CHAPTER 71…………………….
“Hatri amukha, shama vachula margah atman. Aham Raksha naman karoti agra deha vachula jivana amita.”
(“O soul, born of the earth and standing at the threshold of return to darkness. In the name of I, the Demon King, I command you: return to your original flesh and fulfill your destined life.”)
No sooner had Esther spoken the final word than the tangled cluster of souls began to scatter, one by one.
“What… what is that? Fireflies?”
The motes of light, each glowing with a different hue, flitted through the air before slowly seeping into their respective bodies.
Above the young man lying near Aaron and Dylan, a silver-tinged flame gently descended and sank into him.
“Ah…”
As all the souls found their rightful places, Esther’s wings faltered, then suddenly collapsed, sending her plummeting toward the ground.
Raksha strode forward and caught her in his arms as if he had been waiting for this very moment.
“You must have required delicate, high-level magical control. Yet even with your insufficient mana, you accomplished it magnificently, Lady Esther.”
“Ah… it’s really impossible to live in peace, isn’t it.”
Was the path to her dream—breaking her seal, sipping honey, and living in blissful leisure—really destined to be this painful?
Just then, a dark crimson flame, drifting weakly in the air, slowly sank into Esther’s chest.
“What’s this?”
“It seems to be a fragment of the Demon King.”
Thump—
Thump—
Her heartbeat grew louder and louder.
Feeling the mana emanating from it, Esther’s eyes widened and her breath caught.
“Ah… Father?”
Through her dimming vision, she saw a man staggering to his feet like a corpse and, beside him, two boys frozen stiff with fear.
Above them, a parchment materialized.
[Fragment of the Demon King!]
You have discovered one of the rare fragments of the Demon King that remain in this world.
By completing the task, you have won the hearts of the boys.
Your seal is greatly undone.
Esther (Half-Demon)
Age: 5
Current Status: Abnormal
▶ Seal (Curse): Seals all the powers of the Demon King, Agreas.
▶ Regression to Childhood (Intermittent Curse): A child must be childlike and obedient. At times, the body falls out of control.
[Unsealing Progress: 33.5%]
[Area Scan: OFF]
[Information Search: OFF]
[Unsealing Conditions: All conditions must be fulfilled.]
- Reach 100% unsealing progress. (Incomplete)
- The termination of the current contract. (Incomplete)
Esther’s eyes widened.
“Thirty-three percent?”
Her hazy vision snapped open wide. She leapt to her feet and sucked in a deep breath.
“A fragment…! If this was a way to sip honey with ease, you should’ve told me earlier!”
She beamed.
“Raksha!”
“Yes, my noble one!”
“Let’s go find more Demon King fragments…!”
“Yes! I will investigate at once!”
Esther nodded firmly.
If there was such an easy way to stick in a straw and drink honey, they should have told her from the start.
As she tapped the hovering parchment, it shifted its writing.
[Oh dear. Absorbing this fragment has greatly increased your presence.
The powerful beings of the world now sense the birth of a new seed of the Demon King.]
“…What?”
What was that supposed to mean?
Come to think of it, hadn’t Raksha’s voice grown oddly intense, his eyes sparkling unusually bright?
“…Raksha.”
“Yes, my noble Lady Esther!”
“Am I… stronger now?”
Now that she thought about it, even her way of speaking sounded a bit sharper.
“Yes! Your rank has risen to a higher plane! I, Raksha, cannot contain my excitement at the thought of the future form you will sprout into!”
Esther pressed her lips tightly together. Why did she have the distinct feeling that she was screwed?
“…That means others will sense me too, won’t they?”
“Yes! I believe all higher beings must now know of your emergence.”
“…So I… did something pretty amazing, huh?”
“Not just pretty amazing. Incredibly, immensely, overwhelmingly amazing!”
So this was how the story of her ruined life could be sugar-coated so beautifully.
Esther let out a crooked smile and turned away.
Ah, my sweet honey-sipping life…
When will you return to me?
She sighed deeply.
Across from her, families were reuniting in tears and joy.
She perched herself on the altar, waiting for their tearful reunion to pass.
It was a little boring, and before long, her thoughts drifted again to Kaelos.
