BDBF 01

“…Please let me bear the child.”

“Erilyn… Without you, I…”

“I want to live…! I don’t want to die like this!”

Something without a physical form curled its lips into a grin.

At that moment, invisible crimson threads wrapped themselves around the fingers of the three people.

* * *

Knock knock—

“Head of the family.”

A man opened the heavy gold-adorned doors and entered.

With eyes full of anticipation and a lively, excited voice, he spoke.

“A crack has appeared in the egg just now.”

“And Rita?”

“She is standing by beside it.”

The silver-haired man, whose hair looked as though it held white snow within it, rose from his seat and began to walk.

The place they eventually arrived at was the birthing chamber of the Ivienne family.

A single egg reflected in his cool pale-blue eyes.

The only surviving egg out of three.

The lone remaining egg had been noticeably smaller than the others, so everyone had assumed it would die quickly. That unexpected survival made it all the more exciting.

Children born under such circumstances were usually strong successors.

Crack—

Soon, the egg began to split apart. Through the thin fractures on its shell, a white membrane protecting the hatchling could be seen.

The elders watching over the chamber began murmuring excitedly.

But the moment the egg completely shattered, no one could even breathe.

“Waaah!”

Except for one single person.

It was the long-awaited day when the noble White Dragon family’s heir was finally born after nearly 138 years.

* * *

Blink. Blink.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t move even a single finger freely.

After spending several days doing nothing but blinking my eyes, I managed to figure out one thing:

I had become a newborn baby.

Just how did this happen to me? Though… it didn’t seem like things had turned out badly.

Let’s calmly retrace everything one by one.

Right before opening my eyes here, I had definitely been giving a speech before the citizens of the empire as an imperial princess of a great nation.

I had stood atop a high podium, reading the speech I’d prepared for over ten minutes, and just as I was about to say the final sentence…

Right.

That was when I was attacked.

The speech I’d spent over a week preparing was crushed before I could even properly deliver it.

And just like that, my life ended miserably.

That scene was the final memory of my previous life.

‘I want to live…’

In that fleeting moment, I desperately prayed to survive.

‘I don’t want to die like this!’

I never even believed in gods normally, but desperation makes people pray.

Anyway, after lying still for several days and thinking it over, I came to one conclusion:

Some god—if one existed—had given me another chance.

So my goal in this new life was simple.

To reach the heights I had never properly been able to attain in my previous life.

I still didn’t know what kind of family this was, but judging from the wealth around me, they were definitely nobles. If I wanted to climb higher, I’d first have to make this estate mine.

And for that…

I needed the master of this mansion and its members to acknowledge my abilities.

Power could come afterward.

“My lady.”

A woman I hadn’t even noticed entering picked me up in her arms, interrupting my thoughts.

“You woke up early today. Aren’t you hungry?”

Her name was Rita. I remembered that just a few days ago, when she first saw me babbling helplessly, she had politely introduced herself.

But the funny thing was…

Why was she the only person I’d seen for days?

Where were my parents?

Judging by the expensive furnishings in the room and the clothes Rita wore, this clearly wasn’t an ordinary household.

“Uwaaah.”
(Where are my parents?)

“Yes, yes, I understand. It’s still a little hot, so I’ll cool it down more for you.”

As if she’d been waiting for it, Rita shook a baby bottle filled with formula in front of my eyes.

I had expected it, but it was still frustrating that nobody could understand a word I said.

I hoped I’d be able to talk soon.

Though it’d probably take at least two years.

Soon, the unwanted bottle was placed in my mouth.

But contrary to my feelings, my body naturally gripped it tightly. Then I greedily swallowed the perfectly warm milk.

I still couldn’t believe I was small enough to need formula…

Sigh. Fine.

For now, I should focus on doing the best I could.

Eat a lot and grow quickly!

* * *

A heavy silence settled over the conference room.

All twelve elders sat holding even their breaths, carefully watching a single man.

The man seated at the head of the table silently swept his gaze across them for a long while. Then, as if he had finally sorted through the chaos in his mind, he brushed back the bangs resting over his forehead.

The silver-haired man sparkling beneath the lights relaxed his previously rigid expression and formed a gentle smile.

“Is there any elder here who can explain this situation?”

Of course, that didn’t mean the words coming out of his mouth were gentle.

Everyone present knew that fact well, which only made them more tense.

“Has anyone come up with a solution for how we’re supposed to explain this to the other families waiting for the heir announcement?”

Despite the obvious reproach in his tone, none of the elders could answer easily.

And honestly, they had a reason.

What had happened three days ago was unprecedented—so unprecedented that no historical record contained anything remotely similar.

That was why, even though they knew he would ask, none of the elders had managed to find a solution.

The Ivienne family was an ancient bloodline descended from the White Dragon, one of the Four Dragons.

Naturally, this incident could not be treated lightly.

Although Family Head Hale Ivienne didn’t show it outwardly, his mind felt as blank and white as dragon scales.

