CH 50

Chapter 5: Sienna’s World

Note: This chapter consists of episodes 50 to 63.

Slightly nervous, Sienna unconsciously fumbled through her pockets and confirmed the existence of the soul stone in which Hesaros resided.

[What’s the matter?]

‘Nothing.’

[Not true.]

Even after hearing that it was pointless, she was relieved to see that he was with me.

Perhaps he sensed Sienna’s anxiety, the grand duke added softly.

“Michael was joking, but don’t worry. This castle can never harm Nacht’s blood relatives, or beings equivalent to blood relatives.”

“……Thank you.”

“Then.”

The grand duke approached a very old wooden door inlaid with an unknown ancient language and geometric knots.

As if reflecting the passage of time, it was stained, dull, and even crumbled in some places.

It wasn’t grand or big.

Even if she passed this way by accident, she would not have known that there was a treasure vault inside.

The grand duke took out a bronze key from the front of his jacket that looked like it was also old. It, too, was oxidized to such a bright blue color that you could only see it in a museum.

Shudder.

Getting involved…

“It’s better to go alone from now on. If more than one person enters, ancient magic will cause some confusion.”

“…….”

“I don’t know if it’s a normal inspection, but when you’re trying to find something you really need like now, there’s nothing we can do.”

“……”

“If there is anything you would like to have other than the one guided by the treasury, as I said, you are welcome to take it.”

Sienna stared intently at the grand duke, who was explaining each and every word unapologetically.

She wondered if this person was looking at me right now? …Why?

Just in case, Sienna said something like this.

“Thank you for your concern…? I’ll be careful and get back to you…?”

“…….”

The grand duke shut his mouth with a very bizarre expression.

His slightly frowned expression looked a bit startled, and he looked like someone who had been stabbed by a sharp object inadvertently.

In any case, it seemed clear that Sienna’s words were not the correct answer.

‘Well, I’m not in a position to exchange worries.’

Did he think that I would misunderstand him being nice to me right away just because I did a good job? Sienna smiled and walked towards the door.

“Then, I’ll go.”

“Be, be careful!”

Instead of answering, Sienna stepped inside.

* * *

In the dark space, the floor was gradually lit up.

“Follow me here…”

[I think so.]

She couldn’t see anything except the shiny part of the floor, but it didn’t feel ominous or that she shouldn’t go in further.

Hesaros didn’t say a word as he didn’t even notice any anomaly.

Sienna began to move cautiously.

How far had she gone?

“……Uh?”

She was walking looking only at the shiny floor, but she had come to a place where the floor was no longer shining.

Sienna naturally raised her head, then realized later that the scenery around her had changed.

“When…?”

Fortunately, it was not a completely unfamiliar landscape. Because it was the corridor of Nacht’s castle.

She went into the treasury, but she came out through the castle corridor.

‘I think it’s because of the mysterious magic that resides in this castle…’

Could it be that ancient magic that was hung in the treasury?’

She was told that no one other than blood relatives should enter, but when she went in, she was kicked out naturally like this?

‘Actually, the pomegranate in the sentence didn’t work for anything… Hesaros?’

…No answer.

“Uh…?”

As soon as Sienna was about to panic, shiny marks appeared in front of her again.

It was like saying that from now on, it would guide the way again.

Apparently, the guide to the treasure vault was not over.

“Hesaros.”

Hesaros still did not answer.

“Well…….”

She didn’t know what happened, but for now, it seemed that she had to trust the grand duke’s words, ‘This castle won’t hurt you’.

Hesaros… He didn’t always answer her.

‘There must be a reason.’

Alleviating her anxiety, Sienna started walking again, following the guide. Gradually, however, the surroundings became more familiar.

‘This… It’s on the way to the grand prince’s room.’

She was upset.

It was a weekday now, and Ashiel was back at school, so she didn’t have to worry about running into him, but wouldn’t it look weird?

Sienna thought it might look like she was visiting a room without its owner.

‘Well… Let’s go and see, don’t go inside the door.’

If she said she was lost, she thought anyone would understand. It’s only been a month since Sienna had been to the Underworld Castle.

‘It seems strange that the people in the castle are fewer than usual, but…’

However, the nature of Nacht was not to use a lot of people in the first place.

There was some danger because of the magic hidden in several places, and the magic was paradoxically protecting the castle from wear and tear, corrosion, and pollution over time.

So they didn’t need to hire as many people like everywhere else.

‘It seems as if it’s their goal to exist like this…’

As she walked, thinking about various things, she arrived near Ashiel’s room sooner than she thought.

The guidance seemed to continue to the front door.

Since there were no people and she might not be able to enter, she went slowly initially.

However…

‘Uh…’

The door was open.

‘Who is cleaning…’

Pounding, pounding, pounding.

Her heart was beating strangely.

As each step continued, it became strangely stronger.

Finally, stepping on the last shiny floor, Sienna stood in front of the open door, and…

“Sir Ashiel…?”

An unbelievable sight was unfolding.

It was Ashiel. But it wasn’t the Ashiel who had to be at the military academy.

“Sienna…?”

It was Ashiel, who became an adult before Sienna in the past somewhere, a time that had now never happened.

‘What?’

How did this happen?

“Sienna, you are, Sienna right…?”

Sienna took a step back slowly. Ashiel’s condition was a bit strange, but she didn’t have the mind to notice it.

She looked back and saw a white light on the floor again.

‘I have to run away.’

Sienna thought so casually. and started running.

“Sienna!”

Somehow, her feet moved very quickly. It seemed to move more than three steps at a time.

From behind, she heard Ashiel chasing after her.

‘It’s strange, I can’t. I don’t think this is real.’

She was sure it was still in the treasure vault, and she must be seeing something like a fantasy under a strange spell.

‘It said it would give me what I wanted.’

If so, did Sienna, in her heart, want Ashiel so desperately to find him?

……No, let’s not imagine these nauseous thoughts while running.

Fortunately, though Sienna didn’t completely evade Ashiel, she still got to her room on the third floor while keeping their distances apart.

The shining road was cut off right in front of the door.

She didn’t have time to think twice.

Sienna instinctively opened the door to her old room.

And jumped into it…

“…-enna!”

Ashiel’s mournful voice gradually faded away.

“Don’t go……!”

* * *

Flash.

[Are you out of your mind?]

“Ah…”

When Sienna opened her eyes, she was in a certain room.

It was a large room with boxes stacked on one side of the room, and occasionally, there were glass display stands.

“Where?”

[You arrived here while walking, but as soon as you arrived, you lost your mind.]

Sienna rolled her feet and stared blankly at something like a stick.

[It seemed to show something through the passage of dreams, but it didn’t seem like magic intended to do any harm, so I just watched. It wasn’t a big deal, right?]

Sienna thought as she listened to Hesaros’s babbling.

‘…So was that a dream?’

[…-enna?]

“…Yes?”

[Why are you so spaced out? Did you see anything strange?]

“No….”

She met the Ashiel of the past in my memory. But it probably wasn’t what Sienna wanted the most.

So Sienna shook her head.

[Well, if it’s not a big deal, stop and try to pick up the thing by your feet.]

“Ah yes….”

Her mind was still numb. Sienna, without knowing why, was told to pick up a stick that was rolling by her feet, so she picked it up.

“……What?”

The thing that looked like a baton was a black stick. It had been crafted with something lighter than silver, but the place where there was supposed to be jewels was empty.

‘…Are you empty?’

[That’s a cigarette holder.]

“…Yes?”

[Oh, you might not know. In ancient times, it was fashionable to roll cigarettes on paper and smoke.]

“Ah…”

[Cigarettes wrapped in paper were called cigars, because if you just hold and smoke them, it would smell good. Put it in a hole at the end and light it up.]

“You mean, it’s an old-fashioned cigarette stick.”

[There’s probably still one in these days too.]

As she listened to the story, she remembered seeing a lady smoking a cigarette like this one day.

But Sienna wasn’t very enthusiastic about the first thing she saw, nor was she a smoker, so she soon lost curiosity.

[Home… Obsidian with reinforcement and flame-retardant treatment on mithril… If it was the craftsmanship of the prosperous era, the durability would of course be good, and there’s a place to insert jewels…]

But Hesaros had a different view.

[Sienna.]

“Yes?”

[I want my house here.]

“Yes…?”

Cigarette stick?

[It’s equipped with flame-retardant magic, and there’s a spot for jewels.]

“So you’re telling me to carry a cigarette stick around…?”

[What if it’s not a cigarette? And it’s because you don’t know. But if you look here, the magic amplification magic is also engraved, right? If you use magic with this, you won’t even use half of your normal magic power.]

“So what?”

[I’m also trying to become an energy-saving eco-friendly Named. As that is the case, a good confidant turns to a good confidant.]

What was he saying?

“How should I tell people that the Named, who chose an owner for the first time in two thousand years, is a cigarette stick?”

[Well, I don’t know, it’s up to you to figure it out.]

Haha. Sienna laughed at that.

“No, I do not want to.”

[What do you hate? Why?!]

“Let’s find something other than this.”

[Oh, it’s done! I like this! I can’t live without this! This is my house! Spit it!]

(T/N: Hesaros’ “Spit it!” is more like “There! I said it!”)

“Hey? Did you say that? Now?”

[Yes, I spit it! Spit! Spit! This is mine now!]

“You’re not even a child, but this ancient weapon…?!”

After that, the two of them fought for about thirty minutes, repeating “I’m going to live there!”, “I hate it!”, “I’m living there!”, and “I don’t like it!” for a while.

Neither of them went anywhere and behaved childishly like this, which was very strange.

But even though she knew it was strange, she didn’t want to lose.

[You came out like this, in the end? I… I really believed in you because you said it doesn’t matter what I choose, it doesn’t matter how many I choose, and it doesn’t matter what I choose!]

The fight, which had been sluggish, started to reach its conclusion as Sienna got caught up in what he said.

“Yes, that’s because I thought Hesaros would choose something like the tiara of the first fairy queen!”

[This is good too! Don’t you remember? That’s what the Grand Duke said! The treasure vault here will pick out what you need!]

“You didn’t choose?”

It showed me something weird, nothing helpful!

Sienna was embarrassed. But Hesaros did not lose either.

[It was kicked! By your feet! Thinking about it makes me mad? If you even kicked it, take responsibility, my house!]

The fight that started a little logically went back to the state where the loudest voice wins again.

But in the end, the final victory passed to Hesaros. It was because of the lack of vocal cords that could harpoon even when she screamed as much as she could.

(TL/N: referring to using ‘shouts’ as ‘harpoons/ammunition’.)

[Of course. I’ve definitely checked everything before. Can I really choose anything?]

“Yes, you did…”

[You have to carry it, but can I really choose? Is it true! That’s how I politely asked for permission over and over again.]

“Yes, yes. Sir Hesaros’ words are correct two hundred times, and everything is right.”

[Well, then. No, I’m glad. Now, from today on, this is my home!]

“Ha…”

After going back to the age of 11, she started to carry a cigarette stick.

With a cold face, Sienna pulled out the sparkling soul stone of Hesaros from her pocket.

Hesaros was so happy that he was now shining brighter than diamonds.

‘I hate to be honest, but seeing that he likes it so much, I think it would be okay to carry a cigarette.’

But she would never tell him that gently, even if she were to die.

Good things were good, but Hesaros’ childish attitude could really piss people off.

Besides, the fact that she lost in a fierce argument that she did her best in made her very upset.

So this would remain a secret.

“Then let’s go.”

Sienna brought the soul stone to the empty part of the work, as Hesaros instructed.

“Ugh.”

Paak, and a blinding light came out… And when she came to her senses…

[What do you think? The height of this body?]

As if through the hands of a craftsman, Hesaros’ soul stone was completely empty.

“Oh.”

Even Sienna, who was upset, was amazed at this. What should she say, so…

“…Did you finish moving already?”

[This is a given!]

‘Ahem,’ Hesaros raised his nose.

[Now, since I have a main body, let’s see?]

“What?”

With a roar, flames spewed out from the tip of the pipe and engulfed the air.

However, he did not use Sienna’s magical power as recklessly as he did in front of Viscount Jester.

‘He said that the required magic power is halved, so…’

Was he an eco-friendly energy-saving Named…

Somehow calling it that way seems too sophisticated for an ancient weapon…

Still, it would be a good thing. Sienna decided to keep her heart simple.

[Hey Sienna, look here too.]

Hesaros, who wanted to show off his new skills because he had a house now, smoked a puff of light purple smoke this time.

[If you smoke like this and spread it with the wind, the place where the smoke spreads to will be purified. It’s a little less powerful than purifying with fire, but when purifying a wide area, doing so requires less magic power and is much simpler.]

“…Yes, everything is good… Actually, not everything is good, but let’s say it’s good.”

Sienna wanted to take a headache pill.

“By the way, if I do this, I won’t be able to avoid it and I’ll become a smoker, right?”

[Yes, but it’s up to you to figure it out.]

“…….”

[What can I do? It doesn’t smell, doesn’t it? At most, it smells like burning firewood.]

“If it even smelled like cigarettes, I would have been really mad.”

