Side Story 1: In the End, Everything Went According to Mother’s Will

Rumble.

A thunderclap so loud it shook the entire imperial palace.

Rain had been falling since the evening, and by deep night, lightning intermittently flashed so brightly that it illuminated the entire room.

Lilith had long since given up on sleep and conjured a small light using spirit magic. The way she retrieved a history book from under her pillow and began reading was so practiced that it was hard to believe she was only four years old.

Rubbing her small eyes with her tiny hands, Lilith grumbled.

“If I made a contract with Therier, I could make a brighter light.”

The fact that she could produce light at all without a spirit contract at the age of four was already astonishing, but Lilith was aiming even higher. And with her extraordinary talent, it was entirely within her reach.

She pouted her lower lip before abruptly turning her head toward the floor beside her bed.

“Right, Brother?”

“Gasp.”

Lilith’s eyes met Carl’s, who had been clumsily trying to hide.

Realizing he had been caught, Carl quickly stood up.

“Lilith, did you know I was here?”

“I just found out. When I turned on the light.”

“…Mother told you not to use spirit magic. And if you get caught reading this late, you’ll be scolded.”

Even though he was flustered, Carl didn’t forget to nag.

He wasn’t as precocious as Lilith, but Carl was also a mature boy. Despite being only seven years old, he remembered their parents’ words well and passed them on to his younger sister.

Of course, no matter how mature he was, he was still a child.

Carl was gentle and sensitive by nature, and he disliked loud noises. It was only natural that he hated thunder and lightning.

‘It’s not just that he dislikes them—he’s actually scared of them…’

Lilith chose not to tease him and instead reached out her hand.

“Did you come to stay with me because you thought I’d be scared?”

“Huh? U-uh. Since it’s raining a lot today…”

“Alright. Let’s sleep together tonight.”

Carl took Lilith’s hand and climbed onto the bed.

The young and adorable siblings lay on the same pillow, facing each other.

Flash!

Lightning once again flooded the room with light. Carl tightly shut his eyes and pressed his hands over Lilith’s ears.

A moment later, the deep rumble of thunder rolled in, muffled by his palms.

His hands trembled slightly, a clear sign of how scared he was.

‘And yet, he covered my ears first.’

Watching Carl with his eyes squeezed shut, Lilith giggled.

Carl was the most considerate brother in the world.

No matter how terrified he was of thunder and lightning, he would always protect Lilith first.

Lilith gently removed his hands and called to him softly.

“Brother.”

“Mm? Lilith, are you okay?”

“No, I’m really scared. The thunder is so loud I can’t sleep.”

“I’ll cover your ears—”

“Should we go to Mom and Dad?”

Carl swallowed hard at her suggestion.

His gentle blue eyes were filled with hesitation.

“But… we can’t bother Mother and Father just because we’re scared of thunder…”

Carl had recently started disliking being treated like a baby.

He didn’t even call Liliana and Helio “Mother” and “Father” in a childish way anymore.

For someone like him, running to the Empress’s quarters out of fear of thunder was unthinkable.

But deep down, he probably wanted to.

Lilith widened her eyes and clutched his hands tightly.

“But I’m scared… I think I won’t be if the four of us sleep together…”

“…Really?”

“Yeah! Will you take me?”

As Lilith pleaded, Carl’s eyes flickered with relief.

Reluctantly, he got up and helped Lilith climb down from the bed.

“Just for tonight.”

“Mm! Just for tonight!”

Lilith beamed at him.

‘Next time, when the thunder is really loud, I’ll go to him first.’

Carl would never turn Lilith away if she came to him scared.

Even now, he was covering her ears whenever the thunder rumbled, even though he himself was trembling in fear.

Feeling a deep warmth well up inside her, Lilith hugged Carl tightly.

As if comforted, his trembling gradually subsided.

Behind them, a few maids and a nanny followed closely. The two siblings held hands tightly.

Their carriage headed toward the Empress’s quarters.

There were bedrooms in the Emperor’s palace as well, but Helio always chose to sleep where Liliana was. No matter how busy he was, that never changed.

