Vol 4. Chapter 137: A Suspicion
"Uh... Well..."
Faced with the situation before her, a trace of emotion gradually appeared on Miss Yumo's incomparably beautiful face.
Originally, she had been extremely suspicious of this blonde little dragon girl who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
After all, this was someone who had seemingly intended to attack her and had even restrained her precious daughter. Even though the other party looked like a little child, Yumo remained thoroughly on guard.
After all, some of this little dragon girl's behavior was simply too unreasonable.
For one thing,
Pinning Yuan'er to the ground hardly seemed like normal playing around, did it?
...
However, when she saw little Yuan'er happily scamper over, affectionately embrace the little dragon girl, and even call her "Little Meli" as a nickname, Yumo tilted her head and couldn't help beginning to doubt her own judgment.
If the little dragon girl had truly restrained Yuan'er with malicious intentions, her precious daughter shouldn't have been acting so intimately with her.
Furthermore,
When Yumo glanced at the little dragon girl's trembling legs and the indescribable puddle beneath them, she became even more dumbfounded.
She hadn't even released her power yet. Could a simple glare from her really frighten someone this badly?
Although the little dragon girl possessed rather formidable power within her body, her mentality genuinely seemed to be that of an ordinary child.
Otherwise, how could she have been frightened into wetting herself by a noble young lady whose apparent strength was only Seventh Tier?
Besides, Yumo had never interacted with this little dragon girl before. There was no way the other party could know her true identity or strength...
Perhaps,
"Was I... really overthinking things just now?"
Looking at the little dragon girl with reddened eyes and a trembling body, then at little Yuan'er beside her, who seemed slightly displeased, Yumo couldn't help entertaining this possibility.
But regardless,
Since Yuan'er had said so herself, that meant she acknowledged this little dragon girl as her friend.
And when dealing with her daughter's friends, Miss Yumo naturally intended to be gentler.
And so,
The black-haired girl completely dispelled the suspicion and coldness in her eyes, once again revealing her familiar gaze filled with tenderness and maternal affection.
Urged on by Yuan'er's anxious little glances, Yumo slowly crouched in front of the little dragon girl.
Then, under Melilov-Baroze's nervous gaze, she raised her hand and gently stroked the little dragon girl's head.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Auntie shouldn't have been so fierce just now. There, there. Don't cry, don't cry..."
"Sniff... Waaah... Waaah..."
"There, there. Be good..."
"Waaah..."
Melilov-Baroze continued sobbing uncontrollably.
In fact, the more Yumo stroked her head, the harder she cried.
There was simply no helping it.
How could she possibly calm down while having her head stroked by the "Grim Reaper" who had already killed her once?!
Who knew whether the other party might suddenly have a change of heart and crush her dragon head?!
Although the Sacred Dragon King's pride repeatedly warned her to stop humiliating herself by crying, her overactive tear glands and physical instincts ultimately overwhelmed that insignificant pride.
However,
Crying was one thing.
After sensing that Yumo was gradually withdrawing her chilling aura, Melilov-Baroze realized that she might actually survive.
The terror and despair in her eyes slowly began to fade.
At that moment, while receiving Yumo's comforting strokes, Melilov-Baroze said nothing.
Instead, she glanced toward the pink-haired girl beside her with a gaze filled with both gratitude and confusion.
Her eyes seemed to be silently saying,
—"Thank you qwq"—
𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎
"Hehe~"
In response, the corners of adorable little Yuan'er's mouth rose almost imperceptibly, revealing a meaningful, mischievous smile.
At the same time, Yuan'er raised her hand and joined her mother in gently patting Melilov-Baroze's little head, comforting her new playth...
Ah, no...
Comforting her new friend.
Once Melilov-Baroze had calmed down a little,
Yumo glanced at Yuan'er beside her with a puzzled expression.
"But... Yuan'er... What kind of game were you two playing, exactly? A traditional dragon game? ...With all that binding? And... being... completely naked like that..."
After wrapping the blonde little girl's delicate body in her outer garment, Yumo couldn't help asking.
Considering how Xiao had always told her that "dragons are inherently lustful," along with some of the less-than-reputable customs within dragon society, Mother Yumo began worrying about what this traditional game might actually involve.
After all, her daughter was such a pure and adorable child!
She certainly didn't want Yuan'er's body and mind to be corrupted by those inappropriate dragon games.
If the game really was what she imagined, Miss Yumo absolutely would not allow her daughter to continue being friends with such a reckless little dragon girl.
However, when Yumo asked this question, Yuan'er immediately shook her head.
"It wasn't any traditional game... We weren't playing a game at all."
Yuan'er answered quite honestly.
"Y-You weren't playing a game? Then... what were you doing?"
"Little Meli was sleeping here earlier. She was even sleeping naked... Then I accidentally stepped on her tail and woke her up... And then... well... Little Meli seems to get grumpy when she's woken up, so she got angry and pinned me to the ground."
"I-Is that what happened?"
