[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-saya-and-the-dragon":3,"chapter-saya-and-the-dragon-saya-and-the-dragon-chapter-227":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Saya and the Dragon",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1705036,2177,"Chapter 220: Lip Service and Poor Life Choices","saya-and-the-dragon-chapter-227",227,"\u003Cp>Also accurate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So I swirled the rest of my drink, wiped powdered sugar off my tits (there was quite a lot), and wobbled elegantly to the stage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now—about this dress. It's not really a dress, it's more of a threat. Scarlet silk, slit up to the hipbone, backless, neckline in denial. Tied together with two knots, hope, and a prayer to the Goddess of Wardrobe Malfunctions. If you breathe wrong, it files for divorce.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anyway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They pair me with some local farm girl. Blonde. Barefoot. Freckles like she’s been kissed by the sun and too shy to talk to mirrors. She's wearing a peasant shift like it’s armor, clutching the hem like I might bite—which, fair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She glances at me, then down. Then back at me. Then goes pink. All the way to the ears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perfect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Name?\" I ask, already halfway into a pout.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She whispers something like “Linna,” but it gets eaten by the crowd's whooping. Doesn’t matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You kiss good, Linna?” I grin. “Or are you one of those girls who close their eyes and apologize after?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her jaw drops. Adorable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The drumroll starts. The judge—a bald man with wine stains on his tunic and lipstick on his bald spot—waves a grubby hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then it's on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I grab her by the hips and pull her in close, real slow, like I’m going to whisper something filthy into her ear. And maybe I do. Her knees go soft.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Points for style.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She looks like she’s about to faint. Or flee. Or both.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So I tilt her chin up with one finger. “Breathe, sweetheart. It’s just lips. I won’t bite unless you ask nice.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She exhales a tiny oh gods and then I kiss her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And it’s... oh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soft. Warm. Slightly trembling. She tastes like plum wine and honesty. Mouth hesitant at first, then—surprise—eager. She finds her rhythm. Finds mine. Hands clinging to my shoulders like I might vanish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We’re still kissing when the drumroll stops.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still kissing when the cheering starts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still kissing when the judge clears his throat and says, “Time’s up, ladies.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I break it with a smirk. She’s flushed. Dazed. Slightly unsteady.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I tug her close one last time and whisper, “Any time you want a rematch, I’ll bring the plum wine.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then I blow a kiss at the judge, wave to the crowd, and saunter off barefoot through the dust—feeling like a goddess, smelling like sugar and sin, and very much hoping the prize is something useful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like a ham. Or a room with a door that locks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because Linna is still staring. And honestly?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I might not be done with her either.The fire crackled. The ham sizzled. The Dragon grumbled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That wasn’t fair,” he muttered, halfway through his third slice. “You’re a Seebulban-grade pleasure slave. The rest of them were—what—village tartlets with flower crowns? You’re three leagues above the competition.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I smirked, stretched out on the stolen picnic blanket like a goddess on laundry day, one leg draped over the other, still barefoot, still glowing with wine and lipstick smugness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Three leagues?” I purred. “Darling, I was three leagues above them before I was housebroken. Before temple training. Before the auction block. Before Madam Zoobaya even taught me which parts go where.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He gave me a look. “You learned that in the temple?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, but I learned how to look like I did. There’s a difference.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stabbed at the ham with unnecessary violence. “Still cheating.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh please,” I said, plucking a grape from the bowl and popping it into my mouth, “you didn’t even see the contest.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I didn’t have to see it. I heard what you said about it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s not the same as seeing it. Ask Linna.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He narrowed his eyes. “Is she the one who fainted into the goat trough?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She swooned. There’s a difference. It was very romantic.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He made a noise that could’ve meant disgust or envy—it was hard to tell with a mouthful of pork. “You traumatized a farming community.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They’ll recover. Think of it as educational outreach.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He snorted. “You should be banned.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I am banned. From three counties. Four if you count the kissing priestess incident.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sighed, curled his tail around his hoard-sack like a possessive miser, and chewed another bite. “Still cheating.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I grinned. “Still delicious.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paused mid-chew. “You mean the ham?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I winked. “Sure. Let’s go with that.”\u003C\u002Fp>",728,"2026-06-06T14:39:25.900Z",1,"novelbin.me","191ee2e9aa40f57cf7d6e91d96f576f929d19ab540d4fbce6a79dfe5e237e8c7","saya-and-the-dragon-chapter-228","saya-and-the-dragon-chapter-226",228,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsaya-and-the-dragon-cover.jpg"]