Chapter 114
Chapter 114: Finally Waiting For You
“Wait, Mother, I need the human princess’s eyepatch!”
Illya suddenly remembered the item she had picked up in the morning. If she rescued the princess tonight, they could use it as a way to recognize each other.
“Okay, go with Flanna to change first. I’ll go find it for you. We’ll be quiet, so we won’t wake your Mama.”
“Mmm!”
Illya nodded and went with Flanna into Flanna and Bella’s room.
Meanwhile, Iris quietly slipped back into their room, searching for the black eyepatch, keeping an eye out to make sure Naya wasn’t waking up.
As a Dragon King, her night vision was naturally excellent.
If she brought Illya in, her daughter, unable to see well in the dark, would surely bump into things and risk waking Naya.
It was better to be cautious.
Iris found the eyepatch in the dresser drawer.
After handing it to Illya outside, she urged her to hurry.
“Mother, I’m off to rescue the Princess~”
“Good luck!”
“Hehe… Princess, here I come~”
Mama’s nothing but a paper tiger, or rather… just a paper dragon! Could she ever overpower Mother, the Dragon King?
With Mother around, the sky could fall, and there’d be nothing to fear.
There was no need to hold back—she could charge right ahead.
Truthfully, Illya was still a little scared of Naya, even if she knew Mama couldn’t beat Mother, she felt that if Naya got truly angry, both she and Mother would be in trouble.
But after Illya kept convincing herself over and over that her Mother was invincible and didn’t fear Mama.
Finally, Illya let go of her worries, raising her little legs, and stepping forward with determined little steps.
Dressed in her pink skirt, Illya cheerfully ran down the hallway, with Flanna and Bella following closely behind.
Watching Illya’s pink figure disappear from view, Iris finally turned and returned to the bedroom.
Naya, left alone without her wife and daughter, was already beginning to feel a creeping unease, her breathing becoming slightly erratic.
Thankfully, Iris lay down beside her just in time, intertwining their fingers in a tight clasp. Naya’s slightly furrowed brows softened again as her breathing steadied, and she returned to peaceful sleep.
In the quiet night, Iris gazed at Naya’s serene and endearing face, every expression one she cherished.
In her heart, she silently apologized to Naya for taking matters into her own hands.
“I’m sorry, Naya. I can’t let Illya grow up without ever experiencing any challenges. I’m sorry for the responsibilities our child must bear, simply by being born into this imperial family.”
Even if Illya hadn’t been caught in Hipper’s illusion, Iris would have still let her go on this adventure. That morning, she had already scouted out Boros Castle in person, with Flanna and Bella by her side, sneaking Illya in would be no issue.
All that was left was to wait for the good news.
Midnight.
Hipper quietly raised her blanket.
Due to her escape attempt earlier in the day, the king had ordered an extra watch, with maids stationed outside her door at all times to prevent her from stepping out without permission.
“Curse that father of mine. I will escape from here.”
She gazed at the moon outside her window, touching the new eyepatch over her left eye. She was gradually learning to control her eye’s powers.
Feeling her way in the dark, Hipper got out of bed, slipped out of her nightwear, and put on a luxurious princess gown. She tied two small pigtails at the top of her head with black ribbons, letting the rest of her silver hair flow freely.
Even if the pink dragon girl didn’t come, she was determined to try. She couldn’t sit idle anymore.
Taking a deep breath, she removed the eyepatch over her left eye and tossed it aside. Approaching her door, she reached out and turned the handle, opening it.
“Princess!”
“My servants, heed my command!”
Hipper’s left eye shifted from its usual green to blood-red, casting an image from her vision into the minds of the two maids stationed outside.
“Stay put and do not move.”
In an instant, the two maids seemed frozen, as if struck by a binding spell.
“Ah…”
Blood suddenly streamed from her eye. Hipper quickly covered it and fled.
Using this ability on two people at once was still too much for her to handle.
She sprinted up to the top floor of the palace, leaning over a stone parapet, and gazed into the sky with her remaining good eye.
Would she come?
Her heart raced, her pulse quickening.
She knew the dragons were dangerous, she knew one could easily harm her. But even if she risked her life, she wanted a glimpse of the world beyond these walls.
She wasn’t afraid of dying. What she feared was spending her life trapped in this deep palace, perishing within a cage.
Although her father had tried to alleviate her loneliness by sending her all kinds of books—manga, art books, even news from across the kingdom.
These only made her longing for the outside world more intense, and year by year, that yearning tortured her spirit, turning her into something of a brooding soul.
Hipper stared at the sky, reluctant even to blink. Only when her eyes felt dry did she quickly shut them, fearing to miss the tiniest glimmer of hope in the heavens.
Would she come?
Hipper asked herself once again.
Her morning encounter with that pink dragon girl, the words the dragon girl had spoken—could it all have been a joke?
Could it be that she was the only one taking it seriously?
Yes…
She was trapped in a cycle of hope and disappointment, yet she never truly understood what it meant to face defeat, repeatedly picking up hope after each letdown.