[Yes, yes. No, let’s just say it’s a relief that it doesn’t. You should think it’s a good thing that this happened. And as I just thought, this has one more advantage.]

“What the hell?”

[Why, there are so many people who just want to smoke to look cool? But, isn’t it good that you can look cool without taking any damage to your health?]

Wow. Sienna clapped dryly. She thought that if his sophistry went on like this, he could even receive a reward.

“If I get sick of thinking overly optimistic about anything about that opinion, then I’ll go and think about it.”

[Sheesh. You’re not deceived by this.]

“Okay, let’s go.”

Even though it was a little fun to talk about it, she was slowly getting tired.

“Oh.”

However, something was kicked by Sienna’s toes when she was about to turn around.

[Do I look like a multi-homeowner?]

Hesaros said something Sienna couldn’t understand.

‘Is it like an ancient joke?’

Anyway, for there to be something appearing twice in this absence of anything/empty space, it seemed that the recommendation of the treasure vault was definitely right.

When she picked the item up, she realised that this time, it was a ring.

“The seal ring…?”

She couldn’t recognize it well because it was covered with rusty green dirt.… But it felt somewhat familiar.

[Let’s take that too. I don’t know what it is yet, but I can feel the good energy.]

Was it? As Hesaros said there was nothing to lose, so Sienna put the ring in her pocket and went out.

In front of her… Michael and the grand duke were still there.

“You didn’t go?”

“You came out?”

The two of them spoke and made a puzzled expression at the same time, then the grand duke checked the time.

“It’s only been about ten minutes.”

It was amazing. She thought she had been in there for quite a while.

‘Ancient magic is not so sophisticated or powerful that it can be compared to this current level…’

She didn’t know time would flow at a different rate.

“But that… Isn’t it a cigarette holder?”

Whoops.

When she came to her senses, Michael was not the only one looking at Sienna with an indescribable expression.

Sienna agonized for a moment in front of the two pairs of bewildered eyes.

But the whole story – why did she come out with this cigarette holder and what resistance did she make in the process? It was too long to repeat.

So she just said this.

While smiling as if it was embarrassing.

“Hesaros said he liked this…”

“Did he? Your Named’s taste is very unique.”

“It’s kind of like that…”

[What? My preference is normal!]

(The Team: No way in hell is your preference normal.)

Hesaros was upset and asked for correction, but Sienna just pretended she couldn’t hear anything and laughed.

* * *

After she succeeded in buying the house that Hesaros wanted like that.

Sienna spent her leisure time studying magic with Seth, practicing, and doing special training with Hesaros.

…It just meant she only studied.

Magic was good. The deeper the learning, the more enjoyable it was.

She wanted to know more, and she wanted to deepen and enrich herself in more areas.

She was thirsty for knowledge.

It was time when Sienna realized that what she had simply considered as ‘Her magic had been taken away’ actually took away a lot more from her life.

Although growing little by little, Sienna’s territory was still a very small world.

Maybe a little more, and she could raise two chicks.

Raising that little world was unbearably fun.

To the extent that she even had the romantic idea that dazzling colors were permeating her life, which she didn’t even know was achromatic until now.

But today, Sienna had neglected even her favorite magic.

“Miss Lisa!”

“Sienna!”

Today was the day Sienna promised to go to Kendall Orphanage, no, Melanche Orphanage.

“How are you? Oh my gosh! Now I really can’t recognize you. You look like a lady!”

In fact, Lisa and Sienna were not that close.

What happened just before she left the orphanage was just unforgettable for both of them.

But they both thought they knew each other too late.

“Have you been well? Is the Grand Duke taking care of you?”

“Yes, I’m doing well. Please be kind to everyone.”

If this statement had to be made up as a lie, it would have been quite sad and miserable.

But not now. For now, it was true.

‘What will happen in half a year will be decided only when Sister Loreina appears.’

But that time hasn’t come yet.

Not yet.

Sienna then smiled broadly.

She didn’t even realize that Michael, who had insisted on following her, was shocked to see that bright expression on her face. She just wanted to show Lisa a happy side.

* * *

Lisa took Sienna and Michael to the director’s office.

While being guided to the director’s room from the front door, Sienna burst into exclamations.

What was inevitable was that, in Sienna’s eyes, the Melanche Orphanage was incomparable to the days of Kendall Orphanage.

“Teacher, did you change that broken window over there?”

“You recognize it right away. It’s the first thing I did after I became the head of the orphanage.”

As if Lisa had become a villain, she mimicked Director Kendall’s characteristic ‘heh heh.’ Sienna couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

“If Director Kendall had known, he wouldn’t have slept for a month because of the cost of the window.”

“Oh, then, shall we find out which prison he is in and send him a letter? We might get along well there.”

In fact, Kendall was no longer in this world, let alone in prison, but Michael was the only one here who knew about it.

Michael looked around with a complicated gaze.

The boy had an active personality, and Grand Duke Nacht did not restrict his son.

It was a street where commoners live, which he started going and visiting when he was about eight years old.

Of course, he didn’t look around the slums, but Michael used his imagination to accurately grasp the standard of living of commoners to some extent.

As Lisa Melanche prided herself on, Melanche Orphanage was one of the most respectable orphanages. That was true.

‘I just don’t like having to comply with this level.’

The bigger problem was the story of Kendall orphanage that Sienna and Lisa talked excitedly about.

The whole story was like this.

“Sienna, do you remember the onion skins? Director Kendall told Johnny to make soup out of the onion skins thrown away in the trash.”

“I added vinegar because it wasn’t worth adding salt, and I added sugar cane instead of sugar because it just tasted too sour?”

The onion skins were chewy like paper peels and terribly sour, and the stiff sugarcane had to be spit out eventually because there was no end to chewing.

To be honest, calling it food was a huge insult to other food.

“Yeah, that’s it. Thanks to that, I enjoy throwing away onion skins very much these days. No, actually, we take turns doing it.”

“Oh, my God.”

“The children voluntarily help with chores, but if it’s to throw away onion skins, there are more than 30 applicants.”

Sienna began to laugh, out of breath, as if she had heard the funniest story in the world. Michael felt strange.

Without knowing how the other party was feeling, Teacher Lisa said kindly.

“I’m glad you’re doing well, Sienna. Actually, I always thought of you while making this a better orphanage.”

Lisa diligently walked around the director’s office and pulled out the tea.

Of course, it wasn’t real tea with tea leaves, but water that mimics tea by brewing roasted grains.

For the snack, it was dark fried biscuits.

“Thank you, Miss Melanche.”

Michael pretended to wet his lips and put down the teacup.

He kept quiet as he did not intend to criticize her for what she gave, but in fact, even servants in Nacht did not eat this kind of food.

But Sienna looked at the biscuit and said:

“In the past, there was a time when Elij stole this biscuit and only shared it with the children in Room 6.”

Why were the stories endless?

Michael almost choked up now.

“I wish I could have done this while you were here. I thought of that every day when you left. I wish you were in my orphanage.”

‘Actually, we didn’t even have time to get to know each other,’ as Lisa whispered with a sad face, Sienna smiled and nodded her head.

“I think it would have been better if the Teacher was the director.”

At that moment, Michael couldn’t contain his anger.

“I’m sorry, Sienna, you’re never coming back here. You’re Nacht’s child, so why do you say that?”

The boy stared at Lisa while sharpening his eyes towards Sienna.

Sienna was surprised. To be honest, it was because she had almost forgotten about Michael’s existence.

“Second Young Master, sorry, what I meant is…”

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. I made a mistake first.”

Lisa intervened softly.

“Of course, I’m not even thinking of calling Sienna back here, Your Highness, the Second Prince. I meant that it would have been nice to stay like this in the past.”

“In the past, you say…”

“Yes, anyway, because Sienna had to stay here before meeting Grand Duke Nacht.”

“……”

“I was just imagining that if those days weren’t harsh.”

If only those times weren’t harsh.

‘What was it like…’

Michael, who had only been exposed to the life of ordinary people by licking a watermelon, could not even imagine.

(T/N: a Korean proverb; By only licking the surface of the watermelon, you’ll never taste and experience the sweet inside part. Or in this case, the bad part. It means to do something in a superficial way.)

He felt terrible just hearing Sienna and Lisa talking and laughing.

But for those two, there must have been more experiences that couldn’t be said with a smile and laugh.

His chest was tight and his heart was numb from his hands to his feet.

As if sharing the funniest joke in the world while talking about eating onion skins for a meal, it made him want to get mad at Sienna, who laughed with a laugh he had never heard before.

After leaving Michael alone, the two started talking to each other again.

“Anyway, I was worried about the increase in the interest of the children these days, but the support of the small lords has also increased, isn’t it?”

“The small lords?”

“Yeah. Everyone seems to be very interested in the children, saying that there might be a child like Miss Sienna.”

Lisa looked at Michael, who was speechless, and added loudly, “Still, Grand Duke Nacht’s support is the biggest.”

In any case, after Sienna officially introduced herself, the search for a useful orphan among the small lords had spread like a fad these days.

A fad. That was just the right word for it. Lisa didn’t like their impure purposes, but she couldn’t refuse.

Whatever the reason, when they saw the orphanage’s terrible environment, there was no one who wouldn’t give a piece of gold coin.

“It’s hard to find a child like you anywhere, but I hope the small lords realize it as late as possible.”

After talking like that, it was time to go.

“I’m sorry, Sienna. Can you come to play again next time?”

Lisa and Sienna realized each other’s existence too late in the harsh environment.

There had been no time to make friends in the past.

However, as they laughed and talked about the great troubles, they became close friends to the point that their prior worries about whether it would be awkward were gone.

“Yes, I will definitely come back to play.”

Michael felt his stomach twist.

The Sienna in the castle had a guest-like aspect every time.

‘She even believes that she should return to the orphanage when another outstanding child comes.’

Why does she like places like this?

Why doesn’t she laugh like this at home?

‘It’s funny, she lived in a place like this, so shouldn’t she be happy every day in the castle?’

Aren’t you supposed to be happy and ask to let you stay here even if she’s better than you?

The fact that Sienna didn’t hate the orphanage sounded to Michael that she hated Nacht more.

It was a leap, but the boy was already offended and frustrated.

So Michael told Sienna on the way home.

“You, don’t go to the orphanage from now on.”

“……?”

It was heartbreaking. He really didn’t mean to stop Sienna from going there. It was just a whine that came out of anger…

‘What’s wrong with me?’

The same was true of Sienna who did not like Michael’s attitude.

He forcefully accompanied her to places that he didn’t have to follow, and he was surprised when looking around the orphanage.

In fact, Michael followed her inevitably because he was worried…

But even that worry was enough to offend Sienna.

‘I’ve lived here for eleven years, and he says even a brief visit here is dangerous.’

Let’s just say that her body was precious. It was not too unbearable to think of it as worrying.

But wasn’t he trying to ruin the pleasant conversation she had with Lisa after a long time?

Then, by telling her not to go to the orphanage, he blew the lid off Sienna’s patience.

“I’m sorry, but Your Highness can’t stop me from going. Today’s visit has been permitted by His Majesty the Grand Duke since the day I came to Nacht.”

“What? So, you mean you’ve been thinking about coming back here since you came?”

Michael’s words were, ‘Are you going to leave Nacht and go back to the orphanage?’, but Sienna understood it as, ‘Are you going to go play again?’

So she nodded without hesitation.

“Yes.”

“You really…”

Michael bit his lip. He was so angry that he didn’t want to say anything more.

He was upset.

‘You mean you hate our house so much that you want to go back to a place with such terrible memories.’

Michael looked at Sienna with watery red eyes and warned.

“But you’re still Nacht’s child.”

“Yes. I know.”

“…Do you really know that?”

“…?”

“…It’s okay. I don’t want to say it.”

And the conversation that day ended there.

* * *

A few days have passed since she had an argument that wasn’t like an argument with Michael.

If she was like the Sienna of the past, she might have given up on going to see Lisa in consideration of Michael’s uncomfortable feelings.

But now Sienna had no intention of doing so.

After a while, Loreina, like an angel, would appear anyway, and after that, it would be a situation where she didn’t know what would happen.

No, there was no need to wait all the way till Loreina came.

‘If he misunderstands that I have a crush on the Grand Prince, I’m going to turn it around like the palm of my hand.’

There was a feeling that there was some misunderstanding in the gap between the conversations that day, but for the above reasons, Sienna did not feel the need to solve it.

No, Sienna made plans for a second outing to the orphanage as if she was looking for it.

This time, Michael did not say he would follow.

“Sienna, you came to play again!”

“Miss Lisa.”

Lisa, who was sitting down with the children in the recently created vegetable garden, got up, brushing her skirt.

“You don’t have to come here often.”

“Am I in the way?”

“No, actually, I’ll just say it. Please don’t listen to me seriously. You are the selling point of our orphanage recently.”

Lisa was very serious.

“If you come often, the support of the small lords will increase!”

It was a polite ‘imitation of Director Kendall’s tone’.

Sienna, who was not 100% happy when she came out because of Michael’s remarks, also burst into laughter.

“Excuse me!”

At that moment, the nursery teacher hurriedly approached and stopped the two of them who were heading to the director’s office.

“I’m sorry, that kid in Room 6 is locked in the closet again, he locked the door and won’t come out…!”

“Again?”

“Yes. He doesn’t answer at all. I’m afraid of what might happen inside.”

The words of ‘Room 6’ and ‘closet’ stimulated Sienna’s curiosity.

‘If it’s the small room, it’s the room where Director Kendall used to punish the children.’

Room 6 was the room where she lived.

“Sienna, I’m sorry, would you like to go to the director’s office first?”

“Okay.”

Sienna was curious, but she was already an outsider so she quietly headed to the director’s office as instructed.

The door to the director’s office was slightly open.

Maybe Lisa forgot to close it, but…

Sienna didn’t miss a piece of rag sticking out under the closet.

In orphanages, they usually cut out a large amount of cloth to make clothes for the children themselves. Except for the size of those clothes, everything was the same.

“If it were me, I would have paid some attention before closing the door.”

There was a rattling sound from the inside of the closet door, and then there was silence again.

Sienna smiled and continued.

“By the way, I would have closed the door to the director’s office as well. But I think the idea of getting the other person out of the way is good.”

After a little more silence, the closet door opened with a creaking sound.

There was a child with sharp blue eyes that shone with alertness.

“Who are you?”

“Well.”

Sienna was smart and responsible, and she lived in an orphanage for a long time.

‘I served as a room manager in Room 6 for two years.’

She was so accustomed to dealing with children who had just been thrown into the orphanage and raised their temper.

“Who am I? The senior who was sold before you.”

“…!”

And she knew very well what kind of attitude to take with these children.

* * *

After a while, Lisa came back empty-handed, drenched in sweat and unable to find the child.

“Oh.”

“Teacher, shh.”

“Ah, ah, shh. Yes.”

The troubled child that Director Melanche was eagerly looking for was sleeping on Sienna’s lap.

“Oh my, why is he here…!”

“I think he thought hiding in the director’s office was the most effective.”

“Oh my God. It’s amazing how smart he is.”

“Is he a new kid?”

“Um. Not a new kid at all. He’s from another local orphanage. His name is Lou.”

“Ah… Lou?”

Sienna looked a little surprised, but Lisa didn’t notice and was busy admiring.

“By the way, it’s amazing. Teacher Mary always complimented Room 6, saying there’s nothing to change, but it’s all thanks to Sienna again.”

How could a child’s care cause him to become so docile?

“As expected, a pretty older sister is the best rather than the head teacher who’s like the devil grandmother. It’s sad.”

“It’s probably not like that. Orphans usually only believe in the same orphans.”

Especially if it was a child who had suffered hardship in another orphanage, it was only natural that he would not open his heart any more.

“Still, the teacher said it would be okay. It’ll be okay for a while… maybe?”

“Yes, come back to play when the effect goes down.”

After that, Sienna adjusted the child on her lap and talked with Lisa about various things.

“Now I have to get going now. Oh my.”

She thought his body was relaxed, but the child woke up and grabbed Sienna’s clothes with a grumpy expression on his face.

He looked only about seven or eight years old, but he was quite strong.

“Hey Lou, Sister Sienna has to go now.”

Even if Lisa tried to comfort him, he didn’t pay attention.

“Do not go.”

“I have to go.”

Lou’s hand gripped her clothes tightly, but Sienna smiled and whispered something in his ear.

Lisa thought, worried.

‘Will that be any good? Once that kid decides to be stubborn, no one can stop him.’

It was then.

“……Okay.”

‘Oh.’

Lou nodded obediently and laid down the hem of Sienna’s robe.

“I promise.”

“Yes. Okay. Don’t forget the promise you made earlier too.”

“……Huh.”

Sienna stood up and left the director’s office. Lisa called the teacher to take Lou to his room, and asked Sienna.

“What did you say earlier?”

“It wasn’t a big deal. I just said I’d go and come back.”

“What did Lou promise?”

“…You’ll find out when you go inside.”

What does it mean? Tilting her head, Lisa saw Sienna off once.

And she turned…

“Kyaak! Since when have you been following me?!”

“Teacher.”

Lou stood there with a sullen face.

“Why, why’?”

“…I’m sorry for all this time.”

“Uh?!”

It was a completely unexpected apology.

“I’m sorry for putting caterpillars in your clothes and pretending to hide in the closet. I’m the one who hid Timothy’s underwear. I was wrong.”

No… Lisa sighed in shock.

“Teacher knew about the caterpillars, but what did you do to Timothy’s underwear…”

What the hell did Sienna say to make this child confess like this?

At Lisa’s question, the child’s cheeks slowly turned red.

“…She’ll come again.”

“Huh?”

“She said that she would come to play again. Why can’t you understand it at once?”

“No, that… I’m sorry.”

Even though he said sorry, Lisa seemed to cry.

‘This guy, even though I’ve been so nice to him, he caught something like a caterpillar. He even made an apology because of someone else!’

Anyway, thanks to Sienna, the caterpillars, Lisa’s mental health, and Timothy’s new underwear seemed to be safe, so that was fortunate.

It was a historic day when boy Lou, who was like a wild horse that no one could tame, became calm.

From this day on, the Melanche Orphanage began to call Sienna the ‘Teacher of Room 6’.

Sienna, who returned from the orphanage, picked a date.

‘About four months left…’

The approximate time remaining until Loreina entered the castle.

She couldn’t remember the exact date because it was so long ago, but Sienna came to Nacht at the end of February and went on summer vacation with Loreina in August.

So Sienna was guessing that Loreina would probably become Nacht’s child around mid-July.

‘By the way, a month has passed since I suffered backlash.’

(T/N: referring to when she turned into a toddler.)

A lot had happened to Sienna during the hectic month she spent in the Underworld.

Many things had changed.

But despite this, it still felt difficult to meet Loreina.

That was not to say that emotions remained.

Just… Sienna feared that the small changes she made would be nothing in the face of Loreina’s inexplicable magic.

She promised herself that she wouldn’t go easy on her, but she was afraid that her resolution would crumble to the point of being ridiculous…

…To be honest, she was scared.

The deteriorating relationship with Michael was also one of the factors that put pressure on Sienna.

Opening up her small world between her palms, Sienna pondered.

Human feelings were ephemeral and useless.

‘What can I do?’

Performance and change were needed.

This came to mind right now after some time had passed. It seemed that it would be okay for her to solve the emperor’s illness instead of Loreina.

‘I don’t know if it’s possible…’

Hesaros’ response to Sienna’s concerns was simple.

[Let’s try it.]

“Uh, can I?”

[It may or may not be. But in essence, purification and healing are one and the same. There is no need to draw a line in advance saying that it is impossible.]

After hearing that, Sienna nodded her head because it was true.

Hesaros had a bizarre character, infinitely childish when he was being childish, and only saying the right things when it was right.

[Did you say that the Emperor’s illness suddenly occurred?]

“It was like what I heard. It was a sudden onset and progressed to a sudden illness, and it would be difficult to guarantee a week if left alone.”

Loreina barely earned a year with the power of healing, and the old and ill but wise emperor hastily accomplished what had to be done in that time and left.

When the state funeral was held, Loreina’s seat was right next to Princess Arandier’s. Although the crown princess was close to 50 years old, she willingly bowed down to express his gratitude to 14-year-old Loreina without hesitation.

From then on, the imperial family treated Loreina as a benefactor in all procedures.

Not only the imperial family, but all the people of the empire mourned the emperor’s death, and were deeply grateful to Loreina for giving the respected emperor a year or so more.

Since then, Loreina had been given the nickname “Healing Angel”.

Of course, she continued to receive various benefits from the imperial family.

…No, wait.

[Huh? Why? Your expression suddenly got scary.]

“…Hesaros.”

The small world scattered between Sienna’s palms. It meant that she had lost concentration.

She had no choice but to do so. It was because of the realization that hit her head hard at this moment.

“You’ve told me that before.”

[I don’t know. I should have talked a little more. What are you talking about?]

“I think Loreina may have taken you away to prevent me from becoming your owner.”

[No way…]

“Yes.”

The Healing Angel who extended the lifespan of the emperor, who was respected by all the people of the empire, by one year.

This beautiful girl with shiny blonde hair was an angel who descended upon the world, a gift from God, and a hero of the empire.

Had the Imperial Grandson Ruslan been alive and well, Loreina could have become the crown princess rather than the future grand duchess of the Nachts.

“…But what if all of that had been planned from the beginning?”

Sienna’s voice was dull, but only her eyes were shaking mercilessly.

Hesaros spoke more calmly.

[Then… Whether the Emperor is really sick or not, we should check that first.]

It wasn’t easy from the beginning.

Hesaros told me to wait, but was the emperor like the owner of a local bakery that she could meet right away if she wanted to meet him?

‘But if I let go of it, Sister Loreina will soon unleash her healing magic, and things may go as planned without any chance to intervene.’

If the emperor’s sudden illness was really planned, the execution of the plan could be hastened.

Most likely because of Sienna’s presence which stood out so much.

There was only one way to counter the great prestige of being the owner of the Named. Loreina needed to become a ‘Healing Angel’ and become a benefactor of the Empire.

It was the fastest, most effective, and at the same time, the only way.

As if responding to Sienna’s expectations…

“Your Highness, did you hear that story? It is said that the maiden of Count Minangsi has manifested healing magic.”

Much faster than the original, Loreina announced her awakening as a healing wizard.

* * *

The news that Loreina had awakened as a healing wizard quickly swept the entire empire.

This was especially the case in the social world.

“The Young Lady of the Count of Minangsi, has actually awakened as a healing wizard!”

“Oh! Count Minangsi’s lineage of healing wizards ended a hundred years ago, didn’t it?”

“It must have been so. But her first manifestation was a long time ago, so why was it hidden until now?”

“Just in case, let’s watch carefully and report it for now.”

“Do I have to? Oh, come to think of it, the young girl doesn’t have a supporter yet, does she?”

“Wake up. She’s a healing wizard, perhaps the guardian family will make an effort to take her first.”

“Oh, come to think of it, there is that child in Nacht?

“How funny. Maybe this announcement was made because they’re conscious of that child?”

The ladies who had been dissatisfied with the orphan from the beginning snorted all at once.

“I guess. Is that possible? Being the owner of a Named must be great.”

“Yes, why would Loreina, a dignified noblewoman, be conscious of that child?”

“What do you mean ‘that child’? It’s Hesaros, who has never had an owner. As my husband said, if Nacht’s child grows up properly, the borders of this empire may change…”

“Madam Selma, you’re not taking the side of the orphan now, are you?”

“What? No, Madam. This isn’t a matter of taking sides…”

“Hey, Young Lady Loreina is the Count’s forbidden jade! And, so beautiful!”

Common sense didn’t meet in the middle.

In fact, it was unavoidable.

The Feyenoord Empire had been at war since its establishment and was still maintained through war.

War begets heroes. Heroes are given ladders of wealth and status.

However, among the old aristocrats, there were many people who couldn’t stand the fact that commoners could be heroes, and their status rose as new aristocrats and they tried to stand shoulder to shoulder with them.

In such a situation, some sensible people like Madam Selma were forced to keep their mouths shut.

While the socialites were talking about all sorts of things, Nacht’s Sienna was in a discussion with the Named Hesaros in question.

[Purification and healing are magic of the same origin. When training as a Terraformer reaches a certain level, it is not impossible to use healing magic.]

“So there’s no such thing as a certain level. And that means it can be impossible, right?”

[Uh-huh, don’t immediately look at it with a negative perspective.]

“However…”

[Sleep on this! If she has awakened her healing magic, shouldn’t you do it too!]

“It’s easy to say, isn’t it.”

Sienna is a Terraformer. On the battlefield, the presence or absence of a single Terraformer sometimes divided victory and defeat.

A valuable resource that could change the situation and determine victory or defeat just by being there.

However, Loreina’s healing power was also special enough to be second to none.

All wizards used magical powers, but each person had a different field of specialization.

If magic was to be divided into two major branches, there was embodied magic that realized spells, and enhancement magic that strengthened the body with magical powers.

Implementation and enhancement. Any wizard could use these two. Of course, each person’s specialties and areas of focus would be different.

In any case, there were no special restrictions on learning for implementation magic and enhancement magic. These two types of magic were called type 1 magic.

Grand Duke Nacht and Ashiel were type 1 wizards who specialized in strengthening.

However, unlike type 1 magic that anyone could learn, magic that could only be used by those born with special talents was categorized as type 2 magic.

In other words, the type 2 wizard was a special wizard among wizards.

Type 2 wizards were typically Terraformers, who specialize in purification, and wizards, who specialize in healing.

Sienna was a typical purifying Terraformer.

Loreina was a wizard specializing in healing.

“But from what I’ve learned… The days when a purifying wizard was also a healing wizard and a healing wizard was also a purifying wizard ended after the Era of Prosperity.”

The good days had long since passed.

Right now, humanity is struggling with not being able to even birth a proper Terraformer.

Still, the supply and demand of Terraformers was better than that of healing wizards.

Because the bloodline that inherited the qualities of a powerful Terraformer represented by the current imperial family was still alive.

On the other hand, the healing wizard’s side was almost cut off, and the deterioration in talent was also serious.

