Volume 5 Chapter 24

 Volume 5 + Chapter 24: Xia Yi’s Personal Guard

“Boss Ember!”

Chen Tie excitedly greeted Lucia.

Ever since Lucia disappeared, Chen Tie had not seen the big sister he idolized for many years. Not getting excited now was simply impossible, he blurted out her old codename without thinking.

“Don’t call me by that nickname.”

Lucia covered her face, overwhelmed with embarrassment.

It was all the mistakes of her youth… How had she ever thought joining the underworld was a good idea back then?

“Wow, that’s so cool!!”

Xia Yi couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

Stars practically sparkled in her silver eyes.

“Lucia is the ashes left behind after raging flames burn everything away!”

“Ugh!”

Lucia took a step back.

A deep blush spread across the ice-cold beauty’s face, her composure visibly shaken.

After all, being called that by her own princess was simply too mortifying.

“And Serra is the Void of Return that can swallow even light itself!” Xia Yi turned to Serra again.

“W–!”

Serra wavered violently, completely unable to accept it for a moment. The overwhelming sense of shame made her step back as well, nearly turning to flee.

Because Xia Yi wasn’t mocking them at all, she genuinely believed this.

Public execution of dark history dealt real damage. Even high-defense units like Lucia and Serra couldn’t withstand it.

The two sisters simultaneously turned to look at their subordinates, naked killing intent surfacing on their faces. It felt as though, if Xia Yi weren’t present, they might peel Jiye and Chen Tie alive on the spot.

Under this immense pressure, Jiye and Chen Tie both lowered their heads.

“Hm? Wait, something’s off. If you’re stationed in Corolle, why are you here?” Xia Yi asked curiously.

“Reporting to the Princess, we received Her Majesty the Queen’s summons and are currently en route to the Northern Imperial Capital,” Jiye replied quickly.

“What about Lucius and Ajin?” Xia Yi still remembered the dragons stationed in Corolle.

“Ajin remains in Corolle to assist Lord Lucius with administration. Lord Lucius is still fulfilling his duties… oh, right, Lord Lucius asked me to pass a message to Gui…”

“Hm?!”

Serra shot Jiye with a sharp glare.

Jiye immediately corrected himself. “S–sorry! I mean, to Serra and Lucia, the two bosses, he hopes that when you have time off, you’ll return for a visit. As your father, Lord Lucius misses you very much!”

“Don’t want to go back.”

Serra’s face was full of disdain. The last time she returned to Corolle with Xia Yi, her idiot father had angered her beyond endurance.

“When that old man finally gets buried, I’ll go back for the funeral.”

Lucia’s response was even more ruthless, an act of peak filial ‘piety’ that left no room for doubt.

“Cough, cough… alright, I’ll pass that message along to Lord Lucius. Ahaha…” Jiye laughed awkwardly.

“So why did Xia Lulu summon the two of you?” Xia Yi grew even more confused. “Logically speaking, if anyone were to be called, it should’ve been Lucius. He used to hold office in the Dragon Royal Palace.”

“Well… can we say?” Jiye hesitated.

“It should be fine. Her Majesty said it was okay to tell the princess,” Chen Tie reminded him.

“Alright then, Princess. Actually, it’s like this, ”

Jiye lowered his voice and quietly told Xia Yi the details.

After hearing it, Xia Yi was even more stunned. She thought for a moment.

“…I’m going to find her!”

With that, she ran off to look for Xia Lulu.

Serra and Lucia said nothing, simply letting Xia Yi go.

Afterward, Serra looked at Jiye and smiled. “It’s been a long time, Little Ye.”

“Yeah, Chen Tie, long time no see,” Lucia said flatly as she turned to Chen Tie. “Let’s… ‘catch up.’”

Both Jiye and Chen Tie knew exactly what “catch up” meant. After being apart for so long, their former leaders wanted to test their strength.

In their hearts, both of them prayed, 

That they wouldn’t be beaten to death next.

……

……

“Xia Lulu!”

Xia Yi pushed open the door to Xia Lulu’s office and walked inside.

Xia Lulu was working. When she saw her daughter, she set down her pen.

“What is it, my dear? Don’t tell me you’re here to challenge me again?”

“No!” Xia Yi denied it immediately.

If she challenged her again and failed, she truly wouldn’t be able to endure the punishment afterward.

“I just have something I want to ask you.”

“Go ahead.”

Xia Lulu seemed to have already anticipated Xia Yi’s visit.

“Xia Lulu, are you planning to deploy the Corolle Armed Forces to the Crimson Empire? Is that true?” Xia Yi asked, voicing her doubts.

This was exactly what Jiye had just told her.

“Yes. I discussed this idea with Lucius, and he strongly agreed. So I had Jiye and Chen Tie lead the Corolle Armed Forces to the Crimson Empire for stationing, in fulfillment of the aid treaty,” Xia Lulu replied. “I already met with the two of them personally earlier. Those young men are full of drive, they talked quite a bit about your accomplishments.”

“So it’s the Corolle Armed Forces…”

Xia Yi found this very surprising. She had assumed the troops being sent to the Crimson Empire would be from another dragon army.

Seen this way, it made sense why Lucius himself hadn’t come, and why it was these two instead.

“Why not send another army?”

“I need to take action before Heinrich does. If the troops sent to the Crimson Empire were under his command, future developments would become uncontrollable.”

“That makes sense.” Xia Yi nodded.

In truth, Xia Lulu’s reasons went beyond that alone, she had other considerations as well.

Because of Xia Yi’s past actions in Corolle, every military unit there had already declared loyalty to the Silver Dragon Princess.

The Corolle Armed Forces could essentially be considered Xia Yi’s personal guard, a military formed because of her.

If something were to happen within the Dragon Nation in the future, this unit stationed in the Crimson Empire could be directly mobilized by Xia Yi and act under her command.

This was also one of the key reasons Xia Lulu insisted that dragon forces must be stationed as part of the aid provided to the Crimson Empire.

“Greetings, Your Majesty. Greetings, Princess.”

A dragon official entered the office, seemingly with a report for Xia Lulu.

“What is it?” Xia Lulu asked.

“Your Majesty, it concerns the diplomatic mission to Fox Hill.”

The dragon official reported.

“Your Majesty, our dragon clan has had past conflicts with the fox clan, and our understanding of them is limited. If possible, we hope you’ll grant us some time to select a more suitable diplomatic candidate under the current circumstances.”

“Indeed, there have been very few interactions between dragons and foxes, and most of them were conflicts,” Xia Lulu said with some concern. “Can we even find a suitable person?”

The fox clan?

The moment Xia Yi heard the term, it caught her attention. “The fox clan, what’s going on with them?”

“Princess, the fox clan has made an unprecedented request for diplomatic relations with the dragon clan. However, at present, we lack a good candidate on our side,” the dragon official replied. “That’s what we’re troubled by.”

Hearing this, inspiration struck Xia Yi. An idea formed in her mind.

“I’ll go!”

[https://ko-fi.com/golden_dragon]