The Dragon's Pact: A Princess for the Flame-Chapter 3 – Warm it up to eat?

After using the temporary recovery card, a flash of white light that only Su Nian could see flickered within his body.
He immediately felt revitalized.
His body regained its strength.
Although his wounds were still charred and uneven, with scales curling outward and some places even dripping blood, his body seemed to feel no pain.
Just as the system had described.
This was a hardcore version of a last-minute recovery.
Su Nian took a couple of steps forward, his limbs still somewhat unsteady, but clearly much better than before.
At least he wouldn't be rolling on the ground like before.
Even though he had fully merged with Woterus's memories, he still felt a bit out of sync with controlling his body.
After all, walking as a dragon required not only four limbs but also the wings and tail to maintain balance, and the way of exerting force was completely different from walking as a human.
This strange feeling was like not playing a game for a long time, then returning to it and vaguely remembering how to cast skills, but still feeling rusty the moment you hold the mouse, and then realizing the game has added a whole new row of skills.
Su Nian took a few more steps, and with the help of muscle memory, the parts of his body quickly began to align.
Soon, he was able to move freely within the cave.
However, when he looked at Anna again, a strong and strange agitation rose within his dragon body.
He suddenly felt that this fox-eared girl had an inexplicable attraction to him, much like his first love in college.
Her tender, fair face, slightly chubby with baby fat, though somewhat pale, looked like it would feel incredibly soft to the touch, bouncing back immediately if pressed.
Her petite, exquisite bare feet were as delicate as ivory art pieces, and even with some bruises and scratches, they did not detract from their pinkish beauty.
Adding to this was the pair of shackles she wore, which gave the dragon a peculiar thrill.
Her tear-filled eyes, long lashes, delicate upturned nose, and slightly dry cherry lips...
It was a feeling of heart-pounding excitement.
A feeling of spring's arrival.
Su Nian's heartbeat began to accelerate, the thumping sound like muffled thunder, as a primal urge started to take over his mind.
No! This is wrong!
He raised his paw and slapped himself hard.
His mind finally cleared a bit.
Damn it, he's a dragon now!
Although dragons are not known for reproductive isolation, charging in like this in his current state would be too insane!
He should at least wait until he can return to human form?
Or, at the very least, ensure this fox-eared girl survives first.
He often read novels and knew about the traits of dragons.
It seemed amusing at the time, but experiencing it firsthand was not fun at all.
After all, his size was too massive.
He would definitely crush the elf.
Su Nian forcibly suppressed the evil thoughts in his heart, allowing his human rationality to regain control.
Seeing Anna shivering from the cold, Su Nian looked around, searching.
Finally, he found a relatively intact bear pelt in the dark, narrow depths of his lair.
He carried the bear pelt to Anna's side and gently draped it over her.
Anna had been sitting with her head down, clutching a not-so-sharp stone, hugging her cold knees and slender legs, shivering. Suddenly, she sensed something approaching, the sharp claws scraping the ground with a "swoosh" sound.
Was the evil dragon finally going to eat her? Should she resist? But how could she? With shackles on her wrists, she didn't even have the strength to lift them, and that ridiculous stone fragment was her only source of a tiny bit of security...
Anna thought pessimistically, feeling a sense of sorrow, hugging her legs even tighter in fear and helplessness.
She was originally a half-elf from the Elven Forest.
After a series of misfortunes, she was captured by a human slave-hunting squad, contracted a malady on the way, was sold to an unknown kingdom, and then offered as bait to the evil dragon by the king.
A cold wind blew, making her teeth chatter, tears sliding down her cheeks, freezing before they hit the ground.
Heavy shackles bound her feet and hands.
In her weakened state, she couldn't even take a step, let alone escape, only able to helplessly await her tragic fate.
However, to her astonishment, the evil dragon did not eat her. Instead, it seemed to notice her coldness and covered her with a bear pelt.
Su Nian's actions left Anna bewildered.
She nervously looked up at the ferocious dragon head, then quickly lowered her gaze, appearing as cautious as a fawn lost in the forest.
Looking at her bare, swollen toes, she whispered:"Mr. Evil Dragon, are you... are you going to warm Anna up before eating her?"
Su Nian: "..."
Honestly, whether cold or heated, the taste should be about the same.
He did have a craving for Anna as food, but it wasn't strong, far less uncontrollable than the springtime agitation.
It was understandable, really.
After all, Black Dragons were relatively omnivorous, and their relatively weak strength in their youth prevented them from freely choosing fresh meat.
He shook his head at Anna.
Then, with his dragon-winged forepaws, he clumsily wrapped the bear pelt tighter around Anna, nodding at her.
Since Anna couldn't understand Draconic, Su Nian resorted to this more primitive method.
The bear pelt he had recently lain on still retained some warmth. Though still very cold, Anna's shivering noticeably lessened.
Anna indeed felt much better and confirmed that the evil dragon before her probably didn't intend to eat her.
At least not now, as it had brought her a bear pelt to ward off the cold.
Helping others should be met with gratitude, a principle instilled in Anna since childhood. So, despite her lingering fear, she mustered the courage to look into Su Nian's scarlet dragon eyes, her gratitude tinged with a bit of apprehension and anxiety:
"Th-thank you, Mr. Dragon, it's not as cold anymore."
[Anna Hathaway's affection increased by 50, current affection -30 (Awe)]
Su Nian was a bit speechless, puzzled by the affection system. Logically, shouldn't awe be a positive affection?
With this thought, he posed his question to the system:
[Ding! Anna's current emotional state towards the host is primarily fear, hence the negative affection.]
"I see."
Su Nian understood that if respect were the dominant emotion, it would likely be positive affection.
Gaining fifty points just by covering her with a bear pelt, Su Nian suddenly felt that raising Anna's affection might not be too difficult.
Did she seem hungry just now?
Su Nian recalled.
He nodded at Anna, then pointed to the ground with his paw, signaling her not to wander off.
Without waiting to see if Anna understood, he turned and crawled out of the cave.
His time was limited, and he couldn't afford to explain everything to Anna.
He needed to find food.
Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan