CH 01
When I looked in the mirror, I saw the image of a child about seven years old with blue hair and red eyes.
I couldn’t believe the reflection in the mirror, so I reached out and touched my cheek.
Then the child in the mirror also started touching its cheek like me.
Seeing that, I screamed inside, “What on earth is going on…!”
—
Shurin Strogel.
The daughter of an evil dragon, and the one who killed the evil dragon.
That was me.
There was a magician who was loved by people.
With the most brilliant mind in history and charming eloquence, everyone could not help but love him.
People praised and admired him.
One day, the magician opened the door of darkness.
From the door of darkness, monsters poured out endlessly, and the land rotted so that not even a blade of grass could grow.
He turned into a giant black dragon and killed people, plunging the continent into ruin.
Thus, people began to call the magician the evil dragon.
And I was the only daughter of such an evil dragon.
By the time I was born, the evil dragon was already obsessed with dark magic, and he subjected me to all sorts of torture and experiments.
Eventually, I couldn’t endure his abuse any longer and escaped.
By chance, I encountered Regan, leading a group dedicated to eradicating evil dragons.
Fortunately, Regan chose to become my new guardian instead of killing me, and under his guidance, I grew up wielding a sword to defeat evil dragons.
However, after finally beheading the evil dragon, I was betrayed.
“Sorry, but you’re the daughter of the evil dragon, right? I can’t leave unnecessary complications behind.”
The chilling sensation of the cold blade cutting through my heart vividly flashed in my memory.
“Damn it.”
I cursed inwardly.
“If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have been able to kill the evil dragon. Does it make sense to kill me just because I’m the evil dragon’s daughter?”
Moments ago, my comrades, who had fought alongside me against monsters, now looked down on me as if I were a loathsome insect.
Thinking it was the end, I suddenly opened my eyes in someone else’s body.
Moreover, it was 30 years into the future from the day I died.
“Is it because of the experiment the evil dragon conducted on me?”
I couldn’t remember everything the evil dragon did to me.
Perhaps one of those things had unleashed some kind of power.
Lost in my thoughts, I was startled by the orphanage director standing in front of me, yelling.
“Ariel! Is that an attitude of remorse you’re showing right now?”
“Come to think of it, I was lost in my thoughts.”
If I were to possess someone else’s body, I wish I were born into a peaceful and happy family.
Instead, I ended up in the body of an orphan with nowhere to turn for support.
“Still, it’s better than Regan, who tortured and treated me like a slave. Even though all we get for food is bread with bugs in it…”
I had to sew beads onto strings until my hands blistered or do needlework, but where could I find peace of mind?
But even that was until yesterday.
Someone expressed interest in adopting me, but after I refused, the director raged like a wild boar.
“What’s wrong with my life?”
Lost in my thoughts, the orphanage director yelled until my ears rang.
“Ariel!”
Startled, I looked up, and the director stared at me as if she would eat me.
“That foolish head of yours doesn’t even know your own name properly now? Your attitude has been terrible since the day before yesterday! When someone calls you, you should respond quickly!”
“Well, that’s because I changed from the day before yesterday.”
“And now you suddenly throw a fit about not wanting to go for the adoption that’s already been arranged! Do you have any idea how disappointed Mr. Brown must be?”
“Well, that guy just wants to use me as a maid.”
I’d rather be a maid. If I go to that house, I’ll be used and not receive a penny for the rest of my life.
I’d be better off in this moldy orphanage bed.
“It’s gone too far to indulge your antics. Even Mr. Brown, no matter how generous he is, won’t tolerate your stubbornness any longer.”
It seems like the director is craving the money she’ll receive from Mr. Brown after sending me for adoption.
Though there’s no doubt Mr. Brown is a strange man.
“Life’s just like this. I’ll find my own way.”
“If you sign the adoption papers now, I’ll forgive you. Wouldn’t it be better for you to go to a good home rather than stay in this orphanage?”
“… ”
“Why are you being so stubborn? That’s probably why your birth parents abandoned you. Who would like a stubborn and disobedient child like you? Sign the adoption papers now, and apologize to Mr. Brown, even if you’re a mess, isn’t that okay? Where else will you find someone as kind as him?”
I couldn’t bear it anymore, so I looked the director straight in the eyes and said, “I don’t want to.”
“What?”
“I said no.”
“You, you? What did you just say?”
Come to think of it, the Ariel before I possessed her was a shy and introverted child.
Even if the director scolded her, she would apologize for her mistakes and always obey the director’s words.
But sending her to a strange person’s house for adoption is too much, isn’t it?
“If you want to send someone to Mr. Brown for adoption, why don’t you go, Director? Why should I go to such a house?”
The director’s face turned as red as a boiled octopus.
“T-this is…!”
Unable to control her anger, she raised her hand to slap my cheek.
If that large palm, which seemed to be twice the size of my face, were to hit, my skin would surely tear.
But instead of hitting me, the director’s hand swung through empty air.
