They say the strongest person in the world is coming (1)
Soon, Patio snapped out of it and said proudly.
“Hmph! Studying? That’s not enough! If you want to secure the position of next head of the house, you need honor!”
The boy continued in an agitated voice.
“Mana is decided from birth anyway. So I have to accumulate more achievements than my younger siblings to be recognized!”
“…Mana.”
In this Skadi Magic Kingdom, there was a peculiar custom where positions were determined by the amount of mana one possessed.
As the boy said, even the position of heir to a noble house—and even the throne of the kingdom itself—was decided by magical ability.
Because of that, children with weak mana struggled desperately to survive in such an irrational environment.
‘They have their own hardships too… just like me.’
Sanael gave a small nod.
But then—
“You really think just visiting the so-called Monster’s House once is enough to make you the next heir?”
“H-Hey! Th-That’s still an impressive thing!”
Patio’s cheeks flushed at her unimpressed gaze.
‘Well… kids’ way of thinking only goes this far, I guess.’
Sanael exhaled and placed a hand on her hip.
“You said you want honor, right? Then at least bring back some trophies to show off.”
“Huh? Trophies? What’s that?”
The boys leaned in curiously at Sanael’s words.
“You should at least hunt a monster and bring back its head. That would make a proper achievement worth bragging about, don’t you think?”
“W-What?! A monster’s head…?”
At her eerie tone, the boys’ faces stiffened.
“You know… there really is a monster living here.”
Rustle.
“Eek!”
Something moved in the thick grass nearby, and the boys jumped.
“P-Patio! Something’s over there!”
“I-I saw it too!”
They began slowly backing away, faces pale.
“Oh, and I forgot to mention something.”
Sanael clapped her hands lightly and raised a finger.
“That monster really likes kids like you.”
Rustle, rustle!
Something was clearly approaching through the bushes.
“Especially… chubby ones.”
The moment she finished speaking—
Something leapt out of the forest.
The boys screamed and fled in terror.
“AAAAAAH!”
“R-Run awayyy!”
Watching them run off with their tails between their legs, Sanael scoffed.
“What a bunch of cowards.”
What had appeared from the bushes was nothing more than a small rabbit.
Since the Dahlia Palace was located near the northern forest of the royal grounds, wild animals occasionally wandered in.
The rabbit sniffed around for a moment, then hopped back into the bushes.
“Guess I scared them enough. They won’t come back now.”
Sanael stretched and started walking back toward the palace.
“Found you.”
“Eek!”
Suddenly, a girl appeared behind her.
“R-Raphiel?!”
A beautiful girl with pink eyes.
In truth, Raphiel was the “monster” everyone had been talking about.
Since she had been eliminating assassins effortlessly since infancy, rumors of her were twisted into tales of a “Monster’s House.”
Raphiel smiled brightly, her eyes curving.
“I followed your scent, and it really was you, Unni! Hehe!”
“…Scent?”
“Yep! You’re the only one who doesn’t have mana smell! So I just followed where there was no smell, and you were really here!”
A chill ran down Sanael’s spine.
It wasn’t strange for a future archmage to sense mana so keenly.
But a five-year-old using such reasoning to track her location was terrifying.
“Hehe, Unni… let’s play together now?”
Raphiel’s shadow slowly fell over Sanael.
“All night long…”
Another scream echoed through the Dahlia Palace.
“The sun, the flowers, and Unni Sanael and Raphiel going on a picnic… I finished it!”
Raphiel, lying on the floor drawing, held up her paper proudly.
“Unni! I drew it well, right?”
It was a messy sketch drawn with charcoal on old book paper, somehow both cute and heartbreaking.
Sanael, exhausted from playing with Raphiel all day, smiled weakly.
“Yeah, yeah. You did well.”
“Yay! I got praised!”
As Raphiel spun around the room excitedly, Killi entered.
“A letter has arrived, Your Highness.”
Sanael took the stack of envelopes from Killi, and Raphiel immediately clung to her side.
