Evil Dragon Lance, You've Raised the Bar for Becoming an Evil Dragon

If all the evil dragons in the legends were like Lance, then the bar for becoming an evil dragon was far too high.

Any dragon that could not farm or raise a princess did not deserve to be called an evil dragon.

Before seeing the fruits and vegetables Evil Dragon Lance had grown, Lucia had assumed that the way he raised a princess was no different from how ordinary evil dragons did it.

But after seeing Lance's orchard and the fruits and vegetables he had planted, she realized that he might truly be raising a princess like a princess.

Instead of making a kidnapped princess eat raw meat, drink unclean water, and eat worm-bitten vegetables or possibly spoiled fruit.

Could Evil Dragon Lance be trying to turn her, an Imperial Princess, into an evil dragon like himself? Impossible. Absolutely impossible. She could learn to farm, but she could never grow fruits and vegetables this huge, or even corn.

Apples bigger than watermelons—never mind eating them, this was her first time even seeing them.

She wanted to taste one. Apples this large definitely could not taste as good as smaller ones.

"Woof! Woof woof. Woof. Awoo awoo. Yip yip yip yip."

A dog ran out of the orchard.

Hearing the barking, Lucia remembered that Evil Dragon Lance had said that, besides him, there was a dog and a turtle on the island.

But when the dog from the orchard came barking to a stop not far in front of her, she jumped in fright.

What Evil Dragon Lance kept was not the obedient, adorable, tongue-lolling kind of dog she knew. The dog he kept was clearly a Hellhound!!! The Magical Beast Compendium had records of Hellhounds, ferocious beasts that symbolized death.

Flames burned over its body, it had two dog heads, and whenever it barked, fire spewed from its mouths.

It was Hellfire.

Legend said that the flames on a Hellhound's body came from hell.

Also, legend said that a human could see a Hellhound at most twice in their lifetime. The third time they saw one—they would die! It was over, it was over. She could not leave the territory where Evil Dragon Lance resided anytime soon. That meant she could run into this Two-Headed Hellhound anywhere, anytime.

If the Magical Beast Compendium was telling the truth, did that not mean she could die at any moment beneath this Two-Headed Hellhound's gaze?

"Evil—no. Lance, I heard that people can only see a Hellhound twice in their lifetime, and that the third time they see one, they'll die! W-will I die?"

"You're not human. What are you afraid of?"

How am I not human?!!!

Evil Dragon Lance, this was blasphemy against the Imperial Princess of the Farolyn Empire. No, against the future emperor of the Farolyn Empire! Evil dragons like you would be sent to the gallows!

"His name is Er Gouzi. He's still a little short of becoming a Pureblood Hellhound, so don't be afraid of him. You're a dragon. If you truly had to fight for your life, you could swallow him in one bite."

Lance said with a grin.

This Amethyst Dragonling Lucia was a little timid. When she had snatched princesses before, she might not have even cared about Griffin Knights.

When she was brave, she was truly brave. When she was scared, she was truly scared.

It was understandable. She was still a dragonling, after all. Once she became an adult, she should become much more composed.

Er Gouzi? That name was simply an insult to this Two-Headed Hellhound.

Lucia suddenly felt a little sorry for the Two-Headed Hellhound. If it appeared in the human world and became the familiar of some mage or wizard, its entrance would absolutely stun everyone present.

But here with Evil Dragon Lance... it could only be a little guard dog in an orchard. Don't worry. Once I become emperor of the Farolyn Empire, come with me. I'll make sure you eat and drink well, and sleep in a fluffy dog bed at night.

"Er Gouzi, her name is Lucia. When she comes to the orchard to pick fruit, don't sound the alarm."

"Woof woof."

Er Gouzi, the Two-Headed Hellhound, barked twice to show that it understood.

"Is there any fruit you want to eat?" Lance asked Lucia.

"Yes."

"What kind of fruit do you want?"

"I... I want to try them all."

"..."

Lance smiled. He pointed at Lucia's round belly with a dragon claw. "Your stomach's already round. Don't be greedy, and don't binge. Go pick a few fruits that you really want to eat and satisfy your craving. As for the rest, come back tonight or tomorrow to pick some more.

The orchard isn't going anywhere. You can come eat whenever you want."

"I'm not craving them. I've just never seen so many fruits that look like they've mutated. I just... just want to taste them."

Lucia poked the index claws of her left and right dragon claws together, occasionally looking up at Evil Dragon Lance. She spoke with little confidence.

"Go pick a few to try."

"Then I'll pick apples?"

"Go ahead."

Lucia walked toward the orchard. Once inside, she picked three red apples larger than watermelons from an apple tree, along with a bunch of grapes.

Every single grape on the bunch she picked was as large as an apple from the human world.

She saw watermelons, large and round, just like her little belly after she had eaten too much.

She glanced back and saw Evil Dragon Lance watching her. After thinking it over, she decided it would be better to wait until that night, when Lance was asleep, before sneaking back to the orchard to pick a watermelon and eat it.

If she picked one now, Evil Dragon Lance would definitely think she ate a lot.

As an Imperial Princess, she was not a glutton. Her appetite was very small. At most, she could eat one bowl of rice at a time.

She could only eat half a steak at once.

She only ate two slices of bread at a time.

She also ate very elegantly. She absolutely was not like what Evil Dragon Lance had seen earlier, wolfing down two Roasted Beast Legs in no time.

After picking another banana, Lucia left the orchard and returned to Evil Dragon Lance's side. "Would you like an apple? I picked two for you."

Lucia did not dare keep all the food for herself. She proactively offered the two biggest, reddest apples to Evil Dragon Lance. While currying favor with him, this would also make him think she was a polite Imperial Princess. Well, a polite little dragonling.

"Thank you."

Lance did not refuse. Since this was their first encounter, he had to let Lucia feel his goodwill.

He wiped the apple's surface with a dragon claw and casually tossed it into his mouth. An apple larger than a watermelon was still pitifully small compared to his mouth.

Lucia shrank her neck. Evil Dragon Lance's ferocious dragon maw could easily bite through her neck.

With such a terrifying, vicious bloody maw, would any princess truly be willing to offer up her first kiss? Did those legendary princesses who fell in love with evil dragons really exist? Probably not. Even if they did, it had to be the evil dragon who fell in love with the princess. It could never be the princess who fell in love with the evil dragon.

"Come on, I'll show you some other places."

Lucia followed behind Evil Dragon Lance, cradling fruit in one dragon claw and eating with the other.

Whenever they reached a place, Evil Dragon Lance introduced it to her, and she silently committed it to memory.

It might come in handy if she ever escaped.

Gradually, Lucia began to feel that Evil Dragon Lance's territory was becoming increasingly absurd.

Evil Dragon Lance had built a kitchen and a dining hall on the island.

A kitchen and dining hall would have been one thing, but he even had a workshop, a laboratory, and an alchemy room.

He even had hot springs! Besides those, he had a medicinal garden and a flower garden.

He had also built a pavilion halfway up the mountain.

She even saw a tea plantation.

Most absurd of all, he had actually built an infinity pool on the mountaintop!!!

Besides all that, Evil Dragon Lance had his own wine cellar.

Weren't the evil dragons in the legends supposed to live difficult lives?