CH 36

Chapter 4: Named

Note: This chapter consists of kkp episodes 36 to 49.

In his dream, Michael was walking around the room.

The room was obviously his room, but somehow it was dark and there were things that weren’t there, and things that should be there were missing.

“You don’t even know the subject. I wish you didn’t get noticed at times because you’re arrogant…”

His self in the dream was madly criticizing someone.

“I don’t understand. Why did father bring you into this castle in the first place?”

Who the hell is that kid?

“Why is that kid…?”

“……Ugh.”

With a small scream, Michael suddenly woke up from the dream.

“Little Lord? Why are you like this?”

“…….”

Rather than waking up voluntarily, it was more of a sudden awakening as if someone had pushed his back from in front of a cliff.

It wasn’t even a nightmare, but the cool air seeped through his wet back.

“It’s still a bit far from fully morning. Why don’t you get some more sleep?”

The nanny, who had come to inspect the fire, kindly suggested, but Michael did not answer.

The boy was busy catching the traces of a dream that was about to disappear like smoke.

Who did he hate so much in his dream? Why was it so creepy?

Who was ‘that kid’?

What came to mind was a dim gray, green… There were only fleeting afterimages such as dry, fragile limbs and a transparent, lifeless impression.

Michael got up and got out of bed without realizing it. However, there was no specific destination, so he stopped after walking a few steps.

He suddenly had this thought.

‘Why are all the objects in the room… Didn’t they look a little bigger?’

The nanny, who had been watching as the boy wanted to go to the bathroom, approached cautiously.

“Why are you suddenly like this? Oh my, your clothes are all wet.”

The nanny was startled. Apparently, the dream was really bad.

‘I thought you were all grown up, but you’re still having nightmares.’

Biting her tongue, the nanny quickly brought new clothes.

“Change into this. You’re going to catch a cold.”

While the nanny called a maid to change the sweat-soaked sheets, Michael blankly changed his clothes as instructed.

“It’s okay. It was all just a nightmare.”

“Nanny…….”

The blue shadows of dawn were seeping through the curtains. No matter how hard he tried to recall the memories in his dreams, they were just falling apart as quickly as small letters on sand.

“You have to go back to sleep.”

As he was guided by the nanny back to bed, Michael seemed to understand why his room in his dream looked subtly different.

…The eye level was different.

* * *

After awakening as a Terraformer, Sienna received a separate class by herself in addition to the elementary magic that she learned with Michael.

“First of all, congratulations. Lady.”

Before class, Seth smiled sweetly and held out a small bouquet of flowers to Sienna.

Sienna received the bouquet without realizing it.

It was the second time she received a bouquet, but this one was different from Ashiel’s first bouquet in many ways.

A small, harmonious bundle of silver bell flowers, white freesias, and light-green lisianthus was not heavy at all for Sienna to carry.

“Didn’t the young lady give this castle a gift of early spring that day?”

“…….”

“This is in return.”

Sienna herself could not remember that spring well. She passed out immediately, and by the time Sienna was able to see the scenery outside, the gardeners were just clearing up the remains of the petals that had frozen in the cold wind.

“……Thank you sir.”

A small reward for the spring that she did not see that day.

When she thought about it that way, she didn’t feel bad. A small smile spread across her lips without realizing it.

‘Uh…’

Seth, seeing Sienna smiling so innocently for the first time, was a little perplexed.

Now, he was the first outsider to give Sienna a gift since her first manifestation that would surely go down in history.

It was because the grand duke had decided to hide the fact that Sienna had awakened as a Terraformer in Nacht for the time being.

He did not change his mind despite the advice of the senior officials to announce it as soon as possible considering the prestige of the family.

“She is a child who has not yet become accustomed to life as a child of Nacht.”

Not only that, the grand duke even blocked private access to Sienna.

Those who raised their voices to hold a lively celebration, and those who wanted to take her to the emperor, had no choice but to return worn out.

However, since they were all sharp, they chose and sent a pile of precious gifts when they went back.

Essential jewels processed into accessories, pink silk like dragonfly wings woven by an oriental weaver, and a beautiful fairy tale book adorned with gold and jewels.

The doll, whose cheeks were rosy-dyed in well-baked white porcelain, laid quietly in a silk box filled with flower petals, draped in golden lace and ribbon.

Other than that, there were string instruments that Sienna had yet to play with, crispy sweets stuffed with sticky honey and tea with a sweet raspberry flavor…

They didn’t know what her taste was, so they had no choice but to send everything a little girl would like, and naturally, the gift bag had to grow bigger and bigger.

Even then, there were dozens of people who thought the same thing.

It means that there were dozens of bundles.

Of course, they were not pure gifts.

“Oh my God, look here. They have their family name engraved on the doll’s ribbon. They even have their family crest woven into the silk.”

“That’s enough. Here’s something secretly engraved on the bottom of a teacup.”

“The tea box from Sir McBride is added here. There are four types of flavored and mixed tea, look.”

Four types of tea boxes, housed in a huge tin case, had the names Benjamin, Sophia, Edwin, and Bonna Lee, respectively.

“The name of the collection is McBride. It’s a tea set made with his family as a motif.”

“Stop it, they’re savages. Look. This dollhouse was made by reducing the real Baron Karl Raleigh’s mansion to a scale of 16:1.”

The intention to have fun and visit the real mansion someday was clear.

“It’s out of this world.”

The sincerity of trying to imprint their names on Sienna was amazing.

“If they had studied with such devotion, they would all have become great wise men.”

“That’s right.”

In any case, all the gifts were rejected by the grand duke because of their impure intentions.

At first, Seth thought that the decision was a bit unreasonable.

In any case, the gifts were not sent to the grand duke, but to Sienna, and they were all valuable items.

They were not simple gifts, but a scale equivalent to their level of wealth. He thought it would be too much to send it back without saying a word.

But now he knows.

‘It was a wise decision.’

You opened your heart like that even with a small bouquet of flowers, but if you received an expensive gift that was not sent with a pure and good heart…

‘You must feel a debt in your heart to each of those names.’

As expected, it must be the notion of small-minded people to receive it because it was a precious gift.

Contrary to his conjecture, of course, Sienna was no naive child.

She could be grateful for the small bouquet presented by her friendly teacher, but she would have expressed her displeasure in front of a mountain of bribes.

The current situation was nothing more than the grand duke’s efforts to refuse.

“Then shall we start class?”

“Yes, Teacher.”

“I don’t know if you know, but since you have awakened as a Terraformer, you must enter the military academy when you turn 14.”

Sienna simply nodded her head. That was the only happy part after awakening as a Terraformer.

However, Seth, well aware of the harshness of a school that raised soldiers, looked at her with a bit of pity.

“For the special circumstances you will have to deal with right then and in the future, I will conduct a basic training.”

“Yes.”

Seth’s model student answered steadily, and neatly moved the hand holding the pen over the notebook.

He had seen it a few times, but it’s still impressive.

“Ahem, ahem. So, first of all, it’s the basic role of a Terraformer. I think you’re familiar with this part because you’ve probably done your homework thoroughly.”

Sienna nodded her head.

Terraformers basically purify fraud. This essentially saves a wizard from becoming a madman or a beast.

“A Terraformer with great power purifies the stagnant areas and even prevents the birth of the beast itself.”

Seth drew a human figure in the form of a stickman on the blackboard. And he drew a big circle around it.

“The Terraformer forms a circular barrier in this way, which is called a Territory. And…”

Outside of the circle Seth first drew, he drew a bigger circle.

“What does this mean?”

“The better the Terraformer, the bigger the area is?”

“That’s correct! As expected of the Young Lady.”

If it was Michael, he would have first ridiculed the teacher for his clumsy drawing skills, but Sienna gave only exemplary answers like a model student.

“Usually, it’s counted in units like this, 1 territory, 2 territories. It is easy to understand that 1 territory is about the size of the land for a large mansion with a garden.”

“Aha.”

“The average level of Terraformers forms about 2.7 territories… and the more sophisticated the control, the more it can be created by dividing the area…”

After that, Seth’s enthusiastic classes continued for a while.

“…Well, I’m sorry, but today’s class will end here.”

Sienna’s notebooks were full of letters that were more developed and refined than before.

Seth was happy enough to die.

“There is no homework, because you listened very hard in class!”

“Oh…….”

Sienna was subtly disappointed.

“Why are you like this, my lady?”

“Homework… It’s fun…”

For the first time since Ashiel caught him due to some mistake and he had taken on the role of teaching Michael, a wave of emotion, which he had never felt before, hit Seth.

“Ah, Lady… How could there… How could there be such a student in the world who is worth teaching like this…!”

“No, Sir. Teacher’s class is fun…”

“You speak so nicely! Ugh, that’s good! I’ll give you a lot of homework!!”

“Ah… Thank you, Sir!”

“…Aren’t they both crazy?”

Michael, who came to see Sienna at the time when class would finish, heard something he hadn’t thought of and had a wrinkled expression on his face.

What? Do you like homework? Thank you, teacher?

Wasn’t that a crazy sound that couldn’t be believed to be sane?

The two people in front of him went far away into a world just for the two of them, but it seemed impossible for him to enter that world and he didn’t want to.

Madam Deborah looked sternly at him, covering her lips with her fingers.

“Shh. What do you mean crazy? Be careful of what you say, Your Highness. She is only thirsty for knowledge, and Sir Seth is just a good teacher.”

“No, it’s real. It seems like the two of them went back together hand in hand? Can you hurry up and call the doctor?”

Madam Deborah pretended not to hear it properly, like a skillful maid.

“I’ll just prepare a meal for you.”

* * *

While he was struggling to get Sienna, who would rather do homework than eat, to sit on the table, the lingering aftertaste of the dream that led Michael’s footsteps to this place completely evaporated.

“I’m tired, I’m tired… Hey! Are you going to sleep now? Is the dining table the bedroom?!”

“Ugh…”

Sienna was sold to an orphanage when she was three years old. After that, she grew up not eating well, so she was thin and shorter than her peers.

Even now, when holding the pen, she had to pull the strap of the arm warmer she was wearing and tie it as much as possible. Still, her wrists were so thin that it kept slipping around in vain.

“When you study, you’re so lively, but why are you sleeping when I tell you to eat?!”

“Ah…….”

Really… How annoying…

No matter how hard Michael worked, he couldn’t stand that her sleep was pouring out rather than her appetite.

(P/N: she was overflowing with sleepiness rather than her appetite.)

Sienna woke up and ate a little, and while she was dozing on and off, the meal ended.

When she came to her senses, the last snack of the course, which was ginger milk pudding served with apple compote, laid in front of her.

“…Eat all that. After eating all that, I’m going out.”

…An outing?

Sienna’s eyes lit up a little.

Even when she was at the orphanage, Sienna didn’t go out very often.

To carry out the director’s errands, one had to have bargaining skills, and one had to be tall and big. As a child, Sienna was not a child of that kind.

Even if teachers took notice and said that it was good to go out or have a picnic every now and then, the director often refuses, saying, ‘It becomes difficult to manage the children.’

It was not often that she escaped the high brick walls and iron gates of the orphanage.

Well, of course, it was the same after coming to the Nacht of the Underworld. It was just following Loreina during her summer vacation.

“…Where are you going?”

“Going to look around a shopping street. Why?”

A smile crept on Michael’s lips. She got caught.

“You want to go?”

It felt like losing to a child, but honestly, she wanted to leave. Sienna nodded her head slightly.

“Then let’s eat all of that first.”

“Yes.”

It seemed as if she had managed to regain her appetite after being woken up by the story of going out.

With the will to go out, Sienna ate all of the ginger-flavored sweet milk pudding, leaving nothing behind.

* * *

The gray winter sky receded a little further.

On a day when the sky was blue, Nacht’s black carriage ran along the road leading to the shopping district in the area.

When the two of them said they were going out together, the old butler willingly prepared a carriage and an escort and assigned the deputy butler as a servant.

Sienna was expressionless as usual, but she couldn’t stop wiggling her hands and fiddling with the ribbon around her wrists.

She was an orphan, even though she had no abilities, she was a child of Nacht. On the contrary, she was likely to be subjected to troublesome work because she had no ability.

She was too embarrassed to cause trouble to many people, so she couldn’t even try to go out on her own.

“We’re here. Wait a minute.”

Michael got off the carriage first with a familiar movement. The deputy butler then helped Sienna get off the carriage.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it, my lady. Now, it’s a stone floor, so be careful when stepping on it.”

She wandered around like a chick with her small shoes and carefully settled on the brick road. Michael smiled a little at the sight.

“Where are you going?”

“That…….”

Even if he asked her something like that…

Unable to answer Michael’s question, Sienna was busy looking around.

She had experience following Loreina. It wasn’t that she couldn’t go out very much.

However, it was the first time that she was given the option of going out completely.

The region of Dispater, ruled by Nacht, was a bridge between the capital and the granary of the southeastern part of the empire. The capital was a well-designed city, and the roads were basically wide so that logistics could come and go.

The commercial district of Milfeuille also followed the typical Disparter style.

Shops lined up around a road wide enough for four horse-drawn carriages to run in a row.

Some of the bustling people would simply pay their respects by taking off their hats to the lord’s emblem engraved on the carriage – a crow with its wings outstretched clutching a red pomegranate.

“The best places to go are toy stores, sweets stores, perfume stores, and clothing stores… that’s all.”

It was indeed a suitable alternative for Sienna, who had so many options that her heart was about to explode.

Because it was the main street, everyone passing by was wearing nice clothes. Although she naturally avoided the children with their escorts and attendants, she was not exaggeratedly surprised and made no fuss.

“Isn’t it fun to see the show window?”

“……Yes.”

That was literally it. It was fun to see the shop windows decorated to the fullest.

