Chapter 687: The Dragon and the Sky

“Transform… just once… let me see…”

Maggie’s expression stiffened as she looked at the girl before her—the so-called “Princess.” Accustomed to conventional ways of thinking, she found herself completely unable to keep up with Rebecca’s pace. Only after confirming she hadn’t misheard did a flicker of irritation rise within her.

“Transform for me, just once!”

Was she being treated like some rare exotic creature? Some kind of amusing spectacle?

Maggie already harbored a certain resentment toward her dragon form due to her physical deformities. Now, hearing Rebecca’s words—so typical of a noble’s thoughtless demand—her blood seemed to pulse with suppressed anger. But reason forced her to hold back; after all, this young lady was the legal heir of the newborn empire, even her own mistress had to show respect. So she swallowed her feelings and asked calmly, “Why do you want to see my dragon form?”

Unfortunately, blunt Rebecca didn’t pick up on Maggie’s subtle emotional shift—if she could, she probably wouldn’t be getting into trouble so often. The princess just smiled brightly and said, “Because I want to fly too!”

Maggie’s response boiled down to six dots and a question mark: “…?”

Before the confused and stunned black dragon could react further, Rebecca suddenly pulled out a large scroll from somewhere and unfurled it with a flourish right in front of Maggie’s eyes. It was a hand-drawn mechanical blueprint, covered with intricate rune arrays.

The next moment, Rebecca spread the plans on the ground and, with unbridled enthusiasm, began explaining: “Look here! This isn’t a drill, it’s a flying machine I designed. These rings underneath are anti-gravity rings—they provide lift, and that part’s already solved, very stable. Then over here are the magic energy wing plates… you know about those, right? Battleships have them too. This is the flying machine version I designed… Hey, could you squat down? Can you see it clearly standing up?”

Maggie’s mind raced through the etiquette she knew—how a servant should accompany a noble standing, sitting, but squatting in the middle of the courtyard? There was no rule for that. After all, no sane noble would squat in public!

After a moment’s thought, Maggie reluctantly crouched beside Rebecca—after all, the princess had asked first.

“That’s better,” Rebecca beamed, pointing at the strange conical device on the blueprint. “I based this on elven anti-gravity tech. Their levitation spells are way more efficient than humans’, but I still haven’t figured out how to make this thing move freely. The anti-gravity rings only provide lift—or more precisely, they create a reverse gravity field. Unlike repulsion spells, if you tilt the field, it doesn’t generate thrust; it just goes haywire. Last time, I accidentally slammed the prototype into the ceiling…”

“I also studied how the elven Star Sanctum flies, but it’s way too complicated. It uses something called a ‘wave engine,’ and each propulsion unit is bigger than a house! The structure is so complex even the elves don’t fully understand it or dare to dismantle it. It’s said to be ancient tech from their ancestors, and no one knows how to repair it anymore. Every time they try to take one apart, it’s ruined. I thought about asking them to dismantle one for me, but that didn’t seem appropriate…”

Maggie’s mind immediately shot back: You just told me to transform so you could see, and now you say it’s not appropriate?

Meanwhile, Rebecca kept rambling, her words flowing endlessly whenever she talked about technology: “I found some mages who can fly, but their spells are just ‘winging it’—they don’t translate to machines at all. I even designed a ‘fireball pulse propulsion’ system, but my aunt vetoed it, said it was too dangerous for allies. One of my magitech engineers came up with a wind-rune airflow propulsion idea, which barely works, but the power is pitiful. The test machine crawls along… Still, I think that airflow method might be useful someday if we can boost its power…”

Hearing the princess drift further into technical jargon beyond her understanding, Maggie quickly interrupted, “Your Highness, what you’re saying… does it have anything to do with me?”

“Huh? You…” Rebecca blinked, then realized, “Oh right, it does! How do dragons fly?”

“Of course, with wings…”

“But your wings can’t provide enough lift or thrust, right?” Rebecca’s eyes sparkled with curiosity. “Your wings are big, but your body is even bigger. More importantly, I’ve seen how dragons accelerate and brake. There was a blue dragon—when it sped up, a force field appeared along the wing edges, then a magical glow flashed, and it instantly accelerated beyond what the eye could follow. And it only flapped its wings once… That speed can’t come from just one flap.”

Maggie stared at Rebecca in surprise. She almost forgot the initial demand to transform. She realized this clumsy princess bore no malice, no rash demands. She was studying something—something Maggie couldn’t fully grasp but clearly of great significance. The princess had devoted herself wholeheartedly to this research.

“I heard from Master Kamail that dragons don’t rely solely on flapping wings to fly,” Rebecca continued eagerly, ignoring Maggie’s expression. “You actually manipulate ‘magic’—creating some kind of force field and riding the ripples of magical energy at incredible speeds. That’s how you can fly so high, even above the thin clouds where no human mage or bird can reach…”

“I want to replicate dragon flight, to build a device that can glide on magic ripples. If your magic system can be integrated with rune logic… maybe I could fly too!”

