CHAPTER 12
“Who are you!”
Like a kitten baring its claws to protect itself, Roziana didn’t hide her hostility toward him.
‘Well, not that it’s unreasonable.’
The dark shadow quietly revealed himself.
“I am Asterios.”
“!”
She blinked her large violet eyes.
“Ha. Tenebres can’t even raise a decent descendant.”
Because of her still-immature body, the young princess’s words occasionally came out with a lisp.
Her beautifully sparkling violet eyes strangely emitted a golden aura.
The power of the dragon.
Her tiny clenched fist was clearly pointed toward the young duke.
“What in the world is this nonsense.”
She was scolding him for the outrageous act of kidnapping a princess. But the six-year-old Asterios ended up covering his eyes.
‘You… you’re too cute.’
And he had to clench his teeth to keep his thoughts from slipping out.
“I… I apologize.”
“Is an apology all it takes?”
“Please forgive me for not informing you in advance. I was ordered to ensure not even a whisper of this would leak…”
Ordered?
“Whose orda’ is that?”
Roziana’s violet eyes widened.
If Asterios had intended to harm her, he wouldn’t have revealed his identity so calmly or acted so respectfully.
As Roziana lowered her guard, all that remained before Asterios was a cute three-year-old girl.
“Who else would I swear loyalty to?”
“Hmm?”
Roziana tilted her head, clearly not understanding.
‘Wait a sec.’
He was the young duke of the Tenebres family—the only ducal household in the Dreart Empire.
‘I vaguely remember hearing from my nanny and the knights that his father passed away recently and that the boy was now managing the house with his mother.’
Then who would the ducal house swear loyalty to?
“My daddy? Did my daddy tell you to kidnap me?”
At her completely unexpected question, Asterios was flustered.
“Absolutely not! How could you come to that conclusion?”
Well, because my dad once threw me into a monster’s mouth to save himself and ran away.
I never trusted the concept of a father in the first place.
‘But I can’t say that out loud.’
“So issn’t him? That’s good.”
As if she had just said it casually, Roziana replied, and Asterios let out a deep, world-weary sigh.
“Haa… His Majesty said the palace was dangerous and ordered you to be moved to safety for now. He plans to use this to deal with Graham.”
So the young duke had taken her away secretly under the emperor’s orders for her safety.
‘Huh? Wait! But I need to rescue Nox from the palace!’
Ack!
Suddenly struck by that thought, Roziana grabbed her head in frustration.
“No! I hafta go back!”
Just a few hours ago, she had been thrilled at the idea of searching the entire palace in her three-year-old body to find Nox.
But now, she was even further from the palace.
‘And I only just got control of my limbs again…’
That moment of joy over growing up now felt hollow.
Worse, her mother wasn’t here. Her brothers weren’t here. Not even her nanny or Fiona. In this unfamiliar place, she missed them.
‘Even that emperor dad who caused all this mess… just a little bit.’
Her blood ran cold.
“When we goin’ back?”
“He said it wouldn’t be long.”
At least that was a relief.
But… how long is “not long”?
“Where’re we goin’?”
“To the ducal house.”
As if to confirm his words, the sound of the carriage door creaking open echoed outside, and the carriage came to a jolt and stop.
“We’ve arrived at the underground storage of the ducal estate’s detached palace. It may be uncomfortable for a while, but please trust me and follow.”
Asterios knelt before Roziana, who was still sitting on the bed, and reached out his hands as if to escort her.
But Roziana didn’t move and glared at him with suspicion.
“Duke kid.”
“Yes, Your Highness?”
“Why should I trust you? Do you have proof this is dad’s order?”
Asterios stared at the three-year-old with sharp perception.
“Yes, I do. And… well done.”
‘Well done?’
“Being cautious and not trusting easily is important.”
The random praise left Roziana dumbfounded.
To be honest, Asterios didn’t give off any malicious or deceitful vibes.
So she had already begun lowering her guard toward him. But that didn’t mean she could trust him completely.
‘He’s the descendant of that traitor, after all.’
And if this was the ducal estate as he claimed, then she had essentially walked into his territory.
Even if the emperor had ordered her to be protected, she couldn’t be sure he had truly entrusted the task to Asterios.
‘There’s no guarantee I’ll be safe here. I can’t let my guard down.’
Witches who lived long in a survival-of-the-fittest world naturally struggled to trust anyone besides their own.
“This,” Asterios said, pulling a small glass vial from his coat, “was entrusted to me by His Majesty as proof.”
“?”
Inside the vial, something black sloshed around, making a soft clinking sound.
“What’s this?”
“It contains a portion of His Majesty’s magical power.”
“Magic?”
“Yes. The Royal Council confirmed Your Highness’s familiar through His Majesty’s power.”
Her “chirpy?”
“Only pure royal energy can affect a familiar. He said this would serve as a symbol of command.”
Roziana’s face lit up.
“So, if I pour this, my chirpy comes?”
“Chi—ah, you mean the chick?”
“Yeah! My peep-peep!”
