Life After Being Claimed by the Disabled Dragon Lady - Chapter 52

Long Ling hurriedly fired a few shots, deliberately missing, then put down the hunting rifle and stood in front of Violet.

“Violet, I don’t want to hunt anymore. Let’s go home. The wild ducks we caught are enough for today’s meal.”

Violet saw her impatience with target practice and slightly frowned: “Practice a little longer. When I was at the training grounds, I used to practice from morning till night every day before going back.”

Long Ling was anxious and could only coax her: “The recoil of this gun is a bit strong. My shoulder feels numb and a little sore. Let’s go home first, and come back next time to practice.”

Violet looked at Long Ling pressing her slender hand against her shoulder. A layer of sparkling sweat appeared on her fair forehead, and her cheeks and neck were slightly pink. She certainly looked somewhat delicate.

She heard Long Ling’s maid say that Long Ling works in the fields from morning till night and is usually busy. When she held Long Ling in her arms at night, Long Ling’s arm muscles were noticeably firmer than before.

It had only been an hour. Given Long Ling’s initial excitement about hunting for the first time, she shouldn’t be suddenly so tired.

A hint of suspicion flashed in Violet’s eyes, but she only said to Long Ling: “Come here, let me take a look.”

Long Ling handed the hunting rifle to a guard, walked to Violet, unbuttoned a button, and showed Violet the reddened skin on her body.

Violet looked at Long Ling’s blindingly white skin. Dragon bodies are generally very strong, and Long Ling is an Alpha. The recoil shouldn’t damage the skin so quickly. That patch of skin was likely sunburned. Silvery-white dragon scales were faintly visible in the sun, which usually only happens when the body is overheated.

Violet didn’t expose Long Ling, thinking she had simply lost interest all of a sudden. For a young dragon like Long Ling, who had only recently come of age, her temperament was volatile, and her interests often faded quickly like the wind.

Besides, she had let the little dragon out to play, and the fact that she knew to go home on her own was already an improvement.

Violet handed her handkerchief to Long Ling: “Wipe your sweat, let’s go home.”

Long Ling felt relieved, wiped the sweat from her forehead with the handkerchief, and secretly glanced at the direction where Elora had appeared just now. Fortunately, Elora knew Violet was with her and didn’t walk over directly.

When she came back to her senses, she noticed Violet’s gaze briefly looking in that direction.

Long Ling quickly leaned over and kissed Violet’s forehead.

“Violet.” Long Ling’s cheeks were a little red, and her eyes shimmered slightly, “Do you prefer roast duck or salt-cured duck?”

Violet looked at Long Ling’s soft face, her neck flushing slightly from the kiss: “Either is fine.”

She thought of the elf she had seen unintentionally just now. Was the little dragon stopping her from looking because she was afraid, she would harm the elf?

Violet’s gaze fell on Long Ling’s red lips and she leaned closer: “Did you have fun today when I took you out?”

An ambiguous air circulated around Long Ling’s lips. Long Ling suddenly felt the temperature rise. She knew Violet was asking for a kiss, and to distract Violet, she could only give her a quick peck.

Long Ling’s lips lightly touched Violet’s, and she sincerely said: “Yes, I did. Thank you, Your Grace.”

Violet’s eyes rippled, and her arms wrapped around Long Ling’s neck: “Is that all the thanks I get?”

Long Ling’s cheeks were warm: “We are outside right now.”

Violet curved her lips: “I had the servants bring a tent for camping.”

Long Ling gently kissed her twice: “Let’s go home first. I want to go back and make you roast duck. There is an oven at the manor. If we roast it outside, the color and flavor will be different.”

Only then did Violet let her go. By now, the elf had left the reed marsh, so it seemed they had dodged a bullet.

Since there was no opportunity to meet today, meeting in a couple of days would be the same. Now was not a good time.

After a morning of work, they had caught a total of four wild ducks. After Long Ling brought the wild ducks back to the manor, she had them all scalded and plucked. These big, fat ducks were still heavy even after removing the feathers and internal organs.

Long Ling smeared salt on the ducks and sprinkled some spices, giving the wild ducks a careful massage so the meat could marinate for a while and become flavorful.

Violet watched Long Ling diligently massaging a duck with a bright smile on her face, and immediately felt a little displeased.

During the days she and the little dragon were in a cold war, although the little dragon massaged her legs every day, she didn’t speak after the massage, slept with her back to her, and insisted on sleeping separately.

She was finally in a better mood these past two days, yet she was smiling so sweetly at a wild duck.

Violet turned her wheelchair and entered the crystal kitchen.

Long Ling washed her hands and was cutting apple slices when she heard movement behind her: “The roast duck is not ready yet. Please wait outside for a bit. I’ll stuff these apple slices into the duck, and then it can be roasted.”

Seeing that Long Ling didn’t even turn around to look at her, Violet crossed her arms, suddenly feeling a bit angry.

Long Ling suddenly felt a burning gaze on her back. She quickly carved the peeled apple flesh into a heart shape and presented it on a plate: “Your Grace, this is for you.”

