Evil Dragon, Without a Princess, I Had to Transform Myself!

Chapter 112 : My Sister

With a soft swish, half the curtain was drawn aside, allowing a stream of sunlight to spill into the room. The slanting rays cast a clear, bright path through the air, where tiny dust motes danced in the fragmented light.

Elaphia stood in the shadows untouched by the sun, gazing out at the sunlit courtyard with an indescribable sorrow.

Beyond the fence lay a small river, its waters clear and gentle, flowing with vibrant energy.

Across the river stretched vast rice fields, where ordinary wheat ears transformed under the sun’s touch into a golden sea. In the distance beyond the fields, no mountains were visible—only evergreen grasslands and fertile farmland.

Even on the third day after her awakening, this serene scenery and her current leisure still gave Elaphia a profound sense of unreality.

The mystery of her resurrection remained unresolved. Loranhir claimed ignorance, Shatina—with whom she had a complicated relationship—knew nothing either, and as for the Princess, Elaphia hadn’t even bothered to ask.

Either Dreka wasn’t dead—an impossibility, since Elaphia had personally stabbed through her former master, heart and soul—or a miracle had occurred, a divine mercy bestowed by some god.

Elaphia held no faith; she didn’t believe in such things.

In this world, some dreams might one day come true, but others could end before awakening. Certain matters still required her personal confirmation.

Her expression stern, Elaphia’s crimson eyes reflected beams of warm sunlight, dazzlingly brilliant. An unprecedented impulse surged within her.

Hesitating, her fingers trembled slightly, as if sensing the lethal power contained within the sunlight.

This time, she hadn’t applied her special sunscreen.

The moment her fingertips touched the sunlight, a sharp, electric pain shot through her arm. The rays burned her skin like flames, immediately enveloping her fingers in a faint haze of smoke.

She felt her skin blacken rapidly under the sun’s scorching heat, the pain tightening her brow. Accustomed to suffering, she didn’t cry out.

Just as she prepared to withdraw her hand, something unexpected happened.

"What’s this?" Elaphia began to feel an itch in her fingers, as if a mysterious force surged through her veins. Her heart pounded, blood boiling, and her throat seemed to form inexplicable, powerful syllables.

She looked down.

The sun-scorched skin was healing at a visible pace—the charred parts faded instantly, replaced by new skin as smooth and delicate as a newborn’s, almost keeping up with the speed of the sunlight’s burn.

"..."

Elaphia didn’t understand why.

But the impulse within her grew stronger.

She pushed open the window and leaped out. The sunlight poured straight down, seeming to hollow out her body and soul.

As expected, more pain followed, yet Elaphia felt incredibly joyful. Compared to the vitality coursing through her blood, the burning agony was insignificant—it felt more like a blessing.

This was what she had longed for.

It was the gentle universe releasing brilliant stars, magnificent auroras, and solar winds.

It was the lush grasses covering the hills and the flowers blooming wildly across the fields.

All of it."Praise the sun!" Elaphia shouted loudly.

"What madness is this?"

It seemed she wasn't the only one sunbathing present, as someone nearby discontentedly stopped Elaphia's outburst.

Elaphia felt no negative emotions, effortlessly recognizing this voice.

It was the Princess.

Elaphia turned back, happily facing her.

She saw the Princess sitting alone under the tree, delicate hands holding an exquisite book, wearing glasses of unknown origin on her nose bridge, giving off the strong impression of a literary young woman.

"Won't you come here to avoid the light? What exactly is a vampire thinking, taking a sunbath at high noon?" Patunasankus patted the grass on her right. Hurry over."

When Patunasankus noticed Elaphia's gaze falling on the book pile to her left, she deliberately lifted them so Elaphia could see the titles clearly.

"I didn't know the Princess enjoyed reading," Elaphia said as she sat down.

"Well now you know, and it's not too late," Patunasankus replied without looking up. "But I also didn't know a vampire had a preference for sunbathing."

"Now you know that too. I've always liked the midday sun. Besides, even for someone like me, there must be some rays of sunlight in life," Elaphia turned her head, looking at the Princess's hair the color of dandelions - the hue of sunlight.

"How could anyone not like this?" Elaphia whispered.

"You..." Patunasankus narrowed her eyes at Elaphia, forming some judgment in her heart. "Just as I suspected."

"Suspected what?"

"You really are a masochist." Patunasankus slightly turned her body, glancing at her sideways.

"...Masochist?" Elaphia was taken aback, loudly refuting, "How could that be! I'm definitely not!"

Patunasankus didn't continue engaging with her.

"..."

Elaphia knew the Princess was deliberately teasing her, as playful and lively as ever.

She blinked, then suddenly saw the Princess with her face turned sideways, attention returning to the book in her hands, long eyelashes like clouds casting shadows on her elegant and soft face.

Elaphia watched her, seemingly unnoticed, as if she didn't belong to this world, appearing peaceful.

"..."

Elaphia didn't want to speak anymore, unwilling to disturb this tranquility.

She sat beside the Princess's book pile, quietly watching the sunlit soil, sunlight directly reaching her eyes unobstructed, making even the depths of her pupils feel warm.

Neither lonely nor unsettled anymore.

In days against the light, one only needs to adjust the angle to cast away the shadows.

What comes facing you will be that pleasant brightness, the beauty of life.

