Pull. Inside the carriage returning to the Temple, the atmosphere was so oppressive that breathing felt difficult.
Yisela, who was always chattering and complaining that the carriage was too slow and the cushions weren’t soft enough, now crouched like a quail completely soaked by heavy rain, curled up in Seraphina’s arms, refusing to say a word.
The strange black patterns on her body had been temporarily forced back by holy light, but the chill that had penetrated deep into her bones still clung tightly to her entire being.
Her small hands tightly gripped the clothes on Seraphina’s chest, as if the moment she loosened her grip even a little, she would fall back into that cold, dark abyss.
Seraphina didn’t say a word, because she knew nothing she said would help now.
She simply reached out and gently patted Yisela’s back, sending wave after wave of gentle holy light from her palm, slowly repairing Yisela’s injured mental world. Her eyes were cold as ice, the kind of expression she only showed when facing a real enemy.
‘Taking advantage of her loneliness!’
‘Creating the illusion of abandonment!’
‘These people are really despicable.’
‘They knew full well that this little dragon feared that more than anything.’
After returning to the Temple, Seraphina did not take Yisela back to the small side hall filled with toys and snacks.
Instead, she carried her directly into her own bedchamber. This place was the core of the entire Temple of Light’s defensive magic array—not even a fly could get in.
She dismissed the maid, then personally filled an entire bathtub with hot water, and sprinkled in moonlight grass that helped with sleep.
“Yisela, let’s take a bath.”
Yisela didn’t move at all; she just buried her head deeper. Her voice sounded muffled, with a hint of trembling.
“I’m not bathing!”
“I don’t want to move at all!”
This seemed to be the first time she had refused a bath. Usually, when it was time to sleep, she would sing in the bathroom and take a long time to come out.
Seraphina sighed. Instead of scolding her, she picked Yisela up, clothes and all, and placed her into the bathtub.
The warm bathwater immediately enveloped Yisela’s body, and she finally let out a comfortable sigh.
But then, as if remembering something particularly terrifying, she suddenly lifted her head to look at Seraphina. Her big eyes, usually full of arrogance, were now filled with fear.
“Sister!”
“Just now, did you really never think about throwing me away?”
When she asked this, her voice was so small, as if she were awaiting a final verdict.
Seraphina’s heart ached sharply.
She crouched down, bringing her eyes level with Yisela’s, reached out to gently wipe the remaining tears from Yisela’s eyes, and looked into Yisela’s eyes with utmost seriousness.
“Yisela, look at me.”
“In this world, you are the only one who can roll around on my bed, eat all my snacks, and bite my holy nail.”
“You are my person, my own little evil dragon.”
“Besides me, no one has the right to dispose of you, and no one can take you away from me.”
“Even if the Death God himself comes, he’ll have to ask my holy sword if it agrees first.”
“Do you understand?”
“You are not a sacrifice. You are the reverse scale of Seraphina that must not be touched.”
“Waa…!”
Yisela sniffled, and her tears burst again, but this time not from fear, but from a sense of security. She suddenly threw herself into Seraphina’s arms, burying her wet head in the Saintess’s neck, and cried loudly.
“Then from now on, you’re not allowed to be mean to me!”
“Don’t call me useless!”
“And don’t ignore me when you’re talking to that person in the black robe!”
“Okay, I’ll do all that.”
“Also!”
“I want to eat that!”
“That super hard-to-buy golden crispy chicken!”
“I want it now!”
“Those street stall things aren’t hygienic, and it’s too late now!”
“I want to eat it!”
“If you don’t buy it for me, I’ll make a scene!”
Yisela opened her little mouth.
She kissed Seraphina’s neck. It felt like being marked by a little beast, but it completely relaxed Seraphina’s tense nerves.
“Looks like the arrogant Yisela is finally back.”
Seraphina smiled helplessly, hugged her back.
“Alright, alright, I’ll go buy it for you.”
“But you have to finish your bath first. Your whole body smells like that alley’s mold, it’s disgusting.”
“You’re the one who stinks!”
“I am a dragon!”
“A dragon’s body is fragrant!”
Half an hour later, Yisela was wearing Seraphina’s loose bathrobe, the sleeves so long they looked like opera costumes. She sat cross-legged on the Saintess’s ridiculously expensive pure wool carpet.
In front of Yisela was a portion of fried chicken that had just been directly teleported from the most famous stall in the south of the city via an emergency communication magic array.
Seraphina had used her privilege, given the stall owner 1 gold coin, and asked him to rush-order a few drumsticks. The flattered stall owner frantically waved his hands to refuse the money, but Seraphina forcefully stuffed three gold coins into his hand.
Yisela held a drumstick in her left hand and a glass of milk in her right, her mouth greasy.
As if she wanted to chew up all the fear from before and swallow it down.
When she got to the third drumstick, her movements suddenly slowed.
Her gaze fell on the emerald bracelet on her own wrist, which had started to glow again without her noticing. She stared at the bracelet for a long time, then lowered her head and carefully wiped the pattern on the bracelet’s surface with her ungreased hand.
“Sister!”
“That old woman, did she say she would come back?”
Seraphina was sitting on the bed at that moment, holding an old book in her hands. When she heard the question, she looked up.
Yisela wasn’t looking at her; she was just wiping the bracelet with her fingertip.
“She said she would come back with a way to save you.”
Seraphina said in a very small voice.
“Before she left, she told me one thing: ‘Don’t let that little brat die.’ That was her exact words.”
Yisela’s hand paused for a moment.
Then she wrinkled her little nose forcefully.
“Who needs her to save me.”
“Next time she dares to come back, this princess will bite her first.”
Her voice still sounded fierce, but the way her finger repeatedly rubbed the bracelet betrayed her awkward concern.
She stuffed the remaining drumstick into her mouth and chewed vigorously, as if using the chewing motion to cover something.
Seraphina turned a page in her book, pretending not to notice Yisela’s ears that had turned completely red.
“Sister.”
Yisela spoke again suddenly, still with a piece of chicken in her mouth.
“That black cat, is it going to come back?”
Even though Yisela put on a fierce face, Seraphina could still hear the deep hidden trembling in her tone.
“Yes.”
“As long as you keep growing, as long as the power of the Dragon God still exists within you, they will never give up.”
“Then what do I do?”
“Right now I can’t even conjure a small fireball.”
Yisela crawled up from the carpet, climbed to the edge of the bed, and looked up at Seraphina with her little head.
Seraphina reached out her hand, gently stroking Yisela’s messy, still-damp silver hair.
A look of unprecedented determination flashed in her eyes. Eyes.
“Then let them come.”
“From now on, I will protect you. I will grind those bugs that dare to stretch out their claws into powder, one by one.”
She leaned down and placed a kiss on Yisela’s forehead.
“All you need to do is eat, sleep, and grow up slowly.”
“Leave the rest to your sister.”
Yisela looked at the stunning face so close to hers, and her heart beat uncontrollably a few times. She suddenly felt that she really didn’t need to be afraid anymore.
“Hmph.”
She lifted her chin with a tsundere look, though the corners of her eyes were still red.
“Since you’re begging me like this, I’ll reluctantly agree.”
“But we have a deal: from now on, you can only keep my treasures safe for me; you absolutely cannot confiscate them!”
“Yes, yes, you little money-grubber.”
“And! I want to sleep on the inside of the bed!”
“You’re not allowed to push me off!”
“Okay, okay, you can sleep on the inside.”
Yisela crawled into the bedsheets contentedly, wrapped herself up tightly like a silkworm, leaving only a pair of eyes exposed.
Seraphina blew out the candle and lay down beside her.
“Sleep, my little evil dragon.”