Chapter 2: An Unsettling Awakening

Inside a small cabin nestled within the dense forest, Gern slowly opened her still weary eyes. Her gaze drifted to the unfamiliar roof, a rustic blend of mud and thatch, yet she felt an unexpected sense of warmth toward it.

“Where am I?”

Her voice, sweet and endearing, carried a faint, youthful softness. Gern’s expression stiffened, and she mechanically cast her gaze upon her own diminutive form.

It was a body not yet fully developed, yet already graced with a subtle, feminine allure. Her heart began to pound as Gern tentatively touched her own face.

What met her touch was a cool, silken smoothness, a stark contrast to the coarse texture of the face she recalled.

Her hands, too, had transformed, now dainty and small, still somewhat undeveloped. Yet, beneath their soft plumpness, the delicate, elongated bones of her fingers were faintly discernible.

“No… this isn’t me, these aren’t my hands!”

Gern’s golden dragon eyes trembled as she clenched and unclenched her hands, desperately trying to convince herself that these hands were not her own.

Yet, the sensation in her hands was undeniably real, the touch exquisitely clear. No matter how Gern attempted to deceive herself, the stark truth remained.

Gern’s body trembled slightly as she resolved to verify one more thing. Her small hand hesitantly reached toward the space between her legs…

Nothing. There was utterly nothing. The area was smooth and flat, revealing a chasm that profoundly should not have been hers.

Utter despair consumed Gern in that moment. Tears welled in the corners of her eyes, lending her an utterly pitiable appearance.

“Why? I’ve already been reborn, so how could this…”

In a daze, she recalled her previous life, where it seemed a Silver Dragon Girl had also emerged from a secret realm, appearing similarly youthful.

“No way, no way, could it be…”

Just as Gern teetered on the brink of a complete breakdown, the cabin door suddenly swung open, and a blonde, blue-eyed Princess stepped inside.

“Oh, little sister, you’re awake.”

“‘Little sister? Is she talking to me? Impossible, I must be hallucinating, haha…’

However, the Princess had already reached her bedside, extending a slender, fair hand towards her, thereby shattering Gern’s desperate self-deception.

“What nonsense are you spouting, little sister? Is there anyone else here besides you and me?”

The Princess brightened with a smile, then playfully pinched Gern’s plump, elastic cheek.

As Gern observed the Princess’s still somewhat youthful appearance, a persistent feeling nagged at her—she was certain she had seen this girl before.

‘When had I seen her?’

A face from her memory—sickly, yet so breathtakingly beautiful it was suffocating—gradually merged with the Princess’s features before her.

Gern remembered. Even though the Princess before her was still quite young and unrefined, Gern knew she would never forget this face, even if she were reduced to ashes.

The person who had ended her life in her previous incarnation was none other than the sole heir to the Kingdom of Clete, Princess Lilia.

A torrent of unpleasant memories instantly flooded her mind, and Gern almost instinctively curled her body, shrinking backward.

Lilia’s brow furrowed slightly, a hint of displeasure on her face, and she leaned a little closer.

“Stop! Don’t come any closer!”

Gern’s voice trembled, tears already streaming from her eyes. She clutched the stiff, board-like pillow, hoping to use it to ward off Lilia’s advance.

Observing the Princess’s pitiable state, Lilia felt a distinct tug at her heart.

‘How can she be so adorable? Are all dragons like this when they’re young?’

A powerful surge of protectiveness instantly welled up within Lilia’s heart. The more she gazed at the little dragon before her, the fonder she grew.

The hint of twisted possessiveness, long dormant within her, began to stir. Her aquamarine eyes were entirely consumed by the image of the Princess before her.

An alarm instantly blared in Gern’s mind. As Lilia’s sworn enemy in her past life, she understood the Princess intimately.

This was the unmistakable prelude to Lilia’s madness. Memories of Lilia’s frenzied episodes from her previous life flashed before Gern’s eyes, one after another.