Glancing at the pillows and blankets scattered across the central area of the forbidden grounds, Yumo gradually began believing Yuan'er's explanation.
"Then... why did... Little Meli say you were playing a game?"
Yumo cast a puzzled glance toward the little dragon girl beside her.
Her sharp gaze instantly made Melilov-Baroze tremble all over, and she guiltily averted her eyes.
Fortunately,
Little Yuan'er promptly stepped forward to help Melilov-Baroze answer this complicated question.
"Actually, I think Little Meli was probably afraid Mommy would get angry."
"Afraid I'd get angry?"
"That's right! Little Meli knocked me to the ground, and then Mommy saw us. She was probably afraid you'd get angry and stop letting me play with her in the future. That's why she said that. After all, Little Meli is really afraid of being lonely."
Yuan'er explained with an utterly serious expression.
As she spoke,
The little girl faithfully put into practice the teachings Sister Karina had given her.
Namely, when spouting nonsense, she must never show any suspicious expressions.
Instead, she should simply widen her eyes and act adorable, making full use of the advantages that came with her young age.
And after hearing this explanation, the doubts in Yumo's heart gradually dissipated.
After all,
Back when she was little, while she was still on Blue Star, whenever she bullied or injured another child, she would instinctively become afraid of that child's parents finding out...
This little dragon girl must have lied for the same reason, right?
Yumo couldn't help making this assumption.
Then she raised her hand and gently brushed the tip of Melilov-Baroze's nose with her finger.
"Sigh... Just tell the truth next time. Auntie doesn't get angry that easily."
"Sniff..."
Melilov-Baroze continued lowering her little head, not daring to raise it and meet Yumo's eyes.
Seeing this, Yumo said nothing further and simply continued gently stroking the little dragon girl's head.
With Little Meli's situation finally settled, Yumo turned her attention toward her daughter, giving her a slightly stern look.
"By the way, Yuan'er, how did a little girl like you end up coming here?"
"I... I came here to play with Little Meli!"
"To play with Little Meli? Here? Isn't this the academy's forbidden area, where the Sacred Dragon's Heart is kept? Why would you come here to play?"
"Um, well... About that..."
Yuan'er nervously pinched the hem of her skirt and lowered her head with a somewhat ashamed expression.
Although it appeared to be a perfectly ordinary gesture,
Yuan'er's decision to lower her head actually had another purpose.
According to Sister Karina's teachings, since she had never received the acting training offered by Grandpa Saiboke, it would be very easy for Mommy to discover if she lied in front of her.
If she wanted to fool Mommy successfully, she needed either to switch into adorable mode while making things up or to lower her head "guiltily" so Mommy couldn't see her expression.
"Well... This morning, I actually came here to look for the Sacred Dragon's Heart..."
"To look for the Sacred Dragon's Heart? Why?"
"Because... Mommy, didn't you say before that you wanted to get your hands on it? So I thought... But... after sneaking in here this morning, I didn't see any Sacred Dragon's Heart. Instead, I met Little Meli. So I came back this afternoon to play with Little Meli again."
"Sigh, I see."
Yumo sighed softly and raised a hand to her forehead with some regret.
Clearly, Yumo regretted not explaining things more carefully when she had previously discussed the Sacred Dragon's Heart with Yuan'er.
She had indeed considered obtaining the Sacred Dragon's Heart and giving it to Mengxi.
However, that was only on the condition that Mengxi ultimately failed to obtain the Sacred Dragon's Heart through her own abilities.
If the female lead was capable of acquiring it herself, Yumo naturally had no intention of interfering.
After all, obtaining a treasure as precious as the "Sacred Dragon's Heart" through her own efforts would also be an extremely valuable learning experience for Mengxi.
And right now?
It obviously wasn't time for Yumo to intervene yet.
Sigh...
Forget it.
She would explain everything properly to Yuan'er when they returned.
"However..."
At the mention of the Sacred Dragon's Heart, Miss Yumo raised her eyebrows with a somewhat intrigued expression.
Then, looking puzzled, she lifted her head and surveyed her surroundings.
Wasn't this...
The central area of the Forbidden Palace?
Then... why couldn't she see the Sacred Dragon's Heart anywhere?
Naturally, Miss Yumo was rather interested in the Sacred Dragon's Heart.
She was curious about what this sacred treasure, which had helped so many powerful individuals grow stronger, actually looked like.
Driven by curiosity, Miss Yumo began looking around while questioning her daughter.
"By the way, Yuan'er... Isn't the Sacred Dragon's Heart here?"
The moment those words left her mouth,
Before Yuan'er could even react, the little dragon girl beside her suddenly underwent another dramatic change in expression.
And after asking that question, a certain possibility gradually emerged in the black-haired girl's mind.
The gaze Miss Yumo directed toward Melilov-Baroze immediately became increasingly peculiar.
"Hmm? ...Wait a minute... Little Meli, could it be... that you're actually the Sacred Dragon's Heart?"