Irene raised her head slightly.
As a dragon, she had never been interested in these convoluted social niceties and endless bickering.
To avoid wasting time, Irene decisively cut straight to the chase, speaking in a cold voice:
“Human, I already know your purpose. As a peace-loving chromatic dragon who dislikes violence, I have absolutely no interest in your convoluted human commercial rivalries and power struggles.”
“I am deeply pleased that you and the Eastern Kingdoms behind you have taken the initiative to sue for peace.”
“After all, fighting is quite a hassle.”
Paying no heed to Vina's increasingly sour expression, Irene asked, “Is it not?”
Then, without waiting for Vina's reply, Irene extended a hand.
“Come, under the witness of the gods, let both of our sides sign the treaty symbolizing peace.”
She was so direct that Vina could not react for a moment.
This completely ruined all the mental arguments she had prepared along the way.
As a Saintess who had grown up pampered in the Holy See, Vina's ideal scenario was that an evil dragon would certainly not yield so easily.
Even among the Human Kingdoms, a major event between two great powers would typically begin with a banquet, followed by a back-and-forth negotiation disguised as polite greetings to secure the maximum benefit for one's own side. Only then, under the witness of the gods, would they sign a treaty representing a historic moment.
Negotiating with an evil dragon was supposed to be fraught with danger; a single misstep should have resulted in death without a grave.
She had prepared extensively for this.
She had readied a whole set of both soft and hard tactics.
But what on earth was going on with this situation?
“You're just... agreeing to it like that?” Vina looked at the humanoid dragon before her in disbelief.
“Otherwise?” Irene raised an eyebrow. “I told you, I am a peace-loving dragon.”
Irene then beckoned with her outstretched hand. “Do not waste time. My patience is limited.”
“Well... alright then,” Vina thought, somewhat flustered inside, though she remained calm on the surface. The education she had received in the Holy See since childhood allowed her to hide her emotions well, and she even managed to put on a smile.
“Since Your Grace is in such a hurry, let us sign the treaty here.”
With that, Vina pulled a parchment radiating magical brilliance from her storage ring and presented it with both hands.
“You only need to sign your true name on it. Under the witness of the God of Light, the party that violates the treaty will suffer endless divine punishment.”
Irene took the parchment. With just a glance, she saw a dense list of names shimmering with magical light—the true names of all the leaders of the Eastern Kingdoms.
And at the very bottom, there was a single blank space.
The general content of the treaty read: “From the moment of signing, the Eastern Kingdoms and Irene, along with her forces, shall establish peaceful relations. Irene shall not take the initiative to invade the territories of the Eastern Human Kingdoms, nor shall she send her vassals to do so. The treaty shall remain in effect for one hundred years.”
Irene looked up at Vina, seeing her expression was normal and detecting no unusual fluctuations on the treaty. Only then did she take the quill handed over by Fido and sign her true name on the parchment: “Irene Afra Christina.”
As the true name was signed, the treaty was officially established, and the parchment gradually dissolved into specks of light and vanished.
Having completed this, Irene breathed a slight sigh of relief, thinking to herself, “Finally, I don't have to lay low so cautiously anymore.”
A hundred years was more than enough time for her to reach adulthood. By then, let alone protecting herself, even ordinary Legendary experts would probably have to steer clear of her.
With those thoughts settled, Irene remained calm on the surface and said coldly to Fido, “Fido, see our guests out.”
Saying so, she turned to leave.
However, before Fido could make a move, an exclamation rang out: “Please wait!”
It was Vina raising her hand.
Irene turned her head and saw the little Saintess biting her lip, suppressing the joy on her face. As if she had made a decision, she said solemnly:
“Your Grace Irene! Since you have signed this treaty symbolizing peace, you can be considered integrated with our Eastern Kingdoms. There are some matters I wish to make clear to you.”
“First, please allow me to preach in this God-Forsaken Land. I shall spread the radiance of the God of Light across this entire territory.”
“Let these humble, pitiful creatures return to my Lord's embrace once more.”
Hearing this, Irene's brows furrowed, but Vina seemed completely oblivious, her gaze sweeping over Fido and the other members of the Imperial Guard:
“Furthermore, back in the Holy Kingdom, I heard that you possess some kind of alchemical equipment suspected to be ancient creations. I do not know where you dug up these creations, but as a believer of the God of Light, I advise you to hand over all these creations cursed by the gods so that I may take them back to be completely destroyed!”
After speaking at a rapid pace, Vina wore a sweet smile, her eyes meeting Irene's increasingly cold gaze.
Although the task given to her by the Holy See was merely to sign the treaty—which had already been easily accomplished—having sensed that the other party did not seem as brutal as the rumors suggested and actually seemed quite easy to talk to, Vina was naturally unwilling to just leave after doing only her basic job.
Thus, she simply voiced all the thoughts in her mind.
If she could achieve this, she believed that both the God of Light and His Holiness the Pope would be proud of her!
However, what she failed to notice was that Guard Captain Laya, who was standing guard nearby, now had a very ugly expression, her body tensing up.
Laya did not know if she should directly drag her Highness away. According to her duty, she should not speak out of turn, but her Highness's current behavior was nothing short of courting death.
To dare speak to an evil dragon like this—should she expect nothing less from Her Ladyship the Saintess, who had grown up in the Holy See and never experienced the hardships of the outside world?
Unsurprisingly, in the next second, Irene furrowed her brows and said with considerable displeasure, “What are you saying?”
“I said...” Thinking that the evil dragon simply had not heard her clearly, Vina completely ignored her guard captain, who was frantically tugging at her sleeve, and wanted to repeat herself. But as soon as she opened her mouth, she was interrupted by Irene again:
“Never mind, I am not interested. Fido, send this not-so-bright fellow away. Do not let her dirty this land.”
“Yes!”
Fido acknowledged. As the mithril circuits on his power armor flickered, he stepped in front of Vina, extending a hand to coldly drive her away from a commanding height.
Such a sudden turn of events clearly left this idealistic Saintess feeling somewhat dejected.
Rate on N.U.
