Chapter 28
When Zestia dropped her brooch into the goblet, a dazzling purple flame erupted.
Soon, a faint aura of dark flame encircled her body, and she wore a satisfied expression.
Once a year, as a member of the Winchester family, one had to perform this ritual—an act of recognition and reaffirmation of bonds with the family’s progenitor, the “Black Dragon.”
The deeper the Winchester blood, the darker and more intense the flame would be.
“My turn.”
Othello approached the black goblet and dropped in a ring he wore on his pinky.
A rich and magnificent flame burst upward like a fountain, drawing gasps of admiration from the crowd.
Othello stepped back with a twisted smirk on his lips.
He could feel the dark flames intensifying around him.
Next up was Jin Winchester.
Everyone held their breath and focused on him.
The flame was a symbol of power.
Though combat and dueling skills could be honed through training, true power was entirely dependent on the concentration of dark flame.
Unlike Othello, Jin wore a solemn expression as he placed a button from his coat into the goblet.
Even before the button touched the bottom, a dark red flame blazed fiercely within.
It almost sounded like an explosion.
The light was bright enough to illuminate the pitch-black night.
“……”
Unlike with Othello, most people fell silent.
Some stood with mouths agape… but no one could doubt Jin’s status as the true heir of House Winchester.
His aura and ability were nearly identical to that of Ricardo Winchester at the same age.
Ricardo Winchester, seated in the seat of honor closest to the goblet, was watching Jin.
Then, for a brief moment, he looked at me.
“……”
I stood holding the ball Ricardo had given me yesterday.
It was my way of saying, “I’ll use it well.”
I figured I owed it, since I’d probably ruined the mood a bit yesterday.
Shortly after, Ricardo stood up.
It was his turn.
He approached the goblet, casually tore off the cuff of his sleeve, and dropped it in.
And at that moment, something incomparable to Jin’s dark flame burst forth—something massive… a distinct dragon form slithered out of the goblet.
It was a flame of deep, dark blue.
Its heat was tangible, not just its light.
The dragon-shaped flame shot upward, then dramatically burst in all directions.
It resembled a flamethrower in both scale and spectacle before it finally subsided.
I stood frozen, watching him.
Others stared at Ricardo with reverence and awe.
Wow! So this is what it means to be the head of the family!
I swallowed my shock at this overwhelming display of power.
Once the ritual of displaying each person’s strength ended, the mood returned to the lively atmosphere of a ball.
Having watched everything, I began to slip away, planning to return to my room.
“Don’t you want to try it too, little one?”
I flinched at the sudden voice beside me—it was Permetis.
When did she get here?
As I looked at her warily, she smiled slyly.
Then, she whispered close to my ear.
“No one’s putting anything in right now. It’s the perfect time.”
If I were just a typical three-year-old, I might have been tempted.
The flames were beautiful enough to captivate anyone.
And most children would naturally want to try it themselves.
But the moment I caught sight of Zestia smirking in the back, I realized what was going on.
They had tried to gauge my power before with the shadow of the abyss.
If I put something in now and revealed my strength, they would get what they wanted. Even if Ricardo scolded me, I’d be the only one punished.
Cowards. Trying to use a baby like this.
“It’s so pretty, fwoosh!”
Permetis clung to me, pretending to be friendly, trying to provoke a reaction.
“I’ll keep watch for you.”
I nodded my head.
Her eyes lit up as she grabbed my hand.
Together, we approached the platform where the goblet stood.
The adults were too preoccupied with their conversations to pay any attention to two little kids.
Permetis climbed onto the platform first and reached out her hand.
“It’s okay, come up.”
Instead of taking her hand, I handed her the ball.
Perhaps thinking I was entrusting it to her for a moment, she took it with one hand and held out the other again.
“Your flame will be prettier than mine. Come on.”
But I didn’t take her hand.
“If you do this, I’ll get praised by Mother, and you…”
That’s when her expression wavered.
Patter-patter.
I took off running on my short legs with all my might.
“Wait—baby?!”
I saw her face twist in shock.
Once I’d gotten a fair distance away (by my standards), I pointed at Permetis and shouted,
“Gon!”
Everyone who had been deep in conversation turned to look at me, and then at Permetis.
“Sha-sha say gon!”
Permetis’s face contorted.
Sorry, seven-year-old sis, but between my past life and now, I’m twenty-seven. I don’t fall for such cheap tricks.
There was only one reason I shouted “gon” with such resolve:
To put all the attention on Permetis.
“Permetis, what are you doing? Were you trying to put Shasha’s ball in?”
“Did the adults tell her to? Maybe Zestia.”
The crowd murmured.
“Even so, how could she take a baby’s ball?”
Zestia’s face turned red and pale.
To anyone watching, it looked like Permetis had tried to steal my ball and drop it into the goblet—and got caught.
Flustered, Permetis opened her mouth.
“Ah… sh-she said she wanted to do it first.”
“A baby who can’t even talk?”
Sneers and scoffs followed.
Everyone here had seen me yesterday, sniffling with a sorrowful expression.
No one would believe I set Permetis up.
Permetis grit her teeth as she glared at me.
“You… you said you wanted to do it!”
And then, a voice cut in.
“That’s enough.”
The entire room froze.
It was Ricardo’s voice, as he spoke to a few of his lieutenants.
Permetis trembled and dropped the ball.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Ricardo’s gaze fell on the ball, clearly reprimanding Permetis.
“S-sorry…”
Permetis finally bowed her head in shame.
“So clumsy… Let’s go.”
Zestia stepped onto the platform and dragged Permetis away by the hand, face filled with anger.
That felt a little satisfying.
Trying to use an innocent baby like that? Serves you right.
…Well, not that I’m exactly an innocent baby.
“……”
Suddenly, I felt Ricardo’s gaze on me.
He didn’t see everything… right?
Feigning ignorance, I retrieved the ball from a servant and scampered away.
‘Well, at least that’s over with… I think.’
As people dispersed and I reached for Maya’s skirt to leave, I heard Ricardo’s voice.
“Wait.”
Maya turned back and asked curiously,
“Yes, Duke. What is it?”
“Step outside for a moment, Maya.”
Maya looked a bit flustered at his command.
But Ricardo’s gaze was cold and firm, leaving no room to object, and so she left without another word—leaving me behind.
Alone with Ricardo, my heart began to race.
I clenched the pink ball tighter in my hands.
There’s no way he saw what happened earlier.
He was talking to his lieutenants while I was with Permetis.
So… is he going to ask where the toy came from yesterday?
Or maybe… did he see me disappear?
Worried, I tried to hide my thoughts and looked him in the eye.
“Papa?”
At the sound of my voice, his eyebrows twitched.
“…Shasha.”
His lips moved as he whispered softly.
