Volume 1 Chapter 155
by Need_More_SleepVolume 1 + Chapter 155: Unable To Hold Her Head Up
“Miss Anna and Miss Andai, I’ve come to bring the two of you two quilts. It may get colder at night, so I, ”
Alice’s personal young maid carefully carried in two thick quilts, her tone carrying a hint of respect and thoughtfulness.
However, before she could finish speaking, her gaze suddenly collided with a scene that made her freeze in place, Anna was completely curled up in Andai’s arms, gently lifted by her, in a full princess carry…
The little maid’s mouth fell slightly open. For a moment, she had no idea how to react, standing there utterly stunned.
“Did I… interrupt you?”
She asked haltingly, her eyes darting about, clearly flustered and at a loss.
No matter what, she still dutifully set the quilts aside, her movements light and swift, as if lingering for even one extra second would be an offense.
“Then I won’t disturb you two any further. Please rest early.”
After saying this, she hurriedly lowered her head, as if she had stumbled upon a secret she should never have known, then hastily turned around and made for the door with frantic steps.
Soon, the sound of her messy, hurried footsteps echoed through the corridor, as though she were fleeing the scene.
However, just as she was about to run far away, the footsteps suddenly stopped. After a brief pause, as if she had suddenly remembered something, she spun around and hurried back toward the room.
“Um… please rest early. Miss Eve has arrangements tomorrow morning. So… good night.”
This time, the little maid didn’t even dare push the door open by a fraction. She stood outside, raised her voice slightly, and delivered her words as concisely as possible, her tone carrying a deliberately suppressed nervousness.
The moment she finished speaking, she quickly turned and left, her steps hurried, as if lingering for even a second would cause something terrifying to fix its gaze upon her.
Inside the room, Anna and Andai silently looked at each other, the atmosphere subtly awkward. Especially Andai, she lowered her head to look at the person in her arms, recalling the instant the door had opened earlier. Anna had almost reflexively lunged toward her, diving straight into her embrace. That panicked movement, even the scales on her tail had bristled as if startled, left Andai still unable to fully recover.
“Anna… what was that just now?”
Andai asked cautiously, her tone filled with confusion.
“That was… training your reaction ability in an emergency situation.”
Anna lightly cleared her throat, putting on an air of righteous confidence, though her slightly wandering gaze betrayed a hint of guilt.
Her black tail swayed gently, as if deliberately avoiding Andai’s eyes, the tip twitching faintly with barely concealed tension. “Andai, if someone were to attack you, let’s say that person were me, then with how completely unguarded you were just now, you’d clearly already be in danger.”
She tried to make her voice sound serious and authoritative, but the faint guilt in her tone, paired with the small, restless motions of her tail, made her explanation hard to believe.
“Oh… I see.”
Andai nodded slightly, seeming to accept the explanation. Ever since childhood, she had always listened to Anna and followed her lead. Even though their personalities differed, she was used to trailing behind her like a devoted little tagalong.
That said, this didn’t mean she was foolish, on the contrary, she noticed many things perfectly well and simply chose not to expose them easily.
She tilted her head slightly, studying Anna with a probing gaze, her voice softening. “You weren’t just scared, were you, ”
“No. Absolutely not.”
Anna cut her off almost instantly, interrupting her quickly and decisively, as if she had anticipated the question all along.
Her voice sounded unwavering, even carrying a hint of unquestionable authority, yet the slight sway of her tail and her subtly averted gaze revealed a guilt she couldn’t fully conceal.
Andai blinked, gave her a meaningful look, and ultimately chose not to pursue the matter further.
After a moment of silence, she changed the subject, lowering her voice, tinged with hesitation and worry. “But… speaking of which, Anna, are we really not going to get scolded by the elders back home for working together with humans like this?”
Her voice was soft, but the concern in her brows was unmistakable.
Clearly, this was something she had pondered for a long time, only lacking the right moment to ask, until now.
“What are you saying? This isn’t ‘colluding with them.’”
Anna frowned slightly, took a deep breath, and lowered her voice as she corrected her. “This is another means of survival. We’re actually controlling humans, cleverly turning their hostility toward us into faith and admiration. Don’t say that kind of thing again. If someone with ulterior motives hears it, it’ll only cause unnecessary trouble.”
Her tone sounded earnest, even somewhat stern, as if she were lecturing Andai. In reality, however, she herself had only learned this line of reasoning not long ago.
It wasn’t that she had achieved any great enlightenment, she was simply afraid that if Eve happened to hear such words, she’d almost certainly be in serious trouble.
Eve was never someone easy to fool, and she wouldn’t let remarks like that slide.
Thinking of this, Anna couldn’t help casting Andai a slightly exasperated glance.
This girl was still just like she’d been as a child, blunt and thoughtless, completely lacking any sense of restraint. She could even blurt out something like that without hesitation. Thankfully, there were no magical eavesdropping devices here, otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
So frustrating, and exhausting. Sometimes, Andai’s heedless nature really did make one feel annoyed, irritated, and even… a little fed up.
“But the Dragon Clan’s Festival is coming up soon. The two of us are doing so poorly, most of the time, even making ends meet is a problem. We can’t loot anything worthwhile from merchant caravans, and we don’t have any achievements worth mentioning…”
“And I was even taken down by a human… three times.”
Andai covered her forehead, her tone filled with helplessness and frustration. Recalling those moments when she’d been thrown flat on her back, her tail couldn’t help curling slightly. “My head got rattled so badly I was dizzy for ages. Even now, it still feels a bit foggy.”
She sighed, rubbed her temples, and continued, “We’re definitely going back to the family for the festival this year. Then I’ll just get outshone by those cousins again. And there’s that cousin everyone back home is so proud of…”
As she said this, her voice dropped a few notches, her mood clearly sour.
Though the Dragon Clan appeared mysterious and aloof to outsiders, almost transcending the mundane world, the truth was that their society wasn’t all that different from that of humans.
During holidays, being questioned by relatives about income and assets, or even being pressured about marriage, was common in the human world, and just as common among dragons. Those annoying relatives were by no means exclusive to humans.
As Anna listened to Andai’s complaints, she sighed inwardly.
This was exactly what she worried about most. In an era where every dragon, no matter how poorly they were doing outside, still had to put on a facade of grandeur, Andai happened to be the kind who spoke without thinking, someone who dared to say anything aloud. Today, she had even accidentally blurted out the fact that she’d been taken down by Leah.
To be honest, if Anna herself hadn’t also been taken down by Leah before, she would absolutely have mocked Andai mercilessly over it. After all, this was a matter of dragon pride and dignity!
But now… she just wanted to keep quiet, pretend she hadn’t heard anything, and hurry past this heart-shattering topic.
“Don’t worry. Eve won’t treat us unfairly. When we go back for the festival this time, your big sister will make sure you get your moment to shine.”
Anna looked at Andai and couldn’t help sighing again. This child really was pitiful, young, foolish, and guileless, yet constantly toyed with by those cousins, back and forth.
Every year, Andai was the stepping stone, the very bottom of the comparison ladder.
Anna had seen it all along. This time, she felt there might finally be a chance to let her little sister hold her head up, just once.
But the prerequisite was that she absolutely must remember one thing: being taken down by Leah three times was something that could never, ever be mentioned to anyone else.
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