I slipped out the window. The wind formed by my magic was both my wings and my shield.
Raindrops bounced off the wind, so not a drop touched me.
In case I might be seen, I cloaked myself in a black cape and gently took to the air.
A perfect full moon hung in the sky.
I draped the remaining curtains and stepped onto them, wrapping myself tightly in the dark fabric to stay hidden should anyone spot me in flight.
The wind began to pull the curtain softly, yet powerfully.
It was more comfortable than most high-end carriages. Even as I soared across the rain-soaked night sky, not a part of me got wet.
“Achoo…!”
It was a bit chilly, after all—I had come out in just my pajamas. But as I warmed my body with magic, the chill quickly faded.
My destination was the nearby forest. After about half an hour of flight, I saw it coming into view. The wind gently lowered me to the ground.
“It’s been a while…”
This was a royal-managed forest. Once, it had been renowned for its beauty. Not anymore.
I thought I heard the wind whispering through the deeper part of the forest. Though it was a full moon, heavy clouds dimmed the ground beneath me.
The nighttime forest was still and eerie. If I were truly ten years old, I’d probably have stood frozen at the entrance, crying my eyes out from the sheer pressure of the place.
But for me now, it hardly registered. I had seen far worse hells. Compared to that, this forest was tender and serene.
Squish, squish. The sound of wet grass and soil squelched beneath my feet.
I continued deeper into the forest. The outskirts still looked fairly normal, but the further in I went, the more desolate the scenery became.
Charred, burned trees stood abandoned, dying where they were. And it wasn’t just the trees that had died.
Moonblossoms only bloom where people have died. And I had seen death in this place.
My mother died in this forest.
I was young, but I remembered it vividly.
Assassins burst from the trees and charged at me. The knights fought to shield me, but it wasn’t easy.
Blood quickly soaked the ground—our knights’ blood, and the assassins’ too.
Then the forest caught fire. The assassins had set it ablaze to sabotage our escape.
I almost burned to death, but Mother saved me. She got me out just in time.
But she remained behind in the burning forest.
“Sera, you must live! No matter what…!”
Her voice still echoed in my ears. The image of her smiling through the flames had never faded.
The forest burned. It wasn’t until the next day that they finally managed to put it out. But it was too late.
Mother had died. Because of the fire, her body was never found.
Back then, I held the seed, but my magic had not yet bloomed—I was no help to anyone.
“Mom…”
Not only my mother, but many others bled and died here. I remembered exactly where it had happened.
As I passed familiar boulders and melted statues, the place came into view through the blackened trees.
The spot where Mother died was now filled with flowers.
Amidst the darkness, white and translucent blooms sparkled with raindrops—a breathtaking sight.
The moonblossoms were stunning, but knowing each one bloomed from spilled blood made it hard to call it beautiful.
Standing there felt unbearable. Mother’s face kept appearing in my mind. I shut my eyes tightly.
I tried to push the memories away. What mattered now were the flowers. I needed them to heal my brother. But then, I heard a piercing cry.
Screee…!
I looked up to see something fluttering around the moonblossoms.
At first glance, they looked like fairies—tiny, doll-like bodies with wings like butterflies.
But they were not. They were called nightmoths, a type of monster that resembled fairies but had a completely different nature.
Nightmoths were hostile to humans. Small, yes, but annoyingly difficult to deal with.
Just two or three could wipe out an entire mercenary squad. There were… about ten of them now?
Flap flap…!
A few fluttered above my head, scattering shimmering dust from their wings.
The dust induced hallucinations. Once you succumbed to the illusions, you became their prey.
But they were monsters, after all. Inside me lay the Demon King’s Seed. Mere illusions couldn’t deceive it.
Screee…?
I ignored them and stepped into the flowerbed.
At that moment, the nightmoths bared their fangs and lunged at me.
Crunch!
But one instantly turned to powder.
The others, poised to attack, looked visibly confused.
They didn’t understand what had just happened.
I reached out toward them.
Poof!
Another one vanished into sparkling dust, lighting the darkness.
They finally seemed to realize what was going on. Shock flashed across their translucent faces.
Screech, screee…!
Some fled, while others charged at me. They gave it their all—but it was useless.
They should’ve run while they had the chance.
Smack!
