Reincarnated as a Sickly Princess, She was Kidnapped by the Evil Dragon Lady - Chapter 8

When Rodas heard that a little girl had opened the Round Table Conference Room door, his eyelid twitched involuntarily, and a sense of foreboding settled in his heart.

He quickly rose from his seat, his heart pounding with anxiety, and hurried to the door in front of the assembled crowd.

But as Rodas caught sight of the petite yet familiar figure standing outside the door, alarm bells immediately rang in his mind.

“Illycia! What are you doing here?”

Rodas rushed forward, taking long strides, and knelt before Illycia, frantically checking her for injuries.

Gabriel, who had been standing in the room, immediately recognized Illycia’s name and hurried to the doorway as well.

As expected, Illycia was slumped on the floor, her face pale and shaken.

“Illycia!”

*****

After some time, it was confirmed that Illycia was unharmed, merely shaken by the incident, and she was escorted back to her room.

As for those who had witnessed Illycia’s appearance, they all harbored suspicions about her true identity. Though Rodas remained silent, they could piece together the truth.

After all, seeing Rodas and Gabriel’s evident concern for her, it was likely she was the rumored frail princess from the outside world.

“Knight Dray’s swordsmanship grows ever more refined,” the young, robed man remarked to the knight who had nearly struck Illycia. His gaze held an enigmatic undertone. “To wield such force and still alter your strike mid-swing was truly remarkable.”

“Archmage Philia,” Dray replied, “if you were in my place, you wouldn’t have allowed such a delicate flower to wither because of your mistake. I merely did what any knight should. Please don’t overthink it.”

Philia offered no further response to Dray’s words, merely shrugging before turning and re-entering the conference room.

As a knight, and one of the highest-ranking Saint-rank Knights at that, Dray naturally adhered to his unwavering faith and followed his strict code of conduct.

The most stringent rule forbade any romantic entanglement with women. Violation would result in the divine stripping him of his sacred power—a single restriction that barred many from ever becoming Paladins.

“My apologies for the delay, everyone. An unexpected incident caused a slight delay.”

Rodas returned to the Round Table Conference Room and resumed his seat at the head of the table.

“I’ve convened this meeting today to address a matter of grave importance…”

Rodas spoke with a solemn expression, offering no explanation for the earlier incident. He simply brushed it aside, his gaze sweeping across the assembled figures as he continued.

“Each of you present here represents the pinnacle of your respective fields: Saint-rank Knights, Overlord Archmages…”

Rodas slowly began to outline the key topics of the meeting, which primarily revolved around the recent surge in appearances of the Dragon Clan.

Originally, Rodas had deliberately spread false rumors about a meeting in two days, hoping to lure out any malicious actors. To his surprise, Illycia had stumbled upon the gathering by sheer coincidence.

Still, it wasn’t entirely unwelcome. It provided an opportunity for her to familiarize herself with the attendees.

The only thing that troubled Rodas was how Illycia had inexplicably shattered the seal at the entrance.

This was no ordinary barrier. It was a ‘Restriction’ seal jointly established by several Overlord Mages, designed to completely isolate the room from the outside world. Yet Illycia had somehow bypassed it with ease.

Could it be…?

A foreboding feeling rose in Rodas’s heart, but he quickly suppressed it with reason.

I’ll investigate properly when I have time in a couple of days…

*****

A week had passed since Illycia’s inexplicable intrusion into the Round Table Conference Room. The image of the Paladin nearly swinging his longsword at her remained vivid in her mind, replaying endlessly in her thoughts.

After all, the Paladin’s appearance was simply… too handsome!

In her previous life, Illycia had only encountered the concept of Paladins in manga. She never imagined she would actually witness a genuine Saint-rank Knight in person.

Thinking this, Illycia wondered if seeing a Dragon might not be far off either.

However, while Illycia found the Paladin handsome, her parents and older siblings saw only that she had been overly frightened.

Throughout the week, they took turns visiting her, constantly asking how she was doing, as if terrified she might have been scared to death. Their visits were relentless.

Still, Illycia appreciated that this was simply her family showing they cared, so she didn’t find it particularly annoying.

“Ah~”

At that moment, Illycia sat by the window, gazing blankly at the scenery outside.

Rumor had it that since the last conference, a new Magic Array had appeared somewhere in the Palace, a Teleportation Array built to facilitate reinforcements.

“How boring…”

Just as Illycia was staring out the window in utter boredom, she noticed a small black dot in the distant sky.

“What’s that?”

The dot was too far away; even when Illycia squinted, she couldn’t make out what it was.

But as time passed, the black dot gradually grew larger in her vision until she could finally discern its true nature.

Vast and majestic, with wings spanning nearly fifty to sixty meters, and golden, vertical pupils that instinctively inspired fear—like the primal terror herbivores feel toward carnivores.

“ROAR!!!”

A thunderous roar, capable of shaking the entire kingdom, echoed from the heavens. The Dragon showed no fear of humans, as if to say, “Even if you build towering walls and deploy formations capable of trapping and killing anything, it matters not.”

Illycia gazed at the distant Dragon, admitting to herself that she was indeed afraid.

Previously, Illycia had only heard tales of Dragons from Xiaobai’s stories or ancient books. Though she had longed to see one in person, when she finally faced the creature, she couldn’t suppress her racing heart and trembling legs.

Even though the Dragon was still hundreds of meters away.

“The… the Dragon is here!”

Illycia panicked, scrambling to her feet to rush out and warn the others.

But if Illycia could see it, how could the others not?

Before she could even reach the door, Isabella, her second eldest sister, had already flung it open.

“Quick, come with me!” Isabella said, grabbing Illycia’s hand and pulling her out of the room.

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