Chapter 2: The Maid and the Dragon Slayers

Eileen gripped her tail, attempting to pull it free, but her strength was utterly incomparable to Peroy Labish’s.

“Stop following that Golden Dragon. Come with me instead. Everything she can offer you, I can provide, and you won’t even need to serve as a maid. Simply remain by my side.”

‘Here we go again.’

This was merely the latest in countless attempts to poach Eileen since their acquaintance. “Forgive me, Your Majesty, Red Dragon, but Faltis Calibot has shown me great kindness. I cannot betray her.”

“Please! Release my tail!” Eileen pleaded, feeling utterly helpless. Regardless of whether she could defeat her opponent, her position as a maid meant she absolutely couldn’t commit any egregious disrespect.

“Kindness, you say?” Peroy gently caressed Eileen’s tail.

The sensation was subtly cool and incredibly pleasant to the touch.

A dragon’s tail, unless engaged in combat, was always exquisitely sensitive.

“Your Majesty, Red Dragon, if you persist, I’ll have no choice but to seek assistance from Faltis Calibot,” Eileen warned, the tip of her translucent silver dragon tail twitching endearingly.

“Why do you think I dare to act this way right now?” Peroy, of course, knew that Faltis Calibot was not currently within the Golden Dragon Palace.

“However, releasing your tail isn’t entirely out of the question.” Peroy gazed at Eileen, a mischievous smile playing on her lips.

“Oh, thank you so much!”

“Then, call me ‘Mistress’ and let me hear it,” Peroy said, her eyes gleaming with amusement as she watched Eileen.

“Please don’t make things difficult for me…” Eileen knew it wouldn’t be that simple. “Lady Peroy.”

“That’s more like it.” While she hadn’t gotten exactly what she wanted, this was still rather satisfying.

Peroy released Eileen’s tail. “Lady Peroy, did you come here for a specific reason this time?”

“The most important reason was to take you away, of course.”

“And the less important reasons?”

Peroy’s ear twitched, catching a peculiar sound. “Hmph, I didn’t expect her to return so quickly.”

From her chest, she produced a letter. “This is an invitation to the Celestial Mirage Isle.”

Eileen accepted the invitation, which still held Peroy’s warmth. “I will hand this over to Lady Faltis Calibot.”

“Hand it over?” Peroy stepped forward, causing Eileen to retreat several paces, finally stopping within the pavilion.

Peroy extended a finger, tilting Eileen’s chin upwards. “Whether she comes or not is irrelevant. What matters is you, my little dear. You simply must come.”

Sometimes, being a maid felt utterly helpless.

“Time is running short. It would be troublesome if she returned now.”

Eileen breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed her tormentor had finally grown bored.

“It sounds rather chaotic outside. Do you require my assistance?” The barrier surrounding the Golden Dragon Palace vibrated with the impact of an attack.

“There’s no need to trouble Lady Peroy.”

“Very well.”

“No, no, no, no, this is bad! Eileen!” Setia rushed over in a panic, just in time to witness Peroy’s departure.

“Was that just Her Majesty, the Red Dragon?!”

“Indeed.”

“Oh, thank goodness! If I had arrived a moment sooner, Her Majesty the Red Dragon would have given me such a cold reception,” Setia sighed with relief.

“She’s… quite alright, isn’t she? Lady Peroy… she’s a good person, right?” Eileen was about to speak well of Peroy, but recalling Peroy’s recent actions, she bit her tongue.

“No, no, no! Eileen! Her Majesty the Red Dragon…” Setia glanced around, confirming multiple times that Peroy had indeed left. “The Red Dragon clan has always been notoriously hot-tempered. And Her Majesty the Red Dragon only acts this way towards you; everyone else receives her foulest glare.”

Setia then circled Eileen with a touch of curiosity. “Eileen, why are you so popular? Unlike me, I’m disliked everywhere I go.”

Setia possessed long, raven-black hair, with bangs that obscured her eyes. Her figure was slender, and she, too, wore a maid’s uniform. However, when speaking to others, she would instinctively lower her head, appearing somewhat self-conscious.

Though Eileen mostly saw Setia’s bangs, she had occasionally caught a glimpse of the face beneath them during work. It was entirely different from Faltis Calibot’s, exuding a delicate, pitiable charm.

“How could that be? Miss Setia has taught me so much; she’s a very kind person.”

“But I’m not as capable as you, not even…” Setia suddenly remembered something and quickly interjected, “No! No! This isn’t the time for that! An A-rank Dragon Slaying Squad has arrived outside! The barrier will likely be breached soon. What should we do? Should we summon Lady Faltis Calibot back?”

“There’s no need.” Eileen’s silver-white dragon wings, concealed beneath her skirt, unfurled.

“Wait! Eileen! You forgot your weapon!”

Eileen’s translucent silver tail hooked the longsword from Setia’s hand.

“Boom!”

The barrier at the entrance shattered.

To their astonishment, standing before them was a silver dragon maid, her long silver hair fluttering in the wind.

“What? In this vast castle, is there only one servant?”

Evidently, the Dragon Slaying Squad underestimated Eileen. They were an A-rank squad, capable of challenging Dragon Kings. Such powerful dragons would never stoop to being a maid.

Eileen swept a strand of hair aside, her pale violet vertical pupils surveying the entire Dragon Slaying Squad, finally lingering on a woman with light blue hair.

She gave Eileen a very peculiar feeling.

Clad in a black nun’s habit, white ribbons adorned with crucifixes fluttered around her. Her face, sculpted with the artistry of the most skilled craftsman, glowed without makeup, like morning clouds reflecting on snow. Her eyebrows arched like crescent moons, and her moist, ruby lips were sweetly pursed. Her dazzling, emerald-like eyes watched Eileen with a vigilant intensity, as if discerning Eileen’s extraordinary nature.

In stark contrast to the nun’s tension, Eileen appeared utterly at ease.

Eileen’s jade hand gripped her sword hilt, but in the next second, the weapon was knocked into the air.

This was the nun’s doing.

“Quick!”

They believed they had seized an opportunity.

But a faint, disdainful smile touched Eileen’s lips.

Her translucent silver tail swiftly coiled around the sword mid-air, while the silver wings, previously hidden beneath her skirt, gently beat.

In the next moment, the once arrogant A-rank Dragon Slaying Squad was reduced to only the nun.

She clutched a crucifix in her hand, struggling to maintain her stance.

“Oh?” Eileen was intrigued. Despite holding nothing back, the nun still managed to stand.

She advanced, her silver-white tail coiling around the nun’s neck.

“This is… why do you, a dragon, use Damocles’s Dragon Slaying Sword Art?” The nun stared, utterly astonished, at the white-haired dragon maid before her.

“Damocles…?” Eileen felt a headache stir upon hearing the name. Had she heard it somewhere before?

“Eileen.”

Eileen’s slender ears twitched slightly, and she released the nun.

She stood at the entrance, kneeling on one knee, to greet her mistress.

Faltis Calibot, the Golden Dragon Queen.

Faltis Calibot surveyed her surroundings, thoroughly pleased with Eileen’s actions.

The empire’s strongest dragon slayer had become her maid, clearing out these invading dragon slayers for her.

“Lady Faltis Calibot, how should we deal with them?”

Faltis Calibot followed Eileen’s gaze. “Them? Just find a place to bury the dead. As for the living, imprison them in the dungeon.”

“Understood.”

“And you, are you ready?”

“Everything is prepared, Lady Faltis Calibot.”