“Dad?”

“Who else in this world could say ‘You were wrong’ in front of the Emperor’s dripping bloody sword? And not just once or twice, but every time they clashed, over every little thing.”

“That’s because Dad was wrong.”

Though she loved her father as his daughter, wrong was wrong. In the end, he had put Felicity in danger and failed to protect her.

The Duke of Vicheravali quietly stared at Reibella as she spoke calmly, then gently stroked her head with a soft touch.

“Well, from now on, you’ll take after me.”

Now he was saying that he was her father.

Reibella smiled faintly.

“If it becomes dangerous, you can stop. I have enough power to protect you.”

Though the words “protect you” still made her feel uneasy, she didn’t hate it. If until now she had felt like she was on a sailboat facing huge waves, now she felt like she was standing on solid ground.

Having someone to open her heart to and lean on gave her a strange sense of relief.

Reibella nodded with a slightly firmer smile.

And as the laughter passed, Reibella, who had been observing his expression, carefully opened her mouth.

“I have a question.”

To him, who looked at her as if he would gladly answer anything, Reibella asked directly.

“Are you, by any chance, preparing for treason?”

* * *

“Miss, why do you look like that?”

When Charlotte asked as if something was strange, Reibella, who had been staring at Royan’s training from her dedicated seat in the training ground, tilted her head.

“What’s wrong with my expression?”

“You look like a sulking cotton candy.”

……What was a sulking cotton candy?

Though bewildered by Charlotte’s incomprehensible expressiveness, she couldn’t deny what she had said.

She was indeed sulking.

‘A child shouldn’t say such things.’

She had asked with a grave heart, but the Duke of Vicheravali had treated her like a baby who knew nothing and sent her away.

As an added touch, he had gently pinched her nose and wiggled it.

‘I was chased out before I could ask again.’

Until then, she thought he had been treating her no differently than an adult, but thinking about it now, that wasn’t the case. He just listened attentively with a serious gaze, but occasionally smiled contentedly, and whenever she tried to do something, he acted like a parent sending their child on their first errand.

It was completely different from how people treated her in the imperial palace. There, they treated her more as “Felicity” rather than as a “child.”

“……Do I look like a baby?”

As Reibella grumbled to herself, a loud voice answered.

“Of course you’re a baby!”

It was Royan.

Royan spoke energetically as he sat down in front of Reibella. When she handed him water and a towel, he naturally accepted them, roughly wiped his sweat with the towel, and drank the water.

“You’re three years younger than me, and you’re weak. I’m still a kid, so Reibella is a baby.”

Though he spoke casually, he seemed somewhat awkward inside, clearly showing signs of embarrassment.

Having pushed her away and ignored her so much, he appeared quite uncomfortable suddenly trying to change his attitude. Still, it was truly admirable and appreciated that he was sincerely trying to accept her as family.

But she had to correct what wasn’t right. Reibella responded with a sullen face.

“There’s no baby as articulate and smart as me.”

“Even if you’re smart, you’re still weaker than me. I bet you can’t even swing a sword once.”

Perhaps secretly happy that she was just accepting him, Royan’s face visibly brightened. Then he went a step further and even teased her.

As Royan grinned and teased, Reibella boldly stood up and picked up the sword placed beside him.

Since it was made to fit Royan’s height, she thought it would be smaller and lighter than other swords. But it was heavier than expected. She could barely lift it with both hands using all her strength.

As Reibella put it down with labored breath, Royan picked up the sword with one hand as if to tease her. The way he handled it lightly as if it were a fork was impressive and somehow annoying.

When Reibella looked at him sullenly, Royan seemed to realize his mistake and quietly lowered the sword, then slipped closer to her side.

“Is my li-little sister angry?”

Royan spoke awkwardly with a worried face. Seeing this, Reibella pretended to be upset and made a pouty face.

“I’m not.”

“Yes, you’re not angry.”

His attitude toward his sister was exactly like that of an older brother playing with a young child. As he smiled broadly and acted affectionately, Reibella could no longer maintain her indifferent expression. She smiled involuntarily.

