Chapter 18: That Night, Again and Again

I, Verona Heratis, hereby swear that in the future, I will absolutely not easily take pity on others, especially dragons, and most especially a black dragon named Elvira Serenil.

When I woke up this morning, I found my clothes in tatters and my hair a mess, like some young girl who had gone astray in the night.
In contrast, Elvira was refreshed and invigorated, and the whole dragon seemed to be glowing.

Beautiful? Traded my body for it.

All night, another whole night, and she even tore my clothes.

She didn’t bite me, that’s true, but that numb, tingling sensation like an electric current from her rubbing against my skin wasn’t much better.

My body was tense all night, so when I got up, I was sore all over.
I must have been out of my mind to invite her.
With this small frame of mine, a few more times and I’d be completely dismantled by her.

Lying on the mat, I don’t want to move at all right now.
A lock of my snow-white hair is being played with by the person beside my pillow.
She’s looking at me with great interest, unfazed by my contemptuous gaze.

“From now on, as long as you have a breath left in you, don’t even think about sucking my blood… When you’re about to die, I’ll splash my blood on your face then,” I wanted to say this fiercely, but my voice was extremely weak, slightly hoarse and lacking in strength.

“Is that so,” Elvira replied with a light chuckle.
“Can I interpret that as: Verona, you can’t bear for me to die?”

“Quite the imagination you have, you humorous black dragon.”

“Not as rich as the taste of you.”

“I was pitying you! Curled up on a rock, trembling all over.
Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought you were a stray dog,” after saying that, I felt it wasn’t enough and added a couple more sentences.
“Anyway, the blood is transported by the thorns.
Next time, I’ll use the thorns to whip you and let you feel what it means to be in pain and pleasure at the same time.”

Elvira’s eyebrow raised slightly, and she said nonchalantly.

“It’s useless. Your thorns can’t hurt me.
Remember the mark you left on me?”

She lifted her chin slightly, showing me her neck.
At this moment, the thorny pattern was exceptionally enchanting.
Did it look even more magnificent than yesterday?

“Yesterday, when your thorns were wrapped around me, I didn’t feel anything.
It’s probably because of the mark.”

…In that case, don’t I have no power to resist at all?
My most powerful killing move at the moment is the black and red thorns, but she’s immune to it.
And I can’t even think about competing with her in terms of strength.

She played with me like a doll last night.

“Sigh…” with a sigh, I continued, “Are you just going to let me wear the clothes you tore into strips?”

“Of course not. Here, take this one.”

Elvira took a brand new set of clothes out of her storage bracelet.
The base was ink-black, with a deep red lining.
The dress was magnificent, exuding a restrained luxury, and embroidered with intricate and exquisite patterns.

It’s just that… isn’t this neckline a bit low?
Isn’t that hemline a bit short??
And why is there no fabric on the back???

Mother’s kiss, this is even more daring than the dress I was wearing when I woke up!

“You actually want me to wear this thing?”

“Mm, is that a problem?”

“Don’t you have any idea whether it’s a problem or not! And you actually like this kind of clothing…”
I don’t even know what to say anymore.
The only two words I have for Elvira in my heart right now are: secretly sultry.

“Don’t worry, of course I wouldn’t let others feast their eyes on my Verona,” with a flash of golden light, Elvira took out a few more items of clothing.
“Wear these gloves and this shawl as well.”

The style of the shawl and gloves clearly matched the dress, but I don’t believe she doesn’t have any other clothes!

“You—”

“I do have other clothes, but I want to see you wear this set.
Little Nia is about to wake up too.
So, my Verona, just be a good girl and put it on.”

My thoughts were seen through by the wicked dragon, and she didn’t even try to hide her open scheme.
My chest heaved twice with anger, but in the end, I gave in to her.

I snatched the clothes as if to vent my frustration, and shot Elvira a glare.

“I’ll wear the clothes. But I am not your Verona.
Yesterday, and the night before last, were both out of necessity.
You and I can be friends, but romance is out of the question.”

I took the clothes, turned, and strode away, changing in the bushes while muttering to myself.

I really don’t know what’s gotten into Elvira.
Ever since the night before last, she’s been fixated on me…
And why did my thorns actively wrap around her?
…Forget it, I’ll just consider these two days as bad luck, the kind where you choke even when drinking water.

But since she can heal, it means we don’t have to take a boat across the sea anymore.
Elvira said she could fly directly across the ocean.
That’s an ability to be envied~

When the time comes, we can hand Little Nia over to Nadiesse and the others, and then we can leave.
It’ll definitely be more convenient for the little one to go home with her own merchant guild than with us.
In that case, we would have done a good deed.

Looking at the sky, it’s getting late.
Little Nia should be awake by now…

After changing my clothes, putting on the shawl, and the ruffled gloves, I still need some time to get used to the feeling of the fabric of the shawl rubbing against the skin of my back, and also my thighs being more than half-exposed.

It’s true that there are leggings, but it’s better to wear this kind of clothing less in the future.

Walking out of the bushes, Elvira was still waiting for me in the same spot.

“Let’s go. Today I’m taking Little Nia into the city.
You’ll just have to be a bit wronged and stay here and guard the place by yourself,” I gestured towards the cave with my chin and walked over on my own.
Elvira also followed.

Suddenly, my palm was touched.
Without thinking, I jumped to the side to create distance, and with my hands on my hips, I said to the little thief who had just been sneaky:
“Keep your distance. No ambiguity. Got it?”

“We’ve done even more intimate things, why is holding hands not okay?” Elvira was slightly resentful.
“Verona, we really don’t—”

“Stop. We’ll talk about this later.
At least wait until we get to the other continent and we’re both safe.
It won’t be too late to bring it up then.”

Before she could answer, I quickly walked towards the cave, afraid that she would force me to stay and relive last night’s events.

Dragons are too thirsty.
I can’t handle it, I can’t handle it…

Little Nia in the cave had been awake for a while, but she was very good, not crying or making a fuss, just waiting for us to come back.
I briefly explained the plan to enter the city to the little dumpling.
Seeing that she had no objections, we made some simple preparations and went down the mountain towards the city.

Along the way, her soft little hand held mine tightly.
The little one seemed to be nervous.
Well, after being treated so inhumanely for two years, anyone would be afraid of seeing humans.

When we reached the city entrance, her small hand gripped even tighter.
Little Nia even hid behind me, burying her small, light blue head in my shawl.
I had no choice but to pick her up and let her nestle in my arms.

I remembered that Nadiesse’s safe house was near the pier.
It took me some time to walk to the seaside, and then I spent a long time looking for the house along the street.
It was not until the afternoon was approaching evening that I finally found it.

I put the girl in my arms down and knocked on the door three times.

Knock, knock, knock—

………No response……

Knock, knock, knock—

…Still no response…

Strange… didn’t she say she would be here around evening?
That fox is not reliable.

Should I go directly to the ship to find her?
But there are so many people and eyes…

“Sister, is no one home?”

She asked in a soft voice.
I bent down and stroked her small blue head, coaxing her:
“Maybe the person inside didn’t hear. Let’s wait a little longer.
Don’t be anxious, Little Nia~”

Click—

Before I could finish, a sound of something breaking came from deep within the alley.
It was very clear.
I immediately drew my pistol and aimed it at the source of the sound, at the same time shielding Little Nia behind me.

“Who’s there? Come out!”