“Peep…peep…”
“My chirpy’s name is that!”
“I see… Yes, if you pour this, Your Highness will be able to see your familiar’s more developed form, if not its full form.”
‘…Is that true?’
Roziana narrowed her violet eyes in suspicion.
[That is true.]
‘Nox!’
Suddenly hearing his voice in her head, Roziana’s face lit up.
She inwardly cheered, grateful to know she had an ally even in this strange place.
Especially since she was still uncertain whether to trust Asterios.
[Sorry for appearing so late. I lost some strength for a moment.]
‘It’s okay! I’m just glad you’re in my head!’
Roziana quickly fixed her expression.
It would look suspicious if the princess who was frowning moments ago suddenly smiled.
“So why don’t you try summoning your familiar, Your Highness?”
Nox had confirmed it was real. She might get to see her grown-up peep-peep.
She almost smiled ear to ear.
But then—
“Oh, right.”
A major flaw came to mind.
“But I can’ summon chirpy properly…”
Her face drooped in disappointment. Asterios’s face turned red and he paused, narrowing his brows as he responded.
“…That’s because it had just been born. Now that you’ve grown, you should be able to summon it. Imagine it and call its name.”
“Got it.”
Roziana closed her eyes and imagined her chirpy flapping its wings and appearing before her.
Then she whispered.
“Chirpy.”
A golden wave burst from Roziana’s body, and a slightly more grown yellow bird appeared.
“Wow! Chirpy!”
- Peep! Peep! Peep!
Roziana was stunned to see how much her familiar had grown. The cute face, black eyes, and yellow beak were the same, but the wings were longer, and its legs stronger.
“You already growed up?”
“Familiars respond to the growth of their master.”
Before the wide-eyed Roziana, Asterios poured the brown vial’s contents.
Golden waves flowed into the familiar, and its wings and legs grew even more.
A single tuft of yellow fluff stood up on the bird’s head.
“Wow! So cool!”
The familiar, as if proud of its improved self, flew in circles around Roziana and then landed in her hand.
Roziana gasped—chickens aren’t supposed to fly!
“Wha? You fly? You’re not a chick?”
“Your familiar is a griffin.”
“Griffy?”
“Griffins resemble eagles with strong lion-like legs and massive wings. They are one of the divine beasts who serve closest to the dragon god.”
“Divine beast? That’s awesome!”
Sounded like a really cool creature.
“I’mma name you.”
“Your Highness, may I now guide you inside?”
Asterios knelt again and extended his hand.
Now that his words had proven true, there was no reason to hesitate.
“Okay. Let’s go.”
Roziana grabbed Asterios’s hand and stepped off the carriage.
“Hmm? Where my griffy?”
Looking around for her familiar, which had vanished again, Roziana turned her little head in all directions.
That’s when she first noticed her shimmering long golden hair.
‘Oh! Long hair!’
Come to think of it, she had grown, and her outfit had changed appropriately.
‘I’m wearing a white, lacey nightgown?’
Not very witch-like…
‘Still better than meeting Asterios in nothing but a diaper.’
Asterios answered her question.
“Your familiar is following close. It will only appear when needed—for your benefit.”
Roziana tilted her head again.
“How do you know so much?”
Only royals could summon familiars, right?
He talked like he’d raised one himself.
“…I was told.”
He seemed suspicious. Even how the emperor kept him around was strange.
‘There’s something about Asterios…’
[Cough.]
What the? Why’s Nox acting like he’s guilty?
[I, I choked.]
Just as she began to feel something wasn’t right, Asterios stopped walking.
“?”
He placed his hand on a wall in the underground hall. A hidden door appeared.
‘A secret passage!’
A seemingly endless staircase stretched upward. Roziana’s face darkened.
‘How am I supposed to climb all that?’
It was hopeless. Even grown, she was only three. Her short legs would shake with every step.
Looking up, the stairs disappeared into darkness.
Her heart sank along with her spirits.
“Forgive my rudeness.”
Asterios gently lifted Roziana in his arms.
“Wha—what are you doing?!”
Flustered at being suddenly held, she wriggled.
“There are too many stairs for Your Highness to walk. Please allow me to carry you.”
Roziana looked at his face—so close now.
“!”
And was at a loss.
‘He really looks just like him.’
Her heart fluttered on its own.
How could he look so much like him?
Those deep, serious eyes didn’t seem like a six-year-old’s at all.
Just like Tenebres when he whispered words of love to her.
She quickly turned her head away to hide her blush.
“F-fine. Do what you want.”
‘What’s wrong with me, swooning over a child?!’
He was six. And the descendant of her greatest enemy—Tenebres.
‘His face must’ve been exactly my type.’
That’s the only reason his appearance and expression stirred such old, foolish memories.
Even if he was six years old…
‘Wait. Six?’
Now that she thought about it, Asterios was far too calm, mature, and strong for his age.
He was carrying her—weight and all—up thousands of stairs.
‘And his speech too…’
A chill crept down her spine.
‘He’s… just like me?’
