Evil Dragon, Without a Princess, I Had to Transform Myself!-Chapter 80 : Pride Will Bow

Before the Black Death, with her pitch-black body, fierce and ruthless demeanor, lonely and even somewhat adorable, soared across the skies of the Royal Capital.
Liulansankus truly cared unconditionally for only three things in life:
Vanity, her childhood friend and fellow dragon, and princesses.
Patunasankus always stood out among the evil dragons, but that wasn’t an issue for her.
In the past, a long line of suitors—evil dragons of all kinds—had once queued up for her attention.
Young and old, of every color imaginable, they came with sharp fangs or delicate frames, elegant or arrogant, noble or insatiably greedy.
Had it not been for the rumors circulating about the countless bones and spirits buried beneath the Black Death’s lair, they might have been even more persistent.
Some evil dragons retreated, abandoning their desires and ambitions, waiting like all the others for the Black Death to finally relent—watching, biding their time, wondering who might be fortunate enough to tame her terrible temper and bask in her extreme beauty.
Liulan had always admired the one who spread this rumor, almost as much as she admired herself.
Liulan knew.
One day, loneliness would wear her friend down.
One day, her pride would bend, her courage would gnash its teeth.
And one day, she would cry out:
'I am lonely!'
What followed would be total victory.
Liulan only needed to prod her occasionally—just enough—and that’s exactly what she did, with an ever-growing collection of princesses in all shapes and forms.
It was both amusement and strategy.
After all, time was long, but the wait would be worth it.
But...
Some things were one thing in thought, and another entirely when they unfolded before your eyes.
No one in memory had ever been as unique as the girl standing beside Patunasankus—as if she were no different from all the beautiful things in this world.
"My name is Latifa," the girl said. "Latifa Flandoya."
Her hands rested gently at her waist, wrapped in a pure white dress, a pale golden ribbon tying her princess braid. Her gaze was sincere, evoking the sky after rain—cleansed into endless clarity, fresh and immaculate.
Too pure, too exclusive.
A one-of-a-kind princess, a one-of-a-kind evil dragon—unreachable, untouchable.
"Not bad," Liulan remarked, never having given any princess a higher compliment.
She felt a faint twinge deep inside, as if something had hollowed out completely.
From that day on, Liulansankus’s obsession with collecting princesses grew worse.
○
"You’ve changed a lot."
Liulan flicked her head slightly, her gaze shifting away. In her overly focused eyes, there seemed to flicker a fleeting light.
"If it were before, you’d have started a fight with me here without hesitation. Since when did you become so indecisive?" Liulan said.
"And what about you? I’ve heard your collection of princesses has grown by dozens these past few years. You’re obsessed, aren’t you? When will you ever be satisfied? What is it you even want?" Patunasankus frowned deeply.Liulan snorted, her entire dragon form instantly bristling with irritation.
"…Are you going to keep bickering with me endlessly, or just fight me right here?" Liulan said.
Patunasankus didn't respond either. She seemed utterly disinterested, her gaze drifting aside as the little one called Serina finally snapped out of her daze and stared hard at her.
The evil dragon couldn't discern what emotion lay in Serina's eyes at this moment.
Probably the usual fear, Patunasankus surmised.
She couldn't care less.
"I'm not interested. Go find some other princess to play with," Patunasankus flatly refused Liulan.
Not only would it be a waste of time, but it would also be utterly meaningless.
After all this commotion, Loranhir might wake up any moment. When that guy opens his eyes and finds the princess missing yet again, she'd surely go mad searching for her. Just thinking about having to deal with her afterward made Patunasankus feel...
Annoyed.
So damn annoying.
Patunasankus briefly considered just roasting Loranhir and being done with it, but upon second thought, that would be disadvantageous in every possible way.
Patunasankus's resolute refusal only fueled Liulan's growing irritation.
Again! Again with this!
Liulan was thoroughly vexed.
Ever since the princess arrived, this damn dragon had been like this—never looking at her properly again, no matter what was said or done.
The other's heart would always belong to another girl.
Like jealousy, though she didn't know toward whom. There was longing, yet in a daze, she'd already lost her way.
