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Chapter : 16
A green light spread from the fingertips, brushing over the flower before disappearing.
Hiazelki’s eyes widened in shock.
“Kid, now this flower will never wither for your entire life.”
“Really?”
“Of course. Next birthday, I’ll prepare a proper gift.”
“No, Geel. I’m really grateful. Just seeing you today makes me happy.”
“Ah, kid….”
The emotional Geel reached out to hug Hiazelki, but Kael shoved him away.
Regardless, Hiazelki carefully touched the flower.
She had never seen such a beautiful flower before. Not even across her past three lives.
“……It’s so pretty.”
It felt strange that Kael had even asked Geel to bring something like this.
It was an extremely rare flower, something one would normally only read about in books.
She never imagined Kael would know anything about flowers.
And the fact that someone had gone to such lengths for her made her deeply grateful.
Hiazelki gently tugged on Kael’s sleeve, who was deliberately looking away.
“…Did you prepare this on purpose? Because I like flowers?”
Kael cleared his throat and averted his gaze, then gave a slight nod.
“Yes. You like flowers.”
“So you prepared something this rare because of that?”
“Of course. A gift should be the most precious and beautiful thing.”
“Really?”
“Obviously. You can’t give something worthless as a gift.”
Kael believed that anything given to her had to be the absolute best.
Even he himself didn’t realize how natural that thought was.
Meanwhile, Geel’s increasingly emotional expression was getting on his nerves.
“Um, Geel… where did you find a rare Winter Lady flower?”
Yuri, who had been quietly watching, finally asked.
Geel shrugged.
“Where in the world can’t a Earth Dragon make something bloom?”
“Ah… yes.”
Yuri answered half-dazed.
“Should I get a vase, young lady?”
“Yes, Yuri. Thank you.”
Hiazelki nodded without taking her eyes off the flower.
Then she slowly looked around at everyone in the banquet hall and smiled brightly.
She had never been this happy before.
So this is what a birthday is, she thought for the first time.
She felt grateful—to everyone around her, to Ciel who had saved her and brought her here, and even to the parents who had given birth to her.
“Alright, young lady! Eat more of this too!”
The banquet hall was filled with laughter, and the birthday party that began at noon continued until late afternoon.
That Night
That night, Hiazelki lay in bed, quietly looking around her dark room.
It had been the happiest birthday of her life.
Geel had left quickly after saying he had work, but everyone else would still be there smiling when she woke up tomorrow.
That thought alone filled her with gratitude.
For the warmth, smiles, and affection she had always longed for—only in this fourth life had she finally received them.
It was so warm and overwhelming that if she were told to return to a life without love again, she didn’t think she could survive it.
‘I think… it’s okay to dream of the old dreams now…’
Because there were people who would hold her when she woke up.
As she slowly closed her eyes, she sensed a presence approaching.
“Hiazelki.”
Her eyes snapped open. In the darkness, she saw red eyes.
It was a silhouette she hadn’t seen in a long time.
She quickly sat up.
“White Dragon?”
“It’s been a while.”
Ciel smiled gently and reached out to pat her head.
“I’m glad it’s still before midnight. Happy birthday, Hiazelki.”
“…Ah.”
She stared blankly at him as he smiled.
“Thank you.”
She wondered if he had come just for her birthday, and the thought made her heart tickle.
“How was your birthday today?”
A question that felt like it already knew everything about her past.
Hiazelki looked up at him and lowered her gaze slightly.
“…It was happy.”
“I’m glad.”
His hand that had been patting her head slid downward and tugged at the string around her neck.
A pocket watch engraved with a dragon.
Ciel pulled it out and spoke softly.
“I came today not only to celebrate your birthday, but also because I have something to tell you about this.”
“This?”
“Yes. This is… something that reacted recently.”
His fingers traced the dragon engraving.
Hiazelki recalled the moment immediately.
The day Kael judged the sinner.
When the watch had reacted violently in her hand.
“I wanted to come earlier, but I was busy. So I came now.”
“…Why is that?”
“Because you have power.”
“Power?”
Ciel lifted the watch to her eye level.
“This is not just a clock.”
“Then what is it?”
“It contains a power that suits you very well.”
The vague words made her tilt her head.
He covered the watch with his hand. A faint white light flickered inside.
“This is my gift to you. Hiazelki, someday it will help you. Keep it with you always.”
She nodded blankly.
“I hope you are always happy.”
Ciel didn’t finish his thought.
Then he stepped back.
“You are so loved… yet lived without love.”
He swallowed the words.
“…I will come see you again.”
And then he vanished, as if he had never been there.
Hiazelki stared at the empty space before looking down at the pocket watch.
‘Power…’
She didn’t understand it, but she held it tightly.
If there was power, she wished she could use it.
She wanted to know what the curse was—and why it targeted her.
“Damn fate…”
But Kael’s words echoed in her mind.
Why should she just suffer it?
Hidden Story — “For Everyone, Only You”
Before meeting Ciel, she thought this fourth life would be different.
But the distortion soon revealed itself.
“Wow… how can she be this beautiful?”
Hiazelki thought, for the first time, she might finally receive parental love.
Their voices were warm, their emotions kind.
Not only her parents, but the entire village.
In all her past lives, she had never been held so much.
She was often carried, often taken outside.
“How lovely.”
“I thought only my child was beautiful to me…”
“No, I’ve never seen a baby this beautiful!”
Her mother especially liked walking around the village holding her.
Everyone praised her—children, adults, everyone alike.
But even so, she felt uneasy.
The more they praised her beauty, the more something dark crept into their eyes.
And so she grew afraid of praise itself.
Then one day, a villager suddenly collapsed.
After that, a plague spread through the village.
People died. Fear spread.
The kingdom could not help them, as other villages were also suffering.
People stopped going out. Suspicion grew.
And soon, rumors began.
“The heavens are angry…”
To survive, they began to beg forgiveness for sins they hadn’t committed.
But nothing changed.
Then another rumor appeared.
To calm the heavens, a sacrifice was needed.
At first, no one agreed.
But as death continued, their desperation changed them.
“She is the purest… the most beautiful. It must be her.”
Her parents refused at first.
But the villagers insisted.
And even they began to wish for the disaster to end.
“Child… I’m sorry. But we have no choice.”
She cried and screamed, but it was useless.
She had thought she was finally loved.
She was wrong.
They bound a four-year-old child to a tree.
Placed her on a pile of wood.
“Please accept this offering and forgive us.”
They prayed over and over.
Then they lit the fire.
Flames rose instantly.
The child cried endlessly—terrified of the heat, of the eyes watching her die.
She coughed through black smoke, unable to move.
The fire rose higher and higher.
