Chapter 6
The Siastor Duchy had no connection whatsoever with the Evanroir Viscount family. We were a small, unimpressive household—except for one thing: we came from a long line of scholars.
So even if I suddenly said, “I want to meet the Duke of Siastor,” there was no way he would casually grant me an audience.
However—
Who was Elstern?
He pretended to be just a regular mage, but in reality he was the Tower Master, one of the most powerful people in the Empire—someone who could meet the Emperor whenever he wanted.
And because I knew he had fallen headfirst into the black hole of Aksion’s cuteness, I quietly presented him with an irresistible bribe:
Three tickets labeled “Cuddling Baby Aksion for 30 Seconds.”
His throat bobbed, his eyes sparkled like stars—
Contract sealed.
And the very next day, thanks to him, I was able to request a meeting with the Siastor Duke.
Connections are everything.
‘Fufufu.’
Unable to hide the smile that sprang up on my face, I walked briskly.
Aksion, asleep in the stroller, jiggled with each step.
The weather was bright and beautiful, matching my mood. I murmured to myself as I looked up at the clear sky.
“I thought I’d have to wait forever, but I guess the food shortage must be serious.”
I had hinted—via Elstern—that I knew a way to solve the “new food” problem.
Duke Dazhar was a busy high noble; normally it would take months to get an appointment.
Normally.
But he summoned me to the Siastor mansion exactly one week later.
And that appointment is tomorrow.
I had finished all my preparations, so today I was taking a short break.
“People said it rained early this morning. Did our Aksion chase away the rain clouds by coming outside?”
“Kyaa!”
“If everything goes this smoothly, maybe Vanilla will fall for you at first sight, and you two can break the Evil Dragon’s power right away.”
“Heeeh.”
I smiled at Aksion, who had woken up and was playing with his fingers.
To enjoy my day off, I brought him to a cemetery maintained by the Imperial family. It was about a 30-minute carriage ride from our territory.
‘This way, right?’
The cemetery floor was made of marble, with small landscaped gardens placed between the graves.
It was far too elegant to be called a simple “local cemetery.”
Well… people buried here tended to have complicated stories.
Noble families had their own private graveyards, so nobles wouldn’t be buried here.
And commoners could never afford the price—it cost an entire year’s living expenses just to set up a grave.
So the ones buried here… were usually people with difficult pasts.
Like this body’s half-sister, who cut ties with the Evanroir family long ago.
I vaguely remembered coming here once before.
Following that memory, I walked for about ten minutes to the deeper part of the cemetery.
In front of a small marble grave, I placed the flowers I brought and gently held Aksion as I whispered:
“…I’ll raise Aksion well. You don’t have to worry anymore.”
Even when I tried digging into Cillia’s memories, almost nothing came up about her half-sister.
They had a big age gap, and she left the family when Cillia was very young—it made sense that there wasn’t much to remember.
I had always meant to come by someday, and today’s good weather made it the perfect time.
“The child is very beautiful.”
I kneeled down, holding Aksion close, and whispered softly.
‘There were two women who could’ve been my mother.
One tried to die with me before I even understood the world, and the other… tried to kill me, saying I was cursed.’
Maybe she made a terrible choice…
But she must’ve had her reasons too.
‘Still… how could you try to kill such an adorable baby? That’s unforgivable.’
I didn’t say it aloud—what if Aksion heard? I only glared silently at the grave.
I came here today because I hoped Aksion would, at the very least, have one positive memory linked to his birth mother.
If all he did was imagine her without ever seeing anything good, he might fill in the gaps with worse thoughts.
So I wanted him to see her grave on a peaceful, sunny day—like a gentle picnic.
“Eeeing…”
Aksion fussed, uncomfortable in my arms.
I shifted him and pulled a rattle from the stroller.
Rattle, rattle.
I shook it gently to calm him, then sat on a nearby bench.
I planned to rest here for a bit before heading back.
‘Hm?’
As I sat quietly, watching the leaves sway in the breeze, something strange brushed over me—like a wave passing through my whole body.
Then Aksion’s eyes turned purple.
“Action?”
Just moments ago, he was giggling at the rattle. Now he stared blankly into the distance, violet eyes glowing.
I nearly dropped him.
In the original novel, Aksion’s eyes turned purple when the Dragon Heart inside him reacted.
‘Calm down. Calm down. This happened often in the original too.’
Before he went crazy, Aksion’s Dragon Heart reacted to any nearby divine power.
Elstern had said that holy magic couldn’t harm him—but the Evil Dragon’s aura inside him caused these reactions.
‘It’s only his eyes. Just the eyes.’
Trying to steady my beating heart, I turned toward the direction Aksion was staring at.
‘Is someone using divine power nearby?’
He was staring at the large fountain in the center of the cemetery.
A man stood in front of it.
He had black hair, a straight posture, elegant clothing, and the air of someone with high status.
‘So he’s the one using divine power?’
Since Aksion was fixated on him, that seemed likely.
I quietly got up.
Someone with strong divine power + my baby with the Evil Dragon’s heart =
A very bad combination.
Leaving quickly was the safest option.
I just decided to leave when—
A low voice, heavy enough to sink into the ground, sounded behind me.
“What is this?”
“!”
I spun around.
The man who had been at the fountain was suddenly standing right behind me, looking down with his head tilted.
I had no idea how he got there so fast.
His face was beautiful enough to put movie stars to shame, but his expression was so fierce that I didn’t even have time to be impressed.
His golden eyes scanned me slowly. His lips curled in a cold smirk.
His voice was dangerously sharp.
“Your manner is far more vicious and hostile than you look. Are you friends with that idiot demon whose head I cut off last time? Did you come for revenge?”
“…Sorry?”
“You barged right through my barrier, and now you’re making that stupid face? You should practice your acting.”
Demon?
Barrier?
What nonsense was he spouting?
I blinked rapidly.
Was he sensing Aksion’s aura and mistaking him for some demon?
And more importantly—what a huge misunderstanding.
“I sliced your friend from the ankles upward. Where should I start with you? Your neck?”
“Um, excuse me.”
He reached his hand into the air—and a sword materialized out of nowhere.
The moment he gripped it, Aksion burst into terrified wails.
“UWAAAAAH!”
“……”
He frowned.
And I snapped.
No, seriously—who did this man think he was, making my baby cry?
“Hey.”
Grinding my teeth, I raised the rattle in my hand.
RATTLE!
The sound rang sharply as I thrust it toward him.
His eyes narrowed at the sight of the rattle.
“What’s that? A demonic artifact?”
“What absolute nonsense are you talking about? Can’t you see you scared my baby?!”
THRUST!
I shoved the rattle even closer to his face.
“Shake it.”
“…What?”
“Shake. The. Rattle. You made him cry, so you’re responsible for calming him down, you rude brute!”
The man froze completely.
