“Hence I decided to raise a black dragon! Thank you in advance!”

“Hadith, that morooon—!!!”

Today as well, Hadith’s older brother, Listeard, was shouting in the office. As she leaned forward to look at the desk, she could see that the documents were piling up.

“It’s a golden-eyed, black, dragon!? Basically, a Dragon King!? Where else in the world would you find a moron that’d let his Dragon Princess, an 11-years-old girl, raise such a dragon!?”

“The soon-to-be-Dragon Queen, if I may correct you. Also, the one who let me do so was none other than your younger brother, Your Highness Listeard!”

Jill replied cheerfully, and Listeard sank on his office desk. He seemed to be in pain.

“That moron barely even attends the morning meetings on a regular basis. Many high-ranking officials have escaped, and the hierarchy system is messed up. More than half of the Imperial Army, including the general, is missing—they’re collapsing! Those remaining are those of lower positions, who weren’t only unable to escape, but also don’t know the actual situation! If I want to reform the imperial capital, I, as a member of the royal family, will have to fund it myself due to the lack of manpower! My homeland… has sunk… my homeland has sunk this low!”

“Don’t fret, Listeard. There’s no choice but to nominate a Dragon Queen. Besides, Jill is a solid candidate, not to mention…”

Elynsia, the sister of Hadith and Listeard, glanced at Jill’s bag as she picked up documents that had fallen from the desk. From the face and nose exposed from the bag came the low snoring sound of a dragon.

“…He’s pretty cute? However, he doesn’t appear to be the king of dragons…” Said Elynsia.

“Right? He’s just like His Majesty! Even though he can’t fly, or even walk properly, he’s very cute!” Said Jill.

“Stop, please stop, saying that he doesn’t exude a kingly atmosphere, that’s he cute, then to top it off, that he resembles the emperor of my kingdom…! I can’t stand it…!”

“For the time being, he has to be taught how to fly. Usually, dragons learn from other dragons, so why not provide a space for him in the imperial capital’s dragon hut? Let’s introduce him to the other dragons so that he might learn something.” Said Elynsia.

“I’ve already did. However, the moment I took him there, he cried and ran away.”

“No way, did Brynhildr and the other dragons bully him?”

Jill shook her head in a hurry towards Listeard’s words.

“No, it seems that he was just surprised. This child is used to be alone. As such, he doesn’t seem to know how to deal with other dragons.”

What actually happened was, not only did Rho cried, he rushed, fluttered, ran around, stumbled, and rolled around, before finally ending up reduced into a sobbing black dragon. It was also hard for the other dragons.

After all, Rho was the second king of the dragons after the Dragon God Rave. As such, the other dragons also tried to protect him. In response to the confusion, Rho cried even harder. Around that time, Hadith ran away, saying, “I just can’t bear seeing him. I’ll leave the rest to you…”

“Now that it has come to this, let’s keep him inside the imperial castle… normally, when caring for such a high-ranking dragon, we’d build a castle and dedicate it to him. A caretaker must also be prepared to welcome him… the national treasury…! Time to check the national treasury…!” Said Listeard.

“L, Listeard, get a grip! Even if you were to pass out, the budget won’t increase!” Said Elynsia.

“It’s not really about building such a thing or hiring people…” Said Jill.

Camila, who was watching from the office’s doorway, chimed in.

“Jill-chan, you haven’t paid us yet.”

“Haven’t we been provided with a bed and food? Our clothes and weapons were also provided in kind. As of the moment, the priority is to handle the aftermath of the fake emperor mayhem. As long as you have no problem with eating or sleeping, everything is alright.”

Zeke reassured Camila. However, as his captain, listening to his words hurt. A little hesitant, she asked.

“Uh, the national treasury, is doing bad, I take it…?”

“Yes.” Elynsia nodded seriously.

“It seems that the people who fled the imperial castle during the turmoil also looted the national treasury. Expenses are low because we’re currently on a shortage of manpower… which might be something to be grateful about. It’s also the reason why your engagement ceremony with Hadith is being postponed. The reason why you can’t stroll about the imperial castle as you please as the Dragon Queen stems from our financial difficulties…”

Towards Elynsia’s words, Jill shook her head.

“I, it’s alright! Before the engagement ceremony, I’d like to pay my subordinates, first…”

“The fact that the Imperial Army was half-destroyed is quite a blow. My hands are full with securing the defense of the imperial capital. As expected, I have to stay vigilant. It’s unfortunate that the Imperial Army fled, but at the very least, I wish I could locate the whereabouts of General Sauss.”

Elynsia pondered with her arms crossed, while Listeard regained his composure.

“We’ve completely lost our footing. As such, there’s no other way but to steadily advance.”

“Would it be possible to get information from a dragon flying around that area?” Asked Jill.

“Unless they’re high-ranking dragons, they won’t be able to individually discern ordinary humans, or even distinguish them in detail. In the first place, General Sauss is aware of the situation. If he were to be alerted of some dragon sightings along the way, he’d surely went into hiding with the other fleeing Imperial Army.” Said Listeard.

“But he’s moving with a large number of troops, right? Even if they try to disguise it, if they’re lurking somewhere, there’s a good chance they’re leaving traces.” Said Jill.

At Jill’s inquiries, Elynsia shrugged.

“Precisely. I think there’s a high chance someone is hiding them.”

“Would that someone be the Duke of Fairert?”

Within the Rave Empire existed three archdukes hailed as the, ‘Three Dukes’. For a long time, they had supported the royal family. The Duke of Fairert with his military port city, the Duke of Leirzatz with his trading city, and the Duke of Noitral with his fortified city. Since it was customary for the Emperor of the Rave Empire to take the daughters of the Three Dukes as princesses, they were also considered relatives of the Rave royal family.

Listeard’s grandfather was Duke Leirzatz, while Elynsia’s uncle was Duke Noitral. Georg, the mastermind behind the fake emperor mayhem, had Duke Fairert as his backing.

Generally speaking, Duke Fairert and his associates should be the most vigilant at the moment.

However—Listeard sighed.

“Duke Fairert denies his involvement in uncle’s incident. In fact, there’s no evidence that the fleeing Imperial Army is heading for Faerert’s territory.”

“Where are they headed, then…”

“If possible, it should be Radea’s territory. It’s a place my uncle ruled on behalf of the archduke. But I had no way of confirming it, as I busy as I was.”

Jill’s shoulders sagged upon hearing Listeard’s report. Beside her, Elynsia spoke.

“I’m worried that the fleeing Imperial Army hasn’t fallen apart—as in, it’s still moving as a group.”

“No way, are you suggesting that they aren’t merely fleeing, but are also planning for vengeance?”

“That’s also possible. After all, my uncle did succeed on winning over part of the Imperial Army… although I hope there won’t be any more rebellions…”

Jill turned her attention towards Listeard.

The rebellion which had occurred in the Rave Empire back when Jill was still 11-years-old in her former life was caused by Georg—and also Listeard, who stood before her as of the present.

However, she didn’t think Listeard would betray Hadith anymore.

There shouldn’t have been any other major uprisings around this time… but, the war with Kratos is still up ahead…

Thoughtfully, Elynsia rubbed Jill’s shoulder in a soothing manner.

---

***T/N: Aaah… Listeard is still being Listeard, I see.

Please also consider donating to my ko-fi! It’ll greatly support me in action, no matter the amount!
https://ko-fi.com/antoinettevanessa

<Previous chapter

Next chapter>