Chapter 38: If he could reproduce on his own, would he need to mate?!

Pain was undeniable.

Yet, beneath the overwhelming agony, at the hazy edge of Rose’s consciousness, there seemed to linger an extremely faint yet utterly foreign throb.

It was only a fleeting thought, but Rose felt her pale cheeks flush with a shameful red. She ruthlessly cut off her own thoughts, biting down hard on her lower lip as she desperately reminded herself.

Don’t think about it. Absolutely never think about it again. This is wrong. Rose told herself firmly.

Whether as the former adult male priest Beres or as the newly born young dragon Rose, her experience in that particular matter had always been as blank as a sheet of white paper.

In the past, she had been helpful in the empire, earnestly listening to every confession, hearing people’s stories, and helping them solve their troubles. As the lofty High Priest, even when participating in battles against demons, she had been respected by all.

Rigorous and serious, sacred and pure, untouchable—that was how most people saw Beres.

Even though she was knowledgeable and quick-witted, in the end, her understanding and experience in certain matters were both zero.

During the time she had been in contact with him, that feeling had not seemed to come from Rose’s own heart. It was more like her body had been forcibly pried open a crack by some power far beyond her will, releasing an instinct that even she found strange and terrifying.

A pure physiological need, and the sweeping… pleasure throughout her entire body?

For the first time, such a realization formed in Rose’s mind. The thought made her tremble all over. It was as if all the accumulated pain, anger, repression, unwillingness, and doctrinal restraints from the past had been vented out in that single moment.

In that instant, her nerves, stretched to their limit, seemed to obtain a bizarre and brief relaxation. Her soul had even felt a momentary weightlessness.

But this was absolutely not what she wanted. Absolutely not.

She had no choice but to grit her teeth and admit that the damned guy was indeed an expert in some matters!

He had controlled her body with terrifying precision, like playing an instrument, easily drawing out resonances from the deepest parts of her most resistant body—resonances she was least willing to acknowledge.

However—she was too small!

Her current slender loli figure looked so delicate and fragile. This young dragon body that had not yet fully matured simply could not withstand the near-mad demands and plowing of an adult ancient dragon.

It felt as if every bone in her body had been crushed. The muscles beneath every scale were silently groaning. Even deeper was the fact that her inner consciousness, even wrapped in a dragon’s shell, still clearly remembered she had once been a human male. That dual physical and mental rejection toward same-sex intimacy made her instinctively want to flee with every touch.

Not to mention that the guy was a Demon King—the supreme ruler of the demon race. Just thinking that she had been entangled and claimed by him in such a way made Rose feel her soul had been defiled, disgust rising to an unbearable degree.

As a priest, her devout prayers to the Goddess of Light and the doctrines engraved deep in her soul—“pure heart, piety, compassion, resistance against darkness”—had long fused into her blood and bones. And now?

She had been defiled by a demon. Her body still carried the aura of the Demon King. She was even carrying a demon’s child.

This was the most complete betrayal of her faith, the sharpest mockery of her more than twenty years as a priest.

A deep sense of guilt and shame surged up. She closed her eyes in pain, as if she could hear the rebukes of her former comrades and see the Goddess’s compassionate yet disappointed gaze. Her very existence seemed to have become a desecration of the holy emblem of light.

But Rose did not want to give up. She refused to abandon her faith. Even if she had become like this, she would still hold fast to her principles.

After washing up in distress, Rose changed into the inn’s oversized coarse sleeping robe. With unease in her heart, she lowered her head and gently placed her small hand on her still flat, smooth abdomen.

It didn’t show yet, but an icy voice in her mind clearly reminded her: soon, this place would become different.

Time would only make it more and more obvious, more and more impossible to hide.

Is dragon reproduction the same as human? A terrifying thought uncontrollably rose in Rose’s mind.

It must be different, right? After all, dragons are so huge… laying eggs? And then how to incubate the child—she had absolutely no clue.

At that moment, Rose suddenly thought of something crucial that could answer her questions. Weren’t all the answers right there in that damned book?

Although she was extremely resistant, the strong desire for survival and fear of the unknown overpowered everything. With a face full of disgust, Rose pulled the thick dragon-skin book from the deepest part of her bundle, handling it as if pinching a venomous snake. Enduring the intense nausea, she quickly flipped through the tough pages, gritting her teeth as she searched for the section on reproduction.

“Gestation period…”

“Physiological changes… and incubation…”

Her fingertips traced line after line of cold ancient dragon script until she reached the content she wanted. Rose stared at the text in astonishment.

Oh? That bastard actually wrote about this?! Rose continued reading with almost vengeful emotion.

“The dragon race’s gestation period is shorter than that of humans, generally completing embryonic development in 25 to 30 days…”

“Usually involves laying… eggs…”

“Less than 30 days?!”

Rose’s eyes suddenly widened. The hand holding the book trembled violently. She read those few short lines over and over again in disbelief.

“25 to 30 days?!” she murmured, her voice cracking.

Wait, how could that guy know so clearly?! Had he laid eggs himself?!

The absurd thought had barely surfaced before she ruthlessly crushed it! No! If he could give birth himself, why would he need to breed?!

That damned bastard! A sky-high wave of hatred instantly drowned Rose!

Rose closed the book. She was certain that guy was still frantically searching for her! She absolutely could not let him find her. Absolutely not!

Fear instantly swallowed the brief joy of having obtained a moment of safety. She felt like prey exposed in the wilderness,随时可能被阴影中的巨兽扑倒.

He must never see that this egg existed!

Rose didn’t dare imagine how that paranoid madman would only become even more疯狂 and imprison her by his side. At this egg-laying frequency, she would definitely suffer for the rest of her life!

Although the boss had said it was safe here, she could not stay long.

Staying even one more day in this relatively lively human town increased the risk of exposure.

Rose decided to rest for one night and leave this place immediately. She had to find an absolutely remote location—a desolate corner so barren that even demons would despise it.

Before everything became irreversible, she had to deal with this trouble that should never have arrived.