In the small shop window, there was a large snow globe that even Sienna could fit into, and in the clock shop, there was a clock with a chorus of twelve cuckoos.

There was even a store specializing in hand-woven dolls that decorated the village that would number about 100 if you count them.

Some show windows were simpler than expected. A white mesh cloth was spread like snow, sprinkled with gold powder, and decorated with glitter, and only a pair of shoes was displayed on it.

The shoes were red like a ripe apple. It had a round toe and a strap around the instep, and nothing else as decorations.

Its simplicity caught the passing eye rather intensely.

“?”

Just by looking at Sienna’s face, who had slowed down for a moment, Michael noticed that those shoes were a little different from the fun things he had ever done before.

“I’ll buy it for you.”

“What?”

Without any time to stop him, the boy opened the door to the shoe store himself.

“Welcome! Bulkin’s shoe store. What are you looking for?”

“The red shoes in the window.”

“The red shoes! They’re yours.”

“No, I…”

“Yes, sit here. Sit down.”

Without a second thought, the owner sat Sienna on a small stool. Sienna was stunned and looked at Michael in a bewildered way.

But Michael didn’t seem to care about Sienna, and he just tapped the nose of the shoe on one of the shelves.

“I mean, doesn’t it look a bit like the shape of the butler’s nose?”

“Haha, come to think of it, I see.”

“I’m definitely going to buy this as a gift for the butler.”

While Michael was chatting with the shop’s madam, the owner took out the pair of red shoes from the window and brought them over.

“Our store usually makes custom shoes, but let’s try them on for a change!”

“Lady, may I take your shoes off?”

A store clerk approached Sienna without hesitation, and asked her kindly and took off her shoes. It was such a lightning-like skill that she wondered why she asked if she was going to do this anyway.

“Oh my God. It fits perfectly.”

Even the shoes fit perfectly.

“The calfskin has been processed several times with the finest dyes that were made from grinding jewellery multiple times. Besides, that luster! It’s shiny like glass? It’s a secret that has been passed down from generation to generation in our store.”

“Walk around once!”

When she stepped on the floor under pressure, she felt very comfortable that it was not a lie to say that it was a perfect fit.

“You can wear them!”

Michael didn’t ask if he liked it.

“Calculate that.”

“Yes, Sir! I will pack the shoes she is wearing.”

“Wait…”

“Even if you don’t like it, just wear it today. I bought it because I want to buy it.”

Michael knew well that Sienna couldn’t say ‘I like it’, which was an indirect request to buy it.

“You’re accompanied by a wonderful little gentleman! I hope you have a great day out.”

The store owner polished the shoes she was wearing and wrapped them up nicely and handed them over to the deputy butler.

“Haha. Our young master doesn’t know anything else, but he’s very fast here.”

“What do you mean, deputy butler?”

Michael grunted and asked to pack the ‘old butler’s nose shoes’ in question.

Even Sienna looked at the shoes with a pointed nose that was really reminiscent of the old butler’s nose.

The problem was that other than that, there was nothing reminiscent of an old butler.

First of all, the color was brown, and geometric patterns were embroidered, so it seemed difficult to digest unless you were a fashionable person.

Michael murmured cynically while the owner was packing the shoes.

“I’ll make sure my father will see the butler walking around wearing this.”

The deputy butler also responded seriously.

“That’s a really cool idea.”

Sienna’s mouth was in a half-smile as she imagined the white-haired old butler wearing those stylish nose boots under the tailcoat.

* * *

She hated to admit it, but it was fun.

Even after leaving the shoe store, the two of them roamed the streets with no purpose.

Buying a box of mouth-watering dessert made by layering sugar, honey syrup and pistachios in between thin festoons, and eating them one by one, or buying a bizarre item like the ‘Madam Deborah cushion-patterned shawl’.

Michael skillfully guided Sienna, and didn’t say anything that would make her even the slightest bit uncomfortable.

‘Surprisingly, I think he had this talent since even I thought it was an ‘escort’…’

The more she looked at it, the more she thought she could understand why he was popular in the past… She didn’t really want to know, so it’s a strange feeling…

Anyway, was that so?

There was nothing to forgive, but anyway, even though we had bad days together, going out like this was quite enjoyable.

‘It could be that you simply spent a lot of money.’

Maybe, maybe it’s because she can find joy if she gives up thinking about forgetting or forgiving.

“Shall we go back soon?”

No matter how well fitting the shoes were, they were brand new. This time, Michael brought out the idea of going back at a time when her feet would begin to hurt like a ghost.

The two of them decided to walk a little to the carriage.

Now, she was a little tired of seeing the show windows that looked like they were exploding with colors, but…

‘…Huh?’

Another thing caughtSienna’s passing attention.

It was a dollhouse that looked like a miniature human house. It wasn’t huge or luxurious like a special product for aristocratic children.

It was a doll’s house that turned into a trunk when touched. The interior faithfully reproduced the rustic cottage style of a middle-class family.

Small kitchen, dining room, bedroom… The library was filled with books the size of a fingernail, and had been bound so that they could actually be opened, and even pens and inkwells were on the desk.

It was interesting to see it so small, but the reason why it caught Sienna’s steps was…

‘…Did a house originally look like this?’

Cozy, small, with the necessary space for the family.

Sienna had no home. So far in her life she has only been in the orphanage and Nacht Castle.

Places that meant nothing more than simply a place of residence.

The moment she came closer without realizing it because she wanted to see it closer…

[It’s a small house!]

A completely forgotten existence popped out.

A small blazing orange flame flew through the window and into the small house without burning it.

[Do you like it? It’s like a rustic country cottage that’s not luxurious, it’s perfect for my elegant personality!]

“What? I… Do you know this?”

She couldn’t even ask the ‘Named Haesaros’, and Michael gave her an absurd look.

“Did you bring it? No, it disappeared in the first place. No, but what is it doing over there?”

“That is…….”

Sienna didn’t know either.

“It said it liked it…?”

“What?”

Michael crumpled his face as if he was embarrassed. Sienna guessed that he would be making a similar expression even if he didn’t look at the window.

* * *

[Per-fect.]

(T/N: Perfect, but emphasizing each syllable.)

The fireball was slowly shooting through the doll’s house, quietly without protruding for a while, making her even think for a moment, ‘It’s all a dream, and may just disappear.’

It was a gift from Michael, who perfectly understood the indirect words to buy it.

“You didn’t look like you needed a house.”

[Yeah, but isn’t it a matter of feeling? I want to have something like this at least once.]

“…….”

Her perspective was a little different, but she understood.

“……I know, right.”

[Well, okay. It’s done.]

“…?”

[Yeah, would you like to come in and try it once it’s finished?]

“Yes?”

What was it talking about?

The moment she thought of that, her eyes closed.

“Ugh…?!”

The moment Sienna screamed without realizing it, she had arrived in a completely different space, not the drawing room of the cradle she had been in before.

In a moderately old-fashioned country cottage style living room with linen curtains hanging from the window…

“Welcome to my house.”

Red? Gold? Orange?

A man with splendid hair, like a furnace melting gold, which could not be described by a single color, was sitting in an armchair.

“…Hesaros?”

“It’s good that you’re quick.”

“Here…”

“This is my makeshift home, created today.”

This?

Sienna looked around.

It was familiar to her eyes. It’s like the previous doll’s house copied this house as a model…

“Here… so really…”

You mean you’re in the doll’s house, really?

“In a sense, that’s it.”

Hesaros grinned. After that, professional explanations continued, such as how to apply magic to a real space and materialize it, but it was not something Sienna could understand.

“…Did he really have to buy a doll’s house?”

He had such magical skills?

“Magic skills and decorating a house are two different things. Anyway, it’s good to have one in reality. No, aside from this, it’s you.”

“What?”

“You destroyed my body and my house. So I’ll have to get a new one too.”

Sienna had a lot to say about that.

“I’m sorry, but I didn’t break that necklace.”

Why was he suddenly blaming others when he said he liked it when he gave up imitating the necklace?

“If you had just signed a contract normally, I wouldn’t have broken it and escaped, right?”

“Usually, if you leave it like that, you should have understood enough that it meant I didn’t want to sign a contract.”

“Yeah, no.”

Hesaros pretended not to understand. Sienna groaned a little.

“Anyway, this is my home for the time being. And I have a separate topic for today! I need to talk a little bit about the power you are using without realizing it. Did you learn that you are a child of Jeonghwa?”

“A Terraformer?”

“They seem to be calling it that way these days. Anyway, it’ll be easier to talk if you know. You haven’t opened a realm right now, and you’re cleaning up this castle.”

“……What?”

What did he mean?

“It’s rare even in the era of prosperity. A child of purification who has such a powerful power like you can purify as if breathing in everyday life without having to open the realm?”

“……?”

It was an unfriendly explanation, so it needed to be cleaned up.

So, now that Sienna was that powerful Terraformer, was she living while purifying the underworld?

As soon as she thought it was unbelievable, Hesaros nailed it.

“Have you ever felt tired all the time for no reason?”

“Ah…….”

She didn’t like his confident attitude, so she wanted to say no, but he hit the nail on the head and she couldn’t hide her expression for a moment.

It must be so, didn’t Michael make such a fuss today because she dozed off while at the table?

It wasn’t just today. Sienna has been sleeping strangely since she came to Nacht Castle in this life. Didn’t she even collapse in situations where she would normally not be able to fall asleep in?

Hesaros snorted with a smirk.

“Your power is mighty, but you’re not good enough to do the crazy things you’re doing to purify this evil castle. At the first manifestation, you collapsed after purifying as much as you did.”

“Oh, that’s not my fault.”

“Anyway! If your body remains in that situation, would it still be a person?”

(T/N: saying her body will be destroyed.)

This Named seemed to have a habit of getting angry whenever it was stabbed.

Hesaros looked at her and coughed pointlessly.

“Looking at what you are doing, you must have been purifying even before awakening. It only intensified after awakening.”

“…Then shall we leave here?”

“It’s not a simple matter. This is already your territory. Were you born here?”

“No.”

“Then why do you have such a strong connection to this castle as if you had lived for a decade and died? Hmm, that’s strange.”

‘How accurate…’

It was an accurate guess enough to cause admiration without thinking.

Fortunately, Hesaros waved his hand saying that it was not important, not knowing that though he could not even read Sienna’s thoughts, he had accidentally guessed the truth.

“Anyway, I’m glad this castle obeys you, without any doubt, because of the red thing you put in your mouth earlier.”

“…A pomegranate?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Anyway, thanks to you who can’t take care of your body, the family of this house must have felt more comfortable breathing. It’s really good, isn’t it?”

(T/N: Sienna’s manifestation cleared the ‘air’ of ‘fraud’/’other magic’ – best air purifier ever.)

(P/N: Can she come and purify my air too? xD)

(Q/N: I want the latest Sienna Air Purifier 3000™ who do I have to bribe?)

For a person who said it went well, his tone was very sour.

However, no offensive intent was felt.

His attitude wasn’t friendly at all, but… He, the Named, seemed to be surprisingly worried about Sienna.

“Of course I am. You’re my first owner!”

“What?”

“Yeah, listen carefully now, sweetheart.”

The man looked at Sienna with eyes like a furnace.

“I didn’t choose an owner even during the great prosperity era. You are like a jewel that I picked and chose for two thousand years. I didn’t expect you to be this stupid!”

“Ha…….”

He was an irritable, irritable creature.

“Anyway, thanks to you, I’ve been busy for a long time. I have a lot of work to do so that the stupid and cute owner who unwittingly cleans up this messy castle doesn’t die. Do you get it?”

“…….”

“Listen up, child of Jeonghwa.”

The inhuman eyes, which were mixed in a dizzying mixture of golden and hot red, shone so white that they looked as if they would pierce Sienna.

“You are the owner of this Hesaros. I can only see as much as you see. No, I can’t even count half of it right now. I haven’t fully awakened.”

“…….”

“Anyway, when you grow up, I will grow too. Keep that in mind.”

The image in front of her began to blur more and more.

“So the main point is to find a real house where I can live as soon as possible. For example, a crystal of pure energy…”

The voice gradually became hard to hear and blurred towards the end, and then it became completely quiet.

At the same time, Sienna’s consciousness slowly faded.

* * *

After a while…

“Aahhhh!!”

A shattering scream woke Sienna from her sleep.

‘Yes… what…’

She tried to get up in her drowsy state, but her body was strangely heavy.

“Madam Deborah! Madam Deborah! Madam!!”

“There’s trouble! Come here!”

“Lady, lady…!”

She didn’t think she could sleep more.

Anyways, she was a little anxious because she couldn’t figure out why everyone was making a fuss. Sienna raised her hand to rub her eyes, which were strangely harder to open than usual.

‘…Huh?’

The feeling was strange.

The feeling of the hand reaching out was strangely short. The feeling of her hand touching her palm and the plump feeling of her palm touching her face were also unfamiliar.

‘…What?’

Sienna, who had woken up with a flash, got up. However…

“Oh my god, lady!”

“She’s moving, what should I do?”

“Catch her, catch her!”

Thanks to a maid with excellent reflexes, she was saved from falling backwards.

‘No wonder… My head feels heavy….’

The people around me were bigger than usual and looked like giants, but…

This feeling was not unfamiliar.

When I woke up again in Room 6 of the orphanage, I felt quite unfamiliar with my childhood body and eye level for a few days.

The discomfort I feel now was exactly the same as back then.

“Lady!”

Deborah appeared from the doorway. Seeing the astonished expression on the woman’s face, who was not usually surprised, Sienna intuitively sensed it.

‘I hope again…?”

* * *

Fortunately, this time I didn’t defy the entire time.

“The body of a wizard is different from normal people, and it is composed of a balance between body and magic.”

…No, no matter what, could she be satisfied with this?

