Evil dragon has a warm heart
Chapter 350 - 350 349 Conversation under the Stars (Part 1)

Chapter 350: Chapter 349 Conversation under the Stars (Part 1) Chapter 350: Chapter 349 Conversation under the Stars (Part 1) Fluorescent Castle was ablaze with light, nobles twirling gracefully on the dance floor; Wuyao Snake Manor was alight with roaring bonfires, commoners holding hands and singing and dancing together.

At Russell’s dragon-riding festival, all the noise seemed so vivid.

However, as the host of the festival, Russell himself felt a tinge of loneliness in the midst of all the commotion.

It wasn’t exactly loneliness; more accurately, it was a sense of not fitting in.

He stepped out of the ballroom and walked onto the castle’s corridor, leaning on the balustrade with both hands, gazing up at the stars. The stars were so dense, yet each one, seemingly packed together, was actually millions of light-years apart.

“Isn’t it the same with people?” Russell thought to himself.

But he was not one to wallow in sadness. He soon found a reason to be uplifted: “But every star has its own planets, its moons… just like me, with my family and friends, and Rossay, Polly, Hape, huh, and Ice Cream.”

In his view,

Though he was a solitary star, he too had dragons and fantasy beasts, elves, all orbiting around him.

While stars pull planets and moons with gravity, he drew dragons, fantasy beasts, and elves with the power of the bonds afforded by their contracts. His body might be lonely, but in the world of the mind, he never felt the slightest bit alone.

“Right, Polly?”

“Yes, indeed, Russell,” Polly’s voice resonated in his mind.

Russell enjoyed chatting with Polly because she was intelligent and talkative, seeming to have more “humanity” than “beastliness.” Rossay and Hape were also highly intelligent, but their “beastliness” was more pronounced.

This “beastliness” was actually a sense of self.

In Hape’s sense of self, he was a Pseudo-Harpy Dragon, one and the same with the Owl-Like Dragons at Greentown Garden Cold Spring Point; in Rossay’s self, he was a Black Oil Dragon, guarding everything in the Blackflame Plains.

They wouldn’t consider problems from a human perspective, nor did they want to.

Only Polly enjoyed pondering the various issues of the human world, acting as if she were a human with the body of a Unicorn.

So she was more suitable for conversation, for sharing thoughts and feelings.

“The place where we live is too small, Polly,” Russell reflected in his mind. “I want to go farther and see more, beyond Shadowflame Duchy, to the Scorching Torrent Kingdom, to distant lands like the Hurricane Thunder Kingdom, the Clear Sky Dusk Kingdom…”

He paused,

Then continued in his mind, “And the most powerful human kingdom on Dragon Sleep Continent, guarded by three Great Dragon Knights, the Pyro Lykin Kingdom.”

Since the founding of the Holy Glint Empire, humans had ignited a warm-land civilization on the Snowfields.

However, with the collapse of the Holy Glint Empire, humans had no longer achieved a singular rule. Only a unified dynasty could be called an empire, so today the Dragon Sleep Continent had many Kingdoms, Grand Duchies, but no empire.

Moreover, Snow Giants appeared frequently, disrupting the exchanges between the human kingdoms.

Now it was hard for any ambitious and capable Dragon Knight to break through the blockades of the Snow Giants and re-establish a unified dynasty.

“You will, Russell. I will always accompany you, support you, to travel the entire Dragon Sleep Continent,” Polly responded. “Actually, I also want to see the world. I want to find out if there’s another Unicorn out there.”

“Good, we’ll work hard together!” Russell laughed heartily.

Just then, a crisp, pleasant voice sounded from behind: “Brother Russell, what are you looking at that’s making you so happy?”

“Ah, it’s Kunlaya.” Russell turned around and saw the delicate and beautiful Princess Kunlaya, like a little fairy. “I am watching the stars. I thought of something joyous, so I couldn’t help but laugh.”

Ever since he had been treated to a meal by Princess Anxia,

Russell’s relationship with Princess Anxia and her daughter had grown much closer, they no longer needed to adress each other with “Your Highness.” Simply calling Princess Anxia “Madam” was sufficient, and they had both begun to call each other by name.

However, recently, Princess Kunlaya had started adding “Brother” after his name, a sign of even greater closeness.

“Riding dragons, it really is something to be happy about,” Princess Kunlaya said, with several nannies from Red Castle following behind her.

“Kunlaya, did you have fun at the party today?”

“I had a lot of fun! I came to a new place and met many unfamiliar people. And I also saw your domain, Russell Brother. Although there’s nothing there now, it will surely become as beautiful as Glowing Valley.”

“Of course,” Russell laughed.

The two of them chatted briefly under the watchful eyes of the nannies, and then one of the nannies reminded, “Princess, it’s time for you to rest.”

“Alright, Nanny,” Princess Kunlaya nodded, waved at Russell and said, “Russell Brother, good night.”

“Good night.”

As he watched Princess Kunlaya being escorted away by the nannies, Russell quickly returned his gaze to the stars in the sky.

At the same time, a strange feeling arose in his heart.

The former fairy-like Princess Kunlaya now seemed less enchanting as the fairy filter shattered bit by bit. Looking at her, he even felt a certain condescension as if Princess Kunlaya were more akin to a canary.

A tiny canary trapped in the large birdcage that was Red Castle.

“I wonder what the fate of Princess Anxia and Kunlaya will be… After my cousin wins the election, how will they manage?” Russell sighed, “By then, I’ll help them if I can, to arrange a good future for them.”

In any case, Princess Anxia had shown him kindness.

At that time.

The familiar voice sounded again behind him: “Russell, the ball is in full swing. Why are you, a young Flying Dragon Knight, hiding here looking at the stars?”

Russell turned around to see his grandfather, Earl Merlin, walking over alone with a frosty cigar in his mouth.

“Grandfather, what brings you here?”

“Just getting some fresh air, and thought I’d chat with you for a bit,” Earl Merlin joined him, one hand resting on the railing, the other lifting the cigar, exhaling a puff of smoke, “Now that you’re riding dragons, what are your plans for the future?”

“To achieve something significant and gain a baronetcy at the earliest,” Russell said.

“What about the big life events?”

“Grandfather, are you planning to match-make for me?”

“Haha, I don’t have such leisure,” Earl Merlin said, “I don’t even concern myself with Mel’s marriage; you have your parents for that. Why would I meddle… But speaking of which, there are indeed few suitable marriage alliances within the Grand Duchy.”

“I’ll let fate decide, Grandfather.”

“You’ve got the right attitude, boy,” Earl Merlin sighed, “I never would’ve thought that you’d find a dragon… If it wasn’t for the Shadowflame Dragon’s hibernation and the bloodline restrictions on the contract, I would have even believed you had a chance to become a Dragon Knight.”

The chance to ride dragons clearly referred to becoming a Dragon Knight.

Russell curiously asked, “Grandfather, is it truly impossible for someone outside the Shadowflame Family to contract with a Shadowflame Dragon? To be honest, I really want to contract with the Shadowflame Dragon and experience the wonderful feeling of being a Dragon Knight.”

“Heh, you’re pretty bold,” Earl Merlin said with an amused laugh, “I haven’t ridden a Great Dragon, so I don’t know that feeling. But with their pride, even without the bond of a contract, what makes you think they would change their riders… Humans may betray, but the hearts of dragons do not.”

Russell spread his hands: “It seems like I have no hope of contracting with the Shadowflame Dragon.”