"Hello, hey you, can you understand human language? If you can, then hurry up and transform into human form for me."

The dragon felt like it was facing a crisis in its dragon life. It turned its head with great difficulty and glanced at the female knight who was arrogantly stepping on its tail with a stern expression. It let out a deep growl and turned its head back.

Could the dragon be considered the most embarrassing dragon in Dragon history? Its kind would attack castles and steal princesses, engage in battles with various heroes, leaving traces in countless epic legends of kingdoms. And yet, it had been captured and brought home by a lone human.

Well, this is the current situation. The dragon was tied tightly with a super-strong rope in the courtyard of a castle. To prevent it from struggling, the rope had several long nails deeply embedded into the ground, making it difficult for the dragon to even twist its neck.

The female knight was a bit annoyed by the dragon's reaction. She jumped off the dragon's tail and ran a circle to stand in front of it. She then lifted her visored helmet, which covered her face completely, and spoke in an unhappy tone, "Don't ignore me, you. At least have some professional conduct as a prisoner, since you were captured by me."

Who would have such professional conduct! The dragon snorted, and flames burst out from its nostrils, but the female knight effortlessly blocked it with a shield of blue radiance.

After removing her heavy helmet, the female knight's appearance was completely revealed. Even the dragon, with its depressed mood, was slightly stunned when it saw her, unable to resist gazing at the female knight before it.

The dragon had guessed that she must be young when it heard her voice, but it didn't expect her to look no more than twenty years old, and her appearance was quite remarkable.

Her face was like a sculpture created by an artist, with vibrant and lively emerald eyes. Her pure silver long hair was tied into a single ponytail with a light blue ribbon that reached her waist. Her exquisite silver-white armor wrapped around her slim but powerful body, radiating a heroic aura that sharply contrasted with her delicate and charming appearance. The dragon couldn't help but imagine what stance she would take in battle with a sharp blade in her hand.

Noticing the dragon's stunned gaze, the female knight's beautiful face showed a disgusted expression, as if she had seen something indescribable. She crossed her hands in front of her chest and took two steps back, saying, "I've heard that dragons have strong mating desires, and it seems to be true. Hey, you, can you stop staring at my chest all the time?"

"Who said dragons have strong mating desires! Those are rumors spread by the foolish elves! And I wasn't staring at your chest! I could only see the steel plate!"

This was unbearable. After enduring insults to its race and personality, the dragon couldn't help but break its silence and used its magical power to simulate a deep male voice.

"Eh... Can you speak human language?"

Oh God, I messed up! I exposed myself!

After a brief reaction time, the dragon widened its eyes and stared at the subtly changing expression on the female knight's face. It felt a sense of danger in its heart. The plan of pretending to be ignorant had failed! This woman was so cunning!

(It's clearly your own fault!)

"Since you can understand, it makes things easier," said the female knight with a relieved expression. She clasped her hands together in front of her chest and smiled, "So, Dragon sir, please transform into human form first and wear this."

As she spoke, she produced a collar that looked very delicate. It even had a small metal bell attached to it. The collar was entirely made of metal and shone brightly, which appealed to the dragon's love for shiny objects. However, it was clearly designed according to a human's neck size, so it wouldn't fit properly on the dragon's thick neck.

"Is it to make it easier for me to wear this by turning into a human form? I see, I see. You're such a considerate girl... Did you really think I'd say that, you fool? You want to treat Dragon like a pet by putting a collar on me? As a proud Dragon, how could I agree to that!"

The dragon passionately simulated human speech with its magical power, not noticing the smile on the female knight's face slowly turning dark. In fact, it turned very dark.

"Oh? Is that so? I'm really sorry, Mr. Dragon. I shouldn't have tarnished Dragon's pride with a collar like this."

"Hehe, now that you know. I'll forgive you because you're young."

"Since that's the case, does that mean the negotiations failed?"

"Uh? Wait, what does that mean?" The dragon blinked its eyes, a hint of confusion in its golden pupils.

The female knight smiled sweetly and clenched her fist against her chest, performing a knight's salute towards the dragon. "Since that's the case, I will respect the honor of Dragon, follow the code of knightly conduct, and challenge Mr. Dragon to a duel to the death."

The last four words were pronounced with an emphasis.

"Ah, huh? Sorry, c-could you please repeat that? I didn't catch it clearly..." The dragon panicked and stammered.

"I, Her Royal Highness Tiran Elisun, the Second Princess of the Holy Milania Kingdom, daughter of the War God King Gurlansh, hereby initiate a duel with the opponent before me in the name of a knight..."

