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Chapter 1
The most infamous prison in the Brosia Empire was Izetail.
It was a place where only the worst of the worst were sent—criminals so beyond redemption that they were considered demons in human form.
It was a flawless prison where escape was nothing more than a fantasy.
People called it a living hell.
“Oh, great and revered God Lagos.”
Jingle, jingle.
The prison priest clasped his hands together in prayer as the clear sound of a bell echoed through the dining hall.
It was another peaceful snack time.
In this prison, every meal had to begin with a sacred prayer.
“Dear God, thank you for today’s daily bre—”
“Ah-choo!”
“…for this food we gratefully—”
“Puh-choo!”
“Achoo!”
The priest frowned as one sneeze followed another.
The other prisoners nearby pressed their lips together, desperately holding back their laughter.
They all stole glances toward the far end of the longest table in the room.
Sitting there was a tiny child.
Sensing everyone’s gaze, the little girl looked up.
She had fluffy pink hair like spring cotton candy and brilliant sapphire-blue eyes that looked as though jewels had been embedded in them.
Her delicate doll-like features made her seem completely out of place in such a terrifying prison.
She lowered her head politely.
“Sowwy…”
“…Ahem! Be more careful.”
Even though she was a prisoner, the priest couldn’t bring himself to scold a child. He merely gave her a warning before swallowing his irritation.
Just as he was about to resume the prayer—
Bang!
The dining hall doors flew open.
Heavy footsteps echoed through the room.
“What is the meaning of this?!”
The priest finally lost his patience and glared toward the entrance.
But only for a moment.
The instant he recognized who had entered, his eyes shook violently.
The little girl turned as well, and her own eyes grew as round as saucers.
A strikingly handsome man with brilliant blond hair and golden eyes walked inside.
If sunshine had taken human form, it would have looked exactly like him.
“Your Grace!”
Everyone around them stiffened.
Prisoner Number 666.
The greatest criminal Izetail had ever held.
Until recently, he had been locked away in solitary confinement.
The leader of Vankadium.
Rodrigo.
No one in the prison dared address him so casually.
“Your Grace! Over here!”
Without a trace of fear, the little girl enthusiastically waved him over, patting the seat beside her.
The message couldn’t have been clearer.
Sit here.
Rodrigo slowly raised one eyebrow.
He towered over everyone else, easily a head or two taller.
Simply standing still, he radiated an overwhelming pressure.
Yet the child showed no fear whatsoever.
“Hurry and sit down. I kept sneezing to stall for time because I thought you were running late.”
“W-What?!”
The priest clenched his fists.
She had interrupted a sacred prayer…
Just because she was waiting for him?
Furious, the priest took a single step forward.
Only one.
“…Eek!”
He froze in place.
For the briefest instant…
He had felt terrifying killing intent.
Meanwhile, Rodrigo shifted his gaze from the trembling priest to the little girl.
“Kid.”
“It’s Karin.”
“Right. Kid.”
His expression remained emotionless.
“Quit wasting your time.”
“…”
“I have no intention of sitting with you.”
“And stop calling me by that disgusting title.”
The icy warning hung heavily in the air.
The prisoners exchanged nervous glances.
His deep voice made one thing perfectly clear.
Stay away from me.
If you value your life, don’t come any closer.
Many of the prisoners wanted to tell the child to stop.
Some people could be won over.
Rodrigo wasn’t one of them.
Even by criminal standards…
That man was in a league of his own.
Completely insane.
But perhaps she was too young to understand.
The youngest prisoner in Izetail simply blinked.
“I don’t wanna.”
“…Cough!”
Someone hurriedly suppressed a cough.
Rodrigo let out an incredulous laugh.
“This kid’s insane.”
“I’m perfectly normal.”
“No.”
He looked at her flatly.
“You’re crazy, kid.”
“Not true.”
She puffed out her cheeks proudly.
“I’m smart because I’m like you, Your Grace.”
“…Damn it.”
“What nonsense.”
After realizing the conversation was getting nowhere, Rodrigo clicked his tongue.
Without another word, he turned on his heel.
