Allegro Royal Palace.
Gone was his usual glossy appearance—Philux burst into the royal audience room looking ragged and disheveled.
“Brother, please save me! Bankrupt? How could you exile me?”
“……”
“You said that the Golden Dragon Company was a thorn in your side. I stepped in to scratch your itch—even though you didn’t ask me to! You know what kind of brother I am!”
But the doors to the room remained tightly shut. Philux shouted until his voice cracked.
“It was those damn Remdragons. Them! That cursed woman! She was clinging to the leader of the Golden Dragon Company—she’ll be the ruin of our family!”
“……”
“How many times do I have to say it? That woman must die. Or should I just reveal the ‘truth about the white-haired, red-eyed monster’?”
—Creaaaak.
Only after he spat those words like blood did the doors finally open.
Through the open crack of the door, eyes that looked like they were watching insects were revealed.
“Brother! I’ve laundered money for you all this time, haven’t I? I can fix everything with the next move. Just give me one more chance…”
“Philux.”
“Yes, brother.”
“That woman. I didn’t even remember her name. None of the royal family did. I only found out she was called ‘Sephiel’ after digging into the royal genealogy.”
There were two genealogies in the royal family.
One was fit for nobles and officials to see.
The second… included those members whose very existence needed to be hidden.
Wittegar had to see that second genealogy for the first time in years.
“……”
“I finally understand. Dangers must be eliminated early. I was too sentimental. That prophecy or not—I never should’ve let her live…”
“Do you believe me now? It was that woman who made me like this. She was whispering something to the company leader and ruined everything!”
“Hmm,”
Wittegar nodded slowly.
“I believe you.”
“……”
Hope appeared on Philux’s face.
“I’ll make sure you get your revenge.”
“Then…”
“For now, go pretend you’re retreating to the tower. I’ll find a chance to bring you back.
“Thank you, brother.”
Philux’s eyes gleamed slyly.
Wittegar gave a small nod.
Once Philux left, Wittegar gave an order to his subordinate.
“Make sure he doesn’t reach the tower. Clean it up.”
“Yes, understood.”
Wittegar sat on his throne, gripping the armrest so tightly it cracked.
“There is no way to bring her back to normal. There’s only one way left. Even if it’s just her corpse, it must return to my hands.”
A rebellious woman. Unyielding, always saying the “right” thing.
Thinking of Sephiel’s mother made Wittegar grit his teeth.
“Yes. No matter the cost, I must eliminate her.”
He muttered again.
“But I can’t carelessly provoke the dragons. So for now, I’ll leave her be… but not for long.”
Wittegar thought of Sephiel, whose face he couldn’t even remember.
“You’ll return to this palace… and die here.”
Wittegar turned his head with a serious expression.
“Hide all connections between Philux’s incident and the Remdragons. Spread false rumors if needed. We gain nothing by alerting the other lords that the Remdragons are moving.”
There was no advantage in letting the world know that Allegro had a conflict with the Remdragons—a group no one dared touch.
Wittegar decided to hide the information that the Golden Dragon Company was directly related to Remdragon.
* * *
Time passed quickly like flowing water.
Six months had passed since the Golden Dragon Company began their amusement park project.
Before they knew it, the season was now cold winter.
Sephiel had grown half a hand taller and her cheeks now glowed with health.
Her speech was still a little clumsy, but she could now pronounce keywords much more clearly.
She also learned many pretty, polite phrases.
Here, no one scolded or shouted at her.
Sephiel could feel her emotions settling, little by little, day by day.
Only two things weighed on her mind:
‘The Grand Duke uncle still hasn’t come back.’
Daihan had left the castle again and hadn’t returned for months.
‘Hmm, I wonder if he’s doing okay.’
She heard he had gone to inspect his territory, then got caught up in his “hobby.”
Daihan’s hobby, apparently, was sword training.
And the second concern:
‘Is that guy… really that sick?’
She hadn’t seen Erga in months.
‘What is he, Sleeping Beauty?’
Even when she asked Elton, he only said Erga was unwell and sleeping.
‘No, not Sleeping Beauty—more like the Sleeping Madman of the Forest.’
Sephiel secretly gave him that nickname.
On rainy days, she wasn’t allowed to go out.
Those were the days Erga was said to wander around.
Aside from that, every day was fun.
She got private lessons from Elton and Berry, ate well, slept well, and played in the garden.
While spending those days, Sephiel heard news that the construction of the amusement park was almost finished.
The one who brought the news was none other than Cherno himself.
“Whoa, it’s almost done already?”
‘The plan had been for a one-year build…’
Sephiel was stunned.
“Yeah. I used a bit of magic this time. Plus, we temporarily hired some mixed-bloods from our duchy to help. And don’t tell anyone, but our duchy still has the building techniques of the now-extinct Dwarves. Little Raccoon.”
Sephiel couldn’t help but be amazed at the speed of the construction.
‘Wow, they’re seriously overpowered. Total cheat mode.’
‘People of the Grand Duke,…. how were they even real?’
‘I thought it’d take at least three years.’
But since the other party was the Grand Duke, she was able to understand it to the extent of thinking, ‘Oh, that could be possible.’
“Then now, let’s open an amyusement park!”
Sephiel clapped her small hands.
“Yeah, Noel prepared a report on our promotional plan. Want to see it?”
The promotional plan Cherno prepared was perfect.
Newspaper advertising, recruiting socialites, and distributing pamphlets.
‘Hmm, not bad but….’
Sephiel smiled faintly as she looked at that.
