Chapter 219: The Dragon and the Saintess

For some reason, Long and Shangguan Wan’er had ended up becoming a couple. Shangguan Wan’er happily leaned against Long, while Long seemed either completely unaware of his current situation or simply unconcerned, calmly eating his meal before tilting his head and asked.

[ Are you guys not going to eat? ]

"I did not understand every part of their conversation, but judging from the situation, has Long accepted the Saintess as his mate?" Viktor asked Qiu Nuoya as though seeking confirmation.

"It seems they have become a couple."

Qiu Nuoya had no choice but to answer while looking at the couple openly flirting in front of him.

Well, it was not exactly mutual flirting. Shangguan Wan’er was really the only one clinging affectionately to Long.

"Hmm. Prince Lucien, it seems the Saintess has completely fallen for the dragon. What do you intend to do about this? She is your fiancée, is she not?"

That’s true! Shangguan Wan’er is technically the prince’s fiancée. Even if she has no desire to marry him, that fact has not changed. Yet her fiancé is having his fiancée stolen right in front of him. What kind of NTR situation is this!? This is definitely going to turn into a disaster!

Qiu Nuoya nervously looked toward the prince, his face pale as he wondered what kind of confrontation was about to unfold.

However, for some reason, Prince Lucien looked completely unfazed.

"Huh? I don’t really intend to do anything."

Why!?

"The person over there is a demi-human and a dragon, right? What’s wrong with the Saintess getting along well with a dragon? There are plenty of people among the upper class who keep demi-humans they favor by their side. If that demi-human happens to be a dragon, all the better. I think it gives her even more prestige. Isn’t that exactly the sort of thing that makes her worthy of becoming the next queen?"

...Seriously? He’s actually okay with this? Isn’t the prince a little too open-minded? Or is he the one with the strange sense of normality? Is this just considered normal in this world?

"But the Saintess even said that she intends to bear his children. Surely even His Majesty the King would not approve of something like that..."

"Hahaha. Any child she bears will be my child. What’s wrong with that? I think it would be wonderful if my child, carrying the blood of a dragon, went on to lead the Velikorya royal family into the future."

Long’s children would be Long’s children. No matter how Qiu Nuoya looked at it, there was no way they could actually be the prince’s children. Qiu Nuoya had absolutely no idea what was going on inside the prince’s head.

For someone who had apparently been called a genuine masochist, was this whole situation actually some kind of reward for the prince?

The thought of someone like this eventually taking responsibility for the entire country left Qiu Nuoya deeply worried about the kingdom’s future.

"You’re seriously annoying. You already have Saintess Sherria as your official fiancée, so just go back to her already. Saying something as stupid as breaking off your engagement with her... Anyone can see that she was much more suited to becoming queen. It’s about time you came to your senses."

Shangguan Wan’er’s words were so painfully reasonable that Qiu Nuoya could not help agreeing with her.

He had initially wondered if Shangguan Wan’er had somehow bewitched the prince, but looking at the situation now, this was clearly the result of the prince getting carried away on his own. Perhaps he was simply sheltered and inexperienced with the world, but the things he said were becoming increasingly absurd.

"How could I possibly return to Sherria after discovering a goddess like you? Don’t worry. I will accept everything about you."

"Ugh, you’re disgusting."

At this point, the whole situation had become completely ridiculous.

No matter how harshly Shangguan Wan’er insulted the prince, he simply accepted everything with a cheerful smile, which somehow made things even worse.

At first, Qiu Nuoya had felt sorry for the prince, thinking that he had unfortunately fallen for a wicked woman.

Now, however, he found himself feeling sorry for Shangguan Wan’er instead.

This was just too much.

"The Divine Sword Velikorya has returned, and the dragon is now with Shangguan Wan’er. All the conditions have been met. With this, we should be able to repel the great calamity of the century."

The prince smiled as though the troublesome problem had finally been solved.

Except the Divine Sword Velikorya isn’t exactly willing to leave Warren and Xiao Tao, and even if Long has become Shangguan Wan’er’s mate, he’s still technically Qiu Nuoya’s tamed monster.

I suppose there’s no way the prince would take any of that into consideration.

"Surely you don’t expect us to cooperate without receiving anything in return?"

"Hm? Do you want some kind of reward, Uncle? Once the Monster Stampede has been stopped, I will gladly prepare whatever reward you desire."

"We do not need a reward. In fact, we would rather have nothing to do with this. We will hand the Hero over to you, so you may do whatever you wish with him."

"What? But..."

Xiao Tao hurriedly looked troubled by Viktor’s words, but Viktor paid him no attention and continued.

"Long is also Nuoya’s tamed monster, but if he intends to become the Saintess’s mate, then she may do as she pleases with him. However, I have no intention of allowing Nuoya to get involved in your affairs."

"Oh? But you were the one who summoned the dragon yourself, Uncle. You were also the one who suggested that we should try using the dragon’s roar, the Dragon Breath."

"I have had an incident in the past where Nuoya was nearly dragged into trouble because he had tamed a dragon. Apparently, there are surprisingly many people who do not take kindly to someone possessing excessive power.

"So, if the Saintess is willing to take responsibility for the dragon’s power, I suppose that is not such a bad arrangement. Someone like her, who enjoys attracting attention, is perfectly suited to standing at the forefront."