“Here, look at this. Young Master Erga has sent ten more dolls.”
“Wow, they’re so pretty! There’s even a rabbit doll. Should we play with it?”
“No need.”
Sephiel pouted as she spoke.
‘If you sew the neck, it’ll be fine.’
That’s what Sephiel thought.
Berry and Marie exchanged glances and let out a small giggle.
* * *
And before dinner that day, Sephiel took out the Death Note that she had hidden away for a long time.
‘You are my Death Note: Extra Edition, you little brat.’
Thinking about Erga, Sephiel wrote his name on an especially large page and even highlighted it with colored pencils.
To express her anger, she drew horns, fangs, and a devil’s tail around his name.
“Oh my, Miss Baby, you wrote Young Master Erga’s name?”
“Hmm….”
“Haha, how adorable. Do you write the name of the person you like the most in your secret diary?”
Of course, Berry caught her immediately.
‘I don’t like him!’
Frustrated, Sephiel threw the notebook far away.
* * *
Berry watched Sephiel with a curious expression.
She found the child adorable, but a faint trace of concern lingered in her eyes.
“Marie.”
Berry called Marie.
“Ask Elton about the young Master’s condition. If he isn’t feeling well, make sure he doesn’t meet Miss Baby.”
“Okay, Berry.”
Marie nodded in response.
The people of the Grand Duke’s family were bound to leave this place within the next decade.
Berry and Marie, the only two remaining half-succubi in the world, were no exception.
So, while they were preparing to leave, that child—Sephiel—had suddenly appeared like a gift. To Berry, that made Sephiel feel even more special.
‘Maybe my mission in this life is to take care of this child.’
Berry thought as she quietly watched Sephiel playing with her colored pencils, turning the white night into a vibrant red.
“Well, at least Young Master Erga seems to be in a good mood. It would be nice if this peace lasted a little longer.”
Berry let out a small sigh—a sigh of relief that ‘that thing’ hadn’t happened yet.
* * *
Fortunately, for a while, Sephiel didn’t run into Erga.
“The young master’s health has worsened again. He will be sleeping for a while.”
Berry whispered that to Sephiel one day.
“Ryeally? That’s too byad.”
Sephiel spoke, trying to hide the smirk tugging at her lips.
“Oh, you must be very worried. But don’t worry, Half-Dragons are like that.”
“Mmm… yeah… slowly… that’s fine too.”
‘Yes. Very slowly. If possible, another ten years or so.’
Sephiel smirked at the thought.
Berry had also mentioned that Erga was using the entire fourth floor of the castle, and no one could access it without permission.
“Ah, that’s ryeally too byad.”
Sephiel answered like that, but in truth, she didn’t feel any regret.
Perhaps it was because of Erga’s absence that Sephiel quickly adapted to life in the main building.
As long as she avoided running into the Grand Duke’s family, life here was actually much better.
“Hewwo.”
“Hello, Miss Baby! You’re so cute today!”
For some reason, the servants had started greeting her like that.
She wandered around every day, greeting people, watching the servants work, and observing everything with great curiosity.
‘I can even go to the famous Dragon Library.’
The Grand Duke’s library contained many extremely old and rare books.
Even Sephiel, who had devoured every book in her past life, found many books she had never seen before. There were also rare books written in ancient languages.
“Miss Baby, eat this.”
“Miss Baby.”
Berry provided Sephiel with a small, long, narrow basket.
Berry handed Sephiel a small, long-bottomed basket with a narrow opening.
If she tied it around her waist while running around the castle, the servants would fill it with all sorts of things—from freshly baked cookies to pretty flowers, or even leftover fabric scraps from the laundry and sewing room.
‘Compared to the colorless days I used to spend in prison, these days are colorful and full of sparkling things.’
‘Here, today’s secret snack is a new treat.’
“This is… wow…!”
Sephiel couldn’t stop her mouth from hanging open in amazement.
The head chef, Forun—a 200-year-old half-vampire—sometimes gave her rare imported sweets.
“It’s star candy. Isn’t it pretty?”
“Ryeally, can I have it?”
Inside the small bottle, colorful, sparkling star candies moved around.
They looked like tiny crystals or jewels.
‘I’ve heard of something like this, but this is the first time I’ve seen it in person.’
‘I wonder if it will be very expensive?’
She knew the price of most luxury goods handled by the Allegro royal family, but she had no idea about simple children’s treats like these.
“Of course. I owe you a lot too, Miss Baby.”
Forun muttered.
‘Kukuku. I’ll keep expanding her taste. I’ll watch her cute little face as she devours my food.’
It seemed like he said something like that, but Sephiel, who was already mesmerized by the star candy, didn’t hear him.
Besides visiting the kitchen, her other favorite pastime…
Was welcoming the wyvern riders.
—Flap, flap.
