Turns out, Nana Toki’s hunch was dead on.

When she found the Protagonist Lord slumped against the stone wall, intact yet woozy, her gut went cold—Heaven’s Dao was playing its old tricks again.

For crying out loud, she’d lobbed a black sphere bomb in there; even if the Giant Dragon ate the full blast, anyone inside shouldn’t be spotless.

At least a broken arm, a limping leg—give my AOE some respect, like ash on snow.

But the protection Heaven’s Dao gave the Protagonist Lord was absurd, a halo so thick it bent rules like bamboo in wind.

Look at that face—milky-white, not a speck of soot—your heroine halo’s getting rebellious, like a tide going against the moon.

Fine. If the bomb didn’t end her, a knife under quiet stone would.

Nana Toki drew a dagger; emotion first, then motion—sharp intent rose, then she moved to finish Jade Ring Long while she drifted.

Bad luck. Lorin shuffled back, head drooping, after a fruitless sweep of the cavern. “Princess, there’s no Giant Dragon treasure. Just pebbles and scraps—huh, who’s this girl?”

Like spotting a rare beast in the wild, Lorin leaned in, peering at the unconscious Jade Ring Long Nana had found.

“Could the legends be true? A princess seized by a Giant Dragon?”

Nana said nothing. The dagger in her raised hand trembled like a leaf, then lowered with a soft sigh.

Tch. Hesitate, and you hand yourself over like mist to the sun.

She should’ve cut clean the moment she saw her.

And this idiot Protagonist moved too fast—only minutes, yet he combed the cave like wind over wheat.

Lunatic.

She shot Lorin a murderous glare, slid the dagger away like a shadow under snow, and headed out to find Ling’er Long.

“Princess? Where are you going?”

“To get some air,” Nana snapped, like sparks spitting from wet wood.

Near the cave mouth, she found Ling’er Long and kept her face smooth as still water. “Your sister’s inside. Looks like a Giant Dragon grabbed her.”

Decision settled like a stone in a river. If she couldn’t kill the Protagonist Lord herself, she’d let the elder sister haul the heroine home.

Worst case, she’d visit the Marl Kingdom later, bag Ling’er Long, and carve the heroine after.

“My sister?” Ling’er Long’s expression twisted, a knot in silk. “She was fine in the Marl Kingdom. How would a Giant Dragon take her?”

“You ask me, who do I ask?” Nana lifted her hands like smoke lifting. “Maybe your house rules are iron bars; she pitched a fit and ran from Marl.”

Casually, she added, a pebble tossed to ripple a pond, “Both Marl princesses out of the country—if trouble rises, who holds the reins?”

“My sister, too—did you kidnap her?” Ling’er Long folded her arms and watched Nana with an unruffled gaze, cold as frost. “Is this the Hedon Kingdom’s plan?”

“Kidnap your sister? With Jade Ring Long’s strength, killing her in the palace would be cleaner than this theater.” Nana smiled, blade-light behind teeth.

She flicked a dagger in front of Ling’er Long, silver fish in moonlit water. “Why stage a Giant Dragon saga just to show you?”

“How about a deal. I let you go. You take your sister home. We owe each other nothing—like two boats passing in fog.”

“No.”

Her voice carried through the cave like a bell, calm and far. “My useless sister sitting in court grows moss; better she roams wind and rain.”

“As for the Marl Kingdom, Kurus is there. I’m at ease. The kingdom will be soothed like a child with warm milk.”

“You’re not clinging to me, are you? I offer you a ride home and you won’t go?” Nana’s eyes narrowed, teasing like a cat with string.

“Are you still a princess of the Marl Kingdom? I’ll cover the fare. Say yes, and I’ll book your carriage now.”

And a few days later, I’ll snatch you back, you little terror.

“I said no.” Ling’er Long enunciated each word, teeth like pearls. “You dragged me here for no reason, and now send me back—smells like a scheme.”

“Why this sudden rush to pack me and Jade Ring Long home? If it’s another feint, I won’t bite.”

Nana Toki fell silent, like a match snuffed. Since when were you this sharp?