Suddenly, a memory stirred in Maggie’s heart—something she’d read in books back home: Dragons ride the waves of magic across the sky, reaching the very edge of the atmosphere. There, they are but a step away from leaving the planet itself. That’s why they are called the masters of the sky—because beneath that sky, no creature flies higher.

She took a slow breath and nodded gently. “You’re right. Dragons don’t fly by flapping wings alone. Or rather, flapping is just an aid for steering and sensing the environment. Our true propulsion comes from magic…”

As she spoke softly, Maggie raised her left hand slightly. In the air behind her, a massive black wing materialized, shimmering into solid form and gently fluttering.

The wing was smaller than her fully transformed dragon wings but still made Rebecca’s eyes widen in awe.

Along the edges of the black wing, faint magical runes glowed. Between the bones and veins, lines of magical energy pulsed faintly.

“Transforming fully into a dragon in the castle courtyard would cause a huge scene,” Maggie said slowly, “but I can project parts of my body. You wanted to see, so here it is—though it’s incomplete.”

Indeed, the runes on Maggie’s wings were fragmented.

Rebecca glanced over the wing and immediately noticed the problem—the edges were damaged, the main bone structure shrunken and malformed, as if growth had been abruptly halted and then violently disrupted. The pitiful state explained Maggie’s resentment toward her dragon form.

The damaged wings also meant the rune arrays were incomplete.

Rebecca’s gaze swept over the runes and magical lines before she slowly withdrew her eyes. “I see…”

Maggie waved her hand, retracting the projection, then shook her head. “Sorry, this is all I have. If you want to study true dragon flight, you’d better find a healthy, full-grown dragon. I’m not a suitable subject.”

“…My ancestors said it’s best not to do business with dragons unless necessary—they’re stingy and greedy,” Rebecca said seriously. “And I doubt most dragons would want to help me with research anyway.”

“Stingy and greedy…” Maggie blinked, then couldn’t help but laugh heartily. “Haha, you put it perfectly. Yes, they’re stingy and greedy… And those proud, healthy dragons probably wouldn’t want to be studied, after all, they’re the ones being researched…”

“I think your rune samples are enough,” Rebecca said. “Any functioning rune array has some degree of self-explanation and self-completion. That’s how the Rune Research Institute filters out ineffective structures in traditional magic circles. I’ll borrow some experts from Jenny later, and maybe we can fill in the missing runes—and repair the twisted, malformed parts caused by your deformities. Theoretically, if we restore seventy percent of the runes, we can build a first-generation prototype. Machines always improve with use…”

Rebecca’s eyes lit up suddenly. “And maybe we can build something you can use!”

“Something I can use?” Maggie was momentarily stunned. “What do you mean?”

“Try fixing your wings,” Rebecca’s imagination ran wild. “People with disabilities use prosthetics. It’s inconvenient, but they can stand. Maybe we can make you mechanical wings. They might not be perfect, but at least you could fly on your own. I heard you have to rely on extra airflow or glide off cliffs to take off, right? If we succeed, maybe you could take off from flat ground with your own power!”

Maggie’s eyes widened, staring at Rebecca in disbelief.

What a wildly optimistic and imaginative idea—how many years had it been since she last dared to dream like this?

After a few seconds of silence, Rebecca’s voice suddenly came from beside her: “Hey, Maggie, why aren’t you saying anything? Scared by my crazy idea?”

“No, I just… well, I was a little startled,” Maggie admitted awkwardly. She felt the calm, composed demeanor she had cultivated over the years shatter completely in front of this unconventional princess—but oddly, she didn’t regret it in the slightest. “Your idea is bold, but it won’t be easy to pull off. The runes on our bodies are quite different from the ones humans usually use—they’re the fundamental elements of Dragon Speech…”

“We’ve already cracked the Elven runes, so adding Dragon runes doesn’t faze us,” Rebecca said confidently. “No matter the system, math is universal. Besides, as far as I know, the earliest human magic was inspired by the natural patterns on magical creatures. The original ‘primordial runes’ were just the natural markings on beasts. Since our ancestors succeeded once by studying magical beasts, why can’t we modern folks, armed with modern tools, do it again?”

Maggie studied Rebecca for a moment, then couldn’t help but smile. “You’re practically equating dragons with magical beasts. If any other dragons heard that, I’m afraid it might start a fight.”

“…Wow!”

“But don’t worry, I know you didn’t mean it that way.”

“Oh, good,” Rebecca quickly patted her chest. “Don’t take it the wrong way. Sometimes I speak without thinking. My aunt and ancestors keep telling me I’ll get into trouble if I keep it up, but I just can’t help myself…”

Maggie smiled softly at Rebecca—what a charming girl. She had thought Rebecca was just another rude, brainless noble brat. How wrong she’d been.

“So, do you want to come back to Cecil City with me?” Rebecca babbled on. “All my research facilities are there…”

“I’ll need to get the lady’s permission first,” Maggie considered. “As far as I know, she’s staying in the North for now.”

“Then I’ll go talk to her—consider it a done deal!”

(End of chapter)