NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 544: 325
Princess Lucia had forgotten about the curse that turned her into a young dragon; how could she lift it now?
No, more precisely, that curse erased itself from her mind, a forbidden curse... Why did she encounter such curses that only existed in legend?
If she had known earlier that the Dragon Transformation Curse was "a forbidden curse," she would have rather let Princess Lucia be captured by Princess Asina at that time.
Captured by Princess Asina, Princess Lucia would have been at most toyed with and mocked by her for a while. Instead, she was cursed to turn into a dragon and then captured by the Evil Dragon. She didn't dare to imagine what Princess Lucia had been through this past year.
She was terrified that Princess Lucia was really defiled by the Evil Dragon.
It was no secret in the Human World that Evil Dragons had a liking for princesses.
If Princess Lucia was indeed defiled by the Evil Dragon, even if she returned safely to the Imperial City, the Phalan Empire's nobility and ministers would surely talk about her and she would never again be regarded as the rightful heir to the throne.
Thinking about the successor, Eva's gaze fell on Princess Asina, who was seated in the main seat. Even if Princess Lucia returned, it seemed unlikely that she could shake Princess Asina's status as the successor.
By the end of the year, this princess would officially become the Emperor of the Phalan Empire.
From what she observed, this princess didn't seem to care much for the throne; her reaction was quite indifferent upon learning that she would soon become the Emperor of the Phalan Empire.
That night upon returning, she said in the palace, "Without my defeated sister to contend with for the throne, being emperor... is rather tasteless..."
Indeed, from the very beginning, Princess Asina seemed to be only amusing herself with Princess Lucia; she never really saw her as a contender...
Or perhaps she did at first, but upon realizing Princess Lucia's lack of intelligence... she changed her strategy...
She still remembered the scene where the soldiers following Princess Lucia switched sides in the heat of battle...
Eva suddenly shook her head a few times.
Whether Princess Lucia could become the Emperor was no longer important; what mattered was whether she could return safely.
Would she return in her young dragon form?
Or as a human?
If she returned as a young dragon, the moment she appeared in the Imperial City, she would likely be surrounded by adventurers, martial artists, knights, or the Phalan Empire's noble ministers.
As for her human form...
Unless the curse was lifted, there was no way Princess Lucia could turn back into a human.
They could seek out the Temple of Light!
If Princess Lucia returned as a young dragon, then they should take her to the Temple of Light. If she couldn't lift the curse herself, the clerics, the Pope of the Temple of Light, should be able to remove the Dragon Transformation Curse.
Even if it meant she would be arrested by the Temple of Light!
"In fact... whether the defeated sister can turn back into a human or not is irrelevant to me," Asina said. "It's best if she can, but if not, I don't mind having a young dragon for a sister. With my status, I can certainly afford to keep a defeated sister who's turned into a young dragon.
And I can ensure her complete safety. The status of the Emperor of the Phalan Empire is enough to deter those nobles, martial artists, and knights who have designs on my defeated sister.
So, you don't need to blame yourself at all; after all, I, her older sister, am the instigator. If it hadn't been for my forcing her, you wouldn't have used the curse to turn the defeated sister into a young dragon.
Feel free to lay the guilt on me when you're feeling remorseful."
Eva was talented, and aside from searching for the Evil Dragon in this period, she also helped out with many other tasks.
Asina stood up and walked over to Eva, patting her on the shoulder a few times, "I have an intuition that my defeated sister is about to return. Even if we don't try to find her, when the time comes, she will come back on her own."
???
Eva gave Asina a puzzled look, not understanding why Princess Asina would say such a thing. Had she consulted a fortuneteller?
The empire's fortunetellers, prophets, were useless.
"Why would Your Highness have such an intuition?"
"It's simple, because I'm about to become the emperor of this empire, my defeated sister will not stand idly by as I become emperor. On the day I become emperor, or some day thereafter, she will surely show up.
I have no doubt about that.
Moreover, with the emergence of Dragon Island, the continuous appearances of Prehistoric Evil Dragons, and the Black Dragon who captured my sister... his name will sooner or later spread throughout the Human World, don't forget, that guy... once beat up the Saintess of the Temple of Wisdom...
Of course, this doesn't mean I'm prepared to give up searching for my defeated sister. The instructions I gave you to pay attention to whether Prehistoric Evil Dragons appear within the empire's borders are not because I want to subdue them, but because I want to cooperate with Prehistoric Evil Dragons.
If we can cooperate with Prehistoric Evil Dragons and tell them information about the Black Dragon, it will be advantageous in our search for the Black Dragon.
Not only that, but we can also make contact with the Dragon Island Giant Dragons. If a Dragon Island Giant Dragon descends upon the Phalan Empire, I would invite the dragon to the palace as a guest at the earliest opportunity.
Both of these matters I have already ordered to be carried out, so there's no need for you to put so much pressure on yourself."
Eva thought it over and decided that Princess Asina's plan was rather good.
Looking at Asina's face, Eva thought about the things Princess Asina had done over the past year.
In this year, Princess Asina had taken control of more than half of the Imperial City's military forces and had also negotiated several times with the archbishops of the temples within the city.
The princess had tried in various ways to curb the church's influence over the imperial power and had made decent progress over a little more than a year.