I was intelligent. Smarter than my one and only older brother who’s the crown prince, and a princess who truly cared for the people of the empire.
Everyone said so—the butlers, the maids, even my late mother who passed away when I was still young.
I believed it too because it was the truth.
I never wasted time idling like my brother—drinking, womanizing, neglecting his duties. I may not have studied to be an emperor, but I had what it took to rule.
Even so, there was one person who never acknowledged me.
My father—the Emperor himself.
He always said the same thing to me, “Listen closely.”
“…”
“Your job is to stand behind your brother and support him. Stop with the useless nonsense.”
He kept me at a distance simply because I was too clever. He claimed I was meant to support my brother, but I knew better. I had learned the way of the world early on.
My father was afraid of me. He believed that one day, I would surpass him. He was right. If I had been born a prince and not a princess, I would have taken the throne by now.
That’s why he was so strict with me—why he isolated me from the world, ensuring I couldn’t build any power or support of my own. And in the end… he must’ve joined hands with the faction that supported my brother and killed me.
Right on the verge of my proudest moment. In the most wretched way.
“No… No!”
I gasped for breath. My entire body was soaked in sticky and uncomfortable sweat.
For the first time since I was reborn, I had a nightmare. A vivid and inescapable memory of a past I longed to forget. However, it made my goals all the clearer.
The dream reminded me of everything I had to achieve— To climb higher than anyone else, so high I’d leave all who looked down on me in the dust.
To gain power so absolute that no one could ever trample on me again. This time, the throne wasn’t my goal. I would become the head of a noble house.
If I gained a family who truly loved me along the way, it’s all the better.
“Phew…”
The dream had completely shaken off my sleep. Truthfully, I didn’t want to fall back asleep so I got up and walked to the window.
The sky was still dim outside. Dawn had only just begun to break. Today was the day—my very first pheromone lesson, just like Hale had mentioned a week ago.
Starting a new class with a nightmare like that? Not a good sign.
No, let’s not jump to conclusions.
Everything was calm in the early morning. That calm helped me clear my thoughts. I stood still, watching the soft breeze rustle through the trees and the slow rise of the sun. All that was left was to wait for Rita.
“Young lady, it’s time to wake— Oh?”
Rita entered the room with her usual morning greeting but froze when she saw me sitting up in bed. She dropped what she was carrying and rushed over, checking me all over.
“Young lady, are you feeling sick?”
“Mm?”
“Otherwise, how did you…”
Her eyes said it all, How are you already awake?
To be fair, it made sense. I hadn’t woken up early once in the past two weeks. I gave her a big smile and shook my head.
“Today’s the day! The day!”
“…The day?”
“Pheromone class!”
“Oh.”
Her expression finally clicked with understanding. She smiled gently and began my morning routine.
“Hmm? This outfit’s a little big.”
“I didn’t grow much?”
“No, you did grow! Just not as much as I expected. That’s because someone’s been picky with their food.”
“But I hate carrots…”
“If you don’t eat carrots, you might never grow tall.”
Come on. I’m not dumb enough to believe that. However, I’m still a “kid” here and no one knows I’ve been reincarnated so I nodded obediently.
“Okaaay, I’ll eat them…”
Rita pinned the oversized outfit in the back.
Watching myself grow every day used to be fun, but lately, the pace felt like it had slowed down a bit. Probably just my imagination.
Anyway, I couldn’t help but wonder—who would be teaching today’s pheromone class? I just hoped they weren’t scary.
“Rita, Rita! When’s the teacher coming?”
“Soon. Are you excited?”
“Yeah!”
She smiled as she made sure my hair accessory was still neat and tidy.
Knock knock—
Just as Rita finished her final check, a knock came at the door. My heart thudded and I folded my hands over my chest.
Time seemed to slow as the door opened. Suddenly, a woman entered. She greeted Rita with a familiar grasp of hands.
“It’s been a while, Rita.”
“My goodness. You’re the pheromone teacher, Eve?”
“Yes. It just happened to work out that way.”
“You’ve gained more scars since I last saw you.”
“Oh, this? Western border skirmish… Oops! Let’s catch up after the lesson. I think someone’s waiting for me.”
The woman looked toward me with a knowing smile, and Rita nodded as if she’d forgotten I was there. The woman stepped forward, her silver bob haircut gleaming like a blade.
She knelt on one knee and looked me in the eyes. There was a long, diagonal scar across her cheek—probably one of the “scars of honor” Rita had mentioned earlier.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, young lady. I’m Eve Siantina. It’s truly an honor to be your pheromone instructor.”
