Chapter 5

What happened after that could only be described as a blur.

 

As Sephiel pretended to go and pick flowers, she ran away to the Grand Duke’s Castle.

 

 

[You wretched thing, where do you think you’re going?! As expected! You were deceiving me! No wonder they said it was weird!]

 

 

Did they also happen to say that a broken watch was hit twice a day?

 

Lotto seemed to have come to his senses at the sight of Sephiel running away.

 

As he screamed in a loud voice, he chased after her.

 

‘No matter how wicked I had become, a chase was still inevitably scary.’

 

As she panted, her mouth agape, she barely managed to get into the castle.

 

‘But still, that’s goodbye to my only new outfit.’

 

When she was imprisoned, Sephiel always looked very shabby.

 

However, as a Royal Princess, she was provided new clothes for each season.

 

Among them, the clothes provided during autumn were the prettiest ones.

 

However, since the maid who did the laundry only came once every two weeks…

 

‘I was barely able to change after enduring wearing the same outfit…’

 

She went to the castle wearing the autumn outfit and even changed into her only pair of heels, albeit they were kitten heels.

 

As she ran away from Lotto, her clothes were caught in some branches and torn, and one shoe even flew away.

 

‘It’s a relief that entry was through bloodline identification.’

 

That was the reason why Sephiel entered the hall with confidence.

 

Originally, all four monarchs were from a prestigious sorcerer family.

 

So, each family member had their own ‘pattern’.

 

That’s why at the entrance of the Dragon Grand Duke Family, a simple mana test was conducted to identify one’s bloodline when entering.

 

 

[The color of the mana stone is red. Pass.]

 

 

The servant, whose face was hidden beneath his hood said before letting Sephiel in.

 

 

[Well… There were no separate rules about attire on the invitation. Because it’s already late, please hurry up and enter.]

 

 

Fortunately, the person didn’t say much about her outfit.

 

However, it was different after entering the banquet hall.

 

Sephiel was intimidated by the eyes of the adults who were looking at her.

 

Unlike the young ladies who were dressed in fancy ball gowns, Sephiel’s appearance was too shabby.

 

‘Do dragons also dislike children who wear dirty clothes, just like humans?’

 

She thought about it for a while, and her steps faltered.

 

‘No, don’t think like that. I have no other place to run away to. Outside the castle, Lotto, who has a knife, is lying in wait for me. Now, it’s either I live or I die.’

 

Sephiel was still young. The thought of dying still made her feel heartbroken and scared.

 

‘But now I’m totally mean and evil. So, I can endure it.’

 

Sephiel clenched her small fist as she tried to get herself together.

 

‘I deserve to be here, too.’

 

Rather than that, the most important thing now was…

 

‘Yes. Speed.’

 

The idea that this political marriage was on a first-come, first-served basis, was an indisputable truth.

 

She recalled the past once again. Mittara said that throughout the competition, although she had the blood of the Royal Family, her family was relatively small with ordinary appearances.

 

But when Mittara was asked how she became the political marriage partner for the Grand Duke of Remdragon’s Little Young Lord…

 

 

[How on earth were you picked ten years ago at that banquet…  How were you chosen as the bride of the Little Young Lord who was finally born after a hundred years?]

 

 

Thanks to Mittara who returned from the Remdragon Grand Duchy, people were finally able to ask what they had been curious about for a long time. Mittara sighed at them.

 

 

[At the ball… I was actually the last to arrive because my carriage broke down. I thought I was doomed. Moreover, the Little Young Lord saw the bride candidates without showing his face. It was no use even if you took care of your skin since you were four.]

 

[Then… how?]

 

 

Everybody looked at Mittara, eagerly awaiting for her to say the main point.

 

 

[However! Each family was given an opportunity to present the conditions of the political marriage one by one.]

 

[And so?]

 

[I simply said what my mother told me to say. If I have to die, I’ll die and live if I have to live. I will obey sincerely no matter what! And then I got accepted right away.]

 

 

Sephiel now knew what to say.

 

Unconditional obedience. It was the wish of the Grand Duke to pick a woman who would follow even if ordered to divorce at any time.

 

So, before Mittara arrived, she would say her lines first.

 

 

[You can divorce me anytime you want! Even if only for the lowest alimony, so please choose me right now!]

 

 

She would propose this excellent condition.

 

That was Sephiel’s small, evil plan.

 

Nevertheless….

 

“Accepted.”

 

…Without even mentioning the part about alimony. She was immediately selected by the Little Young Lord who took the bait.

 

‘Whoa, Little Young Lord, you really don’t care whoever the person is!’

 

That’s what Sephiel wanted to say, but she was so tired and intimidated that she closed her mouth.

 

‘But I did it!’

 

Accepted! They said she was accepted!

 

The voice of the Little Young Lord, whose face she did not even know, was like the sound of a heavenly trumpet to Sephiel.

 

It was the first ever sound of salvation she had heard in her life, and also the sound of her future changing.

 

‘Finally… is my life finally going to change for the better?’

 

Her dream of eating three meals a day.

 

Was that dream just around the corner?