She became even more of a child than an eleven-year-old?!

“Perhaps the young lady’s current state… is a temporary phenomenon that has occurred due to a series of contracts with the Named, manifestation, and purification incidents that have damaged her balance. It’s not common, but it’s not very rare…”

“…….”

“Lady?”

Her cheeks were more rounded than when she was 11 years old, when she had lost some baby fat.

Lips that were like a bird’s beak.

Big eyes that looked like tears would roll down when you hit them, and thin hair that looked like dust crumbs…

“…There is…”

In despair, Sienna washed her face dry. But she couldn’t even cover half of her face with her tiny hands.

‘I shouldn’t be sorry…’

‘I became cuter…’

‘It’s a big deal, but I think it went well…’

Just in case it went against Sienna’s feelings of despair, the people around had to manage their facial expressions at once at the sound of a cough.

Only the grand duke showed no emotion at all, and he was as usual.

“If it is a temporary phenomenon, when do you think she will recover?”

“It will probably take her two weeks to recover her original condition.”

“How young is she?”

“She looks like three or four years old to me.”

“Ah, my grandson celebrated his 3rd birthday this year, and they seem to be similar. Especially the pronunciation…”

So, it was said that she had suddenly grown younger by nearly eight years.

‘It’s really exciting.’

When she sighed, thinking cynically, it looked like a 36-month-old baby sighing.

“Sienna.”

“……?”

The little baby looked up at the grand duke with earnest eyes, as if grabbing straws. Even though she was so cute when she twisted her body just to look at him, the grand duke only asked with dry eyes.

“Does your Named know about this situation?”

“Hediarot…”

Aaaah, the tongue was so short!

The shame and misery were indescribable. Unable to bear it, Sienna buried her face in her small hands as she spoke.

‘It’s the worst. Worst…’

The grand duke left cheek twitched faintly as he looked down at the desperate 36-month-old (presumed) baby with her face buried in her small, plump hands, but that was all.

It was only the aide and the old butler, who had been together with him for a long time, who noticed such subtle changes.

The rest were admiring that the grand duke was truly without any blood or tears.

They couldn’t believe he didn’t blink at all after seeing that cute creature. Although he was doing great, rumors were circulating that juggling with the head of a horse cut off from the battlefield was also a hobby.

“Sienna.”

As baby Sienna’s despair grew longer, the grand duke urged her once more.

Sienna took a deep breath and spoke about the situation in a stuttering voice that gave herself goosebumps.

“Hedia, Hedaros is responsible for it, but please be patient…”

As she spoke, trying to make fun of the short tongue as accurately as possible, it immediately reminded her of the conversation she had with Hesaros.

[I’m sorry. I guess it’s because of me?]

There was not a single voice of sincere reflection that came from responsibility.

[I was attached to you for a while because the substance disappeared. I tried to separate it as soon as possible, but it seems it’s already too late. It’s true I can’t help it.]

The attitude of going out recklessly because it was not his business made Sienna angry.

[Ah. You will be back to normal in no time, so why are you so angry?]

“Dee-geum… No, that’s why I’m talking about it now…”

[I already told you how. Please take care of finding my home. Do you know? Can you help me if you can afford it?]

It was half teasing. If it had been real, it would have been so cheeky that I wanted to hit him a hundred more times.

[Oh. And if you keep talking to me in this state, the broken balance could be further widened?]

‘What if it breaks more?’

Unable to bear the slurred pronunciation any longer, Sienna spoke through her mind.

[I wonder if you will get even younger.]

‘…Goodbye. ‘

[Okay. Please find my house or something quickly.]

That was the end of it.

It was not a classy enough content that could be conveyed as it was, no matter where you looked.

When Hesaros was talking about a house, it was clear that he was referring to the necklace that was smashed or thrown away while signing a contract with Sienna.

‘It was definitely a jewel.’

In addition, he said that ‘a crystal of pure energy’ was necessary as a condition to become a house.

In the current situation, there was only one thing that could be pointed out.

‘Essential Jewel.’

The uses of this highly concentrated gemstone were on the limitless side.

It was also a source of energy for magic tools, could be used as a small tool containing magic spells, and was sometimes used to make potions through processing.

There were many uses, but the amount from mining was limited. Naturally, the price had to go up.

When there were few items for sale on the market or when demand rose, it often became difficult to obtain no matter how much money one was willing to give.

But Sienna had a very easy way to get her hands on it.

For that…

“Degong Junha.”

“?”

“It’s the mine you mentioned in the compensation.”

“Okay.”

Fortunately, the grand duke remained almost unresponsive to Sienna’s youthful appearance and shortened pronunciation.

Sienna sighed and asked.

“Is that still valid?”

“Gasp…”

“Oh my gosh, my lady…”

The grand duke sighed. Even though the matter was sensitive, everyone couldn’t hide their expressions of being attacked because she was so adorable.

Wasn’t it really terrible in front of a child who was embarrassed by people’s reactions?

It probably wasn’t this.

“…To talk about that, let’s change places first.”

He swore this was just to make conversation easier, and it wasn’t that he didn’t want to show the cute side of this child to others for a long time or anything like that.

Nevermind.

* * *

The grand duke began to head straight to the office. But there was one problem.

The grand duke’s office was about half a storey above the cradle. The structure of this castle was unique, so if you go up two and a half steps, there was a structure on the 2.5th floor.

Of course, Sienna had never been to this space before.

As she went to an unfamiliar place with an unfamiliar stride, Sienna naturally began to lag behind after a while.

“Your Majesty, the lady…”

In the end, only when the old butler gave him a hint did the grand duke belatedly look back.

‘Ah.’

Although the small child was making use of her shortened legs, it was far from being able to catch up with the grand duke’s stride, which even surpassed the average height of an adult male.

The grand duke stopped for a moment and watched the child struggling to catch up with him.

What should he say? His legs moved even before he felt that she was lovely or struggling.

“Your Majesty?”

The grand duke hurriedly returned to the child. As usual, one eyebrow looked slightly frowned.

Sienna thought.

‘…He must have been very frustrated with my steps.’

“I’m sorry, dyuke. You can go first, I’ll follow you soon.”

“…….”

She bowed her head and apologized even though she was out of breath, but there was no answer.

However, he did not turn around and leave again.

The grand duke simply stood silently like a statue, looking down at the top of Sienna’s head.

‘What. Is this not how I should apologize?’

“Your Majesty…?”

“That…….”

“Ah, Your Majesty. That’s what you meant!”

The moment the grand duke opened his mouth and bit his lips.

Madam Deborah interrupted in a hurry, as if to shout ‘Eureka!’

“This Deborah was ignorant. I’ll carry her with me. Then I won’t have to waste your time.”

“…….”

“Come on, Lady?”

Oh, did you mean that? Sienna nodded obediently and hugged the maid with her arms wide open.

‘That’s what it was, just say it.’

Madam Deborah held Sienna perfectly and comfortably, like a maid, who also had the experience of being a nanny.

Then she smiled confidently and said to the grand duke.

“Your Majesty? Let’s go.”

It seemed like he staggered and turned his palms this way, maybe I’m mistaken?

The grand duke turned his back without saying a word and started walking ahead. For some reason, his shoulders seemed to be sagging a little.

Deborah and Sienna tilted their heads. Only the old butler bit his tongue with a kind smile.

‘Should it be said that the young lady is ignorant enough to be cruel, or that His Majesty’s efforts were not enough…’

No, he couldn’t blame the child for this. It would be fair to say that the grand duke, who had raised two children but did not know how to approach them, was responsible for everything.

‘It’s frustrating anyway.’

* * *

Upon arriving at the office after many twists and turns, Sienna confessed why she needed an essential jewel.

‘Hediaros, Hesaroth.’

While struggling with the same pronunciation.

After hearing the story silently, the grand duke took out a silk pouch from the drawer.

“Take it.”

In the past, it would have been easy with one hand, but now she had to take it with both hands and place it carefully on her lap.

“That’s the essential jewel.”

“Ah.”

…Yes?

Surprised, Sienna almost spilled the contents by releasing the pouch she was opening.

‘So, this is the one that allows you to live in a small house in the center of the capital city even though it’s the size of a coin…’

At first glance, they vary in size, ranging from as small as the size of a thumb to as large as Sienna’s fist-that is, a 36-month-old fist.

“It’s different from ordinary jewellery, so just because it’s large doesn’t mean it’s worth a lot. It’s not even fully processed…”

Sienna’s realistic and calculating soul in her 36-month-old body, mind half-flowing with the clumsy explanation, completed the calculations.

‘At least five capital mansions.’

It could also be purchased with a lump-sum payment without limit.

“Even if we discuss the compensation plan for mine stake, it will take some time until we get the essential jewels we need right now. So, I’ll give you what I have for now.”

The grand duke was not eloquent, and he was a very economical man. It meant that he was a person who only spoke when it was necessary.

But somehow, with Sienna in front of him, his words became strangely long.

“Named is actually the most special grade among essential jewels, a weapon with a soul stone.”

“Aha…….”

“It’s a soul stone. If your Hesaros dwells in the jewel, it will become a soul stone, but there must also be an entity to support it.”

Just as his Illus Getter was a spear with a soul stone embedded in it.

“Do I need jewels and weapons to make the house of Hediarus?”

(T/N: she’s mispronouncing Hesaros a lot.)

“Maybe.”

It’s complicated… Sienna started looking at the essential jewels that she had in her hands.

“Then can I just choose one of these?”

How to choose. Should she ask Hesaros, who was now silent, to come out?

The grand duke’s eyebrows, looking at Sienna who was worried, rose as if in doubt.

“Do you really have to do that?”

“…Yes?”

No, then what would she do with all this?

Sienna protested cautiously.

“I don’t think I’ll need all of this…”

“Then you can keep the rest and use it when you need it.”

Oh, she didn’t even think of that?

…There was no way she would have thought of it.

‘Where am I going to use all this?’

Was it true that rich people have different scales?

Grand Duke Nacht’s estate was not only able to transport goods by land without stopping, but also along the wide river Ragnas, so water transport also played a significant role.

Moreover, he was not only the Grand Duke Nacht of this era, but also a war hero from generation to generation.

The three-generation-long guardian family of the empire, which began as a family that started as an official of the nation and had been passed down as a war hero.

They couldn’t dry up until their money was dry.

You wouldn’t really know but, it would be okay if you just play and eat for three generations with the wealth they’ve already accumulated.

For the grand duke, giving her about five small mansions would be no different from throwing a gold coin, with a bit of exaggeration.

“When your body returns to normal, it would be nice to go to the treasure trove together. There must be at least one thing that can support your essential jewels and that you will like.”

If it’s Nacht’s treasure trove, she knew that it wouldn’t even fit into the category of normally expensive stuff…

Simply expensive stuff went into the warehouse. The treasury was a place where only special items with history or power comparable to relics were gathered.

‘…No, no. Let’s not be timid. Whatever this house gives you, just take it quietly.’

Purifying and living in a place where she didn’t want to be in very much, even though it wasn’t intentional.

Of course, she didn’t want to say, ‘I’m doing such a great job.’

It was just an unintentional accident, but it could be seen that she was dedicated to the service of Grand Duke Nacht.

The thought of being misunderstood like that made her shiver a little.

‘I don’t really want to hear a word of thanks in the same context.’

But the money was good because it’s necessary.

Even later, if she was ‘uncomfortable’ or ‘they didn’t realize, but I did a great job for them’, she would think about it while looking at what she got from this house.

(T/N: basically if her relationship with them changed, she will endure while thinking of the things she received from them.)

‘So I got money.’

‘Anyway, all of this will be a once in a while kind of thing.’

“Thank you…….”

Being in the form of a baby was uncomfortable and embarrassing, but there was one advantage.

No matter what terrible thoughts she had on the inside, it didn’t show on the outside, and she just looked cute.

For that reason, the grand duke made a serious mistake.

Sienna accepted the gift he had prepared without saying a word. Not only that, both he and Ashiel had put their heads together about the stake in the mine, which was painstakingly prepared and negotiated.

‘Yeah, the more I think about it, the more extraordinary I am.’

When he was rejected for the first time, he just didn’t show it, but was actually surprised and bewildered.

Then the butler gave him advice with a smile.

“Well, she seems to be a temperamentally cautious person. Prudence is a virtue worthy of respect. In my humble opinion, I think your worries are excessive.….”

That seemed right.

Of course, what he wished for while giving her this was a bright smile, but…….

‘I can’t expect a child who is born wise, calm, and knows shame to react differently from her temperament.’

Although he cannot claim to be a good parent, he was a father of two sons.

Every child has an innate temperament.

So, even if he gave Sienna a huge gift.

Even when she became the owner of the Named.

The reason she didn’t seem to be very happy was probably because she had a calm temperament.

The grand duke tried to convince himself that way. It was an instinctive effort to erase the anxious feelings that made a corner of his heart preoccupied.

* * *

That day was just a weekend.

As always on that day, as evening came, Ashiel returned home.

What a big unexpected event that was in this castle…….

“…It’s a strange thing that you came home for three weekends.”

Far from controlling the behavior of his sons, these words came out of the mouth of the grand duke, who rarely mentioned such things except in a few circumstances.

“It seems that he is thinking of filling the number of times he can use the magic circle for home use before graduation. How fortunate this is.”

Assistant Viscount Devon said so with a smile on his face.

Ashiel stood there with his eyes slightly lowered and expressionless.

“Yes, let’s go in and rest.”

“…Yes. I’ll see you in the evening.”

Without shaking, Devon suddenly shouted at the back of Ashiel’s head, who turned with a straight back as he had always done.

“Oh, Your Highness the Grand Prince! She must be reading a book in the study room now.”

Ashiel’s footsteps heading down the stairs came to a sudden stop as if a sudden brake had been applied. But he didn’t look back or answer.