Like swatting flies, the rest of the nightmoths crumbled into dust.
I hadn’t done anything special.
I’d simply drawn my magic and condensed it.
Even though my magic was weak compared to my prime, it was more than enough for these monsters.
I slowly approached the flowerbed.
The moonblossoms, strangely enough, still looked beautiful.
Glistening under the moonlight, they looked more like gems than flowers.
Luckily, I’d brought a pouch… but there were more than I expected. Better too many than too few.
I busily gathered the moonblossoms, stuffing them into the pouch. The more I picked, the better I felt. With these, I could heal my brother.
He was always ill and sent away to the summer villa…
If he got better, he could stay at the main palace.
Even if he disliked and avoided me, I was fine with that. I was just happy he hadn’t died—that he was still here.
Once I extracted the essence and secretly added it to his tea, within a week he’d show improvement…
Grrrrr…
Suddenly, a low growl and the tremble of the ground came from behind me. I glanced forward.
There stood the escaped nightmoth—and a massive beast.
It looked vaguely like an enormous plant, its stems swaying like tentacles.
A type of man-eating plant. At its center hung a massive pod, large enough to fit one or two adults.
Was this the result of leaving the forest abandoned for so long?
Normally, the forest would’ve been restored, but Father seemed to have no attachment to the place where Mother had died.
Well, I’d better finish this quickly. I began gathering my magic again to blast the monster.
Boom!
My magic exploded, severing several tentacles.
From the severed ends, liquid sprayed into the air—and ignited.
Fwoosh…!
Every spot the fluid hit caught fire. When it touched a moonblossom, the flower was instantly consumed by flames.
“No…!”
Panicked, I sliced and pulverized the burning areas. I managed to stop the fire in time, but the man-eating plant was still targeting me.
It wasn’t hard to defeat, but if the fire spread during the fight…
All the moonblossoms might burn. That would be a disaster.
I didn’t have enough yet to heal my brother. Finding another site would take time.
What should I do? Even if I used wind magic to cut it cleanly, the fluid might still leak out and…
Splash!
Suddenly, I was yanked into the air, the world flipping upside down. I was hanging upside down, staring at the plant.
A remaining tentacle had wrapped around my leg and hoisted me up. Though it had no face, it almost looked like it was smiling.
Chomp!
Without hesitation, the plant swallowed me whole. It was large enough to swallow a ten-year-old easily.
The inside was damp and eerily cool. Normally, I’d have melted instantly…
But I was protected by magic. The digestive fluids had no effect. I poked at the inner walls and spoke.
“Hey, have you ever had food poisoning?”
I wasn’t expecting an answer. I’d find out soon enough.
Within seconds, the plant jerked violently, its body twisting. If it had a mouth, it would’ve screamed.
It writhed and tried to spit me out, but I wasn’t going anywhere.
I’d gotten eaten on purpose.
Screee… gurgle…
The plant thrashed to vomit me out, then went limp. It had died.
I wriggled my way out.
Dead? I poked it with a fallen branch. No reaction.
Of course it died. It swallowed something poisonous.
I was the Demon King’s Seed. My very existence was a deadly toxin, a curse.
A mere man-eating plant couldn’t hope to contain me.
“Ah, I’d better get going!”
The moon had begun to fade. I’d been delayed by the monsters longer than I thought.
Hurriedly, I filled my pouch with flowers and began preparing to return.
The night was lightening—probably around 4 a.m.?
With luck, I could sneak in before anyone noticed. That was the plan…
“…Sigh, did they find out?”
From above, I could see that all the lights in the palace were on, torches and lanterns glowing outside as well.
No doubt they were searching for me.
I thought I could slip in before dawn, but they’d already caught on.
At this point, quietly returning to my room was pointless.
I carefully descended into a corner of the palace garden, doing my best to avoid attention.
Hmm, it’d be suspicious if I wasn’t wet. I lifted the protective magic surrounding me.
My once-dry pajamas were instantly soaked by rain. This seemed more natural.
I’d pretend to be sleepwalking. That was the plan as I slowly made my way to the garden entrance.
Spotting a nearby knight searching for me, I prepared to feign ignorance.
But then, through the sound of rain, I heard a sharp voice.
“Seraphina!”
It was my brother—Johann.
He was soaked to the bone, running toward me like a madman.
