness flashing in his eyes. Rennes didn’t ask anything. He simply continued eating every last bit of the rice pudding.

Yet, Lin Nuo’s restlessness and unease lasted only a moment.

After the crystal glass bowl was emptied, Rennes stood up and said to Lin Nuo, “It was delicious.”

“With such a delicious pre-meal dessert, I feel like the lunch afterward will also taste great.” Looking at Rennes’ genuinely happy expression, Lin Nuo instantly pushed aside the slight unease and worry he had felt earlier about whether he had done something wrong.

He wanted to say something, but anything he thought of seemed like boasting. So, he lowered his head, trying hard to conceal the smile on his face, his eyes and brows curved upward, his lips even more upturned. Though Lin Nuo didn’t say anything, his almost skipping steps and the little tuft of hair bobbing atop his head displayed how proud and joyful he felt.

Seeing Lin Nuo behaving like a squirrel hiding nuts, thinking that by stuffing them in his cheeks, no one could see them, Rennes couldn’t help but quirk his lips again, ruffling Lin Nuo’s hair and saying, “Alright, let’s leave the kitchen to the chefs. Or…?”

Hearing Rennes’ evident pause, Lin Nuo tilted his head back, looking up from below, blinking at Rennes, waiting for him to continue.

“Or,” Rennes seemed in an unusually good mood, a smile in his voice like never before, “are you planning to prepare a complete meal for me here?”

“Huh?” Lin Nuo scratched his head, starting to think seriously: a full meal? According to the usual, appetizers, two starters, two main courses, separate grilled meat and fish… What could he do among those?

Although he had learned some basic dishes from his grandmother, such complex methods were beyond him. After thinking for a while, he tentatively suggested, “A whole meal might be a bit difficult… but maybe I could try making a main course?”

Seeing Lin Nuo’s puzzled expression, Rennes laughed, “Alright, I’m just teasing you.”

Lin Nuo finally realized and understood that he had been fooled again. He wanted to retaliate, but Rennes had calmly walked out of the kitchen, leaving Lin Nuo no chance for a comeback. Back in their room, Lin Nuo sat at the desk again, reopening his assignments. his gaze lingered on the questions for only a minute before uncontrollably drifting back to Rennes.

He thought Rennes would stand beside him, just like in the kitchen, watching him with such concentration. Yet, Rennes went to the bookshelf, pulled out book after book, and started reading on the couch.

Hmm… Was that “kiss” in the kitchen over? Lin Nuo subconsciously touched his lips.

Rennes lifted his eyelids slightly, asking, “Problems with the assignments?”

Lin Nuo replied, “No, none.”

Feeling a bit guilty, Lin Nuo scratched his head and forced himself to focus on the questions again.

The long afternoon, even the time after dinner, passed in relentless study. The tension was almost identical to training magical abilities on a carriage—Lin Nuo complained while fervently working through problems. Rennes had a point; Lin Nuo was indeed capable of teaching all subjects, and he taught better than other teachers.

By 10 p.m., Lin Nuo finally completed all the assignments given by Rennes. By this time, Lin Nuo felt a bit dizzy.

After checking the last line Lin Nuo wrote, Rennes finally nodded, put the pile of papers aside, and affectionately patted Lin Nuo’s head, “Your Highness, you’ve worked hard.”

Lin Nuo said no, but his head obediently tilted, as if inviting Rennes to pat him more. After ruffling Lin Nuo’s soft hair a few times, Rennes held Lin Nuo’s hand, guided him to the couch, made him sit down, and sat beside him, looking intently into Lin Nuo’s eyes, “Your Highness, can you tell me how you learned to make that milk rice pudding?”

Lin Nuo, feeling a bit tired, was completely thrown off. With almost no skill in lying, he had never thought he’d face such a question, let alone have a backup plan prepared. In a panic, he almost jumped up again, wanting to run away and hide in some distant corner.

Rennes kept holding his hand, his eyes, those eyes full of stars, gazed unwaveringly at him.

Those eyes seemed to say: Don’t worry, I’ll believe whatever you say. Those hands seemed to reassure Lin Nuo: Don’t worry, you’re safe here, I won’t let go of your hand. Calm down, calm down. Yes, Rennes’ question had nothing to do with being the “evil dragon.” Even if I’m caught, it won’t force a certain ending.

Then…

Lin Nuo closed his eyes, took two deep breaths, and then, facing Rennes, said, “I learned it in a dream. You know, when I was recuperating in another province, most of the time I could only lie down and sleep, having many strange dreams.” 