Soon after, Ashiel started going down the stairs again as if nothing had happened.

As he looked at his son’s neat back as he moved away, the grand duke murmured in disbelief.

“Didn’t that guy almost slip?”

“Well, I don’t know.”

Anyway, it seemed evident that Ashiel was going to see Sienna just like that.

‘He will see something unexpected before people around him tell him.’

Wasn’t that kind of emotional agitation necessary for that ice-cold grand prince? The assistant secretly laughed.

‘I always thought it would be nice to have at least one girl, not just two sons in this family.’

It felt good that the wish had come true.

It was a premature expectation.

* * *

Of course, Ashiel had no intention of doing what Devon expected.

…He didn’t think about it, but he was concerned that the place Devon mentioned was that ‘study room’.

He still remembered a single flower that had been thrown on the floor that day, and each time, he would suddenly feel like being stabbed by a blade that came out of an unexpected place…

‘It hurts? How surprising?’

It felt like his heart, shocked by the sudden surprise, did not calm down for a long time.

Hopefully, Ashiel’s flower was not still left behind that desk.

‘…Shall I check?’

He didn’t know why.

But when he saw that there was nothing under the desk, he had a strange anticipation that this unsettling feeling would dissipate.

If he thought about it a little rationally, it was an absurd excuse.

His desires were already on the side of visiting the child and he was simply looking for the reason, so he could not help but feel bad.

Although Ashiel knew, he could not stop walking towards Sienna’s room.

“Oh my, Grand Prince?”

The maids were clearing the room as if she had just finished studying.

After Sienna awakened as the owner of the Named, there was a great uproar among the employees in the castle.

“Your Majesty, you need children who have heavy mouths and are good at work to join the team as she has a Named. In addition, the lady has already been hurt by her employees several times. I think you need to be more careful.….”

Naturally, the grand duke allowed it without hesitation. So, two reliable maids assigned to important positions in the castle were reassigned to take care of Sienna.

“Did you come to see the lady?”

Ashiel was about to nod, but a foreign object caught his eye.

“That’s…”

The vase was decorated with flowers.

“Oh, that one?”

The newly assigned maids had no way of knowing how the bouquet that Ashiel had sent was dealt with.

“Sir Seth is in charge of the lady’s class. This is the flower he brought this morning to celebrate the first manifestation.”

“The lady asked me to put it in a vase, so I did.”

“…….”

Ashiel stared at the vase that looked perfectly fine with a hardened face.

‘What’s wrong with him?’

The maids tilted their heads and looked suspiciously at the eccentric prince.

“…I see.”

“Yes…….”

“Ah, the lady is in the room now. May I guide you, Your Highness?”

It was only then that Ashiel barely realized that he was acting quite strangely now.

“…No, I’m done.”

“Yes?”

“I’ll leave now, I should get going.”

The anticipation of seeing the child vanished like a bubble that had popped all of a sudden.

Despite knowing that it should not be of much importance, Ashiel’s mind as he left the room kept revolving around the flowers that she had left on the floor and Seth’s bouquet, which was beautifully placed in a vase.

* * *

That night, Ashiel had a dream.

In the dream, he was looking for something and turned the room upside down.

“I have to find it. It must be here somewhere…”

The Ashiel in his dream did not have the usual neat and tidy appearance like a well sharpened knife.

He roamed the room, quite literally ‘out of his mind’.

While pouring through the books he could get his hands on, he murmured, ‘Yeah, it couldn’t have been kept so preciously.’

Each time he pulled out a drawer and checked the closed boxes one by one, he lost hope and put on a dying face.

There was not.

It was not anywhere.

It was nowhere to be found.

Not a single one, really, not a single one, was left.

“I’ve lost it. Really…”

He lost it.

He lost something he didn’t even know was precious.

He casually left it and thought it would always be there.

It was a mistake, it was arrogance.

His strength was gone and his knees were bent.

He hit the floor, but he didn’t even feel any pain.

He was just frustrated because of something he had lost, and after that, his heart ached a lot.

It hurt so much that it was hard to breathe, like his heart was being squeezed.

The self-reproach was piercing, like stabbing his intestines with a thorny stick.

No one was to be blamed.

He lost it.

He threw it away.

Because of the intense regret and the pain of self-blame, he could not feel any other sensations.

…Right then.

“……Ugh.”

His eyes lit up.

Like a child who breathed air through his lungs for the first time after being born, Ashiel breathed heavily in sweat. The air was suffocating as if choking him.

After a while, his breath slowed down a bit. Then Ashiel looked around.

The still bluish sunlight was seeping through the curtains by the bed.

He was on the bed, not in the study.

“It was a dream…”

It was a terrible nightmare.

He couldn’t understand the context at all. It was not a dream that someone died, or that the empire would be destroyed by an invasion of foreign beasts leading an entire army.

He was just desperately looking for something, but he couldn’t find it.

‘But that’s…’

He was certain, it was definitely the worst nightmare Ashiel could have.

“…….”

What the hell was he looking for?

What did he lose?

The more he thought about it, the more distant the afterimage of his dream became like an illusion.

After swallowing dry saliva for a moment, Ashiel shook his head to shake off the lingering afterglow of his dream. And pulled the curtain open.

Light poured through. It was morning.

* * *

The weekend was when all the owners who had been away returned to the castle.

So the servants had to move faster as they were busier than usual.

Especially today, the grand duke specifically ordered a family luncheon. Thanks to this, the kitchen, which was usually the most leisurely place, was in the process of being busier than ever before.

And… Sienna was still 36 months old this morning.

“I’m glad that the clothes the princes wore at this age were well kept.”

It was around the age where people would begin to distinguish gender through dressing, but fortunately, there were a few clothes that both girls and boys could wear.

“You’ll be back soon, but I don’t think it would be a bad idea to match your clothes to commemorate this time…”

“Oh… pwlease don’t. It’s a waste.”

Actually, money didn’t matter, it was just annoying.

“Hoho, of course you do.”

If she had been eleven, Madam Deborah would have delivered a full speech saying, ‘You shouldn’t say that the amount spent on the lady is a waste.’

However, after Sienna’s tongue shortened, the nagging was significantly reduced.

‘It’s just that the appearance has changed.’

There was something comfortable about this, but the inconveniences were about ten times more than that.

“Come on, Lady. Shall we go now?”

First of all, wherever she went, she had to be carried by people around because of her short stride.

It was embarrassing for Sienna, who was originally eleven in body and over twenty in spirit.

She didn’t want to say, ‘I want to go to the study room, so please carry me.’

Besides, in front of that Michael Nacht, never.

“Hey, you really…”

Yesterday evening, as soon as the rumors spread, Michael came to Sienna.

‘Yeah, I was wondering when you would come.’

Resigned, Sienna replied grumpily.

“Miwheal.”

“Puhaha! Hey, what are you! Your tongue is shortened! Whoa, my God!”

‘Yeah, I know, so please stop being excited.’

Even if he noticed the cold expression on her face, Michael was so excited that he didn’t seem to understand.

“Hey, if I had known this would happen, I would have bought a pair of baby shoes when we went to buy shoes.”

“I do not need it.”

“How can you talk with this little mouth? Hey, can I touch your cheek?”

“…….”

Sienna glared at Michael tiredly, who was asking if it was okay.

“Sorry.”

Although he said he was sorry, Michael looked happy. He looked like he was dying of cuteness, but for Sienna, he just looked like he was teasing her for her misfortune.

“I’m going to rest now.”

“Yes, yes.”

“To the room! I’m going.”

“Yes, yes. Let’s go together. I’ll take you to the door.”

‘Who do you think is really the kid…?’

What Sienna wanted to say in this situation was exactly: Your Highness, the Second Young Master, do you think that I am really a child because of my small body?

But that said, the difficulty was too severe for a 36-month-old oral structure.

In reality, it would probably be something like, ‘Seckond Pwince, do ywe think I’ve become a child just because I’ve gotten smaller?’ …It was almost like it was all chewed up. For that inevitable reason, Sienna’s language proficiency unintentionally became very simple.

“……Originally, I’m a year older than you.”

“Puhaha, I can’t stand it. Man, you look like a real kid when you say that!”

“…….”

‘Yes, yes, laugh all you want.’

After laughing as much as he could, Michael laughed even harder and made excuses that didn’t work, saying, ‘I did it because it was cute, because it was cute!’

In such a situation, she didn’t want to be seen moving by being hugged by someone.

“I can go alone now.”

Having declared that, Sienna boldly crossed the threshold.

…And fell terribly.

She tripped over the wrinkled carpet by mistake, but the problem was that her arms and legs were both too short, so she couldn’t take any defensive postures, such as touching the ground.

Besides… Tragically, her head was also heavy.

As a result, Sienna…

Thud!

“Lady!!”

“Hey!”

Madam Deborah, the great-looking woman, quickly raised her up, but it was already after she had her forehead and nose nailed to the floor.

Michael also ran up to her and asked.

“Hey, are you okay?!”

“Ah, ah…….”

Rather than being sick, I was surprised and blinked a lot.

“Oh, don’t cry, Lady! Woo, woo! It’s okay, it’s okay. There was no blood…”

“Oh, yes. Look here. Look at this. Wow, it doesn’t hurt at all, doesn’t it?!”

But when Madam Deborah and Michael really treated her like a three-year-old, she really wanted to cry.

Anyway, thanks to the strange ability that children do not get seriously injured even if they fall, there were no problems, but after that, their spirits were broken and they just carried her around.

It was comfortable. Sienna was embarrassed from herself.

Deborah went down to the lunch room with Sienna in her arms.

“The lady has come.”

The luncheon room was more like a family room than a fancy dinner room.

“Are you here?”

“Yes.”

After practicing, I was able to pronounce ‘yes’ clearly. But it didn’t seem to have much effect. Seeing that Michael was still saying nonsense like, “Your voice is cute.”

‘Let’s pretend I didn’t hear, pretend I didn’t hear.’

Anyway, all three pairs of red eyes were staring at Sienna. Among them, Ashiel seemed especially speechless.

Well. This would have been the first time Ashiel saw Sienna at 36-months-old because they ate separately last night.

“She got smaller… it was true.”

“Yes.”

Sienna also didn’t want to make a mistake in front of him for some reason. So, she gathered her short arms and greeted them nicely.

So far, it went fine. Now, let’s say hello by giving strength to the tongue…

“Gwand Pwice.”

…She was doomed.

“Pfft.”

Michael laughed—She didn’t know if it was intentional, but it sounded like that to Sienna’s ears—and Ashiel was stunned and her lips parted a little, as if he was speechless.

“Stop.”

The grand duke ordered them to stop, as if he thought it was enough.

“Sit the child in a chair.”

“Yes.”

Madam Deborah sat Sienna in a chair slightly higher than usual. The prepared tableware was also smaller than usual.

Holding back a sigh, Sienna unfolded a napkin embroidered with chicks for a child and laid it on her lap.

“…Let’s start eating.”

The butler led the servants and brought them their meal. While serving the salad little by little as an appetizer, Michael pointed a finger.

“Hey, look over there.”

What else was he going to do? Sienna turned her head slightly with a frown on her forehead without realizing it…

“Pfft.”

Without realizing it, she had to cover her mouth, which was about to burst into laughter, with both small hands.

She didn’t mean to laugh, but it was irresistible. Under the butler’s trousers, who wore a monocle and had a snazzy face… The ‘fashionable nose boots’ in question were sticking out.

“…….”

The butler made eye contact with Sienna, he even winked and smiled.

Michael whistled softly next to her.

“I didn’t know that the butler loved me so much. Hmm?”

A smile spread across Sienna’s lips without realizing it. Michael shrugged as he looked at her.

The grand duke and Ashiel stared blankly with disbelieving faces.

Michael made Sienna laugh!

So far none of them have been successful. No, it was something they never even thought of trying, let alone succeed.

Because he was very proud, the boy had no intention of being humble. He was going to show off as much as he could.

“How… how…?”

“Ahem. It’s a trade secret. Let’s have dinner.”

When Sienna, who had been exchanging glances with the butler, turned her head again, somehow Ashiel was slicing the steak strangely and rougher than usual.

“……?”

Well, it wouldn’t be something to watch. Sienna soon turned her attention away.

Although the air was silent and Ashiel was a little rough with his food, the meal went without any problems.

Since it was a luncheon, the simple course that omitted many things was over, and only then did the grand duke bring out the main topic of today’s luncheon.

“There will be a full bureaucratic meeting in a week.”

The nobles of the Feyenoord Empire stayed in the island mansion from spring to summer and returned to their estates when the harvest began.

In other words, it was the officials under the lord who actually managed the estate during spring and summer.

So, before spring came, a meeting was held to build solidarity and draw a big picture of the overall management of the estate this year.

“Isn’t it a little early this year?”

“And on the spot, we will officially announce that Nacht’s child, Sienna, has become the owner of the Named Hesaros.”

“……Ah.”

Was that how it works?

“I have already reported the work of the Named Haesaros to the Emperor.”

Of course. It was the first appearance of a new Named owner in ten years after Ashiel. He couldn’t hide it from the emperor.

In addition, the wizards and castle elders who attended the challenge of Hesaros.

The mouths of those people could not be stopped forever.

‘It’s impossible unless you kill them all.’

The mouth of a living person was bound to be opened someday.

In the meantime, the timing overlapped well. If it was presented to the vassals at that time, rumors would spread to some extent in the system.

It was easier to control the ripple effect by gradually raising the level of disclosure little by little, rather than shocking the entire system at once.

It would be possible to respond with composure to the changing public opinion situation.

‘But when it starts to become known anyway…’

The news would also reach Loreina’s ears.

There was no way Loreina didn’t know.

