Diana Mortiel needed the highest-grade mana stone infused with the power of a Sylph, a royal treasure, to save her sister, who writhed in agony from a terrible illness worse than death. 

To obtain it, Diana—once foretold to graduate from the Academy with unprecedented results and become an Archmage—sold her future, her power, and herself to the King. There was no other way.

Her colleagues and professors at the Academy desperately tried to dissuade her. Some asked why she would go to such lengths for someone who was bound to die soon anyway. 

They pointed out that even with the mana stone, the chances of recovery were slim. Others called it a meaningless sacrifice.

Though they might have meant well, Diana responded by incinerating one of their hair with a fireball on the spot. Even if it was futile, she refused to let her sister—who had raised her from childhood without parents—die helplessly in pain. If selling her soul to a demon could reduce her sister’s suffering, she would do it without hesitation.

She met King Shuven, a young man with golden hair and piercing blue eyes, who greeted her with a smirk and the words, “I’ve found myself a useful mutt.” 

It didn’t take long for Diana to realize that he was no less than a devil himself. The only mercy he showed was allowing her sister to rest in peace when the time came.

After her sister’s death, Diana ceased to be a person and became the King’s tool—a weapon to be used and discarded. He worked her to the bone, sending her to every corner of the kingdom as though replacements for her were readily available. 

One day, while indulging in yet another n*ked woman, Shuven casually remarked, “My sweet little bunny wants to taste the Hutus fruit, which only grows in the desert on the other side of the continent. Make sure it’s fresh and delivered by tomorrow morning.”

To teleport such a distance and return, Diana would need to consume at least ten mana potions. However, mana potions were so toxic that mages were advised never to drink more than three in a day. 

Hearing his absurd command, Diana seriously considered burning the palace to the ground and turning the desert into his grave. She imagined him impaled upside down, resembling a cactus.

But that was just a fantasy. The day she made the contract with the King, he had taken her Soul Core as proof of her obedience. If the Soul Core were destroyed, she would die. 

For mages, death wasn’t particularly terrifying; they lived surrounded by mana and returned to it upon death. The problem was the difference between dying naturally and being crushed like an insignificant ant.

Besides, her life was too precious to waste because of him. She hated the thought of appearing like a coward fleeing through death.

So, she endured—for eight long years.

Eight years of constant summons, sleepless nights, and overtime without holidays turned her into a cynical, exhausted adult. But today marked a special occasion—the first day of a miraculous vacation after years of slavery.

“Don’t contact me. Don’t look for me for the next week,” Diana firmly instructed her attendant before climbing into the carriage. 

She wore a comfortable dress and packed the carriage full of cushions and blankets. Exhausted from two weeks of sleepless nights, she nestled herself among the soft fabrics, letting her tired body melt into the comfort. 

Even the jolting of the carriage felt soothing. For the first time in ages, she fell into a deep, sweet sleep.

Bang! Bang!

“Commander Mortiel of the Magical Corps! A royal emergency message from His Majesty!”

The pounding on the carriage door shattered her peace.

“D*mn it…” 

Diana muttered a curse under her breath. Slowly, she sat up, brushing her disheveled hair back with her fingers. 

Her violet eyes, heavy with fatigue and irritation, glinted with a dark, ominous energy. Without bothering to fix her rumpled clothes, she flung open the carriage door.

“!”

The startled messenger froze, stunned by the sudden appearance of Diana’s unguarded figure. She extended her hand impatiently. 

“Hand it over.”

It took him a moment to snap out of his daze and deliver the letter. Diana unfolded it irritably. Scrawled in rushed handwriting, the message read:

A crazed dragon is rampaging in the eastern forest. Go and subdue it.

A hollow laugh escaped Diana’s lips. Even as the kingdom’s most powerful mage, there was no way she could face a dragon—beings revered as the pinnacle of magic and wisdom—alone. 

The King surely knew that. But he didn’t care. He must have gleefully written the order, eager to ruin her vacation.

‘When has he ever issued a reasonable command?’

“Fine. If he says jump, I’ll jump. D*mn you, Shuven.” 

Resigned, Diana prepared herself and headed to the eastern forest.

There, she encountered the so-called “crazed” dragon. It was indeed a Red Dragon, but something about it felt off. 

Dragons were supposed to be highly intelligent magical creatures, yet this one was behaving like a rabid beast—charging at her without using magic.

‘What’s going on?’ 

Diana thought, perplexed. But she quickly brushed it aside, focusing on ending the fight as soon as possible. Luckily, the dragon was unusually weakened, allowing her to subdue it alone—a stroke of luck.

However, upon closer inspection of the wounds on its neck and its battered state, Diana found herself hesitating. 

For reasons she couldn’t explain, she saw herself reflected in the dragon’s broken figure. Her own weary, battered self.

‘Does this dragon have a story too?’ she wondered, the question gnawing at her mind. The oddities she had tried to ignore kept tugging at her thoughts. After some deliberation, she decided to try talking to the dragon.

She immobilized it and secretly transported it to her underground lab. To prevent it from rampaging again, she restrained it with a pair of bracelets embedded with top-grade mana stones, forcing it into human form through Polymorph magic.

Looking at the unconscious figure, Diana sighed. “This is all because of the sleepless nights…”

Her decision felt reckless, driven by the shock of her ruined vacation and her frayed nerves. No matter how she thought about it, it was a losing gamble. 

If the dragon had a reason for its behavior, how did that concern her? If it truly was just a crazed beast, she had wasted a precious day off and two rare mana stones.

But there was no turning back now.

“Let’s see where this leads. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll deal with it and pretend this never happened,” Diana muttered, dreaming of a perfect crime.

At that moment, the massive body on the floor stirred. The Red Dragon was waking up. Diana watched silently as the man opened his eyes, revealing ruby-like irises that glowed intensely. 

He blinked a few times, his gaze wandering around the unfamiliar room before settling on her. His expression froze, as though entranced.

“?”

Diana tilted her head in confusion, wondering if the Polymorph process had affected his mind. Or perhaps he hadn’t fully regained his senses yet.

She spoke to him. “Are you awake? I’ve treated your wounds, but how do you feel?”

She used formal speech, offering minimal courtesy due to a creature hailed as the pinnacle of magic. But instead of answering, the man lunged at her.

Before she could react, he pinned her onto the desk, growling like a wild beast. His crimson eyes burned with fury as he snarled, “How dare you turn me into a lowly human with Polymorph magic!”

His face twisted savagely, ready to tear her apart.