“So you and your two idiot sisters won’t go back, no matter what.” Her brows lifted; her gaze turned playful, like heat shimmering on stone. “Be honest—do you like me?”

“Refuse a free ride home, and later you’ll defect with your sister to our Hedon Kingdom?”

“Say whatever you wish.” Ling’er Long leaned on the rock wall, arms folded, face unmoved, a pine in winter. “Instead of trash talk, go warn the village they’ve been wiped out.”

“Eh, that’s not urgent. Sooner or later makes no ripple. More than their panic, I care whether you like me.”

Nana was half a head shorter; now she slammed an arm to the wall, trapping Ling’er in a corner, tide turning, hunter and deer reversed.

“Why so quiet? Hm? Look into my eyes.”

Their cheeks nearly brushed; breath and heartbeat braided, loud as drums in a narrow hall.

“Princess! Princess! That girl woke up!”

Just before lips met, a young man sprinted from the cave’s depth and shattered the moment like a dropped plate. “Princess, good news, the girl the Giant Dragon—”

He halted. Saw Nana Toki pinning Ling’er Long. Froze mid-step, mid-syllable. His grin twisted as if in a cramp, and after a long beat he croaked, “Uh… sorry. Carry on. I saw nothing.”

He turned like a wind-up doll and walked back inside, face averted.

“Ahhh… got interrupted.” Nana let her arm drop from the wall, disappointment like rain on coals. “Next time, then. I’ll let you off today.”

She tossed Ling’er Long a wink like a flicked pebble, sheathed her dagger, and stalked after the Protagonist Lord. “What did you just say, you idiot? Say it again!”

Her voice faded down the tunnel like a receding tide.

Left behind, spared, Ling’er Long slid to the ground against the stone, her pretty face flushing fast, heart thudding like a caged bird.

Mm… for a heartbeat, she truly thought they would kiss.

Is this woman serious?

We’re both women. Can this… be liking?

Nana Toki didn’t see those small ripples.

She found Lorin, who’d fled like a rabbit, and was about to grill the peeper on what he’d seen, when Jade Ring Long walked out from the cave’s depths.

“You are…” Jade Ring Long’s eyes snagged on Nana’s monstrous Demon Hand. She froze, then tested the air with a soft question. “Where is this?”

“You ran from the Marl Kingdom and don’t know where you are?” Nana rolled her eyes, like clouds rolling over hills. Classic heroine amnesia.

So dumb it hurts.

Jade Ring Long hadn’t expected Nana to know her identity; her gaze stuck to that Demon Hand, and her heart climbed into her throat like a startled sparrow.

Lorin didn’t know either. When Nana said she was from the Marl Kingdom, he almost reeled; why did Marl folk keep appearing like leaves in flood?

Had the Marl Kingdom learned that his country’s lunatic had kidnapped their princess?

While Lorin unraveled, Nana paced past him and gave the second princess of the Marl Kingdom a long, meaningful look. “What wind blew you here, Second Princess?”

“Is it buy-one-get-one now? Kidnap the First Princess, and the Second comes free?”

Her words struck Jade Ring Long’s heart like a hammer on bronze. What did this woman with the Demon Hand mean?

Kidnap the First Princess, get the Second free?

Could she be the mysterious contestant who used a tournament pretext to kidnap my sister?

Facing an unknown, powerful foe, Jade Ring Long’s pulse quickened like rain on tiles.

“Who are you?” She swallowed her fear and clenched a fist, voice taut as a bowstring. “How do you know all this?”

“Heh. Take a guess.” Nana smiled with malice curled like smoke, then offered a dagger from her pocket, hilt first, to Jade Ring Long.

“Lucky day for you. Next time, maybe the wind won’t favor you.”

“W-what are you doing…” Under that playful, venom-tipped stare, Jade Ring Long’s skin prickled. The dagger in her hand felt like ice or flame.

Return it, or keep it—both wrong.

Sweat beaded her brow like dew. Her bones felt the truth: this woman held a nameless grudge against her, sharp as frost on steel.