“W-Wait!”
Karin shot to her feet.
By then, the furious duke was already walking out of the dining hall.
She hopped off her chair, carefully grabbing the baguette from her lunch tray before chasing after him.
“You still have to eat!”
Patter, patter, patter!
Her tiny legs pumped as fast as they could while she shouted after him.
Bang!
The dining hall doors slammed shut.
Silence filled the room.
The priest stared blankly after the pair before muttering,
“W-What in the world… are those two?”
* * *
Tch.
“I really thought it’d work this time.”
Maybe I needed another plan.
After failing to catch the duke, I—Karin—returned to my room without accomplishing much.
“Karin.”
“Isn’t it about time you gave up?”
“Hm?”
I tilted my head while chewing on the bread I’d brought back from lunch.
My roommate, a beautiful prisoner named Veronica, let out a long sigh.
She gently ruffled my hair.
“You know your big sister here spent quite a while among the nobility.”
“So I know a thing or two.”
“…”
“Whatever you do…”
“Never mess with dragons, sweetheart.”
She lightly tapped the tip of my nose.
“I’m only saying this because I’m worried about you.”
“If our adorable little mascot disappeared from this damn—”
She coughed.
“I mean…”
“This bleak prison…”
“How would I survive?”
She’d almost slipped in a curse again.
I decided to let it slide.
A mature child—
No, a mature adult—
knows when to pretend not to notice.
A month ago, I had recovered the memories of my previous life.
From that moment on, I was no ordinary four-year-old.
My body might be four…
But mentally?
I was a full-fledged ten-year-old.
Which meant I could handle plenty on my own.
Veronica, of course, had no idea.
She always watched her language around me because she thought children should only hear nice things.
“Karin.”
“Who are the people you should fear most in the Brosia Empire?”
“Dragons!”
“And the imperial family!”
“Exactly.”
She smiled approvingly.
“The dragons are famous for being cruel.”
“And the man you met earlier…”
“He’s their leader.”
“A butcher.”
“I’m someone who adores handsome men…”
“But even I stay away from him.”
“Mmm.”
She wasn’t wrong.
The only reason I kept approaching him…
…was because I needed him on my side.
Just as Veronica said, Vankadium’s leader had always been infamous for his brutality.
Besides…
He’s ridiculously handsome.
But his personality was awful.
His tone was rough.
He was stubborn.
Moody.
Impossible.
As I nodded in agreement, Veronica grinned and pulled me into a tight hug.
“Oh, you precious little thing.”
“Gwaaah!”
“How did a baby like you end up in this awful…”
She corrected herself.
“…this dangerous place?”
“Mmm…”
“You’re really not going to tell me?”
“Why you’re here?”
“No.”
“It’d be dangerous if you knew.”
“Oh my.”
“How scary.”
She simply rubbed her cheek against mine, clearly thinking I was joking.
But I wasn’t.
Explaining how I’d ended up here…
…was incredibly complicated.
“You’re really going to go in there?”
“Once you enter Izetail, there’s no leaving.”
“Are you absolutely certain?”
“Well… there might be one way.”
Izetail was the empire’s worst prison.
No ordinary crime would ever get someone locked up there.
So I’d simply have to commit…
An extraordinary one.
Even if it had to be fabricated.
“Falsifying the trial records isn’t difficult.”
“We have people inside Izetail.”
“Forging the paperwork will be easy.”
“So then…”
“What crime should we charge our little girl with?”
“Make me the worst criminal imaginable.”
“A villain unlike anyone the world has ever seen.”
“All right, sweetheart.”
“But remember…”
“This will become your official criminal record.”
“Don’t regret it once you’re grown up.”
Regret?
As if.
For revenge…
I’d do anything.
I’d already prepared everything perfectly.
Karin
- Insulting the Imperial Family: 9,999,999 counts
- Contracting Assassinations: 388,112 counts
- Extortion & Blackmail: 4,829 counts
- Cake Theft: 3,291,931,694 counts
Perfect.
With a record like this…
They’d have no choice but to throw me into prison, right?
