“…You were asleep for three days?”
[The king lowers his head and apologizes, saying he feels sorry.]
Is this even a proper sentence or just nonsense?
My mother, who was sitting next to me, looked at me with an expression on the verge of tears as I barely managed to open my eyes halfway.
“…I can’t open my eyes properly.”
Of course, it wasn’t like I was deliberately keeping them half-closed.
I just didn’t have the strength to open them.
“…Ughhh.”
“M-Minho?!”
“…Mom………….”
A wave of dizziness overwhelmed me.
[They say it’s probably due to a lack of mana.]
[The king reassures you, saying that if you endure it a little longer, you’ll be fine.]
[They advise you to keep your eyes closed as much as possible since the transplanted Mystic Eye is still unstable.]
I nodded and closed my right eye, where the Mystic Eye had been transplanted.
It probably made me look like I was winking, but the dizziness in my head subsided somewhat.
[The king winks at you, saying to call them if you need anything.]
…It’s a shame that I can only read this in text form.
I really want to see Sister Hwang-geum’s cheerful and lively wink too.
Thinking that, I let my body sink back into the bed.
“M-Minho, are you feeling really unwell?”
As soon as I lay back down after briefly sitting up, my mom gently stroked my stomach with trembling hands.
“I-I’m fine… just dizzy…”
I couldn’t help the weakness in my voice.
An overwhelming fatigue washed over me.
My eyes kept wanting to close.
Honestly, I wanted to let them.
“You can’t even open your eyes properly! How is that ‘fine’?”
“…Because I’m…tired…”
“Can’t you open the other eye?”
“…No.”
My mom frowned.
She had an expression as if her heart was aching.
It was the same look my older sister sometimes gave me—
A forced smile hiding pain that inevitably seeped through.
Now, my mom was looking at me like that.
It felt strange.
“…014.”
She pulled me into her embrace.
It was sudden, but I didn’t even have the energy to be surprised.
I just let my body rest in her arms.
She patted my back gently.
Eventually, my eyes closed, and I drifted into a peaceful sleep.
Hospital Room.
Inside the quiet room, Erses held her daughter in her arms.
Seeing Minho breathing warmly and peacefully in her arms, unlike before, she finally felt a sense of relief.
For three days, she had been too worried to sleep properly.
But in this moment, all her exhaustion disappeared.
“…My daughter.”
Her peacefully sleeping daughter didn’t answer, only shifting slightly in her embrace, exhaling warm breaths.
“…She said she couldn’t open her eyes properly.”
Minho had said it was because she was tired.
But a deep sense of unease gripped Erses.
She feared that her child had lost sight in one eye.
“Should I check…?”
Just as Erses was about to gently check Minho’s eyes, Minho, who had been fidgeting in her arms, mumbled in her sleep.
“…Mom… Dad… Don’t go… Please, don’t leave us behind…”
“…!!”
Minho spoke in a pained voice, her face filled with distress.
She kept scratching her chest, as if something was suffocating her.
“Minho… Mom is right here.”
Erses held Minho tightly in her arms and gently stroked her head.
“I will never leave you alone.”
As she looked at Minho’s now slightly more peaceful face, a faint smile formed on Erses’ lips.
Only now did the guilt start to settle in—
The guilt of knowing their past sins had led to their daughter getting hurt.
“…We were too late.”
“We hurt not just Emila, but Minho and Yuri as well.”
Laying Minho down on the bed, Erses lay beside her and sighed deeply.
Three children had been wounded.
And it was all because of the mistakes of the adults.
“This body, arise!”
The next morning.
Declaring confidently as I got up, I looked around.
“This isn’t my room?”
Had they moved me here because I hadn’t regained consciousness?
I figured that must be the case as I turned my head to the side.
“Mom?”
There she was, my mother, sleeping soundly beside me, drooling a little.
A dragon.
A royal, even.
Just how exhausted must she have been to sleep like that?
I couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for her.
“My mom is way too busy.”
I gave her a tight hug before quietly slipping out of the room.
[The king is shocked, exclaiming, ‘Your mana recovery is insane?!’]
‘Oh, hey, sis.’
[The king waves at you enthusiastically, greeting you warmly.]
It felt nice, like we had gotten much closer.
Maybe it was because I had acquired the Mystic Eye, but my mana recovery was ridiculously fast.
This was definitely an overpowered skill.
And on top of that, it was a passive ability?
‘…But I feel dizzy.’
Keeping my eyes open for too long made my head spin.
[The king suggests pulling up your status window and temporarily disabling the Mystic Eye if you’re struggling to adjust.]
‘Would that really be okay?’