Even on the battlefield of Daemasu, they held out with healing potions made by type 1 wizards.

Thanks to this, being a potion master was one of the currently promising occupations that type 1 wizards aspire to be.

So…

Sienna sighed.

“It might be faster for me to become a potion master.”

Most type 2 wizards were able to learn type 1 magic as well.

Sienna was such a case.

But Hesaros was not satisfied.

[Are you going to deal with that Loren or something with such an easy mind?!]

“This…….”

A bombardment of nagging poured out.

After the news of Loreina’s awakening spread, Hesaros tore into Sienna.

It was such a tenacious interrogation that Sienna couldn’t stand it without telling him what Loreina had done in detail.

[What? Stealing magic power with magic? And overwriting the sin? Not even a dog would be like this…]

After that, there was only a feast of swear words that she was afraid to even recall.

In any case, after that, Hesaros began to burn with even more hostility than herself.

[They said that she might appear earlier than planned in this castle thanks to her awakening as a healing-specialized type!]

“That was so.”

[On top of that, you said it with your mouth! How about you try to solve the emperor’s illness instead of her!]

“It was easy for me to say too.”

Loreina had already awakened as a wizard specializing in healing, and Sienna was in a situation that needed effort to stand on the same starting line.

“Besides, it takes ten years to learn healing magic through effort.”

[Because that was when you tried normally without my help.]

“How long do you think it will take with your help?”

[…That is, if you work very hard… three years?]

Oh yeah?

“Let’s beat it.”

Sienna closed the book firmly.

[Why?!]

“I’d rather improve my level as a Terraformer in that time.”

Hesaros was only complaining, kicking his tongue because it was a hundred times right.

[Sheesh. Anyway, this really hurts my head.]

“No.”

Sienna shook her head calmly.

“It’s not a headache. It’s obvious. I don’t have to have the same abilities as Sister Loreina.”

It would be much more advantageous if she could use Loreina’s unique abilities too.

But even now, it cannot be said that it was particularly disadvantageous.

“Sister Loreina heals diseases and wounds, but to be honest, it is not an ability that can be used on the battlefield. I know.”

The ability to care for a person’s wounds and diseases. That ability was definitely noble and beautiful.

However, the beneficiaries of this precious ability were not those who were in danger of losing their lives due to the effects of war in various places.

‘For example, a noble lady who finds it difficult to appear in front of people due to chronic adult acne.’

Otherwise, some great aristocrats were struggling with gout and arthritis.

In addition, there were many nobles who wanted to cure their chronic diseases that caused all kinds of inconveniences in life, such as hair loss, diabetes, rhinitis, and migraines.

There were many gentlemen who injured their ankles while riding horses or had their foreheads torn during a cricket game, and there were also young ladies who caught a cold after wearing light clothes because of the cold weather.

Everyone needed Loreina.

However, not everyone could be a beneficiary.

“In the past, Loreina used her healing powers only when absolutely necessary.”

It wasn’t about helping people as and when they felt like it.

Loreina’s healing powers… To be honest, it would be more accurate to say that it wasn’t great.

In addition, once the healing power was used, her energy would be very low and was often in a sensitive state.

There were a lot of nobles knocking on the door with a thousand gold to have the warts on their faces healed without scarring, but very few selected people were able to get treatment.

If someone vomited any complaints about her, Loreina would shed tears and say:

“Really. I’m really sorry… In fact, after I extended the life of His Majesty the Emperor, I can’t use healing magic like I used to…”

“Oh my. Lady Loreina… I didn’t know there’s something like that.”

“Yes. As for myself, I just want to help more people… but it’s not easy. I’m really sorry…”

In that case, the complainer had to face fierce criticism from those around him.

“You don’t understand the pure heart of Lady Loreina!”

“It’s not like it’s anyone else, it happened while treating His Majesty the Emperor as a subject of this empire. Does she have to cry because of you and explain all the pain in her heart?”

“Inconsiderate humans! People like you don’t deserve treatment!”

After a complainer was so permanently pushed back from the treatment sequence, no one dared to dispute the way Loreina chose who to heal.

As a result, the anxious people tried to make a personal request through Sienna, who could be said to be an entourage.

Of course, Sienna, who was loyal to Loreina at the time, rejected the offer with a single blow, and suffered a lot of bad things because of it.

‘There was a lot of talk about why I raised my nose when I wasn’t the one doing the healing.’

Worse, there were people who publicly insulted Sienna by pouring alcohol on her in places such as party halls.

People who usually could not say anything in front of Loreina came to Sienna, often to relieve their anger.

‘It hurts my head to think about it again.’

If Sienna also awakened her healing powers, she would be pushed by such a force even if she doesn’t want to.

If she neglected or refused to treat noble patients with mild symptoms, she could be criticized again by saying, ‘The good Loreina does everything, but an orphan like you makes sarcastic refusals.’

Upon hearing the explanation, Hesaros was disappointed, but convinced.

[Well. It makes sense.]

“I don’t want to expand my presence by treating such people.”

‘I don’t have the ability to skillfully control people who rush to me like Sister Loreina.’

You might be treated like a princess, but if you looked into it, there were far more troublesome things.

Sienna’s thoughts on healing power were just that.

“I’d rather be the owner of Hesaros.”

[Huh, hmm. Hmmm, that, of course! Because I can help more than that weak healing power!]

“So, I’m not going to learn that.”

[Yeah, beat her! Oh! I’m here! The owner of Hesaros doesn’t have to learn that much!]

Haha. Sienna thought secretly with a smile on her face.

‘…I’m glad it’s a Named that’s easy to persuade.’

[Well. But it would be difficult to cure the Emperor’s disease without healing power…]

“That’s right.”

It was true. Sienna thought that was the only regrettable thing, that she didn’t have the ability to heal.

However…

“…But we talked about this last time.”

[Huh?]

“Is His Majesty really sick?”

[So, you mean… Does this mean that the Emperor should solve the disease before he gets really sick?]

“I think that might be the best for now.”

If everything was really planned, as Sienna and Hesaros guessed…

Now that Loreina is a healing wizard, it’s safe to say that things had progressed to some extent.

“If His Majesty’s illness is not due to a ruse, he must get sick at the same time as before, regardless of Sister Loreina’s awakening.”

However, if Loreina was really doing something, it was clear that the emperor’s sickness period would be advanced along with the awakening period.

“To understand the situation, I think it would be better to meet His Majesty the Emperor…”

But, as I thought before, there was one problem.

[What is the problem, what?]

“How the hell do I meet His Majesty the Emperor, of course.”

There was no reason why someone equal to His Majesty the Emperor should meet Sienna, an orphan rather than Loreina, a precious healing wizard.

[…Are you really worried about that now?]

“Yes?”

[No… I usually shiver at stupid sounds… A child who is generally smart like you is surprisingly stupid, so it’s a little cute… I think it might be worth a look… ]

What was he talking about? She couldn’t even understand half of that gibberish. Sienna tilted her head.

To Sienna who was like that, Hesaros only said, ‘You’ll find out if you wait and see’.

[Well, you can stay so stupid for a while. Because it’s cute.]

“?”

Fortunately, Sienna’s cuteness did not last long.

“His Majesty the Emperor says he wants to see you.”

“What…?”

“Actually, it’s already the third time he sent you a letter with the same content. It’s hard to say no now.”

Did the emperor send three letters to meet her?

[You still don’t understand the situation?]

Hesaros poked hard in a playful voice.

“Ah.”

It was then that Sienna barely realized.

‘…I am the owner of a Named, right?’

Hesaros giggled as if to say something, but this time, even after teasing her a hundred times, she had nothing to say.

‘Wow, I was so foolish that I was cute…’

Seeing Sienna shuddering, the grand duke misunderstood that the child seemed to be greatly surprised by the fact that she had to attend an audience with the emperor.

“…If you don’t want to, you don’t have to overdo it now…”

“Yes? No, Your Grace.”

What was he talking about! Sienna intervened in surprise.

“If His Majesty wants to see me, I think I should go.”

“It’s okay if you don’t want to.”

“No, I want to see him.”

Thank you for your consideration, but she couldn’t let this genius-like opportunity go.

“As a citizen of Feyenoord, it is an honor to see His Majesty.”

“…Well, not so much…”

What. She thought the grand duke just made some blasphemous remarks.

Anyway, seeing him speaking like this…

‘Perhaps he’s worried that I’ll make a mistake in front of His Majesty the Emperor because I didn’t learn the proper manners.’

“I will do my best to study etiquette so that I will not make a mistake in front of His Majesty and put pressure on Nacht, Your Grace.”

For a moment, the grand duke made an astonished expression on his face.

“Sienna, that’s not what I mean…”

The grand duke sighed with an expression of not knowing where to begin to explain this.

‘I think his expression seemed to be a bit depressed… Maybe I’m mistaken?’

The grand duke washed his face dry, looking at Sienna who was puzzled.

“…I got it. Let’s end this conversation for today. That’s what you mean, so I’ll send a reply to His Majesty.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Thank you for the opportunity. And…”

“…….”

“Don’t worry too much. His Majesty will know where I came from, so even if I make a little mistake, he won’t blame Nacht.”

As soon as I finished speaking, the grand duke took a deep breath and clasped his face, and Hesaros, who had been quiet, suddenly began to giggle like crazy.

Sienna was a little puzzled by the incomprehensible atmosphere.

[Wow, what a masterpiece. I guess choosing you as my owner was the best choice I’ve ever made. You show such interesting sights from time to time.]

She didn’t know what was so funny, and she didn’t know why the grand duke was looking at her so blankly.

‘I don’t even want to care.’

Sienna shrugged her shoulders and greeted him from there.

“Then, I’ll just leave.”

“……Okay.”

The grand duke did not hold onto her.

* * *

Some time later, somewhere in the Feyenoord Empire.

It was a garden full of plants.

No, it was more like ruins than a garden.

The ruins were covered in various greens; green, light green, yellow green, jade, turquoise, and other greenish colors, just as if a naughty boy was given paint for the first time.

It was a small, messy garden that was completely unpredictable, whether it was managed or whether there was a will to manage it.

If you had to pick one good thing to look at, it would be that all the plants growing there were healthy.

…Even the weeds that grew up to the shins were included without discrimination.

The man who appeared at the entrance of the garden was in no way compatible with this messy but fresh landscape.

Tall, with smooth, well-groomed silver hair. The pure white and light blue uniform was just plain and cool.

Blue eyes were staring at a vine that had obscured his vision and path.

He seemed to be meticulously judging whether he could put it away with his own hands, or whether he should carefully avoid it.

That was the moment.

“What are you doing, standing there blankly?”

It was the voice of a rather old man, but it was akin to a roar, so it was easy to tell that he was full of energy.

At the same time, the vines that had obscured the sight of the silver-haired man slowly moved like snakes to make room for him.

“Whenever I see you…”

“What?”

“These are healthy plants.”

In fact, it was just like Jeongwon, who couldn’t be praised for anything other than that.

(T/N: if memory serves, this is the old term for Terraformer…)

“Right?”

But the owner was proud of that alone.

The owner of the voice was an old man with wavy silver-gray hair. Although he looked quite old, he had a large physique and did not have a bent waist at all.

A gown with wide sleeves and a linen tunic. He was dressed like a frugal scholar, even wearing a monocle, but strangely, he didn’t look like a scholar at all.

“I thought you had something to do. Then just say what you have to say and quickly get out.”

Although he had an eccentric tone, the silver-haired man smiled brightly and pulled out a black envelope from his arms.

“I have been asked to deliver a letter from Grand Duke Nacht. The servant was never able to find this place.”

“What is it, it’s cheesy.”

The old man snorted and threw the letter he had been handed over into an empty earthen pot.

It was unbelievable how he handled the letters sent by that Grand Duke Nacht, the King of the Underworld, but the silver-haired man just smiled softly and bowed his head.

This old man in front of him was a person who could do it.

“Well then, Your Majesty. I’m done with what I have to say, so I’ll just get out now.”

The great emperor who rules over the empire of humans rubbed his ears with a dissatisfied expression.

“This person, just nitpicking what I said.”

As he grumbled, there was a half-joyful smile on the old man’s lips.

“By the way, you Euros remain unchanged. If I forget, I won’t even notice that you’ve been through generations. It’s so much fun to see.”

“I’m flattered, Your Majesty.”

“There’s no need to be too polite. There’s no one to see in my garden, so if you say you’re going to go out, then just stop and go. The construction will all be ruined.”

“Thank you very much for your kindness.”

With a soft smile on his face, the Duke of Euros said, “Well then,” and left the garden the way he had come with a brief glance.

Even the appearance of his back, leaving with a gentle and neat step, was neat and elegant like a painting.

His Majesty, who was left behind, smacked his lips without dignity.

“That’s right, I don’t think even a single needle will fit, such a boring guy…. No, wait, that’s not what’s urgent. Letter!”

In a hurry, the emperor put aside his dignified posture behind his back and took out a letter from the empty flower pot.

“Rodrick, if you’ve sent me a letter of refusal again, I won’t let you go.”

Contrary to the muttered words, the old man’s face, who hurriedly opened the letter, was full of joy.

“…Oh ho?”

* * *

The letter from the emperor did not specifically mention the date of the audience.