Outside the window, the massive wings of a wyvern sliced through the sky.
‘Someone’s coming back from patrol!’
Sephiel left the main building and ran to the nearby wall.
“Miss Baby, be careful! Don’t run!”
A maid passing by behind Sephiel shouted.
A soldier riding a wyvern was approaching from afar.
‘Oh! Star candies!’
Sephiel carefully stashed her basket—filled with today’s treasures—inside a secret crevice in the castle wall she had discovered earlier.
Then, she ran toward the landing site.
A soldier was descending slowly atop a wyvern.
—Whoosh
The wind from the wyvern’s wings shook Sephiel’s small body.
When the wind stopped, Sephiel bowed.
“Hewwo. Thank ywou for ywour hayd woyk.” (Hello. Thank you for your hard work.)
There was a reason Sephiel always came to greet the soldiers.
After their flights, some of them would let her ride the wyvern.
Just flew slowly and low over the castle walls, within a safe line.
But to Sephiel, it was the most thrilling experience in the world.
Without even checking who the soldier was, she eagerly spoke.
“Let me ryide the wyveyn, please!” (Let me ride the wyvern, please)
When making a request, use honorifics—politely and gently.
Saying “please”—that was also something Berry had taught Sephiel not long ago.
Sephiel in her previous life only learned to speak respectfully right before her death.
That’s how delayed her language development had been as a child.
However…
‘Huh?’
The soldier who got off the wyvern looked unfamiliar. Most of his face was hidden under a deeply pulled-down hood.
‘Those boots, that cloak… they definitely belong to the Elf soldier, but… what is this eerie feeling?’
Sephiel instinctively took a step back.
“You want a ride on the wyvern?”
The stubborn, handsome lips visible under the hood, asked.
“Who are ywou?”
‘It’s big. I think it’s the biggest person I’ve ever seen, including in my previous life.’
Sephiel reflexively stepped back again.
Something inside screamed, ‘This isn’t right.’
Still, she bowed as she had been taught.
In truth, Sephiel didn’t know every elf soldier.
But the ability to ride a wyvern was something only the elves of the grand duchy possessed, so she hadn’t felt the need to be cautious—until now.
“If it’s not powssiyble, I’ll jyust go….” (If it’s not possible, I’ll just go)
“Why?”
“Huh?”
“You asked for a ride, and now you’ve changed your mind?”
A cold tone of speech that drips with cold air.
‘This tone… it sounds familiar.’
“Oh!”
Before Sephiel could even think of running, she was lifted up and placed on the wyvern.
‘Who is this guy?’
But there was no time to think deeply.
—Flap. Flap.
That’s because the wyvern started flying.
Sephiel gripped the saddle as she had been taught, barely managing to stabilize herself.
“Who usually lets you ride a wyvern?”
“Th-the elf soldier….”
Strictly speaking, they were mixed-blood elf knights, but everyone in the castle called them that.
“Hmm.”
At that moment, the wyvern flew into the sky.
“Ah…”
For a moment, Sephiel forgot everything.
Soft clouds brushed past her ears like cotton, the cold wind hitting her cheeks, and—
‘The sky is so vast.’
Below, the grand duchy’s forest stretched endlessly, moving like rippling waves on a lake whenever the wind blew.
It all lasted only a few seconds before Sephiel snapped back to reality.
‘Wait. The wyvern isn’t even flapping its wings, but it’s floating in midair. That’s impossible unless….’
‘There is only one clan on this continent that can do that.’
‘And someone keeps coming to mind.’
A shiver ran down Sephiel’s spine.
“By the way…, who are ywou ryeally?”
“You ask very quickly.”
“Hek!”
Sephiel’s body was lifted into the air.
Sephiel was dangling in the air with the back of her neck held.
The man, as if walking on solid ground, strode effortlessly along the wyvern’s back toward its tail.
And he extended his arm out of the wyvern.
“….!”
Sephiel swallowed hard. Her feet dangled in empty air.
‘Is he going to throw me off?!’
—Thump, thump, thump
Her heart pounded.
‘If I make a mistake, I’ll really die.’
‘No way… this guy…’
Sephiel was so scared that she didn’t even scream.
Then, a gust of wind blew, revealing the man’s face.
‘….Ah, my hunch was right.’
Golden eyes. Black hair.
A face so sharply and finely chiseled, it was almost frightening.
‘Adult version of Erga.’
‘Well then, this man…. Grand Duke Daihan Remdragon.’
His name is well known, but very few have seen his face. He was the Grand Duke of Remdragon.
Daihan was staring at Sephiel.
‘If I scream, I’ll die.’
At that moment, Sephiel’s instinct cried out.
So instead—She smiled.
A bright, beaming smile.
“It’s fun!”
Not only that, she reached out and tapped the man’s arm with her small hand.
“Highyer, highyer! Do it again!”
* * *
