Volume 4 Chapter 2

Volume 4 + Chapter 2: Missing

Xia Yi walked through the Dragon Clan’s imperial palace, and she felt something was really quite strange.

“Dragon Clan’s imperial palace… is it usually this quiet?”

On this land, the Dragon Clan was the most powerful of the higher races. But everything has two sides—although the dragons were strong, their fertility was severely lacking, which meant there weren’t very many of them.

Compared to other races’ palaces, which were full of guards and servants, the Dragon Clan’s palace was indeed sparsely populated.

But even so, it shouldn’t be this deserted, right?

How strange.

After walking for quite some distance, Xia Yi had only seen a few guards on patrol.

At first, she had thought she needed to be careful, avoiding other people’s eyes, otherwise her return to the Dragon Clan’s palace would be immediately discovered.

But judging from the situation now, she didn’t even need to bother avoiding anyone.

“And also—how come I haven’t seen a single member of the Royal Maid Corps?”

Xia Yi stopped in the corridor, looking ahead.

Not far away, she remembered—that was where Elly used to do the laundry.

At that time, she had even given Elly a little of her homemade snacks. After eating them, Elly had gone berserk and smashed through the corridor.

Logically speaking, there should be Elly’s washed clothes hanging here now. But instead, it was only an empty stretch, nothing at all.

Could it be…

Elly was no longer in the Dragon Clan’s palace?

“How could that be possible? Elly was just a trainee maid. Of course she would need to stay in the palace—she still needed to work hard before she could be promoted to full status!”

Xia Yi thought it over.

Only full members of the Royal Maid Corps were allowed to carry out missions personally assigned by the Silver Dragon Queen.

Within just these few short months, there was no way Elly could have become a full maid. It must be her imagination. Surely that girl had just messed something up and was hiding somewhere, avoiding reality!

Or maybe… she was already gone—

“No, how could she be gone! Elly values this job so much. She must’ve messed up and hidden away, scared of being scolded by Lucia and the others. That’s exactly the sort of thing Elly would do.”

Xia Yi found this entirely reasonable.

She told herself there was no need to dwell on it.

Better to think of something more interesting, right?

For example, what should she say to Xia Lulu when they meet later?

After all, she had brought back important intelligence from the human world—something that, besides her, no one else in the Dragon Clan could have accomplished!

Everyone would definitely look at her in a new light.

Xia Lulu too would surely be astonished—that she had actually managed to finish the mission in such a short time, and even returned safely.

She would show Xia Lulu that she was not some fallen, useless slacker, but a resolute, unyielding, indomitable Sword Saint!

Xia Yi kept thinking along these lines, as though trying to distract herself.

She walked through the empty halls of the Dragon Clan’s palace. The sound of her shoes striking the floor was jarringly loud in the silence.

The situation only made her feel more uneasy.

It was like recalling a dream.

Back when she was at Laurel Academy, she’d had a dream.

In the dream, she too had returned to the Dragon Clan’s palace. The halls were just as empty, and no one could be found—as though everyone in the palace had vanished.

No matter how loudly she called, no one answered.

Until she encountered a strange royal maid. That maid looked very much like Elly, but wasn’t Elly—she was of the Green Dragon Clan.

When she saw Xia Yi, she didn’t address her as a princess of the palace, but as…

Her Majesty the Queen.

Xia Yi froze mid-step. The air around her seemed to solidify, unbearably heavy. Every step forward felt like wading against a massive resistance.

That dream had been so vivid, it was almost as if it had really happened.

Especially when she had asked that strange maid about Xia Lulu’s whereabouts—her expression had turned heartbreakingly sorrowful.

Which meant…

“No, that’s impossible!”

“That was only a dream!”

“Dreams are always the opposite of reality. Xia Lulu is definitely fine. She must be here in the palace, just waiting for me to come back!”

Xia Yi lifted her head, looking all around. The scene before her overlapped with her dream.

Her body began to tremble slightly.

All the words she’d spoken earlier couldn’t calm her heart—if anything, her unease only grew.

“I need to find Xia Lulu, quickly!!”

She started running through the palace. She couldn’t wait any longer, and she didn’t care about keeping it a surprise—she just wanted to see Xia Lulu right away.

After rushing through a corridor, Xia Yi caught sight of a maid’s figure.

Judging from the uniform, it was definitely a member of the Royal Maid Corps, disappearing around the corner.

She bit her lip and dashed after her, chasing the figure without pause.

And in her heart, she prayed—

Please don’t let it be the one from my dream—

“Stop!!”

Xia Yi shouted as she turned the corner.

The maid of the Maid Royal Corps heard Xia Yi’s voice, halted her steps, and slowly turned around.

Xia Yi was on the verge of tears, afraid to even lift her head and confirm…

“Your Highness the Princess?”

Hearing the address, she looked up in delight.

She was the older maid of the Red Dragon Clan.

“Lucia!!”

Xia Yi threw herself into Lucia’s arms, hugging her tightly.

“Your Highness, why have you suddenly returned?!” Lucia was greatly surprised.

“Lucia, it’s really you, that’s wonderful, wonderful…”

Still shaken, Xia Yi kept repeating herself.

Lucia was puzzled, but she didn’t press further, allowing her princess to vent her emotions in her arms.

Only after a long while did Xia Yi finally release Lucia.

“Lucia, you scared me half to death—I thought something had happened to the Dragon Clan’s palace.”

Xia Yi lifted her head.

“Lucia, where is Xia Lulu right now?”

“…”

“Lucia?”

“Your Highness…” Lucia’s gaze was tinged with sorrow.

Xia Yi froze.

Lucia’s personality wasn’t like Serra’s. She wouldn’t deliberately tease her. If she asked a question, Lucia would always answer seriously.

Then why was she avoiding her question?

And showing such a pained expression?

“Answer me, Lucia! Where is Xia Lulu right now!” Xia Yi anxiously clutched at Lucia’s arm.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness…”

Lucia couldn’t bring herself to say it.

Xia Yi let go of her in disbelief, staggering back several steps.

She clenched her teeth, turned, and ran. But in her heart, a dreadful suspicion had already arisen…

“Xia Lulu is so strong!! The Dragon Clan is the mightiest of the higher races on this land—she’s the Queen of the mightiest race! There’s no one in this world who could defeat her, no one who could possibly harm her!”

Xia Yi shouted her denial, louder and louder, fighting against the thought in her heart.

She didn’t believe it. She refused to believe it.

Xia Yi reached the rear gardens of the palace.

No one was there.

Then she ran toward Xia Lulu’s chambers, pushed the door open—empty.

Still not there.

Finally, Xia Yi arrived at the Silver Dragon Queen’s office.

Today wasn’t a rest day, and Xia Lulu never slacked off. At this time of day, there was no reason for her to be resting. There was absolutely no way she could be absent.

She had to be inside, working. Then, when Xia Yi pushed the door open, she would look up in surprise!

Clinging to this thought, the little princess pushed the door open, forcing a stiff smile onto her face.

“Xia Lulu, I’m back—”

The office was empty. At Xia Lulu’s desk, there was no one.

She did not see the smile she had longed for.

The little princess stood alone, her voice choking.

“Xia Lulu… where are you…”