There was a person who was watching Sephiel from afar.
A soldier passing by recognized him and was terrified.
“Oh, Elder Master.”
“husstt.”
The one called the ‘Elder Master’ put his hand to his mouth. The elf soldier quietly closed his mouth and lowered his head.
His name is Cherno de Remdragon.
He was the first Grand Duke and a legendary figure of the House of Remdragon.
He read in the newspaper yesterday that Sephiel had been chosen as the political marriage partner for the Grand Duke family.
‘What? You’re choosing a member of the Allegro royal family as your fiancé? I won’t let you do it!’
But now…
‘An interesting standoff is unfolding…’
Cherno hid himself and watched the scene from afar.
‘Oh, that little kid is no ordinary kid.’
He got to see an interesting sight. A grin spread across his face.
‘Stealing an item, then distributing it to the vassals… If the child had simply hoarded the stolen goods in her room, she would have been labeled as greedy and wicked before the marriage was even finalized. But instead, she shared it with the vassals.’
* * *
“Miss Baby has given me something amazing!”
“No way! It was meant for me!”
“Oh my, how kind of her to think of us like this.”
Of course, it won the hearts of the vassals. It was a blow to the indifferent Remdragon family.
<If you have money to waste on such things, perhaps you should take better care of your own servants.>
It was a subtle yet pointed message.
“Um, Master, the merchants are waiting. Shall we cancel the schedule in Volun?”
“No. I’ll go myself.”
“And what about that young lady?”
The ‘Elder Master’ Cherno shook his head.
“Let’s leave it for now. It’s been a while since this castle has had such liveliness.”
He boarded the carriage, guided by his aide.
“I guess we’ll make some pretty big memories before we leave this world. Whether it’ll be a nightmare or a good memory remains to be seen.”
Cherno spoke softly.
* * *
Sephiel sobbed for a long time until Berry handed them a handkerchief, allowing her to blow her nose.
‘Ugh, what’s the point of having past-life memories if my body is still a child’s? Why is it that once a kid starts crying, they just can’t stop?’
Sephiel sat on the soft carpet in the room, holding a raccoon doll tightly.
Berry and Marie were trying to comfort Sephiel, while Daihan was looking down at them.
“Okay, stop crying now.”
“hiks, hmm. I’m not caying anyvmore.”
“Ah. You’re a good child.”
Marie hugged Sephiel and patted her.
Sephiel looked up at Daihan with swollen eyes while in Marie’s arms.
Daihan had been looking at Sephiel with a stern expression the whole time.
“Are you finished crying?”
“…Yes.”
Sephiel nodded her small, round head.
Daihan sighed in exasperation.
“What’s going on in your head? Where on earth did you hear all the information you mentioned today?”
“That lady told me. She visited me in pyison… and whispered… secyets with the maid…”
Sephiel made up an excuse. But of course, it was a lie.
“You exposed it just for that reason? Was that your only evidence?”
“I saw a ying on that lady’s hand.”
“Ring?”
“It was.… blue and shiny, but it also glowed gyeen somevtimes.”
“You mean the Linarite stone?”
Daihan raised the corners of his lips slightly.
“So, you figured it out just by looking at that.”
“What is Linarite stone?”
Berry opened her eyes wide.
“It’s an impurity that comes out when mining the highest-grade magic stone. It can’t be used as a magic stone itself, but it’s pretty and is often used as a rare ornament.”
Berry, seemingly knowledgeable about minerals, whispered an explanation to Marie.
Sephiel felt a little better when she saw that Daihan was understanding what she was saying.
‘The people at Remdragon are very quick at understanding things.’
That was right. Linarite stone can only be mined from lands where the highest-grade magic stones are found.
To put a gem on the market, a certain amount of mining is needed, but the quantity of Linarite stone was extremely small.
That’s why they were called the “Mine Lord’s Gemstone”—a jewel exclusive to the wives of mine owners.
To show off in a subtle way, saying,<Our family owns a magic stone mine>
Among them, the ones with mixed green and blue colors could only be found in the Malorando Fields.
Erata proudly made a ring out of such a rare treasure and wore it.
‘You’re carrying around a Linarite stone while doing illegal mining. Are you an idiot?’
Sephiel thought so.
Glancing at Daihan, Sephiel cautiously asked,
“Aren’t ywou going to send peovple?”
“Send people where?”
“To… inveswtigate the mining…”
“Ah. You’re saying we should send people to check whether illegal mining is actually happening?”
“Yes.”
Sephiel nodded.