Even if she was the owner of Named anyway, his opponent was an eleven-year-old kid.

As a child whose life revolved around studies, perhaps Sienna would fit completely into the emperor’s schedule.

‘I have to wait.’

There was nothing else I could do anyway.

So Sienna was on her way to Michael’s study room to study magic with Seth today.

‘I don’t want to take a break from my studies just because I’m having a hard time with the owner of the room.’

For reference, Michael never visited Sienna after visiting the orphanage.

On a class day like today, he would normally have come early and knocked on her door, but seeing that he didn’t, it seemed he was still angry with Sienna.

It was still unknown why Michael was so angry at the orphanage then.

At that time, Sienna could only guess that he was in a bad mood as she and Lisa continued to talk about things only the two of them knew.

‘Well, it’s not important to know why.’

She had no intention of apologizing or calming the mood in the first place.

They fought in that kind of atmosphere, but they weren’t very angry, and the current situation wasn’t too uncomfortable.

Sienna got emotional and said something, but unlike Michael, she did not hold many grudges.

Rather, it felt cool to shoot back at an opponent, one that she had never even thought of doing for a long time.

‘Originally, I was aware that there were times when the second young master pushed people unreasonably.’

She wasn’t disappointed because she didn’t have any expectations of him.

On the contrary, when Michael was strangely friendly, she was always anxious inside, but because their relationship became twisted…

‘I knew this was going to happen, I knew it was going to explode someday.’

To be honest, it felt like a bomb that was supposed to explode had exploded, so she was relieved inside.

But was it said that the enemies originally met on a single wooden bridge?

(T/N: This is a saying, that you can’t avoid the situations in which you have to encounter your enemy. In old times, bridges in rural areas were only made from wood and because of lack of skills or out of convenience, people used the whole trunk with a cut on top, which made it easier for people to walk. So, only one person could pass by on the narrow trunk. If you saw someone you didn’t want to see, it becomes a difficult situation, since there was no way not to interact with him.)

Sienna and Michael just ran into each other in the hallway leading to the study room.

“…….”

Instead of saying hello, Michael just stared at Sienna with his red eyes.

“Michael.”

But Sienna was too accustomed to Michael’s abusive language and sarcastic words to be disturbed by just that.

‘Besides, his eyes aren’t as hostile as they were back then… Huh?’

She felt like his eyes were looking downwards.

“Those shoes…”

“Yes?”

Speaking of shoes, Sienna looked down at her toes involuntarily.

‘Ah.’

Come to think of it, today Sienna was wearing the red shoes that Michael had bought when they were together.

Whatever the tailor was thinking, the clothes that filled Sienna’s closet were all pastel bright colors.

Light pink, light green, yellow, sky blue, and such…

These were the kind of clothes that would make any child bright and happy just by putting them on.

With those soft and lovely clothes, Michael’s red shoes were like a lovely point… That was the opinion of the maids.

“Little Prince Michael has a great eye. Look at this. It goes well with any outfit.”

While the maids helped her to put on these shoes with a smile today, she remembered thinking blankly, ‘I think it was my eyes that picked this up.’

“…….”

“…….”

She didn’t think anything of it, but she thought it was crazy to think that it might be a bit strange to wear a gift from someone she fought with.

‘He might not want to give me those shoes, but it’s difficult to ask me to take them off right away.’

“Excuse me, Little Prince…”

“…You seem to like it quite a bit, right?”

“Well…….”

Rather than Sienna liking it, it’s more of the maids that do, but it didn’t seem to be a good idea to answer directly like that.

“Somehow, you…?”

“…Yes, no matter how good it is, you know that good things are good.”

He didn’t seem angry, but his tone was strangely blunt.

‘Well.’

Sienna rolled her eyes for fear that he would not want to attend class with her if she opened her mouth by mistake.

Michael muttered.

“Yes, if you don’t know what’s good for you, I’ll have to teach you to know it this way.”

“What?”

“No, I didn’t say anything. Go in. Don’t stand there.”

In bewilderment, Sienna entered the door that Michael had opened first.

“Thank you.”

“Yeah.”

The answer was still a bit blunt, but it seemed like it could be thought of as reconciliation.

Seth, who had been waiting for the children to arrive and to do his work, greeted them.

“You’re here. Now, both of you give me your homework and sit down.”

While he was reviewing Sienna and Michael’s homework, the two got ready for class.

Seth checked Sienna’s homework first. A smile spread across his lips at the incomprehensibly neat handwriting.

Hesaros helped with everything else, but she didn’t help with homework.

It was because if he made a mistake, he could deviate significantly from the level of an 11-year-old, and Sienna agreed to that a hundred times.

‘It’s also fun to do homework alone.’

If Michael had heard it, he would have scolded her for finding the fun of life in such a place.

In any case, even without the help of Hesaros, Seth always gave Sienna’s homework the highest score.

And… Seth looked at Michael’s homework with a puzzled face.

‘Hey.’

From the beginning, the letters were flying in a goose-like shape. A sigh came out.

It was the complete opposite of Sienna’s homework, which she wrote meticulously and sincerely.

But in spite of his negligence, his insight and intuition were as sharp as a child of his age.

‘Anyway, his head is good, so I can’t say anything even if I want to ask him to show me his sincerity.’

If Sienna was a sincere hard-working genius, Michael can be called a genius in that he invested less than 10 minutes to give an answer of this level.

That didn’t mean Michael was insincere.

The boy simply hated procrastinating, calling it a waste of time to procrastinate for a long time on a problem with an answer.

‘As a teacher, he is a very cheeky person.’

Seth looked at Michael and his homework alternately with cold eyes, scoring just below the highest point and returning it.

“Thank you.”

As expected, Sienna could not hide her smile when she received her homework that came back nicely…

“Oh, did you get the highest score?”

Michael admired Sienna’s score, but threw his own aside without looking at it.

“…Now, let’s learn the basics of fraud today.”

Fraud.

“A term for evil energy originating from human malice, sin, or the unclean.”

Seth glanced at Sienna, saying that he believed they two were now well aware of the two main phenomenons of fraud.

Sienna nodded her head.

She was living a second life and had taken her own life, but the sight of a healthy person  being engulfed in flames and screaming and turning into a monster in front of her eyes…

‘It was an unforgettable sight.’

However, as long as she decided to live as a Terraformer and a soldier, it was a scene she would see many times in the future.

“I prepared this because I wanted to let you see it with your own eyes.”

Seth poured water into a clear glass. Then he picked up a pen, took some ink, and then dripped a drop onto it.

“The water has become undrinkable right? You can think of it as magic and fraud. The sad thing is that the ink spread in the water is visible to us, but the actual fraud is difficult to detect.”

Seth explained that the general level of fraud was not well detected, unless it was a large amount of fraud that occurred on the battlefield.

“Once a person begins to be infected with a small amount of fraud, it is almost impossible to distinguish it with the naked eye or through energy before showing symptoms.”

“Why?”

“It’s because humans are inherently malicious.”

It was a clear answer.

Sienna was lost in thought.

‘Human-infected fraud is difficult to detect.’

However, not long ago, she saw a dark and inky energy clearly in the blue eyes of Isabelle Gildinak, who was infected with fraud, and in Viscount Jester’s eyes.

[Did you see a person infected with fraud with your own eyes?]

This seemed to be the first time Hesaros heard such a story.

[Hmm… I think it’s probably my fault. Unlike humans, I am sensitive to fraud.]

Hesaros speculated that Sienna probably shared the same powers when she became his master.

[Not bad at all. If you’re going to live as a Terraformer, it would be rather helpful. As expected. I’m a weapon. I am of deep help to my owner.]

Sienna smiled faintly, remembering that the conversation had ended with Hesaros praising himself for his greatness.

‘Well, that’s true.’

As Hesaros said, being able to detect fraud that others cannot detect would be a huge advantage.

However, at this point in time, she thought there was no need to disclose it to other people, so she was just hiding it.

“A large amount of magical power and fraud are required for magical beasts to occur. At this time, the level of generated magical beasts is divided according to the required magic and fraud.”

“Ohh.”

Michael’s eyes twinkled as if an interesting story had finally come out.

Seth smiled bitterly and started writing.

He first drew a large triangle, then drew several horizontal lines in it, and then wrote in order from the top.

Epic

Unique

Rare

Uncommon

“Uncommon is a beast that has lost its intelligence and has only the instinct for slaughter and feeding.”

Viscount Jester, whom Sienna and Ashiel faced each other not long ago, was an Uncommon-class Beast.

“If similar entities identify each other and start mutual cooperation, they can imitate humans to a certain extent, Rare. And we classify them as Unique when using the black magic ‘Judicial’. And this.”

The chalk broke as Seth poked and scribbled the top of the pyramid with it.

“When a demonic beast transcends the level of a universal human, it is called this. Epic.”

“……”

It was a strangely chilling explanation.

After that, Seth’s explanation continued.

“Sometimes humans or animals turn into beasts, and fraud can occur naturally in stagnant areas.”

“Beasts move with magical powers and do not consume any food, but they tend to view humans as their prey.”

“The places occupied by these beasts are classified as ‘outside the world’.”

Sienna’s hand, holding the pen, moved busily.

After class, Seth gave homework – to investigate a total of four cases, one for Uncommon, Rare, Unique, and Epic.

Michael pursed his lips.

“Why do you give me homework every time, bothering me?”

“Isn’t it the common psychology of teachers to be more generous towards a model student rather than a poor one?”

“Are you saying I’m the poor one?”

“If not, would you like to refute it?”

“Sheesh.”

After the shared class, it was time for Seth and Michael’s private lessons.

Michael asked Sienna, who was about to leave her seat with her writing instruments and books.

“Are you going to do your homework right away?”

Sienna pondered for a moment, but soon answered honestly.

“I’m going to the orphanage today.”

Even if she hides it, he would find out anyway.

It would have been better to just be honest from the beginning. Besides, it wasn’t really something that needed to be hidden.

“Oh, okay.”

She thought he would say something bad about it, but Michael was surprisingly quiet.

“…Yes, well. Have a good day. Let’s do homework together when you get back later.”

Sienna noticed the slight disappointment that had passed by the boy’s eye, but she nodded her head wisely, pretending not to know.

“Yes. Well then, Sir. I’ll get going.”

“Yes. Goodbye, Sienna. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

* * *

When Sienna said that she wanted to visit the orphanage regularly, the grand duke said nothing and added two of his wizard soldiers as escorts.

Sienna was recently called the ‘Room 6 Teacher’ at the orphanage and was a very welcome guest.

It was like that in many ways. First off, for example…

“Sienna, as it became known that it was a place you visit regularly, support increased significantly.”

“Aha.”

“Thanks to you, the kids here ate a madeleine for the first time not long ago.”

Lisa laughed playfully.

Even though the orphanage children were not mature enough to understand the connection between Sienna and the sudden patronage, they knew that it was thanks to Sienna that they were able to eat madeleines.

“You don’t have to say that…”

“Well, you know that now anyway.”

First of all, Sienna was not an adult by Lisa’s standards, so she didn’t explain it in detail.

But Sienna was able to speculate based on the circumstances.

New sponsors were probably all thinking this way.

‘Wouldn’t you be able to see the famous Nacht’s child who became the owner of the Named at least once?’

‘It’s an orphanage sponsored by His Majesty the Grand Duke, so if we support it together, we might be able to catch his eye.’

‘The probability is low, but it’s an orphanage where the owner of the Named used to be, so there may be other outstanding children.’

It was not difficult to imagine a person hiding his true intentions and pretending to be a gentle and kind supporter.

But anyway, the children were able to taste madeleines thanks to them.

Growing up in the orphanage, Sienna fully understood how much children needed it.

After that, Sienna made it a regular schedule to visit the orphanage.

Since they were familiar with each other, the young future wizards quickly fell in love with Sienna.

For the children, Sienna was a hero who defeated the evil and stingy Kendall and saved them with madeleines and with Director Lisa.

“Teacher, look at this. I’ve memorized all the letters recently”

“Am I tall? I can now organize the blankets by myself.”

If she tried to give at least one answer to the little children who flocked to her to get even the slightest bit of attention, she wouldn’t know where to start…

“Lou, when did you come?”

“Just now.”

The blue-eyed boy, Lou, would sneak up to her side.

No matter how much they followed Sienna, the children were still young.

When someone saw a four-leafed clover among the cluster of shamrocks, or a frog appear at the corner of a bush, they would flock to it.

But Lou would sit next to Sienna quietly, as if he had no interest in such commotions.

Real teachers passing by admired him, saying, “When it comes to Sienna, he looks like a well-trained hound.”

“How many books did you read last time?”

“So far…”

Besides that, Lou was not like the other children in the orphanage in many ways.

It was also the case that he already knew letters.

At first, they thought it was a boyish prank, but when they saw that he was reading the book Sienna had just brought him, it seemed to be true.

“Are you listening to Teacher Lisa?”

Lou frowned.

“I’m trying.”

“Just trying?”

“…If Director Lisa didn’t just tell me to do ‘chika chika’ before going to bed, I would have wanted to listen to her better than I do now.”

(T/N: 치카치카, chika chika; a cute way of saying ‘brush your teeth’.)

