Tremble, tremble—
The hand holding the cup trembled.
“Do you like coffee or tea, Sir Knight? But there’s no coffee, so please just have tea.”
It might’ve seemed pointless to ask, but Lulu was in no state of mind to think clearly.
The knight’s narrowed eyes stared straight at her with a cold expression.
Just moments ago, he seemed like he was willing to protect young Lulu.
But now, Lulu had ruined everything.
Just ten minutes ago—
“This is the deepest part of the Shadow Forest. How are you even living here?”
“Fried eggs and sleep!”
“We found an artifact here that was used to create a barrier. One the princess installed. Where is the princess?”
“Unni isn’t the princess?”
“…Why would anyone leave a child alone in such a dangerous place? Who’s your guardian? No—where’s the princess?”
“Uuumm…”
Lulu’s brain, unused for a while, started working.
Right now, in this tower, the people present were: the baby dragon—me—this knight, Unni… and the princess?
But even as young as she was, Lulu knew this was a situation where she must not reveal that she was a dragon.
The knight was already wary and interrogating her thoroughly. It made sense.
Then…
“…I’m the princess.”
Lulu tilted her head and put on an innocent face.
So clever, me. Full marks for brilliance!
If she could convince the knight she was the princess, then he’d never suspect her real identity!
With a smug little smirk, Lulu flashed a proud smile. But then—
“I’ve seen the princess’s face. What are you talking about?”
The knight’s expression suddenly turned frightening.
“…Hic!”
Scarier than a wolf monster. Scarier than a bat monster.
Which is why Lulu decided to make tea.
A quick switch of topic!
“Have some tea, s-sir.”
Lulu tiptoed over and carefully set the teacup down in front of the knight who was staring at her intensely.
“It’s h-hot, so blow on it first.”
She may have made a few mistakes, but Lulu thought everything would be fine as long as she didn’t get found out as a dragon.
However, the knight just continued to silently stare at her.
A stare harsher than anything she’d ever experienced made cold sweat drip from Lulu’s head.
“You have to blow on it… Can’t you blow, sir?”
“….”
Oh no! He’s mad because I lied about being the princess!
Gulping nervously, Lulu tried even harder to serve him properly.
The problem was…
“Then Lulu will blow on it for you. Fwoo—!”
Trying to blow on the hot tea, Lulu accidentally breathed fire instead—and burned the knight’s face.
Oh no… I’m doomed!
Lulu’s face turned pale as a sheet.
“S-Sir Knight….”
She had burned many things before—but never a person.
Wouldn’t it hurt him?
The knight sat silently, his face… still on fire!
“Water, sir! Water!”
Panicking, Lulu almost splashed him with hot tea, but quickly came to her senses and poured cold water into a cup.
She rushed over and splashed it on his face.
And then—
“You’re a dragon.”
Drip, drip.
Between the wet strands of hair, the knight’s once orderly red eyes gleamed like a madman’s.
His face should have been charred, but instead—having been hit by both fire and water in quick succession—he looked… surprisingly fine.
Still, he was far scarier than Lulu imagined.
“I didn’t expect to find such a young specimen. Hiding here in the Shadow Forest, huh?”
Step.
The knight rose from his chair and stepped toward Lulu.
Her hands trembled in panic.
The closer he got, the more enormous and threatening he appeared.
“S-Sir Knight, I’m sorry for breathing fire! Lulu… Lulu isn’t used to her flames yet, and sometimes when I panic, they just… Hic!”
“You were hiding in the forest until you matured, and planned to attack the Empire again like four years ago, is that it?”
Attack the Empire four years ago? What was he talking about?
Lulu was only four—she hadn’t even been born then!
“I didn’t do that! I’m sorry!”
She rubbed her tiny hands together frantically, but it was no use.
“Trying to fool me with the guise of a child, hoping to earn my sympathy. But I know what kind of monster you are underneath.”
Shing—
The knight drew a long sword. Much longer than Lulu’s body.
Just then, with the sunlight casting shadows through the window, his face darkened even more.
Frightened, Lulu flinched and shut her eyes tightly.
Then—
“Breaking into my tower, and calling a child a monster?!”
Crash! A loud noise rang in her ears, followed by a familiar voice.
Moments later—
The terrifying knight was gone. In his place, Unni stood, panting.
“Lulu, are you okay? Are you hurt? What did that bastard do to you?”
