The floor of the execution site was cold.

Clarisse sat with her eyes closed and listened to the sounds coming closer.

Slash–! 

A huge sword cut a man, followed by the sound of swallowing painful breath.

Clarisse didn’t know if that was her father’s last breath or the breath of the queen waiting for her turn next to him.

But one thing was certain.

That she’ll never know the answer, it’ll be her turn soon.

Even if she wasn’t treated properly in the palace, she was definitely the princess of this land.

Since they lost the war, it was only natural for the royal family of the defeated country to die.

Slash–! 

Someone died when the sound of the sword being swung again was heard. And when the sound of quiet footsteps drew closer to the girl.

Clarisse knew that her body was shaking to the point of pain.

‘…I’m scared.’

If they ask her if she has any lingering feelings for her life so far, in fact, she doesn’t really have that.

A powerless nine-year-old girl with no mother or mother’s family has lived her entire life with scars from adults’ cruelty.

‘Still.’

Clarisse was afraid of dying and was just happy to live.

She liked the moment she wiggled her cold feet in the cold winter and slid into her old, thick blanket.

She liked a book she had read so many times it fell apart and a round pebble friend she found in the garden and picked up one at a time.

With her head bowed low, the girl hugged her small body tightly with both arms.

“I want to live….”

When she murmured so quietly, she wondered if she should beg for her life from the knight or king of the enemy country.

It’ll be better than doing nothing and dying like this.

Clarisse gently raised her head.

But someone grabbed her by the back for a while and forced her to bow her head.

“…Ugh!”

“You want to live? Shame on you.”

It was her brother.

Even at this moment, his tone made it clear that he didn’t like Clarisse.

He never stopped pressing Clarisse to the floor.

As if begging for her life would never be tolerated.

Just then, the two legs of the knight holding the sword stopped right in front of her.

Clarisse intuitively knew that now it was her turn with her brother.

The girl’s delicate shoulders began to tremble visibly when the thumping heart filled her ears.

She heard her brother’s powerful shout.

“This comes first.”

He finally relaxed his grip on Clarisse. She lifted her head and looked back at her brother.

“The last survivor of the Grezekaia royal family cannot be this illegitimate child. Even if it is only for a few seconds.”

He was looking at the knight with his sword pointed at him and his chin up.

He was so confident and intimidating that he didn’t feel like a Prince of a ruined country who was about to die.

“Only the heir of pure blood is qualified to be the last royal descendant of this kingdom.”

And he glared at Clarisse with a cold expression.

The girl, who was startled, quickly turned her head away and saw a knight with a sword looking down at her.

He was a male adult who felt far too big.

Clarisse looked at him involuntarily and thought, ‘The black man.’

Maybe it’s because his long hair and eyes are all deep black.

It was so dark that even the bright red blood dripping down his cheeks seemed blurry—.

Clarisse instinctively thought that he wouldn’t be an ordinary knight.

Clank.

Soon he fixed his sword.

Clarisse was startled and sat upright.

Does he really intend to kill her first?

“Go first, you low bloodline.”

Soon, she heard the words of her brother laughing lowly from behind.

‘No, I…’

Clarisse thought of an impossible wish.

Her father, who boasted of his power, died.

The queen, who always stared at Clarisse with sharp eyes, was also lying with him.

The bodies of the strong kingdom knights who tried to protect them until the end were also lying all over this wide hall.

Even such great men couldn’t escape this death.

Therefore, little Clarisse, who has neither strength nor ability, will not be able to escape this death.

‘Then… at least, I hope it doesn’t hurt.’

And if there is a world after death, she hopes it’s a better place than here—.

When she straightens her back, thinking like that.

A thin wind was felt near her.

It seemed to be the sound of a man wielding a sword a moment ago.

She clutched at the hem of her old dress with her frozen fingertips.

Slash–.

She heard the sound of a deep cut. Something hot poured over her face.

‘Am I… dead?’

She thought about that for a while. But she didn’t feel any pain, so she didn’t realize it.

“I thought it was a good offer to accept.”

Then, she heard a man’s voice from a little distance.

“Isn’t that so? The disgrace of an illegitimate child becoming the last royal would be more terrible than death.”

Just then, she felt the body of her brother, who was next to Clarisse, fall to the floor.

The black man didn’t accept her brother’s request.