“Oh, that was kind of like that.”

In a harsh environment like an orphanage, when they got older at around the age of eight, everyone would see themselves as a great adult.

Sienna did too, to some extent, but it was much more for the boys.

“I’ll tell her about that.”

“Yes, thank you.”

While answering bluntly and fixing his eyes on the book, Lou did not leave his seat next to Sienna until she stood up saying, ‘I have to go.’

At about four o’clock in the afternoon, Sienna came out of the orphanage.

It was a little far from Melanche Orphanage to the street where the carriage was parked.

However…

‘…Something is strange.’

It seemed that she walked longer than usual today for some reason, but she couldn’t even see a glimpse of the carriage.

In addition, as people became increasingly scarce, it became difficult to find people around.

“I think I’m caught up in magic.”

“Lady, please come this way.”

The escorts stopped Sienna in the middle and looked out in all directions.

Sienna also looked around.

‘…I don’t feel fraud.’

In other words, no matter what kind of magic this was, at least it was not a trap prepared maliciously by humans, and it meant that there were no magical beasts involved.

‘I don’t think they need to worry too much… Except for the fact that we do not know the identity of the other person.’

That was then.

Along with the rustling sound of leaves, which was often heard when walking on a forest path…

“W-what, what!”

“Lady, you must avoid…!”

“!”

In the next moment, Sienna was standing alone on a forest road.

‘What…’

No, it was more like an entrance to a secret place rather than a forest road.

Before sunset, golden sunlight filled the surroundings, and the peaceful chirping of birds could be heard.

Sienna looked around a little absentmindedly.

Right then.

The trees moved on their own, clearing the way.

As if saying to come this way.

‘What do I do?’

Still didn’t feel like fraud.

‘Hesaros?’

[Yes, that’s fine. It doesn’t seem like a big deal.]

‘I think so. It’s like something huge but innocent waiting to be welcomed…’

[Oh, your senses are quite developed?]

‘Well…’

It didn’t seem like there was any other way, so Sienna decided to go forward.

Although the passage looked narrow from the outside, it was actually very easy to pass thanks to the plants that quickly moved away if Sienna was even a little close.

Inside the road…

‘Garden?’

A man was standing amongst the overgrown grass that was too cluttered for a garden.

“You’ve arrived on time, kid.”

“…….”

A tall old man with a scholar-style linen tunic, but who didn’t look like a scholar at all.

Silver-gray hair with golden eyes shining like amber.

Sienna gulped and swallowed her saliva.

‘…Why is the emperor here?’

“Hey, I thought you came here bravely, but you must have been very surprised.”

If the emperor suddenly popped out like this, no one could help but be surprised… There was no way she could honestly say that.

Sienna asked, barely moving her stiff lips.

“…Who are you?”

It was awkward acting, but thanks to it, he seemed scared.

“Um… I’m just a grandfather passing by.”

“Ah yes…….”

“I came here because I heard that the kid who became the owner of Named was nice and pretty, so I wanted to meet you in person.”

As Sienna knew, it had been a long time since the old man had raised a child himself, as even his only grandchild was lost at a young age and was not with him.

Just by recognizing and treating Sienna as a child far younger than her original age, she could fully guess the narrative.

‘Wherever you look, the emperor’s profile itself…’

Even if she didn’t know his face, she would have recognized it within five minutes. She could guarantee it.

“…Um? Oh my. I was just having a fun conversation with a kid, but an uninvited guest came.”

“?”

At that moment, rustling, the garden behind Sienna’s back opened.

What appeared was a large handsome man with a pale face and red eyes that were the only colors on him other than black.

“That’s enough of your silly jokes.”

It was Grand Duke Nacht.

“You’re coming in like a thief. You’re still a cheeky bastard.”

A smile spread across the emperor’s lips, but the words that came out didn’t make sense at all.

“You, how long do you think I’m going to look at that arrogant act because you’ve been mixed with blood?”

The grand duke sighed.

“If you had come to visit with a more common sense, wouldn’t I have been more polite than this?”

“Didn’t you hide the child and refuse to show her?”

“Is that why you suddenly connected the garden?”

The emperor chuckled.

“Of course, I was in a hurry to come because I was afraid you’d change your mind.”

It seemed that this was the best way for the two to have an honest conversation as a family who shared the same blood.

‘Everything is good, but if possible, I hope they do it without me.’

Sienna, who was in a pitiful position, did not want to be in this shaky place.

It was then.

[…Sienna.]

It was Hesaros.

‘Yes?’

[You, can’t you see that?]

‘…What?’

[Hmm, if you’ve been trained like this, I think you’ll see enough. Focus your senses on your eyes and look at the emperor?]

‘…?’

Sienna slowly focused her eyes as Hesaros instructed.

‘Ah…?’

Then something that was not visible to her before concentrating began to appear vaguely.

‘The black lump…?’

The form of the emperor’s core, which was gathered in a circle near the heart, was clearly visible.

It was an unfamiliar form, but that creepy appearance was evident…

‘Fraud?’

[Okay. It’s different from the usual form, but I think it is fraud.]

Even though it was shaking in black, the fraud did not spread and was clustered in one place.

If a glass ball the size of an adult male’s fist was filled with black ink, it would look just like that.

Seeing the trembling form, Sienna recalled the black energy that passed over Isabelle’s blue eyes.

It was a small amount, less than a teaspoon of sugar used in a cup of tea.

And she remembered the amount of fraud that Viscount Jester exploded the moment he mutated into an Uncommon-class beast.

That was about the size of a big spoonful of sugar she would use to make a cake.

With just that much fraud, it was able to make people do things they didn’t normally do, and even transform them into beasts.

‘But if that fraud in the emperor’s body explodes…?’

[He will die. It would be good if it ended with him dying alone.]

A cold sweat broke out on Sienna’s spine, who unintentionally had a strong heart as she began to live a second life.

What if, by mistake, a huge amount of fraud exploded in a stagnant place…

[You should be prepared to deal with at least one brigade of Rare-grade beasts.]

It would be no ordinary disaster.

A war would break out.

Even considering that the place where the emperor usually lived was mainly the Imperial Castle, the heart of the Feyenoord Islands…

‘It would be a catastrophe.’

[I agree.]

Right now, an unknown power had captured fraud and kept it in the emperor’s body, so the emperor seemed to be neither crazy nor transformed into a beast.

But it must be just a matter of time before anything happens.

‘Is it possible for fraud to inhabit the human body in such a form?’

[No, not impossible. At least it’s not a natural phenomenon.]

If it wasn’t a natural phenomenon, it meant that someone did it artificially.

And in a corner of Sienna’s mind.

‘Sister Loreina’

Sienna was stunned.

‘What the hell did you do?’

No one was here to answer.

Sienna bit her lip.

Up until now, she had been secretly thinking about something.

She was thinking of Loreina.

Since returning to the past, the people in the Grand Duchy of Natch have treated Sienna with a different attitude than before.

So she was wondering.

‘I wonder if my sister would have changed that way too.’

It wasn’t like hope. It was just some prediction that it could happen.

However, it was proved by this incident.

Loreina hadn’t changed at all.

Besides, she didn’t just deceive Sienna and stole her power.

She deceived the entire empire and was about to do so again.

[Probably, with that amount, even the emperor would have noticed the existence of fraud.]

‘It must be.’

[Besides, this garden seems to be the Emperor’s territory.]

The Feyenoord family was the bloodline that produced the most powerful Terraformers in the empire.

Perhaps the emperor was living in his own realm as much as possible, to suppress the moment of catastrophe as much as possible when the fraud exploded in his body with the power of purification.

[If that is the Emperor’s disease, it cannot be solved with healing magic.]

Purifying fraud was only possible for Terraformers.

There was no way Loreina could solve something that even the emperor, who inherited the lineage of the most powerful Terraformer left on this earth, could not solve and was holding it like a time bomb.

‘So, was Sister Loreina able to extend His Majesty’s life by just one year?’

[I guess that’s the way it is. Although there are so few clues, I can’t be sure.]

‘Then…’

The grand duke and emperor in front of her were still struggling with one another, as if they did not know the seriousness of the situation.

Now, the tree in the emperor’s garden had stretched out and tapped the grand duke’s head.

Perhaps if there were other subordinates, they would have wanted to poke their own eyes so that they would not see that dreadful sight.

‘Then Hesaros, can we solve it?’

[If you are alone, of course it is still impossible.]

It was a simple, assertive tone, but Sienna was accustomed to the way this Named spoke, so it was not difficult to read the truth.

‘It means that this can be solved because there is Hesaros.’

[Your territory has grown a lot. I can’t say for sure, but I think it might be worth trying because I have a body and you do too.]

She could heal it.

The emperor’s disease.

Not Loreina, but Sienna.

Sienna took a deep breath. She hadn’t even thought of it until now.

She just thought that if Loreina’s scheme was true, it would be a great harvest if she could even stop it.

‘This is the real thing.’

So far, Sienna has ruined all of Loreina’s plans, but that’s was because things happened to turn out that way.

But now it was different.

If she saved the emperor now.

Sienna was about to challenge Loreina head-on.

* * *

Suddenly, when Sienna came to her senses, she was sitting in front of a tea table that popped up in the middle of the garden.

“I prepared it with all my heart to meet the baby, not for you.”

“I guess so.”

Consistent with his short answers, the grand duke drank tea. It was a curt attitude.

The emperor clicked his tongue, and suddenly spoke kindly to Sienna.

“Baby, eat a lot. He probably doesn’t have many of such delicate things in the corners of his house.”

Certainly, there was nothing more colorful than the imperial desserts set up in the messy garden.

Thousand layers of cake with delicate chocolate icing, layered with pastries, chocolate, raspberry jam and vanilla cream.

A richly flavored cake with strawberries in mascarpone cream, and a creme brulee with vanilla cream lightly simmered with cinnamon and sprinkled with sugar.

Boiled, rolled, stirred, stacked.

How much work went into one dessert, it was a shame to even dare to touch it.

‘Sister Loreina often ate such snacks too.’

The imperial family treated Loreina, a benefactor, with utmost respect in every way.

Not only did they give her various favors, but they also sent gifts such as clothes, books, and jewelry every season.

In addition, at least once a week, they would send Loreina a small gift – such as a bouquet of flowers to accompany the dessert she enjoyed so that she could have a good time.

Loreina allowed other nobles to taste the precious snack, not just Sienna.

Sienna didn’t know it at the time, but now that she thought about it, she wondered if she was showing kindness to emphasize that she was a special person who was treated like this by the imperial family.

In any case, this was Sienna’s first imperial snack.

‘It doesn’t taste that good.’

The raspberry tasted like raspberries, the chocolate like chocolate, and the vanilla cream smelled like vanilla. Overall, it was just sweet.

Why did they throw away their pride to try this and gather around Loreina and fuss? It’s not a taste they didn’t know.

‘Is it just because it was sent by the imperial family?’

Well, unlike Sienna, who was not delicate, the sensitive taste of the noble ladies might have felt like it was something special.

‘I don’t really like sweets.’

Anyway, considering the effort of the person who made it, Sienna took her fair share of each dessert and ate a little bit at a time.

A delightful gaze fell on Sienna’s head.

“It’s true, the child is certainly just like a puppy. Why did something so valuable fall to this mountain bandit’s house?”

“Ha…”

The grand duke sighed, stating that he was too tired to respond.

“Child, would you like to walk around the garden with this old man? Let’s get rid of that ignorant spearhead.”

It was a golden opportunity, but would be a bit harsh to say that she was willing immediately. Sienna looked at the grand duke once.

“Go ahead. Even if he looks like that, he is one of the best Terraformers in this empire.”

“Hey, what do you mean to look like that?”

“Again, this is his realm. He may teach you something that neither me nor Seth can teach you.”

“A naughty bastard.”

“Ah,” said the emperor, clicking his tongue.

Sienna followed the emperor, and he opened his mouth only after there was some distance from the grand duke.

“Yes, you were probably surprised that the old man you saw for the first time was acting friendly as if he was not a stranger.”

Rather, she was even more surprised that the emperor was here when she was brought to this place on the way home, but Sienna just nodded her head calmly.

“Understand. Basically, a lot of people like to be next to Terraformers like you and me.”

“People?”

“Because we are beings that purify fraud. I’m sure you feel comfortable. It’s especially true with wizards. They pretend not to be, but they can’t help but get along with Terraformers.”

Oh, that was why everyone had gone away from her these days.

As she was trying to understand, a strange feeling came over her.

“But Your Majesty is also a Terraformer like me.”

The emperor chuckled.

“Yes, but aren’t Terraformers fundamentally magicians? But…”

The emperor’s golden eyes looked down at Sienna obliquely.

“…Have I ever revealed my identity to the baby?”

Actually, Sienna felt something amiss from the moment she called him His Majesty.

Fortunately, the excuse was ready before the emperor finished his question.

“The only person who can speak with the Grand Duke as before is His Majesty the Emperor.”

“Ouch, I forgot about that.”

The emperor trembled and led Sienna into the garden.

Vine leaves, wild wisteria, fern, honeysuckle, foxtail, dandelion and violets and young mugwort, shamrock and raspberry.