Because from the beginning, she felt very proud that she was a child of Nacht. She was probably still listening to this news. While envisioning the day she would enter this castle proudly.

‘Maybe you already know my existence…’

A cold feeling spread.

Naturally, I remembered the words Loreina often used to say back then.

“Sienna. You don’t deserve it, but it’s okay. You have me.”

In the past, I used to thank Loreina because I thought it meant I would be happy to be by her side.

But now that I came back and thought about it, it didn’t mean that at all.

She meant it’s okay not to have something like me.

‘Because she had all of me.’

So, didn’t she mean that I should have noticed and disappeared?

‘Why didn’t I know?’

Why was I such a stupid fool?

Although it wasn’t Sienna’s fault that she was deceived by the candy cane, gave up her entire life and ended her life with poison, Sienna was ashamed.

If only I had been more alert.

If only I wasn’t hungry for more affection.

Such thoughts would flow constantly like gushing waters.

So, if possible, she wanted to avoid loving anyone in the future.

There was nothing as dangerous as that, Sienna thought.

“…Lady? Are you okay?”

“……Yes?”

When she came to her senses, Sienna had already returned to the room and sat in front of the mirror.

She could feel the maid watching her attentively with worried eyes.

“It’s okay.”

“Oh, you must be very nervous about introducing yourself.”

The new maids were very friendly to Sienna.

These two were not bad at heart from the beginning, and they had never ridiculed or bullied Sienna in their previous lives.

In addition, as Sienna became ‘younger’ at the time of their new appointment, it seemed easier to open up.

“Don’t worry too much. It would be nice if you could go back to your original body before the meeting, but you’re so cute even if you don’t.”

“Ah.”

Come to think of it, there was a problem like this, right?

She  was so engrossed in thinking about Loreina that she didn’t even think of it.

‘If it doesn’t go back to normal after a week, maybe…’

“Hello. I’m Sienna. Altwngh I’m lackwing, I stand here today as a child of Nacht. It’s an hwonor to introduce myself like this today.”

…In this way, she was going to have the worst self-introduction ever.

‘I’m in trouble’

Something big happened, but there was nothing Sienna could do.

‘Ugh.’

As she let out a sigh without realizing it, the maid clenched her fists.

“It’s okay, Lady. If you’re cute, you can win.”

She was not sure of the context, but it sounded like a cheer.

“Yes, Lady. There’s nothing wrong with being cute. If someone harasses you, don’t forget it and ask the Grand Duke to punish him later.”

Haha. Were these people being real?

‘What if I’m really eleven years old and believe it right away? What am I going to say’

After that, the maids struggled for a while, saying, ‘If you go to Master Michael and ask him, he will bully the person who bullied you until they really want to die.’

It didn’t seem like a sound worth listening to, so Sienna roughly listened to those words.

* * *

After that, time passed as usual. There was no particular change in Sienna’s daily life.

Having fun studying magic with Seth, and receiving special etiquette training from a general education teacher.

What was special was that the tailor Anna came and took Sienna’s measurements again.

“I wondered what the situation would be for you to need two dresses, and this was what they meant. It’s cute.”

By then, Sienna, who was about to be allergic to the word ‘cute’, put on a dead face.

Anna swore that there was no need to worry about her having misunderstandings, saying, ‘I will put all my heart into both dresses and make them very pretty’.

‘It’s nice to be kind, but you got it wrong…’

Dresses or whatever, she just wanted to do something about this slurred pronunciation.

“I’ll do my best!”

“Haha…….”

Sienna just laughed softly.

Anyway, the week went by so quickly…

“Yes… Lady. I’ll give you a little dress here.”

…Sienna was still 36 months old.

‘No…’

I was wrong, this would remain a legend…

The maids began to comfort Sienna, who was desperate as she buried her face in her tiny, undeveloped hands.

“It’s okay, Lady. I said that. If you’re cute, you win!”

Those were still very inconvenient words.

“Besides, it’s not thirty-six months now. It’s been a while, so you can probably round it to thirty-seven months.”

“Right, how about raising it up and calling yourself four years old?!”

What the hell was the difference…

Sienna sighed heavily. Anyway, there was nothing she could do.

“It’s okay… I’m going to stop preparing now.”

But the unwillingness did not end there.

“…Why is it so fancy?”

It was strange.

On the first day of the bureaucratic meeting, it was correct that everyone gathered in the castle’s main hall for the opening ceremony.

However, Sienna knew that it was just a time to simply settle down, saying, ‘Let’s do well this year!’ with only the Grand Duke Nacht, officials, and vassals under Nacht gathered in a generally decent atmosphere.

But now it was not like that at all.

The soft sound of the band’s music. The guests who arrived first carried in the scent of flowers and filled with sounds of laughter.

The hall was lavishly decorated from the entrance with flowers and lights.

Sienna immediately sensed an ominous feeling. This was somehow…

“…It’s like a party…”

“You noticed it right away!”

It was a surprise. It was a familiar voice, but she was surprised to hear it from behind.

“Madam Deborah?”

It was Madam Deborah, whom she didn’t see often, because she had given her a reliable maid and became extremely focused on her original job as a housekeeper.

“Today’s event is never supposed to be held like this, but the Grand Duke took great care as it is the place where the young lady will appear for the first time!”

“Aha…….”

“To be more specific, the Grand Duke opened the vault generously, and this Deborah took a lot of care.”

She was still a woman who was faithful to her appeal.

‘It’s so… Don’t be thankful…’

The fact that the grand duke spent a lot of money meant that there must be a lot of guests. Sienna quickly darkened.

‘I really hate it.’

How to introduce herself in a short tongue in front of so many people… If she could, she wanted to disappear like this.

“Sienna.”

Then the grand duke finally appeared.

“Your Highness.”

“……Today…….”

“……?”

“You are… well… dressed.”

It was a strange word, neither one nor the other, as if he had bitten himself while trying to give a compliment.

The old butler couldn’t hide his bitter smile at his master’s pathetic behavior. But the duke’s expression was more serious. He seemed to want to chew his tongue if he could. It was incredible.

“?”

“…Let’s just go in.”

The grand duke slowly lowered his stance towards Sienna and spread his arms.

Sienna sighed. It was unavoidable.

‘We have to enter together, but we can’t walk in at my pace.’

She guaranteed it would be many times more funny and eccentric than just being hugged.

Holding Sienna up, the grand duke stood still for a moment without saying a word.

“Your Majesty? You have to go in.”

The old butler, who couldn’t look further, gave him a hint.

“…Yes, let’s just go in.”

* * *

The hall was completely turned into a banquet hall.

There were long tables on either side of the table with drinks and food, and the band was in full swing on the indoor balcony.

A fountain that was not originally in the center of the hall was also introduced. It was made of transparent glass, so it looked expensive just by looking at it, but people came close with only empty glasses and were drinking water flowing from the fountain.

‘Ah… It’s a champagne fountain.’

It wasn’t just a party, it was a party in earnest.

‘It’s not about spending some money, it’s about pouring it.’

“The Grand Duke…”

“That kid is…”

“Oh my gosh, I heard that she is experiencing symptoms of age regression…”

“I’ve heard of this. Isn’t that a symptom that appears only in a very small number of children with great qualities?”

“Hey, of course it’s enough to become the owner of a Named at such a young age…”

Even though I was just passing by in the arms of the grand duke, people just moved away, I thought that this wasn’t normal.

‘I feel like I’m going to….’

Because of the concentrated gazes, her cheeks felt prickly.

Sienna didn’t know, but all the gifts the grand duke had rejected were piled up there.

“Sienna!”

Michael popped out of the group of boys gathered in the front and stood next to his father.

“You ended up being hugged here.”

“It can’t be helped because it’s like this.”

“Yes, yes. Your pronunciation has improved a lot. I know you’ve worked hard.”

That’s the change he felt since he had seen Sienna from the first day she turned 36-months-old. Those who saw Sienna for the first time at 37 months without prior information would probably just hear it as short-tongued.

“Why do you look sulky even after I complimented you?”

“I never did.”

“Ah, no way.”

Seeing Michael, who was famous for being rough, friendly to Sienna, people’s gossip became even hotter.

Finally, the grand duke, along with Sienna, reached the top of the podium. Ashiel was waiting there.

“Father.”

For some reason, the grand duke was about to hand Sienna over to Ashiel.

Ashiel wondered if it had been agreed upon in advance, but it was quicker for Sienna to grab the grand duke’s arm.

“…….”

There was a moment of strange silence, but soon the grand duke lowered Sienna to the floor as if nothing had happened.

And he grabbed the glass of champagne that the butler gave him.

“Thank you for joining us to introduce my ward.”

“…….”

“And to you loyal ones, I am delighted to announce that this child has surprisingly become the owner of the Named Hesaros.”

People in the back started to step up to look at Sienna.

Sienna quietly grabbed the hem of her skirt, bent her knees, and lowered herself. It was a specially trained greeting.

As Sienna greeted them, exclamations mixed with excitement erupted from the (people in the) entire hall, who were holding their breaths.

“Congratulations, His Majesty the Grand Duke! I’m so happy to be alive to see this day!”

A roaring voice from one side could not overcome the joy and shouted.

In the midst of the roar, everyone was intoxicated with excitement.

“Congratulations!”

“Long live Nacht!”

“Blessed be the family of the founding fathers from generation to generation!”

It didn’t seem to be celebrating the news that everyone knew. Only then did Sienna realize a little.

‘How surprising. Being the owner of a Named is… It’s like this.’

As she looked down at the crowd from the podium, it seemed that all those people in the venue were welcoming and congratulating Sienna.

This couldn’t be true at all.

* * *

Someone grabbed Sienna’s arm, and she wondered blankly if she did something wrong.

“What are you doing? Everyone is waiting.”

“Yes? Wait…”

Although Michael grabbed Sienna’s arm, the grand duke did not stop him.

Where she was being dragged to…

“What is all this… what is it?”

“What is it, it’s a gift.”

Michael blew a small whistle, and people looked at them with delight, as if they were generally cute.

“Up until now, everyone wanted to send you a congratulatory gift, but father refused.”

Some of the people watching just to humor themselves burst into laughter sporadically.

“Let’s open one and see the sincerity. What do you like the most?”

“That…”

Sienna tried to choose the smallest one, but Michael said no and eventually made her tear the biggest wrapper.

What came out was a large teddy bear that a small child like Sienna could lie down and sleep on.

“Oh, it looks good on you. Sit there with it in your arms!”

“Oh my god! What’s that?”

“Why is thatbear so big?”

“Haha, Lady Sienna!” It looks really good on you!”

Sienna was seated on the legs of the giant bear with a soulless face, like a man who had lost his money from gambling.

“It suits you really well. Whose gift is this?”

At his witty remarks, people noticed that the seemingly difficult gigantic bear was a gift from Michael Nacht, and everyone laughed.

‘Michael Nacht, I’m going to break it….’

Sienna glared at Michael as if she had been possessed by fraud. Michael took Sienna’s hand and kissed it in a very polite motion.

“Congratulations, my princess.”

“…Why do you keep doing this?”

“That’s because it’s fun.”

There were so many eyes that she couldn’t do anything about it. Sienna sighed and rolled her eyes…….

“What?”

I made eye contact with a few girls looking this way who had eyes burning with anger.

‘Ah…’

She forgot. Michael Nacht, he was popular, right?

‘…I’m in trouble.….’

She’s in big trouble. She’s in big trouble.….

However, even though she thought so, the problem was that she was slowly falling asleep in the cozy teddy bear.

At a ceremony to celebrate the owner of the Named, the main character fell asleep like that.

* * *

The meeting marathon began the next day.

There was no choice but to do so. Facilities to be repaired for the busy farming season, and from the required budget size to the tax rate for the year’s taxes. The agenda was full and overflowing.

However, there was one problem.

Usually, there would have been no problem because only officials were here, but this time, there was a big event to introduce Sienna, and the simple invitations exceeded the number of the people involved.

“How about going on a picnic with people who have time on the second day?”

“That’s not a bad idea.”

As soon as she heard that it had been decided, Sienna nodded right away.

“Then I’ll be a person who doesn’t have spare time.”

“No, Lady! You are now a member of Nacht who was proudly recognized even among the officials and the vassels!”

To sum up Madam Deborah’s long nagging, it would be rude if Sienna did not attend the reception of her guests as a member of the Nacht.

So she was forced to attend.

Picnic.

The temperature was still a bit chilly, but the sun was shining and it was tolerable with a shawl.

Sienna looked around the area.

The other children got together to play sports, go for a walk, or read a book…

Sienna, who was suddenly brought by a madam who was supposed to take care of her, did not have a single ordinary book.

The madam was currently completely forgetting Sienna and concentrating on chatting with other madams.

‘I can’t do it.’

Sienna played a meaningless prank by rolling a stone-like jewel in her pocket.

Still, Hesaros did not answer, probably busy with Sienna’s unconscious purification.

‘I wish we could talk at times like this.’

However, this morning, one of the essential jewelry she had put in the drawer was neatly placed on the table.

Apparently, that was the jewel that Hesaros liked. She was carrying just in case.

‘By the way…’

When she looked around in detail starting from yesterday’s event, there were quite a few people who looked at Sienna coldly, not only among the girls, but also among the adults.

‘…No, somehow, today’s meeting seems to be led by people with such enmity.’

She felt really bad, so she thought she came to the wrong place.

It wasn’t that she didn’t understand.

From their point of view, an orphan who they would never have considered as a rival appeared out of nowhere and took the place they all wanted and hoped for.

There must have been a fire caused by Michael’s mischief.

Of course, Michael was not malicious.

Michael, the son of the grand duke, who was also outstanding in appearance and talent, was, of course, the leader among his peers.

It was just a shallow ploy as the leader to show that he cared for Sienna, so that she could be respected in a group of children her age.

