Ariel was a goddess born 200 years ago from the first rose that bloomed that year.
She has blonde hair as bright as the sun, green eyes reminiscent of peridot, and a blush that gently floated on her plump cheeks.
Since her birth, the lovely little goddess, whose appearance is comparable to the goddess of beauty, has received a great deal of attention. It wasn’t just her beauty; her innate divine power also surpassed that of Akalon’s, the Supreme King of all Gods.
The Gods felt it. That day marked the end of the Age of Eternal Archelon.
Because a new king has been born.
They treated the newborn goddess with great respect, but it didn’t last long. Because it turned out that Ariel had her flaws. It is a fatal matter that she doesn’t how to use her divine power. Just as humans do not learn how to breathe, so do Gods with their divinity.
The Gods’ interest towards Ariel soon turned into disappointment, and that disappointment turned into ridicule.
“If you can’t use your divine powers, what’s the difference between you and a mortal?”
“That’s just half of it.”
The Gods mocked Ariel whenever they had time. Those words were discouraging, but not to Ariel.
“Shut it, you dummy! A face comparable to the goddess of beauty, do the people who worship you have no eyes?”
“You’re pretty arrogant for saying you’re using your divine powers, but it was actually just for small errands!” Ariel fearlessly go against them even though she had no power to fight back. It was the last pride of the little goddess, who was once revered as the next king, although she was now reduced to a ridicule.
“Look at what this little rat is saying!”
“Evil! Why are you hitting me, you idiot!”
Of course, it always ends with Ariel receiving a good hit.
She was practicing hard, and as a result, the amount of divine power she could use increased gradually, but the speed was slow and not that great, so Ariel was still not good in the eyes of the other Gods.
It’s happening again today. At the banquet hosted by Akelon, Ariel was attempting to demonstrate the power she had accumulated over the years, but as usual, she returned as a mockery.
She wasn’t exactly a failure.
Because she made the thousand flowers that adorned the banquet hall bloom. A few years ago, she stayed up all night to make only ten flowers bloom, but now she has grown up. However, it is insignificant in the eyes of the Gods who can overturn the earth in a single gesture.
“What happened, Ariel?”
“The Gods were surprised, right?”
“Of course. Our Ariel has grown so much!”
“It’s noisy, you chirps!” Ariel shook off the angels whirling around her and shut herself in her bedroom.
“What’s wrong with me?” Self-reproach came out of nowhere. Even though she was born with stronger divine power than anyone else, she only ends up as a ridicule.
Even though she was already 200 years old, it’s pathetic that she still hasn’t awoken and takes the form of a child.
Ariel kept squeezing her eyelids, suppressing the tears that were coming out. The being who should be the king can’t help but to shed tears over this.
“I should go to sleep.”
She’s sad but once she took a deep breath and woke up, everything will be fine. Ariel, who squeezed her eyes with her tiny hands, lay down on the bed, and soon fell asleep.
Yes, she certainly did. She slept soundly because no one disturbed her.
But why? Why?
“Oh my, what kind of child is lying on the street?”
“Is it dead? Perhaps because of cold…”
“What? No way, it’s spring now.”
“Even though it’s spring, it’s still cold at night you know.”
“It must’ve been hard for a child to endure it.”
Why too noisy?
“Hmm, it’s noisy.” Ariel mumbled as she curled back and forth.
“Oh, did you hear that? I told you, she wasn’t dead.”
“That’s a relief! I guess she just fell asleep.”
“Why is she sleeping in a place like this?”
The noise didn’t subside.
‘These are really!’
Since there were no Gods who wants to come to her place where she was alone, the source of the noise was clearly from the angels. How dare they make a fuss in their master’s bed. This treatment was clearly as if they are ignoring her.
Ariel raised her eyelids in annoyance, thinking about scolding the noisy chirps.
‘…Huh?’
What exactly is going on here? Instead of the little angels, she was greeted by a wagon speedily dusting up a stone floor with small pebbles and several humans surrounding her.
This place is…
‘…Earth?’
Yes, absolutely. She’s been here with Akelon once.
‘But why am I here?’
Why is she sleeping in the middle of the street on earth? Ariel was dumbfounded.
“Kid, are you alright?” A middle-aged woman approached Ariel.
“Are you awake? How many are these?” She spread out her two fingers and waved them in front of Ariel’s eyes.
