In the slowly moving carriage, Patunasankus rested her hand on the window ledge, her expression quite relaxed and carefree.
Thump thump thump!
Loranhir's situation was completely different from hers.
The closer they got to the Duchess's mansion, the louder the heartbeat in the carriage beca, so intense that even the coachman outside felt the pressure.
Patunasankus thought this feeling of building her happiness on soone else's suffering was quite nice.
The evil dragon chuckled with satisfaction, her lips curving slightly, looking outside with interest.
The Pascal family was a local dynasty that had continued for hundreds of years. Their mansion's courtyard was enormous, with iron-railed stone walls extending for hundreds of ters before reaching the main gate.
Today was clearly an important day for receiving guests. Carriages entered from ti to ti, and local notables and wealthy rchants in fine clothes arrived on horseback, creating a bustling atmosphere.
As the sound of hooves gradually ceased, the Pascal family's butler, Craig, respectfully approached the carriage door.
"Princess, great Hero, please disembark. We have... arrived."
Before Craig could finish speaking, he saw the ornately decorated carriage door open. Loranhir stepped out with a cold expression, her Heart of the Red Queen pounding loudly.
With just a glance, under the indescribable pressure, the previously noisy gate quieted down. The guests behind dared not discuss loudly, fearing to offend this imposing figure.
"Do you know who this girl is? Just looking at her makes feel she's not soone to ss with."
"...I don't know, but she seems familiar."
So guests began to whisper, and finally, so recognized Loranhir.
"The Hero! It's actually the Hero! The Duchess has actually invited this great person!"
"The Hero, is she that powerful?"
"You don't know? This Hero is currently the strongest. She grew up swimming in lava since childhood. As she grew up, she could use the moon as a punching bag—those huge craters were left by her. After becoming a Hero, she even received blessings from the four great gods, and her holy sword is not to be underestimated. They say no one has ever lived to see the holy sword unsheathed."
Hearing the discussions around her, Loranhir was speechless, the Heart of the Red Queen continuing to resound.
She bent slightly, extending her hand into the carriage. Patunasankus instinctively wanted to swat it away, but after scanning the gazes around them, she took Loranhir's hand and stepped out of the carriage.
"Who is this girl? With that hood, I can't see... I wonder who is so remarkable that they can subdue the Hero, making her willingly pledge loyalty."
"...Perhaps she's an incarnation of the goddess?"
The guests around them speculated variously, all guessing who could make the world's strongest, invincible Hero willingly serve as a guard.
"Please follow , both of you. The Duchess has been waiting for so ti," Butler Craig said, directly skipping the part about checking invitations and leading Loranhir and Patunasankus into the lively courtyard of the banquet.
○
The night was cloudy.
Patunasankus slowly walked into the courtyard. It resembled a garden from the age of knights, with huge tree-shaped hanging lamps around, each leaf hanging a crystal candle.
If the current trend among evil dragons was still pursuing wealth, then Patunasankus would have marked this location without hesitation.
Unfortunately, kidnapping princesses was now the trend among dragons, and wealth no longer seed so important. The robbery seminars that dragons used to hold had all turned into kidnapping clubs.
"Three years without seeing you, I trust you've been well, Princess."
The Duchess slowly turned around, smiling.
Patunasankus frowned.
This was bad; the other person seed to know Latifa. Now she had truly encountered an acquaintance.
However.
An acquaintance, or a 'well-done acquaintance'—that was the question.
Since this was an acquaintance, she definitely had to be careful not to let the other person see through her disguise.
Of course, if her true identity was discovered, she might as well turn the other person into a 'well-done acquaintance.'
If it were Latifa, how would she handle social interactions?
Patunasankus thought for a mont, then slowly removed her hood. Her dandelion-colored long hair slid out from the hood, revealing skin like white porcelain, moist lips, a slightly upturned nose, and those azure eyes that reflected the sky.
"The Princess is as charming as ever. Hearing the news of your escape from the dragon's lair truly excited ," the Duchess stepped forward, taking the evil dragon's hand and lightly kissing the back of it. "Please forgive , I have important matters to attend to and cannot chat with you now."