But if there was one thing Michael overlooked, even if that sort of play of rank worked among guys…

“Lady Sienna? My fan fell over there. Can you pick it up for me?”

…The point was that it would have no meaning or effect among girls.

‘No, it doesn’t mean anything.’

Michael, the most popular boy among them, treated an orphan that cannot be compared to those with nobility as princesses, so even if his stomach turned upside down, he would have turned over a hundred times.

To survive this envy…

‘You have to be like Sister Loreina.’

It means that you must be irrefutably beautiful, come from a noble family, have excellent skills, and have many friends.

‘Do I possess such things?’

If they were jealous, it was something they could be jealous of.

“Lady Sienna, didn’t Lady Florence ask to pick up the fan?”

“That’s right. It’s kind of rude that you don’t move even after being asked.”

“Hey, what can I do with a place like that?”

“…….”

It had been a long time since I was bullied so openly.

‘What should I do…’

Picking it up wasn’t difficult, but the problem was that once they were allowed a prank, they would believe that she could continue to be bullied.

The worries didn’t last long.

When Sienna looked at her, the fan that had fallen quietly on the floor fluttered and floated up.

“What, what!”

“You must have used magic!”

The fan spun once in the air, and then rolled down the width of Florence’s skirt.

“I picked it up for you. Alrwight?”

What a waste. She thought it would have been pretty cool if the pronunciation was correct.

Contrary to Sienna, who thought bluntly, the children began to tremble.

“This person…….”

“The orphan girl is cheeky…”

An immediate situation.

“There! What’s going on? Sylvia, why are you all gathering like that?”

Perhaps they finally sensed something strange, two ladies who were talking nearby approached.

“Oh, I just wanted to play with her, but she used magic to throw a fan at me!”

Perhaps it was an opportunity, Florence exclaimed with evil intentions.

“That’s right, it’s unfair to Young Lady Florence.”

“It’s unfair!”

“Oh my gosh… Really? Are you guys hurt?”

This. Sienna clicked her tongue inwardly.

Unfortunately, those ladies seemed to be the ones who didn’t like Sienna.

“Lady Sienna, I know you’re proud to be a member of Nacht… but the children here and we are loyal servants of the Nacht family for a long time.”

“That’s right, you should think about getting along well with such precious children, instead of using magic to scare them.”

“His Majesty the Grand Duke will be very disappointed if he finds out. Well, maybe he’ll regret letting an orphan in.”

The noblewomen here were thinking to themselves in this way.

‘Because of her excellent skills, she became the owner of the Named, but it is absurd to aim to be the future hostess of the Grand Duchy.’

‘We can’t let a commoner orphan become a Grand Duchess and rule us.’

‘Even if that happens, I’ll have to suppress her right now, so she won’t dare treat me and my daughters lightly.’

Even if she was a good wizard, the social world was a battlefield for ladies, not a battlefield for wizards.

The noble wives here were not going to open the door to Sienna in the first place.

‘What do I do?’

Although she expected quarrels with children of her age, she did not expect that the older ladies would come out so blatantly.

Looking around, Madam Dahlia, who was supposed to look after Sienna today, was not seen for a long time.

There seemed to be no one else around who could help.

When Sienna was thinking about how to get out of this situation…

“What’s going on there?”

A man of medium height, an average physique, and an ordinary face approached her.

‘A somewhat familiar face…’

“Viscount Jester.”

The woman had no choice but to acknowledge him.

“We have some problems between us. If you pretend not to know…”

“It seems to me that there was simply a misunderstanding between the children.”

He had been keeping an eye on the situation. The noble wives shut their mouths reluctantly.

‘Ah.’

Hearing his tone, Sienna also remembered who he was.

‘He was the person who helped Sister Loreina in the past.’

Of all the vassals under the grand duchy, he was the most eager to support the claim that Loreina should become the future grand duchess.

Viscount Jester nailed it.

“It would be better not to make things too big, to the point of looking at the Grand Duke’s face.”

An irresistible name came out.

This meant that if the noble wives stretched out further, he would even consider telling the grand duke.

“…Guys, let’s go!”

In the end, the noble wives led the children to the other side.

“Thank you for your help.”

“Huh, no. You must have been in quite the trouble.”

Viscount Jester grinned and scratched his head.

“If this happens again, please come to me. I will do my best to help you as best I can.”

“Yes…….”

“No, that’s not it, would you like to go over there and stay with our children? I think something similar might happen again if you stay here…”

Sienna furrowed her eyebrows sensitively at the words that gave a subtly ominous hint.

‘…What is up with this man?’

She had a much worse premonition than when she confronted the wives earlier.

“It’s okay. I…”

“Lady Sienna.”

Viscount Jester smiled calmly, shifted, and narrowed the distance.

“……!”

It was also in his eyes.

The ominous black energy that she saw in Isabelle Gildinak’s eyes.

But that wasn’t the only threat.

“I told you to go together. Please follow me nicely.”

A sharp dagger glistened in his hand.

* * *

After a while. Suddenly, the sky began to darken with a rumble.

“Oh my God, it’s raining this season.”

“We need to go in quickly!”

“Where are all the kids?”

While everyone was busily taking care of their personal belongings such as cricket tools and books, and the children, belatedly, Madam Dahlia jumped as she looked around.

“Oh my God! That child! Where did she go?”

“Yeah? That child?”

“Lady Sienna, the ward of the Grand Duke! I promised to look after the child today!”

“Yes?!”

Losing the child was different from being displeased with Sienna.

“Oh my God, where the hell did a mouse-bell-sized thing go? It’s going to rain soon.”

“I’m going to go and get some more servants. That’s really annoying.”

“What if I can’t find the child? Oh, my God! I thought she’d be calm!”

People glared at Madame Dahlia, who was belatedly making a fuss.

‘You should have taken good care of her in the first place. How quickly do children of that age disappear.’

‘On the subject of having been leisurely chatting from before.’

No matter how dissatisfied she may be, as a servant of the grand duke, she should take care of the child he trusted and entrusted to her.

At the time when everyone was grumbling, there was a person who came out cautiously.

“Look, I think my daughter and her friends were the last to see her.”

It was Madam Florence.

“What? Last?”

“After a light quarrel with our daughter, a gentleman took the child…”

Madam Florence said, looking at the people once more with a pale face.

“But, however… I haven’t seen that gentleman since before.”

* * *

Boom, bang!

It started to rain in earnest along with thunder.

Viscount Jester dragged Sienna to the abandoned hunting groundskeeper’s old hut, which was below the hillside where they had a picnic,

“Go up this floor!”

Sienna first followed Viscount Jester’s words.

She had been trying to talk to Hesaros in her mind all the way, but there was still no answer.

‘You have to be calm.’

He pretended to be a good Named, but what was he doing when the owner fell into a crisis?

“Aren’t you going up?!”

Viscount Jester pushed Sienna roughly. Sienna barely managed to avoid falling and went up to the second floor.

“Slow!”

Viscount Jester continued to tap her like that.

When she finally reached the second floor…

‘…This is all… what?’

The bloody smell blew her away. There was an ominous magic circle painted on the floor in red.

‘Did he draw that with blood…?’

“Preparation… Ready, our angel, where is our angel?”

Viscount Jester pulled something from the corner. It was a black box the size of a travel trunk.

“Our angel, it’s time to get up. Sacrifice, sacrifice. Dad made a sacrifice.”

‘…It’s a coffin!’

Noticing the identity of the black box, Sienna was astonished.

It was different from Gildinak. They seemed the same, tainted with fraud, but this man was already insane.

He was in the stage of madness.

“Your blood, I need your blood.”

Gulping, Sienna calmly stepped back.

“Don’t go! I-I only need your blood. If you feed it to my daughter… Your magic will be transferred. Then my daughter will wake up without any problem.”

Sienna didn’t know, what was that?

‘If you steal blood, ingest it, you can steal magic power?’

It was impossible. Had that been possible, there would have been no way Loreina could have endured the disgust and put up with Sienna.

Just stab her with a knife and drink her blood. It would be easy to prick her finger and drink a drop of blood when she fell asleep, but what would have put Loreina through the painstaking effort of putting up with Sienna, whom she hated so terribly for so long?

“Come here, come here… Stand in the middle! If you give me blood, I will spare your life.”

Even if those words were true, she couldn’t believe a crazy person.

There was no way to know if his daughter who died could be revived with her blood, and if she stayed dead, he could blame Sienna for the matter.

No, before that, there was a low chance that she would be okay after being stabbed with a knife.

‘What should I do?’

Sienna’s magic was still at a very basic level. It was only enough to move light objects like the fan before.

Sienna unknowingly grabbed the jewel that was rolling in her pocket.

‘Hesaros…!’

It was then.

[That’s right, Young Master…!]

“!”

A fire appeared on the right side of Sienna.

“Aww!”

A crimson flame swept through the air, and in an instant it struck Viscount Jester.

Boom, bang!

Thunder boomed and lightning flashed, and Viscount Jester screamed.

A gust of wind blew her hair back. At the same time… Sienna was growing up.

Her clothes were made to be bigger in case she returned to her original body at any time, and they began to tighten around her body.

In an instant, Sienna returned to her eleven-year-old body.

“Hesaros!”

[Yes, it is me!]

Hesaros said that Sienna was able to ‘wake up’ because she was away from the castle.

[Find a place to escape! Even if you use me, it’s still not at the level to win!]

“However……!”

Viscount Jester, who was flailing his burning arms, was blocking the only passage down to the first floor.

There was a window right next to Sienna, but there was not a single tree outside the window.

She could jump, but she couldn’t guarantee that she would be in good shape to keep running.

[Shit…! If I had the reality!]

(T/N: referring to his house/jewel.)

“Aahhh!!”

Sienna stared blankly at Viscount Jester, who screamed and burned.

No, it was no longer Viscount Jester.

Viscount Jester’s body began to transform into a bizarre form in the flames of Hesaros, as if a grumpy child was kneading a lump of clay.

‘A beast!’

[Sienna!]

It was then.

‘A voice other than Hesaros…’

“Sienna-!!”

It wasn’t an illusion.

Sienna looked straight out the window. In the rain, a group of people was approaching this way on horseback.

There was a man driving a black horse in the front.

The slender man was not holding the reins. He was only holding the horse’s waist with both legs.

With his free arms, he was pulling a silver bow.

On a horse running with all its might, blowing a white snort into the rain.

His eyes were red as he looked towards her, without shaking at all.

It was Ashiel.

As soon as Sienna realized his identity, Ashiel released the bowstring.

At that moment, a huge chunk of magic flew over…

“Ahhh, arghhh!”

It passed right by Sienna who was standing by the window, and hit the burning Viscount Jester.

Viscount Jester began to writhe in agony.

“Sienna!”

The bow was turned behind his back, and Ashiel grabbed the reins again. His horse approached the hunting groundskeeper’s hut in an instant.

At this rate, he would quickly reach underneath the window where Sienna was at.

Just then, Ashiel shouted.

“Jump!”

Unbelievably, at that moment, Sienna really jumped.

Without a moment’s delay.

Maybe it was because the body made a decision before the head did, or the fear came too late.

“Hey…!”

Ashiel grabbed Sienna.

“Ugh, huh…!”

When she felt like there was a hard arm around her waist and her body swung once in the air, Sienna was suddenly putting her head in Ashiel’s arms.

“Hold on.”

She couldn’t even answer. Sienna hugged Ashiel’s waist as soon as she was caught.

Ashiel put the reins back in that state. Then he looked back while holding the bow.

“Keeek, kieek!”

Viscount Jester, who had completely turned into a gigantic beast, was running out of the hut.

Bang, bang!

Wizards who seemed to have followed Ashiel were attacking such a viscount.

Sienna gazed blankly at the burning and collapsing hut, the beast trampling on everything, including his daughter’s coffin, who must have been so precious.

However…

‘Strange… I don’t think the wizards’ attacks will work.’

Sienna didn’t know yet, but that was because his fraud was exploding as the beastization progressed.

Sienna unwittingly gave strength to the hand holding Hesaros.

Somehow, it seemed like she had to.

“Hesaros!”

At that moment, as if responding to Sienna’s call, a huge flame began to engulf the earth like a wave.

“Ah, heuk!”

The flames engulfed the demonic beast, Viscount Jester, who was growing enormously, but it wasn’t burning anything.

The beast let out a terrible scream.

At the same time, the mutation… Stopped!

Sienna shouted like a thunderbolt.

“Ashiel!”

At that moment, Ashiel’s arm moved gracefully.

It was neither fast nor slow, and it was a very precise movement. With his thighs around the sprinting horse’s waist and supporting Sienna’s weight, he didn’t seem to be burdened at all.

Nothing hung from the gigantic silver bowstring.

But this bow was originally such a bow.

‘Named Invisible Thanatos.’

Ashiel, holding the invisible death, pulled the bowstring to the limit.

…And released it.

Kwak, kwak kwak kwak!

A different level of power was shot out compared to when shooting towards Sienna earlier. The ground was dug up along the way, leaving marks.

“Ugh…!

Finally, the beast threw out it’s death.

(P/N: It’s like, it gave up it’s life.)

* * *

There was only black blood scattered over the wreckage of the destroyed old hut and the dry grass, but Viscount Jester did not even leave his corpse after being transformed into a beast.

His daughter’s coffin was also broken and tossed in the wreckage of the hut.

“I thought that the area would have to be closed for a while and undergo extensive cleanup, but it wouldn’t.”

Devon placed the wizard’s report on the grand duke’s desk and continued the report.

“Even though the mutant beast died in such a state, there was hardly any contamination within the range. I think the lady’s power is a big factor.”

“……Well.”

The wizard’s report wrote that Ashiel was able to confirm the existence of the purifying fire even before he cut off the beast’s breath.

