Volume 1 Chapter 128

Volume 1 + Chapter 128: Dragons May Be Killed, But Never Humiliated

“W-How… how are we going?”

Hearing Eve’s words, nearly everyone present was stunned into silence, Chancelianne included.

Only her stunned expression looked even more bewitching—her delicate features carrying a captivating charm.

By all logic, such an expression should never have appeared on the face of someone of Chancelianne’s stature.

But the scene before them was simply too shocking. As a result, this slightly contrasting, unexpectedly cute expression was something Eve was able to feast her eyes upon.

One had to admit—the imperial royal family truly had discerning taste.

Eve had already lost count of how many times she had sighed over this fact.

“By riding this dragon, of course. Don’t worry—she’s very obedient. If you don’t believe me, just watch…”

Eve extended her hand toward the massive black dragon Anna, while subtly giving her a meaningful look.

“Come. Paw.”

Anna felt awkward for a moment, but fortunately she was currently in her dragon form, so it was hard for others to see any expression.

If she were in human form, her face would probably be so red with embarrassment that she wouldn’t even be able to lift her head anymore.

At this moment, Anna was riddled with guilt and panic. If other dragons were to see this, her entire draconic career would probably be over.

But faced with Eve’s command, she had no choice but to comply. Thus, Anna behaved like a tamed little pet, carefully extending her enormous dragon claw to touch Eve’s fair, soft palm.

She even had to retract her sharp claws in advance, gently touching Eve with just her fingertips to avoid hurting her.

This required an extremely high level of control—any slight mistake could have pressed Eve straight into the ground.

Chancelianne could even see Anna’s suspended dragon claw trembling slightly from tension and exertion as she cooperated with Eve.

The scene was, to put it mildly, unbearably awkward.

At this moment, Anna wished she could find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.

She hated how unlucky she was—she had only wanted to rob a caravan, maybe steal a glance at some beauties, and instead she ran straight into Eve.

Her mood hadn’t been particularly good to begin with… and now it was even worse.

No wonder this caravan smelled so fragrant from afar—Chancelianne, Eve, and Alice, three peerless beauties of the empire, all gathered together. How could it not smell wonderful?

“All right. Retract. Lie down.”

“……”

Anna helplessly carried out Eve’s commands, obeying every word without the slightest resistance.

It could only be said that she had been thoroughly trained—so much so that even Chancelianne couldn’t help but smile faintly at the sight.

“Tamed this well? She’s practically like a pet.”

Chancelianne’s words were like knives, stabbing again and again into Anna’s already battered heart.

She couldn’t understand what she had done wrong. She used to be just a happy little dragon, carefree and at ease every day.

Then… she met Leah, and was left dazed by a single shoulder throw.

Now she had met Eve, and in order to cooperate with her, she had to abandon the dignity of being a dragon and act like a dog for her.

This was no way to be a dragon.

Perhaps the most disgraceful dragon in the world was Anna herself. How was she supposed to explain this when she went back home someday?

Thinking carefully, since coming to this empire, she really had lived a life with very little dignity—and hardly any challenge at all.

Other dragon brothers and sisters fought fiercely against organized human dragon hunters, engaging in battles of wits and strength, their scales lightly stained from combat.

And Anna? The fish she robbed today had bones—might poke her—better not eat it.

The more she thought about it, the more humiliating it felt…

Anna took a deep breath. No—this absolutely could not continue.

If this went on, sooner or later she would truly be tamed by Eve.

She was a dragon! A lofty, supreme dragon!

Humans were meant to be beneath her… yet now she was acting like a puppy, trying to please Eve?

Outrageous!

She had to resist! She must resist!

“So? Any objections?”

Just as Anna was fuming internally, Eve had already used her silver tongue—so adept at charming girls and fabricating nonsense—to temporarily pacify Chancelianne.

After all, magic capable of controlling dragons was simply too astonishing. Even Chancelianne needed time to digest it.

Now, everyone’s gaze fell upon Anna.

At this moment, Anna was so consumed by her anger that she hadn’t paid attention to what Eve was saying at all.

However, judging from Eve’s expression, it didn’t look like she was asking for Anna’s opinion—so Anna could only nod her head in humiliation.

“You see? She agreed. Your Majesty the Empress—let’s go.”

“R-Really… really is this okay?”

Chancelianne looked up at the mountain-like black dragon before her, her tone still carrying a trace of caution.

That was a giant dragon, after all…

“Of course it’s fine.”

As Eve spoke, she gave Anna another meaningful look. Anna didn’t quite understand what she meant.

She thought it was already over—she had played the trained monkey, the leashed dog, exactly as instructed. Was there still something else she needed to cooperate with?

“What are you spacing out for? You broke the carriage, scared one horse to death, and we have urgent business to attend to. So naturally, we’ll need you to give us a ride.”

Hearing Eve’s words, Anna’s crimson-gold vertical pupils trembled violently.

Was this a joke? Humans… riding atop her, a lofty dragon?

Did she have any dignity left at all?

Was she really going to become that kind of dragon? A flying mount?

At that thought, the anger in Anna’s heart only intensified. She felt an urge to leave this place and never come back.

As for why she didn’t just turn hostile on the spot…

Mainly because she couldn’t beat Eve. She couldn’t even beat Eve’s daughter, Leah.

And on second thought—even if she tried to flee, it would be impossible. She couldn’t even outrun them…

This role as a mount—she was truly stuck with it.

After all, she had damaged the carriage, frightened a horse to death, and even caused one of the empire’s three great figures—the Empress—to be startled.

If Anna really turned and ran now, she would probably be thoroughly “disciplined” by Eve afterward.

Besides, when Eve had first arrived in this region, she had made things very clear to her: if you can do the job, do it, if you can’t, then get lost.

If you don’t rob this trade route, there are plenty of dragons more obedient than you who will.

That single statement had immediately put Anna at a disadvantage.

And, annoyingly enough, Eve wasn’t wrong at all…

Compared to fighting specialized dragon hunters out there, the loot from caravans here somehow tasted better.

Since coming to this empire, Anna had even gained weight.

Thinking of this, Anna humiliatedly lowered herself to the ground, flattening her posture as much as possible to make it easier for Eve and her group to climb onto her back.

“See how obedient she is? I think my proposal is perfectly fine. It not only spares the empire from harassment by other dragons and protects the caravans, but more importantly, it delivers a blow to the Church.”

“After all, between vague, illusory gods and a very real Dragon God standing right here, guarding their trade routes and travel safety—who do you think the citizens would place their faith in? The answer speaks for itself.”