"Sophie, what kind of gift do you want?" Hall asked carefully, secretly fearing she might ask for something outrageous.
"You know, Uncle, I've been stuck in the Dragon Valley for thousands of years. I'm not rich like those dragons who go out often," Hall quickly added, trying to set low expectations.
"Uncle Hall, honestly, it's fine if you don't give me anything at all! Just having a great uncle like you and such an amazing brother like Bradly makes me happy enough!" Sophie said sweetly, shaking his arm gently. "Uncle Hall, will you come to my wedding?"
"Of course! Your wedding is a big deal for the whole dragon clan!" Hall smiled, ruffling Sophie's hair affectionately. "Don't worry, I'll definitely prepare a big surprise for you!"
"Thank you, Uncle Hall!" Now that he said that, Sophie wasn't going to hold back—whatever he gave, she'd happily accept. After all, this was her only wedding, right? Might as well take whatever she could get! And besides, when would Bradly ever get married?
"Sir雷, when are we leaving?" she turned to Si Lei with a smile, clearly excited.
"How about now? We've got nothing else to do here. The palace will be in chaos anyway when we leave. Better go back early and start preparing. Let your uncle enjoy a special wedding!" Si Lei pulled Sophie into his arms, eager to make her his wife already. One day without her being officially his wife was one day too many! Especially after seeing how charming Hall was. Lucky thing he was just her uncle!
"Aw, so sweet~"
"Uncle Hall, can you send us back now?"
"I think Bradly should do it. Since he caused all this mess, let him clean it up!" Hall yawned lazily. He'd rather nap than waste time flying them anywhere.
"Achoo!" Bradly sneezed suddenly while splashing around in the water with Stanfor.
"Stanfor, have we been in the water too long? Am I getting a cold?" Bradly wiped his nose, puzzled.
"Boss, let's go back. It must be over by now!" Stanfor looked down at his clean, pale legs and nodded firmly. He'd wanted to leave hours ago, but didn't dare without orders.
"Yeah, maybe you're right." Bradly kicked the water once more before heading to shore. The moment he stepped out—
"Bradly! Get over here now!" Hall's booming voice shook the entire valley.
"Old man, what is it?" Bradly quickly shifted back into human form and landed nervously.
"Go send your sister and her fiancé back! As for whether you come back or not, I don't care anymore. Do whatever you want!" Hall waved him off lazily and shouted to the other dragons nearby, "Everyone, go home and start preparing! In a few days, we're all going to Sophie's wedding! Those who don't want to come, feel free not to!"
"Wait, old man! Did Si Lei pass all three trials? How did he get the crown from you so fast?" Bradly was suspicious. If Si Lei passed the first two, sure—but all three so quickly? Maybe the old man went easy on him?
"Stop asking questions and just do it!" Hall flicked Bradly on the forehead and turned to Sophie with a wave. "See you at the wedding!" Then he vanished, probably off to either nap or prepare a gift—who knows?
"Fine, fine! Why hit me? You're gonna knock all my brains out!" Bradly muttered as he walked toward Si Lei.
"Si Lei! Dude, you really scored big—you actually won over the most precious princess in the dragon clan! So… what's in it for me?" Bradly smirked, clearly expecting some reward.
"Well...name it. Whatever I can do without breaking my principles, I'll do it." He thought bitterly, *If it weren't for you, Sophie would've been my wife already!*
"That's what I like to hear!" Bradly grinned from ear to ear.
"Then let's go!" With that, he suddenly tossed Sophie and Si Lei high into the air and transformed into a dragon mid-air.
Sophie screamed but was caught securely by Si Lei mid-fall, landing safely on Bradly's back.
Tightly holding onto Si Lei, Sophie clenched her teeth and glared at Bradly. "Bradly! You knew I love excitement! Thank you so much! I'll make sure to repay you later!"
Hearing her tone, Si Lei quietly prayed for Bradly's safety.
"Family! No need to be so formal!" Bradly, unaware of the sarcasm, chuckled cheerfully.
As they reappeared above Lamber, the city below erupted in panic. A rain of spells and arrows flew at them instantly—the city guard had just regrouped under Todd's command and were preparing to search for Sophie and Si Lei when they saw the dragon return.
Startled, Bradly quickly put up a protective shield. To avoid throwing Sophie and Si Lei off, he couldn't dodge too violently. "Sophie, they're attacking me! Can I fight back?"
Better ask first—he didn't want to lose the favor Si Lei promised him. If they agreed, then any consequences wouldn't be his fault.
"No!" both Sophie and Si Lei shouted at the same time. Sophie shot him a fierce look: "You dare hurt anyone down there, and I'll make you regret it!" She felt safe knowing Uncle Hall had her back.
"But what do we do? They keep attacking me! I can't land either—it might hurt you guys!" Bradly whined.
"Hmm… Tell them loudly that you brought us back! That way they'll stop!" Sophie suggested cleverly.
After some confusion and ID checks, Bradly finally landed. Transforming back, the trio finally stepped foot in the palace.
Back at the palace, it took a while, but eventually everyone understood Bradly's identity.
Of course, Sophie's true background was carefully hidden by Si Lei. Her identity was still too sensitive to reveal publicly. Instead, they exaggerated the story of the three trials and told everyone that Hall, the leader of the dragon clan, had become Sophie's uncle. Therefore, the dragon clan was now a friend of the kingdom—not an enemy.
This was huge news for the Kingdom of Kiri西亚! Having the powerful dragon clan as allies meant other nations would think twice before attacking. This was truly turning misfortune into fortune.
Almost overnight, Sophie's name spread across the Kingdom of Kiri西亚—and even into neighboring countries. Everyone learned that Kiri西亚 now had a powerful and remarkable princess-in-law.
A grand wedding was held again. But because of the previous incident, this time all commoners were kept outside the palace gates.
An official announcement stated that after the royal ceremony, Prince Si Lei and Princess Sophie would ride in a flower carriage to bless the people of Kiri西亚.
Meanwhile, a small inn in Lamber welcomed two tired travelers—one handsome man and one beautiful woman. Both seemed lost in their own thoughts.
"Hurry up! The flower carriage is coming soon—we'll miss it if we don't go now!" someone rushed into the inn to tell the others.
"What? Already? We need to go!" The innkeeper dropped his ledger and ran for the door.
"Wait, boss! What flower carriage?" The girl grabbed the innkeeper, clearly confused.
"You must be new here! Today is the wedding of Prince Three and Lady Sophie! The ceremony has already finished at the palace, and now they're riding through the streets to bless the people. If you don't hurry, you'll miss the best spots!" With that, the innkeeper ran out.
"Prince Three? Sophie? Could it be that Sir Lei and Sophie are getting married today? And they didn't even invite us? Not cool, guys…" The girl pouted, watching the crowd run past.
"Hey, should we go check it out? They're my friends too. We haven't seen them in a while, and I'm sure Sir Lei has better connections than we do. If he helps us find her, it'll be faster." She tried to convince the man beside her.
But deep inside, she didn't really want him to find that girl—the one he was desperately searching for. Because once he found her, she'd have no reason to stay by his side anymore. Yet, she also didn't want to see him sad. Love was so complicated.
"Sure... sounds good," the man answered hoarsely, his voice trembling slightly.
He opened his mouth but didn't speak aloud.
*"Sophie, did you marry someone else?"*
---
**Will Sophie meet this mysterious stranger? What secrets does he carry?**