Occasional soft sounds of page-turning could be heard as the Princess's fingers gently flipped through the pages, strands of hair swaying lightly with the breeze, leaves gently rustling, dappled tree shadows casting down.

Elaphia wished such afternoons could be longer, more frequent.

If this is a dream, please never let it end.

○Loranhir's wrist gave a slight flick, coins clinking against each other in the bag with a crisp, pleasant sound.

"Your commission, exactly as agreed, not a single coin short."

Shatina weighed the heavy pouch in her hand and, after confirming the amount, suddenly embraced Loranhir, brimming with excitement:

"Wow, Loranhir, I love you to death! I knew you wouldn't take advantage of me for free."

"Please, stop saying that. Don't say things like that anymore." Loranhir's expression turned awkward as she pointed at Elaphia, who was giving them a strange look. "Someone might really misunderstand."

Shatina showed no intention of clarifying the situation, her mind already soaring to the heavens with the arrival of the money pouch.

"I can finally return to the academy and continue my research project. That old hag won't be able to withhold my research funds anymore." Shatina giggled foolishly. "Hehehe, this is enough to cover my research expenses for half a year."

"Only half a year?" Elaphia's eyes held doubt. Having once dabbled as a scholar herself, she was well aware of the tricks of the trade. Magic professors might withhold funds and exploit their apprentices' research, but even so, this hefty pouch shouldn't be exhausted in just six months.

"Because the materials I need to purchase for my research are very expensive," Shatina explained.

"The hero paid you quite generously. What kind of project would use up that much money in just half a year?" Elaphia asked.

Shatina hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Dragon Cancer."

"Dragon Cancer? I've never even heard of such an obscure research topic." Elaphia frowned.

"It's a cancer unique to dragonkind. You can think of it as a curse or contamination related to dragons. It doesn't really concern you anyway—it generally only appears in creatures or individuals with deep connections to dragonkind. As for specific symptoms... well, long story short, I won't go into details." Shatina shrugged.

"Why choose such a niche research topic?" Loranhir asked.

"You just had to bring up the sore subject. I can't compete with them in popular fields."

Shatina's eyes held a trace of resentment.

"Alright, since I've got my commission, I'll take my leave now. We'll meet again if fate allows, though I'll definitely come back when I run out of money."

She clapped her hands and picked up her backpack.

"Goodbye!" Shatina chuckled as she ran off.

○

"Phew..." Loranhir wiped the sweat from her forehead as she watched Shatina's retreating figure. "Finally managed to send off the most troublesome one."

"You and her... are you really not involved in anything?" Elaphia's tone was full of uncertainty.

"No, really not. Don't listen to that Shatina's nonsense. There's absolutely nothing between us—just a proper employer-employee relationship!" Loranhir said with a serious expression. "Loyalty! My heart holds only loyalty to the Princess, nothing else!"

"Really only loyalty?" Elaphia narrowed her eyes.

With a creak, the door opened. Realizing the Princess had entered, Loranhir quickly changed the subject. "Let's not talk about this anymore. We should get going too.""Set off? To where?" Patunasankus walked over to them, coming a bit too close this time. Facing Loranhir and Elaphia's height difference made her somewhat uncomfortable, so she took a few steps back to create distance.

"To the Royal Capital, wasn't it decided earlier that we'd send you back to the Royal Capital?" Loranhir told her, "And Princess, your sister must be waiting too."

"I remember her name was..."

Loranhir trailed off.

"Um... what was her name again?" Loranhir looked at Patunasankus and asked.

Both Elaphia and Patunasankus stared at her speechlessly—one probably completely unable to comprehend the hero's thought process, the other equally unable to answer the question.

"It's Yanis Flandoya," Elaphia said for Loranhir.

"Right, right, it's Her Highness Yanis," Loranhir nodded vigorously.

"...Yanis," Patunasankus murmured softly.

Only then did she finally recall the scene she had previously cast aside—the private office with just the two of them, several inexplicable words, and a kiss she couldn't understand at all.

Thinking of this, Patunasankus faced coldly upward, though her cheeks flushed slightly red.

She shook her head, casting out the strange images and sensations from her memory all at once.

"What a pervert," Patunasankus muttered under her breath.

But she felt like she had overlooked a very important detail, though she couldn't recall it just then.

"I remember the Duchess said you and her had a very good relationship," Loranhir said.

"A very good relationship?"

Patunasankus laughed. She walked to the windowsill and closed her eyes tightly, trying to recall Yanis's face that she had once seen in the Evil Dragon Yearbook.

"Yanis, La... my, sister," Patunasankus said.

Before Patunasankus appeared a fair face resembling Latifa's, as if emanating fragrance, a seemingly familiar slight smile, deliberately imitated gestures—gradually this outline overlapped with the image of another.

Patunasankus didn't know whether to be angry or amused, but ultimately decided to laugh.

"My sister..." Patunasankus said softly.

"Ah-hah~"

Patunasankus nearly laughed aloud, a somewhat pleasant, silvery bell-like sound.

Bathed in the untiring late autumn sunlight, she narrowed her eyes, her silhouette sharply defined in the light and shadow.

Like a cat.

A faint smile had unknowingly curved at the corners of her eyes and brows, so bright, like light on a summer afternoon lake, instantly piercing through all the gloom in this world.

Whether it's mistakes, separations, or irreversible... death.