“What is it? Read it to me, Unni!”
Sanael sat on the worn sofa and opened the letters.
“Eckers Viscount’s wife, Baron Garbia, even the guild master of magical artifact research… all flattering Raphiel, as usual.”
Raphiel stared at the letters with innocent eyes.
“What does it say?”
“It just says you’re the best.”
“Yay! Best! That means really good, right? Like you told me!”
As time passed, rumors about Raphiel spread through noble circles and even reached frontier lords.
As a result, letters like these arrived daily at the Dahlia Palace.
Some factions wanted nothing to do with the dangerous princesses, while others tried to curry favor in case Raphiel became the next monarch.
‘They’re like leeches trying to suck her dry.’
Sanael quickly sorted allies, enemies, capable ones, and useless ones.
“This one, this one… they’ll betray us later. …Etran Merchant Guild leader? Isn’t he Raphiel’s future information broker? Reply immediately.”
She tucked selected letters into her coat.
‘Anyone harmful to the heroine’s future gets cut off.’
Even if Raphiel was a clingy, obsessive “final boss-type cute menace,” she was still her precious little sister.
Over the past four years, Sanael had carefully built plans to ensure her safety.
‘Raphiel will become the hero who saves the world. I may not have mana, but I have information.’
Sanael turned to Killi.
“Killi, please write the replies as I dictate.”
Killi hesitated.
“Princess Sanael… are you sure you need to do all this yourself? You don’t need to think so deeply about the content…”
“Raphiel can’t read letters yet. I have to do it for her.”
“That’s not what I meant…”
Killi pressed her temple.
For a child raised in such conditions, Sanael had received almost no education.
Yet she spoke clearly, used complex vocabulary, read difficult letters, and even drafted responses effortlessly.
At this rate, she might start writing full letters on her own soon.
“You’re only five this year, correct?”
“I am.”
“…Never mind.”
Killi gave up thinking further.
“You seem unusually advanced for your age, Princess Sanael.”
“Really?”
“Yes… sometimes it feels like I’m talking to an adult.”
Sanael stiffened for a split second, then casually replied.
“…Maybe I take after His Majesty.”
Killi flinched.
“W-What?! His Majesty?!”
“People said he was very intelligent even as a child, right?”
“T-That… did I say that?”
As the topic shifted to the king, Killi began panicking.
Sanael, meanwhile, glanced at Raphiel resting on her lap.
“Raphiel, you should walk a smooth ‘soda’ path with good companions from now on.”
“Soda? I don’t really get it, but okay!”
Sanael patted her head.
‘So you can safely save the world.’
The original story was brutal.
The continent would fall into war with survival rates barely at fifty percent.
Raphiel would suffer betrayal, loss, and endless struggle.
To prevent that future, Sanael’s information was essential.
‘After Raphiel saves the world, I’ll escape this annoying magic kingdom and live a peaceful retirement… hehe.’
Just then—
Bang!
“Killi, Lady Kanna! Princesses! Are you here?!”
Wilbur burst in.
“What is it, Wilbur?”
“P-Please calm down first!”
He swallowed hard.
“His Majesty King Grandael has returned!”
“…Grandael?”
Sanael froze slightly.
“He’ll stop by the palace tomorrow morning and return to the battlefield the next day!”
“What?! So soon?!”
“They’re preparing a reception for him… without us!”
Killi looked shocked.
But Sanael’s eyes sharpened.
‘So it’s starting.’
The first step of Raphiel’s “soda path.”
‘Turning the strongest being in the world into a doting father as fast as possible.’
She turned to Raphiel.
“Raphiel! Get ready too!”
“Huh? For what?”
“To dress beautifully!”
“Ehhh?”
“G-Gasp!”
“I can’t believe this…”
The maids held their breath.
When they followed their gaze—
There stood an angel.
“Unni… how do I look?”
Raphiel fidgeted, her cheeks flushed, wearing a sparkling white dress that looked slightly unfamiliar on her.
