Chapter 43: Huh? Not You, Bro

Madame stood to the side, watching the two of them pulling and tugging at each other in front of her.

She didn’t ask too many questions, didn’t try to stop them, she just nodded.

“Alright, I’ll leave it to you two. Mina and I won’t go.”

“Go ahead.”

Celia took a deep breath.

Onyxia held her hand, and together they walked towards the living room.

The hallway wasn’t long.

But every step Celia took was excruciatingly difficult.

The living room door was at the end of the hall.

Celia stood before the door, her palms beginning to sweat again.

Onyxia glanced at her.

Celia knew, what was coming would come.

And then, she pushed the door open.

Sunlight poured in from the floor-to-ceiling windows, illuminating the entire living room brightly.

On the sofa sat two people.

The one on the left was very young.

Her long black hair cascaded down from her shoulders, gleaming with a luster in the sunlight.

Her features were exquisitely perfect, possessing a beauty that made it hard to look away.

Her brow bone was high, her nose bridge straight.

She wore a long dress woven from moon-white and frost-blue hues, the hem embroidered with intricate snowflake patterns.

A silver chain was tied around her waist.

She leaned casually against the sofa, one hand propping up her chin, the other resting on the armrest’s edge.

Her fingers were slender, her nails rounded.

It seemed this was the Dragon Princess, Olivia.

Beside her stood a tall woman, also with long hair, but tied up in a neat high ponytail.

She wore practical, form-fitting clothes suitable for action, a thin sword at her waist.

Her posture was ramrod straight, her gaze alert.

She glanced at Celia, her eyes full of disdain.

A maid?

No, probably a bodyguard.

Celia’s mind raced, but it was a complete blank.

Celia stood in the doorway, her hand held by Onyxia, yet she couldn’t feel any warmth.

It’s over.

She’s come to my door.

She’s going to scold me.

She’s going to call me a stocking thief right in front of my girlfriend.

She had even started mentally preparing her defense.

‘Your Highness, this is a misunderstanding, I can explain, although the explanation might be a bit complicated, but I really didn’t steal them, it was the System… no, not the System, I can’t reveal that, at most I can tell Onyxia.’

Before Celia could finish formulating her thoughts, the person on the sofa moved.

She lifted her head, her slitted pupils landing on Celia.

Then she smiled.

It was a smile…

Celia had completely not expected, even somewhat… a doting smile?

“My dear,” she said.

Those few words froze Celia in place.

Her brain completely shut down.

What the hell?

What did she call me?

‘My dear’?

Am I that close to her?

She instinctively turned to look at Onyxia. Onyxia was also stunned, her grip on Celia’s hand tightening.

The princess was still looking at her, those eyes filled with emotions Celia couldn’t begin to decipher.

“Long time no see,” the princess said, her tone carrying a faint hint of reproach.

“Why didn’t you come find me?”

“……”

Celia opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

She could feel Onyxia’s gaze burning into her face, like it wanted to devour her.

“Celia,” Onyxia’s voice came from beside her, very calm, unnaturally calm.

“Explain.”

“I—I don’t know her!”

Celia’s voice cracked a little.

“I really don’t know her!”

She took a breath, her words tumbling out like rapid gunfire.

“I only met you two after I left the Homeland, you and Iliya. Before that, I hadn’t even been beyond the Border! I wasn’t even an adult before, I couldn’t leave the Homeland at all, there’s no way I could have met any Dragon Princess!”

She spoke too fast, nearly biting her tongue on the last few words.

But after saying it, she suddenly thought, Right.

This logic makes perfect sense.

She’s a Dark Elf who just came of age, spent the last sixty years holed up in the Homeland.

Where would she have met a Dragon Princess?

Celia’s confidence suddenly grew a little.

She straightened her back, met Onyxia’s eyes, and tried to make her expression look righteous.

“I really don’t know her. If I had met her, I couldn’t possibly not remember.”

“Don’t know me?”

A soft laugh came from the sofa.

Celia turned her head back and saw the princess propping her chin, tilting her head as she looked at Celia.

“My dear, saying that makes me so sad,” she said, her tone light as a feather.

“When we were… so close.”

She said the words “so close” with particular emphasis.

Celia felt her blood pressure skyrocketing.

“You—stop talking nonsense!”

She pointed at the princess.

“I’ve never seen you before!”

“Never seen me?”

The princess blinked.

“Then why do you have my token of affection on you?”

Celia’s hand froze in mid-air.

What token?

The only thing on me is those stockings…

Her mind exploded with a roar.

The princess, seeing her expression, smiled even more happily.

She rose from the sofa, her skirt swaying gently with the movement.

She walked up to Celia, looked up at her.

Even though she was looking up, the pressure in her eyes was undiminished.

“Seems you remember now,” she said, word by word.

“The stockings made from my back scales. Were they comfortable to wear?”

Celia was completely speechless.

She could feel Onyxia’s gaze growing heavier, the grip on her hand tightening further.

“Back scales? Stockings made from back scales?”

“Oh my, she didn’t tell you?”

The princess turned her head, looked at Onyxia, her face wearing a harmless smile.

“The stockings she’s wearing are made from my scales.”

Celia finally snapped.

“Enough!”

She grabbed the princess’s wrist.

The princess blinked, didn’t struggle, just looked at her, her eyes full of innocence.

“Alone,” Celia ground out the words through her teeth.

“We talk alone.”

The princess tilted her head, a smile blooming on her face.

“Okay.”

She turned to the bodyguard beside her and waved her hand.

“You wait here.”

The bodyguard’s expression changed slightly, but at the princess’s order, she nodded.

Celia took a deep breath, pulled the princess, and walked out.

As she passed Onyxia, she paused for a moment.

“…Wait for me. I’ll give you an explanation when I’m back. I’m innocent. Believe me.”

Then she pulled the princess along and disappeared down the corridor.