“It’s cold…”

Suddenly held in the cold water, Erika let out a startled cry, her little body shivering.

“Are you cold?”

At that, Gladys held Erika more securely. She stayed close, trying to share what warmth she had with her.

“Sorry. I can’t use fire magic, so this is all I can do.”

Feeling Gladys close behind her, Erika realized how little space there was between them. The warmth helped, but she still wasn’t comfortable bathing with someone she’d only just met in this new world.

Embarrassment brought a flush to her cheeks.

“I… I didn’t mean that.”

As she spoke, Erika gently slipped free of Gladys’s arms.

She hurried through the water, splashing as she went, and moved two meters away.

To cool her flushed face, she sank until only the top half of her head showed above the water. Bubbles escaped her lips, and her tail swished back and forth behind her.

“Why are you afraid to look at me?”

Seeing Erika act this way, Gladys looked puzzled. “Do you think I’m ugly?”

Ugly? No one would call Gladys ugly. Her face and figure were both striking.

“No. I can wash myself.”

“But you were only just born.”

Concern was always present in Gladys’s deep blue eyes, and her voice was gentle. “The great Dragon Clan are born with intelligence, but there are still many things they don’t understand.”

“I can…”

After declining Gladys’s offer, Erika stayed where she was. Her little tail swished in the water as she grew nervous.

Even knowing Gladys meant well, Erika still wasn’t used to bathing with someone she’d just met in this world.

When she noticed the splashes from her tail behind her, Erika glanced back at Gladys, blinked, and changed the subject.

“By the way, where did your tail go?”

“I put it away. It gets in the way when I bathe. You can do the same.”

Hearing that, Erika gave it a try.

Sure enough, a splash rose from the water, and her tail vanished. So did the horns atop her head and the wings on her back. Even her sharp, slit-like pupils became human.

So I really can change at will!

Erika stared at her reflection in the water. Surprise appeared on her face.

Oh my… Is that really me?

Her eyes were a vivid red, framed by arched brows and long lashes still dotted with water. Her pale skin had a rosy, youthful glow, and her features were delicate.

Her long gray-white hair was now wet and messy, but overall, she looked like a beautiful little angel.

I may look tiny, but would you believe I’ve fallen in love with my own appearance at first sight?

While Erika admired her reflection, Gladys gently moved through the water toward her.

“Ah!”

Without warning, Erika felt something touch her back, pulling her out of her daydream. She shivered again.

“D-don’t… don’t do that.”

“What are you afraid of? I won’t hurt you. I just want to help wash your back.” Gladys gently rubbed Erika’s back as she spoke, raising her brows.

“I said I can wash myself.”

She tried to move away again.

But as soon as Erika moved, Gladys pulled her back and held her close.

“Stay still, okay? Be good and listen.”

This time, Gladys held her from the front, and Erika could feel how warm and secure the embrace was.

This time, she couldn’t get free. The blush that had just faded from her cheeks slowly returned.

Resting her face against Gladys’s shoulder, Erika noticed a mark beneath the water on Gladys’s clear skin.

She’d caused it earlier, without realizing what she was doing.

Erika frowned slightly and bit her lip.

“Gladys?”

“Hmm?”

“I hurt you earlier. Aren’t you angry?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

Erika furrowed her brows even more. “Didn’t you say you found me? We shouldn’t be close enough for you to care about me…”

“I do care about you…”

Gladys answered at once. Her hand rose from the water and gently patted Erika’s head, soft and tender.

“Erika, you’re the only one of my kind on this continent.”

“The only one?”

“Yes. The others have been gone for two hundred years.”

At that, Erika looked up at Gladys’s beautiful face. “Are you two hundred years old?”

“Three hundred.”

“…”

“That’s nothing. Dragons live a very long time.” Gladys smiled faintly and drew Erika close again. This time, Erika didn’t resist.

“So I won’t hurt you. You don’t have to be so afraid around me. You’re my only family, and I’m yours.”

Family…

Those words struck a tender spot in Erika’s heart, making it beat a little faster.

To be honest, before she crossed into this world, her parents had already passed away. Her only family was her grandmother, and Erika worked far from home, rarely visiting even once every few years.

Sometimes, when she saw other people gathered with their friends and relatives during the New Year, it made her feel miserable.

One New Year’s Eve, she’d been so lonely that she went out with a friend.

Just as she was about to ask her friend where they should have dinner that night, the friend said something that cut deep.

“Come on, don’t joke around. Surely nobody really stays out on New Year’s Eve instead of going home for dinner? Ha! Only people with no home do that.”

After saying that, the friend left.

Heh. Little did they know, Erika was exactly the kind of person with no home to go back to.

After that, she never contacted that friend first again.

Gladys calling her family now had stirred something in Erika’s heart.

“I’m sorry…”

Erika apologized softly, lowering her head.

“Why are you apologizing?”

“I hurt you earlier.”

“It’s all right. You don’t need to apologize for something so small.”

Gladys’s voice remained gentle as she held Erika close. They sat together in the water.

The water flowing over her skin tickled, and Erika shifted a little.

Each time she moved, she became more aware of how close they were, and her cheeks grew redder.

“These kinds of wounds are nothing to us. They’ll heal on their own before long. Look—the bite on your shoulder has already healed.”

At that, Erika turned to look.

Sure enough, her smooth skin was unmarked. The bite Jocelyn had left on her shoulder had healed completely, without a trace.

They heal that fast?

Even Erika was surprised.

Then she remembered something and hurriedly asked, “What did that woman do to me earlier?”

“You mean Jocelyn?”

“Yes.”

Erika nodded, growing anxious. “I felt like she took something from inside me…”

“She stole your Dragon Crystal.”

Gladys answered honestly. At the mention of it, her face grew noticeably somber. “It’s something you were born with, and it represents your power. Every dragon of the Calamity Dragon kind has a Dragon Crystal inside them.”

“From the moment you’re born, it slowly merges with your body.”

“But Jocelyn stole yours right after you were born, before it had a chance to merge with you.”

“Without your Dragon Crystal, apart from your ability to heal, you’re not much different from an ordinary human now.”