The fairy Ritesha was born as a flower.
She was the most dazzling and beautiful flower in the world.
There was even a saying that a single smile from Ritesha could bring a nation to ruin.
She was dangerously captivating, but she was known for more than just her beauty.
She was infamous for her cruelty.
Like a flower with razor-sharp thorns, she never forgave anyone who stood in her way.
Yet, the people of the underworld both hated and adored her.
They had no choice.
No matter how much malice one held, the moment they met Ritesha, they forgot everything.
Even the fact that she was the daughter of a mad fairy, that she raised man-eating flowers, and that she would chop down anyone she disliked with an axe.
Love and hatred.
Favor and malice.
All sorts of dark and strange rumors surrounded her.
Caught in the midst of all this, causing endless incidents, Ritesha was the most famous and sought-after figure in the underworld.
Every move she made sent the underworld into a frenzy.
Everyone was eager to know—what would Ritesha do next?
…Then one day, she disappeared.
Without a trace, as if she had never existed.
Her sudden disappearance led to countless speculations.
Some believed she had finally been captured by the inquisitors and was imprisoned beneath the Vatican.
Others thought she had been devoured by the very man-eating flower she had nurtured.
Or perhaps, even Ritesha had met her match—someone beyond even her reach, like the “Master of the Underworld,” and had been killed.
Rumors ran wild, but no one knew the truth.
And even if they did, they would never have believed it.
Because even Ritesha herself couldn’t believe it.
“Wha—this is insane.”
I’m seriously going to lose my mind.
With her stubby little fingers, she grabbed at her hair in frustration, only to find that her fingers were too short to properly grasp it.
“I’m going crazy!”
She gave up on pulling her hair and instead let out a loud squeak.
“What the hell is this?!”
She shouted in fury, but there was nothing threatening about it—if anything, it was just amusing.
Because the person reflected in the mirror was no longer the world’s most breathtaking beauty.
Instead, what she saw was a tiny, plump baby, barely the size of a teddy bear.
The small infant trembled with rage, her chubby cheeks puffing out as she flailed her tiny fists in the air.
Ritesha, the witch.
The greatest beauty the world had ever known.
The legendary villainess who lived only for her own pleasure.
The woman at the center of countless scandals and incidents.
And now…
“I’ve been reborn as a damn baby?!”
Ritesha burst into tears.
Of course, it wasn’t a proper cry—only a strange, pitiful squeaking sound. But regardless, she wept.
There was a long story behind how Ritesha had ended up like this.
And it all began with the moment of her birth.
****
Chapter 1
Ritesha was an orphan.
Abandoned as an infant, she spent her entire life in an orphanage.
But on her fifteenth birthday, everything changed.
The dormant power of the fairy within her awakened, completely overturning her life.
Before she could even adjust to the sudden transformation, she was forced to flee.
Hunters, tracking the traces of fairies, were after her.
With nothing but the clothes on her back, Ritesha escaped from the orphanage with one goal in mind—survival.
And so, she did whatever it took.
She deceived others with cunning lies and overpowered them with sheer force.
As she struggled to stay alive, one thought consumed her mind.
‘Why must I suffer like this?’
She wanted to know the reason.
Digging relentlessly into her origins, she eventually uncovered the truth.
Ritesha was the daughter of a fairy consumed by madness.
Because she had inherited the blood of a crazed fairy, she was born with powers unlike those of ordinary fairies.
Due to her unnatural birth, she was abandoned by the fairy world.
And that was why she had become the target of slave hunters.
Determined to find the one responsible for ruining her life, Ritesha began her search.
After enduring countless hardships, she finally found a clue—
A rumor that one of the three great noble families of the Pallen Empire had been conducting cruel experiments on fairies.
But that was as far as she got.
Not even Ritesha could recklessly infiltrate a powerful noble household of the Empire.
Just when she was waiting for the right opportunity to dig deeper—
“They’re secretly adopting a baby?”
“Yes, Lady Ritesha!”
Hata clenched his fists.
His usually somber purple eyes sparkled with excitement.
“It’s confirmed! The Basilian Count’s family is searching for a child to adopt!”
Hata spoke in an excited voice, eager to explain.
“They’ve been visiting orphanages in secret, hiding their identities. It’s high-level intelligence—only Hata knows about it!”
The Basilian Count’s family was the most secretive of the three great noble houses of the Empire.
They rarely engaged in public activities, and little was known about them.
It was also the family Ritesha suspected the most.
They already had three sons.
Yet, suddenly, they were looking for a child to adopt?
And not from some lesser noble family, but from an orphanage?
It was highly suspicious.
“Hata thinks it’d be best if you disguised yourself as an orphanage director and approached the Count.”
“No, a temporary disguise won’t be enough.”
“Ah… then what do we do?”
As Hata anxiously fidgeted, Ritesha gave a bright smile.
It was as dazzling as a blooming flower, making Hata uneasy.
“I’ll turn into a baby myself and get adopted by the Count’s family.”
“Aaaah!”
Hata clutched his cheeks in despair.
“That’s way too dangerous! Seriously dangerous!”
“It wouldn’t be the first time I did something risky.”
All she wanted was information that outsiders could never obtain.
The Basilian household was notorious for its tight-lipped servants, who were fiercely loyal and unbribable.
There was no way to spy on them from the outside.
But now, this was the perfect chance to slip behind the veil.
“Why are you acting all surprised now?”
