Evil Dragon, Without a Princess, I Had to Transform Myself!-Chapter 52 : Wanting to Be Seen

Patunasankus didn't know what to say.
In any case, no matter how she tried, she couldn't utter those final three words from the fairy tale book.
Not that she didn't want to, but that she couldn't.
Patunasankus couldn't understand the meaning contained in that text. Without language to describe such a feeling, it was as if she had never experienced such a feeling.
It was like the lingering sensation of swallowing something wrong.
She could neither spit it out nor digest it—it was stuck somewhere.
She could only let it settle in time.
An indescribable feeling.
It inexplicably made Patunasankus irritated.
The evil dragon's island remained motionless, following its own drift patterns, slowly responding to changes.
When Patunasankus returned to the carriage after finishing her meal, by sheer coincidence, she ran into a foolish-looking Loranhir.
She had obviously noticed Her Highness the Princess's strange appearance.
"Princess, what's wrong with your face?"
Loranhir perked up, asking with concern.
As if to see her reaction, Loranhir stared intently at Patunasankus's face.
Patunasankus didn't answer. Like someone sulking, she faced upward coldly, though her cheeks were slightly flushed.
She was annoyed and didn't want to deal with this incompetent fool.
But who knew what nerve of Loranhir's had misfired—she kept staring at her as if she had discovered something extraordinary.
Patunasankus ignored her and sat alone under a tree, acting as if nothing had happened.
Though her movements were composed, her face gradually reddened. Feeling something was wrong and her face feeling hot, one could see how heated she had been earlier.
She couldn't see it herself, but others must have noticed.
Thinking this, her heart grew anxious and her face reddened again. Even her throat nearly spouted flames, which Patunasankus quickly suppressed.
"You're blushing."
Loranhir reached a conclusion.
"..."
Patunasankus still said nothing. She suddenly turned her head away, her hair flowing gracefully, with no intention of acknowledging the other person.
"Has Your Highness encountered something?"
Loranhir approached, and seeing the Princess's unusual state, she began overthinking again.
"Could it be that someone harassed Your Highness?!" She rolled up her sleeves with an attitude of being ready to fight. "Who? Which damn bastard?"
"...No, no one."
Patunasankus shook her head, which only made Loranhir more confused.
She didn't understand what the Princess had encountered in such a short time to become so strange.
This was the first time since traveling together that Loranhir had seen the Princess like this.
Her usually gentle cheeks were slightly tinged with a blush, her elegant and humble demeanor carrying a touch of strangeness.
The inexplicable contrast somehow made her seem even more adorable.
"I'm fine. Just don't overthink things."
Patunasankus turned slightly to the side, glancing at her coldly, using graceful movements to avoid her questioning.
This reaction only made Loranhir more curious, her heart itching with curiosity.
The more Patunasankus evaded, the more energized Loranhir became.
Loranhir desperately wanted to figure out what was wrong with the Princess.
"But why would the Princess be like this for no reason? Did you encounter something embarrassing? Did you get burned by spicy food?"
She pressed forward with rapid-fire questions with extraordinary momentum.
Loranhir's indirect probing finally left Patunasankus helpless.
Though she didn't really want to deal with her, she had to think of a way to handle this and shut her up, or there would be no peace.
"...Since you're so curious, I'll give you a riddle."
Patunasankus smiled with pursed lips, that expression like a cat toying with a mouse it didn't intend to eat.
"What riddle?"
Loranhir asked instinctively, then immediately realized.
"Wait, how did it become you asking me?"
Patunasankus ignored her and continued speaking.
"With you as the subject and frozen raw steak as the solution, what should the answer be? If you guess correctly, I'll tell you."
"Me and raw steak?"
Loranhir frowned, thinking seriously, but couldn't connect herself with raw steak.
"The answer is, you're both not well done and need frying, aren't you?"
Patunasankus's face showed a mischievous smile, but inadvertently, that expression became a gentle smile.
"...Not well done and need frying... not well received!"
"How dare you, Princess, you're teasing me!" Loranhir said.
She knew the Princess was making fun of her, but even being looked down upon, she couldn't suppress the smile on her face.
Loranhir secretly wondered if her little feelings of finding the Princess cute had long been seen through by the Princess.
Listening to the Princess speak was so pleasant that one didn't need to consider what she was actually saying. Loranhir very much hoped the girl would continue, no matter how malicious her jokes seemed to her.
"I'm starting to like this mischievous feeling. Don't expect me to reflect on it."
Saying this, Patunasankus laughed softly.
She reached out and messed up Loranhir's head, then turned and ran.
Loranhir stood there dazed, letting her do it, watching the Princess's steps suddenly become as light as a little deer.
She stood stunned for quite a while before finally reacting and chasing after her.
Teasing the Hero always made the evil dragon feel physically and mentally pleased, which was enough to cast aside momentary irritation.
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"What was the Princess annoyed about just now?"
Loranhir touched her forehead, trying to make her disheveled cherry-colored long hair neat again.
"I don't know." Patunasankus sat under the tree hugging her knees, saying indifferently, "Not knowing means not knowing."
Some feelings weren't something an evil dragon could explain in a few words. She was troubled precisely because she couldn't understand, and irritated because of that trouble.
This feeling wasn't intense or obvious, just faint, like some kind of taste.
Letting it quietly accumulate and grow, one would feel heavy and stuffy inside, like indigestion.
"Do you want to eat something else?"
Loranhir had never thought her words were particularly important, so she never spoke seriously.
Under the evil dragon's almost murderous gaze, she reached out and touched the Princess's head. In the setting sun, that delicate little face was enveloped in warm light.
Loranhir suddenly realized.
She wanted to perform well, wanted to become a true Hero, as glorious and powerful as everyone said, wanted to be heroic and extraordinary, wanted to be invincible under heaven.
All of this.
Was just because she wanted the girl before her to see it.