“Well, my older brother has always loved mixed blood like me.”

The stranger’s voice stopped right in front of Clarisse.

She looked up at him with narrow eyes.

The man who approached her with a sarcastic tone was very beautiful.

Even in this situation, it was enough for Clarisse to just stare at him in amazement.

Come to think of it, she had heard that the King of Saphers, who invaded them, was a man gifted with extreme beauty.

The person who faces him in person will inevitably fall in love with him.

The king’s jewel-like eyes briefly turned to Clarisse.

“Take care of it quickly and get back.”

At the words he spat out, she quickly lowered her head. The word ‘disposition’ must have referred to Clarisse’s death.

‘Now really…’

The fear of death, which had been lessened for a while, came back. That red sword that cut through her brother will pierce her body.

“….”

Clarisse sat upright, barely keeping her body on the verge of collapsing.

If that was the case, she wanted to greet him like a royal princess at least one last time.

The appearance of a black man came right in front of her.

She closed her eyes more tightly at the sound of the clanging blade.

“The princess is young, Your Highness.”

But what she heard in her ears wasn’t the cruel sound of cutting through her body.

Even so, it wasn’t a voice that sympathized with her or hesitated to kill her.

“The death penalty for those who are under 18 is not executed.”

The black-haired man was reciting the laws of Saphers in a calm voice.

“No king in history has ever broken this law.”

“That kid is a prisoner of war.”

Soon, King Saphers’ disgruntled reply came from a few steps away.

“Yes, but the execution of children is illegal.”

There was a strange obstinacy mixed in his tight reply. The king, who had turned away, approached Clarisse again.

“So, you’re going to keep the prisoners of war alive?”

“The law.”

The black man put his sword on the sheath and bowed his head before the beautiful king.

“That’s right.”

“….”

Clarisse’s heart filled with hope as she watched their conversation.

Maybe, she might not die right here—.

“I didn’t expect to have such a useless argument with my older brother, but this is the king’s seed. Although it seems to have a little bit of lowly blood mixed in it.”

The King of Saphers patted Clarisse’s pink hair with his palm.

“It will be difficult if she talks about justification later and say she will take revenge.”

“R, revenge… I, I won’t do it!”

Clarisse quickly joined their conversation.

She was afraid that the black man would change his mind and try to kill her if she didn’t do this.

Soon, the gazes of the two men turned to her. They seemed surprised by the girl’s sudden protest, but Clarisse didn’t notice it.

“R, really…”

The king smiled crookedly.

“Then would the princess hold a grudge instead? Cursing me all my life? Or maybe you will have ambitions to rebuild the kingdom.”

Clarisse shook her head. She was sincere

She would never hold a grudge against him because of the fall of the royal family, which had only caused her pain.

“No! I, I…”

Although Clarisse’s eyes were frightened, she looked directly at the two men.

“…I just want to live!”

In the cold season, she seeks the warmth of a blanket, caresses her only book, and makes friends with the pebbles she has carefully picked out.

Even though she has a life that seems lowly to the noble, it is her only life.

“I will live quietly as if I were dead. Even if it’s several years, no, even if it’s just a little bit more…please let me live.”

She spoke earnestly again.

The king just stood there and stared at it blankly. He then looked back and forth between Clarisse and the black man before laughing.

“…Seriously, it seems like there are so many interesting things constantly twisted around you.”

“….”

“Do whatever you feel like.”

When the king stepped back and said this, the black man reached out to Clarisse.

His hands were stained with her blood, but to her, it was the only rope that came down from heaven.

She quickly grabbed his hand when a large hand led her to stand up.

After a few steps away, the king turned around and looked back as if he had just remembered something.

“Don’t forget, brother.”

The king said that with a smile.

“The day that child turns eighteen, you must bring her neck to me.”

The King of Saphers, who was about to leave for his home country, declared a one-day moratorium.

He said he would give Princess Clarisse time to prepare, but in reality, his intentions were different.

There was no doubt that Maximilian, the Duke of Sheridan, who had promised to protect her, would change his mind and give her time to get ready to cut the neck of the young princess.

Isn’t that so?

He said he would raise the child he took until she was 18 and then kill her.

Maximilian’s aide, Quentin Sinclair, stopped him straight away.

“Duke, are you really taking the princess?”

