Chapter 116
Chapter 116: I Think You Really Don’t Understand At All
As long as it wasn’t too extreme, Illya felt it was worth it.
Illya also understood that to gain something, one must give something in return.
If Naya didn’t punish her, Illya would feel that it was too easy for her to kidnap the princess.
“Punishment, huh…”
Naya raised her head, looking at Hipper who had been silently watching the three of them.
“We’ll talk about it after dealing with this human princess. Illya, did you take her secretly or openly?”
Illya puffed out her chest, proudly responding.
“I took her openly.”
“What?!”
Seeing Naya’s emotions fluctuate again, Iris continued to pat Naya’s back gently.
“Calm down, calm down.”
This further convinced Hipper that Naya was indeed the Dragon King and that the red-haired dragon by her side acted like a minion to the silver-haired dragon lady.
“How did you take her openly?”
“Well… I transformed into a dragon, flew directly into the palace, grabbed the princess, and accidentally damaged a building in the process.”
Naya turned to stare at the human princess.
Hipper, terrified, quickly nodded to confirm Illya’s words were true.
“Where are the pursuers? No one followed you? You just ran back like this—what if you led the royal soldiers into the village?”
“After taking the princess, I didn’t immediately flee back. Instead, I transformed back into human form and hid with Flanna in a secluded spot. After making sure no pursuers followed, we returned to the inn.”
“You both… thought it through thoroughly…”
Naya gently pushed away Iris’s hand from her shoulder and walked over to Hipper.
Hipper lowered her head, trembling.
The Dragon King’s presence was powerful.
She felt she might wet herself.
“Hello, Human Princess, I am Illya’s mother, the Dragon Queen’s consort. May I ask your name?”
“Huh?”
So, this woman wasn’t the Dragon King, but rather the Dragon Queen’s consort? Then who was the Dragon King? Could it be that red-haired woman who looked so much like a lackey?
Slightly stunned, Hipper raised her head, staring blankly at Naya.
At that moment, Naya’s eyebrows became extremely gentle, and her tone was gentle, entirely different from her attitude toward Illya and the red-haired dragon.
“My… My name is Hipper, Princess of the Kingdom of Dia…”
Hipper did not dare to proudly announce her long list of titles in front of Naya.
“Very well. Hello, Hipper, on behalf of my daughter, I sincerely apologize for her rude behavior.”
“No! Illya… Illya was great, and I’m really grateful to her. Please, don’t send me back to the palace. I really want to escape from there.”
Naya’s sudden shift in demeanor made Hipper think of her as a two-faced individual.
There’s an old saying, “First be polite, then be forceful.”
After apologizing, would she drive her away?
After all, this silver-haired dragon had just strongly condemned Illya’s behavior of taking her, clearly disapproving of it.
“I don’t intend to send you back to the palace. Since things have developed this way, we’re already companions, aren’t we? Aren’t you afraid of the dragons?”
Hipper shook her head.
“A little scared. But, I’m more afraid of being trapped in the palace for life, never stepping outside. If I have to live as a caged canary, I’d rather be a moth to the flames.”
A moth to the flames.
Quite eloquent.
Naya smiled.
“How old are you?”
“Seven.”
“So, what are your plans for the future? Will you follow us, or set out on your own?”
“I… I’d like to go with you.”
“It’s not impossible, but once you disappear, won’t the king search the entire city for you? Won’t that cause trouble for us? We only want a peaceful half-month here, to complete our tasks and then leave.”
“I…”
Hipper bit her lower lip.
She was sure her father would search the city for her.
But she didn’t want to tell Naya this.
She feared Naya might abandon her.
“Alright, Naya, look how you’ve scared the child. Human princess, you may stay with us, but once you’re with us, you’ll need to cooperate with whatever we require of you.”
Iris also stood up.
Hiper looked at the red-haired woman, whose demeanor suddenly turned icy and aloof. Her red eyes held a hint of disdain as she looked at Hipper.
Hipper nodded vigorously.
“I will! If there’s anything I can do to help, I’ll do my best to cooperate!”
Hipper’s usual bold tone was completely gone now. Though she was brash, she wasn’t foolish. She understood that she needed to humble herself.
“Good. I don’t think the soldiers will find us anytime soon, so you should go next door to rest with my two maids. It’s been a long night, we can discuss everything further after you’ve rested.”
“Alright.”
Hipper crossed her hands in front of her and bowed slightly.
“Follow me.”
As Iris brushed past Hipper, Hipper looked back at Naya. Receiving a nod of approval from Naya, she hurried to follow Iris.
Only Illya and Naya remained in the room.
Naya looked at the pink-haired little girl standing beside the bed. After meeting Naya’s eyes, Illya couldn’t help but shudder.
Was the punishment about to start?
