“You’re being too loud, Andrea. Do you want the whole house to hear you?”
Ailaira’s cold voice drifted up from beneath her, but Andrea couldn’t even process the words.
She bit down on Ailaira’s shoulder with her pearly teeth, letting out a whimper like a small animal.
“Bastard… do… something… ah!”
Ailaira shook the sweat from her wrists. Her current state was far from comfortable, and a hint of fatigue touched her brow.
A Mana Domain that felt suffocatingly uncomfortable to a Mage filled the entire room.
Trapped within it, even the Mercury Witch could not squeeze out a single drop of Magical Power.
This was Andrea’s Mana Domain. Just moments ago, having been on the verge of a breakthrough, she had finally succeeded in advancing under the pressure of external stimulation.
Though the Domain was still somewhat immature, its effect was intense.
It was similar to the suppression a Sealing Magic Stone exerted on Magic, but far more domineering. Under this suppression, Ailaira couldn’t even activate Ritual Magic.
Fortunately, the Bloodline Power rewarded by the System had already begun to subtly strengthen Ailaira’s body; otherwise, she might not have been able to withstand the Miss Red Dragon’s tidal waves of aggression.
In the deep of the night, during their intermission, Andrea hooked her legs around Ailaira’s arm and clung to her like a koala.
Ailaira turned her head to gaze at her peaceful sleeping face, silently calculating the results of Andrea’s growth.
This period of Heat had been more violent and lasted longer than the last, yet the growth attributes it provided Andrea were far inferior to the first time.
According to this trend, it would likely take four or five more sessions to ensure Andrea completely passed through her Adulthood.
And Adulthood was only the beginning. If Andrea wanted to reach higher peaks later on, she would have to rely on herself. This method of cultivation, which resembled dual cultivation, was ultimately just a shortcut.
Even though Ailaira had ways to defeat Andrea even while her Magical Power was sealed, the day Andrea could actually surpass her was still far off. At the very least, it wasn’t completely hopeless, was it?
Ailaira buried that conclusion in her heart. As she looked at the progress bar on the System Interface, her gaze grew dark.
**[Development Progress: 39%]**
Ailaira lifted her arm. The Dragon bloodline within her surged, instantly transforming her arm into a hideous Dragon Claw.
The powerful self-healing ability of a Dragon soothed her physical aches, but that was all. Compared to races with innate physical advantages like Elves or Dragonkind, the body of Humanity was still too fragile.
Forced to flee by the Gods and now realizing the possibilities of the future from Andrea, Ailaira felt a rare sense of being threatened.
While she didn’t have an overwhelming thirst for power—all her actions were based on whether they brought tangible economic benefits—strength would always be the best knocking stone for doing business.
Ailaira stared out the window at the silent, dark night. As her consciousness began to drift toward sleep, she murmured, “The path of destiny is always blurred. If I want to seize every possible opportunity, I need to speed up the research progress.”
***
The next morning, Andrea was the first to open her eyes. The first thing she saw was Ailaira’s quiet sleeping face. They were so close that Andrea could feel Ailaira’s warm breath on her cheek.
Even though it wasn’t the first time she had woken up in Ailaira’s arms, Andrea still felt embarrassed.
Recalling how she had been tossed and turned last night until she eventually collapsed into a deep sleep, she felt a flush of irritation. She grumpily pinched Ailaira’s nose and cursed under her breath.
“Hmph, I’ve noted down the grudges from these past few times. Sooner or later, I’ll pay you back!”
She made several faces at Ailaira.
Seeing that there was still no sign of her waking up, Andrea carefully crept out of bed. Noticing the dry clothes already prepared at the bedside, a satisfied smile curled onto her lips. ‘She’s actually quite thoughtful.’
Andrea dressed herself with practiced ease. When she turned back, she saw the thin blanket covering Ailaira had slipped, exposing her snow-white, bare shoulder.
Memories of the previous night were triggered again, and Andrea felt an abnormal heat rise in her heart.
She hurried over, tucked the blanket back around Ailaira, and pointed accusatory fingers at the graceful figure hidden beneath the covers.
“Look at you, you’ve corrupted me. I never had these kinds of interests before…”
“Just keep sleeping, little lazybones. This Red Dragon still has to finish your task. You better remember to thank me properly when you wake up!”
Even without receiving a response, Andrea still said her goodbye before softly leaving the room and quietly closing the door.
As soon as she stepped out, Andrea ran into Jody. She greeted her with high spirits. “Morning, stupid Maid!”
“Silly Dragon, I was just looking for you.”
In private, Jody spoke much more boldly to Andrea. In her mind, she and Andrea shared the same status within the Green Family.
She stuffed the breakfast bread from her tray into Andrea’s hands and led her toward the training grounds, her tone sounding a bit impatient.
“That Dragon Princess asked me where the training grounds were first thing this morning. She even told me to hurry you up.”
“What about the Miss? Why haven’t I seen her?”
Andrea stuffed the bread into her mouth awkwardly, mumbling, “Her? She’s still asleep.”
Jody stopped in her tracks and turned to stare at Andrea, a look of sudden realization dawning on her face. “Oh, I see. Then what about you? Are you still going? That Princess looks like she’s looking for a fight!”
Andrea swallowed the bread in two or three bites and licked the crumbs from her fingertips, letting out a confident, cute huff. “Of course I’m going! I’m feeling better than ever right now!”
Thus, Andrea followed Jody to the training grounds.
This was an open space Jody had spent all night leveling after Ailaira had blasted the ground, making it the perfect spot for a training duel. Kuchierkan had been waiting for a long time. When she saw Andrea finally arrive, she bared her teeth in a grin.
“Senior, you’re finally here. I thought you weren’t going to show up!”
Andrea rolled her shoulders as she stepped onto the field. The moment their eyes met, the pugnacious factors rooted in her Dragon Blood were fully mobilized. Unlike her trepidation over the duel invitation last night, after a night of Ailaira’s “hard labor,” all of Andrea’s senses were screaming at her. The enemy before her was absolutely someone she could fight.
‘Since leaving Dragon Valley, is this my first time standing against Dragonkind?’ Andrea thought.
The shadows of the past needed to dissipate. She had a goal much more worth working toward now. To defeat that terrifying Witch, she would start with this Dragon Princess.
“Come at me!”