Volume 4 Chapter 23

Volume 4 + Chapter 23: Making It Rain

“Hm-hm-hmm~ da-da-da~ la-la-la~!”

In full disguise, Xia Yi strolled happily through the bustling imperial capital, humming and blowing bubbles with her gum.

This was the imperial capital of the Dragon Kingdom—also the most prosperous city of the northern dragon clans.

The little princess had finally slipped out, and she decided she was going to play to her heart’s content. Eating alone could no longer satisfy her!

She stopped before a dessert shop, pushed open the door, and walked in.

“Welcome, beautiful young lady. What can I do for you?”

The shopkeeper looked at this mysterious dragon girl and asked politely.

“What do I need?”

Xia Yi grinned, pushed up her oversized sunglasses, pulled out her froggy wallet, and—very stylishly—

Made it rain!

“Today, I’m taking the whole place! I want every single thing in this shop!”

The staff were stunned.

Good heavens—turns out this loli was actually a rich lady!

“V-very well, miss! Today, every dessert in this shop belongs to you!”

Hands on her hips, Xia Yi laughed proudly.

Today, she was going to indulge herself to the fullest!

……

Meanwhile, back in the Dragon Palace—

After hearing Serra’s voice outside the door, Elly’s immediate instinct was to rush to the desk, sit properly, grab a book, and pretend to be studying with full seriousness.

When Serra entered and saw the scene, she fell silent.

Hahaha!

The little green dragon maid cackled inwardly.

She realized she really was clever.

After all, a genius like the princess—excited to learn and destined to inherit the throne—would definitely be working hard even in private.

Her Highness had absolutely no reason or possibility of slacking off!

Elly was utterly convinced.

So if she had lain on the bed hugging dragon plushies while reading manga… Serra would have noticed instantly, and her disguise would be exposed.

There was no way the princess could be that kind of person!

This was the best possible act.

Elly sneaked a sideways glance and saw Serra standing beside her, observing her closely.

“Your Highness, what are you doing?” Serra asked in confusion. “Are you… not fully awake yet?”

“Huh? Serra, what are you talking about… I’m completely awake!” Elly replied.

Did she act wrong?

No—that couldn’t be right! The dragon princess should behave exactly like this!

Unless…

Oh! I get it!

Elly suddenly understood.

She simply wasn’t working hard enough!

Her Highness’s intensity must be even greater—she surely wasn’t limited to just studying textbooks!

Yes—yes, that must be it!

“Serra, I wasn’t sleeping just now. I was meditating,” Elly explained.

“Meditating?!”

“Yes. I must raise my magical power so I can cast stronger spells. Only by combining theory with practice can one truly improve.”

Lowering her head, Elly spoke in an extremely studious tone, flipping through the magic textbook while jotting down notes.

“……”

Serra frowned.

She found it strange—what had gotten into the princess today? She was acting like she’d suddenly short-circuited.

Unless…?

The red-haired maid considered something, then placed a cup of freshly pressed green juice in front of the “Silver Dragon Princess.”

“Your Highness, you’ve been studying nonstop. You must be tired. How about a drink to refresh yourself?”

“Mm, okay! Thank you, Serra!”

Elly nodded and picked up the drink.

Under Serra’s watch, she drank the bitter-melon juice in one go. Not a trace of discomfort showed on her face—she drank it as casually as water.

Serra narrowed her eyes.

“Mmm, all done! Not bad at all! I feel energized—now I can study even more!” Elly said, pretending to look full of motivation.

“Your Highness, you normally don’t like drinking bitter-melon juice.”

“Eh? I—I don’t…?”

Elly tensed.

Oh no—was that a slip?

Not liking bitter-melon juice… So the princess simply disliked it, but didn’t hate it, right?

After all—it was just bitter-melon juice!

“Serra, I need to grow. Maybe I didn’t like it before, but since you made it yourself, how could I possibly refuse?”

Elly worked hard to mimic Xia Yi’s tone.

Serra smiled gently and nodded. She had more or less figured things out.

“Understood, Your Highness. Then I won’t disturb you. Please continue your studies.”

After saying that, the red dragon maid left the room.

“Did… did I fool Sister Serra?” Elly muttered in deep unease.

Outwardly, nothing seemed wrong…

But from Serra’s reaction, she was sure she had let something slip.

Especially when drinking the bitter-melon juice.

Before she drank it and after she drank it—Serra’s attitude had clearly changed.

Could it be…

She really was found out?!

“No! I can’t stay here any longer!!”

Elly panicked. She pushed back the chair, stood up, and hurried to the door to leave.

She couldn’t keep pretending—the mental stress was overwhelming. She was only a trainee maid, she couldn’t take this!

She needed to find somewhere empty and transform back immediately!

At this time, she hadn’t revealed herself yet. Once she transformed back, others would simply assume the princess wandered off somewhere. When Xia Yi eventually returned, she would probably just scold Elly for being timid. As long as their stories matched, her head should remain safely attached.

“Quick… quickly… find an empty room!”

Elly, familiar with the palace from cleaning it daily, knew exactly which rooms were usually unused.

Almost there—just reach the next hallway and…!

Elly’s face lit up as though seeing the dawn of freedom. She even broke into a run as she rounded the corner—

“Oof!”

She fell hard to the ground.

She must have run too fast and collided with someone.

Rubbing her head, she looked up—and froze. Then, driven by pure maid instinct, she scrambled to her feet and bowed deeply.

“Greetings, Your Majesty!”

Standing before her was none other than the Silver Dragon Queen, Xia Lulu.

“Hm? Greetings?”

Xia Lulu looked at the “Silver Dragon Princess” before her and smiled warmly.

“When did my mischievous daughter become so well-behaved?”