Eva covered her face with both hands. Three days had passed, yet she still hadn't even found the name of the black dragon that had taken Lucia. If this continued, when would she ever be able to rescue Imperial Daughter Lucia?
Lucia had told her that once she came of age next year, she would make Eva her Dark Guardian Knight. She had never expected that, not only would her Dark Guardian Knight fail to protect the Imperial Daughter she wanted to protect, but she would even indirectly cause her to be snatched away by an evil dragon that descended from the sky. Had the black dragon that had taken Imperial Daughter Lucia ever left any trace in human history?
Could the black dragon that attacked the Saintess of the Temple of the Goddess of Wisdom, the black dragon in Brude Donahue's autobiography, and the black dragon that had taken Lucia be the same black dragon?
There was too little information. It was difficult to draw any conclusions.
"Your Highness Asina, do you think the black dragon that attacked the Saintess of the Temple of the Goddess of Wisdom and the one that appeared in the autobiography of that powerful figure could be the black dragon that took Lucia?"
"Following the timeline, the black dragon in Brude Donahue's autobiography was an underage black dragon. The black dragon that attacked the Saintess of the Temple of the Goddess of Wisdom was a suspected newly adult black dragon. Judging from when the black dragons appeared, the black dragon in the autobiography and the black dragon that attacked the Saintess of the Temple of the Goddess of Wisdom were very likely the same black dragon, because the Temple of the Goddess of Wisdom only became independent from the God of Light Court after the War God Temple appeared.
Its growth timeline completely matches that of the underage black dragon in the autobiography.
"And the black dragon that took my Underdog Imperial Sister was very likely this same black dragon that had appeared twice in history. You saw that black dragon's size too. It was definitely an adult black dragon.
"Following the timeline, if the black dragon in the autobiography wasn't slain by the Dragon Slaying Hero or some other hero and had survived until now, it would have just reached adulthood. The three black dragons on the timeline also shared one thing in common: they had no names.
"The underage black dragon in the autobiography, the suspected newly adult black dragon that attacked the Saintess of the Temple of the Goddess of Wisdom, and the adult black dragon that took the Imperial Daughter of the Farolyn Empire.
"Connecting the growth timelines of the three black dragons leads to a conclusion. What conclusion? I don't need to tell you, do I?"
"What conclusion?"
If you don't tell me, how am I supposed to know what conclusion you reached? "Do you really need to ask? The conclusion is that we can't rescue my Underdog Imperial Sister. The black dragon that has only popped up twice in history didn't even leave behind a name. Finding him would be like finding a needle in the ocean.
"So, let's bless my underdog imperial sister. May she live happily ever after with the black dragon, have many children, never suffer domestic violence, beatings, scolding, or abandonment from him, and never be despised by him in her old age. Bless her. Bless her. Anyway, let's just bless her."
As Asina blessed her, she ended up laughing at her own blessings. It wasn't that she didn't want to rescue her Underdog Imperial Sister; she genuinely had no idea where to go to rescue her. The black dragon was nameless.
The first Pope of the War God Temple had never found the black dragon.
The holy knight of the Temple of the Goddess of Wisdom had never found the black dragon either.
In terms of power and influence, both far surpassed the Farolyn Empire.
If even they couldn't find the black dragon, there was even less chance of an Imperial Daughter finding him.
Even if she became the emperor of the Farolyn Empire and could mobilize the strength of the entire empire, she might not be able to find that black dragon.
How was she supposed to find an evil dragon that had left no notoriety in human history? At most, she could have the surrounding countries or the various temples help the Farolyn Empire search the nearby mountains.
Or she could spend a huge amount of money and have the Adventurers Guild, Bounty Hunter Guild, Mercenary Guild, and Mage Tower search the entire continent for that black dragon. If she really did that, the money the Farolyn Empire would have to pay would probably equal several years of taxes from several provinces.
"Your Highness Asina, so... are you planning to give up searching for that black dragon?"
"I really want to give up, but my father might not agree. So I'll still do my best to see whether I can find information about that black dragon in some unofficial histories or wild tales. Hmm, I plan to put you fully in charge of this matter. If you need money, I'll get it for you. If you need people, I'll provide them. I hope you can find them before my Underdog Imperial Sister marries the black dragon."
She was still her own Imperial Sister, after all. Asina couldn't truly wash her hands of the matter. She still had to do her best and see whether she could rescue her. If she could, that would be ideal.
If she couldn't, then her father and mother could just have another child.
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Your Highness Asina had already gone this far for her. Eva felt that she couldn't ask for anything more.
After all, the black dragon that had taken Lucia had left far too little information in history.
There was even less information about him than about some mildly famous evil dragons.
"No need to thank me. Without that idiot who loved causing trouble for me, everyday life feels much more boring."
"."
It seemed Eva's earlier guess had been right. In Your Highness Asina's eyes, Lucia was just a silly mascot.
"Your Highness Asina, may I ask you a question?"
"Go ahead."
"If Lucia hadn't been taken by the black dragon and hadn't turned into a young dragon because of my curse, how would you have treated her after catching her?"
"Of course I would have raised her. I would bring her tasty food to feed her whenever I had the time. Once I became emperor, if she still wanted to be emperor, I wouldn't mind letting her experience being emperor for those two days of the Day of Gods. And don't feel guilty because of what I said. No matter how nicely I put it, if I caught her, she would lose some of her freedom.
"Although being taken by the black dragon also meant losing her freedom, at least she could gain a black dragon's love. By comparison, I think it was better for her to be taken by the black dragon."
Asina's attempt at comforting her was worse than saying nothing.
"Eva, honestly, I've always felt that your curse turning Lucia into a dragon wasn't a curse, but a blessing."
"Your Highness, a curse is a curse. It can't become a blessing. Lucia didn't just turn into a dragon physically; her soul turned into a dragon as well."
"Her soul turned into a dragon too?"
"Yes. There's one more thing. The longer Lucia remains a dragon, the harder the curse will be to dispel. As time passes, Lucia will become more and more like a dragon. In the end, she will become a true dragon.
"Your Highness Asina, that's a curse, not the blessing you imagine it to be."
Eva had also discovered something terrifying. Since yesterday, the Dragon Transformation Spell in her mind had been twisting and changing. She was even gradually forgetting parts of the Dragon Transformation Spell.
This situation was uncontrollable and irreversible.
In other words, she no longer had the ability to curse other people and turn them into dragons. It was as though the God of Curses was reclaiming the Dragon Transformation Spell she had inadvertently obtained from that temple. Weren't spells that twisted, changed, and vanished on their own only supposed to behave this way if they were the legendary spells that shouldn't exist in this world?
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