“You little brat.”
Naya returned to Illya’s side and scooped her up in her arms.
“You worried me to death. Next time, don’t sneak out without telling me.”
Naya rubbed her face against Illya’s.
For some reason, her eyes began to mist.
“Mama…”
Hearing Naya’s choked voice, Illya relaxed her tense body.
“Do you know how distressed I felt when I woke up and couldn’t find you? You’re making me worry myself sick—you and your Mother both… I know I worry too much, but you can’t hide such dangerous things from me. There’s an old saying: you can’t stand by the river without getting wet. You didn’t get hurt this time, but what about next time? Or the time after that? Eventually, something could go wrong.”
“Mama…”
Illya didn’t know how to comfort Naya.
To her, it was a trivial matter. She didn’t understand why her Mama was so worried.
But her mood, affected by Naya’s emotions, began to turn somber as well.
“I know you need to grow up, but I can’t help but worry. I wouldn’t have stopped you from rescuing the princess, but sneaking out like this… If something terrible had happened, and I had the ability to protect you but didn’t get to you in time, I’d regret it for the rest of my life.”
“I’m sorry, Mama. Next time, I promise to tell you.”
No matter how much her Mother tempted her, she would never keep it from Naya again.
Naya sniffed.
“Ah… human emotions are complicated, Illya. Your Mother wants you to be independent, to grow up quickly and become a true Dragon King successor, and I understand. But as your Mama, from a mother’s perspective… I have my own struggles, too.”
Illya blinked her sparkling pink eyes.
She tried hard to understand what her Mama was saying.
She understood that her Mama was very worried, while her other Mother wanted to satisfy her desire to grow and learn to face things on her own. Neither view was wrong, they just came from different places.
Illya gently stroked Naya’s hair.
“Mama needs to grow too. Mama, you’re a bit too timid, you know?”
“What do you understand, little one?”
This wasn’t about being timid.
One day, if Illya had her own child, she might understand.
Or perhaps she wouldn’t. After all, Illya was a pure-blooded dragon, with the dragon’s mindset deeply ingrained in her genes.
Perhaps, she would be like Iris, letting her child fend for themselves and calling it “training the future Dragon King.”
Only Naya, who was once human, once an native of Earth, could understand this feeling.
“Sigh… It’s been a long night, you must be tired. Let’s sleep first, we’ll talk about punishment tomorrow.”
Naya placed Illya on the bed, loosening the ribbon at the back of her dress.
“What kind of punishment is it, Mama?”
“Punishment…”
Naya hadn’t decided yet.
She removed Illya’s dress, changed her into pajamas, and helped her lie down. She tucked Illya in, looking into her curious yet slightly fearful eyes.
After a moment’s thought, Naya revealed her decision to Ilya.
“The punishment is… After Illya turns six years old, onward, I’ll stop reading bedtime stories to you.”
Instantly, Illya seemed to freeze in place, feeling a loud buzzing in her head that blocked out everything else. Slowly, her vision blurred, and before long, tears streamed down her face.
“Wuwuwu…Mama, no! Not that punishment! I’m sorry, I’m sorry Mama. I will never sneak out without telling you again! Mama, I was wrong… I don’t want that punishment, I’ll listen to you from now on…”
Illya clutched Naya’s hand tightly, unable to accept such a punishment.
Listening to her pleas, Naya realized belatedly just how much she spoiled Illya—far more than a typical parent might.
But Illya would have to grow up someday, and Naya couldn’t be by her side forever. If she suddenly took away the bedtime stories, there would be a real risk of pushing Ilya away.
“Fine, then. The punishment will be… Tomorrow morning, Illya has to copy the ‘Three Character Classic’ one hundred times. Is that acceptable?”
The bedtime stories would have to be eased out gradually, not taken away abruptly.
Illya quickly stopped crying and nodded.
“Really? You won’t stop telling bedtime stories?”
She blinked her tearful eyes.
“I won’t, I promise.”
“Really?”
“Really. I’d never lie to you.”
“Thank you, Mama. I love you, Mama.”
Illya giggled softly and closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep.
At this point, Iris returned to the room, having arranged Hipper’s accommodations.
The two exchanged glances.
Naya kicked off her slippers, climbed into bed, and snuggled under the covers.
“Let’s sleep first, we’ll talk about everything tomorrow.”
“Alright.”
More than punishing Iris, Naya was concerned with Illya’s sleep schedule. If she slept all day, her body clock would be completely out of sync.
Iris turned off the lights and got into bed as well.
The three of them slept soundly.
When they woke up, it was already close to ten in the morning.
They were lucky—no early morning knocks on the door. After a refreshing sleep, Naya and Iris quickly got ready and woke up Illya to keep her from oversleeping and disrupting her schedule.
