Upon hearing Franka’s words, Eve’s purple crystal eyes slightly deepened.
She put down the teacup in her hand, shifted her gaze away from Franka, and instead stared at the green leaves swaying in the gentle breeze outside the window.
"Franka..."
Eve’s voice was soft, as gentle as a feather gliding over the water:
"You have never been just a follower. At least, to me, you are not."
Franka’s body trembled slightly.
She did not respond but lowered her head.
However, Ron keenly noticed that the half-dragon maid’s tightly clenched hands had gradually relaxed.
"When I was a child, whenever I was in agony due to the ’Demon Devouring’ symptoms, you were always by my side."
Eve continued, her voice filled with gentle memories:
"You would sing those ancient lullabies to coax me to sleep and secretly prepare herbal teas to ease my pain..."
She turned her head, her purple eyes gazing directly at Franka:
"Back then, your eyes never showed ’responsibility’ or ’obligation’, only heartfelt care."
Franka lifted her head, her usually stern and serious expression now softened considerably.
Her lips curved upwards slightly, revealing a subtle yet exceptionally sincere smile:
"The princess still remembers those lullabies..."
Her voice was filled with undisguised relief and warmth.
"I certainly remember."
Eve chuckled lightly, her laughter resounding like clear silver bells:
"Especially the song ’Grass Flute and Seed Turtle’, which you always sang softly during my toughest nights. Even though I never understood the lyrics in Dragon language, the melody has accompanied my growth."
"Actually..."
Franka’s voice was a bit choked but quickly returned to calm:
"The song’s lyrics tell of how starlight guides lost young dragons in the darkness, leading them safely back to their families."
She paused for a moment, her silver-grey eyes gazing at Eve:
"To me, the princess is my starlight."
The room fell into a brief silence, but the silence was not awkward; instead, it was filled with warmth and understanding.
Eve’s eyes slightly reddened, but she tried to maintain an elegant smile.
A moment later, the young girl gently cleared her throat and collected her emotions:
"Alright, Franka, let’s get back to business..."
"Yes, Your Highness."
The half-dragon maid also tidied up her rarely displayed emotions, bringing the topic back:
"Regarding the selection criteria of the Baojuns Seed Family, it’s actually far more brutal than it appears on the surface."
Eve then stood up and walked towards a special cabinet in the corner of the room, where a peculiar device Ron had never seen before was displayed.
The device formed a complex geometric shape, composed of dozens of differently colored crystals, each pulsating faintly, as if breathing with life.
"This is the ’Historical Projection Device’, co-developed by Grandpa Uther and that ’Eye of Observation’, and it’s one of the Crown Clan’s treasures."
Eve carefully adjusted the various crystal modules on the device:
"It can capture and recreate the residual imprints of certain significant historical events, allowing us to understand the past in a more direct manner."
As she manipulated it, the device began to emit a gentle silver light.
The air in the room became thick, as if time itself was flowing slowly.
Ron could feel an ancient and profound energy fluctuation gathering.
That feeling reminded him of the strange sensation when he connected with "Hermit Star", as if he was enveloped in an illusion.
"Let’s start from the very beginning."
Franka began to explain:
"At the end of the Second Era, when the abyssal erosion reached its peak, the entire world trembled."
Silver light gradually condensed into form, and a massive three-dimensional projection appeared in the center of the room.
It was a disquieting ancient scene—the sky appeared in a sickly deep purple, as viscous as a bruise, scattered with countless bizarre ancient ruins.
Even more terrifying, within the ruins of those shattered cities, twisted and deformed biological corpses were everywhere.
They had once been powerful dragon species, now reduced to dreadful remnants eroded by the abyss.
"Do you see those ruins?"
Eve pointed to a gigantic half-collapsed building in the projection:
"It was once one of the most glorious Dragon Race cities of the Second Era, inhabited by various dragons and their followers."
The projection began to move, as if an invisible observer was traversing through the ruins.
Ron saw startling details:
The once majestic palace walls were etched with desperate claw marks;
Scattered on the streets were giant bones, some clearly belonging to adult dragons, but all twisted unnaturally by some indescribable force.
"The extent of this destruction..." Ron murmured softly, a look of shock flashing in his eyes.
"The fearfulness of abyssal erosion lies not in its destructive power, but in its ’activity’."
Franka’s voice, under the backdrop of the projection, seemed especially heavy:
"It doesn’t just destroy everything, but turns everything into a part of itself."
"According to the Crown Clan’s oldest records, these dragon species were actually cross-border refugees."
Eve adjusted the projection, revealing a more grand and terrifying scene:
Countless massive figures traversed the void, their forms majestic yet their eyes full of despair and fear.
Behind them, an indescribable darkness was in pursuit.