Celeste diligently handled state affairs, while the Commander observed him from a short distance with a frown.
She had actually sensed it long ago—the faint trace of the dragon’s aura on Prince Celeste.
When Celeste first appeared that day, the Commander almost thought it was Ji Zhaoxi in disguise and nearly lunged at him with her sword.
Strange memories suddenly surfaced in her mind.
Prince Celeste often ventured deep into the forest—the direction where the dragon lived.
She had once spotted the dragon in the sky and was about to attack it, but Celeste had stopped her.
And then there were the gemstones he sought, those bizarre hats, and the scent clinging to him...
The Commander fell silent for a moment, hoping she wasn’t right.
If she were, she almost felt sorry for the dragon.
It wasn’t exactly the sharpest creature to begin with...
Sure enough, after finishing his state duties, Celeste left again with the gemstones.
Standing in the tower, the Commander watched his retreating back, her brow tightly knit.
Oh well, she thought, as long as she got paid.
At that moment, Ji Zhaoxi was diligently polishing gemstones.
She had to patrol the forest during the day and rest, which cut deeply into her gem-polishing time.
She already had several chests of unpolished gems piled up—a bittersweet burden.
When Celeste brought back even more chests of gemstones, Ji Zhaoxi let out a deep sigh.
How long would this take? And yet, polishing gems was so important that she couldn’t bring herself to trust anyone else with it.
Watching Celeste clean the lair with earnest focus, Ji Zhaoxi hesitated before speaking.
“Celeste...”
She cleared her throat. “Polish that chest of gemstones clean.”
Surprise flickered in Celeste’s eyes. Miss Dragon was actually willing to let him touch her precious gems?
Ji Zhaoxi was reluctant, but if she kept letting the gems pile up like this, she would eventually come to hate them.
And she must never hate gems.
“You need to polish them gently, every side. And don’t touch their edges too much,” Ji Zhaoxi instructed seriously, demonstrating carefully.
But Celeste was clumsy, fumbling even with a simple gemstone. Ji Zhaoxi grew a little annoyed but held back.
She took his hand and guided him slowly. “Like this. The way you were doing it would hurt my gems.”
Celeste looked down at her hand gripping his. Her hand was small, covering his scarred one completely. He could even feel her soft palm against the back of his hand.
“Miss Dragon,” Celeste said softly, “please don’t hire any other servants. I’ll polish your gems for you, and I’ll give you everything you need.”
If he ever saw anyone else touching what he had made for her again, he didn’t know what he might do to that person.
His emotions weren’t as stable as he liked to think.
Ji Zhaoxi’s ears reddened slightly, and she reluctantly nodded.
She was no longer an ignorant dragon—she was a dragon who had mastered all the necessary knowledge of physiology.
But as she polished, she felt a nagging sense of something off.
Dragons were allowed to have multiple servants, weren’t they? Even if Celeste was her servant, why couldn’t she have others?
The sky was swallowed by a massive shadow. The dragon dove down from the clouds, not landing immediately, but breathing fire straight ahead. The armored soldiers below fought back in despair.
Deep in the forest, several heavy infantrymen raised their spears, trying to stab the dragon’s belly.
Black ash floated in the air as the dragon stood atop the ruins, elegantly licking the shreds of flesh from its lips.
Lorian had only suffered a minor injury that day. She fought every day, and her combat experience was richer than any other dragon’s.
She returned to the castle, where the light had dimmed. The other dragons were resting.
Almost every day, she came back alone.
Perhaps strength was always a lonely road.
The kingdom’s commoners were very satisfied with Celeste. After so many years of the old king’s rule, they were already grateful and moved if the next king simply wore proper clothes.
They never expected that Celeste would not only dress well but also handle state affairs with such responsibility. Maybe God saw how much the common people had suffered and sent Celeste down to help them.
Ji Zhaoxi had started refusing Celeste’s gemstones because her wrist began to ache.
She feared she’d get tendonitis if she kept polishing at such a high intensity.
So Celeste began using the gems to remodel the lair.
He had promised her—he would build her a crystal palace right here.
Ji Zhaoxi was sleeping when something bright flashed and woke her. She opened her eyes and found dozens of chests of gems in the lair.
“Celeste,” Ji Zhaoxi grumbled, burying her face in the wool blanket.
His gems had woken her up again.
Celeste hugged her and kissed her, then covered the gems with cloth.
Once Ji Zhaoxi went out on patrol, he began knocking and hammering inside the lair. He didn’t want anyone else’s help.
After all, this was their home.
When Ji Zhaoxi was away during the day, Celeste worked inside the lair. When she slept at night, he worked outside.
Every day, after finishing his duties in the kingdom, he would ride back, always in a hurry.
The soldiers of the kingdom held great respect for Celeste.
With a prince like this, their kingdom would surely grow better and better.
Celeste grew weary. Sometimes he would lean against the wall and fall asleep.
Seeing him like this, Ji Zhaoxi even felt a pang of guilt.
Celeste immediately noticed her softening heart.
“Miss Dragon...”
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her relentlessly, until she was breathless and gasping.
After this happened a few times, Ji Zhaoxi stopped feeling guilty altogether.
In fact, she started pushing Celeste around daily, acting like a little tyrant.
The sun hung high in the sky, the air so hot it seemed to warp. Yet the forest remained cool—perfect for an afternoon nap.
But a sharp, incessant chirping rang through the forest, growing louder and fiercer.
The other creatures drooped their eyelids, only to be jolted awake by the next burst of noise.
“I made this!” argued the first pair of round, beady eyes angrily.
“I found the materials! You stole them!” the second pair exclaimed in fury.
“How was I supposed to know they were yours? I picked them up from under the tree!” the first one argued back.
The two birds soon began fighting, feathers flying everywhere.
Ji Zhaoxi: ...
They had been squabbling for days.
Ji Zhaoxi placed the birdhouse she had made onto the tree, and the two beady-eyed birds started fighting over ownership again.
“You’re disgusting! You already have your own birdhouse, and you still want this one!”
“You’re the disgusting one! Since you found the materials, just keep that birdhouse! I want Miss Dragon’s!”
“Stupid bird!”
“You’re the stupid one! I’m alive, can’t you see?”
Their noise gave Ji Zhaoxi a headache. She quickly made another birdhouse, and the two birds finally quieted down.
