Chapter 109
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Volume 2 + Chapter 109: Stepping Stones
The Dragon Kingdom, Northern Imperial Capital.
In the rear garden of the Dragon Palace, a silver-haired dragon girl was standing in front of a little cat, holding out a small dried fish.
“Meow meow, meow meow meow!”
The chubby black cat was excited by the smell of the dried fish and jumped up to bite it.
But—
The dictator of the Dragon Kingdom deliberately lifted the dried fish higher.
“Meow meow!”
The chubby cat missed and, dissatisfied, kept leaping up, trying to reach it.
“How did you get so fat without me noticing? Must’ve been that kid Xia Yi feeding you, huh? That won’t do—you need to exercise more. Otherwise, soon you won’t even be able to walk.”
Xia Lulu continued teasing the cat joyfully.
While Xia Yi was away from the Dragon Palace, she had taken over feeding the little animals in the rear garden.
Lucia, from the royal maid corps, was standing beside the Silver Dragon Queen, holding a plate with more dried fish.
Lucia lifted her head and gazed at the distant stars.
Xia Lulu turned to look at her. “Lucia, are you worried about Serra?”
It had been quite some time since Xia Yi and Serra left the northern imperial capital together.
According to their itinerary, the two should’ve already arrived at the homeland of the Red Dragon Sisters—Corolle..
“No, Your Majesty, I’m not worried about Serra. She’s incredibly tough… I’m worried about Her Highness the Princess.”
“Xia Yi?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. The southern border is actually rather unstable.”
Lucia’s words carried an unspoken implication.
The situation at the southern border couldn’t be openly discussed.
“It seems the southern border dragons are up to something rather serious,” Xia Lulu said. “The reports I’ve received from the south all show signs of being falsified.”
“Your Majesty, the southern border is indeed unsafe. If it’s for Her Highness’s safety, you might consider sending more personnel. For example, myself or Aitiya…”
“Lucia, let me ask you something. A greenhouse can indeed cultivate beautiful flowers—but what if one day, the greenhouse collapses?”
“…”
“When you and Serra were young, was Lucius very kind to you two?” Xia Lulu suddenly asked.
Lucia was a little surprised that the Queen even remembered her father’s name.
“No. Serra and I abandoned our family name when we were young and left home. After that, the family didn’t care about us at all. They left us to survive on our own—unless we were willing to return home and inherit the family legacy.”
“If it weren’t for that experience, would you and Serra have come to the Northern Imperial Capital and joined the Royal Maid Corps?”
“No, I don’t think we would have.”
Lucia thought that if they had never left their family, she and Serra would probably still be in their hometown and never would have entered the outside world, let alone come into contact with the royal family of the Dragon Tribe.
“With Xia Yi’s personality, if she always remained in the greenhouse, she wouldn’t grow much. As the sole heir to the Dragon Royalty, she must set foot on this land herself, to understand the country she will one day govern. Otherwise, her vision will be clouded by insincere lies.”
Xia Lulu smiled.
“There are a few fools on the southern border—arrogant and deceitful. Perfect. Let them become my daughter’s stepping stones.”
“Your Majesty…”
Lucia was a bit surprised. The Queen had gone this far, just for the sake of the princess.
“Meow meow!!”
The chubby cat took advantage of the moment Xia Lulu was speaking to finally chomp down on the dried fish.
Xia Lulu was a little surprised. “Oh my, you actually managed to get it? Looks like I’ll have to take playing with you a bit more seriously.”
—
Dragon Kingdom – Corolle City, Cavendish Manor
“Your Highness… are you serious?” Lucius asked after hearing Xia Yi’s request.
“Yes,” Xia Yi nodded. “The impoverished people in the slums are crucial. As citizens of the Dragon Kingdom, they should not suffer so miserably. The root of their suffering lies with the nouveau riche. If we can awaken their anger toward the new nobility, they will become a force to be reckoned with—a huge help in toppling the new aristocrats.”
Lucius nodded in agreement. “Yes. But… this won’t be easy.”
“If the slums have survived until now, there must be some kind of system in place—and where there are rules, there are those who maintain them. I want you to find out who that is. I need to make contact with the powers in the slums.”
Xia Yi explained:
“The gangs are very wary in the slums. I can’t ask them to help me. They’re too inefficient.”
Lucius immediately understood. “Your Highness, I’m very good at this sort of thing. I can easily smooth things over with money—just a little cash, and I’ll get all the information we need.”
“Good. I’m counting on you, Lucius,” Xia Yi said.
Serra, standing nearby, watched Xia Yi skillfully organize and set things in motion.
She felt that when the princess was seriously working, she looked completely different from the spoiled, playful, and cutesy self she usually showed.
So this… was what a split personality looked like?
No wonder in dragon history, the more mentally unstable the Dragon Kings were, the more talented they turned out to be.
And now, it was starting to show in Her Highness too.
“What’s wrong, Serra?”
Xia Yi had noticed Serra staring at her.
“No, it’s nothing, Your Highness. I just think you’re really impressive.”
“Wait, are you really complimenting me this time?” Xia Yi seemed suspicious.
“Yes. From the bottom of my heart.”
—
Xia Yi’s Cangqing Gang Base.
“Boss!”
“Boss, this, uh…”
“What do we do, Boss? Everyone’s talking about that member who got taken by the city guard…”
“Shut up! Get out!”
Chen Tie slammed his hand down on the chair and glared at the gang officer.
The Cangqing Gang officer, startled, didn’t dare say more and quickly ran off.
Chen Tie rubbed his brow, clearly irritated.
“Damn that Elvin family—they sold us out…!! Those nouveau riche bastards—framing us like this!!”
Always calm and composed, Chen Tie was now clearly agitated.
The main reason was that the young master of the Elvin family had deliberately had the city guard arrest a member of the Cangqing Gang and sent them to the Judgment Court.
The Judgment Court was basically a tool of the nouveau riche. They’d surely pin everything on the gang, while covering up the Elvin family’s disgraceful behavior at the Ascension Casino.
“I can’t just sit by and watch my brother get killed! If Big Sis finds out… How can I face her? I can’t even protect my own people!” Chen Tie bit his lip.
Though the Cangqing Gang was a top-tier force, in the eyes of the nouveau riche, they were still just tools and thugs—not capable of truly confronting the dragons who controlled the city.
But if they gave up on their own brothers and watched them get framed and executed, they’d be violating the gang rules set by the previous leader.
It would cause suspicion and unrest within the gang itself.
“Don’t tell me… against the nouveau riche, we’re really powerless…?”
“A way? Oh, there is one, Chen Tie.”
In his moment of despair, Chen Tie heard an unexpected voice.
