“About dragons?” Evelyn placed her teacup down with a look of surprise .

Leah quietly came up to refill her cup with hot tea . I nodded: “Yes . I want to know about it, whether it’s a story of historical fact . The more stories you can tell me stories about dragons in the North, the better . ”

“Stories for children make up the majority . I have lived here as the Queen for a long time . While I did not have any practical power, I did have a few things in my grasp . I never received any reports related to dragons . Frankly, there are very little mentions of dragons in the North . Rather, all of the stories derived themselves from a book t.i.tled ‘Chronicles of a Dragon Journey . ’ As such, if you want to learn more, you should take a look at ‘Chronicles of a Dragon Journey . ’”

I nodded: “I came to believe that dragons genuinely do exist in the North precisely because I read that book . That’s why I want to find out more . Has only one person seen a dragon in the North?”

“You actually believe it to be true?”

Evelyn looked at me with disbelief and touched her chin as though she felt I was excessively stupid . Perhaps she was right . After all, the populace of the North treated stories about dragons as mere stories to share with children . No adult believed dragons existed .

I was positive the book wasn’t intended to be read to children but a true experience . He wrote the book, because he honestly met dragons . Everybody thought it was a children’s book, as they hadn’t experienced what he did . They, therefore, had no means of understanding him . The absolutely true story was considered a successful fairy tale .

“n.o.body would believe it if they had not seen a dragon before, right?” I asked with a smile . “But I have seen a dragon, a true pure-blooded dragon . I have also seen a former dragon city and their gold coins . If you had seen a dragon, you would know that everything in this book is accurate . If the author fabricated the entire thing, the author would probably be a dragon; else, it would be impossible to have all the facts written so precisely . ”

Leah touched her head . After a brief moment of thinking, she stated, “There really is . Of course, I did not personally see it, but I saw one at a village . That was a long time ago . I was not a bodyguard yet at the time . At the time, I was still being sold around . One time, I saw the villagers of a village wors.h.i.+pping a dragon statue . Needless to say, I did not know there was a dragon there at the time . I still am not certain, but since you said that you are certain there are dragons in the North, there may be people there who have come into contact with dragons . ”

“Serious?!!” Thrilled, I jumped to my feet, startling Leah .

Evelyn pressed her hand on me with a smile: “Stay calm . Stay calm . Your Majesty, let Leah finish . Leah must be talking about what happened almost twenty years ago . n.o.body is certain what the situation is now . Furthermore, whether or not Leah can recall it is an issue in itself . ”

Leah nodded: “Indeed, I cannot remember too clearly . It has been far too long ago . Moreover, I was being sold as a slave at the time . As such, I did not have a map for records . I only remember the outer vicinity of the village was a forest with towering trees . The trees were the type that had pointy tops . It was very cold . I think it was halfway up the snowy mountain . There is an enormous valley there . That is all I can remember . I cannot recall the other details too clearly… Ah, it is pointless for you to bring out a map, for I have no idea where I was at the time . Nevertheless, I think that it is further north?”

I nodded, and then examined the map I just took out . Leah probably genuinely didn’t know where it was; but nonetheless, according to what she said, it should be in the northwest direction . The majority of the population in the North was gathered in the centre and East . There were very few people in the West, as the terrain there was extremely poor . The western area consisted of tall mountain slopes . In saying that, that was where the warm breeze from the North came from .

When Freya chose the West, she took population control into consideration . The population there was small, so the ecology changes as a result of the ice and snow melting wasn’t an issue . The Western side of the North was totally different after Freya implemented her strategy . The melted ice and snow, and the operation to destroy the mountains had completely altered the place . Lots of places had been drowned and turned into lakes and marshes . Lots of mountain forests were immersed in the water . I, consequently, couldn’t find the place Leah mentioned on the map .

Leah leaned over and then very quickly leaned back . Disappointed, she said, “It is useless, Your Majesty . The West has completely changed . You will not find it on the current map . If you provided me with a map of the West prior to the change, I may be able to find some clues . The village might have been drowned by now for all we know . ”

I nodded . If that was the case, I think it wouldn’t be too hard . Freya evacuated everyone in the West when she fixed the river and blew up the mountains back then . Freya wasn’t the type who’d just drown everybody with complete disregard for their lives . After all, she could be considered a kind child . So, what I needed to find out was where the people had evacuated to . There should be records of them even if they had settled down here . As the population in the West was small, I was confident I could soon find out who came from the village that was a.s.sociated with the dragons .