“Yes. But why do you look like you’re crying?”

“That’s because the Duke always does things you don’t know! Above all, it is not easy to increase the number of people in the mansion.”

“Is that so?”

“The Duke might have thought it would simply add one more tableware to the table!”

Maximilian has finally come up with a realistic problem after hearing what he said.

He slowly nodded and replied after thinking about something for a while.

“Okay, tell them to buy another tableware for the child.”

He quickly picked up his pen and wrote ‘prepare tableware’ on a blank paper.

“Oh my! Didn’t you even think of that?”

Quentin covered his head with his hands.

“The Duke must have made the decision based on momentary sympathy, but it is the servants of the castle who are actually suffering!”

He took a step closer to Maximilian’s desk.

To be more precise, it was used by the Prince of the ruined country who died yesterday.

“Looking at it, it seems that the Princess is only seven years old.”

“No, she is nine years old.”

Maximilian corrected the error, recalling the personal details of the King Grezekaia family he had seen in the documents.

But it didn’t seem to be a very important part.

Quentin was still sobbing.

“Even if she is seven or nine years old, isn’t it still cute!”

He screamed and cried loudly.

“Think about it. A nine-year-old child travels through Sheridan in the north, where it is cold. Surely, the Duke will put fluffy clothes on the Princess!”

“All right, I’ll get it ready.”

Under the paper that was written as tableware, Maximilian wrote “furry clothes.”

Now that he thinks about it, she probably needs this too.

He heard that Grezekaia’s winter was no different from Sheridan’s fall.

“Argh, if you do that, you’ll surely end up give her affection!”

Affection? Maximilian tilted his head while quietly repeating the word that made him feel unfamiliar.

He had heard such a word in literary works or somewhere else, so he understood what it was like.

A terrible feeling that encourages unreasonable choices.

It was one of the things Maximilian hated the most.

Every aristocrat has a duty to make the right choice.

Not killing the princess was just an extension of that idea.

He didn’t think the child was cute or pitiful at all.

Since the child was born into a royal family, she would have already enjoyed many things.

On the other hand, the children of the Kingdom of Grezekai that he had seen while marching was hungry and skinny.

Even the soldiers of the Kingdom were hungry and had no motivation, so by the time the Saphers Kingdom army arrived, most of them had run away.

There wasn’t much bloodshed in an easy war that lasted less than a month.

Perhaps the army of the kingdom came and helped save more people.

Because the people of this land praised the Saphers Kingdom army for sharing food.

But to sympathize with the Princess of that rotten kingdom?

It was impossible.

Even if the opponent is a child who doesn’t know the circumstances of the kingdom.

Maximilian simply hoped that Lysander, his half-brother, and King of Sapphire, wouldn’t break a precious law.

Because it’s important to follow the established laws when dealing with problems that involve other countries.

Without knowing his thoughts, Quentin’s sobbing continued.

“The people of Sheriden Castle have no immunity to cute children. The terrible princess will surely melt the cold northern castles, get everyone to give up and eventually conquer them!”

“You’re talking nonsense.”

“Does the Duke not even read a book? Many popular books these days have such content. Do you know why such stories are so popular?”

“It seems to put off the interest.”

“No! Because anyone is weak by the cuteness of children! Children are cute and precious! They want to protect them!”

“Great.”

Maximilian nodded.

“Even if it’s not like that, I was going to choose a primary guardian, but now you can do that.”

“…Yes? Me, me?”

Quentin, who had been screaming the whole time, stiffened with his mouth wide open, then shook his head.

“Ugh… I, I can’t.”

“Didn’t you say you read a lot of parenting books?”

“It’s not a real parenting book, it’s a romantic parenting book. It’s very different from the real thing.”

“I think you said you wanted to protect her.”

“That’s what will happen in the future! Every kid is cute!”

“That’s why, take care of her.”

“I don’t want to!”

He took several steps back in fear.

“Are you saying that when she turns 18, I have to cut off the head of a child I’ve raised and take it to His Majesty? Ugh, I can’t do that.”

“It’s not a child you raised enough.”

Maximilian slammed him in a solemn voice.

“A prisoner of war, that is, a criminal.”

“But she’s still a child!”

“It’s the seed of the king. Her existence alone can claim the legitimacy of rebuilding the kingdom.”

“Then Duke.”

