Today, the princess died.
Perhaps it was yesterday. Patunasankus didn't know. She received a report from her servant, vaguely stating, "Princess dead, burial tomorrow, reporting to my lord."
This didn't clarify much.
It might have been yesterday when she died.
The burial place was on Silver Moon Peak. Patunasankus had calculated the feng shui on her fingers—not bad, and not far from her lair. With her adult dragon physique, making the round trip would be effortless.
However, Patunasankus wasn't happy, mainly because almost all her subordinates had requested half a day off.
Patunasankus didn't feel like talking, only replying, "Do whatever you want."
She even wanted to tell her monster servants: "It's just a princess."
She thought she suffered the biggest financial loss, so her servants should be the ones expressing condolences to her. But she couldn't really refuse such a reason as attending the princess's funeral, being their leader and all.
Besides, taking just half a day off wouldn't give any foolish adventuring party the opportunity to raid her lair.
But Patunasankus was in a foul mood today and still said nothing. Anyway, she didn't care much, didn't care at all.
Although, if she were to see her monster servants, goblins, gnolls, dragonborn vanguards, kobolds... all dressed in mourning clothes, she would certainly need to say sothing appropriate to comfort them.
Once the burial was over, everything should return to normal.
Patunasankus would have to capture a new princess, just business as usual.
Any evil dragon with ambition would kidnap a princess; this had beco a universally acknowledged truth.
Whenever such a dragon moved to a new place, although neighbors might not understand its temperant or power, since this truth was deeply rooted in evil dragons' hearts, dragons always regarded the imprisoned princess in their lair as a self-evident golden signboard.
At so point, gold coins as symbols of wealth were no longer dragons' pursuit, and kidnapping princesses beca the new trend among dragonkind.
Patunasankus was no exception.
These days, dragons were constantly competing with each other. A princess in an evil dragon's ho was like a luxury item for a wealthy lady—whether it was useful was secondary; the key was that you couldn't be without one.
If anyone didn't have a princess locked up, cursing the evil dragon to hell every day, they would be too embarrassed to greet fellow dragons.
Co to think of it, this princess was truly a strange creature.
Although brought to the lair by the evil dragon personally, she seed to have no complaints except for the noisy environnt of the dragon's nest.
Later, they discovered that no matter how they adjusted the lair's security asures, she always found opportunities to wander out and play around, causing Patunasankus's subordinates a heap of trouble, as if she considered this place her ho, unclear about who the real master was.
How could such a lively troublemaker suddenly die?
Patunasankus didn't know. What confused her more was what was so great about this princess.
She only rembered.
The princess's eyes were as blue as the sky, and the sky seed to fra her slender silhouette. Wearing a pink formal dress with a blue ribbon binding her long hair, her oval face was soft and sweet.
Latifa Flandoya.
This na suited her like the pink dress, along with the blue sky, the small hills, and September's gentle breeze.
Her na.
Patunasankus rembered it clearly.
Perhaps because she stood in the afternoon sunlight, her dandelion-colored hair dancing in the wind, or perhaps because her dress wrapped around her long, slender legs.
Now the evil dragon's monster servants had all left the lair to attend the funeral, and Patunasankus was irritated.
Because she would definitely have to clean up the princess's boudoir herself. These brainless servants had abandoned their responsibilities to attend the funeral; later, she would certainly settle accounts and dock their pay.
Patunasankus's neck curved slightly, her scales shimring with obsidian luster in the sunlight, making her look like a statue, seemingly contemplating so serious matter.
Her dragon eyes narrowed slightly, the reptilian vertical pupils flickering with fla-like brilliance.
She asured the shadow cast by her enormous body, glanced at the princess's boudoir, small as a building block, and felt inexplicably agitated again.
But Patunasankus still went in.
Not in dragon form.
"..."
In the princess's boudoir, facing the blonde girl appearing in the rcury mirror, Patunasankus fell silent.
She had no mory of how she entered or transford into human form, but she had certainly done these things. She had just intended to change into any human form to make do, but sohow she had instantly taken on the appearance of Latifa Flandoya.
"Really, so annoying."
She murmured, the golden long hair swaying gently in the mirror, identical to the princess in her mory.
The only difference was that Latifa never looked as expressionless as she did now; the princess always seed happy, with only one exception.
In her mories, Latifa always cheerfully escaped from her cage, sotis even sneaking into Patunasankus's chamber to mischievously stroke her scales, only to be returned to confinent by the monster guards summoned by the evil dragon, until she found another opportunity to wander out again.
Always like this, always.
Patunasankus thought about going out later, but her mind was filled with thoughts of Latifa. She sat on the princess's bed for a long ti, lost in thought.
Until a series of urgent footsteps echoed in the deep corridor, followed by a "bang" as the heavy enchanted iron door was kicked open, and several small human figures appeared in Patunasankus's field of vision.
Unwelco intruders.
Patunasankus stood up, ready to face the challenge.
Such invasion incidents happened every few days. For a period, her lair saw daily bloodshed and constant battles, with countless adventurers killed. But thanks to her powerful monster subordinates, no one had ever penetrated deep into her lair.
They must have sneaked in while the lair was empty. How foolish!
Good, these naturally evil humans, I, Patunasankus, will personally...
Then Patunasankus hesitated slightly as she realized sothing.
She was still in the form of Latifa Flandoya.
But in that mont of hesitation, before she could leave the cage and transform back into an evil dragon.
She saw a pink-haired girl rush forward, unlock the cage, and embrace Patunasankus, steadily supporting her back and knees, allowing the 'princess' to naturally rest her head on the girl's shoulder.
The girl could now feel the 'princess's' light weight and the faint floral fragrance emanating from her body.
She softly said to Patunasankus: "Princess, don't be afraid. I'm here to rescue you and take you back!"
"...?"
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