Chapter 48 The Twisted and Vanishing Dragon Transformation Spell
Eva covered her face with both hands. It had been three days, and she still hadn't found the name of the Black Dragon that had kidnapped Princess Lucia. At this rate, when would she be able to rescue Princess Lucia?
Princess Lucia had told her that once she came of age next year, she would make her her Dark Guardian Knight. Unexpectedly... not only had she, as a Dark Guardian Knight, failed to protect the Princess she wished to guard, but she had even indirectly caused her to be captured by the Evil Dragon that descended from the heavens....
Did the Black Dragon that kidnapped Princess Lucia ever leave a trace in human history?
The Black Dragon that attacked the Saintess of the Temple of the Wisdom Goddess and the one mentioned in Brude Donahue's autobiography, could it be the same Black Dragon that kidnapped Princess Lucia?
The information is too scant to make a good inference.
"Princess Asina, do you think the Black Dragon that attacked the Saintess of the Temple of the Wisdom Goddess and the one that appeared in the autobiography of a mighty warrior could be the same one that kidnapped Princess Lucia?"
"If we deduce along the timeline, the Black Dragon in Brude Donahue's autobiography was a Young Dragon. The Black Dragon that attacked the Saintess of the Temple of the Wisdom Goddess was one that had just come of age. From the timeline of the Black Dragon's appearances...
The Dragon from the autobiography and the one that attacked the Saintess of the Temple of the Wisdom Goddess could very well be the same one, because the Temple of the Wisdom Goddess only became independent from the Radiant Divine Court after the appearance of the War God's temple.
This matches the growth timeline of the Young Dragon in the autobiography perfectly.
Moreover... the Black Dragon that kidnapped my disgrace of a younger sister... is very likely the one that has appeared twice in history. The size of the Dragon you saw yourself, it was definitely an adult Black Dragon.
According to the timeline, if the Dragon from the autobiography wasn't slaughtered by a dragonslayer or a hero, and it lived until now, it would indeed be of age...
The three Black Dragons on the timelines have one thing in common: they have no name.
The Young Dragon from the autobiography, the freshly adult one that attacked the Saintess of the Temple of the Goddess of Wisdom, the adult one that kidnapped the Princess of the Farolan Empire.
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Linking the growth timelines of the three Dragons, one can draw a conclusion, what conclusion... I don't need to spell it out, do I?"
"What conclusion?"
If you don't say it, how would I know what conclusion you're drawing?
"Do I even need to ask? The conclusion is... we can't save that disgrace of a sister of mine. The Black Dragon that has only bubbled up twice in history without even a name to its record is as hard to find as a needle in a haystack.
So, give my blessing to that disgrace of a sister, wish her a happy marriage with the Black Dragon, abundant offspring, and good fortune. Bless her not to be abused, beaten, or abandoned by the Black Dragon Family, and when she's old, not to be despised by the Dragon....
Bless her... bless her... just bless her, anyway... "
While giving her blessings, Asina laughed at her own words...
It's not that she didn't want to save that disgrace of a sister, but she simply didn't know where to begin the search...
The Black Dragon was nameless.
The first Your Holiness of the War God's temple never found the Black Dragon.
The Holy Knights of the Temple of the Wisdom Goddess never found it either.
In terms of power and influence, both far surpassed that of the Farolan Empire.
If even they couldn't find the Dragon, how could she, a Princess, possibly find it?
Even if she became the Emperor of Farolan and used the entire Empire's resources, it's unlikely she could find that Dragon.
An Evil Dragon that hadn't left an infamous name in human history, how can one find it?
At most, she could ask the neighboring countries or various Divine Courts to assist the Farolan Empire in patrolling the surrounding mountains.
Or spend a lot of money to have the Adventurers' Guild, Bounty Hunter Guild, Mercenary Guild, Mage Tower, search the entire continent for the Black Dragon...
If she really did this, the amount of money Farolan would have to pay... might be equivalent to the tax revenue of several provinces for several years....
"Princess Asina... so... are you preparing to give up searching for that Black Dragon?"
"I would like to give up, but my father probably wouldn't agree, so I will still try to see if I can find some information related to that Black Dragon from some historical records or unofficial histories...
Well, I am entrusting you with full responsibility for this matter. If you need money, I'll provide the funds; if you need people, I will supply them, too. I hope you can find them before my runaway younger sister and the Black Dragon get married..."
After all, she is my sister; I can't really just ignore her. I still have to try and see if I can save her...
If possible, that would be best.
If not... well, let my father and mother have another one..."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
For Princess Asina to do this much was already quite good; Eva felt she could not ask for more.
After all, the information left in history about that Black Dragon who abducted Princess Lucia is really too scant.
Even some slightly famous Evil Dragons have more records than it.
"No need to thank me. Without that idiot who likes to cause me trouble, everyday life feels a lot duller."
"....."
It seems her earlier thoughts were correct, in Princess Asina's eyes... Lucia is just a clumsy mascot...
"Princess Asina, may I ask you a question?"
"Go ahead."
"If Princess Lucia hadn't been captured by the Black Dragon, hadn't turned into a Young Dragon because of my curse, what would you have done to her after capturing her?"
"Of course, I would have raised her. I'd bring her some nice treats from time to time. Once I became Empress, if she still wanted to be an emperor... on the days of the Divine Rest... I wouldn't mind letting her taste what it's like to be an emperor...
You shouldn't feel guilty about what I said. No matter how nicely I put it, if she were captured by me, she would lose some freedom.
Being captured by the Black Dragon... she may have lost her freedom, too, but at least she can get the love of a Black Dragon... Compared to that, I think it's better for her that she was captured by the Black Dragon..."
This kind of consolation from Princess Asina was almost worse than none at all...
"Eva, to be honest, I've always felt that your cursing Lucia into turning into a dragon wasn't a curse, but a blessing..."
"Your Highness, a curse is a curse; it can't possibly become a blessing. Princess Lucia turning into a dragon... it's not just her body that turned into a dragon... her soul has also transformed into one..."
"Her soul has transformed into a dragon?"
"Yes. And one more thing, the longer Princess Lucia remains as a dragon, the harder the curse will be to break. As time goes by, she will become more and more like a dragon, until eventually, she will turn into a true Dragon.
Princess Asina, this is what a curse is, not the blessing you imagine."
Eva also discovered something terrifying. Since yesterday, the Dragon Transformation Spell in her mind started to twist and change, and she was even gradually forgetting some parts of the Spell.
This situation is uncontrollable and irreversible.
Which means... now... she no longer has the ability to curse others into becoming dragons...
This situation is like... as if the god of curses is retrieving the Dragon Transformation Spell she unintentionally received from that temple...
A Spell that changes and disappears on its own...
Isn't this something that only those Spells that shouldn't exist in this world... would experience?