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Chapter 5
Calix had grown up suffering abuse from the late Emperor.
Because everyone feared Calix, who could not control his mana, no one dared approach him. He was always alone.
Most of the time, he lived locked inside his room. Whenever the Emperor was in a bad mood, he was imprisoned in the underground dungeon like a criminal.
Then one day, while looking out the window and watching the Second Prince, Alex, happily running around the garden, Calix secretly escaped his room while avoiding the Emperor’s attention.
“Brother!”
Alex happily welcomed his older brother, whom he had not seen for nearly a year.
The two of them ran around and played freely.
But just as Alex was about to fall, Calix instinctively released his mana to protect him.
Alex suffered injuries from mana resistance and became bedridden.
The Emperor flew into a rage and mercilessly slapped his eldest son.
Smack!
The small body was thrown backward and tumbled down the stairs, yet not a single person helped him up.
“I told you never to leave your room! Are you such a fool that you cannot understand? Didn’t I tell you that you are a being who harms everyone around you? You should remain isolated!”
While the Emperor cared for Alex afterward, Calix was locked away in the underground prison.
In the pitch-black dungeon, he hugged his knees and endured the loneliness.
The original novel only described Calix’s past briefly, but even I had cried while reading that part.
It was only natural that someone who had never received love would struggle to express himself.
It was only natural that emotional neglect would leave him unable to understand feelings.
Maybe that was why, when his younger brother died, he did not know how to grieve and instead destroyed the Kingdom of Tedan.
I came back to the present and let out a deep sigh.
Even so, this wasn’t right.
I could understand that someone raised through such twisted education would develop equally twisted values.
But he had been far too cruel to a child.
Shouldn’t he have warmly protected her so she would never experience what he had gone through?
I walked toward Rubellin.
“I told you to stop.”
After only a few steps, my feet froze at the cold, growling voice behind me.
I hesitated.
Should I say it?
Or stay quiet?
My hesitation lasted only a moment.
Even if speaking back got me executed, I had to say this.
In the past and even now, everyone had been too afraid of his overwhelming power to offer him advice.
“Your Majesty. This isn’t a matter of whether she dies or lives, or whether she’s injured or not.”
Calix frowned deeply.
It was obvious he couldn’t understand what I meant.
“Then what exactly is the problem? She didn’t die, did she?”
“Her heart.”
I turned around to face him.
“Sometimes… the places you can’t see get hurt too, Your Majesty.”
The late Emperor—that worthless father of yours—hurt your heart dozens of times and never once taught you that.
Calix’s eyes widened as he stared blankly at me.
How much time passed?
He slowly lowered his long eyelashes, casting a shadow across his face.
“You’re saying the exact same thing Alex used to say.”
His voice sounded lonely…
…and impossibly distant.
I walked past the people who stood there stiffly and approached Rubellin.
“Princess, are you alright?”
I bent my tingling legs until we were at eye level.
A sparkle appeared in her red eyes.
Then, a moment later—
“Waaah!”
She burst into tears, wrapped her arms around my neck, and buried herself in my embrace.
I gently patted her back.
“It’s alright, Princess. Don’t cry.”
Suddenly, gasps echoed from every direction.
One man adjusted his glasses and exclaimed in amazement.
“Th-The Princess successfully controlled her immense strength…”
His eyes shone with curiosity as he hurried toward us.
“H-How is this even—”
“Mebern.”
The stern voice cut him off.
The man called Mebern quickly turned toward Calix.
Under the Emperor’s questioning gaze, cold sweat formed on his forehead.
“I-I don’t know either, Your Majesty. It was impossible until yesterday…”
As Mebern muttered quietly, Ken stepped forward.
“Allow me to explain, Your Majesty.”
I slowly looked around.
This was Rubellin’s bedroom.
In other words, the bedroom of the second highest-ranking person in the Empire after the Emperor.
Could a little girl’s room really be this luxurious?
I looked around the room with its towering ceiling and furniture filling every corner.
There was a canopy bed large enough for three or four adults to lie on comfortably, mahogany furniture, a smooth sofa, and even a rocking chair covered with animal fur.
Strangely enough, there were no dolls or cute toys anywhere.
Ah… it must be because of the Emperor’s mana.
The entire Imperial Palace was protected by magic that suppressed Rubellin’s monstrous strength.
Otherwise, a single movement from her would probably bring the whole palace crashing down.
“Why are they taking so long?”
After saying, “Your Majesty, allow me to explain,” Ken and the Emperor disappeared and had yet to return.
Before leaving, the Emperor had stared directly at me and said only one thing.
“Lock her up.”
So…
By “lock her up,” he meant lock me in this room.
If I’d known that, I wouldn’t have resisted.
“N-No! I didn’t do anything wrong!”
The tutors and attendants holding both my arms dragged me all the way to Rubellin’s room.
So “imprisonment” meant a bedroom instead of a dungeon.
The Emperor and Princess had been raised with such abnormal ideas that they thought locking someone in a room counted as punishment.
I couldn’t help feeling sorry for them.