Evelyn inquired, “Frankly, I am not too sure I understand what you are trying to do . Do you want to find the dragons to do something? I have never seen a live dragon . Is there some meaning to you locating dragons?”

I had a drink of tea before responding, “No . The reality is dragons are a very proud race . Yes, they’re even prouder than Ling Yue… Don’t tell her I said that… The only reason I want to find dragons is to let my mom know that she still has dragon kin out there, that’s all . ”

“I see . You will need to conduct some research in that case . I need to kindly remind you to not get your hopes up . If there truly are dragons here, they would have lived here close to a century now, agreed? If only one person has sighted a dragon in so long, it proves that one will never see a dragon if the dragons, themselves, are unwilling to show themselves . Therefore, I think your investigations are likely to be fruitless . ”

“I, at least, want to put my mom at ease . Whether or not I find anything is no big deal . My Dragon Mom is the only person with no relatives among all those around me . She is a little too pitiful, do you not agree?”

I finished my cup of tea . Then, I extended forth my hand to stop Leah, who was about to refill my cup . I stood up . I had achieved what I visited for; there was no reason for me to continue staying with the two . Ling Yue got jealous of her own daughter, so she’d be even more jealous if I stayed with the two, wouldn’t she?

Evelyn nodded . She stood up to see me to the door: “Actually, that is not entirely true . I am sure that she does not feel that way . After all, she still has family with her . ”

“Who?”

Evelyn laughed . She then answered, “You, of course . Do not forget that you are her son and that she is your mother . I am sure she does not feel lonely here . As opposed to helping her find a horde of dragons, how about spending more time with her? Spending more time with your family is a lot easier than trying to locate a horde of dragons that only exists in stories, is it not?”

I smiled . I, honestly, didn’t expect her to say that . Evelyn was right . I nodded: “Of course . As her son, I will be sure to spend more time with her . It’s just that I thought Mom would be delighted to know that her own kin were still alive, just as with Ling Yue . It would be lonely to realise you’re the only one left of your race . ”

“Uhm, that is true,” replied Evelyn, with a nod . “I shall wish you good luck, then . I hope you find what you want . However, do not neglect what is right in front of you in the search for what is in the distance . Liu Yue is amazingly adorable . Spend more time with her; she is always looking forward to your return . ”

“I know . I like her very much, as well . I will spend a lot of time with her in the future . ”

Evelyn nodded with a smile, and then I pulled open the door . I had just walked a few steps when a small silhouette came rus.h.i.+ng over and tightly hugged my thigh . Liu Yue had rushed over to hug me . In a slightly unhappy tone, she sulked, “Daddy, Daddy, play with me!! You left without a word today . I was so scared that you had left . I was waiting for you in the horse stables the whole time . I was afraid you sneaked off . Don’t leave Liu Yue without saying a word… I was truly so scared…”

I crouched down and looked at Liu Yue’s slightly red eyes . I apologetically embraced her . If it was possible, I really wanted to bring her back to the Imperial Palace so that she could always stay with me, but Ling Yue didn’t want to live together with us, so I couldn’t help it . I couldn’t s.n.a.t.c.h her off her mother .

“Sorry, sorry, my Liu Yue . Don’t be scared; don’t be scared . Daddy won’t leave without a word . Daddy will do the best Daddy can to be with you, promise . Let’s go, Liu Yue . Daddy will take you to the town close by to play around for a while . Consider it Daddy’s apology!”

“Yay! Yay!! I want to ride a horse with Daddy! I want to ride that tall and large horse with a horn!”

Something that greatly surprised me soon occurred… The forever proud White Deer King, who refused to even spare anybody a look, actually lied down so that Liu Yue could ride her… The White Deer King had never lowered her head or bent her legs, yet she lied down before Liu Yue… And… she allowed Liu Yue to play with her ears!!

Liu Yue… was something else . She was something else…