Twisting, turning, writhing—unable to laugh, filled with nothing but boredom, tangled in resentment, bound by suppression, this gloomy mood was hard to shake.
"Boring," Liulan finally said.
Though her thoughts soared as fine as spider's silk, all that surfaced was this bland sentence. Not a trace of emotion could be detected.
"Hmm," Patunasankus replied, maintaining that same indifferent attitude toward everyone.
Yet Liulan knew there was one exception.
"La..."
She merely formed the word with her lips, not even completing the first syllable.
"Shut up!"
Patunasankus glared at her sharply, immediately silencing Liulan.
She no longer wished to engage with Liulan and simply walked over to Serina's side. Without a word, she forcefully took the girl's hand and led her away.
Liulan fell silent, having never seen her friend so agitated before.
Watching as Patunasankus led Serina toward where Hedica had been sent flying, Liulan averted her gaze.
There was no grass or trees around, no night birds, no autumn insects—everything maintained an expressionless silence. And the most terrifying thing under heaven was this kind of utterly blank silence.
"Do you love her that much?" Liulan murmured. "No wonder... I've collected hundreds of princesses so far, she must be among them." Her voice was soft as silk. "She must be among them… "
But she's already dead. Dead. Set in stone.
In Isha's memories, Liulan had confirmed it with her own eyes.
Liulan stood alone where Patunasankus had departed, motionless.
After a long while, she finally spoke, "Just what are you thinking?"Liulan inexplicably wanted to know, wanted to confirm.
Since the Princess was already dead, why was her friend still lingering outside? To kidnap another princess?
Hah, impossible. Absolutely impossible.
There could never be a better one.
On this point alone, Liulan could be completely certain.
○
Patunasankus led Serina, searching for traces of Hedica. She had originally planned to find Hedica, confirm she wasn’t dead, return Serina to her, and then leave immediately.
But damn Liulan had struck hard—she had no idea where Hedica had been flung to.
She thought of summoning monster subordinates to help with the search, but Patunasankus simply didn’t want to see Isha.
She didn’t even want to hear a single word from her, as if some terrifying news would come pouring out like a flood.
"!?" Patunasankus suddenly shuddered as she walked.
She was certain Liulan was scheming against her right now. An evil dragon’s premonitions were always accurate—this had to be it.
Patunasankus shook her head and took the chance to sneak a glance at Serina.
The little one made no extra movements, simply trudging along silently behind her, as if anyone could easily snatch her away. But Patunasankus didn’t think so. From the first time she met this child, the evil dragon had repeatedly glimpsed a wisdom in Serina’s innocent eyes that didn’t belong to her age.
Patunasankus didn’t know how she appeared in the girl’s eyes—probably terrifying enough. Though she hadn’t appeared before her in her ancient dragon form, her habitually cold expression was enough to scare off most people.
Liulan had called Serina a troublesome one, and Patunasankus subconsciously agreed.
Reason told the evil dragon she shouldn’t meddle in unrelated matters—she ought to stay far away from such a walking bundle of trouble. In fact, she should have done so the moment she caught the scent of hellish sulfur.
But she still hadn’t.
No reason why.
It was simple—she didn’t know.
"…Sister."
Serina suddenly spoke.
Her voice was soft, without any roughness, the kind that could carry her words straight to the listener’s heart without needing to be raised.
"Thank you," Serina said simply.
She seemed to exhale in relief. The tension eased, and her expression softened into something gentle and sweet.
"Sure."
Patunasankus didn’t turn back. A single word, heavy with meaning—all the coldness, affectation, willfulness, bravado, compromise, words too lazy to say, words too afraid to say, words too hard to say, words useless even if said—all of it was packed inside.
"Sister, you seem…" Serina lightly grasped her arm, "a lot like Big Sister. And you’re both good people."
Patunasankus stopped walking. She stood silently, watching Serina, perhaps wondering if the girl was teasing her.
After a long pause, she nodded.
"If you say so."
Patunasankus didn’t turn around, but when she resumed walking, she slowed her pace—just slightly.
"Hopelessly blind, the lot of them."
The evil dragon muttered under her breath.