Hairband

Whether in the past or now.

Stuck in a dull classroom, Selina watched the old, white-haired professor, wearing thick glasses, explain and manipulate the alchemical potions in his hand.

The old professor was a renowned authority in alchemy.

His knowledge in the field could be described as vast, but unfortunately, his teaching effectiveness was not as high as his personal knowledge.

The tedious alchemical knowledge only made one want to fall asleep.

Looking at the potted plant with green herbs before her, and the various alchemical beakers used for experiments, a brilliant idea suddenly flashed through Selina’s mind.

She pulled out a cocoa bean she had casually picked from the school grounds from her skirt pocket.

Reaching out, she pulled the green herb from the potted plant by its roots, then buried the cocoa bean in the soil.

A pale green ripple of natural magic spread, and a rich life force, under Selina’s mental incantation, was injected into the soil, providing fertile nourishment.

Under the soft green light, the buried cocoa bean quickly sprouted and grew.

In just a few minutes, it became a small potted arbor green plant.

Fortunately, Selina’s position was at the very back of the entire laboratory.

The girl placed the potted plant on the ground, allowing the cocoa tree to grow.

After controlling the injection of life force, the half-human-tall cocoa tree began to ripen and produce cocoa pods.

Reaching out to pick the ripe cocoa pods and peel out the cocoa beans, Selina silently began to enjoy her self-sufficient life.

Until the rich aroma of coffee attracted the attention of the surrounding students and the old professor.

Everyone’s eyes widened as they watched the girl holding an alchemical beaker used for experiments.

The beaker contained coffee emitting a rich aroma, and a glass stirring rod was still immersed in the coffee liquid.

The girl elegantly lifted the beaker, gently stirred the glass rod. She seemed to enjoy it, taking a small, refined sip from the beaker, acting reserved and proper.

“Hmm~ not bad…”

Only when she felt the gazes of those around her converge on her, did the girl awkwardly put down the beaker, her cheeks slightly red.

The silence around her was maddening. Selina, being stared at by the old professor’s strange, murky gaze, felt as if she had lost all face for a lifetime.

The old professor, hunched over, came to Selina’s experiment table.

He clearly saw the cocoa tree growing in the tiny pot, and he also saw the fragrant coffee being stirred in the cup.

His aged hand trembled as he pushed up the glasses on his nose.

The old professor’s eyes held both shock and helplessness.

“Did you make all these, Student Selina?”

“Uh… yes.”

The girl nodded awkwardly. Then she noticed the old professor continuously staring at the coffee in her cup.

After a struggle of thoughts, she bit her silver teeth and pushed the beaker towards him.

“Professor, perhaps you… would like a taste?”

“I remember telling you that the alchemical beakers in the laboratory are not allowed to be filled with beverages, did I not?”

The old professor’s beard bristled slightly with anger.

“But I remember last time when I visited your office, I accidentally saw you, Professor, also steeping wolfberries in an experimental beaker?”

The girl tilted her head, saying so.

The quills in the hands of the surrounding students all dropped to the floor in shock.

The old professor’s mouth twitched incessantly.

At the end of the class, the old professor returned to the podium. He slowly closed his worn alchemy notebook, his voice carrying the weariness and hoarseness of his age.

“Sigh, I’m increasingly unable to teach you young people… I know you don’t want to listen to my lectures. Coincidentally, I have some matters next week and won’t be able to teach normally. I’ve found a third-year student to substitute for me. She is rigorous and kind, and also quite young…”

“I hope her teaching can reignite your desire for knowledge in alchemy.”

The old professor’s words made the students in the classroom buzz with discussion. At this moment, Selina had already packed her books and, the second after the old professor left the classroom, she also slipped away.

“Your Highness.”

On the way back to the dormitory, Crispin, who was beside her, couldn’t help but speak.

“What’s wrong?”

Selina was in a good mood, cheerfully gazing at the surrounding scenery.

“Your Highness’s brilliant achievements in class, I heard all about them during the break~”

Crispin’s leisurely voice instantly stiffened the girl’s previously joyful expression.

“Ah, this… no need to pay attention to these details.”

Selina explained, forcing herself.

“But I feel that ever since Your Highness left the palace, you’ve become less and less aware of being a princess. I feel that if this continues, Head Maid Philene will definitely blame me.”

Crispin’s voice was somewhat plaintive.

“Alright, alright, you’re with me. I’ll definitely protect you when we get back. Of course… wait a minute…”

As she spoke, a protruding tree branch by the roadside caught the girl’s attention.

It wasn’t because the branch itself was unusual, but because a red hair tie seemed to be hanging on it, swaying in the wind.

The girl curiously stood on her tiptoes and took the hair tie from the branch.

The hair tie didn’t have the smooth feel of those used by noble young ladies; on the contrary, its slightly rough texture indicated that its owner was not wealthy.

Yet this unassuming rose-red hair tie always gave Selina a subtle sense of familiarity, as if some extremely special existence was sparkling in a forgotten corner of her memory.

“Your Highness, what are you looking at?”

Crispin leaned in to examine it.

“A bit… familiar.”

The girl, holding the hair tie, murmured with narrowed eyes.

‘Why this sense of familiarity?’

‘This material of hair tie couldn’t possibly be hers now. The ornaments supplied to the princess in the Elf Royal Palace would never be this cheap. So, is it from Conde’s memories?’

‘But Lilith doesn’t use hair ties. I remember Lilith’s usual hair ornament should be a small bear hair clip I gave her. Hair ties are really not something I recall.’

Just as the girl was pondering, a cool female voice, like a tranquil bamboo spring, suddenly entered her ear. Layer upon layer of familiarity cascaded into her mind. Selina abruptly looked up.

Then she saw the dragon horns, like white jade carved by a master artisan.

At some unknown point, while she was pondering in a daze, a white figure stood before her.

“Dragon?”

“Yes.”

Selina instinctively asked in confusion, but unexpectedly, the clear and frosty girl opposite him readily admitted it.

Generally, directly addressing a true dragon as simply “dragon” was considered very impolite in the dragon race’s understanding.

Dragon pride did not allow them to easily reveal their names to the weak.

And even if one truly didn’t know their name and had to address them, it was best to use a detailed dragon species classification along with their gender.

For example, the one before her should ideally be addressed as “Miss White Dragon.”

“The ribbon in your hand is mine. May I please have it back?”

A gentle breeze lightly ruffled the girl’s pale hair.

Her golden dragon eyes did not give an impression of majesty and oppression, but instinctively conveyed a sense of lonely coldness and distance.

“Oh, it’s your hair tie? I’m so sorry.”

Standing before the hair tie’s true owner, having examined it for a while, Selina felt that today was just one awkward moment after another.

She smiled politely, then reached out and handed the hair tie back.

The white dragon girl took the hair tie and, with her other hand, gathered the scattered hair behind her.

As she held the hair tie, she skillfully wrapped it around her white ponytail, tying it gently.

“Thank you.”

Her high ponytail swayed behind her.

The girl was like a serene bamboo on a high mountain, exuding a tranquil yet otherworldly aloofness.

Especially those eyes, no matter how she looked at them, felt familiar.

Just like the little dragon girl in her dream today…