And from the next day, Sephiel became busy.
Until a teacher could be found, Elton stepped up as Sephiel’s teacher.
‘I already know a lot, but It was quite fun to review and relearn things I already knew.’
“Okay. That’s it for today’s class. Do you have any more questions?”
Sephiel nodded and asked what she had been curious about.
“Um, Elton. How does someone become a wizard?”
Sephiel learned that she was a special case — a ‘mutant human with the appearance of a demon race’.
She also found out that she was born with slightly more magical power and magic resistance than ordinary humans.
‘But just having that doesn’t make me a wizard.’
As expected, Elton answered,
“Well, becoming a wizard is very difficult. Nowadays, the number of wizards has greatly decreased. To become one, you must one day awaken the ability to control magical power.”
Sephiel nodded and listened to the story.
“That awakening is called ‘opening the door,’ but when or how it happens remains unknown. ‘Opening the door’ is a hard concept to explain… It’s like magical power becomes visible and you can control it at will.”
“Hmm…”
Sephiel nodded.
“And that’s not all. You also need to be born with a large amount of magical power. Even if you have talent, without enough magical power, it’s meaningless. People like that will just get their magical power drained while practicing and die quickly.”
“…..”
That’s right. Sephiel’s third older brother was exactly like that.
He lacked sufficient magical power— despite showing magical talent, he couldn’t truly shine.
‘And so… in my past life… Father drained all my magical power and gave it to Huron.’
Elton continued.
“Becoming a magician itself is extremely, extremely rare. Oh, and Miss Baby, you have almost no chance of awakening your magic talents.”
“But I’m from a magician family!”
“Yes, families with magical heritage do have a much higher probability. But if you were about to become a wizard, your magical power would already smell a little different. People like me or members of the Grand Duke’s family would have noticed.”
‘What on earth is Elton’s true identity?’
Sephiel tilted her head.
“Anyway, the number of human wizards is decreasing. Even more so as time goes by.”
“Okay.”
Sephiel accepted it. Even in her past life, no one besides her third brother had any significant magical talent — and even his was minor.
Sephiel will probably never become a wizard.
‘Actually, I’m not interested in becoming a wizard.’
Sephiel nodded.
“So what are you curious about next?”
“Umm… I want to know more about Remdragon — like its history and things like that!”
Sephiel already knew most of the Four Lords’ family histories.
However, it was all a history book told from Allegro’s point of view.
In her past life, the only mercy she ever received was unlimited access to books.
Still, she could only read what Allegro scholars had written.
“Hmm. To explain our family’s history, we have to start with the Ancient Dragons.”
Elton began to briefly explain the Eight Ancient Dragons.
“There were eight Ancient Dragons in the human world. They nested here long before civilization developed and occasionally passed knowledge onto humans. Later, a dragon named Shuaneria was born from two Ancient Dragons, Lapine and Lonmo.”
“……”
Sephiel listened to the story seriously.
“Since the world was created, it’s believed that about 20 dragons, including the Ancient Dragons, came down from the divine realm. But most kept themselves hidden. Some would sleep atop mountains for hundreds of years; others would hunt humans when bored. But that was long ago, in ancient times.”
“Hmm….”
A dragon that ate people sounded terrifying — Sephiel tensed slightly as she listened.
“And the dragon Shuaneria. His birth changes the history of our union of kingdoms. He fell in love with an elven queen, a first-generation half-elf named Morina. Their child — our Elder Master — was born.”
“So… Gyandpa was the first half-dragon born in this land!”
“Yes. At that time, the most powerful race in this land was the Demons. Demons and dragons have a very bad relationship. In any world.”
‘The demons and dragons are eternal enemies.’
Sephiel muttered those words to herself.
“However, since dragons do not interfere much with human affairs, they mostly leave the demons alone unless they come into direct conflict with them.”
“Hmm.”
Sephiel nodded.
‘That’s right, but Grandpa Cherno was different.…’
“Our Elder Master, carrying some human blood, wished to drive the demons out from this land for the sake of the oppressed elves and humans. However, the ancient dragons opposed it. It is because of the law of causality. Dragons are semi-divine beings — they must not interfere too much in a world’s history.”
“But Gyandpa was a half-blood, right?”
“Yes. But at that time, he was a full-grown dragon. So, the Ancient Dragons gave him this command: <If you wish to become part of this land, ask permission from the existing humans.>”
So, in order to establish the Remdragon Grand Duke’s family. In order to become one of the humans. Cherno made a promise with the humans who were oppressed by the Demons.
It was a promise to make a peace treaty later.
It was also a promise to liberate this land from the demons.
After the war ended, a treaty was formally established.
Because dragons are so strong. They can sweep away humans at any time if they want.
So what was needed was something that would keep the distance between humans and dragons.
It was a peace treaty.
