Chapter 10

Throughout her menstrual cycle, Evelyn maintained a cool distance from Zachary, the black dragon.

Once those challenging days had passed, Zachary finally had a moment to revisit his notebook. He corrected every instance where Verde had mistakenly written "hooligan" instead of "emotion," and continued reading. The insights he uncovered were profound.

"Emotions are crucial to humans; prolonged periods of low spirits can lead to despair and even self-destructive thoughts."

This concept made Zachary reconsider his own views on life. Unlike the resilient adult dragons, young dragons were much more vulnerable. Their scales were soft, their wings weak, and their milk teeth and claws blunt—barely stronger than ordinary beasts.

Dragonkind faced challenges with reproduction, so it was traditional for them to retreat to the Dragon Spire Mountains to give birth. This sanctuary, constantly guarded by several mighty dragons including the golden dragon leader, deterred even the greediest opportunists from intruding.

Most young dragons, Verde included, were born within the safety of these mountains.

Zachary's beginnings, however, were quite different.

He hatched from an egg buried beneath the forest floor, breaking through the soil like a wild plant fighting for sunlight. He endured days hidden up a tree to escape a bear, had his claw bone broken by a crocodile, and nearly lost an eye to a tiger.

While other dragon hatchlings clung to their parents, whining cutely for food, Zachary camouflaged himself with mud to conceal his scent and secretly observed wolves teaching their young to hunt.

From the moment he opened his eyes, every second of Zachary's life was about survival.

He found it hard to understand why humans would fall into despair over seemingly minor issues, or how such sadness could lead them to contemplate ending their lives.

Could their pain really be more agonizing than losing an eye or a wing? Zachary thought that even if he lost everything, he would still choose to live.

He suspected Verde might have erred again in his writings. Maybe if the subject were the princess instead of humans in general, it would be less baffling.

The human princess indeed appeared exceptionally fragile.

And recently, her spirits seemed particularly low.

Since her cycle began, she wasn't as vibrant as before; she no longer badgered him to go outside, spoke less, and quickly looked away whenever their eyes met.

Zachary snapped the notebook shut in frustration. The later sections were too complicated for him to understand, so he decided to set it aside and revisit it later.

For now, his priority was to find a way to uplift the princess's spirits. Although he was adept at hunting, comforting a human princess was not his strong suit.

He had tried various approaches over the past few days, including engaging her in casual conversation, bringing her exotic foods, and even a nest of ants for entertainment.

None of these attempts had the desired effect. The princess remained courteous yet detached. The food failed to bring a smile to her face, and her expression only soured when he presented the mud and ants.

Setting the notebook aside, Zachary stepped deeper into the cave and tapped gently on the princess's chamber door with his wing. "I'm going out to hunt, do you need anything?"

After a brief silence, her voice came back somewhat muffled, "Thank you, but I don't need anything."

It was the same as before.

Zachary's claws scraped against the stone wall.

Taking a deep breath and without another word, he turned and flew out of the cave.

After hearing the dragon depart, Evelyn straightened her clothes and emerged from her small cave. At the entrance lay Zachary's frequently used hardcover book. With slight hesitation, she pursed her lips and picked it up.

Despite Zachary's careful handling, the sharp tips of his wings had inevitably scratched the hardcover. Opening the book, Evelyn discovered it was not the poetry collection she had expected, but a notebook. Although slightly better preserved than the cover, the pages still bore signs of wear, with bits of leaves and granular soil falling out as she flipped through them.

The notebook detailed methods of human care, sparking a sudden realization in Evelyn. Her emerging smile quickly faded, and her spirits sank. All of Zachary's attentiveness couldn't alter the fact that he had kidnapped her, and they were adversaries.

The latter half of the notebook, more worn and thus consulted more frequently, appeared to hold significant information. Skipping the middle sections, Evelyn hastily scanned the last few pages before abruptly snapping the notebook shut and tossing it aside as if it were scalding.

Her lips tightened, her cheeks and ears flushed with anger. She had known it! What kind of respectable dragon would spy on her bathing?

Soon, the black dragon returned, soaring back with a man clutched in his grasp. Zachary handled the man less gently than he had handled her; the man stumbled upon landing.

Evelyn rushed forward to steady him. As Zachary extended his wing to block the incoming wind, Evelyn noted the man's thin, mint-green hair and matching eyes.

The man's pallor indicated his discomfort from Zachary's rough handling. Evelyn shot a glare at the black dragon.

Regaining his footing, the green-eyed man gave Evelyn a warm, radiant smile, "Hello! My name is Verde!"

Releasing him, Evelyn nodded and returned the smile politely, "Hello, I'm Evelyn."

Another unfortunate soul seized by the dragon.

Evelyn sighed inwardly and led Verde deeper into the cave.

Verde was outgoing and talkative. Evelyn had braced herself to console him, expecting him to be distressed about his capture, but his incessant chatter gave her no chance to interject.

He began with his dinner from the previous night and continued on to describe a squirrel he had seen that morning, then spent a considerable amount of time discussing a romance novel he had recently read, vividly acting out the most dramatic moments as though reenacting the scenes for her.

He continued until he sighed, "Isn't that story amazing? A princess and a knight overcoming societal barriers, facing external pressures, on the verge of being together, and guess what?"

Evelyn: ...

She wasn't interested in guessing; she even contemplated offering him a drink to pause his monologue.

Prompted by her manners, she asked, "What happened?"

"The author stopped updating!" Verde exclaimed, covering his face in dismay.

"How could she just stop writing? That's too harsh!"

"It's been three days since the last book was published!"

Evelyn: ...

Nodding in agreement, Evelyn responded, "That is quite unfair."

Verde's disappointment was fleeting; he sat back down, his enthusiasm undiminished, "Let me tell you about another story I've been reading. It's called 'The Divine's Favorite' or would you rather hear about 'The Cool Demon's Wild Charm'?"

"Let's go with 'The Divine's Favorite', that one sounds…"

Evelyn: ...

She had anticipated a somber mood from him, but he was endlessly recounting stories.

Outside the cave, Zachary lay with Verde's chatter filling the air and Evelyn's occasional responses sounding more animated than when she conversed with him.

Zachary draped his wing over his head, puzzled about what was so captivating about Verde.

After some time, Zachary tapped the ground, his voice low, "Verde. It's time for you to go."

"Oh, right away!"

Verde stood, locking eyes with Evelyn, "Thank you, Evelyn, for a delightful morning! Till we meet again!"

Evelyn, somewhat dazed, embraced him in farewell, the comforting words she had prepared unused. She finally managed, "Survive, Verde, as long as there's life, there's hope."

Whether she was consoling him or herself was unclear.

Moved, Verde's eyes brightened, "Thank you, Evelyn. You're right, as long as I live, there's hope."

As Evelyn escorted Verde out of the cave, he waved cheerfully from the entrance.

Just as Evelyn began to smile, the black dragon abruptly swiped at the man, sending him plummeting.

Her smile vanished, her face blanched, and she instinctively moved toward the cave entrance.

The black dragon quickly spread his wings across the entrance, his tone awkward, "He's already gone."

So stop looking.

Evelyn's eyes reddened.

She hadn't expected that the friend she had just made, whom she had just encouraged to keep living, had no choice at all.

How devastated he must have been! His comforting words back to her must have been meant to encourage her to keep living, right?

With tears blurring her vision, Evelyn glared fiercely at the black dragon.

This dragon was far too cruel!

That night, for the first time in a long while, Evelyn dreamt.