Hipper believed that one day, Lady Luck would smile upon her.
With her hands clasped together, she felt an increasing sense of tension, her heartbeat echoing like a drum in her ears.
The maids’ immobilizing spell should have worn off by now, right?
Sooner or later, her escape would surely be discovered, and her father would send people to find her.
Her time was running out.
Please, pink dragon loli, show yourself quickly.
Finally, after tremblingly waiting for more than half an hour in the high tower, Hipelle saw a flash of pink in the sky.
The young dragon spread its pink wings, gliding through the moonlit night like a giant fluttering moth.
The palace was instantly filled with the blaring sound of alarms.
“Dragons are coming! It’s the dragons!”
Despite the guards’ timely defenses, the pink young dragon surged forward, breaking through their hastily erected magical shield, charging straight toward Hipper.
“I’m here! Princess!”
The youthful voice echoed through the air.
Illya flapped her wings, braving the magical attacks from the palace guards. With her imperial-level dragon defenses, even the high-level spells that hadn’t charged long enough felt like mere tickles against her.
Hipper’s heart swelled with joy as she watched the pink figure.
“I’m right here! Dragon, I’m right here!”
Although she had already depicted the tower she would ascend in the illusion, she still worried that Illya might not find her. So she raised her hand, signaling to Illya.
Hearing Hipper’s call for help only strengthened Illya’s resolve about the location she had seen in her dream.
With a whoosh sound.
A gust of wind swept through.
Before the dragon arrived, the wind had already blown through Hipper’s silver hair, drying the mixture of blood and tears on her cheeks.
Bang!
Illya crashed through the tower, tightly grasping Hipper and shielding her within her claws.
“I’m off!”
Illya playfully bid farewell to the palace guards.
And the mages were still gathering their power!
In the blink of an eye, the pink young dragon was already far away.
The mages standing in the watchtower gazed at the dazzling magical array before them, utterly at a loss.
Was the dragon’s surprise attack over just like that?
No!
That pink dragon had taken their princess!
Halfway through her flight, Illya transformed into her human form and fell from the sky, while Flanna expertly caught both of them.
One on the left, one on the right, she embraced the two young lolis.
“Flanna, awesome!”
Illya gave Fran a thumbs up.
“Your Highness, are you hurt?”
Flanna cautiously checked Illya’s body as she held the pink-haired girl.
“No, humans are no match for me!”
Hipper was about to answer when Illya jumped in ahead of her.
“Your Highness?”
Who were they calling?
Hipper looked on, puzzled.
Flanna set them down.
“Let’s find a place to hide quickly.”
“Okay, human princess, follow me!”
Illya took Hipper’s hand and followed Flanna’s lead.
Bella was covering for Illya near the palace, while Flanna was responsible for leading Illya to safety.
They transformed back into human forms and hid in a dim alley.
“This should be far enough.”
They were a good distance from where Illya had landed. Even if the palace sent pursuers, they wouldn’t find them so quickly.
Unless this silver-haired human princess had a magical mark on her.
“Your Highness, human princess, please wait here for a moment. Once we confirm there are no pursuers, we’ll return to the inn.”
“Okay!”
Illya held Hipper’s hand, leaning against Flanna.
“Your Highness…” Hipper murmured.
In the darkness, Hipelle could see nothing, she could only feel the soft warmth of the hand in hers and hear the conversation between the pink-haired dragon loli and the purple-haired dragon maid.
Hipper was not mistaken, the dragon maid referred to the pink-haired dragon loli as “princess”, not her.
When addressing her, she called her the human princess.
“You’re a Dragon Princess?”
“Indeed! I’m the Dragon Princess, Illya. How is it? Are you surprised? Hehe, only a princess can save another princess!”
“Are you the Dragon Princess that Semira encountered in Rex City?”
“Yup, that’s me! The Dragon Princess who beat Semira to a pulp in Semira’s domain.”
Illya proudly boasted.
“Wait? But I heard that Semira defeated you soundly. After you surrendered, she let you leave her domain, but a silver dragon attacked her while she was off guard after closing the domain, and that’s how you won.”
“How could that be? I… I was not defeated by her at all! I simply called for Herax, and Semira’s king was torn apart.”
“What’s Herax? And what’s the king?”
“Just a summon from the domain!”
The two little girls chatted away in the dark.
Despite just meeting, they felt a sense of familiarity.
After a brief moment of thought, Hipper chose to trust Illya.
After all, when Semira first saw Illya that morning, her immediate instinct was to flee, not fight. If Semira truly had the power to defeat the dragon princess, she would have been more confident in facing the dragon.
“Summon? Do you have more specific details? I want to hear.”
“Of course!”
Illya exaggerated the facts, almost making herself sound larger than life.
She conveniently omitted the frustrating experience where she was thoroughly beaten by Semira in her domain before suddenly summoning Herax to win against her, but Illya exaggerated the details of her beating Semira.
Regardless, she had indeed defeated Semira.