‘That’s right. Part of the treaty was that the Remdragons would have a human bride once. That was it.’
Thanks to that, Sephiel had been chosen as a bride.
And the treaty also included clauses like:
Remdragon must never invade other countries within the United Kingdoms without reason.
“Well, you know the rest. Thanks to our Elder Master’s great achievements, the demons were driven back into the Abyss.”
“Mhm. And the remaining lords who helped became the Four Lords, ruling over the land together.”
Sephiel nodded.
“That’s right. All of those wars were led by our Elder Master. Have I answered your curiosity?”
“Yeah. Thank ywou so much for the detailed explanation.”
Sephiel answered with a bright smile.
‘Elton’s explanations are so easy to understand!’
As it turned out, Elton had graduated from one of the most prestigious academies in the United Kingdoms.
“By the way, Elton….”
“Yes?”
“When did ywou gradwuate from the academy?”
“That’s a secret.”
Sephiel frowned slightly. She couldn’t guess Elton’s age at all.
But soon, as class began, she quickly forgot her curiosity.
“You’re truly a genius. You understand twenty things when I only teach one.”
That’s because most of it was what she had learned in her previous life.
Sephiel took the opportunity to ask more detailed questions about what she knew and discovered new perspectives.
‘Hmm. It’s fun to see something I already knew.’
Sephiel nodded.
“How are you so quick at understanding?”
“Hmm…. It’s because—!”
“Miss Baby, I truly think you are a genius.”
“Yeah. I’m a genius!”
Sephiel nodded. Her heart was pounding.
In the past, even doing well earned no praise.
If she failed, she was beaten and cursed at.
But here, just learning properly earned her compliments.
‘It feels like I’m living in a dream.’
‘I wish these days would never end.’
That thought came to her naturally.
“Hmm, at this level, you might become a great scholar in the future.”
“Scholar?”
Sephiel blinked.
“Although Master Cerno once said you were born with the talent of a merchant.”
“Ah….”
Sephiel paused.
‘I used to think surviving was enough.’
But maybe…
If luck was on her side, if she could break free from Allegro’s royal grip…
Maybe she could actually become something.
‘My original dream was to not get beaten up or scolded every day, and not die, things like that.’
That was her dream as an adult.
As a child, her dream had been much simpler — eating lots of sweets at once, and having a pretty doll.
“Miss Baby, did you finish your studies well?”
When Sephiel came back from class, Berry gave her her favorite raccoon doll.
Sephiel hugged the doll tightly.
‘Yeah, maybe I can become someone who achieves something.’
A future where she could choose between being a merchant or a scholar.
Sephiel carefully saved the first silver coin she received from Cherno in her piggy bank.
The moment Sephiel made his first savings, Berry and Marie clapped their hands in celebration.
Besides, that pink raccoon-shaped piggy bank was also a special gift from Cherno.
<It’s so funny that it reminds me of the baby raccoon I have at home.>
Cherno had the habit of bringing back small gifts like this when they lived in the Volun.
This item was one of those.
‘Hmm. Maybe because it’s from a high-end store, it really looks special.’
The piggy bank even had sparkling ruby-like red eyes, making it seem almost real.
‘But these eyes… they look way too much like real jewels.’
Still, she brushed off the idea. There’s no way anyone would put real jewels on a toy piggy bank.
“Oh, Berry.”
“Yes?”
“How many silver coins do I need to save… to pay for the academy?”
Sephiel had overheard once that Berry and Elton were graduates of the Academy from the Kingdom Union.
It was said that they were from an academic background, which was rare in the Grand Duke’s territory.
Berry placed the snack on the table and blinked in surprise.
“Do you want to go to the academy?”
Sephiel became shy for no reason.
‘In my previous life, did all the members of the Allegro royal family, except me, attend the Academy, even if only briefly?’
Moreover, they said that if you graduate from the academy properly, your value will be very high when you get a job.
Even if Sephiel was a little more mischievous now, she wasn’t shameless enough to ask someone else to pay for her Academy.
So she pretended not to care and said,
“I don’t know yet. Maybe I’ll decide when I’m a little oldyer.”
Berry chuckled.
“Well~ if you save diligently, you could always apply for scholarships or student loans too.”
“I see…”
Hearing that, the piggy bank felt even more lovable.
She shook it happily to hear the coins clink and even rubbed it against her cheek.
“Be sure to keep it by your bedside so you never lose it,” Berry said.
“Yeah, I will. It’s my treaswure.”
Seeing how precious Sephiel treated her first savings made Berry’s eyes soften.
‘Miss Baby….’
Berry looked at Sephiel with bittersweet affection.
‘That piggy bank costs more than the academy.’
Berry struggled to hold back a chuckle.
The sparkling eyes of the raccoon piggy bank? They were real rubies.
