Evil dragon has a warm heart
Chapter 273 - 273 272 The Memory of the Dead (Extra Votes

Chapter 273: Chapter 272: The Memory of the Dead (Extra, Votes for Monthly Ticket) Chapter 273: Chapter 272: The Memory of the Dead (Extra, Votes for Monthly Ticket) Deep within Shadowflame Volcano, the lava channels.

Princess Anxia came alone, standing at the end of the passageway, looking at the Shadowflame Dragon whose head was the only part visible amidst the churning lava.

The Shadowflame Dragon did not open its eyes, nor did it move; the lava continuously nourished its body, healing the wounds suffered from the great battle. But most importantly, the power of the earth roiled within the lava, converging ceaselessly from all directions.

This earthly power would brew in the lava, condensing into an even greater force, then replenishing the Shadowflame Dragon, aiding in the recovery of its essence.

As long as the volcano remains active, it would not die.

The Warm Enclave expanded unceasingly, its power flowing without end.

“Shadowflame Your Excellency,” Princess Anxia watched for a long while before finally speaking, “I’m very sorry to disturb you.”

The Shadowflame Dragon still gave no response.

Princess Anxia did not expect any reaction from the Shadowflame Dragon but continued to speak: “Marquis Arno came with a message from my father, originally hoping that Kunstan could marry a duchess from the kingdom as a bride, but…”

With a slight choke, Princess Anxia continued, “But Kunstan died in battle, and Marquis Arno told me that my father would not change his mind about the alliance through marriage. Hence, if Kunstan cannot enter into the alliance, it can only be Kunlaya’s turn.”

The Shadowflame Dragon gave no response.

Princess Anxia felt a wave of powerlessness wash over her and couldn’t help but cry out, “I don’t want to agree, I hate the Lieyang royal blood flowing through my veins, and I don’t want Kunlaya to leave me either… but I don’t know how to oppose it!”

She slumped to the ground, covering her face and weeping, “I dare not defy my father, nor do I have any confidence to defy him, throughout my life the one time I defied him, it led to my utter disgrace, becoming the shame of the kingdom…”

In the midst of crying, Princess Anxia couldn’t suppress the terrible memories of her youth, the memories she never wanted to revisit in her lifetime.

That year, she was seventeen, and had fallen in love with a young guard in the palace.

Love, secret rendezvous, entanglement, then for the first time, she gathered the courage to cast aside all societal constraints and planned to elope with the guard.

They succeeded, the kingdom’s princess fled the cage-like palace with the impoverished knight.

The young Princess Anxia didn’t notice any pursuers from the palace; there were no wanted posters along the way, nor were there any roadblocks set up.

She thought the letter she left behind had successfully calmed her parents, convinced that she would be happy.

The two fled to a rural manor, intending to go further to the caverns, but the caverns were too cold for Princess Anxia to endure the hardship. Even in the rural manor, Princess Anxia couldn’t adapt, not knowing how to do any work.

The knight also quickly developed a gambling addiction, losing all his money, and even sold off all the gems Princess Anxia had brought with her.

After that, the memory seemed to suffocate Princess Anxia.

The knight no longer treated her with love and respect but instead frequently demanded money with threats and violence, even threatening to sell her to a brothel if she didn’t provide money.

At that point, all her dreams were shattered.

Weeping, Princess Anxia confessed her identity to a nobleman from a nearby manor and pleaded for help. The nobleman showed no surprise and, smiling, took her back to the palace; her mother didn’t blame her.

Although her father didn’t see her, he didn’t punish her either.

It was as if the elopement had never happened.

However, she soon heard the news that the knight had frozen to death in the snowfield due to gambling debts.

The guards who had once been assigned to protect her, regardless of gender, were all sent to the battlefield in the snowfield, and none of them ever returned. From that time on, she was no longer allowed to leave the palace even by half a step, nor could she speak more than a word with any male guards.

Then, it was the following year.

That day, she finally saw her father again, and although his smile was gentle, the words he spoke chilled her to the core, “You have disgraced the Lieyang Royal Family, Anxia. Now is the time for you to repay the kindness you have received and wash away the shame… Go now, and bear offspring.”

And so,

Despite her desperate pleas, the King of the Scorching Torrent Kingdom chose to marry Princess Anxia off to the naturally dull-witted Marquis Quntro…

After being tormented by dead memories for a while, Princess Anxia, exhausted from crying, said, “Lord Shadowflame, I am just a naive and foolish woman who thought I could live a good life with Kunstan and Kunlaya…”

“Now, now everything will become a mere pipe dream, even though I still could reside within Red Castle, living a life of plenty, without a worry for food and clothing. But of what use is all that when I can’t even protect my own daughter!”

With both hands propping her up from the ground, Princess Anxia remained wordlessly still.

After a long period of silence,

Princess Anxia’s ears suddenly picked up the oddly melodious syllables akin to the bubbling of magma, syllables she once strived to learn.

She was an Armed Knight, too, equipped with Battle Qi, and able to comprehend the meaning contained within those syllables.

It was the Dragon Language, evolved from Magic Power: “The weak cannot save themselves, Shadowflame has its own troubles to attend to.”

“Ah!” Princess Anxia cried out in agony, the crow’s feet on her beautiful face growing more pronounced as she appeared to age several years in an instant.

Staggeringly, she stood up and made her way unsteadily towards the magma passage.

Just when her heart felt dead and ashen, the gurgling syllables of magma spoke once again, instilling a desperate hope in her like a drowning person clutching at straws: “Russell Fluorescent Fungus, Shadowflame likes this little fellow.”

“What, Lord Shadowflame?” Princess Anxia immediately turned around, incredulously asking, “You… You… You would choose him…?”

Unfortunately, she never heard the Shadowflame Dragon’s language again. The Shadowflame Dragon remained dormant in the magma, as if the previous exchange had never occurred.

“Mother, mother…”

The voice of Princess Kunlaya brought Princess Anxia back from her memories.

Looking at the narrow sky above her, she revealed a gentle smile: “Let’s go, it’s time to return to the palace.”

Back in the palace, Princess Kunlaya whispered, “Mother, I don’t want to marry and go to the kingdom. I don’t want to leave you… I will train hard in Battle Qi, with the aim of becoming a Lady Knight, then bond with a Fantasy Beast, contract a Bipedal Flying Dragon!”

Princess Anxia gently stroked her daughter’s hair: “Good, mother will not let Kunlaya leave; mother will be there to see Kunlaya getting married and having children.”

“What, no way! I don’t want to marry and have children,” blushed Princess Kunlaya in embarrassment.

…

Leaving the inner palace grounds, Russell was somewhat baffled, not quite understanding the real reason why Princess Anxia had invited him to dine.

But having eaten already, he decided not to worry about the why anymore.

“It’s almost March, I need to visit my sister at Blackgarden Mountain,” thought Russell as he walked. “Find time to visit grandfather, then bring along some Cloud Mist series cigars for him, maybe I could land a batch of orders.”

The Ice Pellet Pearl he had obtained on the Snowfield battlefield had all been used to nurture the dragon egg.

If he didn’t make some money soon, his purse would once again run low, and he needed to amass a sum quickly, to establish the Warm Enclave in a year or so, ensuring he had the funds to build it.

He couldn’t always rely on support from Fluorescent Castle.

“A single penny can stump a brave man; I always feel like I’m reaching too far… It’s all Shadowflame Great Dragon’s fault for gifting me the dragon egg, making it too easy for me to overextend myself!” Russell grew anxious with this troublesome happiness.