Quentin asked, fixing his silver glasses.

“Do you mean you can raise that child yourself and kill it when she’s eighteen?”

It was a terrible story, but Maximilian answered without hesitation.

“Yeah.”

He’s going to take her for that right from the beginning.

To punish according to the established laws.

“…Oh my, it’s better to just kill the princess now.”

He can’t do that.

Maximilian, who was about to answer, was interrupted by a dull sound coming from the half-open door.

The knights had brought Clarisse.

The dull sound from a while ago seemed to have come from dropping the old pocket that the child was holding.

“A, ah.”

Clarisse hesitated for a moment, then hurriedly picked up the dropped bag and held it together.

Are there jewels or coins in it?

She might have thought she needed something like that to go to unknown lands.

The child shuddered and looked around, and when she met Maximilian’s gaze, she was startled and begged.

“P, please spare me.”

Did she hear their conversation at the door? The soft voice was trembling.

“I will live quietly as if I were dead.”

It wasn’t a sound that would come out of the mouth of a nine-year-old child.

“I don’t know. Do as you please, Duke. I gave you a clear warning. I can’t do this.”

He let out a deep sigh and left the room with the knights, leaving only the Duke and Clarisse.

“….”

The Duke stared down at the child and recalled the simple details he had seen in the paperwork.

Clarisse Lennon Grezekaia.

The only princess of Grezekaia.

She is said to be the daughter of the king’s mistress… when he searched last night, there was no record of who the woman was. Perhaps she was of low status.

The queen, a powerful person, would have killed her birth mother, while the king would have stood by and watched.

And she must have tamed the child with the word ‘illegitimate child’ all the time so that she wouldn’t know her subject and fight.

“I…”

After thinking, the Duke quietly opened his mouth.

He didn’t mean to give vague hope just because his opponent was young.

It was better not to have hope like a mirage in the first place.

It would make the rest of the child’s life easier if she were soaked in despair rather than going through the moment of falling into an abyss in an instant after living a happy life.

“I will kill you, Clarisse Lennon Grezekaia.”

“….!”

The child’s face soon became blue with fear.

It is probably because of the dark life.

The child, who had been fiddling with the rattling bag, opened his trembling lips.

Perhaps she will beg for her life again, saying, ‘I want to live.’

“W, when…is it?”

However, what the child said was different from what he thought. He answered coldly.

“The day you celebrate your 18th birthday.”

She will be in despair at this story.

…That’s what he thought, but to his surprise, Clarisse’s face began to show deep relief.

The girl took a step closer to him and asked.

As if she can’t believe it.

“C, can I really live…until I was eighteen?”

He’s glad she didn’t cry loudly or insist on living—-.

But he never thought she would have a face full of hope like this.

“…Yeah.”

The Duke’s answer was a little slow because he was filled with wonder.

Clarice swept down near her chest with one hand as if she was really relieved now.

“I thought the Duke’s mind would change because of the man who said scary things a while ago. I was really scared….”

“I don’t break the law.”

As he declared solemnly, the child smiled, hugging her worn-out pocket tightly.

That reaction forced Maximilian, who was not interested in others, to have doubts.

She should be glad that she won’t die right away, but where did she find such infinite joy and hope in saying that she would die at eighteen?

Perhaps recognizing his thoughts, the child spoke carefully.

“Because my Older Brother said that when he ascended the throne, he would be the first to get rid of me.”

The Duke knew that King Grezekaia was preparing to abdicate for health reasons.

However, he didn’t know that the young prince was threatening his younger sister like that.

Considering the Prince’s words and actions yesterday, it wasn’t particularly surprising.

“My older brother told me every day that he would kill me before I turned 12. But… 18 years old.”

The child must have felt a little strange, so she pressed her dirty pockets hard with her cheeks blushing.

There was a constant rattling sound coming from within.

“…I can’t believe it. I am so happy.”

It was on Maximilian’s side that he couldn’t believe it.

“The Duke is a good person.”

He didn’t expect to hear such a great compliment when she heard that he was going to kill her at 18, according to the law.

The child was still smiling at him brightly, without the slightest suspicion or hatred.

On the way back from Grezekaia to the Kingdom of Saphers, Maximilian and his party decided to return to Sheridan by diverting from the kingdom’s army.

