I Became a Cute Little Dragon Princess and Now She’s Obsessed with Me Chapter 102
The sun gradually pierced through the clouds, its light filtering through the gaps in the leaves, breaking apart the morning mist. Rays of sunlight bathed all of Kaslania.
There were several checkpoints at the northern city gate, with each one manned by a guard from the Guard Corps.
Now that the busy early morning hours had passed and noon approached, the guards began to relax.
Gladys remained diligently at her post, while Erika, feeling bored and tired from wandering around, sat down in the shade beneath the city wall to rest her little body.
The air was still a bit stuffy. Swinging her legs, Erika held a hair tie between her rosy lips as her small hands twisted her ash-gray hair into a bunch, preparing to tie it into a ponytail.
After all, summer hadn’t completely passed. Though Kaslania’s weather was relatively mild, the noon sun still brought some heat.
She tied her hair into its usual tight knot, clapped her small hands, and was done.
“Little Erika, didn’t go to the academy today?”
Just then, a man’s voice came from beside her.
Turning to look, Erika realized it was about time for the guards’ noon shift change. The one speaking was the man named Will.
“Uncle Will!”
Since he was one of Gladys’s subordinates, Erika politely greeted him. “I’m off today. I came to hang out with Gladys.”
“Ha, what’s Captain Gladys thinking? The guards spend all day standing at these boring city gates—what’s fun about that?”
With nothing pressing to do at the moment, Will laughed and sat down beside Erika, sprawling out comfortably.
“So, little Erika, when you grow up, do you want to be like Captain Gladys?”
“Uh… do you mean Gladys the person… or the Guard?”
Erika tilted her head. “Gladys is great. But if you mean the Guard… I’m not interested.”
“Haha, of course I meant Captain Gladys as a person.”
Will chuckled again and sighed. “Honestly, though Captain Gladys hasn’t been here long, she gives me a very different feeling.”
Hearing that, Erika grew curious.
“Really? What feels different about her?”
“Her personality, I guess…”
After thinking for a moment, Will continued, “Basically, Captain Gladys gives me the impression of a very special kind of leader.”
“Like what?”
“You know this already—Captain Gladys was assigned here by Lady Vanessa. They’re very close.”
“And Lady Vanessa is a well-known great figure in Kaslania. She’s a Saint-rank powerhouse.”
“So logically, since Captain Gladys is close with Lady Vanessa, her status must be quite high. She could easily find a cushier job, live like a noble every day—why bother joining the Guard?”
“But… Teacher Vanessa is the great one, not Gladys. Even if they’re close, it’s not like she has to use that as an excuse to enjoy a life of luxury,” Erika said, blinking her eyes.
“Heh, Erika, you’re still young. There are a lot of things you don’t understand yet.”
As he spoke, Will took on the air of an elder, explaining things at his own pace.
“In this world, there aren’t just kings and generals, good and evil. There’s a lot of… gray in between.”
“I know you probably don’t get it now, but remember what I said. When you grow up, it’ll definitely make sense.”
“Okay, okay. Go on, Uncle Will.”
“Hehe. As a member of the Guard, it might be a bit outrageous for me to say this… but let’s just treat it as me venting to a child.”
“You know, little Erika, I joined the Guard when I was fifteen. After all these years, I’ve seen countless people—fellow soldiers, merchants, even nobles…”
“I know exactly how all the rules work.”
“To put it bluntly, guarding these checkpoints? Officially, it’s to protect national security.”
“But underneath, it’s also a prime spot to cozy up with merchants looking to get rich, or nobles obsessed with power.”
“You mean… under-the-table deals?”
Erika wasn’t dumb. She instantly picked up on the meaning behind Will’s words.
And honestly, what Will said wasn’t wrong. Working a checkpoint like this—who could resist temptation?
Toiling all day, only to see others make more in a single deal… What would you choose?
“Little Erika, you’re pretty sharp.”
Will smiled and continued, “These days, a lot of people use chance encounters at work to cozy up to royalty or nobility.”
“After that, all they care about is pleasing the nobles—not doing their actual jobs.”
“Sure, we learned a lot in the military—most of all, to follow orders.”
“But some people will say: ‘Come on… it’s just a job. Besides, Kaslania is called the Land of the Four-leaf Clover. We’re in an age of peace. Rather than doing your duty, isn’t it faster to suck up to nobles? Doesn’t that get you promoted quicker? Don’t you make more gold coins than a guard’s salary?’”
“But sometimes…”
“A soldier of the Imperial Capital should cling first and foremost to their beliefs, right?”
“A real soldier shouldn’t be thinking about how to slack off. They should be thinking about how to do their job well.”
“We guards are soldiers of Kaslania too. We can go all out for something. We can act on belief. We can even risk our lives, if it comes to it.”
“What are we thinking? Why do we do this?”
“Because we are the soldiers who protect our nation—the guards who defend this beautiful kingdom, the Land of the Four-leaf Clover!”
With that, Will paused for a moment.
“Sorry… I said too much to a kid…”
As he spoke, Will glanced around, then sneakily pulled out a flask from inside his coat and took a big swig.
After drinking, he didn’t forget to add a warning.
“Just one sip. You better not go snitching, little Erika.”
“Ah… hehe… I won’t.”
Erika let out an awkward laugh, but truthfully found Will kind of fun.
After taking a drink, Will wiped his mouth and went on.
“The reason I ended up rambling at you is because you’re Captain Gladys’s kid.”
“Though I haven’t known her long, Captain Gladys feels like… a light shining through the corruption of the system.”
“Because of her, a lot of noble-led trade has gotten harder.”
“Just a few days ago…”
“A noble came to speak with her about a tax issue. I was at the door when it happened—saw the table covered in gold coins. Wealth we guards wouldn’t even dream of in a lifetime.”
“Wanna know what happened next?”
“Captain Gladys almost beat that noble up! Hahaha…”
“That was the first time I ever saw a guard captain like that.”
“Pfft…”
Hearing him laugh, Erika couldn’t help but imagine the scene in her head. A giggle escaped her lips as well.
“That’s how it should be.”
Will took another sip and continued, “Since we’re the Northern City Guard, even in an era of peace, we can’t let small gains make us forget the belief we were supposed to hold when we joined the army.”
“Is Gladys… really strict with you all?”
“Of course!”
Will laughed again. “Captain Gladys is known for her strictness in the Guard now. She won’t even let us have a drop of alcohol most of the time.”
“You must know a bit about that too, right, little Erika?”
Strict?
At the mention of Gladys’s strictness, Erika couldn’t help but remember the way she forced her to eat vegetables.
“Yeah, Gladys is way too strict sometimes! She’s not easy to talk to at all!”
“Haha, told you I was right.”
The two of them, one big and one small, burst into laughter together.
A red flush tinged Will’s face from the alcohol.
“But still…”
“We all really like our strict Captain Gladys, don’t we?”
“Definitely!”