“Wooooow…”
She was so cool I couldn’t even think straight. Was it legal to be this cool? I stared, awestruck. Thankfully, I quickly regained composure. I didn’t want to look dumb in front of someone this amazing.
“Nice to meet chu, Eve! You’re so cool!” (Nice to meet you, Eve!)
“Thank you.”
Her smile was like a breeze. Actually, she even smelled like a forest breeze—fresh and clean. It made me feel like I was standing deep in the woods.
Eve stood up slowly, and Rita excused herself, saying she’d return when the lesson ended.
“What do I do now?”
“Could you please give me your hand for a moment?”
She was so polite. Honestly, I’d give her anything—not just my hand—because she was that cool. I didn’t know much about Eve yet, but she had to be incredibly capable.
There was no way Hale would assign just anyone to me.
I tugged at her sleeve and pulled her over to the bed so we could sit together. I held out my hand and Eve took it, she closed her eyes. I felt it—something flowing into my body through our joined hands.
“Wow…”
It was a strange feeling, but not unpleasant. Whatever was flowing through me felt just like her. It had to be her pheromones. Well, it was a pheromone class, after all.
The cool sensation passed through my entire body and then faded. Eve let go of my hand and opened her eyes. Her expression had turned serious.
Was something wrong with me…?
“You don’t like me…?”
“…What?”
“Your face looks like you don’t…”
“Oh.”
Eve paused for a moment, then gave a soft smile. It didn’t seem forced… but I still wasn’t completely sure.
“No, everything’s fine.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Let’s begin your pheromone lesson, shall we? Since it’s your first day, we’ll start with theory.”
“Yay!”
I loved theory. It was my strongest subject—and I wanted to know more about pheromones, too. Even if I looked young, learning something was better than knowing nothing.
“Before we talk about pheromones, let me explain the Four Dragons.”
“Four Dragons?”
“Yes. There are four dragon clans, and our Baekryong clan is just one of them.”
“Really?!”
I had no idea! I’d unconsciously assumed the Baekryong’s were the only dragons. I’d been so narrow-minded…
“There are also the Heukryong’s, Cheongryong’s, and Hwangryong’s. Alongside them is the human royal family. Together, the five families keep the balance of the world.”
I leaned in, absolutely captivated. I clung to Eve’s arm, my eyes sparkling.
“I wanna meet them!”
“You’ll have the chance someday.”
“But I wanna see them soon…”
“You need to grow a little more first.”
Ugh! Another reason to grow up fast. From today, I’ll sleep even earlier! Come on, growth hormones—do your thing!
“I’ll explain each clan one by one before each lesson, so don’t rush.”
“Okay!”
“Now that you’ve got a basic idea, let’s move on to pheromones.”
She pulled out a sheet of white paper and a pen from somewhere and began the explanation. In short: for dragons, pheromones were like magic for humans.
It’s more deeply connected to life than human magic, but generally understood in a similar way. When I was still in my egg, the pheromones Hale gave me had fused into me.
That’s why I now had dragon pheromones, too.
In other words, I had become half-human and half-dragon. That also explained my rapid growth. Eve said my lifespan would likely resemble a dragon’s as well.
She added that no one could say for certain, since I was the first mixed-blood heir. However, one thing was clear: I’d live much longer than any human.
“Are you enjoying this?”
“Yeah! Tell me more!”
“Hm… Unfortunately, we have to stop here for today.”
Eve looked apologetic. Even though I noticed, I kept pretending not to and whined a little harder. Hey, I’m a kid—I can get away with that.
“Nooo! Don’t go, please?”
Eve laughed softly, as if admitting defeat.
“Then just one more story.”
“Yay! Eve, I really like you!”
“I like you too, young lady.”
Overcome with joy, I jumped into her arms. She caught me smoothly, unfazed. Wait— She has definitely held kids before. That was way too natural.
“What story will you tell me?”
“A long time ago, humans and dragons used to live together. So there were many half-human, half-dragons like you.”
“Really?! But why not anymore?”
“You’ll learn the full details when you’re older, but… there was a war. The first and only war between humans and dragons.”
“Whoa…”
Now that was interesting. Even in my past life, I was fascinated by wars in history books—especially between nations.
“So the Heukryong’s must like humans, right?”
“No. Quite the opposite.”
“Huh? Why?”
“They were used and discarded by humans.”
TRANSLATOR’S NOTE: Heukryong is Black Dragons. Cheongryong is Blue Dragons. Hwangryong is Yellow or Golden Dragons.
