Chapter 1
Stories about eldest daughters who grew up being treated unfairly aren’t rare.
Girls with talent and good character, but still mistreated.
“Ariella, we’ve decided to make your younger brother the crown prince. It was the result of the nobles’ council, so my hands are tied.”
The eldest daughter, slowly losing everything to her younger brother—even her one and only big chance in life.
“…Tell the queen I said congratulations. After scheming for three years, she finally did it.”
“Call her ‘Mother’! Even if she’s not your birth mother…”
“I’ve never been treated like her daughter. What kind of mother tries to drag her daughter down for three whole years? And are you satisfied, Father? Naming a baby as your heir?”
Ariella was that kind of eldest daughter.
What made her situation even more unfair was the fact that she was a direct descendant of a royal family.
She could have been queen of the ocean kingdom, Oinos.
From a young age, she studied everything—governing, diplomacy, economics—and she did it well.
She was loved by the people and easily mingled with them.
No one doubted it.
Ariella was meant to take the throne someday.
At least, until the new queen arrived three years ago and made her own son the crown prince.
But it didn’t stop there.
“…You want me to marry into the Empire?”
“It’s already been decided.”
Even after putting her own son on the throne, the queen still saw Ariella as a threat.
Why? Because Ariella was still respected and popular in the kingdom.
Worried that Ariella might challenge her son one day, the queen made a plan:
Send Ariella far away—for good.
And so, Ariella was forced into a political marriage.
Her husband-to-be? The Emperor of the Holy Empire.
Not even his first wife—she would be his third.
Ariella sat in a cabin on the ship heading to the Empire.
She muttered to herself, thinking about her father’s words.
“Decided? Who decided that?”
When her birth mother was alive, she was treated as the heir.
But ever since the remarriage, her father completely changed.
She clenched her teeth in anger and looked out the window.
A cool breeze blew in.
The imperial envoys who came to get her complained about the salty sea air, but to her, it was refreshing.
Beyond the square window, her hometown—a coastal city she had lived in all her life—was getting farther away.
‘I’ll probably never see this view again.’
The ship was headed straight to the Holy Empire.
After that, there would be no turning back.
She’d become nothing more than a decorative princess with no real power.
She couldn’t accept that.
Living in a place full of schemes and lies—
as the third wife of the most cunning man on the continent?
Knock, knock.
There was a quiet knock on the door.
“Come in.”
Betty peeked in carefully.
She was Ariella’s most loyal maid.
“What’s going on outside?”
“All the priests and nobles moved over to the imperial warship.”
“What about Count Igor?”
“He went with them. He’s not on this ship anymore.”
“Phew… good.”
Perfect timing. Ariella’s eyes lit up.
“Then bring me the item. …And after I disappear, follow the instructions in the letter I gave you.”
“Yes, don’t worry.”
Ariella knew what was coming and gave her final orders.
“There’s going to be a huge uproar. I’m sorry for dragging you into this.”
“You don’t have to be. You’re never wrong, Princess.”
Betty was a smart girl. She followed orders without asking questions.
Soon, Ariella stood alone in her cabin, covered in blood.
She took a deep breath to calm herself.
‘The magic circle is perfect.’
Alone in the cabin, Ariella looked down at the floor.
The “blood” covering her dress was actually pig’s blood Betty had stolen from the ship’s kitchen.
With that blood, Ariella drew a magic circle across the floor.
A summoning circle—one most mages didn’t even know existed.
‘This is the only way.’
Only Betty and Ariella knew that she could use magic—and that she was skilled at it.
She had been drawn to magic since she was little, for a simple reason:
“Because it’s hard for everyone. Equally.”
Magic didn’t care about your gender, looks, or background.
Even if you were born with talent, you still had to work extremely hard.
Ariella liked that.
She had always enjoyed challenges.
She loved the logic behind spells, the thrill of solving complex formulas, and the strange beauty of magical intuition.
A smart girl, pulled into a mysterious world.
But there was a big problem.
All magic, except holy magic, was treated as forbidden and dangerous.
If anyone found out she was a mage, she would be severely punished.
‘I could hide it in the kingdom, but in the Empire, they’ll find out. Too many high-ranking priests. They’ll sense my power.’
If she had told the truth earlier, maybe the marriage would’ve been canceled.
But Ariella couldn’t risk it.
If she confessed, she’d be branded a heretic and lose her powers.
That was the same as losing her life.
Even if she got married first, the result would be the same if they found out later.
They’d take her powers.
Maybe the Imperial family would keep it a secret to save face.
But she’d still be trapped in a miserable life.
So in the end, the only answer was:
‘I need to run away before we reach the Empire. I won’t live as a political prisoner.’
But how?
Ariella had thought about this question for a long time.
And she found her answer—in the magic she loved.
‘If I just disappear, the kingdom will be blamed.’
She hated the royal family for forcing her into this marriage.
But she still loved the people of her country.
If she ran away, what would the Emperor do?
He was a cruel man who always got revenge.
Any kingdom or land that dared to resist him was left soaked in blood, turned into wastelands.
‘He’ll definitely punish the kingdom.’
And who would suffer the most? The powerless people.
So, her escape plan needed to include two things:
- A believable reason that even the Empire would accept.
- A situation so extreme, no one could blame the kingdom.
The place where it happened also mattered.
It couldn’t be in the kingdom, or they’d still get blamed.
But she couldn’t do it on Imperial land either—it was full of priests and holy magic.
‘That means… here. Right here is the only option.’
The sea. Neutral waters that belonged to no one.
‘I can’t go back to the kingdom. They’d just hand me over.’
She made up her mind.
‘I’ll go far away. Somewhere even the Emperor and his army can’t reach. A place where mages aren’t hunted.’
But to do that, she needed someone’s help.
Someone powerful. Something unstoppable.
And she knew just the one:
A being that even the Holy Empire feared.
A disaster living outside the human world.
“The Demon King.”
A normal person would never even try this.
But Ariella had no other choice.
‘If I draw the summoning circle right and offer a proper sacrifice, I can summon him.’
The reason she even started learning magic in the first place was because Betty once found a mysterious spellbook.
Ariella had spent years decoding it.
She never imagined she’d actually try one of its most dangerous spells.
But there was another reason she chose the Demon King.
“Because he protects his contractor.”
Once the contract is made, their lives are tied together.
It was a gamble.
There was no guarantee the Demon King would even accept.
But she had to try. She was desperate.
Snip!
With a knife Betty gave her from the kitchen, she cut off her long red hair.
She whispered the spell and scattered the hair over the magic circle.
Her hair, once down to her waist, now stopped at her ears.
Whooooom—
‘And this too!’
She threw the spellbook onto the center of the circle.
The very book that had been her teacher, her guide to this strange world.
It had to be sacrificed for the spell to work.
Ssshh—
New glowing patterns appeared over the magic circle.
Black energy shot up like a pillar.
Time passed.
Flaaash!
A sharp burst of magical energy.
Suddenly, Ariella felt it—something had arrived.
Was the gamble a success? Or a failure?
“…?”
Everything felt frozen.
Dark smoke filled the room.
And through the smoke… she saw the silhouette of a man.
‘…Huh?’
Ariella blinked.
‘Is that… a kid?’
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