“It was a good thing. As you know, it is an area where frauds sometimes pools…”

If it wasn’t for Sienna, it could have ignited a large-scale subjugation of demonic beasts.

However, the look on the grand duke’s face was not at all happy about this situation.

An uncommon-class beast that had not completely mutated.

It wasn’t a difficult enemy to deal with, but it would be a different story if a being who was a human until then had changed right in front of her eyes.

‘Especially if that ignorant guy was about to kidnap a child who had just awakened as a wizard and do something that shouldn’t be done.’

The fact that the child was the owner of Hesaros, the first in human history, did not control the wrath of the grand duke.

“…….”

However, no matter how pitiful it was, it was impossible to resurrect an already dead entity and punish it.

“There’s some reason for Viscount Jester’s sudden fall into fraud.”

“He was particularly fond of his daughter, but she died a while ago. When I checked the coffin, there was preservation magic on it. Maybe…”

“Are you saying that he believed that he could bring his dead daughter back to life and thus put conservation magic on her body?”

“Yes. I’m guessing that that’s the source of the fraud, but…”

The grand duke was deep in thought. Viscount Jester was not a wizard.

So what kind of crazy wizard helped him in the madness of putting preservation magic on corpses?

Devon came up with a reasonable guess to the grand duke’s reasoning.

“Wouldn’t there be wizards who would do anything for money?”

If he thought about it rationally, it was the most likely thing, but… Something didn’t make sense.

Sienna had said:

“He believed that by sacrificing me, he could bring his daughter back to life.”

…Was it also just a delusion stemming from the madness of a human being possessed by fraud?

It was a story that could have been dismissed like that, but…

“… Devon, send the crows. I guess I’ll have to do a thorough investigation.”

“I see, Your Highness.”

“Make sure the area around the hut is properly incinerated, the debris is cleared, and entry is blocked for about one season.”

“I will heed your orders.”

* * *

Viscount Jester was originally one of Loreina’s largest reinforcements.

He was popular among the vassals under Nacht, and he was a representative figure who gave strength to the popular opinion that Loreina should be the grand duchess.

But then he died.

Before Loreina even entered the Grand Duchy.

‘Is this all a coincidence?’

By this time, even Sienna could not shake the feeling that things were going wrong.

Starting with the Cradle of the Moon, which was originally Loreina’s room.

Hesaros, who was not able to withstand her power and was destroyed, became Sienna’s.

The essential jewel mine, which should have been given to Loreina, also fell to Sienna.

Those who were supposed to be Loreina’s important helpers in the future died trying to harm Sienna, and their titles of nobility were forfeited.

Even if Sienna had deliberately jumped and attacked her, it seemed that she couldn’t interfere with Loreina more perfectly than this.

[It can’t be like this.]

“Yes?”

To Sienna who was lost in thought, Hesaros suddenly and resolutely spoke to her.

[Come to think of it, I almost lost my owner that day.]

“Yes…”

[If I picked and chose, met an owner, and then lost it in a month… I’d be so humiliated. How much would other Named would laugh at me if they knew.]

“I think so.”

[Yeah, do you agree?]

“……Yes?”

The tone of voice asking for consent out of the blue was questionable.

[No matter how great I am, no matter how great your qualities are, it is meaningless at this point.]

“That…….”

She couldn’t deny it though.

[From my point of view, you seem to be a person who gets involved in unnecessary disputes, even if it seems to be in vain. We can’t fix such a fate, so let’s develop the skills to survive in all sorts of situations.]

So now…

“Are you saying that we should do special training?”

[Yes! Why, do you have any complaints?]

“No, I’m not complaining… I thought that if I die, you’ll just have to find another owner.”

[The owner ate my words through her nostrils again. I told you I didn’t choose you so easily!]

“No, I mean…”

[I hate to hear it! How many times do I have to say it to understand! Are you a worm? No ears!]

To sum up, Hesaros’s deafening words were that this Named had no desire to greet any human being as its owner except Sienna.

Of course, in order to understand the sweet core content, she had to filter out complaints and abusive language for a long time, such as ‘Heartless, rude, stupid, and ability to understand speech was not as good as that of an earthworm or a snail.’

‘Then maybe…’

“Hesaros.”

[Why!]

“Is there a way to destroy a Named?”

[W-what?]

Hesaros squeaked in astonishment. He exclaimed in disbelief.

[Y-You can’t be, not a breach of contract, but destruction…!]

“No, no, no, that’s not it. Listen to me first!”

Before the Named exploded once more, Sienna confided in him at once.

All of her present and past stories.

[So…]

The fireball groaned in disbelief.

[You had originally lived for more than 20 years and died, but after you died, you returned to the past?]

“Yes.”

[Oh… Then the scar on your soul…]

Hesaros mentioned some obscure words as if guessing something.

“I don’t know how this is possible… Anyway, I have a memory of the future, and in that memory I wasn’t your owner, and you were destroyed by someone else’s hand.”

[Well…]

Hesaros, lost in thought, opened his mouth.

[Destroying a Named is… It’s not very impossible. But now is not the era of prosperity, and I don’t know if that’s really possible in this pathetic era, where only the snot of magic remains.]

“…….”

[In the first place, am I really destroyed in your memory? It might not be destroyed, but it could have been stolen and pretended to be like that.]

“Ah.”

She had never thought of it from that perspective.

‘However…  It’s convincing.’

She didn’t know if it’s possible to steal the Named Hesaros from the heart of Nacht, but it sounded more convincing than destroying it.

But if it wasn’t an accident, there was something odd.

‘Then why did Loreina have to go through such a hassle?’

Loreina was rumored to be a genius for destroying Hesaros.

Originally, she received attention as a prospect, but after that, she established herself as the most outstanding genius among her peers.

However…

‘Did she do that just to become famous as a genius?’

Loreina was loved by people for good reason. She was a wizard with rare healing powers.

In particular, she gained the nickname ‘healing angel’ by prolonging the lifespan of the emperor who was about to die by a year.

She had not yet revealed that she had healing powers, but she was expected to be famous soon once she started working earnestly as a healing wizard.

‘It wouldn’t be necessary to steal the Named of her patrons, Grand Duke Nacht, for the sake of fame…’

Hearing Sienna’s objection, Hesaros agreed.

[Yeah, definitely, a wizard with healing powers wouldn’t have to take such an extreme risk to gain fame.]

“As expected, that’s right.”

[I think… In the current situation, all the clues have disappeared, so I can’t be sure.]

“What?”

[The person who destroyed me in the future, you said that she hated you terribly?]

Sienna nodded her head.

[Then… uhm. What if she took me away to prevent you from becoming my owner?]

“No way…….”

It had been a long time since her blood had cooled.

“…No. I didn’t even know that I would become the owner of Hesaros…”

[One can tell through prophecy. Of course, I don’t know if that level of prophecy still remains in this land…]

“I was already deprived of my magic, could I have become the master of the Named?”

[It doesn’t matter. I would have still chosen you as the owner.]

“…….”

Sienna was at a loss for words at the resolute affirmation.

She had no idea what to answer.

However… It didn’t feel bad.

[Anyway, there is nothing we can be sure of in the present situation. For sure, I don’t think you can live a quiet life just avoiding that adversary.]

“That…….”

Sienna also agreed.

She didn’t want to admit it, but that’s the way things are now.

Things Loreina needed to get her hands on, Loreina’s plans, her life.

It was not her intention at all, but it was already the third time she had intercepted and ruined them before from the start.

It was impossible to even count the small and subtle changes.

Wasn’t it unusual for the family members of the Grand Duke Nacht and servants to pay attention to and take care of her?

Loreina certainly wouldn’t be pleased with this situation.

It was not a situation that could be avoided just by ignoring it.

[As I said, the only way is special training. To prevent your adversary from destroying you again, you have to become stronger and stronger! What do you think?]

“I think that’s a very ignorant method…”

Sienna sighed.

“I don’t think there’s any other way.”

[Look, how is this Hesaros’ insight! You can rely on me, right?]

A weapon that never forgot to appeal at every opportunity went ‘ahem!’, and raised his nose.

(T/N: ‘raised his nose’ – figuratively; arrogant.)

[Do not worry. What we signed is a lasting contract. In other words! Your enemy will also be my enemy. We are together forever.]

“Haha…….”

A laugh burst out of Sienna’s mouth.

[Seriously, why are you laughing? …Hey, are you crying?!]

“Ha, haha… Really… I know. Why am I crying?”

Hesaros was restless, [Why? What did I say wrong? Why are you doing this?], and wandered around.

Burying her face in her hands while sobbing and laughing, Sienna made a promise.

‘I’m not going to say thank you or anything.’

“…Hesaros, I have made up my mind.”

She swore like this.

“I’ll make a name for myself. I’ll become a genius wizard, the best Terraformer, and I’ll do anything.”

[Why are you suddenly crying and making strange noises?]

“Just.”

Sienna smiled, wiping away her tears.

Because he said he would stay by her side. Even if she lost her magic power, he said she was his owner.

So Sienna would become the strongest wizard.

Now that she was the owner of Hesaros.

This Named, who chose her, had a lot of pride and liked to show off.

For the only being who chose her, Sienna decided to steer clear of her efforts to be normal at this point.

‘Yeah. If you’ve tried this much and it doesn’t work out, I guess you’ve ruined your simple life.’

And Sienna remembered the first cheers she received from people as the owner of the Named.

That… if she was to admit it. To be honest, it didn’t feel that bad.

Up until now, she thought that living a simple life was suitable for her aptitude, and she thought it would be okay to be ignored and humiliated.

But come to think of it, she had never experienced living the opposite life.

She couldn’t describe what she had never experienced before as not suited to her aptitude. That would be just fear.

Like a foolish fox who looked at the grapes over the fence and guaranteed it would be sour.

‘Okay. I’ve done enough in my last life to live like garbage.’

So, in this lifetime, let’s go up to where fate puts her.

And when she rises to the highest point she could climb, Hesaros’ name would be engraved on it.

For the one and only being who was on ‘her side eternally’.

If she was the chosen owner of that sassy Named Hesaros, wouldn’t it be right to do that?

‘Great.’

She would use anything for that.

Anything that could be changed would be changed.

Sienna promised so.

* * *

That evening, Hesaros dwelled in the essential jewel, saying that he still had work to do for purification.

Meanwhile, Sienna was called by Grand Duke Nacht.

“You called.”

“Yes… um?”

The grand duke, who had been standing by the window of the office, calmed his mind, turned his head to Sienna’s call and was at a loss for words.

‘…What?’

Maybe it was because it had been a while since they had met properly after she returned to the age of eleven.

As he stared at her, who somehow looked different, Sienna tilted her head.

“Yes?”

“No…”

Somehow, if he had to describe it, the feeling of hesitation had disappeared a bit…

To put it poetically, a thick fog seemed to have lifted.

Maybe he wasn’t the only one who felt that way, as the butler’s expression when looking at Sienna from the entrance was also strange.

“…Let’s sit down for now.”

“Yes.”

Sienna sat quietly in the seat pointed to by the grand duke. It was a seat where she sat with her back to the butler.

“That… You must have been very surprised… Did you have a good rest?”

For some reason, Sienna stared at him without averting her gaze.

‘Well.’

The grand duke thought. Did she find out he was being coached by the butler?

He could feel the butler fervently signaling not to look this way. The grand duke met Sienna’s gaze, pretending with the most confident and shameless expression.

At that moment…

“Yes.”

Sienna grinned.

“Thanks for your concern, I had a good rest.”

“…Where were you injured? No, of course, a doctor should have examined you.”

Not only did she have an examination, it was even reported that there was nothing wrong with Ashiel, who rode a horse, except for a slight bruise on his back from catching Sienna.

“Thanks to His Highness the Grand Prince, I was not hurt.”

“Yeah, that’s good.”

“Yes, but I was very surprised. Suddenly, the Viscount…”

Well. The grand duke’s expression became serious all at once.

‘That’s understandable.’

She went on a picnic on a sunny day, then she was kidnapped by a certain guy, and the kidnapper transformed into a monster right in front of her eyes.

It’s weirder to not be surprised.

No, being surprised would be a refined expression.

‘I don’t even want to think about it, but…’

The problem was that no one could properly answer the situation in which Sienna disappeared.

‘When everyone came to their senses, they just kept saying that she was gone.’

So he had no choice but to listen through the child’s mouth.

“Can you tell me more about what happened?”

“Well…….”

The butler quickly noticed and started setting the table. While hot tea and sweets were served, Sienna finished her brief calculations.

Coincidentally, while she was kidnapped by Viscount Jester, the people involved were those who later helped Loreina, either in big or small ways.

Among them, Madam Dahlia, who later became the mistress of the imperial family, was instrumental in persuading them to support Loreina.

“…The Viscount suddenly pulled a knife out at me…”

“…Does that mean he took out a knife?”

“Yes.”

After the death of Viscount Jester, the position was to be taken over by his younger brother.

‘No way.’

The grand duke decided to confiscate Viscount Jester and his property.

He couldn’t believe he would point a knife at a child. The grand duke was determined to make the title of Viscount Jester permanently removed from the world without giving back to anyone.

“And what else?”

“I was so startled, I looked around for help, but there was no one there. Oh… I had a little argument with the other girls.”

“…For what?”

“She asked me to pick up her fan, but I didn’t pick it up by hand, I picked it up by magic.”

Another bloody shadow fell under the eyes of the grand duke.

“……And then?”

“Um… Come to think of it, I think I was wrong. I received the favor of the Grand Duke, but I am just a commoner and they are nobles… I think they thought I was arrogant.”

“…Did they tell you that?”

“No, they didn’t. They were just warning me to be careful.”

“…Yes, I got it.”

