Chapter 3: Touch your little corner

‘Why steal clothes? To keep such fine garments from going to waste in the wilderness—can I say that?’

Charis mulled over how to phrase it carefully.
But Luline, the saintess, seemed out of patience.
Her large hand clamped down hard on Charis’s cheek.

“Stop playing dumb! Speak!”

“Ow! Let go, I’ll talk! Just give me a second to think.”

Charis’s face already stung from Ophelia’s earlier pinching.
Now Luline was at it too—was her face that fun to grab? Was there some hero’s pinching leaderboard?

“Hurry up! You’re so young, yet you dare strip others’ clothes, you little pervert!”

Luline released her grip, her face flushed with anger.

‘Little pervert? Her first thought isn’t to call me a vile dragon, but a pervert? Sure, food and beauty are tempting, but all I wanted was to eat!’

Charis decided she needed to clear things up.
The saintess seemed more reasonable than the battle-crazed sword saintess.
She quickly put on a pitiful expression.

“Sister, I really didn’t mean it.
I was starving, and you were all unconscious, so I couldn’t help looking for food on you.”

Charis softened her voice, rubbing her eyes, playing the part of a bullied, helpless creature.

‘Come on, show some saintly mercy and let me go!’

Charis hoped for the best, but Luline wasn’t buying it.

‘What? I’m the victim here, and you’re making that face?’

Luline frowned.
This little dragon was no simple creature—she could act weak and pitiful.
No wonder Ophelia had caught her.

“Don’t change the subject! Calling me ‘sister’ won’t help.
You’re a dragon, and those who side with demons are never good!”

“Sister, I’m not even human to begin with.”

“You—”

Luline stared at Charis.
A flicker of cunning flashed in Charis’s blue eyes, but she quickly blinked it away, resuming her frail, pitiable act.

‘This one’s clever for her age, twisting words like that. No wonder she’s a sneaky demon. I can’t underestimate her.’

But Luline recalled something the family elders once said:
No matter how ferocious a dragon, grabbing its horns was like seizing its greatest weakness—they’d have no choice but to spill the truth.

With a plan in mind, Luline acted.
She reached out, gently grasping Charis’s horns like steering a wheel.

“Aah! W-What are you doing!”

Charis’s face turned bright red, her tail snapping straight.
Her body trembled violently.

Her horns had only recently grown, and with her poor diet, the nutrients seemed to have gone elsewhere.
The keratin layer was thin, making her horns especially sensitive.

Seeing Charis truly caught by her “weakness,” Luline gleefully pressed her questioning.

“Tell the truth! Why did you strip my clothes? And what else did you do to us!”

“Ugh… stop touching them, please… it’s too ticklish to speak!”

Charis tried to pry Luline’s hands off, but the saintess’s grip was too strong to budge!

‘Damn this weak body! Why couldn’t I be reborn as an adult dragon? So small and soft, I’m just a punching bag!’

“Spit out your real reason for stripping my clothes, or you’ll regret it!”

Luline kept up the pressure, a faint thrill rising in her chest.
As a saintess, she was usually stuck casting spells from the back.
Now, pinning down a little dragon felt surprisingly satisfying.

“I already… told you! I was just hungry, looking for food on you!”

Charis’s voice was nearly a scream, her eyes watering from the ticklish sensation.

‘This doesn’t look like an act. Was she really just hungry and scavenging?’

Luline eased her grip slightly but wasn’t fully satisfied.
Her clothes had been stripped the most thoroughly, and her dignity was still bruised!

“Take off my robe and return it, and I’ll let you go.”

“Your teammate’s already fetching clothes. Can’t I borrow it?
I really meant no harm—I was even planning to collect your corpses.”

Charis rubbed her eyes, pleading with her clear blue eyes for Luline to release her.

Those pure blue eyes held no deceit, only submission.

For some reason, Luline felt a pang of compassion, her anger fading.
Perhaps bullying Charis had done the trick.

‘Most call me a merciful saintess, but letting a dragon off so easily… no way.
She’s a demon, my enemy. Even if she’s young, she needs a harsh lesson!
Stealing is terrible, and she left me exposed in the wild for so long!
What if someone saw me? What about my honor?’

“Hmph…”
Luline took a deep breath, eyeing Charis clinging to her chest, awaiting her judgment.

“Good sister, let me go.
I can explain—if I meant harm, I wouldn’t have just taken things.”

Charis’s mind still reeled from the horn-touching shock.
Her mouth was tough, but one touch to her horns made her melt.

‘Endure! I have to survive to avenge the horn and face-pinching, to reclaim my lost dignity!’

Luline, of course, couldn’t read Charis’s thoughts.
She paused, considering her next move.

“What’s your name?”

“Huh?”

“Tell me, and I’ll let go.”

“Charis… can you let go now?”

Luline felt not just the weight on her chest but also Charis’s pounding heartbeat, like a drum battering her own heart.

“Fine, I’ll let go.”

Luline released her grip.
Charis looked up at her emerald eyes, far gentler than Ophelia’s crimson ones.
No wonder she was the saintess.

“But… you dared to violate a saintess’s body and left me exposed in the wild.
Do you know the punishment for that in the Xaska Kingdom?”

“…Death penalty?”

“For acts like yours, it’s a first for me.
Add theft and interfering with a hero’s party, and the maximum penalty could have you executed dozens of times over.”

“You’re still going to kill me?”

Charis’s eyes narrowed.
Luline seemed well-versed in law—would she really turn murderous?

“However… you’re a young dragon.
By Xaska Kingdom law, crimes by minors are compensated by guardians, and the offender must undergo mandatory church education and pass evaluations to start anew.”

“That law… can it apply to me?”

Charis felt her luck was abysmal.
An abandoned dragon egg—where would she find a guardian?
And as a demon, she’d have no defense against any charges.

“It applies.
This law works for pets too.”
Luline raised an eyebrow, her emerald eyes glinting with a sly smile.

“Huh? What are you planning?”
Charis clutched her chest, only to touch the icy chain.

“What do you think, Charis?
My companion Ophelia did well.
Taming a dragon, you see.”
Luline tugged the chain lightly, making Charis tremble.

‘Even if I’m caught as a pet, I have Talos, the Demon King.
There’s still hope… right?’

Charis’s inner voice reached Talos, who thumped her chest in assurance.

“Of course, Charis.
I have a way to deal with that icy chain.
As long as they don’t use other tricks, I’ll have you free within half a day!”

As Talos made her bold promise, the long-unconscious assassin finally stirred.

“Luline… Luline, are you there?”

“Ah! Aisha, you’re finally awake!
Come see Charis, the one Ophelia caught.”

Luline grabbed Charis’s shoulders.
A sudden sense of dread washed over Charis.
After all, she’d scattered Aisha the assassin’s clothes everywhere.