Noel stared blankly at her own dragon tail, feeling as if the sky had collapsed.
She knelt on the bed, clutching her head and shouting loudly: “No!!!”
The next second, the door to the room was suddenly pushed open.
Noel instinctively turned her head toward the door, only to see a dragon maid with pale pink hair, pink pupils, dressed in black stockings and high heels, walk in elegantly from outside.
She came to the bedside, bowed to Noel, who was now sitting on the bed, and said softly: “Greetings, Your Highness. My name is Luoli, and I am your personal maid, in charge of all your daily needs.”
Noel froze on the bed when she heard this, her scarlet vertical pupils round and wide.
This dragon hatchling’s body was far too unfamiliar—even the simplest bodily movements had become clumsy.
“No, that’s not it!”
After a moment, Noel finally snapped out of the “Your Highness” address.
Her two small hands tightly gripped the corner of her lace pajamas, and panic filled her scarlet eyes: “You—you’re mistaken! I’m not any princess. I’m a human, Noel Hades, Captain of the Holy Spirit Corps!”
Her childish, milky voice and puffed cheeks made her seem even softer and more adorable.
Luoli merely smiled gently, her eyes curving as she lightly tapped the not-yet-grown pink-and-white dragon horns atop Noel’s head with her fingertip, then helped straighten the messy collar of her lace pajamas.
She spoke in a soft voice: “Your Highness has just woken up; you must still be a little confused. Last night, His Majesty entrusted you to me, how could I be mistaken? I’ve been waiting outside your door all night, you know.”
As she spoke, she turned to open the wardrobe, taking out a light pink dragon-patterned dress embroidered with silver patterns.
When spread out, it shimmered with delicate icy light: “His Majesty ordered that you must wear the softest material. Come, let’s get changed first. His Majesty is still waiting outside to have breakfast with you.”
Noel looked at the lace-trimmed little dress, then glanced down at her small hands and dragon tail, so anxious that even the heart-shaped tip of her tail was stretched stiff: “I don’t want to wear that! I want my Holy Sword, I want to go back to Dragon’s End Valley—”
Before she could finish, her stomach gave an ill-timed “grumble.”
Luoli suppressed a laugh, reached out, and gently picked her up from the bed, speaking softly: “No need to rush, Your Highness. Let’s fill your tummy first. His Majesty said that you’re growing and can’t go hungry.”
Being held by Luoli, Noel’s short legs dangled in midair, and she could only wave her tiny hands helplessly.
This body was just too weak.
The dragon maid’s embrace was steady and soft, and she didn’t even have the strength to struggle.
The pink heart at the tip of her tail swayed gently with each movement.
When it brushed against Luoli’s wrist, it made the tip tingle a little.
“Put me down!”
Noel shouted angrily, but her childish, milky voice carried no intimidation at all—if anything, it only made Luoli smile even more gently: “Be good, Your Highness. The floor is cold; let me carry you to wash up. Otherwise, if we’re late for breakfast with His Majesty, she’ll be upset.”
“I’m not worried about her!”
Noel stuck out her little neck, but when her gaze swept across her reflection in the mirror, she instantly wilted.
The little dragon cub in the mirror had silver hair and fair skin, her pink-and-white horns not yet hardened, scarlet vertical pupils full of grievance.
Clad in lace pajamas, she looked just like a carefully dressed doll.
She suddenly turned her face away, unwilling to look at this unfamiliar appearance any longer.
Damn it, turning me into this—I’ll make her pay, hmph 💢!
Luoli no longer tried to persuade her, just carried her to the washstand, and took out a set of miniature silver grooming tools from the shelf.
Even the toothbrush was made of the softest beast fur, and the cup had tiny dragon patterns engraved on it, looking cute and exquisite.
She poured a cup of lukewarm Star Dew Spring water and handed it to Noel: “Your Highness, rinse your mouth first.”
Noel stared at the shimmering cup of water, then looked at her own little claws, finally taking the cup with some reluctance.