The grand duke sighed to cool the boiling anger.

“Then what was the woman who was supposed to look after you when you were going through such nonsense?”

“Oh, she was busy. Others talked to her a lot, so she probably didn’t see it.”

Sienna gave the final blow with a smile on her face.

“When the Viscount pulled out his knife, she looked very busy.”

“I get it.”

The grand duke nodded his head.

“Devon!”

“Yes, Grand Duke.”

“Call Madam Parmage and give her a list of those who went to the picnic that day. Tell her to determine and report the person who had a dispute with the child.”

“Your Majesty, please explain to the lady as well. She will probably understand.”

The butler’s advice was ignored by the grand duke. Sienna looked at him with wide eyes, a bit startled, but still wide-eyed.

“So this is…”

“Yes, my lord.”

Fortunately, she didn’t seem to be intimidated by his sharp momentum.

“No one can make a child of Nacht run a personal errand, such as to pick up a fan.”

“…….”

“It’s not your fault. It’s the fault of those ignorant humans who have been shown that much but have not understood.”

“…Well, so.”

Sienna tilted her head and said,

“Your Majesty the Grand Duke told them not to be careless, are you saying that they didn’t obey?”

“…Yes, you’re smart.”

Sienna nodded her head as if she understood.

“Ignoring the orders of the Grand Duke. They are wrong.”

“No, the crime is very bad because they treated you carelessly.”

The aide and the butler secretly raised their thumbs, avoiding Sienna’s eyes.

It was a signal saying, ‘Your Majesty, Your Majesty, you did a great job!’

“Sir, then, how are we going to deal with it now?”

Devon’s voice sounded very pleasant.

“To those who have been disrespectful to the child of Nacht…”

The grand duke did not betray expectations.

“Regardless of status and age, I will give them permission to never have to come to the duchy in the future.”

It sounded like a reward at first glance, but it wasn’t.

“Tell them that no matter what the event is, be it New Year’s greetings or Thanksgiving, they will never have to cross the threshold of my castle.”

To the small lords and knights of the Disparter region, the grand duke was like a king.

Being forbidden to enter the castle meant that they would not be able to appear in front of the grand duke ever again.

It meant that they could not even think of stepping into the center of power in the future, but that was not all.

No one would want to form a relationship with a family that was banned from entering the castle, so their children’s marriage path was blocked.

‘Maybe they won’t last a few generations and will be absorbed by the common people and remain in the region.’

In exchange for despising Sienna as a ‘common orphan’, they themselves would become some commoners, whom they despised so much.

The grand duke did not stop there, but nailed it once more thoroughly.

“In order to prevent the children from saying that they have fully reflected on the past in about ten years or so, it would be better to send an official document and keep it in the record.”

“There’s no such thing as that.”

“The knighthood of Viscount Jester and Sir Dahlia will be revoked, and all of their blood relatives within third degree shall be expelled from the territory. Their property will also be confiscated.”

“I will follow the orders. Let’s see, if possible, it would be better to spread the word so that more unfortunate people like this do not come out.”

The grand duke smiled without a word. It was a face that looked ten times more brutal than his usual expressionless expression.

The storm that began like that swept through the duchy.

Everyone knew what the punishment was and the reason, as Devon had promised.

The only thing that was announced differently in public was that Viscount Jester had kidnapped Sienna for an unfair advantage.

Most of the public’s opinion was ‘I knew it’ when a series of situations were caused by touching Sienna.

“No, commoners are also commoners… She has already become the owner of a Named.”

“If you graduate from the military academy and go to the battlefield a few times, you will get a title easily.”

“I know. How can you not think of such a thing……”

“Viscount Jester, who kidnapped the child, is also a terrible person, but Sir Dahlia’s wife is also…”

“She’s the owner of the Named, but hasn’t she just finished her first manifestation? To leave her alone.”

Everyone remembered the 36-month-old Sienna when she showed up on the first day.

‘She was very small. She didn’t whine at all and fell asleep quietly in a teddy bear.’

The person who kidnapped such a small child was not normal, and the woman who said ‘I did not know’ was also not normal.

“It’s up to him.”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

“Anyway, for the time being, everyone must be careful not to go against the Grand Duke’s mood.”

Everyone ground their teeth. After all, at this critical time!

“At this year’s meeting, we wanted to try to get some tax cuts and increase the subsidy.”

“Even myself, I was going to try to increase the number of enlisted soldiers… but thanks to the people who went around without any sense, we would suffer.”

From the very beginning, the disobedience of the vassals erupted like this.

This year, everyone had to keep their mouths shut. They didn’t know what kind of sparks would come out if they made another mistake.

“Well, it might be a bit sloppy when I say it like this, but the Grand Duke has a very good eye.”

“The child adopted from the orphanage is the owner of Named, and she is also helpful to His Majesty in this way. Isn’t that the same as picking up a gold nugget along the way on the street?”

“Huh, that’s right. It would be great if I knew of such an orphan.”

* * *

While the grand duke was getting his aides to make an orphanage inspection schedule.

[Now, let’s start the special training.]

Sienna and Hesaros began their special training.

After the first manifestation, Sienna became aware of her own magic under Seth’s guidance, and continued the basic training of gathering and accumulating magic around the core of her heart.

It was also an achievement to succeed in the magic of moving simple objects.

[Shall we see how hard our genius goblin has worked?]

“If I try…”

[Close your eyes.]

Sienna closed her eyes.

When she closed her eyes, she could feel the flow of magical energy surrounding the core of her heart better.

[A ring that surrounds the source of your life. It all starts from there. Now, open your eyes and spread out your hands. And imagine your core is on top of it.]

It was an unheard way of education, but Sienna did as she was told.

‘Open my eyes slowly.’

After concentrating for a moment with both palms facing the sky, a small glowing circle began to appear on the palm of her hand.

At first, a star and a circle-like trajectory was drawn, as if with a blurred pencil.

“Ah…”

But soon after, like snowflakes, countless stars and countless trajectories appeared simultaneously and began to form the same circle.

A circle of countless lights like small stars.

Hesaros said to Sienna, who stared blankly at the slowly rotating halo.

[Well done. That’s your small area.]

“A small area… is it?”

[Okay. The beginning of everything, the world we meet for the first time, a very small seed that will become your Terra.]

A ring-like circle where the beginning and end of the Milky Way meet.

This was the world Sienna first embodied.

(T/N: embodied; to give a tangible or visible form.)

This was a very small world, where she wondered if it could afford to hold a single chick.

[You can stop, you did well. Because it was successful.]

The tone of his tone was as if there was ‘nothing special’, but the light of Hesaros was almost golden.

Seeing the little fireballs blazing with joy to the point where twinkling star-like sparks burst, Sienna could tell that she had done so well enough to satisfy the high-spirited Named, rather than ‘stop doing this and that’.

Hesaros chuckled and made a cold joke.

[I think meeting that beast was helpful. After all, the best way for a wizard to grow is to face the crisis of death.]

“You have a knack for making terrible things sound normal.”

[What? You don’t know anything. Where can you find a friendly Named like me!]

Despite his protest, Hesaros seemed happy.

[Anyway, today’s training seems to be enough, let’s gradually expand the scope in the future. By the way, when are you planning to buy my house?]

“You’re very obsessed with ‘getting your own house’.”

[Of course! How can you wander around without a home!]

“I think you’re self-sufficient.”

[Cold-hearted… How could you!]

Of course, she wanted to save his main body, and there was a plan, but it was fun to make fun of Hesaros, so Sienna said,

“I’ve saved some jewels.”

[Not that! My body! If you only bring materials to an empty field, is that a house? Yes? Oh, give me a decent house too! Home!]

“You should  be glad I have the materials, why do you think that I should build a good house?”

[You are…]

Suddenly, the orange fireball trembled.

[This… This… You’re like a bad owner.]

Hesaros’s trembling voice faltered.

[…Yes, it is. What more can I say? I have to blame myself for my stupidity in choosing the wrong owner…]

He flew away and slipped into the doll’s house on the table.

“Hey, Hesaros?”

Did she joke around too much?

“Hesaros?”

‘Knock, knock,’ I said so and touched the door of the doll’s house with my fingertips, but there was no answer.

It looked like he was sulking properly.

“It was a joke.”

[A joke? Are you proud?]

“Yes, I was kidding.”

Sienna tried to calm him down.

“Actually, I’ve already told the Grand Duke to let me enter the treasury. It’s true.”

[…….]

“Your Highness asked me what I wanted because I went through a hard time.”

So Sienna said:

“I need the ‘main body of Hesaros’. Can you let me enter the treasury you mentioned earlier?”

“His Majesty, the Grand Duke Nacht, said that the treasure trove is amazing. I heard there were a lot of relics from the Era of Prosperity. There are also tiaras studded with a thousand diamonds.”

The trunk of the doll’s house, which had been slammed shut, swung open at the sound of soothing words.

[The first fairy queen’s tiara is there…?]

A glowing fireball popped out of the gap.

[…He seemed to be some kind of human emperor?]

“He’s not the Emperor, but he’s something like the Emperor’s nephew.”

[Then… He would have some pretty useful stuff, but… No, no. What do you think I’m going to choose?]

“Can’t we just choose anything?”

[We can’t choose anything. My eyes are so refined. You don’t know how cheap high-ranking people are, do you? What do you do when he says, ‘You can’t take that’ even though I liked it the most? I’ll be sad…]

“Oh, if that’s the case, you don’t have to worry about it. He said you can pick and choose whatever you like.”

[Really…?]

“Yes. Really. You said it doesn’t matter how many there are.”

In fact, the Grand Duke had promised to do so when he allowed her to enter the treasury, so he asked her to request something else.

Sienna said that there was nothing she could think of right now other than that, and then the unconventional permission to go in and pick up whatever she wanted fell to her.

Sienna grinned.

“What are you going to do?”

[…Then you should have told me in advance!]

Shouting out, Hesaros flew over Sienna’s forehead and struck her with beans.

Yes, it didn’t hurt. How much would a beanbag-bump be?

(T/N: I’m assuming it’s a toy from the dollhouse.)

[When can I go in? Can I really choose anything? The body I chose is for you to carry. Can I really, really, choose what I want? Yes? Is that true?]

“Yes, it doesn’t matter when you enter, it doesn’t matter what you choose, it doesn’t matter how many you choose. You can do whatever you want.”

[I chose my owner well!]

“You changed your words more easily than flipping your palms.”

[Uh-huh. I am humble enough to immediately accept your mistakes.]

* * *

The underground treasure vault was opened.

The treasure vault that this castle had maintained since the time it was an ancient castle was said to contain some objects that still had not been fully identified even in Nacht.

As Michael explained:

“It was to the extent that the preceding Grand Dukes had to roughly separate and seal dangerous items.”

“Is that normal?”

“Isn’t it usually like that? But it isn’t too dangerous now since you cleaned it roughly.”

“It wasn’t completely cleaned out, it was just roughly cleaned up, and it’s not very dangerous, but it can be a bit dangerous, and that’s what I mean.”

Michael chuckled.

“Yeah. It’s very accurate. As expected, you’re smart.”

She was praised, but she was not grateful. Sienna sighed a little.

“Do not scare the child.”

“Hey, she’s not afraid of things like this.”

Sienna responded involuntarily.

“It’s true, but when you say it like that, I feel like I’m going to get scared at least once.”

“Did you see it?”

The grand duke looked a little embarrassed.

“When did you two become so close…?”

“Do we look friendly?”

This wasn’t even a proper answer.

But whether his esteemed father was stunned or not, Michael was just thrilled.

“Did you hear? Father says we look close.”

“Why are you bragging about that…”

Sienna decided to just get what she would get from the grand duke and not to consume any other emotions, but she was still not used to the speed of Michael’s narrowing of distance.

If he narrowed the distance like that purely, she felt like she was doing something wrong because she was just indifferent for a good reason… She had such a strange feeling.

“If my older brother was, I would have boasted to him too. I’ll say I’m close to you. Not my older brother.”

Saying that, Michael looked very excited.

‘But there’s only one thing, you’re still the same as the Michael in the past in that you still don’t want me to be close to the grand prince.’

They had become close. But he still didn’t like seeing an orphan getting close to his older brother. Sienna thought so.

‘It was easy to avoid friction with the second young master.’

She suddenly wondered. If she hadn’t been misunderstood in the past, would she have been able to live like this?

‘…Well, it’s a meaningless assumption.’

Anyway, she was still not sure why others’ attitudes have changed favorably, but Sienna thought it was good to know even in Michael’s case.

‘In the future, we must keep the lines clear and avoid unnecessary friction.’

While Sienna was thinking that way, Michael was staring intently.

“…What’s wrong with you?”

“No, I’m not sure… I thought you were having a misconception for some reason.”

“What?”

Sienna tilted her head at the incomprehensible words, and Michael waved his hand, saying, ‘Nevermind.’

The grand duke checked the time.

“Slowly, the time has come.”

“Ah yes.”

Sienna straightened her posture.

“Listen carefully. The treasure trove of Nacht is enchanted with ancient magic. Only those who have been recognized as Nacht’s blood relatives by eating the pomegranate or direct blood relatives of Nacht can enter.”

Sienna nodded her head and asked without realizing it.

“What if someone else enters?”

“That…….”

The grand duke stopped talking. While looking at Sienna with his red eyes, he furrowed his thick eyebrows.

‘…Well, that means it’s difficult to answer.’

She knew something was to happen if she didn’t listen to it. Sienna agreed.

“Anyway, you don’t have to worry.”

“Yes…….”

“Once you enter the treasury, the magic in the treasury will help you find what you need most. This is the most accurate time for that magic to work.”

A treasure trove of ancient magic…

She didn’t know that in this lifetime, she would come across a place that only Nacht’s direct blood relatives could enter.