The more these memories flooded her mind, the more terrified Gern became. Suddenly, she felt a strange sensation in her lower body, and before she could stop herself, she inadvertently urinated.

Gern was utterly petrified. She stared blankly at the liquid pooling beneath her, and even more tears welled in her eyes.

‘No… this isn’t right. Why would I pee myself from fright? This isn’t me, I would never pee myself from fright, why…’

The unknown liquid touched Lilia’s knee, prompting her to look up, her gaze fixed on Gern with a peculiar expression.

The Princess’s pale golden dragon eyes slowly met Lilia’s sapphire-like gaze, and the fear and shame in her own eyes spilled over, undeniable.

‘She… she’ll kill me, she’ll kill me. I actually peed myself in front of Lilia; she’ll definitely kill me, right? Ha… haha…’

“I’m sorry, I scared you.”

“Eh!?”

Gern was stunned once again. She watched Lilia rise gracefully from the bed, then, right before her eyes, remove her soiled clothes.

‘Don’t look, don’t look…’

Gern quickly squeezed her eyes shut. She vividly remembered that in her previous life, after inadvertently glimpsing Lilia’s body, she had been chased through nine streets and very nearly had her eyes gouged out.

That memory, even now, remained indelibly etched in Gern’s mind. Thus, she dared not open her eyes, terrified that the moment she did, Lilia would gouge them out.

Rustling sounds reached her ears, indicating Lilia had likely changed into fresh clothes. Still, Gern kept her eyes tightly covered, not daring to peek.

It wasn’t until she felt a cool sensation and the gentle sweep of soft fabric wiping her body that she reacted.

“I’m truly sorry, I forgot you’re a dragon; you must be very scared of us humans, right? It’s alright, I mean you no harm. Come on, lift your legs, I’ll wipe you clean down there.”

Gern wondered if she had misheard. This Princess of the Kingdom of Clete, this twisted, yandere lesbian, was actually *apologizing* to her?!

Inexplicably, Gern cooperated with Lilia, lifting her tender legs, only for a sudden sensation of being lifted into the air to wash over her the next moment.

Gern felt herself entirely enveloped. She quickly opened her eyes, meeting a pair of aquamarine eyes that brimmed with amusement.

Her heart skipped a beat. Even though Lilia had not yet matured into the peerless empress of her previous life, her present beauty was still utterly breathtaking.

‘It’s just a pity that such a beautiful woman only likes other women.’

“Oh my, if you keep staring at me, I might just get shy, you know.”

Lilia playfully tapped Gern’s small nose, immediately bringing a vivid blush to Gern’s cheeks.

‘I want to find a crack in the ground and disappear into it. The shame, it’s utterly humiliating.’

‘How could I, a grown man, be carried in a princess carry by a young girl?’

‘Even if… even if I’m not a man anymore… but…’

‘That Dragon God didn’t tell me how to change back! Am I… am I never going to change back?’

Waaah!

Gern couldn’t hold back any longer and burst into even louder sobs, startling Lilia. Flustered, Lilia carefully placed her onto the clean bedding.

“Don’t cry, don’t cry. I won’t carry you anymore, alright? How about this, I’ll go out for a bit, and I’ll come back once you’ve calmed down.”

With those words, Lilia set down a set of luxurious female clothing and then departed.

Watching the Princess’s retreating back, Gern’s mood immediately improved considerably.

It couldn’t be helped; the psychological trauma Lilia had inflicted upon her in her previous life was simply too profound. The fact that Gern hadn’t been scared to death on the spot was a testament to her incredibly strong mental fortitude.

An indeterminate amount of time passed before Gern finally managed to compose herself. Though she was still somewhat unaccustomed to her current body, she knew she absolutely had to find an opportunity to escape.

Subconsciously, her gaze drifted toward the nearby window.

‘Perhaps I can leave through here…’