And then she changed the subject.

“By the way, hasn’t your sword training time gotten longer lately?”

“Ah, there’s a festival coming up soon.”

“……What does a festival have to do with sword training?”

“Come to think of it, my dear sister doesn’t know yet. Then your brother will tell you.”

Royan said pompously.

“In Louvindisi, there’s a festival held once a year for children.”

“Children’s Day?”

“Children’s Day? Hmm, that name would work too. In Louvindisi, it’s called ‘Bard’s Day.'”

The Empire didn’t specifically celebrate a day for children. Generally, it wasn’t a culture that raised children as children. It was natural for children to find their own paths once they turned 10 and were divided into those who would inherit the family name and those who wouldn’t.

Before turning 10, it was just a preparation period for reaching that age, and once they turned 10, they were essentially treated no differently from adults, so it would be fair to say there was no time when they were called children.

Even in her previous life, it wasn’t until the modern era that children finally received treatment as children, so in that sense, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Louvindisi was ahead of its time.

“So on that day, do they give gifts to children and hold events?”

“That’s right. The territory’s people prepare various events for the children, and among them, a time-honored event is ‘Finding the Demonic Beast’s Egg.'”

“……Demonic beast’s egg? Children look for such things?”

“No way, how could they? It’s just a game of finding things like eggs.”

It simply meant a treasure hunt.

It seemed to be an event created by adults to give gifts to children on Bard’s Day.

“Then why…… Oh! Because of the first Duke of Vicheravali. Because this place was once the domain of demonic beasts.”

Royan went back to the historical story. It was something Reibella knew from her education as well. The Empire was first established by three people: Rastel, Vicheravali, and Felicity.

Rastel had the power of dragons, Vicheravali had magical power, and Felicity had the power of spirits. These three joined forces to defeat all the demonic beasts in the land and established a country for the people.

In particular, the region that Vicheravali took charge of was especially infested with demonic beasts, and it was said that the overwhelming magic and swordsmanship of the first Vicheravali brought about the end of the demonic beasts. This legend remained in the founding history and had been passed down until now.

“That’s right. Though the first Duke of Vicheravali made efforts, demonic beasts still appeared in this land afterward. So they created this event to commemorate the day while subjugating them every year, and as time passed, it changed into a game like this.”

“That’s fascinating.”

“Ah, there are no demonic beasts in Felicity’s territory, right?”

“Yes. Our land is a place purified by spirits.”

Reliccarve, where the first Felicity settled, was known as a sacred place completely purified by his infinite spirit power. That’s why, unlike other regions, it was only abundant in resources and peaceful.

Things like demonic beasts were just elements from legends, not something that felt real to Reibella.

But then she entered the imperial palace and met knights who had fought demonic beasts, and again, while coming here, she saw knights engaging in combat with demonic beasts.

It was a moment that made her think “This world really is from a novel,” as much as when she met the Emperor and princess.

“Have you never seen a spirit, Reibella? You’re from a family blessed by spirits. They say the first Felicity married a spirit.”

“That’s all lies. He probably lied because the woman he wanted to marry wasn’t anything special.”

Even in her previous life, humans born from eggs were considered ancestors. But that didn’t mean people actually hatched from eggs.

In the first place, if the founding myths were real, then the princess, a descendant of Rastel, should have had the power of dragons, and Royan, a descendant of Vicheravali, should have had the power of a great mage.

But such things didn’t happen even in the novel. Though later, the princess did manifest holy power. Something about receiving God’s love and returning, or whatever it was.

“Still, it would be nice to have such powers. Then we could easily deal with all the demonic beasts. Having the power of dragons would be really cool.”

Just as demonic beasts existed, strangely enough, dragons that she had only encountered in novels also existed in this world.

Of course, they were said to be extinct in the current era.

They had disappeared along with the spirits and hadn’t shown themselves for over hundreds of years.

Since there were no witnesses and no bones or remains to prove their existence, there were occasionally those who doubted their existence.

But the reason their words weren’t accepted as truth was because of the existence of the “Dragon Lair.”