Wait a minute, this person in front of me is a princess? No, that's not the current point.

A bead of cold sweat slid down the dragon's face. A duel to the death? Considering the strength the female knight had demonstrated when she nearly killed him with a single sword strike, and the fact that he was currently bound tightly on the ground...

This wasn't a duel at all, it was simply *naked murder*?!

"In that case," as the dragon wrestled with his thoughts, the female knight, or rather, the princess, had already completed the protracted and difficult declaration that accompanied a knight's challenge. Her speed of speech was astonishing. After completing the proclamation, she unsheathed the longsword hanging by her waist and gently tapped the scales covering the dragon's neck. "Lord Dragon, will you accept my duel invitation?"

"Refuse! I don't even have a door, no, not even a window!" The dragon shivered fiercely, shaking his head determinedly.

"Is that so?"

The princess raised an eyebrow, her beautiful face showing no trace of displeasure, but rather an expression that seemed to have expected this outcome from the beginning. With casual movements, she sheathed her sword back and smiled happily. "As expected, you're a coward! You're definitely a disgrace to Dragons, aren't you?"

Hearing this remark, which sounded similar to the way his parents evaluated him, the dragon felt annoyed. What kind of princess is this? Why doesn't she have any of the characteristics of royalty? What happened to being calm and elegant? This was completely different from what he had learned from his books! Aren't royal princesses supposed to possess the elegant and poised demeanor of residing in a tall tower in the royal palace? What is this nonsense in front of me?

Then the princess switched topics, and a trace of cunning shone in her sapphire eyes. "But since Mr. Dragon has been captured by me, I can't just let you go so easily. Since you refuse to be my pet and refuse to duel, you'll have to pay a price, right?"

"What price?" After the previous events, the dragon became more alert.

"Don't worry, don't worry," the princess continued to smile warmly, extending a finger. "First, Mr. Dragon has to understand his own value."

The princess once again took out a thick book and a pair of crystal glasses from an inexplicable place, instantly adding an air of intelligence to her noble temperament.

Even the dragon was slightly astonished that this woman could manage to blend two completely different styles so harmoniously.

But what she said next made him lose his composure.

"The value of a Dragon is still quite high. The book says that a dragon is a tremendous treasure. First, there are dragon scales. Not only are they incredibly hard, suitable for crafting powerful armor, but they also have strong affinity with magic, enhancing the enchantment of the armor."

"This..." The dragon swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

"Dragon teeth can be used to make dragon-tooth swords and spears, both of which are top-tier weapons. Oh, dragon tendons are also excellent materials for bowstrings. I heard that two of the three legendary bows of the Elf tribe are made with dragon tendons."

Sweat started to form on the dragon's forehead.

"Dragon blood is also quite precious as it contains rich magical energy. It is said that dragon slayers bathe in dragon blood after killing a dragon, making their bodies invulnerable to blades and guns. It's a legendary practice."

"And there's dragon soul, which it's said that mages can extract and decipher all the Dragon martial techniques and dragon language magic from. Well, that's quite appealing. You can give it a try, huh?"

The dragon's teeth clattered against each other.

To die, to die, to die! Isn't each of these things trying to take my life?! Imagining himself being stripped of his scales or drained of blood... it would be better to just be killed. Although, based on what he understood about the personality of the princess in front of him, even if he were killed by her, she would probably still do the aforementioned things to him."Is there any difference between explaining to a cowboy how he is going to cook a certain part of the cow he's about to slaughter?" The giant dragon's face was full of sorrow.

"Of course there is," the princess said seriously.

"What, what difference?"

"Peeling dragon scales, pulling dragon tendons, extracting dragon teeth, using dragon blood... with so many choices, you can pick any one, or you can try them all~" The silver-haired girl stood before the giant dragon, smiling kindly.

"Uh..."

"It's okay, go ahead and speak. Mirennea is a country known for its exceptional cuisine, even prisoners have the right to choose freely."

"Well... I don't want to die..." A glimmer of hope flashed in the golden eyes of the dragon.

"See, you're already going off topic." The smile on the girl's face grew even brighter.

If this were a manga, one would definitely see the dragon's color fade in an instant.

"Oh, by the way," the girl clapped her hands as if remembering something, "come to think of it, I haven't tasted dragon meat before, I just happened to have a new chef in the castle..."

The dragon was in despair!

This woman is too terrifying! Even other dragon slayers who kill dragons would show great respect to such powerful beings, but you're thinking about how to eat the dragon?!