After helping Illya dress, Naya handed her off to Iris.
“Take her to wash up.”
“Got it.”
Knowing she’d done wrong, Iris obediently followed Naya’s instructions without complaint.
Naya found some paper, sat at the desk, and began to write out the “Three Character Classic” for Ilya to copy. At the same time, she pondered how to punish Iris.
[Host, this is a golden opportunity. Isn’t it time to make a move?]
[…]
[Last time you said you would attack 90%, but you haven’t attacked once so far. I think the 90% you said was calculated based on a percentage system! ]
[But, with such a good opportunity, wouldn’t it be too wasteful to use it to attack Iris just once?]
[So, what do you plan to do? Last night, when your stomach hurt, Iris was a huge help to you. Besides, from the Dragon King’s perspective, she didn’t actually do anything wrong—her only fault was hiding it from you. If the punishment is too harsh, it could harm your marital harmony. Taking the lead just this once wouldn’t be too much, it would humble Iris’s ‘Dragon King’ pride a little, reinforce your position in the household, and bring you both closer together. Isn’t that the best of both worlds?]
[You make a good point.”]
[It’s settled then, Host! You must take the lead this time!”]
The system had been waiting a long time for this. Since it was bound to Naya, she hadn’t taken the initiative even once, and the only time she sort of led was when she explored Iris’s home’s ventilation system—with Iris guiding her the entire time.
But now, practice makes perfect.
The second time around, Naya probably wouldn’t be so hesitant, right?
[Fine, today I’ll find an opportunity to show her who’s boss around here!”]
Naya didn’t particularly enjoy taking charge, but she did understand that, every now and then, it was necessary to establish her place in the household. If she always played the passive role, she’d never truly hold any authority.
Just then, Iris came out of the washroom holding Illya, only to see Naya sitting at the desk, writing something in short phrases. As she read silently to herself, she found the lines catchy and easy to remember.
“What’s this?”
“The ‘Three Character Classic’.”
Naya had written out the first part of the “Three Character Classic” to serve as Illya’s copy template. Since she’d already explained each phrase to Illya at the castle, Illya could more or less understand it.
Naya set Illya down, and Illya leaned close to the desk, admiring her mother’s neat, elegant handwriting.
Naya patted Illya’s head.
“Alright, Illya, start copying this from the morning. Remember, one hundred times, and no toys until you finish.”
“Okay~!”
Illya nodded cheerfully.
She was far more willing to accept this punishment than losing her bedtime stories. The exercise was mainly to give her a lesson, not truly to trouble her.
For the time being, none of them could go out, given the tension surrounding the missing human princess. This copying exercise could help Illya pass the time.
Naya gave Illya her chair.
“Go ahead. Iris, head next door and bring over Bella, Flanna, and Hipper. I need to talk with them.”
Illya turned to her Mama.
“Mama, what about Mother’s punishment?”
The moment she spoke, Illya caught Iris’s death glare.
But after last night, Illya fully understood that her “almighty” Mother was just a paper tiger. In front of her Mama, her Mother was practically a tamed husky, always wagging her tail and nodding!
So Illya stared back defiantly.
“Don’t worry, no one’s getting off the hook. Once everything’s in order, I’ll deal with your Mother’s punishment. Go on, Iris, and call those three over.”
Iris shot Illya a fierce look, but holding back any words, left the room to fetch the three from next door.
Soon, the two maids and a silver-haired little girl stood before Naya, awaiting her instructions.
“Bella, go out and get breakfast. Flanna, stay here with Hipper and watch over Illya to make sure she finishes copying the ‘Three Character Classic’.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Go on, Bella. Also, stay alert and watch for anyone following you.”
Bella nodded and left the room.
Then Naya turned to Flanna.
“Flanna, keep an eye on these two. Iris and I will be soaking in the hot springs for a while, so don’t let Illya slip out again.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Illya, if you want to keep your bedtime stories, stay in the room and copy the ‘Three Character Classic’.”
“Yes, Mama!”
Illya mimicked Naya’s authoritative tone in her reply.
After assigning everyone their tasks, Naya turned to Iris with a smirk.
“Let’s go soak in the hot springs.”
She took Iris’s arm and, with a quick tug, hurried her out of the room.
A light breeze brushed Naya’s face as they hurried down the hallway, the sound of a question, knowingly asked, echoing faintly behind them.
“Naya, are we really going to the hot springs?”
“I can see you don’t understand at all.”
Even without thinking too hard, Iris knew exactly what kind of “punishment” Naya was planning for her.
But Iris figured that, given Naya’s personality, she wouldn’t actually go through with it—she’d likely end up just like last time, with Naya getting flustered instead.
Suppressing a laugh, Iris could hardly wait to see Naya’s shy reaction.