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Frankly, Cang Xiaoxi couldn’t care less how this world would change. Truth be told, he didn’t even need to bother following up on what had just happened. All he wanted was to live happily and freely—the simple, carefree life he’d originally chosen.

But what about Jikuhir?

Her throne as Dragon Sovereign had indeed been usurped, but solely by Tracy’s doing. The entire Dragonkin clan remained unaware.

If trouble arose later… would Jikuhir still stay by his side?

“…Why… do I want her to stay with me…”

Torn and confused, Cang Xiaoxi finally realized it.

No matter how much he denied it aloud, deep down, he truly wished to stay with this adorably airheaded little loli—just like this, forever…

“What’s wrong, Xi’er? Still wearing that worried frown?” Seeing Cang Xiaoxi staring at her with awkward hesitation, Jikuhir forced a bright smile to cheer him up and handed him the Spirit Peach she’d just taken a bite of. “Don’t fret over these things, Xi’er! We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. What in the world could trouble *us*, husband and wife? Here—have a Spirit Peach. Sweets wash worries away, you know.”

“…”

Cang Xiaoxi stayed silent, eyes fixed on the fruit in her hand.

His lips parted, closed, parted again—as if searching for words.

“What is it, Xi’er?” Jikuhir tilted her head cutely, her tiny tail swaying in confusion. “Is something wrong? Do you… not like Spirit Peaches?” Remembering he rarely touched sweets all these years, she assumed he disliked them. Just as she turned to search her pockets, Cang Xiaoxi reached out.

With a slightly troubled expression, he pointed at the fruit.

“It’s not that… you… didn’t you already bite this?”

“Eh?!”

Her eyes widened. Her little tail shot straight up.

Jikuhir stared at him with a *Are you serious?!* look.

Then—slowly—the little loli erupted.

“You dummy, Xi’er! Do you think… think what *I* bit is… is *dirty*?! After I was so worried about you… Mmm… saying that… it really…!”

Watching the fiery loli teeter on the edge of tears, Cang Xiaoxi finally let out a soft chuckle.

“Hehe… just kidding. Hand it over.”

Taking the Spirit Peach, he affectionately patted the flustered Dragon Sovereign’s head. Then, right where her teeth had marked it, he took a bite.

“Thanks for the Spirit Peach. It’s delicious.”

That earned him the most genuine, radiant smile Jikuhir had ever given him.

Her cheeks flushed crimson, burning hot.

Gazing at the boy’s sunlit profile—so bright, so warm—Jikuhir smiled back, leaping up to chase after the one she’d never, ever let go.

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Unaware of his own feelings, yet as Jikuhir and Cang Xiaoxi’s bond quietly deepened, within the Mosiri Kingdom’s palace…

After nearly a week missing, Princess Lia finally returned home.

“Mmm… thank goodness! Wah… Lia, thank goodness… If anything happened to you, how could Second Brother go on?!”

“I know, Brother Mia… sorry for worrying you. But… could you let go? Your snot’s on my new clothes—it’s dirty.”

Lia stepped back with a grimace, trying to escape Mia’s embrace. He was every bit the sister-con her eldest brother was. She refused to ruin her freshly changed gown.

“Dirty… Lia thinks I’m *dirty*…” Mia recoiled as if struck, stumbling back. “Big Brother! Lia’s heart’s been stolen by that wild boy! She even hates her brother’s hug now!” He clung to Eugia, sobbing buckets.

Eugia patted his brother’s back, intending comfort—but Lia’s next words sank his own spirits.

“Don’t badmouth Brother Xiao Xi! Say one more mean thing, and Lia will *never* talk to you again. Hmph!”

“Liaaa~ Don’t abandon your brothers~~”

For sister-cons, no weapon cuts deeper than their little sister’s cold shoulder.

Both high-ranking princes collapsed to their knees, faces pale as parchment.

Truly pitiful.

And then came Lia’s merciless follow-up:

“Turns out Brother Xiao Xi’s mount isn’t a white horse—it’s a *white dragon*! So he’s a White Dragon Prince… Mmm… He looked so cool riding it! Lia wants to be swept away by him too!”

“PUH!!!”

“ROYAL PHYSICIAN! THE PRINCES ARE SPITTING BLOOD!”

Yep. On Princess Lia’s first day back, the palace plunged into chaos. Even the royal physicians were overwhelmed.

Thanks to emergency care, the princes narrowly avoided disaster.

But their father—King Frederick—fared far worse.

“Darling Lia… may Father stand now? Knee pain aside… I *am* still king. This is rather… undignified before ministers…”

While his sons hemorrhaged nearby, Frederick had been kneeling silently on a washing board the whole time.

A universal portrait of married life—except the one enforcing the punishment wasn’t his wife, but his doting daughter.

“Until you remember what you did wrong to Mother, you stay down! Or Lia won’t speak to you either!”

“Lia, I’m innocent! Father truly recalls *nothing*!”

The continent’s Sword Saint, a Divine Tier powerhouse—utterly powerless before his daughter.

He *wanted* to answer… but how could he confess to a crime that never happened?

—I have only four children: Eugia, Mia, Shaya, and Lia. No secret fifth! Daughter… *what* do you want me to remember?!

Frederick wept inwardly.

By now, everyone saw the storm’s eye.

*Dad…*

All because of Cang Xiaoxi’s careless slip, Frederick’s spotless reputation now balanced on a knife’s edge. One misstep—and eternal shame.

Poor Uncle Frederick. That night, his knees ached… and the dents in the floor? *Artistic.*

“Ahem. So… Father truly doesn’t know Brother Xiao Xi… and never wronged Mother?”

“Mm. I swear on my life—it’s utterly baseless.”

In the private chamber with only the four royals present, after interrogation and review of Frederick’s recent solo travels, his innocence was confirmed.

Though… certain *habits* surfaced too. Like betting public funds at the racetrack.

“Father,” sighed Mia, who managed state finances, “reimburse those funds soon. Avoid gossip.”

“…Understood.”

“…Yes.”

This moment? The Sword Saint’s most humiliating page in history.

Even his revered son’s gaze now held a flicker of pity. Frederick’s dignity lay in ruins.

“Ahem. Let’s set Father’s matter aside,” Eugia—crown prince and regent—steered the talk firmly back. “More urgent: that black-haired boy. Power to instantly fell a super-peak expert? His identity is no ordinary matter.”

“Brother Xiao Xi *isn’t* ordinary!” Lia beamed. “He’s *my* White Dragon Prince! Of course he’s special!”

““R-right… of course…””

The three men exchanged subtly strained smiles.

Sister’s (and daughter’s) infatuation noted. Next meeting? They’d *definitely* invite the boy for tea. A *very* long chat.

“Setting identity aside,” Mia added calmly, “he saved Lia and crippled Sadom. Enemy or not—he poses no current threat to Mosiri.”

“Agreed,” Eugia nodded. “He’s clearly good-hearted. But such power at his age? If he were our citizen, we’d know. And his hair color…”

He trailed off. All eyes turned to Frederick.

“I have *no* illegitimate children. Only you four.”

“We know, Father. No need to repeat,” Mia waved a hand. “But regarding our bloodline’s occasional throwbacks—like you, Shaya, Lia… You understand that better than us. Also…”

“Silverfrost Dragon Queen,” Eugia cut in, locking eyes with Frederick. “A human paired with the Dragonkin’s former queen? Strange. And… if reports are correct, she perished three years ago.”

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