Peach Blossom Black Dragon Planting Peach Trees

Peach Blossom Black Dragon Planting Peach Trees

In Lucia's imagination, the place where an evil dragon lived was a cave that could barely keep out the wind and rain.

The cave was dark and damp, with green moss covering the surrounding walls.

The ground was uneven too, with rocks of all shapes and sizes scattered everywhere.

They ate raw meat and drank water from little rivers in the mountains and forests.

Their lives were less comfortable than those of even the most ordinary citizens in the imperial capital.

As for an evil dragon's lair being covered in gold and silver jewelry, dragons like that existed only in legends.

If an evil dragon's lair were full of gold and silver jewelry, would it still raid human towns? In her imagination, evil dragons were poor and arrogant, living worse than farmers in the empire.

Before seeing the territory of the evil dragon Lance, the only things she associated with evil dragons besides strength were poverty, filth, and brutality. They were bandits who loved raiding small human towns and kidnapping princesses.

Now that she had seen the territory of the evil dragon Lance, Lucia's imagined image of evil dragons instantly crumbled.

She did not know about other evil dragons, but Lance certainly lived no worse than her, an Imperial Princess, when it came to enjoying life.

The evil dragon Lance could even farm, cultivate fruit, and cook.

Damn it. Thinking about it this way, she, an Imperial Princess, seemed like a useless little fool who could do nothing but eat, drink, and have fun.

No, that was not right. She could govern a country and become emperor.

She was also a decent student. When it came to literary cultivation, she, an Imperial Princess, was definitely better than Lance.

Ahem. Thinking about it that way, she was still better than Lance in some respects.

"Mr. Lance, may I ask you a question?"

"Ask."

Lucia carefully considered her wording before saying, "Do all evil dragons, like you, possess so many life skills?"

"I don't know. But so far, I have never seen an evil dragon as outstanding as me."

"..."

Was Lance praising himself in a roundabout way? "Hey, to seriously answer your question, I don't know whether all evil dragons are like me. But if you want to become an outstanding evil dragon, you must master some life skills."

"...Then I may never be able to become an outstanding evil dragon in this life."

"It's fine. I'll do my best to train you into an outstanding evil dragon. Becoming an excellent evil dragon does not mean you have to become an evil dragon like me."

You should train me into an excellent emperor instead.

She did not want to become an evil dragon at all.

"Let's go. There's one last place left."

"What place?"

"The Dragon Lair."

What a huge tree.

Lance had actually planted a towering, majestic tree with a gnarled trunk in his courtyard.

That was right. Lance had actually built himself a courtyard, complete with a gate.

There were even two stone lions placed at the courtyard entrance.

Lance said the things at the entrance were not lions, but Qilin.

Lions were called Qilin here by Lance.

She asked Lance why he had placed two lion Qilin at the entrance to his courtyard.

The evil dragon said they protected the house from evil, attracted wealth, and brought good fortune.

She had been utterly dumbfounded at the time.

Did an evil dragon need protection from evil? She asked whether there was any creature in the world more evil than an evil dragon. Lance said there was. Heroes and warriors were both more evil than evil dragons.

Lucia had no response. To evil dragons, powerful warriors and righteous, shining heroes did indeed seem excessively evil.

After all, the evil dragons in legends were either slain by warriors or defeated by heroes.

Even so, Lucia felt that Lance was strange. Placing stone lions at the entrance to ward off evil was one thing, but who had ever heard of an evil dragon building himself a courtyard?

"What kind of tree is this? It's so big."

"A Ginkgo Tree."

"Oh... Huh? Is that grove outside the courtyard made up of peach trees?"

Only after arriving beside the Ginkgo Tree did Lucia notice that the grove not far outside the courtyard seemed to be peach trees. Peach trees were planted in the imperial palace of the capital as well, so she recognized them.

"That's right. They're beautiful when the peach blossoms are in bloom."

"I get it!" A look of sudden realization appeared in Lucia's eyes. "You planted so many peach trees to raise princesses, right?"

"...No, they're for making money. Haven't you heard this saying? Peach Blossom Black Dragon Planting Peach Trees, then breaking flower branches to buy wine."

"???!!!"

Damn it, Lance was not a dragon without literary refinement!

He had the potential to become a bard dragon!

"Have you ever captured a bard?"

"No."

"Then have you listened to bards recount what they saw and heard through song?"

"No."

"Then do you usually read?"

"I do."

Good heavens. She, Lucia, Imperial Daughter of the Farolyn Empire, had encountered an evil dragon who could farm, read books, and even build himself a courtyard! More importantly, this evil dragon had not only planted trees in his courtyard, but had also set up a swing! Judging by its size, it did not seem like something a giant dragon could use.

It looked more like something prepared for a princess.

Was it her imagination?

Why did she feel that other evil dragons raised princesses as wives?

While Lance raised princesses as pets?

It had to be her imagination.

"Stop spacing out. Come inside the Dragon Lair and have a look."

Seeing Lucia staring blankly at him with her head raised, Lance used a dragon claw to stroke her bare dragon head.

"Oh, oh, oh." Lucia came back to her senses and hurriedly looked away, turning her gaze toward the Dragon Lair in the center of the courtyard. "Ah, does your Dragon Lair have a door at the entrance?"

"Yes. A crystal door. It lets in plenty of light."

"..."

Lucia was numb. If she had not seen it with her own eyes, she would never have believed that an evil dragon like Lance existed in the world.

"How does this door open?"

"Just push it open. Don't worry, it won't fall over, and you don't need much strength."

"What is the painting on the crystal door?"

"The Door God. It blesses the household with peace."

"..."

How afraid was Lance of warriors and heroes?

Lance pushed open the door and entered. Lucia followed closely behind him into the Dragon Lair. There was no musty smell, nor was it dark or damp. Instead, it was filled with a faint fragrance.

The walls inside the Dragon Lair were covered in flowers and plants that emitted a soft glow. The ground was not riddled with pits, nor was it strewn with rocks of varying sizes.

It was very level, and covered with flowers and plants she had never seen before. Even when Lance's enormous dragon body walked over them, those flowers and plants did not become battered and torn.

The Dragon Lair was well lit.

When Lucia followed Lance's footsteps into the depths of the Dragon Lair, she was astonished once again.

The depths of the Dragon Lair were vast and divided by Lance into several areas.

There was a library filled with all kinds of books, a Treasure Room displaying collectibles, and a study.

There were even portraits of humans!!! Lance's Dragon Lair actually had portraits of humans, and more than one! The people in those portraits included both men and women.

The men wore armor and held greatswords.

The women wore mage robes and carried staffs.

Sharp-eyed Lucia even noticed that some of the greatswords used by people in the portraits were now displayed in Lance's Treasure Room!