Ritesha playfully winked, making Hata’s face flush bright red despite his teary expression.
After some hesitation, he finally let out a deep sigh.
“Fine… Hata will make a potion to turn you into a baby….”
And so, Ritesha drank Hata’s potion and transformed into an infant.
Her body shrank to the size of a two-year-old.
Her once long, wavy golden hair became short and curly.
Her eyes, which had been as red as blood, turned into a soft, clear pink.
She was now an impossibly cute and adorable baby—one that no one could ever imagine was the infamous witch, Ritesha.
With Hata’s help, the now tiny Ritesha was placed in an orphanage.
Under the Fake Name “Chesha”
The orphanage she had been placed in after a long time was a complete mess.
‘What a disaster. Absolute chaos.’
Emaciated children fought every day over rotten food, rag-like clothes, and tattered blankets.
The director only cared about squeezing money out of donors.
He had no intention of improving the children’s living conditions—
because the more pitiful they looked, the more donations they received.
Ritesha—no, now Chesha—spent a whole month in this wretched orphanage.
Since she had deliberately arrived looking dirty and unkempt, she blended in naturally with the other children.
However, there was one problem.
‘I just need to stay quiet until the Count arrives!’
…Or so she had decided.
But that was proving to be quite difficult.
The so-called “leaders” of the orphanage immediately started harassing her.
They stole her rations and bullied her with all sorts of childish tricks.
‘I’m an adult. I shouldn’t pick fights with little brats.’
She endured their torment, testing her patience for a full month.
Finally, the Basilian Count arrived at the orphanage where Chesha was staying.
That morning, the orphanage director was already in a foul mood.
There hadn’t been any profitable donors lately.
He had been taking out his frustration on the children when—
The Count suddenly appeared.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting the sky in shades of crimson, a single carriage rolled into the barren orphanage yard, kicking up clouds of dust.
The director rushed outside in a panic.
The orphans pressed against the windows, their eyes brimming with curiosity.
Chesha quickly climbed onto a chair to peek outside.
At first glance, the carriage looked like an ordinary hired coach, with no insignia or coat of arms.
But the fine-blooded horses and the dignified demeanor of the coachman gave it away—
This was undoubtedly a noble’s carriage.
The coachman set aside his whip, unfolded the steps, and opened the carriage door.
A man descended slowly.
Chesha couldn’t help but marvel.
“Wow…”
The Basilian Count was truly beautiful.
Even she, who had spent years admiring her own reflection in the mirror, was momentarily stunned.
The portrait she had painstakingly obtained hadn’t captured even half of his appearance.
“So that’s Kierne Basilian.”
She studied him with renewed interest.
With an unreadable expression, the Basilian Count—Kierne—spoke.
“I’m here to adopt a child.”
His cool voice was low but distinct.
The director, frozen by the weight of the atmosphere, jolted as if doused with cold water.
“T-Thank you for visiting our humble orphanage! Please, come inside and have some tea—”
Kierne silently gazed at the groveling director.
His cold stare made it clear—
He had neither the reason nor the time to drink tea in a place like this.
Quick to catch on, the director dashed inside and threw open the doors.
“Children! Come greet our distinguished guest!”
He shoved the hesitant children forward, forcing them all into the yard.
About fifty or so kids huddled together.
Normally, their chatter would have been deafening—
but the yard was so silent that even the sound of breadcrumbs falling could be heard.
The children, terrified at the sight of Kierne, kept their heads bowed, their lips sealed, and tears rolling down their cheeks.
“Bunch of cowards.”
Among them, Chesha alone held her head high.
But she was too small.
Kierne’s indifferent gaze swept over the children—
but it never landed on her.
His sharp eyes narrowed.
“It seems there is no child here worth taking.”
Struggling to stand on her tiptoes among the taller kids, Chesha scowled.
“I! Endured this godforsaken place! For a whole month!”
She wasn’t about to let this slip through her fingers.
Now was the time to use her secret weapon.
A few days ago, they had been given a rock-hard loaf of stale bread for a meal.
Chesha raised the bread high above her head and shouted.
“Take me!!!”
Her loud cry echoed through the silent yard.
The director and the children all turned to her in shock.
Finally, Kierne’s gaze landed on Chesha.
But even with the added height of the bread, she was still too small to be seen properly.
So she took matters into her own hands.
With the rock-hard loaf, she mercilessly smacked aside the kids blocking her view.
“Ack!”
“Gah!”
“Oof!”
Since they were all the ones who had bullied her, she had no hesitation in beating them down.
Clearing a path with her weaponized bread, Chesha rushed to the front.
She waved the bread again and shouted passionately.
“Take me with you!!!”
For the first time, Kierne’s usually cold eyes curved slightly.
It was faint and twisted, but unmistakably—a smile.
He asked, amused,
“And why should I?”
Up close, the Basilian Count was even more breathtaking—
and even more dangerous.
His jet-black hair, bathed in the red glow of the sunset, shimmered like a serpent’s scales.
It was as if he heralded the deep darkness that would follow after twilight.
His blood-red eyes, faintly tinged with interest, gleamed with a cruel light.
The moment she met his gaze, she knew exactly how to answer.
“Because!”
Chesha lifted her chin, placed her hands on her hips—
and puffed out her chubby belly with confidence.
“I’m adorable!”
─── ･ ｡ﾟ✧: *. ꕥ .* :✧ﾟ. ───
