Chapter 71: Got Dragoned

She… how could it be her?

When he saw the girl on the stage, Li En was utterly stunned.

Her crimson dress was lavish yet elegant; the ruby necklace around her neck pulsed with abundant fire elements; her golden-red hair shimmered like blazing flames in the sunlight, and within her emerald eyes, lightning flickered faintly.

Yes, it was her—the suspected ancient noble-born Spirit Candidate, Long Zhao.

She was exactly as she had appeared in his first dream—as if this were her formal attire.

She was also the only candidate whose mist had never lifted; only Li En knew her true face.

But now, given her identity, this concealment seemed inevitable.

“But last time we met in the dream, she didn’t have these lion ears or tail.”

The girl’s posture, like Laina’s, was clearly a disguise—but the lion fur around her neck and arms revealed this disguise was far more advanced.

Why disguise herself?! She’s a princess—why pretend to be an ordinary lionfolk? Or perhaps, precisely because she’s a princess, she must disguise herself.

“Could Princess Dennya not be Heroine Laina’s child?” Even Li En had heard such street rumors.

The more obscure the alleyways, the more people loved gossiping about the nobility’s scandals and anecdotes—and the royal family naturally drew plenty of criticism.

This rumor about the princess’s identity wasn’t just widespread—it had real traction.

The origin and logic were plausible: Princess Dennya was born over half a year after Heroine Laina’s death; too many suspicions could be inferred.

“I saw the princess once in the new capital—she’s nearly sixteen now, yet looks no older than thirteen.” As she grew, the whispers multiplied, growing ever more convincing.

“The royal family deceived the people, claiming Heroine Laina had offspring to sustain the crumbling kingdom.” “The current princess is the queen’s child born later—the real Heroine’s child was smothered at birth.” They spoke as if it were truth.

“Gak gak. She’s a dragon-blooded. A high-purity evil dragon breed! Grows slow! Normal!”

But Ku Ku saw the truth at a glance.

The problem was, the queen surely knew the girl was dragon-blooded—yet that made her silence even more inexplicable.

“Heroine Laina was a lionfolk, and the queen is too—how could they birth a dragon-blooded?!”

Even Li En was bewildered—he even wondered if his past self had been cuckolded.

“Gak, so tragic. Got dragoned. Struck by an evil dragon.” Ku Ku still cackled, clearly enjoying the spectacle.

Could Princess Dennya truly not be Heroine Laina’s child? The thought flashed through Li En’s mind.

For some reason, Li En felt a strange relief—and yet, a pang of regret.

In short, his mind was a slurry, his emotions a chaotic mess he couldn’t untangle.

Li En instinctively felt something was off.

The first time he met Dennya days ago, he’d felt an inexplicable warmth and fondness—as if he’d seen a family member.

Later, the delicate “old man and girl” bond between Su Xing and Long Zhao may have stemmed from this subtle bloodline resonance and kinship.

He’d originally assumed it was due to dragon-blood proximity—but when he confirmed Dennya was Laina’s child, he’d felt a strange, “of course” sensation.

Could all of this have been an illusion?

“No matter the race, an evil dragon’s child is always dragon-blooded.” But Ku Ku’s seemingly casual remark left Li En utterly stunned—and shattered that sordid suspicion.

“Ku Ku’s sixteen children—all dragon-blooded! Dragon-blooded!” Ku Ku had proof.

Yet as he said this, his tone was almost gnashing—anger even pulsed from the soul-link.

“Ku Ku says: soul is essence. A dragon-soul’s child is still a dragon! Ku Ku was confused then! Furious!” This anger was real—and justified.

Perhaps Ku Ku’s children back then had few, if any, dogfolk physical traits.

In a sense, every “Li Ensu” who hated Li Ensu had good reason.

If their lives were marred by misfortune or confusion, they could blame it all on that source.

Otherwise, Saint Knight Su Xing might have lived a peaceful life; Ku Ku the dogfolk might never have been banished from his tribe.

Not to mention, perhaps Ku Ku himself had been confused back then, staring at child after child towering over him—dragon-blooded.

And Ku Ku’s phrase “got dragoned” wasn’t idle chatter—it was a “special phenomenon” recorded only in some ancient lineages.

Did the queen and princess know? In fact, the queen knew.

After the Cataclysm, after Laina’s death, all records of his face vanished—even people’s memories of his appearance—then came the birth of Dennya, the dragon-blooded. The royal court immediately sensed something was wrong and had the means to investigate.

Back then, the royal family still had high-level connections; the queen contacted trusted ancient beings and inquired about this phenomenon.

Finally, she received a response from a certain peculiar ancient—one filled with pity.

“This… is got dragoned.”

