Volume 4 Chapter 68

Volume 4 + Chapter 68: A False Alarm

Elly, having released her true dragon form, carried Xia Yi to her hometown, Vog Village.

But the sight before them left both stunned.

“Why… why has my home become like this?!”

Elly roared in anger, her voice even causing the ground to tremble.

Even Xia Yi fell into silence.

Before approaching this area, she had noticed it was a village nestled near a massive snowy mountain.

Only upon arriving did she realize the entire village was in utter disarray. Ruins and rubble were everywhere. Not a soul was in sight. All the Dragon Clan members who lived here had vanished, as if the place had suffered a calamity that buried everything beneath ice and snow.

“Why? Why is it like this?!!”

Elly’s voice was choked with sobs, a wail of grief.

“Could it be that someone destroyed my hometown?!”

“…”

Xia Yi remained silent, unable to answer Elly’s question.

Home was no longer home.

“My mom and dad, and everyone in Vog Village… they were all just trying to live their lives, never doing anything bad! Why did it have to end like this?!”

Elly, usually so timid, had her emotions completely ignited and erupted under these circumstances.

“Unforgivable! It’s unforgivable!! If I find out who harmed my family, I’ll never let them get away with it! I will avenge you all!!”

Elly’s roars echoed through the silent ruins of Vog Village.

Just as Xia Yi was about to comfort Elly and decided to help her seek justice, she spotted a figure seemingly entering the dilapidated village.

Someone has come here!

“Elly! Elly!!” Xia Yi called out.

“Waaah!! Dad! Mom! You died so tragically! It’s your unfilial daughter’s fault! I haven’t even fulfilled my filial duties, and you’re already gone!”

Elly was sprawled on the ground, weeping uncontrollably, unable to hear Xia Yi’s words, simply venting her emotions.

Xia Yi summoned her Rosewood Staff. Spotting the figure, she prepared to attack with magic, but sensing no hostility and that the other’s power level wasn’t high, she put the staff away. That person, upon seeing Xia Yi and Elly, also showed a stunned expression.

“Huh? Elly?”

It was a middle-aged Blue Dragon. Upon discovering Elly was mourning, his cheek twitched.

“Elly, I’m not dead yet!”

“Ah? Dad?!”

Hearing the middle-aged dragon’s voice, Elly turned her head, showing an incredulous expression before it changed to one of pleasant surprise.

“Dad, you’re not dead!”

“Can’t you speak normally? Kid, how can you curse your own dad to die!” Elly’s father complained.

He walked over to Elly and Xia Yi.

Elly also shifted back to her human form.

After seeing his daughter after such a long time, Elly’s father revealed a simple, honest smile. “Daughter, why didn’t you say you were coming back? I couldn’t even go pick you up!”

“Dad, what happened to Vog Village? Where is everyone?”

“Everyone moved away.”

“Moved away?!”

“Yes,” Elly’s father began to explain. “Actually, everyone in the village temporarily moved to live in the nearby city. It was mainly because some time ago, there was a terrible, once-in-a-century snow disaster. It caused a lot of damage for the villagers, many places became uninhabitable, and the fields were heavily ruined. There’s also a chance another snow disaster could erupt anytime. But Vog Village is very poor, we didn’t have the funds to rebuild…”

“And then?”

“Later, while we were worrying, a member of the Royal Maid Corps came. I think her name was… Lucia! Miss Lucia helped us resolve our difficulties, providing free aid to our Vog Village. She arranged for us to temporarily relocate to the city. We’ll come back to rebuild our homes after some time. She also said they’d help us set up a magic barrier to protect against snow disasters later.”

“Was it actually Sister Lucia? I didn’t know about this!”

Elly was very surprised. Her hometown had suffered a disaster, and the Royal Maid Corps had provided such assistance.

She was just an apprentice maid, not even officially promoted yet.

For her, coming from a commoner background, this was once an unimaginable level of care.

“Elly, enough of those inauspicious words! Everyone is alive and well!” Elly’s dad rubbed his daughter’s head. “You’re working in the Dragon Royal Palace now, right? You should act a bit more proper!”

“Uh… I, I…”

Elly glanced at Xia Yi beside her.

Recalling her rash behavior earlier, she felt utterly mortified.

Her first reaction had been that Vog Village had been wiped out. She had imagined all sorts of scenarios, even declaring she’d seek revenge… It was like some theatrical performance…

So embarrassing! Cringeworthy beyond belief!!

She could have dug a three-bedroom apartment with her toes.

“Dad, stop, stop talking! It was a misunderstanding!!” Elly covered her face in shame.

“It was a false alarm. That’s good then,” Xia Yi said.

“Your Highness, I’m so sorry you had to witness such an undignified scene…!”

“Your Highness?!”

Hearing these words, Elly’s father was greatly startled. Then it dawned on him: silver hair, silver eyes—that could only be from the Silver Dragon clan, right?

Among Silver Dragons nowadays, it would either be the Silver Dragon Queen or the Silver Dragon Princess.

“This commoner pays his respects to Your Highness!” Elly’s father showed great reverence.

“Shh, don’t tell anyone,” Xia Yi reminded him.

Elly’s father immediately nodded. This was his first time seeing a member of the Dragon Royal Family in person, how could he not be excited?

“I’m really sorry, making you laugh, Your Highness. My father isn’t a noble. If his lack of etiquette offends you, please punish me instead!” Elly said awkwardly.

Xia Yi had actually noticed that Elly came from a simple, commoner family with no significant background. Her hometown had suffered such a disaster, and if not for the care the Dragon Royal Family extended through the Royal Maid Corps, they might not have gotten through it.

This was completely different from Lucia and Serra, who came from traditional noble families.

However, something puzzled Xia Yi, Elly’s father was clearly a Blue Dragon, yet Elly was a Green Dragon?

It was rather strange. Could Elly’s mother be a Green Dragon? Perhaps she inherited more from her mother’s bloodline…

That’s what Xia Yi thought.

“Hey, daughter, why are you with Her Highness?” Elly’s father leaned close to Elly and whispered. “And you came to our place?”

“It’s because I’m helping Her Highness to—”

Elly almost blurted it out but remembered her earlier oath and quickly changed her words:

“We were traveling and happened to pass by this area. I mentioned this was my hometown, so Her Highness decided to stop for a rest.”

“I see.”

Elly’s father fell into thought. After a moment, as if having made a decision, he walked up to Xia Yi and suddenly half-knelt on the ground.

“Your Highness, please forgive our rudeness. All of us in Vog Village have an important request…”