 

However, even if she succeeded with the children…

 

The adults did not fall for Sephiel’s small yet evil plan.

 

 

***

 

 

“Does that even make sense? A girl who looks like that is the Royal Princess!?”

 

“This has to be a lie, right?”

 

People shouted in protest.

 

It was the butler of the Grand Duke Family who approached the hesitating Sephiel.

 

“Royal Princess. Did you hear the Little Young Lord’s words?”

 

“Ywa….” [Yeah….]

 

“The Little Young Lord has chosen you as the Royal Princess. My name is Elton.”

 

Sephiel nodded, the rest of her body frozen as she got surrounded by shouting adults.

 

“Please tell us Little Young Lord! Why did you pick that kind of ‘thing’? Show us your face at least!”

 

Among them, the skinny girl wearing thin glasses and the woman behind her who stood up was the most prominent.

 

The woman approached Sephiel with an aura that practically yelled she wanted to kill her.

 

The girl was hesitant, holding the hem of her dress.

 

‘Mittara!’

 

Sephiel recognized the young Mittara, and the woman behind her as Mittara’s mother.

 

Elton looked at them with eyes as if he was looking at a bunch of fools.

 

“The Little Young Lord is a half-dragon. Dragons are of a higher class than ordinary humans. The lower class can not ask the upper class for answers.”

 

“What? There’s no such thing! My kid has been preparing for today all her life! In the first place, there’s no such person like that in the Allegro Royal Family! We’re the true relatives of the Allegro Royal Family!”

 

“Huuaaaa!”

 

Mittara, four years older than Sephiel, properly used her crying.

 

“She stole the other kids’ chances!”

 

Sephiel’s mouth opened at her appearance.

 

‘Decades later, you made a fuss after drinking, saying that you ruined your own life and that you shouldn’t have married to the Dragon Grand Duke.’

 

In addition, her family was also ruined.

 

It was very explosive.

 

In the meantime, the uproar continued.

 

Mittara’s mother was not the only one who was angry.

 

“I can’t believe that you’re mocking us! That kid, she reeks! It’s so unpleasant that I almost died because of it!”

 

“Kick her out immediately and choose a bride again!”

 

“This, isn’t this a scam!? Are you trying to insult the family members and relatives of the Three Monarchs?”

 

The benefits for the family chosen as the political marriage partner for the Grand Duchy of Remdragon were enormous.

 

Numerous treasures, including gold bars, and the right to develop resources in the Grand Duchy’s land which was full of natural beauty.

 

Behind the children’s spirit was the adults’ greed for numerous benefits.

 

Furthermore, it had been a long time since the Grand Duchy of Remdragon, the source of many fears, opened its doors.

 

It was a time when that fear was slowly fading in people’s minds, and there were only two people from the Grand Duke Family.

 

There was only the vassal butler and the five-year-old Little Young Lord.

 

Therefore, the adults were more energetic and raised their voices with even more passion.

 

To make matters worse, Mittara’s mother turned her arrow to Sephiel.

 

“You!”

 

“Ah…”

 

Mittara’s mother hit Sephiel on the head and said.

 

“Say it with your own mouth. If you’re really a child of the Royal Family, did you come here with your parents’ permission?”

 

“But I– I weally am a woyal pwincess…” [But I– I really am a royal princess…]

 

Albeit she was the Cursed Royal Princess whose existence was strictly top secret.

 

“Ha, how dare you lie to adults? Hey. Are you going to take responsibility for all the lives of the kids here? Do you even know what you’re stealing?”

 

‘What in the world is she talking about?!’

 

More than that…

 

Sephiel closed her eyes tightly as Mittara’s mother raised her hand again.

 

‘I hate being hit.’

 

Sephiel took a step back…

 

‘Huh?’

 

But the moment she closed her eyes tightly…

 

What do all children have in common?

 

That is….

 

‘Compared to its body, a child’s head is… bigger.’

 

Tilt.

 

A child’s body had difficulty in holding its balance for a long time.

 

Sephiel stepped back to avoid the hit but unexpectedly fell backwards beyond the translucent curtain.

 

She fell through the curtain that separated the people and the Little Young Lord.

 

Thud!

 

It was a fall that seemed to produce this kind of sound effect.

 

‘Noo!’

 

Thinking that her head would collide with the ground, she closed her eyes tightly, already imagining the pain that would soon hit her.

 

‘It’s soft?’

 

Something fluffy touched her head. Sephiel slowly turned around.

 

“Hya-h!” She yelled out in surprise.

 

A black puma.

 

A slender creature that she had only seen in the Animal Encyclopedia was staring at Sephiel with its big head quietly sticking out.

 

And in front of it…

 

Swiiiii—

 

A boy with a green snake wrapped around his hand was sitting on a chair.

 

“What’s this dirty thing?”

 

At that moment, only one word came to Sephiel’s mind.

 

Absolute Zero.

 

There was one kind of theory written by a very smart scholar. It was about an absolute temperature that had neither warmth or coldness.

 

That temperature came to her mind.

 

‘Golden eyes.’

 

It was the terrifying eyes of a predator.

 

‘Heup….’