The handle was just big enough for her two small hands to grasp, but she was so weak that when she lifted it, a few drops spilled onto her cheeks, cold and refreshing.
Luoli quickly took out a handkerchief and gently wiped away the droplets for her: “Take your time, Your Highness, no rush.”
Her movements were light, and the handkerchief carried a faint ice orchid scent, which made Noel relax a little.
But as soon as she thought of her current predicament, she furrowed her brows again, turned to Luoli, and pouted in dissatisfaction: “I really am a human, Luoli maid, won’t you believe me?”
“I believe you.”
While squeezing sweet-tasting toothpaste onto the brush, Luoli smiled and said,
“Whatever Your Highness says, I’ll believe.”
But that gentle tone clearly treated his words as childish nonsense.
Noel opened her mouth, but didn’t know how to explain.
How could she possibly say that just the day before she’d been fighting for her life in Dragon’s End Valley, and now the Dragon Emperor had turned her into a dragon hatchling?
Once washing up was finally over, Luoli walked over with the light pink dragon-patterned dress again: “Time to change, Your Highness. This dress is made of ice silkworm silk, so it won’t feel cold against your skin—it’s very comfortable.”
Noel looked at the little pearls sewn onto the dress, her heart anxious and angry.
She turned and tried to crawl under the bed.
But she forgot about her current height—just as she bent down, her head went “thunk” against the edge of the bed, and the pain nearly brought tears to her eyes.
“Uu…”
Noel plopped down on the floor, mouth open, hugging her little head with grievance, and a couple of teardrops slipped down.
“Your Highness!”
Luoli hurried over and gently scooped her up, carefully rubbing the back of her head.
“See, how dangerous that is? Be good, let’s get dressed first. Otherwise, if His Majesty comes in and sees you running around barefoot, she’ll say I didn’t take good care of you.”
At the mention of Shamir, Noel’s body instantly tensed.
The very same Dragon Emperor who had pierced through her chest with a single claw and ripped out her heart—now she wanted to have breakfast together?
She instinctively shrank her neck, but then thought: Maybe this is her chance to ask why Shamir turned her into this—and to find a way to reclaim the Holy Sword “Dawnbringer”.
With this in mind, she finally stopped struggling and let Luoli help her into the little dress.
The ice silkworm silk really was soft, cool against the skin, the dragon patterns sparkling faintly in the sunlight, making her pink-and-white dragon horns stand out even more.
Luoli tied a butterfly bow at her back and knelt down to put on a pair of soft little shoes embroidered with hearts: “All done. Your Highness looks adorable in this.”
Noel turned awkwardly, the pink heart at the tip of her tail lightly brushing the hem of her dress, her heart full of anxiety.
Wearing something like this, forget about going to the battlefield—she probably couldn’t even hold a sword.
Damn it, this is all Shamir’s fault!
I’ll kill her!
Just then, crisp footsteps sounded from outside the door, carrying the distinct aura of a dragon.
Luoli immediately straightened up and bowed toward the door: “Your Majesty.”
Noel looked up sharply to see Shamir entering.
Today, she wore a suit of pale silver everyday clothes.
Her ice crystal dragon horns were mostly hidden, only a bit of their chill gleam showing at the tips.
Her golden vertical pupils fell on Noel, a trace of barely noticeable softness flashing within: “All ready?”
“Shamir!” Noel immediately broke free from Luoli’s hand and ran toward her.
“Change me back to human, you jerk!”
But after just two steps, her little legs tripped her up, and she nearly fell, but Shamir reached out, gently catching her in her arms.
“Eh?”
The familiar touch of dragon scales came, and Noel instinctively tried to push her away, but Shamir easily held both her little hands in place: “What’s this? You’ve just woken up and already want to fight me?”
There was a trace of laughter in her voice.
As she bent down, her hair brushed softly across Noel’s cheek, carrying a faint scent of dragon nectar.