He had even opened a new passage—one that hadn’t existed for centuries—just to make it faster to travel between the two palaces.

Helio would surely be in the Empress’s quarters tonight.

That meant they would find both Helio and Liliana there.

As soon as they arrived, the head maid of the Empress’s quarters, Minelli, greeted them as if she had been expecting their arrival.

“Your Highnesses, welcome.”

Minelli wore a kind smile, but there was something oddly unnatural about it.

One maid even discreetly but hastily rushed up the stairs.

‘Why?’

Tilting her head, Lilith tried to follow the maid with her eyes, but Minelli smoothly stepped forward, blocking her view.

“Their Majesties are sleeping. Would you like to wait a moment? Are you cold from the rain? Shall I bring you some warm cocoa?”

Though Minelli’s behavior was suspicious, Lilith didn’t press further and nodded.

She glanced at Minelli, then tugged at Carl’s sleeve.

“Brother, Mom and Dad are so brave. They can sleep even with this loud thunder.”

Carl nodded in agreement, his eyes shining with admiration.

He seemed to truly believe that Helio and Liliana were amazing.

Meanwhile, Minelli’s forced smile trembled slightly.

‘Hmm…’

Lilith shrugged as if realizing something.

‘Mom and Dad… aren’t sleeping yet. Are they making a baby?’

Lilith’s body was that of a four-year-old, but her mind was oddly mature.

Her soul was special.

Every time she was born, she perceived her life as if it were a story.

Where she was born, her family, and the major and minor events that would unfold in her life…

A special soul is easily drawn to tragedy, and so Lilith was always destined for an unfortunate childhood. Though she had always overcome her hardships with strong will and changed her future with her own hands, her soul was gradually growing weary.

But this life was different.

According to what Lilith had seen, she wasn’t supposed to have a mother or a brother. Her stepmother, the Empress, was desperate to k*ll her, and the only person she could rely on—her father—was a cold-hearted man who exuded nothing but icy indifference.

At least her maid, Sophia, was loyal, but even she was doomed to fall into the Empress’s schemes and lose her life.

To change this fate, Lilith had to face life with the resolve to die fighting.

Yet, so far, she had never needed to make any effort to survive.

Her father was completely flustered even when she so much as puffed out her cheeks in defiance. Her affectionate older brother constantly looked after her. And her mother, though sometimes strict, never hid her love, providing Lilith with an unshakable sense of security.

Everyone in the imperial palace adored her, and no one around her met a meaningless death.

‘Why has the future changed? And why am I a four-year-old who can just play and eat without a care in the world? It feels so strange…’

A four-year-old who didn’t know the future yet felt no anxiety about it.

Even as Lilith found comfort in her current situation, she couldn’t shake off the sense of bewilderment.

Well, good things were still good things, so she decided to enjoy them to the fullest.

As she sipped warm chocolate with Carl, a thought suddenly popped into her head.

“Brother, what if we get another younger sibling?”

“…What?”

Before Carl could even respond, Minelli answered first.

Her usually composed eyes trembled violently, confirming what Lilith had suspected—Mother and Father were indeed making a baby.

“Would you prefer a little sister? Or a little brother?”

Carl, ever gentle, returned the question with a smile.

“What about you, Lilith?”

“Me? I like both.”

“Then I like both too. But I already have the cutest little sister in the world, so having the cutest little brother in the world wouldn’t be bad either.”

That was exactly the kind of doting remark their father would make. Lilith chuckled, thinking that Carl had definitely inherited it from him.

“If a little sister is born and she asks you who’s prettier between me and her, you can say she’s prettier! Since I’ll be the big sister, I can handle it!”

At her confident declaration, Carl burst into laughter as well.

By now, it seemed that even the thunder no longer startled him.

As the two siblings peacefully enjoyed their chocolate together, they suddenly heard movement outside the room.

They perked up their ears and turned toward the door.

Not long after, Helio stepped inside, dressed in light clothing.

The moment Lilith saw him, she ran to him, and he naturally lifted her into his arms.

“Lilith, Carl. Did you come because you were scared of the thunder and lightning?”

At Helio’s somewhat tactless question, Carl’s shoulders flinched slightly.