“U… Unni…”
Unni came to save me.
Overwhelmed by her heroic arrival, the tears Lulu had been holding back began to flow.
She stretched out her arms to leap into Unni’s embrace—then froze.
A strange sense of betrayal crept in.
“Unni… Why didn’t you tell me?”
Why hadn’t she said anything?
If Lulu had known she was an evil dragon from the start, she never would have dreamed of reading more fairy tales or traveling the world.
She wouldn’t have done stretching exercises. She would’ve just curled up in the tower forever, trying not to hurt anyone.
“Fairy tales and the knight both say dragons are bad. They kidnap kids and burn villages. Lulu breathes fire too!”
“…What?”
“And the knight was looking for the princess. What’s that about? Are you the princess, Unni?”
So it had been a secret all along.
Hearing that, Unni’s face darkened.
“…Let’s just start with a hug.”
“No!”
Unni tried to hug her, but Lulu, already upset, pushed her away with her tiny hands.
Lulu had expected her to cry and apologize after getting caught in a lie.
Instead—
“Lulu. I didn’t raise you to be like this.”
Unni furrowed her brows and asked seriously:
“Lulu, are you going to believe the person who broke into our home without permission? Or the sister you’ve lived with for a whole year?”
“Uhh…?”
Lulu blinked away her tears, startled by the sudden question.
Unni? The knight?
Of course, if she had to choose, it was Unni.
The fairy tales and knight said she was a bad dragon, but Unni saved her, cooked her fried eggs, played with her…
But then she remembered the angry face of the knight and shuddered again.
Bad dragon.
Lulu, shrinking inside, fidgeted with her fingers.
“Who’s telling the truth? The knight said I’m a bad dragon…”
“Who cares?”
Unni grabbed Lulu’s shoulders firmly and looked into her eyes.
“Whether you’re a good dragon or a bad dragon—that’s for you to decide. What kind of dragon do you want to be, Lulu?”
Of course she wanted to be a good dragon.
But lacking confidence, Lulu whispered in a small voice.
“…A good dragon.”
“Then that’s what you are. If Lulu says she’s a good dragon, then she’s a good dragon. Remember how the villagers praise you for being so polite?”
“Oh…?”
That’s right.
The villagers always praised Lulu.
She bowed politely. She even ate the vegetables they gave her.
Lulu wasn’t a picky eater.
“!”
Remembering that, Lulu’s face lit up with confidence.
“…Then I’m a good dragon?”
“Of course!”
“I’m a good dragon!”
Now finally in high spirits, Lulu jumped into Unni’s embrace.
“Unni.”
“Yes?”
“But… I kind of breathed fire on the knight’s face earlier. Am I still a good dragon?”
“…What?”
The warm hand patting her back froze mid-motion.
* * *
After laying the sleeping Lulu in bed, Angela looked down at the unconscious man and sighed.
“I thought hiding the child would be enough. Who would’ve thought someone would come looking on their own?”
So, what to do with this man?
Kicking aside some of the white bricks that made up the tower’s walls, she revealed the handsome knight’s face.
He should’ve bled a little from hitting those bricks, but thanks to the defense artifacts covering his body, he looked more asleep than unconscious.
Velix Cardine.
One of the two dukes known as the twin pillars of the Lydia Kingdom.
Why had he come here? That was obvious.
He must have been sent by the royal family to find the runaway princess. But after hearing the rumor that the princess had been kidnapped by a dragon, he probably came intending to kill the dragon himself.
Since a dragon had killed his family.
Still…
Angela sighed bitterly, feeling the unfairness of it all.
“…Forget it.”
Her father, the king’s madness.
The long and difficult journey of escaping with Lulu.
So much had happened, but she was proud of how she’d raised Lulu.
She had even only read her specially written fairy tales to block any negative image of dragons.
But with Sir Velix himself showing up, all her plans were shattered.
“When he wakes up, he’ll definitely go straight for Lulu. And even if I try to talk him down, I can’t trust him to keep Lulu’s identity a secret…”
She had to find a way to silence him.
Only one method remained.
Until then…
“I’ll have to imprison the duke.”
There was no other way. Angela crossed her arms, resolute.
And from beyond the crack in the door—
“Yaho… imprisoning the knight…”
Lulu, secretly watching the situation unfold, nodded solemnly with a determined expression.