Violet looked at the heart-shaped apple, took the silver fork Long Ling handed her, and slightly curved her lips. Just as she forked a small piece of apple, she noticed the heart was broken, separated into small squares.

Violet immediately frowned. She didn’t like this symbolism and unhappily said: “Why is it a broken heart?”

Long Ling explained: “It makes it easier for you to taste.”

Violet stared into Long Ling’s eyes, a hint of darkness flashing in her gaze: “Are you still angry with me?”

Long Ling quickly shook her head and said with utmost sincerity: “You are Your Grace, and I am just an insignificant little dragon. If you hadn’t helped me, I would be locked up in jail right now because of debt. I will peel a new apple for you again.”

Violet’s eyes grew slightly cold: “You don’t need to worry about the debts your family owes me. Just stay in the manor obediently, and I will resolve all the problems for you.”

But she only asked Violet if she could only love her and stay with her forever, and she wouldn’t even grant her that. Long Ling had already given up.

Long Ling’s hand holding the fruit slightly paused: “Your Grace, you have a lot of money and many choices. Everything here is yours, even me. What does it matter whether an apple is whole or not? It’s just an apple.”

Violet tightened her brows: “But what I want is a whole heart.”

Long Ling placed the newly carved, complete heart-shaped apple on the plate in front of Violet and softly said: “This one is complete. There won’t be any mistakes this time.”

That piece of heart-shaped apple was placed on top of the previously broken apple pieces, still clinging to some sparkling water droplets, slightly wobbling and unstable.

Violet used the silver fork to secure the heart-shaped apple, stopping its swaying, and slowly put it in her mouth, taking a light bite.

When she was out hunting with the little dragon, her heart was still sweet, but this apple she was eating now tasted a little sour.

Violet slowly ate the entire heart-shaped apple.

This time, she did not leave the crystal kitchen but sat nearby, quietly watching the little dragon busily preparing the roast duck.

The afternoon passed quietly. Sunlight, filtered through the colorful, transparent crystals, refracted rainbow-like light and shadow. Long Ling was wearing a light green apron. The colorful light fell on her fair cheeks. Her nose bridge was high, and her lips were small and delicate.

Long Ling was immersed in her work, even finding time to mix dough and make some soft, pliable small thin pancakes to wrap the duck meat in.

Time flew by quickly. Before long, the aroma of roast duck drifted from the oven. She used dry fruitwood for roasting, which infused the meat with a sweet, fruity scent.

She had scalded the duck skin several times with boiling malt sugar water. The freshly roasted duck was a beautiful orange-red color. She had also stuffed the duck’s interior with apple chunks to maintain its shape. The cooked apple and roasted duck meat mingled together, and the aroma of the roast duck filled the entire kitchen.

Long Ling first removed the hooks from the roast duck, then drained some of the internal juices. Using a sharp knife, she sliced the duck meat. The roast duck was perfectly done; the duck meat and skin clung together, the skin was crispy, and the meat was tender. As she sliced, rich gravy flowed out from beneath the duck meat.

Long Ling’s knife skills were excellent. She sliced the entire duck in a few minutes. The remaining duck carcass could be used to make roast duck bone soup, adding some ginger slices, scallions, and a bit of white radish, then boiling it in water for a while.

The ducks they hunted were several years old, so stewing them longer would make the flavor even more delicious, and the longer it cooked, the thicker and whiter the soup would become.

The small pancakes and sliced roast duck were brought to the table and placed in front of Violet. Long Ling then prepared some sliced vegetables and sauce and rolled a small pancake for Violet.

“It tastes better this way. I also made some soup. I’ll bring it to you later. It’s nourishing and good for your health.”

Violet picked up the small pancake and took a bite. The duck meat was roasted just right; it was crispy and fragrant right out of the oven.

After finishing it, she casually asked: “Making so many nourishing things, are you hoping I’ll get pregnant with a dragon egg with you?”

Long Ling lowered her head, steadying the stuffy bitterness in her chest, and softly said: “Please eat the roast duck first. The duck should be eaten while hot, or it will be a bit greasy when it cools down.”

She lowered her eyelashes and prepared another small pancake for Violet, carefully rolling it before handing it to Violet again.

Violet saw Long Ling’s slightly red earlobes and the constant fluttering of her thick, curled eyelashes, and thought Long Ling was shy.

When Long Ling deeply marked her during her heat, she stubbornly left her strawberry-scented pheromones in her body, probably hoping for a dragon egg.

Violet wasn’t that fond of offspring. The incubation period takes a long time and is mentally taxing, and she would have to take turns with her partner to incubate the egg to properly care for the dragon egg.

If a little dragon cub, resembling Long Ling, were to hatch, it wouldn’t be completely unbearable; it would probably be a very cute baby.

It is difficult for dragons to conceive, but the chance of conceiving a dragon egg increases slightly when an Alpha and Omega pair bond.

Unfortunately, her health was not good now, and she couldn’t fulfill the little dragon’s wish.