“Got dragoned? What dragon?” But even the ancient couldn’t clarify the specifics.

The ancient merely told the queen: if a man’s face vanished after death and his offspring was dragon-blooded, it was almost certainly due to “him (the dragon).”

This wasn’t deception or fraud—he remained himself, with a complete life trajectory.

Only his departure triggered strange phenomena.

It seemed one dragon endlessly cycled through the mortal realm; each time he left, he erased part of himself to avoid detection.

“It has no real impact. Ignore it,” the ancient said. But from the royal family’s perspective, ignoring it was impossible—too many eyes watched.

The queen herself didn’t know how to interpret this truth, let alone explain it to her child. To tell her, “Your father is a dragon who reincarnates endlessly”? Too abstract—especially when the kingdom had just been destroyed by another dragon.

Better to let her believe her father was a hero who died defending the kingdom.

In the end, Dennya learned only that her father, Laina, had been killed and cursed by a dragon.

And that curse, traveling through bloodline, reached her while still a fetus—turning her into a dragon-blooded.

She bore national hatred, familial vengeance, and a “curse”—naturally, she hated dragons with abstract, all-consuming fury.

After all, at a time when the kingdom’s people hated dragons with abstract fury due to this unexplainable, unpublicizable reason, Dennya could never reveal her dragon-blooded identity.

You say you’re cursed by a dragon? We’ll say you’re the queen’s bastard born from dragon lust—maybe you and your mother conspired to kill the Heroine.

Malicious rumors and schemers always exist. Under those conditions, Princess Dennya had no choice but to wear fake lion ears and tail daily, disguising herself as a lionfolk.

And this, it seemed, was a disguise she must wear for life—even forever fearing exposure.

“Poor girl. Evil dragon. Big evil dragon!” Ku Ku couldn’t bear to watch anymore.

Still, he’d raised his own dozen-odd children well.

And the girl before him? She’d clearly lived in confusion.

Do normal dragon-blooded hate dragons? Hmm… yes, they do.

Ku Ku, the dogfolk-born dragon-blooded, shook his head—he was an exception too. He was a victim!

“It’s all the big evil dragon’s fault!” In short—it was all Li Ensu’s fault!

And now, the “big evil dragon” himself stood there, utterly bewildered.

“Shouldn’t Laina handle this?!” He reached for his Codex—had the conditions been met? The princess stood right before him.

Li En wanted to pass the buck—but the Spirit Card remained utterly still.

Since seeing “the princess” still didn’t meet the condition, perhaps “the princess” referred to the one sixteen years ago—the current queen.

Watching the girl still speaking passionately on stage, Li En sighed.

He hadn’t heard a word she said—his mind was a tangled mess.

He had a premonition: since he was within the kingdom, he couldn’t escape the events of that past.

He needed to investigate the truth behind the Spirit’s demand—to avoid real trouble arriving while he was clueless.

“Is this… why I awoke here?” Li En realized—he was fundamentally different from Ku Ku, Laina, and Su Xing.

They were complete reincarnations, regaining memories only at death; he had been whole from the start—complete form and memory.

Laina still had many old acquaintances. Li En’s scalp prickled—he thought of another possibility.

“Lord Ku Ku… that spell erasing facial features—can it be undone? Am I that unlucky to be exposed?”

“Hah! Impossible! No magic in this world is unbreakable! The only absolute in magic is there is no absolute!” Ku Ku spoke seriously, even shifting his train of thought.

At that moment, Li En seriously considered relocating to another city.

But then he remembered Talia, Dimon, Lari… he’d already woven too many ties.

In the end, he could only sigh helplessly, praying he wouldn’t be found.

The karmic debt from Laina’s past—he couldn’t bear it. He was truly innocent.

“Li En!” At that moment, Lari shoved him forward—it was time to go onstage and receive his honor.

He was dazed, but obediently stepped up.

Recalling his etiquette teacher’s instructions, he knelt halfway before the princess and accepted the Third-Rank Knight title and Fourth-Rank Royal Knight Medal.

“Gak, Dad kneels to his daughter!” Ku Ku seemed delighted.

“Shut up!” Li En, inexplicably, grew angry.

Yet as he knelt there, staring at the young girl placing the medal on him, he forced himself to calm down.

He had no idea what to say—his mind was a slurry. He simply opened his mouth, grinning like an idiot, feigning great joy.

“Hmph. Worse than Su Xing.” The girl, smiling sweetly, leaned close and whispered a taunt.

She still clearly looked down on Li En, the Su Xing successor.

Li En couldn’t help but laugh and nod repeatedly.

Yes, yes, I’m far worse, far behind—Princess, please, don’t pay any attention to a nobody like me!

(End of Chapter)