At his decision, Lysander, the beautiful King of Saphers, glared disapprovingly at his half-brother.

“Is my Brother uncomfortable with the fact that he fought for me like this? Seeing as how you don’t even show up at the victory banquet.”

Maximilian bowed deeply.

He looked like he was trying to apologize, but his face was still stiff.

“It is not like that.”

“If not, does that mean that you will not be able to come to the capital because you covet my position?”

Maximilian didn’t reply to the sarcastic remarks.

“….”

After waiting for a while, Lysander turned around and made a sound.

“It looks like the half-blood waiting for you at Sheridan Castle is pretty. Do whatever you want.”

While Lysander led his men and marched toward the capital, Maximilian and Sheridan’s knights stayed behind to see them off.

As the king’s head was barely visible, Quentin came over to Maximilian’s side and grunted.

“Duke, if you don’t throw a proper banquet in Sheriden, everyone will be grumpy.”

“I got it.”

“Do you know why I can’t get married at this age? It’s because the Duke didn’t take me to the banquet in the capital! The capital city Ladies think I am a married man or a wooden stone!”

“I didn’t affect your reputation at all. And Quentin Sinclair.”

“Yes?”

“Why are you here?”

At the Duke’s point, Quentin immediately burst into tears.

In fact, he was carrying out the punishment (?) to ride in a carriage with Clarisse.

That became a punishment because everyone in Sheridan who followed Maximilian had a hard time with the little child.

For some reason, they found it difficult to get close to the girl, who had to be killed when she was eighteen.

However, although she was a prisoner of war, he couldn’t let her ride the carriage alone.

No, even if she wasn’t a prisoner, what adult would leave a child alone in a carriage?

So the people of Sheridan drew lots. Except for the Duke, who must follow the king’s side.

It was the unlucky Quentin who was chosen here.

“Oh, I can’t do it anymore. Really.”

He cried a lot and complained.

“I’ve been staring out the window in a quiet carriage for an hour or two, and it’s so frustrating that I’m going crazy!”

“Didn’t you say you would explain the life of Sheridan to the child?”

“Well, that’s what I was going to do at first!”

Since her status was changed from a princess to a sinner in an instant, there were many things he had to tell the child.

But Quentin hadn’t said a word to the kid sitting across from him who was fidgeting with her fingers.

“How on earth am I supposed to say this? You are no longer a princess. You are just a prisoner of war, a sinner!”

“And is there anything else you need to say?”

To Maximilian’s answer, Quentin nodded vigorously, “Of course!”

“When we get to Sheriden, we have to tell her all the things from Grezekaia should be discarded.”

It was seen as a disgrace for a war prisoner who had been sent to another country.

“And?”

“From now on, birthday parties are strictly prohibited. The reason is that you know better…! That’s what I have to say.”

It seemed to be harsh words for a child, so it was difficult to say this too.

“Is there more?”

“I should give her advice not to cause trouble or to listen carefully to the people in the castle. It’s annoying if she doesn’t even know the subject and acts like a nuisance.”

Quentin, of course, thought that Clarisse wasn’t a spoiled child.

Rather, it was because she kept her mouth shut all the way from the kingdom of Grezekaia to here, as if she was paying attention.

Perhaps she noticed Quentin’s discomfort.

‘I don’t think it’s necessary to tell her not to cause trouble….’

The prohibition on her birthday party surprised Quentin as well.

The fact that it’s not the child’s fault that the people of Sheridan Castle find the child’s birthday uncomfortable.

“You know… Duke.”

When he’s about to say, ‘It looks like the terms need to be adjusted.’

“I’m sure you heard it well, right?”

Maximilian asked in a stern tone.

“…Yes?”

Quentin was so surprised that he asked again.

But Maximilian’s eyes were only looking over his shoulder.

Quentin, feeling anxious, glanced back.

“….!”

Clarisse was standing there, holding an old pouch.

The face of the child, small enough to barely exceed his waist, turned pale.

“N, no!”

Quentin screamed without realizing it.

He didn’t mean to say such cruel things to a child.

In particular, there was room for rethinking about the birthday party.

“Clarisse Lennon Grezekaia.”

But before Quentin had time to change his words, Maximilian stepped in front of the child.

Because the Duke had a much superior physique than the average adult male, the child in front of him looked unusually smaller and thinner.

