Reincarnated as a Sickly Princess, She was Kidnapped by the Evil Dragon Lady - Chapter 12

After a moment’s thought, she understood.

The girl looked so young; this was likely her first time away from home. Given that, it was perfectly normal for her to be crying.

Though as the Dragon Queen, she couldn’t quite grasp why human parents insisted on protecting their young even into adulthood. The Dragon Clan certainly didn’t operate that way.

“What do you say…?”

Illycia gritted her teeth, her reddened eyes glaring through the strands of her falling hair, betraying her resentment and hatred.

“I… am Aria. I brought you here simply to ask for a favor. Once it’s done, I’ll let you leave.”

Aria spoke calmly, her gaze fixed intently on Illycia, studying her expression.

“Is this how you ask for favors?” Illycia scoffed, almost laughing at Aria’s audacity.

“No…”

“What have you done to my family…?”

Before Aria could finish, Illycia ruthlessly cut her off.

As the Dragon Queen, Illycia felt a flicker of annoyance at the human’s rudeness in interrupting her. However, knowing she was in the wrong, she let it pass.

“I didn’t harm your parents. I haven’t killed anyone,” Aria replied truthfully.

“Do you think I’d believe you?” Illycia retorted.

In this situation, any words from Aria would likely be seen as mere attempts to placate Illycia’s anger. How could she possibly discern truth from falsehood?

Aria, frustrated that her honest confession was met with disbelief, couldn’t help but feel a surge of anger.

“Human…” Aria began, raising one hand. A layer of purple magic instantly enveloped her palm.

As the magic flared in Aria’s hand, Illycia, who had been kneeling on the ground, was suddenly forced to her feet.

Just as Illycia braced herself for an attack, Aria unexpectedly pinned her against the wall, one hand bracing against the wall beside her head.

Aria stared intently at Illycia, her exquisite face as expressionless as ever.

Yet at such close range, Illycia could detect a flicker of anger in Aria’s eyes.

“You’re just a human. Why should I care whether you believe me or not?!” Aria snarled, slamming her fist into the wall beside Illycia’s head.

The force of the Dragon Race’s strength was so immense that the punch shattered a small section of the wall, leaving a deep indentation.

This act, typically born of extreme anger or even rage in humans, was executed by Aria with her usual icy, inscrutable expression.

Illycia froze in place, stunned by the terrifying force of Aria’s blow.

As fragments of the shattered wall slowly drifted down onto her head, Illycia finally grasped the truth: the person before her was, after all, a Dragon.

“Listen well, human. Before you stands the Dragon Queen. If I wished, I could kill you or even all of humanity with a mere flick of my finger. So you’d best curb your insolence!”

As Aria spoke, she withdrew her hand from the shattered wall.

The movement caused fragments of debris to scatter, some of which landed on Illycia’s head.

At that moment, Aria’s gaze swept over Illycia’s hair, now dirtied by her actions, and paused briefly.

“If you obey me, I’ll let you return afterward. You’ll see for yourself whether I’ve harmed your people.”

Aria’s tone had softened slightly from its earlier ferocity, though it remained far from kind.

With that, Aria turned and left, closing the door behind her.

Left alone in the room, Illycia collapsed to the floor the instant Aria was gone, as if all strength had drained from her body.

Her emotions were a tangled mess. Though resentment lingered, fear now dominated her heart, born from the Dragon Queen’s demonstrated power and revealed identity.

So the opponent was actually the king of the Dragon Clan. No wonder their combat prowess was so formidable…

After realizing the truth, Illycia felt only despair.

In Illycia’s eyes, if Aria was indeed the Dragon Clan’s king, then her threat to annihilate Illycia or even the entire human race, didn’t seem like an idle boast. After all, the Dragon Clan likely possessed the power to carry out such a threat.

Illycia thought of how she had finally escaped the Roland Empire, only to find herself destined for imprisonment once more. A profound sense of helplessness washed over her.

She curled up in a corner, burying her face between her knees.

She truly loathed her own body now, incapable of doing anything, achieving nothing…

Just then, after Aria had left, the two Dragon Maids who had been standing by the door opened it and entered the room.

“Please come with us. Your Majesty has ordered us to give you a bath and move you to another room.”

The two Dragon Maids spoke as they approached Illycia, who was huddled silently in a corner.

After a tense moment, Illycia remained motionless, refusing to speak or even lift her head.

“Forgive our rudeness…” one of the Dragon Maids said slowly, then used magic to lift Illycia from the floor and hoist her onto her shoulder.

“Let me go!” Illycia protested, naturally refusing to submit passively.

However, Illycia’s frail constitution doomed her resistance to futility. Her frantic kicks and punches barely registered against the Dragon Maid’s armored frame, leaving Illycia with aching hands instead.

Defeated, Illycia could only resign herself to being carried away for a bath.

Meanwhile, Aria, who had left earlier, began to regret her actions.

She hadn’t truly wanted to treat Illycia so harshly. Capturing her had been a necessary measure, and Aria had taken care to avoid harming anyone else during the operation. The only possible injuries were the minor ones sustained by the two women who had surrounded her while she seized Illycia.

Even as Aria departed, she considered the panic her departure might cause among the local populace. To avoid this, she ascended into the sky and used Teleportation Magic to leave, rather than openly flying away in front of the people. This would give the Human Race the false impression that they had been defeated.

As for those in the palace, anyone with sense would surely announce their own destruction to demonstrate the Empire’s overwhelming power to the masses.

Aria believed her actions would actually help the Roland Empire’s leaders consolidate public support.

In her view, she had merely borrowed Illycia temporarily. Even though she had been angry, she hadn’t laid a hand on Illycia, only intimidated her—more than enough mercy, she thought.

After all, if she had wanted to, she could have severed Illycia’s limbs and turned her into a human pig, keeping her alive with her magic. But Aria had refrained from such cruelty. In fact, when she noticed dust had soiled Illycia’s hair, she even ordered servants to bathe her.

“I should find a chance to explain things to her properly…”

Just as Aria was pondering this, sitting on her bed in a daze, movement stirred outside the door.

“Your Majesty… please come see Illycia. She… well, please just come with me…”

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