Evil Dragon, Without a Princess, I Had to Transform Myself!-Chapter 34 : Such an Ugly Painting

Friends who kill people regularly know that killing is easy, but hiding the body is hard.
But with an evil dragon's abilities and resources, disposing of a vampire thrall without a trace would be simplest thing ever.
She could just draw a summoning circle, call a monster servant from her lair, and order it to kill Elaphia.
The whole process would be very convenient.
The only thing Patunasankus had to be careful about was absolutely not letting her monster servants see her current appearance.
To summon monster servants, she would need to specifically go to some wasteland and restore her evil dragon form.
She had to be cautious, especially not let her own kind know of her current state.
Otherwise it would be very troublesome—really very troublesome.
The kind where she'd have to kill to silence them.
As a Dragon Lord, Patunasankus knew her fellow dragons' nature all too well.
Being careful, there wouldn't be any major problems.
Patunasankus ultimately decided not to kill Elaphia.
The evil dragon counted on her fingers, seriously thinking.
As for reasons, she could give three.
First, Elaphia clearly had an extraordinary relationship with this Vlad she spoke of. Patunasankus had been troubled about how to find this vampire Grand Duke, but now she could just keep Elaphia and follow the trail.
Second... hmm...
Second... second...
Hmm...
Patunasankus folded down two of her extended fingers.
Fine, just one.
"Latifa, what are you doing standing here counting on your fingers?"
Hearing the familiar voice, Patunasankus instantly felt a chill down her spine.
Evelyn had jumped out from somewhere.
She had her hands behind her back, leaning sideways as she curiously observed her.
Patunasankus noticed Evelyn had changed—she was very different from a few days ago. Her messy hairstyle had been redone, her raven-black hair softly scattered a few strands by her temples.
The girl's skin was naturally very pale, and she didn't like cosmetics, only applying a thin layer of balm. Her face carried the unique playful cuteness of a girl her age.
But it was precisely this playful cuteness that gave Patunasankus quite a headache—she couldn't roast her with fire, nor could she kick her away.
Latifa had never taught the evil dragon how to deal with such people.
Or rather, evil dragons never dealt with such girls.
Never.
"Nothing, nothing, just thinking about when I should visit the missing girls from before," Patunasankus said. "After all, I did promise the Duchess's request, and they're very eager to see me too."
Although Patunasankus was very reluctant to do such boring things, who told her she was always a dragon that honored promises?
She always thought that if an evil dragon couldn't even keep basic promises, what more vicious enterprises could it be expected to accomplish?
Evelyn finally quieted down—this was the first time Patunasankus had seen the girl so silent.
She stood in place for a long time. The long silence made her palms break out in fine, dense sweat, and her pure, slightly confused face was replaced by deep self-reproach.
Evelyn turned toward Patunasankus.
"Take me with you," she said.
"...The Duchess specifically instructed that she doesn't want you there. I'll handle it and that'll be fine."
Hearing this, Evelyn's tone immediately became firm.
"Mother never wants to let me see them, but no matter what, I must go. Even if everyone says I couldn't help myself, it was still something I did with my own hands. If someone like me, the real culprit, doesn't even go see them, what kind of person does that make me!"
Take me with you. Evelyn stepped forward and took the Princess's arm, almost ready to kneel down.
"If I don't go see them in person, I won't know how to face them in the future."
Seeing her like this, Patunasankus instantly became annoyed.
Why should she listen to this person?
How dare she order around a dragon like her.
Did she want to die?
Want to go? No way!
The place the Duchess used to temporarily house the victims was an elegant monastery. The first floor had a nearly ten-meter-high hall with beautiful marble columns supporting elegant arches. The top had stained glass windows through which you could see the stars, and the main hall was paved with granite floor tiles that could reflect people's images.
In the center of the crowd in the monastery, Patunasankus stood there, resignedly accepting the complaints of each girl.
Evelyn stood to the side watching the Princess comfort them, not daring to approach and speak—watching from afar was enough.
Fortunately, the Duchess treated them well, and the girls all seemed to be in good spirits, which somewhat eased the guilt in Evelyn's heart.
The Duchess was happy, Evelyn was happy, the girls were happy, but only the evil dragon was unhappy.
How convenient it would be if she could just roast them all.
Patunasankus couldn't help but imagine a perfect arson in her mind.
"...Wuhuuu, Your Highness, thank you."
An unfamiliar girl took Patunasankus's arm, tears streaming down her face like she was releasing long-suffered grievances. Patunasankus didn't know how to react—everyone here cried upon seeing her, and she didn't know which number this was.
The evil dragon remembered that when she was doing evil, she couldn't easily guarantee making everyone cry just by seeing her.
Some people might even have the courage to resist when facing an evil dragon, but when facing the Princess, they all became pitiful and wronged.
Honestly, it was quite incomprehensible.
Although she found it baffling inside, Patunasankus still tried to maintain Latifa's most commonly used polite but distant smile on the surface.
Just slightly stiff and unpracticed.
The evil dragon couldn't be as skilled as Latifa.
Imitation could only copy the outline—it was still a fake in the end.
"Latifa, you're as approachable as always."
After finally dealing with the victim girls, Evelyn ran over smiling and took the Princess's hand.
Like there was a magnet, Patunasankus's hand was drawn over.
She tightly held the dandelion before her, smiling broadly, her movements very practiced, as if premeditated.
"Everyone really likes you too."
Patunasankus was silent for a while, then nodded slightly without much expression. Anyway, the evil dragon had no intention of having people like her.
Before leaving, Patunasankus saw a girl in the crowd waving something in her hand, shouting incoherently.
Evelyn went over, nodded to show understanding, then handed Patunasankus a piece of paper.
"What is it?"
Patunasankus asked, with no intention of taking it from her.
"It's her painting," Evelyn said.
"A painting? What do I need it for?"
"She painted you."
Evelyn smiled and stuffed the painting into Patunasankus's hands.
Patunasankus reluctantly looked at the paper, covered with scribbles and lines, drawn quite ugly.
"Hmm... this should be the Hero, this is Elaphia, and that monster over there..." Evelyn paused. "The monster is me, and this... this must be you."
Evelyn said finally, pointing to an outline in the center of the painting.
Everyone else on the paper was in black and white, but the figure in the middle was simply an explosion of colors.
Yellow, pink, blue, purple, orange... various colors swirled together in a mess.
But the most prominent among them was still a brilliant dandelion hue.
"She knows you're the kindest, so she specially painted you in color," Evelyn said with a smile.
Patunasankus looked at the painting in her hands, squinting, thinking they were all a bunch of idiots with no eye for quality.
Really painted so ugly.
The evil dragon thought.
Then.
She kept the painting.