 

Sephiel was now directly seeing the child groom that Mittara, in an entire decade, had never seen before.

 

‘A very, beautiful child… ’

 

Eerily, he was a boy with beautiful features. To the point where she could feel his elegance even in such a moment.

 

 

[Those born between dragons and humans are called Half-Dragons.

 

The Half-Dragons boast heavenly beauty, and aside from their outstanding beauty, they usually had the same appearance as humans when they were young.

 

As they become a holy dragon in the future, they can switch between the humans and the dragons…]

 

 

She remembered the materials she had read about Half-Dragons a long time ago.

 

‘He… A while ago his name…’

 

Erga. They said his name was Erga.

 

“You, are you my fiance?”

 

“….”

 

“I chose you because I thought it would be great if you obediently divorced me. But, it seems like I really just chose recklessly.”

 

Erga looked Sephiel’s outfit up and down.

 

“Surely, it turned out well. I have to at least choose something like this to see the Old Dragons in my family get angry.”

 

The moment Sephiel made eye contact with Erga, she felt her whole body tremble.

 

Fear. It was fear like no other.

 

“Since the lower-class get scared quickly.”

 

Erga chuckled.

 

‘Did they say he was five years old…? Just like me?’

 

At the same time, a phrase from the book about Half-Dragons she read in her previous life came to mind.

 

 

[Before adulthood, it is said that the physical growth of Half-Dragons is about twice as fast as humans and the speed of intellectual development was about three times faster.]

 

 

Monster.

 

At that moment, Sephiel had that kind of thought. Above all, the boy was too big. He had a body that made him look at least ten years old.

 

‘The way he talks and also his voice.’

 

He completely looked like a fully grown-up boy.

 

“If it’s your wish to see my face, then you should’ve just said so.”

 

Clack.

 

The curtain was lifted up. Sitting down, Sephiel watched the nobles with wide eyes.

 

Grrrr….

 

The black puma howled.

 

“So what about parents’ permission?”

 

Erga mumbled.

 

“I’m plundering the daughters of the lower class, do I need a reason for it?”

 

Bang! Bang! Bang!

 

At that moment, all the windows in the banquet hall opened.

 

It was like a scene from a horror novel that Sephiel read when she was young.

 

Erga raised his hand and pointed somewhere.

 

“Bring me the tongue of the noisiest woman today.”

 

Swiiiii—!

 

The snake with a fairly thick body attacked Mittara’s mother.

 

“Little Young Lord.”

 

Then the man called Elton said.

 

“You want to end her days right? If so then you should do more, such retaliation can only be considered self-defense.”

 

“Uhm. Yes, then it seems it can’t be helped. Then.”

 

Just like that, Erga was convinced. Sephiel felt it was absurd.

 

‘Huh? That butler. He’s not stopping him?’

 

(t/n: No, Sephiel. He’s telling Erga to torture her more since <del>cutting</del> biting off her tongue is not enough… :”)

 

With a roar the puma climbed on Mittara’s mother who fell down.

 

“KYAAAKKK!”

 

Mittara’s mother screamed.

 

‘Ki-killing… Is he killing her? Really?’

 

Sephiel collapsed in place, and the next moment…

 

“Ah!”

 

Sephiel’s nape was grabbed and lifted up.

 

Sephiel, who was so small he looked half his age, was lifted up in the air, her feet hanging in the air.

 

“Looking closely, it’s even more interesting to look at.”

 

No. I have to get myself together.

 

I’m the evil Sephiel now.

 

I will never show my weak side.

 

I’m no longer the stupid and pure Sephiel, but the evil Sephiel right now was…

 

Even if I was scared, I had to pretend that I was not scared and lie… but—

 

“Heukk…”

 

Honestly. I was so scared at that moment.

 

 

[How disgusting.]

 

[Unsightly thing. Don’t come close.]

 

[What can I do? Blame yourself for being born unlovable.]

 

 

At that time, Sephiel became the pure Sephiel of the previous life.

 

Sephiel trembled as her nape was lifted. She was barely able to laugh.

 

In her previous life, Sephiel was scolded even more if she cried during her family’s abuse, so she had a habit of forcibly laughing during times of struggle.

 

“Yup, yow awe wite. I am ugwy.” [Yup, you’re right. I am ugly.]

 

“….”

 

“Howebwa, yow awe weally bwutiful. I mwean it.” [However, you are really beautiful. I mean it.]

 

Ah, she didn’t care anymore. Whether the comment was spiteful or not.

 

‘Ah…  I… Limit.’

 

Just like that she lost consciousness.

 

“KYAAAKKK! SAVE ME! SAVE ME!”

 

Behind her, there was a munching sound of something being eaten up.

 

 

[Half-Dragons become true ‘dragons’ only when they become adults.

 

What Half-Dragons and Pure Blood Dragon have in common is that their childhood emotions are unstable.

 

This is usually referred to as the ‘hatchling period’.

During this period, dragons usually cannot hide their instinct, The Vastness.\nThus, as commonly said in records of dragons,

Young dragons before coming of age,

They say they’re crazy.]

 

 

‘Yeah, they’re really crazy.’

 

Sephiel thought as she fainted.