Patunasankus's eye twitched, but she still showed no reaction.
However, Loranhir beside her imdiately frowned, looking very unhappy.
"Thank you also, Hero." The Duchess shook Loranhir's hand, who still seed a bit gloomy. "Regarding the commission about the ferocious beast."
"Does that creature only co out during the full moon?" Patunasankus suddenly spoke up.
She looked up at the sky. The clouds dispersed, releasing the full moon that had been obscured for a long ti. The dragon's vision detected sothing moving in the clouds. It seed to have noticed the commotion here and was specifically diving down in this direction.
"Yes, that's right. What's the matter?" Before the Duchess could clarify the princess's intention, she heard screams from the crowd. A creature four ells tall landed on the eaves of the pavilion, its turbid eyes scanning the crowd below.
Patunasankus examined this creature with interest.
Though called a ferocious beast, it did have a humanoid outline. Its body was filthy, with a bloody maw extending from one ear to the other, lined with dagger-like teeth. It had red eyes and red hair like tattered cloth. The bone spurs on its wings looked sharper than a wildcat's and extended all the way to the ground.
The Duchess seed completely unafraid. She looked at the ferocious beast with a different emotion in her eyes and whispered to Loranhir, "Please, don't kill her."
Loranhir beside her couldn't hear anything anymore. She was already terrified, not even attempting to draw the holy sword. In the courtyard, heartbeats like war drums resounded—the legendary Heart of the Red Queen was pounding loudly.
Just as in the rumors, the ferocious beast intended to swoop down and snatch a pure maiden. Among the fleeing crowd, it imdiately targeted the motionless Loranhir.
Poised to strike, it pounced.
"Um... anyone would do, why specifically her..." Patunasankus began to feel a headache.
She had completely stripped the hero of her pretenses. Loranhir's intimidation would have no effect on this kind of instinct-driven beast.
Understanding the ferocious beast's target, she decisively threw herself into Loranhir's arms.
After all, she was just a weak, helpless, pitiful princess without the strength to tie a chicken.
"Monster... such a frightening monster... Hero... I, I'm so scared..."
As these words fell, an aura of dragon might radiated outward from Patunasankus.
As she spoke, Patunasankus's expression even carried a hint of fear.
Even Patunasankus was sowhat surprised at how well she had adapted to this decorative role.
Thump thump thump!
At this mont, Loranhir's heartbeat had nearly reached the limit of 180 beats per minute. Whatever that thing called adren-sothing was being secreted like sweat.
If the princess hadn't been holding her tightly, she would have collapsed from weak knees.
She should have jumped from the carriage before reaching Silver City!
No matter what, she should have jumped!
Then she wouldn't have encountered this situation.
This ferocious beast looked too terrifying!
Just seeing it, making eye contact with it, made her feel like she was about to die any minute.
God... anyone... save her...
As if Loranhir's prayers worked, the ferocious beast stopped in its tracks. It instantly sensed sothing was wrong.
On Loranhir, it vaguely saw a pair of golden eyes slowly opening in the darkness, as if the gates of hell were opening before it.
An extrely terrifying fear spilled out. It didn't understand, but this near-death experience made the ferocious beast imdiately abandon its target, flapping its wings and fleeing without looking back.
Too scary, this one.
The ferocious beast's limited instinct imdiately classified Loranhir as a top-of-the-food-chain creature.
Loranhir had almost thought she was going to die, but she remained unhard. It was as if the gods had finally heard her prayers and frightened away the ferocious beast.
At this mont, the guests who had recovered from their terror saw Loranhir standing firm, easily scaring away the ferocious beast. They all began to express their admiration.
"Truly worthy of being the legendary hero, a face that shows invincibility in the world. She scared away the ferocious beast with just her presence."
"What's this? The invincible one just has a pretty face."
"..."
Loranhir remained expressionless, but the heartbeat that resounded throughout the courtyard still hadn't subsided.
I really... don't want to be a hero.
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