Volume 6 Chapter 12
by Golden DragonVolume 6 + Chapter 12: Tempering And Degeneration
In the Dragon Palace, inside Xia Yi’s room.
“Your Highness.”
“Mm, Serra, what is it?”
Xia Yi set down the manga in her hands and looked toward her personal maid.
“Today’s afternoon tea may be slightly delayed. The ingredients encountered an issue during transport and will arrive a bit late… however, the supplier is already resolving it, so it shouldn’t be a major problem,” Serra explained.
“Oh? About how long will the delay be?”
“At most around an hour, though it might arrive sooner… Of course, we could also change the original menu.”
“What’s on today’s menu?”
“Osmanthus cake.”
“Osmanthus cake?!”
The moment Xia Yi heard those words, her eyes lit up.
“No, no, no, this cannot be changed. We must wait for the osmanthus cake today!!”
“Understood. Since you’ve instructed so, we won’t change the menu, Your Highness. I’ll take my leave for now and come back to inform you later.”
With that, Serra bowed and exited Xia Yi’s room.
“It’s just waiting a little longer~ totally worth it for osmanthus cake. Besides, I can read manga to pass the time.”
Sitting at the desk felt tiring, so Xia Yi took her manga and leaned against the bed instead.
Still not satisfied, she carried a whole stack of manga onto the bed, piling them up like bricks to build a “manga castle.” On top, she placed the standard shut-in delights, soda and chips.
“All done~!”
The little princess was very pleased with her creation, her very own… fortress of happiness!
Leaning against a pillow, she stretched out her legs and began reading.
“Hmm?”
Suddenly, she felt something was off.
This was…
A heart demon?
And it was trying to manifest on its own.
Xia Yi sat upright and glanced around. It was already too late to hide the manga.
Just like that, the heart demon appeared beside her.
“Xia Yi, I’ve realized my understanding of you is insufficient, so I wanted to observe what you usually do, ”
Heart Demon Xia Yi spoke, lifting her gaze toward the white-haired girl before her… and froze.
“You’re doing something this childish?”
“I…”
Xia Yi was instantly speechless.
This was bad.
The heart demon usually paid little attention to her daily life, so it didn’t know how much she liked slacking off.
More importantly, she had carefully maintained an image in front of it.
“Manga? You’re reading manga?” the heart demon asked in disbelief.
“No!!”
Xia Yi immediately activated her ultimate skill.
“I’m searching for inspiration!”
“…Inspiration?”
“That’s right!”
“You’re not a manga artist. What inspiration are you looking for?”
“Haha… you wouldn’t understand. I’m seeking inspiration for new techniques, planning to innovate and refine my swordsmanship, to create a move capable of defeating Xia Lulu,” Xia Yi forced out an explanation. “I’ve already gained quite a bit of insight, my new move is nearly complete!”
“…”
The heart demon’s cheek twitched.
She pointed at the soda and chips.
“Then what are those?”
“Th-that is…”
Cold sweat streamed down Xia Yi’s back.
Think, quickly, think!
Make something up!
“Vital-life-sign maintenance fluid and portable nutritional supplements.”
“…”
“…”
“I was wondering how diligently you trained every day. So you’ve just been slacking all along?”
The heart demon was visibly shaken, holding her forehead as if about to faint.
“And I actually lost to someone like you?”
“I really do train hard usually!! Every single day! It’s just that your timing is terrible, you came out right when I was resting!”
“Really?”
“Absolutely, more real than real!”
“You haven’t fallen into decadence?”
“Of course not! Even if my body has temporarily become that of a dragon, my heart remains that of a pure, mighty sword saint!” Xia Yi felt too embarrassed to admit the truth.
“You… aren’t just spouting nonsense, are you?”
“I’m not, I swear!”
Xia Yi insisted, raising her hand to illuminate the holy sword mark.
“Look, if I had truly fallen into corruption as a dragon, the holy sword would never respond to me. How do you explain that?”
“Well… that…”
Even the heart demon couldn’t find a way to refute that.
“You see, heart demon, you still don’t understand. Know yourself and your enemy, and you’ll win every battle. Everything I do is part of my training.”
Xia Yi jumped off the bed, walked to the window, clasped her hands behind her back, and gazed outside, presenting a profound silhouette.
“The dragon clan constantly tries to corrupt my heart through such means. For a resolute sword saint like me, it is a torment. Yet it is also a trial to temper my sword heart. I resist these temptations to refine myself further, and from the results, I’ve been quite successful!”
Just as she was delivering her impassioned speech, Serra’s voice came from outside the door.
“Your Highness, I’ve returned.”
“Serra?”
“Your Highness, the issue with the ingredients has been resolved. The supplier has delivered them, and afternoon tea is ready.”
“…!”
Xia Yi’s expression shifted. She secretly glanced at the heart demon, whose eyes were full of suspicion.
No, she had to take a stand here.
“Serra, cancel the afternoon tea for now…”
“Cancel? But your favorite osmanthus cake has already been prepared,” Serra said. “It’s still warm, if we remove it now, it will quickly lose its freshness.”
That wouldn’t do. Once it cooled, it wouldn’t taste as good.
What should she do?
Choose the osmanthus cake, or her pride as a sword saint…
Xia Yi fell into a dilemma.
In the end, it had to be…
…
…
Xia Yi sat in the back garden, savoring the osmanthus cake with complete satisfaction.
So happy~
Osmanthus cake was the best.
In the end, she chose afternoon tea.
“So you’ve fallen this far… truly beyond saving.”
The heart demon looked at her, its words sharp and cutting.
“I just… didn’t want to waste food…!”
Xia Yi’s face flushed red as she stammered.
“Hmph, what a convenient excuse,” the heart demon sneered. “I even considered you an enemy worth killing. Seems I overestimated you.”
“Shut up! All you do is talk, try it yourself!”
Annoyed, Xia Yi immediately handed over control of her body.
The heart demon was slightly surprised, but after taking control, she looked at the osmanthus cake with disdain.
“Foolish Xia Yi, to be tempted by something so trivial, and to fabricate such excuses about your unwavering will. You are clearly, ”
“Your Highness, this is bubble taro milk tea.”
Serra smiled as she placed a warm cup of milk tea before her.
“… ”
This time, it was the heart demon who fell silent.
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