‘Feels like we could spice things up a bit more.’
The product—a magnificent amusement park—was ready.
Now came the important part: how to sell it.
All about the packaging.
‘Looks like my past life lessons are useful again.’
In truth, the Allegro royal family was no longer a kingdom of magic, but a business dynasty profiting from magical tools.
Because of Sephiel’s talent in ancient languages, Wittegar had once kept her nearby for years, having her advice on various matters.
‘But none of the works had my name on them.’
Sephiel learned a lot about how Wittegar made his money and where it went.
‘This time, I’m not using my skills for you!’
She would use her power for the ones she chose to help—for those who would remember her.
“Gyanpa, I’ve got a great idea! Can you do it as I say?”
“Of course. Our ears are always open for our little Raccoon.”
Cherno chuckled.
“I’m curious what clever thing our little Raccoon thought up this time.”
“Hehe, okay then…”
Sephiel grinned brightly.
“Gyanpa, let’s spend some money!”
* * *
The next day, a special invitation was created, just as Sephiel had advised.
The recipients were one hundred carefully selected VIPs.
These were the people who entered the amusement park on the first day it opened.
A very special letter was sent to those one hundred VIPs.
— An Invitation to Paradise —
This is how the invitation began, and it stirred the hearts of the recently bored nobles.
However, when they opened the letter, they were confused.
‘What’s this pink raccoon?’
At the very end of the letter, there was a cute pink raccoon emblem stamped.
Still, their doubts didn’t last long.
A real jewel brooch.
Along with rare silk, incense burners, and other luxurious gifts suited perfectly to a noble’s taste had arrived with the invitation.
These generous gifts and invitations attracted a lot of attention from people.
“Hey, did you hear about the invitation?”
“They say a paradise on Earth is opening! And you can get there in the blink of an eye through a gate!”
“Only 100 people will be allowed to enter on the first day?”
In high society, all people talked about was that invitation.
And the hundred people on the first day weren’t the only ones.
People who have enough influence but are a little less famous. Those people are on the second day.
Those with even less standing were set for the third…
Before they knew it, a list of a thousand names had been made, and everyone waited eagerly wondering, “When will I get my invitation?”
* * *
“Hmm, I did as you said, little raccoon.”
“Yeah! Now when people visit the amyusement park, they’ll spread the word like crazy!”
Sephiel said with excitement. Cherno nodded in agreement.
“This kid isn’t just smart—she has a sense for trends. I should raise her well.”
“Hehe.”
As it turns out, Cherno wasn’t stingy with praise.
And the opening day of the amusement park was just around the corner.
“Well then, little raccoon. There’s one last important step.”
“What is it?”
Sephiel blinked.
“We need to welcome the park’s very first guest.”
“……”
“I’d like it to be you. The one who played the biggest role in making all this happen.”
“……”
“No need for more words—let’s go now.”
And so, Sephiel was given the privilege of being the first to visit the park before it opened.
“Wow….”
Sephiel couldn’t close her gaping mouth.
“Is this really that old countryside spot?”
Just half a year ago, the place had been desolate.
Now, it has transformed into a dazzling amusement park.
Noel smiled and said,
“Alright, let’s turn on the lights.”
One, two, three.
Cherno, Noel, and Sephiel spoke in unison.
—Fwaaah!
Lights lit up the entire amusement park.
“Wow! So pretty!”
Sephiel said, spreading her arms wide.
Sparkling lights shone throughout the park, balloons floated in the sky, and the carousel glowed beautifully.
There were a lot of new and exciting rides that she had only heard about.
“Okay, Miss Baby. Play as much as you want today.”
It was a welcome sound to hear.
What a delightful thing to hear.
Sephiel’s eyes sparkled.
And Cherno even said she could spend the whole day playing while checking out the park.
‘I even asked for comfy shoes just for today.’
Shoes made with softer leather than usual. Perfect for running around and having fun.
And she wore a pretty sky-blue silk dress, and a white apron over it to keep her clothes from getting dirty.
“A gift for our Miss Baby!”
An amusement park employee passing by put a sparkly headband on Sephiel’s head.
It used low-grade magic stones and would shine semi-permanently for a few days.
“Wow…..”
Sephiel had only ever seen or read about things like this in the newspaper.
An amusement park where both adults and children could have fun.
<Welcome to Raccoon Land>
A raccoon with red eyes and pink-and-white fur was drawn large, with its arms outstretched, welcoming people.
‘By the way, is my nickname ‘Raccoon’ really going to be stuffed like this?’
Sephiel didn’t hate it, so she decided to just ignore it.
‘Erga really did something huge. Did he know that nickname would lead to something this big?’
Still, she didn’t hate ‘Raccoon Land’.
“Go on. Explore as much as you want.” Cherno said.
Sephiel took Cherno’s hand and walked around, looking at everything.
“kyaaah! This is so much fun!”
Sephiel rides the mini-train and goes around the amusement park until she is exhausted.
“I wanna ride that one next.”
“Hey, take it slow.”
“But today is the only chance…”
When Sephiel said that, Noel replied,
“Haha. Miss Baby has lifetime free admission. You can come anytime.”
“Really?”
Sephiel had a hard time hiding the corners of her lips that were twitching.
Inside, she murmured, “Just as planned.”
Lifetime access to the park was a secret dream Sephiel had kept to herself.
“That’s for our company’s exclusive advisor.”
“Yeah! Oh! I wanna ride that one too!”
Sephiel jumped to the next attraction.
It was an unforgettable, happy day.
* * *