…And for this world that would eventually be destroyed by their hands.
Including my own future.
I sank into deep thought.
The Empire would be annihilated shortly after the Princess reached adulthood.
Then what would happen to my life?
What about the villagers?
The people of the Empire?
I rubbed my dry face with both hands.
Should I just tell the Emperor the truth?
That this world was inside a novel…
That Rubellin would one day kill him and destroy the world…
And that he should repair their relationship while he still could?
I shook my head.
No.
What if he simply killed Rubellin instead?
Unable to find an answer, I remained lost in thought when Rubellin suddenly pushed her face into my view.
“Mom… cold?”
She blinked her clear eyes after seeing how pale my face had become.
No, I’m not cold.
I’m just terrified of whatever punishment is waiting for me.
“Hand!”
She stretched out her hand, asking me to hold it.
After hesitating for a moment, I took her tiny hand.
I’d already confirmed twice that her immense strength had no effect on me, so I wasn’t as nervous anymore.
Unlike in the carriage, Rubellin looked overjoyed that I held her hand.
“Mom!”
It almost looked like flowers and stars were blooming around her smiling face.
“Ugh… so bright.”
I covered my eyes with one hand.
“Mom! Mom! Look!”
“W-Wait a second, Princess!”
Without warning, Rubellin grabbed my hand and started dragging me somewhere.
I planted my feet and tried to resist.
Instead, my upper body was pulled forward as if I had bounced.
She didn’t even notice my weak resistance.
She simply hopped along happily in place, swinging my arm so violently that it felt like the ground itself was shaking.
“Mom! Wait!”
Suddenly she let go of my hand and quickly ran to the bedside table.
She opened the first drawer.
Standing on her tiptoes, she reached both hands inside and searched through it.
A moment later, her eyes widened.
She had found something.
“Found it!”
She proudly held up…
…a yellow envelope.
What was that?
Tilting my head, I walked closer.
“What is it, Princess?”
“Mom’s!”
She held the yellow envelope out to me with her tiny hands.
As soon as I accepted it, she smiled brightly and bounced happily in place.
Flowers seemed to bloom all around her face.
“Ugh…”
My heart…
She was just too adorable.
I straightened my posture.
“Hurry!”
At her urging, I opened the envelope.
Inside was a yellow sheet of paper with a decorative gold geometric border.
Ten items had been written on it in crooked, messy handwriting.
Did Rubellin write this herself?
She could already write?
Surprised, I read the first line.
“Mom… sings me a lullaby?”
“Mm!”
Rubellin nodded enthusiastically.
“Next! Next!”
I read the second item.
“Go on a picnic with Mom?”
“Mm! Let’s definitely go!”
She walked over and threw herself into my arms.
Only then did I understand.
This was…
A list of wishes related to her mother.
I bit my lip.
I wasn’t her mother.
I couldn’t grant these wishes.
Was something this simple really her dream?
Feeling both sorry for and affectionate toward her, I gently stroked her head.
Rubellin happily rubbed her head against my hand like a puppy.
“Wish!”
“Hm?”
“Rubellin made a wish… and it came true! Yay!”
Her wish came true?
Startled, I looked back at the letter.
The final line read:
Mom pats my head.
Rubellin raised both hands over her head and waved them happily.
I wasn’t her real mother.
Was it really alright to let her keep believing this?
After hesitating, I finally spoke.
“Princess… I’m not your mother—”
“Yep! Demon is the best!”
…Demon?
Wait.
Did she just say demon?
She had called me “Mom” before.
So “demon” meant…
“A… demon?”
I looked toward the attendants standing by the door, then toward Mebern.
Both of them nodded as if to confirm I’d heard correctly.
Maybe this world was different…
But normally, shouldn’t a child admire things like Santa, fairies, or angels?
Even the little kid in the hospital room next to mine had always talked about becoming an angel every day.
I decided to ask again.
“Princess… do you like demons?”
“Mm!”
Her cheeks flushed as she nodded over and over.
“B-But… why demons of all things…?”
I muttered weakly.
Until now, her adorable appearance had made me forget she would eventually become the villain.
But at this moment…
I felt it deep in my bones.
Ah…
The world really was going to be destroyed.
And I was going to die too.
“Sniff…”
A wave of sadness suddenly overwhelmed me.
I covered my face with both hands to hold back my tears.
Rubellin still had many years before she grew up.
Until then…
I’d just do my best to live.
I’d clear up this misunderstanding, leave the Imperial Palace, repay my debts, try that shark egg dish, travel…
Thinking about my debts made tears well up again.
“Mom… crying?”
I opened my eyes and looked at Rubellin through the gaps between my fingers.
Her eyes drooped sadly.
She looked ready to burst into tears herself if I admitted I was crying.
I lowered my hands and forced a smile.
“No. I’m not crying.”
Just then, someone knocked on the bedroom door.
An unfamiliar attendant entered.
“Princess. Lady Lucina. His Majesty is summoning you.”
Finally.
I swallowed hard and clenched my fists.
As adorable as Rubellin was…
I couldn’t stay here forever.