The Allegro royal family was not just evil; if they found out their illegal mining had been exposed, there was no telling how they would react.
We had to catch them quickly before the evidence was destroyed.
“Why do that? We can just interrogate the queen.”
“…..”
“Is there any evidence as certain as a confession?”
‘Did he just say he was going to torture the queen of a country?’
Sephiel was once again reminded that like father, like son.
“Don’t worry, Miss Baby. The Grand Duke’s people are the best in the world at extracting confessions.”
“Yes, we’ll shake her down completely and make her confess everything.”
“Hahaha, and if we conduct an official investigation, there’s no concern about violating the peace treaty. That would be a diplomatic issue.”
‘Wait, are you saying the torturers are you guys?!’
Sephiel was horrified.
“H-How are ywou gwoing to do it?”
Berry and Marie just laughed.
“Should we show her nightmares?”
“Oh my. You’re so smart.”
“That’s right. We usually eat good dreams, but we can also make people have bad ones.”
“…..”
Sephiel shuddered a little.
It was said that ancient dream demons, succubi, could drive people insane through dreams.
‘Well, that’s reassuring.’
Thinking that they’d take care of it, Sephiel wanted to chuckle.
“For now, get some rest. You’ve missed your nap time, and you’ve been through a lot.”
Berry gently stroked Sephiel’s back, comforting her.
The child’s body would inevitably fall asleep after crying once to relieve the stress.
“Okay.”
Marie quickly brought her a cup of cocoa. After sipping it, she felt even more tired all over.
‘But they could’ve just taken me to my room. Why are they still here?’
Daihan was silently watching Sephiel.
Even Berry and Marie seemed visibly tense.
Sephiel glanced at Daihan.
‘I ran away with the treasure earlier, but he wouldn’t bother me while I’m sleeping, right?’
‘Surely, if he was going to hit me, he’d do it while I was awake.’
“Come on, go to sleep.”
As Berry continued patting Sephiel’s back at a steady rhythm, a yawn escaped Sephiel’s small mouth.
“Even if she is not your biological mother, how can you sleep peacefully while a woman from the same kingdom of Allegro is being tortured?”
“…..”
“What on earth is in this little raccoon’s head?”
Sephiel was sleepy. Half-asleep, she mumbled,
“Inteyest.”
“…Interest?”
“Don’t foyget. 10% monthly inteyest on late payments.”
If illegal mining had indeed taken place, then under the Kingdoms’ United Law, all illegally acquired profits must be returned to their rightful owners.
‘No matter how wealthy the Allegro Kingdom is, there’s no way they can repay such a huge sum all at once.’
That means that monthly interest of 10% will accumulate on the outstanding amount. Sephiel subtly reminded Daihan of that.
Daihan quickly understood what Sephiel was saying.
“Fine… I will definitely accept it.”
Daihan’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.
Berry and Marie blinked in surprise.
“The more I talk to her, the more I realize how unreadable this child is.”
“Hoaam…”
Sephiel yawned.
“Hey, kid.”
Daihan bowed down.
“Do you hate your biological father and adoptive mother?”
“Yes.”
Even half-asleep, Sephiel answered firmly.
“It’s not a lie.”
Blinking through her drowsy vision, Sephiel looked at Daihan.
“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
A five-year-old’s body. At an age where instincts are too weak.
Preventing a child from napping was too cruel.
Without realizing it, Sephiel mumbled and told her true feelings.
“The past and the pyesent… shwould be diffeyent.”
“What was your old dream?”
Even in his drowsy state, Sephiel spoke firmly.
“A tyaitor.” (A traitor)
“…And?”
“An unfilial child.”
“….So, you want to be an unfilial child to your father and a traitor to the Kingdom of Allegro.”
That time, even Daihan couldn’t hold back his laughter.
But he held back from laughing loudly for fear of waking the baby up.
“Then what about now?”
“Hmm…now…”
Berry gently laid Sephiel’s body on the bed.
Half-asleep, she murmured. The feeling of the sheet rubbing against her cheek was soft.
“I want… to be an advult.” (I want to be an adult.)
“…..”
“A happy….. advult.”
And Sephiel slowly closed her eyes.
Yes. An adult.
Wealthy. Happy. Living well.
An adult who would never be tormented by the Allegro royal family again. An independent adult.
Sephiel thought and made a faint “hmm, yeah….” sound.
‘Yes. I can dream like that now.’
‘I can finally think about the future.’
That was her last thought before falling into a deep sleep.
* * *
