“Alberke, why are you here?”
Dolores asked first. Her maid had already informed her of what Green was doing; she also had some memory of the feat involving bathing in dragon blood.
Those were Western stories from her past life.
When Dolores arrived, she happened to catch the moment Green was taking off his clothes. Therefore, she had clearly seen Alberke jogging over and striking up a conversation with him.
“I accidentally got lost in the palace earlier, and then, quite unexpectedly, I met Mr. Green…”
“Mr. Green said the restriction would soon fail and told us to leave this area quickly. He is going to lure the dragon to Mercury Street next.”
Alberke did not answer the question directly, but she successfully drew Dolores’s attention.
“Why is he going to Mercury Street?”
“I’m not sure either. It seems a miracle can descend there. Humans can’t possibly stand against a creature like a giant dragon, after all…”
Alberke spoke vaguely.
A miracle?
Hearing the keyword, Dolores also connected Mercury Street with miracles, and thus judged Green’s intentions.
According to his plan, there shouldn’t be too many problems.
The only issue was that they couldn’t get in his way.
As for the Alberke before her…
To be honest, Dolores didn’t recognize her. At least, she had never designed a character of this type. A beautiful female character wasn’t necessarily a plot-relevant game character.
So, at first, Dolores didn’t associate her with Green, assuming she was just a simple, beautiful NPC of this world.
But after discovering they had an intersection, Dolores couldn’t help but speculate that the girl might be a “satellite character” that only existed in certain dialogues during the later stages of the plot.
Although she didn’t know what kind of tricks the girl would ultimately play on Green, almost everyone who appeared by Green’s side turned out to be a backstabber.
Perhaps she wasn’t even aware that she had once done something to earn his hatred.
Looking at it that way, Alberke seemed somewhat pitiable.
“Then do you want to come with us? We plan to maintain a certain distance from the dragon and can step in to help Green if necessary.”
The confidence in Dolores’s words came from the maid beside her. At the same time, she considered starting her move with Alberke.
If she was a plot character, she might possess an item that could resist the System. Since she couldn’t find Silbel for the time being, looking for one on Alberke was also an option.
Alberke had no reason to refuse. It just so happened that she could continue observing the primary heroine, Dolores. After nodding in agreement, she followed them away.
However, did Dolores just see Green’s naked body?
Was there any reaction?
Alberke curiously observed her cheeks. There was no blush. She felt a bit disappointed.
Logically, Alberke thought the innocent Princess would blush with embarrassment upon seeing such a scene.
After all, Dolores was very cute, looking like the type of person one would want to tease.
On the contrary, the maid’s expression was somewhat unnatural.
The maid, sensing something, met Alberke’s gaze. Her cheeks were slightly red, but she immediately turned to Dolores and said:
“Princess, regarding the matter of Green… I hope you can speak with him later. Only the three of us are near the Golden Square.”
“If possible, please keep the fact that Green bathed in dragon blood a secret.”
“Why?” Dolores asked.
“If Green bathed in dragon blood, he possesses the Symbol of the Dragon-Blood-Bathed. But currently, he lacks protection. Such a Symbol can be usurped through special means.”
The maid replied.
Bathing in dragon blood could make a body invulnerable, granting a certain degree of physical and magical resistance, as well as inheriting a small portion of the dragon’s power.
This would greatly enhance one’s strength, but it would also attract covetous eyes.
The famous dragon slayers of the past were already among the strongest in their regions. A small number of people, like the makers of Dragon-Calling Flutes, obtained the Symbol of the Dragon-Blood-Bathed by forming contracts with dragons.
The former could fear no greed thanks to their own strength, while the latter had the direct protection of a dragon.
But Green had clearly adopted an extremely dangerous method to obtain the Symbol. Not only did he lack protection, but he would also draw the dragon’s hatred.
The maid did not say it out loud.
She felt that Green might not even survive the hands of the vengeful dragon. In the entire Kingdom of Rand, there were very few people who could stop a giant dragon.
But she was afraid that saying it would make Dolores sad.
Green’s actions had slightly changed Vesperian’s opinion of him. She seemed to dislike Green a little less now.
Although he had indeed offended the Princess before and had been overstepping his bounds.
But this act, full of courage, boldness, and the noble motive of putting himself in danger, made it hard not to feel a sense of favor and respect toward him.
Not to mention that physique of his…
If Green really could survive the dragon’s hands, then by virtue of the Dragon-Blood-Bathed Symbol alone, he would surely become a legend in the future.
Of course, the prerequisite was surviving.
Vesperian thought this as she received Dolores’s reply.
“I will consider talking to him later,” Dolores said, listening to the maid’s suggestion.
She also had worries—worries that more frequent contact would lead the System to play some kind of trick on her. Her current favorability toward him was actually approaching a dangerous line.
The subsequent stages of favorability were separated by ten points each and could not be simply raised through touch or conversation.
But if her favorability toward him was high, she would cooperate with his next actions; even if she was aware of this, she wouldn’t refuse.
This was something Dolores could be almost certain of. As the “love” bestowed by the System grew, the plot she was meant to perform would gradually fall upon her.
Should she write a diary or leave something behind to remind her future self not to give up resistance easily?
However.
Sane people don’t write diaries, do they?
It might serve as a weakness. A meticulously crafted plan could be discovered by the opponent through a diary. If one didn’t write tedious nonsense, the things one wanted to write seriously were almost always private or difficult to disclose.
Not to mention, if Dolores wanted to record words to remind herself, it would become an even more dangerous, “die upon seeing the light” item that required protection.
Perhaps a combination of Morse code and Latin letters could be considered.
Or perhaps, Chinese.
Actually, no matter how the text was encrypted, if the day truly came when the System controlled her to fall in love with him, she wouldn’t be able to avoid explaining it to him herself.
Could she really hope to show him through this that she was not herself? Did she want him to laugh or feel late regret after reading the diary?
Did she imagine him feeling pity for “killing her” by reading the diary?
But if that day really came, it wouldn’t matter whether he saw the diary or not.
Under his control, whether it was happiness or pain, she would ultimately be considered dead.
If thoughts cannot be consistent and continuous, then one is ultimately not oneself.
Dolores suddenly realized she seemed a bit pessimistic, unable to find the… cause?
Those were words of self-deception.
Because Dolores, just like the maid, had changed her view of Green because of his actions.
And her experiences from her past life allowed her to clearly realize that in this situation, a softened heart almost meant losing the ability to resist, leaving her at the mercy of others.
She asked herself if she could manage to kill Green to avoid her own death.
The answer was yes.
If she asked herself again: if Green was a good person she acknowledged, someone who protected others and protected her, could she then kill him?
The answer was no.
This wasn’t a simple binary; the answer wasn’t just yes or no. The complex gray area remaining in the middle was exactly the state of Dolores’s current mindset.
She hoped Green was a pure villain, an antagonist, a scumbag who would toy with emotions in the name of revenge for his past life.
In that way, she could firm up her resolve and pursue the “once and for all” solution of his death, rather than being a frog in warming water, cooked until she was done for.
“Perhaps, I really should write a diary that maybe only I can understand,” Dolores whispered to herself.
I’m a little afraid that one day I will think, believe, and say:
“The me who kept resisting in the past was such an idiot.”
“I totally didn’t understand that past version of me.”
That kind of spoilsport talk…
It would make Dolores feel how truly pathetic she was.
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