In Lucia's imagination, the place where the Evil Dragon resided was a cave barely capable of sheltering from wind and rain.
The cave was dark and damp, with green moss growing all over the surrounding walls.
The ground was uneven, strewn with rocks of various sizes.
He ate raw meat and drank water from the mountain streams and forests.
His days were not even as comfortable as those of the most ordinary citizens in the Imperial Capital.
As for the Dragon's Den filled with gold and jewels, such Evil Dragons only existed in legends.
If the Dragon's Den were full of gold and jewels, would the Evil Dragon still raid human towns?
In her imagination, the Evil Dragon was both poor and arrogant, living a life worse than that of the farmers in the empire.
Before seeing Evil Dragon Lance's territory, the Evil Dragon in her mind was nothing but powerful—a symbol of poverty, filth, brutality, and a robber who loved to pillage human towns and abduct Princesses.
Now that she saw Evil Dragon Lance's territory, Lucia's imagined image of the Evil Dragon instantly collapsed.
She wasn't sure about other Evil Dragons, but as for Evil Dragon Lance, he was enjoying life no less than she did as the Princess of the Empire.
Evil Dragon Lance could also farm, cultivate fruits, and cook.
Damn it, thinking about it this way, she, the Princess of the Empire, seemed to be useless except for eating, drinking, and having fun—she couldn't do anything else.
No, that's not right; she could govern a country, she could be an emperor.
Her studies weren't bad, and in terms of literary accomplishments, she, the Princess of the Empire, was definitely stronger than Evil Dragon Lance.
Mm-hmm, thinking about it that way, she was still stronger than Evil Dragon Lance in certain aspects.
"Evil... I mean... Lance, can I ask you a question?"
"Go ahead."
Lucia weighed her words carefully and said, "Do all Evil Dragons have as many life skills as you do?"
"I don't know, but as far as I've seen, I haven't encountered another Evil Dragon as outstanding as myself."
"......"
Was Evil Dragon Lance complimenting himself in a roundabout way?
"Hey, to seriously answer your question, whether all Evil Dragons are like me, I don't know, but to become an outstanding Evil Dragon, one must acquire some life skills."
".... Then I might never be able to become an outstanding Evil Dragon in my lifetime...."
"No worries, I'll try my best to train you into an outstanding Evil Dragon. To become an excellent Evil Dragon, you don't have to be just like me."
You might as well make me into an outstanding emperor.
She had no desire to become an Evil Dragon.
"Come on, there's one last place to go."
"Where?"
"The Dragon's Den."
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What a huge tree.
Evil Dragon Lance had actually planted a tall, majestic tree with a twisted trunk in his courtyard.
Yes, Evil Dragon Lance had actually built himself a courtyard, complete with a gate.
At the entrance to the courtyard, there stood two Stone Lions.
Evil Dragon Lance said that what was placed at the gate were not lions, but kirin.
Lions were called kirin in the world of Evil Dragon Lance.
She asked Evil Dragon Lance why he placed two lion...kirin at the entrance of the courtyard.
The Evil Dragon said to ward off evil spirits and to bring wealth and good fortune.
She was dumbfounded at the time.
Did Evil Dragons also need to ward off evil spirits?
She said... are there creatures more evil than Evil Dragons in this world?
Evil Dragon Lance said... yes, the brave and heroes are more evil than Evil Dragons.
Lucia was left speechless, for to Evil Dragons, the powerful braves and the noble heroes indeed seemed too evil.
After all, weren't the Evil Dragons in legends either slain by the braves or defeated by the heroes?
Even so, Lucia still found Evil Dragon Lance weird...
Placing Stone Lions at the entrance to ward off evil was one thing, but who had ever heard of an Evil Dragon that built his own courtyard?
"What kind of tree is this? It's so big."
"Ginkgo tree."
"Oh. Huh? Those trees outside the courtyard, are they peach trees?"
Standing beside the ginkgo tree, it wasn't until then that Lucia noticed the grove not far from the courtyard, which looked like peach trees. She recognized them since the Imperial Capital Palace also had peaches growing within its grounds.
"Yes, they are beautiful when the peach blossoms are in full bloom."
"I see!" Lucia exclaimed, a look of sudden realization in her eyes. "You planted so many peach trees to raise a princess, right?"
"....No, they're for selling. Haven't you ever heard the saying? 'The Black Dragon plants peach trees, and breaks off branches to pay for wine.'
"???!!!!"
Damn it, Evil Dragon Lance wasn't a Giant Dragon without any literary cultivation!
He had the potential to be a wandering Evil Dragon bard!
"Have you captured any traveling bards?"
"No."
"Then, have you listened to traveling bards as they sing about their experiences and what they've seen?"
"No."
"Do you normally read books?"
"Yes."
Damn, she, Princess Lucia of the Farolan Empire, had encountered an Evil Dragon who could farm, read, and even build his own courtyard!
The key point was, this Evil Dragon not only planted trees in the courtyard he built, but he also installed a swing!
Looking at the size of the swing... it didn't seem suitable for a Giant Dragon to use.
It seemed more like it was prepared for a [Princess].
Was it her imagination?
Why did she feel that while other Evil Dragons kept princesses as wives,
Evil Dragon Lance kept a princess... as a pet?
It must be her imagination.
"Don't stand there daydreaming, come see inside the Dragon's Den."
Seeing Lucia gazing up at him with a blank look, Lance gently touched her clean-shaven dragon head with his Dragon Claw.
"Oooh..." Lucia came back to her senses and quickly averted her gaze towards the Dragon's Den in the center of the courtyard, "Ah, the entrance to your Dragon's Den... does it have a door?"
"Hm, made of crystal, good for lighting."
"......"
Lucia was dumbfounded; had she not seen it with her own eyes, she would never have believed that a dragon like Lance existed in this world.
"How do you open this door?"
"Just push it open, don't worry, it won't fall over, and you don't need to use too much force."
"What's that painting on the crystal door?"
"Door God, to bless the home with peace."
"......"
Just how afraid was Evil Dragon Lance of heroes and warriors?
Lance pushed the door open and entered, with Lucia following closely. Inside the Dragon's Den, there was no musty smell, nor was it dark and damp; instead, there floated a faint aroma.
The interior walls of the Dragon's Den were covered in plants that emitted a soft glow, and the ground was neither uneven nor strewn with rocks of varying sizes.
It was very smooth, the ground was covered in a type of flower Lucia had never seen before, and even when the massive body of Evil Dragon Lance passed over them, these plants did not become tattered.
The lighting inside the Dragon's Den was very sufficient.
When Lucia followed Evil Dragon Lance into the depths of the Dragon's Den, she was shocked once again.
The depths of the Dragon's Den were vast, and Evil Dragon Lance had divided it into several areas.
There was a [Library] filled with various books, a [Collection Room] filled with collectibles, and a [Study Room].
And human portraits!!!
There were actually human portraits inside Evil Dragon Lance's den, and not just one!
Some of the portraits were of men and women.
The men were dressed in armor, wielding swords.
The women were dressed in mage's robes, holding Magic Wands.
Lucia, with her sharp eyes, noticed that some of the swords in the portraits were now displayed in Evil Dragon Lance's [Collection Room]!