Turtle was feeling gloomy.
There was indeed this possibility, Evil Dragon Lance developed a new medicine, the Young Dragon refused it, leaving only Turtle to be considered, Evil Dragon Lance would definitely habitually think of it.
Evil Dragon Lance would surely think, concoctions... Turtle has been drinking them since it was young, it won't die from them, at most strange things would grow on its shell, all within the range of treatable conditions...
"Lucia... how about... you drink the new medicines Evil Dragon Lance develops from now on..."
"....."
This was a clear sign their friendship wasn't deep enough.
Lucia wasn't angry, she even felt like laughing a bit, Turtle had become scared of the drug trials.
Later, if Evil Dragon wanted her to drink a new medicine, she definitely wouldn't let Turtle do the drug trials for her. Just now, she had merely wanted to frighten Turtle a little.
"Don't worry, if I catch a field mouse or a rat tonight, we'll raise them together. From now on, neither of us will need to try the drugs, we'll let the field mice or rats do it."
"How come Evil Dragon Lance never thought of this?"
"He probably doesn't want to raise a rat as big as you, I guess."
Turtle thought the Young Dragon's point made sense.
Rats could never be as cute as a clumsy turtle.
"Your turtle shell is a bit dirty, shall I clean it for you tomorrow?"
"Young Dragon... you are much cuter than Er Gouzi."
"Thanks for the compliment...."
Comparing her to a dog?
How outrageous... How could you compare the future Emperor of the Farolan Empire to a dog?
You could at least compare her to the Evil Dragon.
"When you're about to clean my turtle shell, just tell me in advance. I'll swim out to sea and you can fly onto my back and give me a simple scrub."
The Young Dragon friend was really nice.
In the future, not only would it refuse to care for Evil Dragon Lance in his old age, it would also care for Young Dragon Lucia until the end.
Tortoises live a thousand years, turtles live ten thousand years.
Evil Dragon Lance said it could live for ten thousand years, and unless anything unexpected happened... it could probably really live for ten thousand years...
"Have you ever cleaned a turtle shell before?"
"Evil Dragon Lance used to help me clean my shell often."
"Then tomorrow I'll ask Evil Dragon for the brush, barge into you in the afternoon, and then wash your shell."
"Mhm."
Turtle definitely had a good temperament, Evil Dragon hadn't lied about that.
When her strength increased enough to flip Turtle over, and if she accidentally hurt Turtle in the process, Turtle probably wouldn't get angry.
By that time, their friendship would undoubtedly be deeper than it is now.
My parents, far in the empire, would you believe my first friend outside the empire is a giant turtle?
There's no way to send letters from the island. If it were possible, you would surely be shocked by my experiences.
........
Evil Dragon wasn't in the courtyard.
When Young Dragon Lucia found Evil Dragon Lance, Lance was sprawled on the huge rock where he had sunbathed in the morning, sipping red wine, munching on snacks, and admiring the last glow of the sunset.
He was a Dragon with poetic sentiments; such beautiful scenery, if witnessed by a wandering poet, would probably inspire descriptions that would make many young girls fall in love with such sights.
The talent and experiences of wandering poets, and that melancholic look in their eyes, really do attract young girls.
When she was in the imperial capital, she had seen wandering poets a few times.
She had been quite fortunate; the wandering poets she met were decent-looking, though a bit old.
"Do you like the afterglow of the sunset?"
Young Dragon lay down on a massive rock not far from Evil Dragon, gazing at the glow of the sunset over the sea, her mind at peace, free from the earlier anxiety.
"I like it. The beauty of nature can purify the soul and can also be used to cultivate one's state of mind."
"???"
She could understand purifying the soul.
But was cultivating the state of mind not a bit overstated?
She knew about cultivating the state of mind; martial artists, wizards, card makers, and others from the Human World all needed to do it.
Extraordinary beings cultivate their state of mind to rid themselves of the vanity of daylight, to erase anxiety from their hearts, allowing themselves to have a better condition.
Why does the Evil Dragon cultivate his state of mind?
Alright, perhaps also to rid himself of the vanity of daylight.
After all, Lance was an Evil Dragon who possessed all sorts of documentation.
"The remnants of the sunset would be described by poets of the Human World as utterly enchanting," said Lucia.
Lance turned his head to glance at the Young Dragon he had picked up.
Why did it seem that this child was incredibly curious about the Human World and about humans?
It seemed that he even had a liking for talented and artistic humans.
"Do you like humans?"
"Ah? Oh... yeah... a little bit... It's just a little bit of liking for humans, but to qualify to be their Emperor."
She was human herself, so how could she not like humans?
From the Young Dragon's point of view, you couldn't say you really liked humans, just a little bit. Didn't the Evil Dragon say yesterday that he also often went to play in the Human World?
It seemed that the Evil Dragon might have a bit of a fondness for humans as well.
"Lance... do you... hate humans or like them?"
"I like the kind humans, and I hate the bad ones."
"...."
Could humans be worse than an Evil Dragon?
Perhaps there really were humans worse than the Evil Dragon.
Take someone as kind as Eva, who almost got sent to the gallows just for being a Dark Wizard.
As a Princess, she didn't really interact with people outside the capital, no, she hadn't really interacted with people from the capital itself, so she hadn't seen many truly bad people.
Stinky big sister wasn't a very bad person but rather an annoying person.
If stinky big sister were truly bad, Ministers, nobles, and knights wouldn't support her over her for the throne.
You could say stinky big sister was annoying, but you couldn't say she was very bad.
"I hate bad people too."
"Then you'll have to be more cunning and sly in the future. If you're more cunning and sly than the bad guys, they can't hurt you.
But I think you're suited to the path of 'Overwhelming Strength.' As long as you are strong enough, it doesn't matter what bad guy you're up against or what dirty tricks they play; one punch from me and they're dead.
When you're strong to that extent, it doesn't really matter if you're a bit dim-witted."
"......Is that so?"
"Think about it."
The Young Dragon pondered for a moment and felt that there might be some truth to the Evil Dragon's words. To be more cunning and sly than bad people, wouldn't that make her worse than them?
Becoming someone worse than the bad people?
Fight evil with evil?
....It might work....
If she was strong enough, even if she wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, bad people wouldn't be able to harm her; that seemed fine to her.
The Evil Dragon said she was suited for the path of a powerhouse.
Could it be that he saw potential in her to become a powerhouse?
Lucia smiled; she felt that the Evil Dragon had a good eye for people....
Accurate?
!!!
Wuwuwu—
The infuriated Princess, Evil Dragon implying her lack of intellect.
Saying she's suited for the path of the strong—he was basically saying she wasn't fit to outwit bad people, right?
Because she couldn't outsmart the bad people....
That's just bullying.
"You... insulted me..."
The Young Dragon was sulkily downcast, with a look of grievance in her eyes.
"Huff..." Lance exhaled a breath of warm air, "I'm relieved. Although it took you a while to catch on, the fact that you did means you're relatively smart. The average bad guy won't be able to deceive you."
"......"
Your compliment... hurts more than if you'd insulted me....
Wuwuwu—
"Lance... you... you... you seem to have bad breath."
"Don't talk nonsense. I haven't been in love, so it's impossible for me to have bad breath. The foul smell is coming from you. Go wash up in the sea, and when you're done, remember to clean up this place as well."
Not convinced, the Young Dragon turned her head and sniffed, then kept gagging. How could she smell so bad?!!