If she had another chance to spar with Semira, she would personally prove who the real master was.
“Next time, when we’re near the holy relic of the urban-level leyline, we will definitely meet again. You just wait and see how I defeat Semira once more!”
“Are there leyline holy relics nearby?”
Hipper asked, confused.
Flanna gently prompted Illya.
“Your Highness, some internal news should not be casually leaked.”
“Hehehe, in any case, there will be plenty of opportunities to face Semira again. If you’re willing to stay by my side, I will prove that what I say is true.”
“Are you willing to always take me on adventures?” Hipper’s voice trembled with excitement.
“Of course, my dear human princess! I will show you all the beauty this world has to offer!”
After thinking for a long time without finding good words, Illya could only summarize it with the simple word “beauty”.
“Really?”
Another promise. Three days ago, Semira had made her such a promise.
But in the end, Semira disappointed her.
Would this Dragon Princess keep her word?
“Absolutely!”
Illya raised her right hand, rummaging through her memories for some basic magic that Nitiya had granted her. A simple glowing magic array appeared in her palm.
The soft white light illuminated the faces of the two little girls.
Hipper looked at Illya’s face closely and got a glimpse of the beautiful face of the pink dragon loli.
Suddenly, she heard the rapid beat of her heart in her chest.
The dragon loli before her was breathtakingly beautiful, stunning beyond words.
Her slightly chubby cheeks only added to her cuteness.
“I, in the name of the Dragon Princess, swear that if the Human Princess is willing, I will take her to see all the splendor and beauty of the world, to taste every delicacy and snack that the world has to offer. All of this depends on your will, Your Highness.”
“I am willing!” Hipper’s one red and one green eye sparkled with excitement, her lips curling up in a subtle smile that couldn’t hide her joy.
She tightened her grip on Illya’s hand with her left hand and raised her right hand to her chest, declaring, “I, as the Exiled Princess of the Netherworld, Hipper Dolamis Christina Timothy Octaviel, am willing to embark on this journey with the Dragon Princess!”
Hipper held Illya’s small hand even tighter. She had never given up on believing in others, except for her father.
Whether it was Semira or Illya, as long as someone was willing to give her hope, she would grasp it regardless of the cost.
“Ahem!”
Flanna cleared her throat.
These two little ones were acting as if they were about to get married.
Different races, no mutual benefit.
She still hoped her princess wouldn’t invest too much emotion in the Human Princess.
However, Illya ignored Flanna’s warning. She focused on the Human Princess’s stunning beauty and, seeing a bit of her Mama in Hipper’s silver hair, her affection for Hipper grew even more in her heart.
“By the way, I almost forgot about this. Your eye patch—your left eye is bleeding. Are you okay?”
“Huh?”
Hipper wiped the bloodstain at the corner of her eye.
The bleeding had mostly stopped by now, it happened when she overused her abilities, causing her eyes to bleed.
“It’s fine now.”
She took the eye patch from Illya’s hand.
A warmth spread in her heart.
She hadn’t expected Illya to pick it up, which meant Illya genuinely cared about her.
She put the eye patch back on, covering her blood-red eye.
Of course, to Illya, it looked blood-red, but to Flanna, who hadn’t been cursed, Hipper’s eye simply looked like it had bled a little.
“Does it hurt?”
Hipper shook her head.
“After we go back, I can have my Mother check it for you. She’s super capable and knows everything; she should be able to help you heal your eyes.”
“Your mother is the Dragon Queen?”
“That’s for sure! I’m the Dragon Princess, so my mother must be the Dragon Queen.”
“Is she fierce? I’ve heard that the Dragon Queen has killed many heroes.”
“No, those heroes were just foolish enough to challenge my Mother. They were asking for their own demise. My Mother is very approachable, she just seems cold on the outside, but she’s actually a really nice person.”
Illya turned off the light and continued chatting with Hipper.
They crouched in the alley, hiding for almost three hours.
Until Bella found them.
Bella reported the intelligence she had gathered while staying back to Flanna.
“The royal soldiers are running around like headless flies. It can be confirmed that the Human Princess doesn’t have any marking or locating magic on her.”
“That’s good. If there were any marking magic, it would be troublesome. Let’s go, we should take the Human Princess back.”
Flanna looked back and, using her night vision, saw the two little girls sitting on the ground, leaning against each other as they slept.
“Your Highness, Human Princess, it’s time to wake up. We can go back now.”
“Mmm…”
The two little girls opened their eyes simultaneously.
“Bella, you carry the Human Princess. We need to hurry back to the inn and report to Her Majesty the Queen.”
“Okay.”
Flanna picked up Illya, and Bella also picked up the other white-haired loli.
Both of them felt a bit nervous.
They didn’t know if Miss Naya had woken up.
But the Queen had said that if Miss Naya got angry, it would be the Queen’s responsibility, not theirs. They were merely workers sent by Her Majesty.
Someguy Random
Well, I’m sure Naya wouldn’t mind too much?