Even towards the pitiful-looking child, Maximilian spoke in a tone that wasn’t mixed with the slightest bit of sympathy.

“Doesn’t get treated like a princess, throw away things from your kingdom, don’t have birthday parties, and be quiet. Will you abide by these four points?”

“….”

Instead of answering, the child merely fidgeted with her pouch.

The knights and soldiers nearby were quietly watching this stark confrontation.

“I’m not… a princess.”

The child raised her head after a long time and answered Maximilian calmly.

“I’ve never been the princess. And my birthday party….”

Quentin was about to shout, ‘Let me do it!’ However, Clarisse’s answer was a little faster.

“I’ve never done it before.”

She never had her birthday party? For a while, the surroundings were noisy.

At Sheridan, the children’s birthdays until they turn eighteen are very important.

On that day, they became the main character of the village and had a happy day as everyone congratulated them.

It’s very natural.

“Being quiet is something I can do well.”

The child clenched her clattering pouch.

“I will never bother you. So please.”

There was a hint of desperation in Clarisse’s voice.

“Grezekaia’s things… Please don’t throw it away.”

“….”

“Just one thing is fine. P… please have mercy on me.”

“Are you going to miss your hometown?”

Longing for a prisoner of war was a luxury. Above all, this child was a princess.

When she thought about the past, it was hard for her to dream of rebuilding the kingdom.

“No!”

She shook her head and held out the pouch she was holding to him.

“This, only this one….”

It was a pouch the duke thought might contain jewels or gold coins.

“Prisoners of war shall not possess private property.”

“It is not property.”

The girl answered quickly and opened her pouch slightly. It contained several round pebbles smaller than a child’s fist.

“It’s…a friends.”

“….”

As Maximilian just stared into her pouch, Quentin, who was watching this, quickly poked his arm and approached.

“Phew, the Duke doesn’t have friends, so he doesn’t know what that is. It means a person who shares friendship.”

Looking back, Quentin was constantly squinting one eye. Apparently urging Maximilian to do something.

“I see. If the opponent who shares a friendship with….”

Quentin hurriedly interrupted Maximilian’s words with an ‘Ouch’ sound.

“It can stay in Sheridan! As long as there is permission from the generous Duke!”

Clarisse’s gaze at Maximilian became more earnest.

At the same time, Quentin’s active demands followed.

“Isn’t pebble not going to have a birthday party anyway? I’m sure you’ll do better than anyone else to stay quiet. It’s a rock at best.”

At his story, Clarisse’s shoulders twitched for a moment. Watching this, Maximilian held out his hand to the child.

“Give me that.”

Clarisse begged, clutching her pouch.

“I, I’ll make sure to stay quiet! I won’t even have a birthday party! That’s why!”

“Give me that.”

The child, who had been staring at him, hesitated but eventually gave him the pouch.

The knights who were watching this sighed and made a small noise.

Our Duke is too strict. What’s wrong with the kid taking some rocks?

Despite this atmosphere, the Duke didn’t blink an eye and poured the stones from the pouch onto his palm.

Four brown pebbles tumbled onto his large palm.

The Duke looked at this carefully and asked.

“What’s the name?”

“I, it’s Mallang.”

“Mallang.”

Clarisse cautiously nodded at the answer that came back slowly as if to confirm it.

The Duke soon stretched out his hand, holding the pebble.

“Mallang and Mallang. Another Mallang and the last Mallang.”

“Ah…T, the four of them come together to form one Mallang.”

“I see. I apologize for the wrong title.”

At the child’s point, he calmly apologized to the pebbles and called them again.

“Mallang, I allow you to enter Sheridan as a friend of Clarisse. But birthday parties and raucousness are prohibited.”

After his earnest declaration, he put the pebble back into the pouch and placed it in the child’s hand.

The soldiers and knights were shocked when they looked at the Duke, but he didn’t seem to care.

“If you have nothing more to ask, go back to the carriage. Quentin will continue to take care of Clarisse’s protection during our journey to Sheriden.”

“Yes? Me, me?!”

Quentin cried, hoping to change his duty.

The Duke, perhaps recognizing his thoughts, quickly corrected his order by saying, “No.”

“You will be in charge of protecting Clarisse and her friend Mallang.”

“Ah really, Dukee!”

Quentin sobbed.