‘The heir we waited so long for… is human…’

Including Hale himself, everyone in the White Dragon family desperately wished this had all been some kind of manipulation.

But who could possibly breach security tighter than an iron fortress and boldly replace an egg inside the birthing chamber?

Hale shut his eyes tightly and stopped thinking further.

That didn’t mean he intended to let the elders off easily.

After a long silence, everyone silently agreed to postpone discussing the child and moved on to other business first.

About an hour passed.

Now only one matter remained:

The child who was not a White Dragon, but a human—yet had become the White Dragon family’s sole heir.

If it were merely a family issue, they might have delayed the decision longer.

But this concerned all Four Dragon families, meaning the announcement could no longer be postponed.

In fact, delaying it by three days had already been extraordinarily lenient by the standards of the other families.

“Family Head, what do you intend to do with the child?”

As always, the question everyone avoided ended up being asked by Theo, Hale’s aide.

“I’ve thought about it.”

Fortunately, Hale didn’t avoid answering this time.

Theo relaxed slightly.

Normally, Hale always delayed his decisions until the family was cornered, but this time seemed different.

“I’ll decide after seeing the child.”

Theo’s rising smile immediately flattened again.

* * *

For some reason, Rita was especially busy today.

She polished the furniture and dressed me in more layers of clothing than usual.

Almost as though she wanted someone to think well of me…

Wait.

Was I finally going to meet my parents today?

“Kyaahaha!”

“Oh my, are you happy because you’re wearing prettier clothes today, my lady?”

Actually, I was smiling from excitement, but considering all her effort, I let her believe that.

“The Family Head will arrive soon. You must smile brightly like this when he comes too, understood?”

Family Head?

With this level of wealth and that title, was he perhaps a duke?

Whatever the case, I wanted to meet him quickly.

I was so curious what my parents were like.

Rita sat me down in a crib and placed a rattle in my hands before returning to her work.

Not long afterward, footsteps could be heard nearby.

“You’ve arrived, Family Head.”

As Rita opened the door, a man entered.

Long silver hair like pure white snow.

Transparent pale skin.

And light blue eyes.

This beautiful man…

was my father?

“So I finally see you.”

The handsome man approached me and even kindly bent down to my level. Soft silver hair slid down along his shoulders.

Wow…

He looks even better up close.

So this is what people mean by a feast for the eyes?

The pale blue eyes that drew near carefully examined me from head to toe.

Soon, he straightened again.

When I stretched out both hands in disappointment, he offered me a single index finger.

Without thinking, I instinctively grabbed it—but unexpectedly, there were calluses on his fingertips.

Despite looking like a delicate pretty boy who had never even touched a sword.

“Rita. For a human child, she seems rather large.”

“I thought the same thing, so I asked Angela about it. She said it was likely because she was influenced by your pheromones, Family Head.”

“Explain in more detail.”

“She said that because of the pheromones you infused into the egg while the young lady was still inside it… she likely possesses half of a dragon’s abilities.”

…Excuse me?

Did they just casually say dragon?

“So that’s why only the eye color resembles mine.”

“Yes. As for the human side, judging by the hair color, it’s probably—”

“That’s enough. This isn’t a conversation for here.”

Judging by how serious they were, this definitely wasn’t some joke meant to tease me.

Of course, they probably didn’t think a newborn could understand them anyway.

Was I really—actually—born into a dragon family?

Dragons were real?

In my previous life, dragons had only been described as mythical divine beasts invented by humans.

That made their existence even harder to believe.

But not only did they exist—they could even take human form?

How was that possible?

Though, to be fair, being reborn with memories of my previous life was already impossible enough.

Still.

I needed to ask directly.

“Ooong?”
(A dragon?)

Ah, right. I still couldn’t talk.

This was so frustrating!

Why was I still a baby?!

Well, obviously because I’d literally just been born, but still—it was maddening.

“Was she trying to say something to me just now?”

“I believe so.”

“What was she saying?”

“I’m not quite sure… Ah! Apparently human children can’t speak properly when they’re very young.”

“Tch.”

The man who was supposedly my father looked at me with momentary disappointment.

Why? What’s your problem?

Did you start talking immediately after birth?

“Human children really are troublesome.”

“What will you do?”

“Well…”

Judging from the context…

that question sounded like it was about whether I lived or died.

Whether they would keep me alive.

Whether they would raise me here.

If this really was a dragon family, then for a human like me to survive—

No, wait.

Didn’t they just say I was half dragon?

Then what was there to hesitate about?

Of course they should raise me!

Even half the bloodline is still blood!

I tightened my grip around Father’s finger.

Our eyes met.

Since I couldn’t speak, I had no choice but to try telepathy.

If dragons really existed here, then magic probably did too.

And if magic existed, maybe he could understand my feelings.

Raise me! Keep me! I’m going to grow up and take your seat someday! You’ll regret underestimating the abilities of a former imperial princess!

In exchange for raising me, I’ll guarantee you the most comfortable retirement in the world.

I’ll make this territory even more prosperous than it already is and let you enjoy the good life properly!