These were the only things that could be roughly recognized.

Other than that, there were a lot of plants, or only grass, with no fruits or flowers.

“My garden isn’t like this originally. It’s a pity I can’t show it to you when it’s in its best shape, but take a good look.”

It might sound rude, but Sienna was strangely drawn to this desolate garden.

Perhaps the reason was…

“Is this Your Majesty’s territory?”

“Yes, it’s my imaginary world that’s nowhere in the world.”

[The imaginary world refers to the realization of the world in the head of a Terraformer who has reached his or her own realm.]

In other words, this was a very small world where the imagination of the Terraformer became reality.

[Since it’s a secret technique, just pretend you don’t know.]

The emperor smiled kindly as he looked at Sienna, who had been silent while listening to Hesaros’ explanation.

“You’ll find out when the time comes. Maybe when the baby grows up, she’ll have a much better garden than this old man.”

‘As the saying goes, if this is a place that represents the heart of His Majesty the Emperor…’

Sienna seemed to be able to guess why this place was so devastated.

It was just a good opportunity.

“Is the garden like this because Your Majesty is sick?”

“…Well.”

The seasoned emperor asked.

“Can the baby see I’m sick?”

“Yes. Your Majesty, it’s right next to the core.”

Sienna spoke as if she were a child who only said the seemingly meaningless facts.

The acting was more natural than before, perhaps thanks to watching the children at the orphanage a while ago.

Fortunately, the emperor also viewed Sienna as much younger than her actual age.

“Beside my core…?! Baby, can you see this?”

The emperor’s composure was broken.

“What’s going on?”

The grand duke approached me, thinking that the story going back and forth was absurd.

Sienna nodded her head.

“I’ve seen it in the eyes of the young lady of Gildinak, but not as much as Your Majesty.”

“You mean the daughter of Count Gildinak? If it was the child who was tainted with fraud… Baby, do you really know how to see fraud?”

“I think so.”

“Oh my God…”

[Tell them that I and you are sharing your eyes.]

“Hesaros said that I shared my eyes with Hesaros.”

The strategy of selling Named’s name worked again this time.

“Okay, that’s because you’re the owner of the Named. Now I understand.”

“Your Majesty?”

“Uh-huh. I can’t do anything like this. Listen carefully, Rodrick.”

The emperor said.

“I won’t live long.”

“Okay… what?”

Seeing the surprised expression on the grand duke, the emperor burst into laughter, which was inconsistent with the situation.

“Hey, you punk. I am already seventy-nine years old. What’s so surprising?”

“Your Majesty! Now that’s…”

“By the way, you too, are over forty years old. When did you all get so old…”

“You still have the habit of bursting bombs and trying to cover up with nonsense.”

“Hmm, are you listening to me?”

“You are still here, so Arandier must be disgusted with you.”

The grand duke shook his head and sighed.

“As you said, even if there is a national funeral tomorrow, the probability of a natural death is high, Your Majesty.”

“What’s wrong with this guy?”

“Listen to the end. Your Majesty’s knowledge of that time is a different matter.”

“I thought you were going to move on, but you didn’t end it. That’s how it’s like for you. Good. Listen to me.”

This was what the emperor had to say.

Not long ago, the emperor collapsed while taking care of the usual state affairs.

Even though he was old, everyone was worried because he was an emperor who was as strong and healthy as a horse.

“Arandier told me to be a little grumpy in advance if I think I’m going to die. Don’t startle people.”

“What happened after you fell?”

“I was taken to my room. I fainted for a while, but my body was still in good shape.”

The royal physician also said there were no major problems with the emperor’s health.

“It’s considered a temporary symptom, so it’s good to get enough rest and pay attention to your diet.”

“It was a typical solution. Anyway, I thought it was over, but at some point I knew. There are things in my body that shouldn’t be there.”

As soon as he confirmed that there was nothing wrong with his body, the emperor checked the magic of the core, and while circulating the magic, he noticed the existence of fraud.

“How fortunate is this?”

The emperor laughed, saying that this amount of fraud would even be detected by the search magic of a first-year officer at the military academy.

“Everyone only thought that my age had a problem with my body, but I couldn’t imagine that, so how fortunate I am.”

“No one knows, right?”

“Arandier knows. If something happens, shouldn’t that child succeed to the throne without delay?”

“Your Majesty…….”

“I’m not dead yet, bastard.”

The emperor made idle remarks, saying that when he died, they should bring a generous amount of condolence money.

“I heard that the vault of the Underworld is the best? I often hear that Nacht lives like the imperial family.”

“Your Majesty!”

“Ah, this guy? When people leave a will, do they have a double heart?

“Your Majesty, are you sick of this?”

Oops.

Hearing a voice from below, the emperor and the grand duke, who had completely forgotten Sienna’s existence, realized they had talked too much.

“Baby, this was just…”

“It’s no use.”

The grand duke stopped the emperor’s useless attempts.

“The child is intelligent. If Your Majesty soothes the child, it will only make the child embarrassed, so please stop.”

“Rodrick.”

“Why are you calling me?”

“Are you proud of yourself now?”

“…Ahem.”

The emperor glared at his nephew, who pretended to be polite and coughing, with an absurd face.

Soon the emperor spoke to Sienna again.

“Anyway, baby, you’re so smart, you know that you have to keep the story you just heard a secret, don’t you?”

“Why do I have to keep it a secret?”

“Well.”

The emperor looked at Sienna’s gray-green eyes staring at him in a bewildered way.

Sienna tilted her head and replied. What do you think is so difficult and serious?

“This, I can get rid of.”

“What?”

The emperor was speechless at the unexpected words.

‘I heard that this child purified the mother and daughter of Count Gildinak…’

The emperor guessed.

‘Perhaps, because of the one experience of purifying two people who were in the early stages of infection, she seems to think that she can cure all similar types.’

Still, he was proud and happy that she was willing to fix it.

“Oh, this is…”

Sienna smiled lightly at the way he tried to soothe her.

“I know there’s an enormous amount of fraud in Your Majesty that I’ve never seen before.”

“…Huh? Did you know?”

“Yes, I’m still young, so I don’t know exactly…”

Sienna didn’t know yet that calling herself young would make her look grown-up.

“If it accidentally explodes in a place where magic is gathered, I think there will be a lot of magical beasts.”

“…….”

It was only the language that belonged to a child, but she accurately pointed out the current situation.

Of course, it had to be accurate. Sienna merely translated Hesaros’ predictions into words that a child could say to some extent.

“Besides, Your Majesty seems to be very concerned because he is mainly in the capital city of the Imperial Palace.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Ah, is that why you’re here in an imaginary space like this? To avoid harming others…”

“Hmmm.”

The emperor calmly coughed and nodded.

“That’s correct. Imaging space is the realm of the Terraformer. It’s easier to control my fraud while I’m here.”

“I see.”

Sienna nodded quietly. The emperor said ‘Yeah’ to the grand duke and gave him a sour expression.

“Why are you like this again?”

“You said she was smart, but you dared to lie in front of the emperor of this empire? Are you still my military commander?”

“Ha? I never lied.”

‘My child is bright. Isn’t that right?’

The grand duke furiously raised his eyebrows and tried to fight him, but it was quicker for the emperor to give him another shot.

“Noisy! How can she be smart? Of course, you should have introduced her as a genius!”

“Ah.”

That was what he meant. The eyes of the grand duke, who had double wicks, returned to a state of insensitivity again.

(TL/N: wick; a strip of porous material up which liquid fuel is drawn by capillary action to the flame in a candle, lamp, or lighter. So it’s like saying his eyes were on fire.)

“I see. I admit it. I was needlessly humble.”

“Don’t make it a hobby to engage in virtues you haven’t been able to show since it’s not time to die suddenly. I’m afraid the child will be underestimated.”

“Yes. It is clearly my mistake. From now on, I will introduce her clearly as a ‘rare genius’.”

[Of course! Who is the chosen owner?]

Sienna looked at the two with a slightly dizzy feeling.

‘…What the hell are these people talking about?’

Were they serious?

She felt like she should stop it for some reason, but she was not friendly with both of them, so she didn’t know how to interrupt or where to start…

“Baby.”

The emperor called Sienna. The eyes looking at her became more generous.

“You are not only the young owner of the Named, but also wise.”

“…….”

“Yes, if it’s not rude, could you show me your Named?”

Sienna nodded her head and concentrated her mind carefully.

Named did not need to be carried around like other objects. These weapons could always be next to their chosen master.

Hesaros appeared with a halo in the air.

The long body carved from obsidian and the mithril work of pure silver that seemed to give off an immaculate luster even when standing still, and the soul stone of Hesaros was emitting a brilliant light.

The emperor was inwardly admiring.

‘Oh. Hesaros changed his form.’

There were records that Named could change the body, but it was her first time to actually see it.

‘That form… Is it a cane?’

At first, he thought it was a wand carried by the fairy godmother in illustrated children’s books.

But looking closely…

“…Isn’t this a cigarette? You picked it up from Nacht’s treasury… Maybe this is what you picked…?”

Haha.

‘No way!’

Sienna quickly made excuses with a strained smile.

“No. I’m not sure, but Hesaros said he liked it.”

“Ugh, is that so…”

If it was not the child’s taste, but the Named’s, there was nothing he could do about it…

“…Yes, anyway, as the Emperor of Feyenoord and as a Terraformer, it is truly an honor to see Hesaros and his owner.”

“…….”

“The Named are truly mysterious and unknown weapons. You are the least known and perhaps the most powerful of them, Master Hesaros.”

[Ahem. I’ve been thinking about it for a while, but this human emperor is a guy who knows something. I like him very much!]

On behalf of the proud Hesaros, Sienna expressed her gratitude.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

To be honest, it was more embarrassing than good when he painted her face with gold, but it was nice to praise Hesaros.

“No, I am rather grateful. How can I not be satisfied to see precious children like you at an age when it is difficult to make a promise to the end of the year?”

“…’You’?’

A slight smile faded from Sienna’s lips.

‘If I didn’t hear it wrong…’

Just now, the emperor obviously didn’t say ‘like you’.

‘You’ did not refer to just one person, Sienna.

[I don’t feel good.]

Hesaros was right. A bad intuition sounded the alarm.

“Your Majesty.”

Instead of Sienna, the grand duke stepped forward.

“As Your Majesty acknowledged, that child does not speak nonsense. As Grand Duke Nacht, I assure you.”

“Well.”

“Besides, it is the Named Hesaros that backs up that childish insight. Hesaros must have assured her that it could be cured.”

“Um, that’s right. It sounds like you’re bragging again, but it’s not just my feeling, is it?”

“…Anyway, my bragging rights are also based on facts.”

“Your attitude is very different from when you were raising your sons.”

“It’s not because she’s a girl, it’s because she’s special.”

Originally, he was a grand duke who couldn’t fall to this, but his opponent was the godfather, the emperor.

It was not easy for him to hold his weight in front of an opponent who remembered that he even cried with his nose on the marble floor, deceived by the pranks of his older sister, and the crown princess.

“Besides, Your Majesty also raised Arandier, so you don’t know.”

The emperor waved to see who would listen.

“Ahh. Arandier… Arandier is Arandier. She is truly unique. She is very unique.”

The grand duke also had a lot to say about him, so his lips twitched slightly.

But the emperor shook his head a little faster.

“Anyway, this family story isn’t important. Actually, there are other important reasons I can’t give a definite answer to.”

“Yes.”

“Hey, there’s already a child who gave me the same offer as you.”

The bad intuition she felt a while ago became a reality.

Sienna asked calmly.

“That person…”

“Well, you’ve probably already heard the news. The young girl of Count Minangsi, who recently awakened as a healing wizard, the child named Loreina.”

…To some extent, the name she was prepared for appeared.

* * *

Count Minangsi’s employees have been busy for the past few days.

There was no such thing as an accident in the County.

The Count of Minangsi, who is in charge of one axis of the eastern granary, occupied the fertile land and was always prosperous. The previous year’s harvest was also bountiful.

Although the healing power that allowed the Count of Minangsi to occupy this good granary was long gone, the descendants still benefited from their great ancestors.

They didn’t have to worry about making a living.

Neither the count nor the countess at the time were beautiful, but their only daughter, Loreina, was dazzlingly beautiful and lovable, picking out the good points of her parents and resembling them.

And not so long ago, the lovely young lady manifested the healing powers they thought they had lost.

It was a congratulatory moment. It was understandable even if the Count and his wife were to dance while drinking white wine in front of everyone.

But the county’s mood was far from overwhelming joy.

“She didn’t eat dinner today?”

“Don’t even say it…”

The maid, who had gone to pick up the meal, rolled up the sheet-covered wagon to the chef with a bewildered expression on her face.

“Hey, my God. What’s going on with all this?”

On the wagon were broken plates and food that had fallen to the floor. All messed up.

“She said she didn’t want to eat it, but she got mad at me for bringing it…”

“Isn’t that absurd, our Lady Loreina?”

The chef couldn’t hide her upset expression.

“Oh my God, that kind… no, that lovely person is like this… Why is she like that?”

“I do not know.”

These days, Loreina has been very strange.

