Evil Dragon: The young dragon I picked up keeps planning on becoming an empress

Arranged marriage?

The princess seeks an arranged marriage with an earl?

This proposal failed to spark any interest in the Black Dragon.

Despite saying he looked young, he was actually an old fellow, and the princess seemed not to take his words to heart at all.

The Young Dragon sat next to Lance, tossing a piece of candy into her mouth. Joanna felt somewhat uneasy; Lord Lance was an earl of the Red Maple Kingdom, and the silver-haired, red-eyed girl opposite was the princess of the Red Maple Kingdom.

Her identity as the daughter of the City Lord's Mansion.... in front of these individuals.... was just that of a minor noblewoman.

Speaking of which.... who exactly is Lord Lance?

His identity is ever-changing.

One moment he's a teacher at the butler academy.

The next he's a street artist, wandering the streets.

And the next he's an earl....

Not to mention he keeps the adorable Young Dragon Highness. Could it be that the Earl of Saint Blue is Lord Lance's true identity?

"Here, have some candy."

The Young Dragon had Joanna sit next to her and handed Joanna a piece of candy. There was no need to be uneasy, just a princess who wanted to marry the Evil Dragon.

She was a princess.... Was she proud?

The Evil Dragon made her sell octopus balls on the street, and didn't she, the princess, obediently set up shop to earn money?

Facing Princess Leia, the Young Dragon Lucia felt nothing in particular.

She was more curious if the Evil Dragon would agree to an arranged marriage with the princess.

The princess was a princess of a kingdom.

In all legends related to the Evil Dragon, wherever there was an Evil Dragon, a princess was sure to be found, along with a brave knight and a hero.

Arranged marriage.... to some extent, it was a political exchange.

Presumably, the Evil Dragon wasn't interested....

"It's not suitable. My Dragon Whelp is still young... not suited for marriage with you."

"???"

The Young Dragon thought the Evil Dragon was being terrible, deliberately misinterpreting Princess Leia's words.

Using her, the fake Young Dragon, as an excuse to brush off the princess was just too much.

Dragon... Dragon Whelp?

Princess Leia was slow to catch on, not until she saw the young earl in front of her place his hand on the head of the small Amethyst Dragon next to him did she finally realize.

The Dragon Whelp mentioned by the earl referred to that adorable little Amethyst Dragon.

That's not it.

Did the earl misunderstand her meaning, or was he tactfully rejecting her?

It was her first encounter with the earl, and she didn't quite understand his character yet.

If it's the former.... it's still okay.

If it's the latter... it would mean that the earl in front of her didn't take her identity as a [princess] seriously at all.

That was somewhat presumptuous of him.

Indeed, if the subjects of his fief dared to rebel against the Royal Family, then a mere princess.... wouldn't carry much weight in his eyes.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Not that young anymore, I'm about the same age as Lord Lance's little Dragon. If Lord Lance entertains the notion, I won't mind it," Leia said, lifting her wine glass to take a sip of red wine, maintaining just the right amount of smile on her face.

As a princess, she wasn't so narrow-minded. The enigmatic Earl Lance was proving to be more of a challenge than she had anticipated.

No wonder he was bold enough to offer her a cup of "Sleeping Red Tea."

"Would Princess Highness care to call me 'Father'?"

"???"

Princess Leia was surprised. Did the earl truly see that little dragon as his daughter?

She had heard a little about the recent rumors circulating in Saint Blue.

The gist was that... This earl had a daughter, who was not human but a cute Amethyst Young Dragon.

And then there evolved a love story about Lord Lance, claiming the earl had fallen in love with an adult female Giant Dragon, a divorced mother, which was the mother of the young Amethyst Dragon.

Could it be true?

Did Earl Lance indeed fancy non-human creatures?

Not interested in girls of his own species and age?

Otherwise, how could he explain his refusal of her?

For a young earl, marrying a princess would be an honor.

If the future princess were to bear the earl's child, their offspring might become the next king of the kingdom.

The earl's family... would come to possess Royal Family bloodlines.

"Earl Lance, to be frank, the reason I have stayed so long in your territory of Saint Blue is to meet you in person, to see if we could work together.

Yes, my initial intention was to collaborate with you as much as possible rather than to seek an arranged marriage, until just now. Upon seeing Earl Lance, I changed my mind. If we're thinking of collaborating, why not opt for a more intimate form of partnership?

For instance, an arranged marriage. Lord Lance is young, and quite good-looking. Marrying you wouldn't be beneath me. As a princess, I understand in order to gain something, one must be prepared to give some things up.

So, Lord Lance, please answer my question directly. Will you marry me?"

"Sorry, I'm not willing."