‘Zhuangzi dreamed of being a butterfly, and a butterfly dreaming of being Zhuangzi,’ strictly speaking, he wasn’t lying. Lin Nuo kept building up his thoughts to make his voice sound less nervous.

Rennes seemed unsurprised, just nodded, and his gaze was even gentler than before.

“And then…” Lin Nuo licked his lips and began to briefly tell Rennes the story from that other world. “In the dream, I wasn’t a prince, and I never met you. In my dreams, my health wasn’t great—more accurately, my heart wasn’t. Perhaps it’s very expensive to take care of a sick child, so I was abandoned shortly after I was born. There was only a childless old lady who picked me up, fed me, taught me to read, sent me to school, and bought me drawing pens by picking up garbage… Ah, I’ve said too much. In short, in my dreams, every time I had a fever and couldn’t eat, the old lady would make that milk pudding for me. And I ate it all every time. Later, as I grew a bit older, I started making this milk pudding for the old lady. She, she liked it. She told me it was the most delicious thing in the world.” Lin Nuo tried to tell Rennes about the origin of the milk pudding in the calmest tone possible.

“I’m done. I should go back to my room…” Lin Nuo tried to stand up, but Rennes still held his hand, not letting him get up.

Moreover, Rennes reached out his other hand and put it around Lin Nuo’s shoulder. Lin Nuo’s heart began to beat wildly once again: What, what is he trying to do?

Rennes’s fingers lightly touched his fingers, and he softly said, “If you’re willing, you can tell me more about the things in your dreams.”

Lin Nuo was stunned and said, “More?”

Rennes ran his hand through Lin Nuo’s hair and said, “Yes. I really want to hear it.”

Maybe it was Rennes’s gentle tone, maybe it was the comfortable warmth from this person, or perhaps it was the case that once he started, he couldn’t stop. Maybe, Lin Nuo wanted to confide in him.

So Lin Nuo slowly closed his eyes and began to speak again.

The past of being ridiculed as the “unwanted wild child” who was chased away; the past of being the only child left at the kindergarten gate while everyone else was picked up; the past of having only one vegetarian dumpling for the New Year due to lack of money, and how the old lady secretly put a meat dumpling in his bowl. Fortunately, even though the family had no money, the old lady cared for him with all her heart, accompanied him, told him stories, worked hard to send him to school, and taught him the principles of being a good person.

Fortunately, he quickly learned to draw and drew very, very well. So well that before he was even 14, he was able to earn enough money by drawing illustrations and designs to pay for his future college tuition. Then, the biological parents who secretly abandoned him came back. Perhaps seeing this child, diagnosed with a heart disease, grow up safely, or perhaps coveting how much money this “artistic genius” could make in a month, they came to take him away.

The old lady touched Lin Nuo’s little head, who knew nothing except drawing, and said to him, “Go back. They didn’t have money back then, they… they probably really love you.”

They, love me? I… also have parents who love me? Can I… expect a kiss from Mom, a hug from Dad? So, unknowing of the ways of the world, Lin Nuo obediently went with them.

Three days after returning, the man called his father pointed at him and demanded all the money he earned.

Trembling, Lin Nuo shook his head, “No, I need the money to treat my grandmother.”

In response, he received a solid slap.

The woman called his mother pretended to stop him while constantly muttering: “Oh dear, if we didn’t know you could earn money, why would we take you? You’re already grown up, definitely difficult to rear.”

Half-kneeling on the ground, Lin Nuo looked at this couple, trembling, and asked, “You… you didn’t come to me out of love, did you?”

The man kicked him in the abdomen, “Stop talking nonsense! What love, you useless scumbag only brings trouble and money!”

The woman poked his face with her finger, “My child, do you know how much it costs to treat your heart? Now, dad and mom want you to take out the money for your treatment.”

Lin Nuo held his stomach, gasping for breath, in agony. They lied to me. They never loved me.

That night, Lin Nuo ran away secretly, back to the old lady’s place. When he returned to the small, rundown rental house, all he saw was the old lady who had already closed her eyes forever. The doctor said the old lady passed away peacefully, without pain.

But Lin Nuo couldn’t forgive himself. If I hadn’t fantasized about being loved by my parents, about a relationship I didn’t deserve, at least, I could have spent the last moments with the old lady.

This time, he didn’t cry. He just told himself, never, never to have unrealistic fantasies again. Never, never to mistakenly believe that others will love me. The person who loved me the most in this world was gone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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