For a brief moment, her head spun, causing her to roll her eyes unconsciously and tilt her body to one side.
“Oh, kid!”
The woman grabbed Ariel by the shoulder and shook her. The power was so strong that she almost got motion sickness.
“Stop…”
“Huh? What did you say?”
Ariel managed to squeeze out her voice and dissuade the woman, but the woman did not seem to have heard her. Ariel’s eyebrows twisted painfully as the shaking grew stronger.
‘Stop it, you human!’
She wanted to scream loudly, but she kept being nauseous so she couldn’t open her mouth.
“What’s going on?”
A heavy bass sound was heard. Ariel, who was holding her breath, reflexively turned her head to that direction and a strange scene unfolded before her eyes.
All the humans who were chattering around were all bowing their heads.
‘Why are they doing this all of a sudden?’
Ariel was looking at them with a bewildered expression, and saw two men standing in the crowd.
One is a tall man with dazzling blonde hair and light green eyes, while the one standing beside him like an escort has a dark brown hair.
‘What are they?’
While Ariel was tilting her head, the brown-haired man urged the humans.
“What’s the matter?”
The middle-aged woman who was holding Ariel’s body a while ago hurriedly opened her lips.
“We’re just looking after this child who was lying on the street.”
“Is that the child?”
“Yes Your Highness, she just woke up not too long ago so she’s still unwell.”
The reason why Ariel is unwell is because of her aggressive shaking, but she won’t say it because the woman has a very worried expression on her face.
“Hmm.”
The blonde man quietly glanced at Ariel. It was as if he were feeling something.
“With her clothing, she looks like a lady of a noble family. But why is she here alone? She might be lost?”
‘Noble family? What’s that?’
Ariel, who was confined to her place due to training, did not have a chance to contact humans. So, of course, she couldn’t completely understand what they were saying.
As Ariel opened her eyes and tilted her head, the man sighed softly and opened his mouth.
“Ren, take this child to the nearest management office. If there’s someone who was missing a child, contact them.”
“Yes, my lord.”
The man obeyed his orders without hesitation.
Seeing that the people around her also bowed their heads, the man seemed to be a very high-ranking person.
Ariel hurriedly shook her head. She doesn’t know how, but she definitely came into the earth. She also doesn’t know how to return to the realm. In short, she will be staying here for a while, and in order to survive, she needs a place to stay.
‘Then…’ Wouldn’t it be wise to entrust herself to the wealthiest and most capable person on earth? Before internally agreeing to her reasoning, her body moved first.
Ariel grabbed the man’s trousers.
“Wait!”
“……?”
The man who was about to turn around looked down at Ariel with a perplexed expression. People around her also looked at Ariel with astonished faces.
It was natural. He was the only Grand Duke of the Empire and the younger brother whom the Emperor cherished.
Who would dare to stop him and even grab his trousers? They couldn’t keep their mouths shut at the rare sight they had never seen before.
‘What will that kid say?
‘Is she trying to beg?’
‘Or is she just going to say thank you?’
Her adorable lips slowly opened as everyone held their breath and stared at Ariel. But only unbelievable words came out.
“Take me with you.”
The air around her became cold, but that was only for a moment.
“This kid really dared!”
“It looks like this kid is not normal after all!”
Those who had shut their mouths began to murmur again.
“Kid, what rudeness are you displaying in front of His Highness? Come here right now!”
“Come here kid!”
They hurriedly tried to separate Ariel’s grip. It was because of the thought of what would happen to this child who knew nothing after disgracing the Duke.
But, “Hey, let go of me, humans! Whose body do you dare to touch!”
The more they tried to pull her off, the more Ariel was entangled with the Archduke.
“Ugh, what kind of child is this strong?”
“Please let this kid go, ah?”
They started sweating when Ariel, who was clinging to the Duke with two arms, used her legs as well.
“Leave it.”
“But my lord…”
The woman who was trying to stop Ariel was about to hit her but the Grand Duke stopped her raised hands, turned to look at the brown-haired man and ordered.
“Put her in the carriage.” A sigh of relief flowed from her lips after hearing the man’s soft voice.
‘It’s a relief.’
‘So he won’t act shitty to his child.’
However, problems that have not been solved the root will arise again and again. As the Grand Duke climb the carriage, small hands grabbed his robes.
“What are you doing? Don’t cling to me.” The barely softened air subsided again.