"......"

Such a clear-cut refusal, without even a moment's hesitation.

Leia's composure suffered a slight crack. As a princess, she had never been rejected so decisively.

Her looks, if not described as nation-toppling, certainly merited being called beautiful.

No matter how pretty the mother of the small Amethyst Dragon was, could she really outshine her?

The wine in the cup seemed a bit more bitter.

So this is what rejection feels like.

Tasting the flavor of rejection, Leia didn't fly into a rage, after all, it was a spur-of-the-moment idea, so rejection was quite normal.

If a marriage alliance wasn't an option, perhaps cooperation with Saint Blue would do.

"Earl Lance, it appears you truly admire the mother of the little Amethyst Dragon. For someone like you to effortlessly reject a marriage with a princess, she must be very beautiful, right?"

The Young Dragon was confused, the Evil Dragon actually liked her mother?

When had the Evil Dragon ever seen her mother?

Why didn't she know her own mother had also been liked by the Evil Dragon?

Suddenly, the Young Dragon felt a bit panicked, could it be... her mother had also been captured by the Evil Dragon?

But she hadn't heard her mother mention that.

"Lance...do you...do you like my mother?"

"???"

Lance was bewildered, when had he ever liked the Dragon Whelp's mother?

He had never even seen her, so how could he develop feelings for the Dragon Whelp's mother?

Where did this rumor come from?

Who was spreading such rumors about him?

Did they have no conscience?

He, a Black Dragon who had never been in love, how could he possibly have feelings for the Dragon Whelp's mother?

Looking at the Young Dragon, she seemed to actually believe it...

Could it be... this child doesn't think that his kindness toward her was due to his affection for her mother, right?

Wait... the humans in his fief don't know he is the Black Dragon, saying he likes the Dragon Whelp's mother...

They are referring to "Earl Lance," not Black Dragon Lance.

In what scenario did people get the impression that "Earl Lance" had fallen for the Dragon Whelp's mother?

It must be those who noticed "Earl Lance" treating the Dragon Whelp like a daughter... and concocted such an outrageous story.

The Princess's words mean that the rumor originated from his own fief.

Alright, alright... he'd found the source of the rumor.

It was his own good subjects.

First, they rebel behind his back.

Next, they spread rumors about him...

If he had not remained true to himself, knowing he was a celibate Black Dragon, he might even have doubted himself...

Such a rumor... truly absurd...

"...Sorry, this is a personal matter. Princess Leia, please refrain from making random guesses."

To deny it?

There was no need for a complete denial; this could serve as an excuse to leave his fief, right?

Let the people of the fief continue to believe he had really fallen for the Dragon Whelp's mother.

It saved him from his subjects constantly meddling in his "marital affairs."

A competent lord must have an outstanding descendant to inherit his legacy.

"Earl Lance, since you're not interested in marrying me, would you be interested in a collaboration with me, a princess?"

"Not interested. I am here this time with no intention to interfere with fief affairs, merely wishing to take the Dragon Whelp sightseeing and enjoy the scenery.

If you're indeed eager to cooperate with Saint Blue, seek out Tixia."

Lance stood up and patted the Young Dragon on the head, "Would you like to go catch fish in the river?"

"Catch fish?"

"Yes."

"Not fishing?"

"No fishing. Using a small fishing net to catch fish in the river, if we could catch a big one, then we'll have spicy grilled fish tonight."

Spicy grilled fish?

The Evil Dragon is making a new dish?

Catch fish, catch fish, catch fish... she wanted to eat the spicy grilled fish made by the Evil Dragon.

.......

In the river outside the courtyard of the Earl's Mansion, the Young Dragon, net in hand, chased the fish in the stream with Joanna.

Olienna stood in the river watching their young Dragon Highness of the Earl's family.

Tixia had taken a few Lan Yue Knights to search for the squid mother mentioned by the little Dragon Highness.

Lance was sitting on the lawn, watching the Dragon Whelp making a fuss in the river.

Princess Leia sat beside Lance.

This area was momentarily only inhabited by the two of them.

"Earl Lance isn't married yet, but you've already become a qualified father. The little Amethyst Dragon is fortunate to have a father like you."

"Do you want to be Queen of the Red Maple Kingdom?"

"Is that not allowed?"

"Why do you want to cooperate with Saint Blue?"

"Because Saint Blue has boundless potential and possesses an unbreakable faith. After my investigation, Earl Lance, you... are the faith of Saint Blue."

"McDonna's daughter... where did you go off to?"

"???"

Princess Leia looked into Lance's eyes and smiled, "Isn't she right in front of you?"

"How about an opportunity to become my heir—do you want it?"