ABSVW~02

Chapter 02

“Uhh…….”

I pressed my face tightly into the bed, my tiny belly squished against the mattress. My soft, steamed-bun cheeks sank pleasantly under my hand.

Why am I four again?

At first, I thought I had regressed. But this wasn’t regression.

My mind wasn’t as sharp as before, and my body felt unbearably exhausted.

Most importantly, something was terribly wrong.

My divine power!

It was almost completely gone.

Did I… see the future instead of regressing?

Maybe I had used up all my divine power while glimpsing the future.

I knew something was off because—

“No matta Nesarie do yoro-ke (no matter if I’m four years old like this)…”

My tongue wasn’t simply “short.”

It was broken.

My pronunciation had collapsed entirely.

My already fragile little body, now drained of divine power, felt like it was barely holding itself together.

But that wasn’t the important part.

I can’t die again.

I pressed a hand to my forehead and shook my head firmly.

“Anche na mame tera momu ma-kin ge munde ya, munde (letting everything be entrusted to others in the first place was the problem).”

In the end, I could only rely on myself. That’s what they always say—never cosign easily, never trust blindly.

I had basically handed my future over to Limié.

I clenched both fists.

This time, I will survive!

I pushed myself up on the bed and stood, wobbling, as if declaring victory.

“Ibbonen sarana-mnida! (This time, I will survive!)”

No matter what it takes!

But… how?

Clink— clink—

I tapped the spoon against the pale porridge served at the orphanage, lost in thought.

I slowly looked around.

Other children like me—orphans with a bit of divine power—were stuffing their mouths with the same bland gruel.

I sighed deeply.

At this rate, it’ll end the same way as before.

A puffy-cheeked baby reflected in the porridge’s surface, looking disgruntled and dirty.

If cleaned up properly, I might’ve looked decent—but right now I was just a scruffy pink-haired infant.

A child with golden eyes—the vessel of divinity.

“Na-na!”

I flinched and turned around.

A furious orphanage priest stood behind me, slapping a rod against his palm.

“What are you doing? Ignoring prayer in front of the sacred meal bestowed by the Lord!”

I did pray earlier.

I wanted to say that, but these priests especially hated me.

Probably because of my golden eyes—something they themselves didn’t have.

“…I’m sorry.”

What could a baby even do?

From my previous life, I knew the safest option was to bow.

I dipped my oversized head carefully, holding it up with my hands so my body wouldn’t topple over.

“Aah!”

The priest struck the back of my hand with a rod.

“One chance. Understand?”

As if he wanted to say more about how they had taken in unwanted orphans, he clicked his tongue and left.

Hmph.

Was a baby’s hand always this fragile?

It was already swelling.

I tried blowing on it.

“Hoo… hoo…”

It only made it sting more.

Then—

Dong— dong—

A bell rang, and the children who had been eating scrambled to their feet and rushed outside.

Ah… right. This happened.

After mealtime, they always collected offerings gathered from outside.

The orphanage used children like us for missionary work—targeting nobles, of course.

Because nobles tend to give more when a child shows up.

The supervising priest rummaged through the donations.

“Well done… but…”

He sighed.

“Still no one went to the Sladeite Grand Ducal family?”

Murmurs spread around the room.

According to doctrine, the church had to collect offerings from every corner of the empire.

But the territory of Sladeite was different.

The traitor of humanity.

The empire’s heretic—yet also its strongest shield and political center.

Just thinking about it made my shoulders tense.

Sladeite was the only place in the empire that did not believe in the gods.

If I go there, I might die… so who would want to—

Then a thought struck me.

…Wait.

Sladeite was the only place that had survived the battle against the Demon King.

The only region protected from his attacks because of the dense miasma.

Doesn’t that mean I could survive there?

And I had heard that suppressing the miasma required a priest.

I’m a priest. I have divine power.

Even if I couldn’t use it well like Limié, I would eventually be able to in the later part of the original story.

Unlike the canon.

“Limié unni, look!”

“But Nana… it’s better not to show others. They might laugh and say it’s nothing, and you’ll feel ashamed.”

“Let’s keep it our secret.”

I shook my head hard, snapping out of the memory.

Focus. I might survive there.

In my previous life, I was the one chosen because I was an unwanted orphan… and I cried all the way to Sladeite.

But—

Who cares now!

Even if I become a traitor to humanity, survival matters more! I just want to live until fifteen this time!

I’m done living for others.

I held back tears.

This time, I will live for myself.

So—

“I’m going! Sladeite!”

I raised my hand boldly.

“I, Nana, will go!”

As soon as I declared it, preparations were completed quickly.

You? To Sladeite?

Finally, the useless kid is gone—

The caretakers sneered, thinking I would die anyway.

Still, they prepared my departure.

All I got was my worn-out priest’s bag and—

A formal robe dropped into my tiny arms.

This ceremonial priest robe.

Worn by apprentice priests on missions.

No way…

It was far too big. I was only four!

It looked like I had stolen an adult’s clothes.

It dragged along the ground as I walked.

Sigh…

Soon, the church carriage arrived in front of the grand ducal estate in the capital.

I pushed aside the hood blocking my view and stared up at the massive iron gates.

I had made it here, but—

The gate knights… scary…

My tiny body trembled uncontrollably at the sight of the towering guards.

But if I ran away now, this would be my third death.

I forced myself forward and approached the gate.

A knight immediately looked down at me.

“A priest?”

“Yes. I came from the church.”

The knight frowned slightly at my tiny frame.

Even so, I was still a priest sent from the church. They couldn’t simply turn me away.

If anything, they’ll kill me after letting me in…

I swallowed hard.

The knight stepped closer.

“Little one, tell me your temple’s name. I’ll inform them and send you back. This place is dangerous.”

He was unexpectedly kind.

Thank you, kind knight…

“Knight-nim, may you receive blessings!”

I smiled brightly and spread my arms, offering a blessing.

The knight suddenly clutched his chest and winced.

Uh-oh.

People usually liked hearing “may you receive blessings”… but this was Sladeite.

The other knight sighed.

“His heart isn’t well. Ignore it. Let her in.”

So he was just a man with a weak heart.

Anyway—success!

I trotted inside.

First step: don’t meet the duke immediately.

I need to meet the aides first.

As I was thinking—

Yank!

My robe was suddenly pulled from behind.

I almost fell forward.

Who—!

I turned around, fists clenched—

And froze.

A man stood there.

Just his presence made everything else feel small.

Broad shoulders, sharp build, overwhelming aura.

The most handsome man I had ever seen—so perfect it made everyone else feel like crumpled paper.

Silver hair glowing faintly like moonlight, sharp red eyes that pierced through everything.

He’s… ridiculously handsome.

Of course, I already knew.

He was exactly as described in the novel.

The Sladeite Grand Duke.

Just his existence felt oppressive.

He looked down at me coldly.

“What is this ridiculous little fluff ball?”

I swallowed hard.

The final boss… is already here?

The pressure alone made my hands tremble, but I hid them under my sleeves.

“P-pwease be weww… Grand Duke…”

His sharp eyes narrowed.

“You’re from the church?”

“Yes, yes!”

I quickly pulled out my apprentice priest ID.

“I-I am Nana—”

“Enough.”

Right. Of course. That wasn’t important.

He chuckled coldly, looking at me like I was amusing.

“So the church even sends children now. What do you want? Money again? Using ‘divine blessing’ as an excuse for your useless god’s will?”

So the rumors were true.

He truly despised the church.

But I had to be brave.

“Grand Duuuke…”

He looked at me again.

“You invested in the Miracle Merchant Guild…”

“…What?”

“That guild… goes bankrupt tomorrow.”