‘Master Cherno… to match Miss Baby’s ruby-red eyes, he even chose something like this. No one would ever guess this side of him.’
‘Hmm. If she sold that piggy bank, she could easily cover the school fees…’
Berry smiled quietly to herself, deciding it would be better to let Sephiel find out about the piggy bank’s true value when she was a little older.
* * *
—Thump. Thump.
Sephiel stamped her fine raccoon seal on the ‘amusement park construction plan’ with her name.
“Did you stamp them all?”
“Mm. But… Why are we doing this?”
A raccoon symbol was stamped in a specially ordered pinkish-red ink over an amusement park report full of difficult words.
“This stamp means that you, as an advisor of the Golden Dragon Trading Company, officially participated in this project.”
“Ohh….”
“Even when time passes and everything disappears, the work you and I did will remain recorded forever. Isn’t that good?”
For some reason, Sephiel’s heart felt warm and fuzzy.
She nodded enthusiastically.
“Thanks to you, we’re making such fun memories… it’s so wonderful.”
“Mm! I had fun stamping too!”
Sephiel kept playing with the stamp with her tiny hands.
In fact, Sephiel did not know the meaning of the seal.
Cherno thought, ‘Savings accounts won’t be enough in the long run.’
From now on, every project in the trading company marked with the raccoon seal would entitle Sephiel to 10% of the profits once she became an adult.
So if the amusement park was a huge success, Sephiel would be sitting on a mountain of money.
But clueless about any of that, Sephiel just found the stamping itself fun.
“Miss Baby. What are you doing?” Berry asked.
“Hmm, practice stamping.…”
“Oh dear, you really like that?”
Berry lovingly patted Sephiel’s head.
“Would you like to read the newspaper today too?”
“Yes!”
Sephiel nodded.
“You really are incredible for someone so young. A true genius,” Berry said admiringly
And with all the praise whenever she read the newspaper, how could Sephiel not feel proud?
“Hmm..…”
That’s when an article caught her eye.
‘News about the Allegro royal family.’
That too, Prince Philux, who was caught committing fraud.
It was an article about Sephiel’s uncle.
‘Let’s see what happened to my bad uncle.’
The headline of the article was:
<Prince of the Allegro Royal Family Caught in Habitual Fraud Scandal.>
Sephiel chuckled.
‘Huh, it’s good to punish evil.’
Moreover, the content of the article was quite provocative and detailed.
[Prince Philux of the Allegro royal family was caught lending illegal loans and then disappearing without repayment.
This incident shocked the members of the royal family…
Citizens felt deeply betrayed by this fraudulent behavior…
The people were outraged at the royal tax being used to pay off the debt.…]
“Why are you grinning like that, Miss Baby?”
Berry leaned down towards Sephiel.
Berry’s eyes widened as she saw the article.
“The rumors were true?”
“Rumor?”
Berry hesitated for a moment, wondering whether to tell Sephiel or not.
But after learning about Sephiel’s background and her hatred for the Allegro royals, she decided there was no reason to hide it.
“Actually, I heard this rumor from people who went outside… during a ball at the Summer Palace, dozens of loan sharks stormed the gates and caused a huge scene.”
Apparently, during a grand ball, a group of angry lenders had gathered outside the Summer Palace, yelling:
<Oh, Your Majesty, this is unfair!>
<How could you borrow so much and pretend not to know us!>
<How cruel for royalty to steal from their own people!>
‘Huh. They caused a scene at the Summer Palace?’
The summer palace was a place that Wittegar cherished and a place of rest.
Sephiel almost hummed.
‘He must have been furious.’
And her guess was right.
Wittegar is said to have been running wild and saying this:
<Bring me Philux! Now!>
And Philux was dragged to the royal palace.
‘I can imagine it without even seeing it.’
Sephiel’s father was a good man who gave everyone a chance, except Sephiel.
‘Maybe if the royal finances weren’t so terrible, they would have bailed Philux out.’
‘Yeah. The royal family’s situation is a mess right now.’
Because they had to pay a huge amount of compensation due to the illegal mining of magic stones.
‘To whom?’
‘The Grand Duke of Remdragon — the very house I’m living in now.’
Sephiel wanted to giggle.
In the end, Wittegar declared Philux bankrupt, confiscated all his property, and banished him to a remote tower in the wastelands, making a public example of him.
‘Death Note Target No. 9 — eliminated.’
Happily sprawled across her bed, Sepiel scratched out the ninth name on her notebook “Death Note” list.
No. 2: Lotto ………
No. 7: Erata ………
No. 9: Philux …….
The list had 10 names. And one by one, they were disappearing.
‘At this rate, I’ll finish clearing the list before I’m even grown up.’
Sephiel even felt tempted to visit the Allegro royal family ruins herself — just for the fun of it.
* * *