Letters of invitation and admiration were poured out to the beautiful young girl of Count Minangsi, who had manifested healing magic, but she did not even look at the letters.

She was even seen screaming sharply at the count and his wife.

“I understand something’s going on with her, but these are the foods I’ve made…”

Everyone understood how upset the chef felt.

Needless to say, the chef really liked the lady.

For Loreina, who is not in good condition, the chef put a lot of thought into today’s meal, filling it with only the things she likes.

It was shocking that the results of her hard work returned in this way.

“…Everyone, what are you doing here?”

“M-Madam!”

The countess’ gaze, accompanied by the butler, stayed on the messed up wagon.

“She’s really…”

The wife smiled bitterly.

“Hannah, I’ll apologize to you. I couldn’t properly educate my daughter…”

“Oh, ah, no, Madam!”

The chef waved his hand in surprise.

Although it was somewhat sad, she did not expect to receive an apology from the countess for the ‘wrong education of her daughter’.

“The child is having a difficult time these days, so… she seems to have lost her sense of discernment. You know? At that age, all children do this for a little while.”

“I understand, Madam.”

“We think she can do that…!”

“Thank you, everyone. Seeing how it is and understanding me… How can there be only such good people?”

“Wow, that’s an overstatement.”

The chef, Madam Hannah, forgot about her disappointment for a moment and put on a proud expression.

“Then…….”

The countess again left with the butler.

As soon as she left the kitchen, a chill crept over the countess’ face.

“Butler.”

“Yes, Madam.”

“I think it’s time to change the chef. It’s enough for her to do her own thing, to dare to complain about my daughter when she’s living thanks to her…”

“Okay, Madam. Let’s find a new cook.”

“Yes, no one should know that she was replaced due to external pressure… Can you do it as well as it is now?”

“Of course.”

“That’s good. Then I’ll have to go see my daughter.”

The Countess of Minangsi parted from the butler and went up to the second floor.

The south side of the second floor, filled with bright sunlight, was a space dedicated to Loreina, the only daughter of the counts.

The carpet was soft enough for her to sink to her ankles, and the flowers in the vase were all the ones she liked.

There was also a small room where only the girl’s drawings and embroidered decorations were displayed, there was a painting studio, a practice room for playing musical instruments and dancing, and a dressing room for storing lovely dresses and jewelry.

However, the countess passing in front of all this had no expression on her face.

Without even knocking, the wife opened the door of her dearly beloved daughter with the key and entered.

“How long are you going to be acting like this?”

“Mother!”

“My daughter…”

The countess whispered coldly as she hugged her daughter, who was cradled on her waist.

“I really didn’t expect you to be so pathetic. This mother…”

“However!”

“Loreina, please come to your senses. What can’t this mom or dad do for you?”

Lovely dresses and musical instruments, jewels and gold coins, and extravagant dolls.

“Is that all? We made you the only healing wizard in this empire.”

“What does that mean? There’s a child who joined Nacht before me! She even owns the Named!”

“Loreina… please. Did you forget everything your mother taught you?”

Shh, the wife caressed her daughter’s doll-like face with her plump hands.

This was her work.

A result that would never happen again in her life.

“The game has only just begun. You are the only healing wizard among nobles. Did I explain enough that depending on what you do, you can become much greater than the owner of the Named?”

“You said that I could cure the Emperor’s illness, didn’t you? But just because…”

“Listen to the end, daughter. That orphan girl said that she too could cure the Emperor’s illness.”

“…….”

“Now, what are you going to do? Do you want to continue crying like this, throwing away the food the servants brought, and tearing up your favorite dress?”

“How, how-how could that orphan girl be like that? In the first place!”

“Shh.”

Madam Minangsi, who was short and had a plump body, looked really kind when she smiled.

“Our Lorein. Sweet little girl. Let’s stop talking.”

(TL/N: ‘Lorein’ is probably her nickname.)

“Mother!”

“Stop. Mom said stop.”

There was a strange dignity in the soft tone of the countess.

“Loren, I taught you everything. I’ve given you so many things that you don’t dare complain.”

“…….”

“So you can do it. Get whatever you want.”

The countess, with a twinkle in her eyes, ordered.

“My sweet girl, beat her.”

Shatter her, until there is no powder left.

So that she could never set foot into your shining world again.

* * *

[Unexpectedly, it will be a head-to-head match.]

“I know, right.”

Sienna tried to open the world between her palms.

However, unlike usual, the world did not open well.

The little territories she tried to open, close, open and then fade again.

[It looks disturbing.]

“……”

[I can’t say no, but I hate to admit it.]

Sienna sighed without saying a word.

“Hesaros.”

[Okay.]

“Can I beat Sister Loreina?”

[Normally, I should comfort you that it will be like this, but…]

“…….”

[I wouldn’t say that. Why? Baby, think carefully.]

“What?”

[If you don’t win, the Emperor will die.]

If Hesaros decided to speak nonsense, he would say nonsense endlessly; on the contrary, if he wanted to say only the right things, he would only say the infinitely right things.

It was like that again this time too.

“…Yes.”

She didn’t know what method to use, but anyway, Loreina’s healing power could only extend the lifespan of the emperor by one year.

Sienna recalled the conversation she had with the emperor yesterday.

“Oh my. Children with excellent skills are coming out like this because they want to cure my disease. If that’s the case, I’m happy that I’ve lived a pretty decent life as the emperor.”

“……”

“But with only one body diseased, I am forced to make a very embarrassing decision.”

Despite being embarrassed, the emperor was stroking his chin with his fingers and smiling happily.

He seemed satisfied and pleased that the future of the empire he had dedicated his life to seemed brighter than the immediate threat of death.

“Baby.”

The gaze on Sienna was very kind.

Like chocolate that melts in the fire.

“In this empire, Lady Loreina and you. Both are valuable talents. That’s true. But you’re a Terraformer like me.”

The emperor laughed mischievously.

“…In this empire, there is an implicit custom that if you harm a Terraformer, you will be punished equal to that of the imperial family. Do you know what that means?”

“I do not know.”

“The genealogy of Terraformers born in this world all begins with this Feyenoord family. It means that it is recognized by common law.”

“……”

For Sienna, it was a word that was rare and difficult to understand.

“Your Majesty.”

“Shut up. Rodrick. Now, baby. Think slowly. The royal family has given birth to one of the best Terraformers of their time. And it is insisted that the blood of all Terraformers in this world flows like the royal family.”

“So…….”

“Isn’t that going to be an interesting story?”

With a wrinkled face, the emperor laughed like a naughty boy.

Behind, the grand duke touched his forehead.

Sienna was speechless.

The emperor’s words were, in a sense, recognizing Sienna as a royal family.

As by a common law…

“Well, if I spread this logic, the strict elders will get up like bees and lie down in protest, saying it’s a leap forward. If I’m going to say such nonsense, they’d rather I tread on them.”

If they were only about ten years younger, he would have really stepped on them, but now, if he made a mistake, everyone would go to the goal. It’s not like before.

“But this is my imaginary world, and I can say whatever I want. So, understand it this way.”

The emperor’s hand rested on Sienna’s head.

“In the heart of this Emperor of Feyenoord, it means that I regard the baby as a family to some extent.”

“Ah…”

“Especially when that baby steps up to watch over this old majesty at her own risk.”

“Your Majesty.”

The grand duke intervened in a low voice. The emperor exclaimed, ‘I know, you bastard!’

“You found her first and she’s your child.”

“…….”

“The narrow-minded thing is exactly like my father… Ashiel’s temperament also resembles you a lot.”

The grumbling emperor said, ‘Anyway!’ and cleared the situation.

“There are emotional problems like that. Aren’t I the emperor of this empire and this body is the property of the country?”

It was then. Sienna understood.

The emperor’s health was not a matter that could be determined by which of the two was cuter or more lovable.

‘How fortunate.’

Right now, the emperor was feeling close to Sienna because she was a Terraformer, but Sienna didn’t dare defeat Loreina by being cute.

No, she didn’t even dream.

‘So it might be advantageous to me. Excluding private feelings is…’

In case anyone else knew, I was convinced that once the emperor declared that he would exclude personal feelings, he would keep it as it is.

“As a person seeking treatment, I have to decide which way to get better treatment.”

Of course, to do that, he had to choose Sienna.

But the problem was that she couldn’t prove that part right now.

The choice was the emperor’s.

“And contrary to how it looks, this body is still able to withstand it.”

It would be. Sienna nodded her head.

‘Because he has to stay alive until Sister Loreina heals him.’

They must have used their hands appropriately so that the emperor would not die before that.

“So, let’s do this. Mayfair season starts in a little bit.”

As mentioned earlier, the imperial nobles gather in the capital from spring to summer to form a ‘social circle’ and spend time interacting with each other. This period was called the ‘Mayfair Season’.

“When all of you come to the capital during Mayfair season, let’s see who will heal me then.”

…As she finished reminiscing, she suddenly had a question like this.

‘Based on the circumstances, it is certain that Sister Loreina’s side organized this…’

But how was it possible to instill such a degree of fraud in the emperor’s body without being detected by anyone?

The emperor was not only a protected person, he was also a powerful wizard himself.

‘Is that possible?’

Hesaros agreed with Sienna’s reasonable doubts.

[There is only one possibility that I can think of.]

“There’s a helper.”

[Okay.]

But who?

Who was thinking of harming the emperor of this empire?

[There is still no place to step on the ladder to get there.]

“What?”

[An ancient saying. It means a lack of clues. Anyway, it’s up to you to decide this.]

“……”

[Should you intervene in this or not.]

“I…….”

Oh, it hurts a little to say this.

Sienna closed her eyes and said.

“I am not confident that I will be chosen.”

[Yes, I’m sure. Because you’ve been through enough.]

Hesaros agreed.

[Then let the emperor die. What do you know? Just let that Loreina girl come into this house, just let her do whatever she wants. What do you know?]

“…….”

[After all, you are the owner of the Named. That alone puts you in a position that cannot be trampled on as easily as before. It is not impossible to be satisfied with that alone.]

Hesaros was not being sarcastic.

He was just plainly telling the truth.

There was such a way.

[If you can’t afford it, run away. That’s the way.]

She felt choked up.

Sienna barely opened her mouth and said this.

“If I run away…”

If she runs away, what’s the resolution of the day?

That determination to go to the highest place of her destiny?

Hesaros, what did she promise him?

[Of course you can forget it.]

Hesaros decreed as sharply as a sword cut.

[You are breaking a promise, and I am serving the owner who broke the promise. That’s all, nothing changes.]

For a moment, Sienna stopped breathing.

Then, she burst into laughter like having a seizure.

“No.”

She couldn’t do that.

“I can’t, I… the promise is, I can’t.”

Once again, in this life, she had a lot of things in her hands.

Sienna’s hands, which had nothing, were full of the things that fate had given.

An invisible hand seemed to be guiding her from somewhere.

It would be easy to shake off the hand.

Run away and hide.

Who would look for her?

She had enough confidence to survive in hiding. Sienna was sincere, smart enough to find a way, and was the owner of the Named.

Let’s live a life of running away with it all…

…Disgracefully?

‘No.’

For the first time, Sienna heard an answer that boiled from the depths of her heart.

She didn’t like it. She didn’t want to run away.

Even if she died fighting, she wanted to face it.

She didn’t want to cringe for the rest of her life, feeling Loreina’s existence as a threat every time.

That’s why she ended her first life with her own hands.

‘Even if I die when I die, I just don’t want to die by that hand!’

“I will fight.”

[I knew it would come out like that.]

Hesaros appeared as a bright flame after a long time.

[Because you are the master of flames.]

She was.

Without hesitation, Sienna stretched out her hands toward the sky. And unlike a while ago, the world bloomed right away without hesitation.

[Hey, Sienna? What are you doing now?]

“I think I can do it now.”

Wider.

Bigger!

The ring of light that rose from Sienna’s hand spun violently, making a buzzing sound.

Cr-crack, crack, crack…

[What are you doing? This will break the core!]

“It doesn’t tear.”

[What is this stubborn person saying?!]

He tried to stop her, but Sienna didn’t listen.

Hesaros reluctantly plunged into the world.

It was to help Sienna.

[Hold your mind tightly!]

The ring began to burn more fiercely thanks to the energy of Hesaros.

Crack, crack.

‘Ugh…’

The magic that surrounded her heart reacted violently. But Sienna clenched her teeth and swallowed a groan.

‘A little bit more, a little bit more…’

Right then.

Boom boom!

In an instant.

The magic particles that were like heated corn grains grew in size at once as if they were swelling.

When she came to her senses, Sienna was standing in the center of a small, rotating galactic circle.

[The seed has germinated…]

The very small world she met for the first time, a very small seed that will become Sienna’s Terra.

She did it.

She broke the wall in front of her, the limits given to her.

The success of this moment spread thrillingly to the central nervous system of the brain, which was hardly stimulated in this way.

So it all started.

In an irreversible way.

[…It must be an irreversibly ‘ignorant’ method!]

Hesaros groaned, but he couldn’t stop the smile formed on Sienna’s lips.

* * *

And at that moment, somewhere on this earth.

“…The seeds of spring have germinated.”

Someone noticed the life that was born under the ground.