‘Why does that strange human keep popping into my head? It’s odd.’
She hadn’t had particularly joyful memories with him—just casual chats, indifferent goodbyes.
And yet, for some reason, her heart stirred.
“Esther.”
Lost in thought, she heard someone call her name.
“Mm?”
She lifted her head and saw two boys, their faces a mess.
Their eyes were swollen, red and blotchy from crying, their puffed-up cheeks like overinflated blowfish.
“Huuhhuhhh… thank youuuu…”
“Me too… sniff… thank you…”
“Mm…”
Esther stifled the laugh rising in her throat, only nodding slowly instead.
Otherwise, she would have burst out laughing right in front of them.
“You must be… the child named Esther. Kaelos’s daughter.”
At the unfamiliar voice, she turned to see a man with silver-white hair, neat features, and a gentle expression.
Esther didn’t answer—just stared fixedly at his chest.
When the child only gazed at his chest in silence, the man awkwardly glanced down at himself, inspecting.
‘The soul…’
From what Esther could see, it clearly wasn’t fully settled yet.
In such cases, even the smallest shock could cause the soul and body to separate again.
‘That would be troublesome.’
After all the effort, having everything unravel would be a waste.
“…Um.”
As Esther continued to study him, the man—Hakan Egbert—glanced down at his chest again, then, looking embarrassed, spoke carefully.
“Ah, right.”
At last, Esther replied.
“…White-root… sir?”
Tilting her head slightly, she muttered.
‘Wait, was that the right title?’
“Kuuh—”
Suddenly, Hakan Egbert clutched his chest and collapsed to the ground.
His soul itself began trembling violently.
“What the—what is this? An attack?”
“You’re… too cute…”
“…Excuse me?”
“She is cute. After all, Esther’s our little sister.”
“…Yes, she is.”
Esther fell silent. What nonsense were they talking about?
Hurriedly, she scurried over and poured mana into Hakan. Fortunately, his soul soon stabilized.
“Haah… I thought I was going to die of cuteness.”
He said such shameful things without blinking an eye.
‘So this is what kind of man he is?’
She’d assumed he was reserved and timid yet gentle and good at mediating his family.
But if he were truly weak, the Duke and Duchess would never have made him heir to the Egbert family.
Esther eyed him with faint distaste.
He suddenly stepped closer, gently prodding her chubby cheeks and arms before grinning widely.
“Girls really are adorable. I always wanted a daughter. I was going to have another child, but just as the time came, Father shoved me into here.”
Wait—that was something you said so casually? In front of the children too?
Esther turned in disbelief toward the brothers. Aaron and Dylan looked just as stunned.
Clearly, they had never imagined their father would be like this.
“Well, I certainly never expected to come back to life.”
He sighed deeply, as though struck with awe.
Then, another voice rang out behind him.
“…Hakan?”
“Alicia!”
His face lit up as he spun around.
He rushed to embrace the disheveled woman who was just rising to her feet.
“What’s going on, we…?”
“They say the Demon King has vanished. That’s why our souls have returned. It was this niece who saved us.”
So that’s where Kardem had learned to call her “niece”—from this man, perhaps.
‘What a chaotic family.’
Truly, perhaps it was a blessing that her father was Kaelos Egbert.
“What nonsense is that? Speak properly so I can understand!”
“…Ah.”
It seemed Hakan’s wife wasn’t exactly ordinary either.
‘Surely my mother isn’t like that?’
Come to think of it, she was supposed to meet her mother soon.
A descendant of the Surtr kingdom—Esther was curious.
“Mother!”
“…Mother?”
Dylan and Aaron stepped forward beside Hakan.
The woman froze at their sudden address.
After a long pause, her eyes widened like lanterns, then twisted with raw emotion.
“Dylan… Aaron…?”
“Yes!”
“Yes…”
“My babies…”
She dropped to her knees and pulled them tightly into her arms.
“I missed you, I missed you so much. You don’t know how your mother longed for you…”
Tears streamed as she buried her face in their shoulders.
“If I had known he was such a ridiculous man, I would never have fallen in love with him.”
With a sorrowful expression, she stabbed a dagger of words straight into Hakan Egbert.