It was because I had dodged before her hand could touch my cheek.
Looking at me, who had dodged, the director exclaimed as if in disbelief.
“Did you just dodge that?”
“Well, should I just have taken it then?”
Knowing it would hurt if I got hit, who would just stand there and take it?
Moreover, the director, while robust, was slow, making her attacks easily noticeable.
“Magic may be gone, but this much is basic.”
“Is this for real? I’ve let you get away with so much…! Today, I really need to correct your behavior firmly!”
The director swung her fist violently.
I dodged her punch by swiftly moving to the side.
“You…!”
Enraged, the director moved her hefty body to catch me.
“Why don’t you come here right now?”
She either intended to grab me or hit me with her fist, grabbing for my arm or hair.
However, all her efforts were in vain.
I dodged her hand by leaving only a tiny gap, like lifting a lid as if it were medicine.
“Director, what will you do if you’re this slow? You should have exercised regularly.”
“If you get caught, you’ll die! Even if you go and apologize later, it won’t help!”
Usually, if a big-built director said such things to a child, they’d be scared and not know what to do. Fortunately or unfortunately, the evil dragon was more frightening than that.
“You even made me go this far to deal with you, you’re a really bad child! You’re like trash!”
Even in cursing, the evil dragon was better.
Perhaps realizing she couldn’t catch me with her hands, the director searched the drawer and pulled out an old whip.
Getting hit by that could break bones.
Still, it was better than a whip with glass shards or iron embedded in it.
But once you got hit with it, your skin would practically be torn off.
I knew that from personal experience.
“To think I’ve fed you and put you to sleep all this time without even knowing who you were! An ungrateful brat!”
The director’s whip cut through the air threateningly.
I stood still, staring at the whip aimed at me.
Perhaps due to not being professionally trained, the director’s whip only moved straightforward without any fancy maneuvers.
I watched the whip coming down towards me and, at the moment it lost its force, I grabbed it with my hand.
Although my palm got scratched against the rough surface of the whip, I managed to grab it unharmed.
“Who… dares to…!”
The director looked almost on the verge of passing out.
“Is it a bit too much to try to hit someone who won’t listen?”
I was considering taking the whip from the director’s hand and subduing her.
However, there was something I hadn’t considered about this situation.
It was the drastically different condition of my body compared to the past.
Two days ago, when I first woke up in this body, it was said that I had suffered from food poisoning and barely survived.
Moreover, due to usually only having one meal a day, which consisted of moldy bread, my nutritional status was not good either.
In other words, I was now a frail seven-year-old, unlike my past self.
I might have been able to evade to some extent, but…
“Huh?”
When the director tightened her grip on the whip, I found myself being dragged along involuntarily.
I lost in the struggle of strength.
Desperately trying to let go and escape, I found myself frozen in place.
“I’m doomed!”
My malnourished body declared a strike, protesting against being pushed too hard today.
“You little rat! I finally caught you!”
The director’s hand grabbed my throat.
I crouched down, anticipating the director’s fist approaching me.
Based on experience, this position would lessen the pain slightly.
* * *
“Ugh…….”
My whole body felt like it was on fire.
I couldn’t see properly as my bones throbbed in pain from the relentless beating.
Struggling to open my eyes, the fever blurred my vision, making it impossible to see clearly.
“It hurts…”
It was my fault for not considering how frail this body was.
If this body had better vitality, I might survive; otherwise, I would die.
I gritted my teeth and rose from the ground.
Staying still would either lead to my death or adoption by a strange family.
My life felt too unjust for that.
“Just once.”
I leaned against the wall with trembling arms.
Unpleasant memories continued to resurface, perhaps due to the pain.
When I was sick, the evil dragon rejoiced at the prospect of conducting different experiments.
“Fever? Good. I was curious about the effects of this magic on someone with a fever.”
Growing up under Regan’s care, I couldn’t afford to show any signs of pain.
“Do you know why I took you in? Everyone expects you to defeat the evil dragon. But if you claim to be sick and need rest, they’ll try to deceive you. Are you okay with that?”
When Regan spoke those words in a gentle voice, I never uttered a word of pain.
In childhood fairy tales I read to learn words, there was a story like that.
“Don’t be sick, child. If you’re in pain, it’ll break Dad’s heart. I’d rather feel the pain for you.”
It was shocking.
An ordinary father had such thoughts.
“I want to live.”
Just once would be enough.
I just wanted to live like any other person, ordinary and happy.
Even though my legs were weak, I didn’t give up. I pushed myself up from the ground with both hands.
The poorly maintained wooden floor creaked under the strain, covered in dust and dirt.
Escape to the forest.
Go there, eat tree fruits to regain strength, and then…
A pair of black shoes stood before me.
The sleek, well-polished shoes contrasted sharply with the dirty orphanage floor.
“What’s this?”
A deep and dignified voice.
I reached out and grabbed the hem of the man’s garment, saying, “I want to live…”
And then everything went dark.