[The king nods and gives you a thumbs-up.]
[They dote on you, saying, ‘Our Apostle should do whatever they want!’]
[Blessing of Gold! Mana and Strength permanently increased!]
…???
All of a sudden?!
[A gift!]
Just randomly boosting my stats like this—
This was totally broken.
A human—no, a dragon—who had earned divine favor.
What a predicament.
A predicament, sure, but… it didn’t feel bad.
Actually, I felt amazing.
I was unstoppable now!
[The king grins, saying, ‘I won’t just hand these out all the time, so don’t expect too much.’]
[They add that they might consider it if you act cute.]
“…T-that’s for later.”
I accidentally let that slip out loud.
[‘Later?!’ The king is overjoyed, taking it as a promise.]
T-that’s not what I meant…
Leaving the now overly excited golden sister behind, I pulled up my status window.
[Passive Skill: Would you like to deactivate Mystic Eye?]
[The Mystic Eye will automatically reactivate in critical situations.]
So it would turn back on whenever I was in danger?
Not bad.
This was what a real Mystic Eye should be like.
“…Before I turn it off, maybe I should check the mirror?”
I dashed back to the room with the full-length mirror.
“…Oh!”
Upon seeing my reflection, I was mesmerized.
My Mystic Eye was beautiful—
As if someone had plucked a full moon from the sky and embedded it into my eye.
“Heheh… So pretty.”
I admired the shimmering glow of my eye, winking at the mirror and striking a few poses.
“Alright, time to turn it off.”
I’d seen enough of my adorable and beautiful self.
Now it was time to deactivate it.
If I kept using it, I’d probably get dizzy and collapse.
Not to mention, I was a little afraid of becoming a narcissist.
‘Deactivate!’
[Mystic Eye deactivated. You can reactivate it anytime without additional procedures.]
I liked that I wouldn’t have to go through any extra steps to turn it back on.
Satisfied, I turned around.
And there—
Was a starving dragon, drooling as it stared at me.
And with that, she wore a terrifying, wide grin.
“Minho, what are you doing?!”
“M-Mom?!”
“Heheheheh.”
“M-Mom, your eyes look weird!”
“Minho, this is your fault. Mom did nothing wrong.”
“M-Mom, your eyes are really weird!!”
And after that… I was subjected to an extreme “squish-the-cheeks” attack by Mom.
For a whole 30 minutes.
“…Your Majesty, your meal…?”
“Please spare me… Mom’s eyes were weird…”
“P-Princess?!”
The head maid, who had come in carrying a meal, intervened and helped stop Mom.
Thanks to that, I was finally freed after thirty long minutes.
“…Oh my! Look at me losing control.”
“Mom!”
“My dear! Are you feeling okay?”
Mom’s eyes were back to normal, and when I jumped into her arms, she hugged me tightly, beaming with a bright smile.
And next to us, the head maid was muttering to herself—
“…Should I hurry up and get married…?”
“A daughter like Her Highness… I’d love to raise one too…”
She was seriously contemplating having kids.
Even though she wasn’t even married yet.
A child like me isn’t something you can just find anywhere.
Yeah, no way.
“Minho, you have a cousin now. Let’s go greet her after we finish eating.”
“…A cousin?”
“Yep. You already know her, actually. But she hasn’t spoken a single word to me, your brother, or your sister, so I don’t know if she’ll talk to you.”
Mom looked a little worried as she said that.
Wait, I have a cousin?
I didn’t even know I had extended family.
I’d never really seen many people in the palace, and I’d never noticed any guests visiting either.
“From Dad’s side or Mom’s side?”
“Your dad’s side.”
Mom chuckled and casually popped a cherry tomato into my mouth.
“Aww, you eat so well.”
“Hehe.”
It felt kind of silly to be praised for eating at my age,
but seeing Mom so happy made it all worth it.
After finishing our meal, Mom, the head maid, and I headed toward my cousin’s room and knocked on the door.
[They ask if you came to see the half-blood you saved.]
[The king advises you to take good care of her, saying she was chosen as an ally by Father of the Night Sky.]
[The king explains that it’s the half-dragon you saved before.]
…Wait, that half-dragon was my cousin?!
I almost gasped out loud but managed to cover it up by pretending to cough.
“Minho, are you okay?”
“Y-Yeah, I just choked a little. Hehe.”
“I see. Be careful, okay?”
‘You should have told me something this important beforehand!’
[The king apologizes.]
[They tell you to get along well with your cousin.]
Well… I guess I should try to get along with her.
But no matter how long we waited, the door didn’t open.
“…Emila.”
Mom knocked again, calling the name that I assumed belonged to my cousin.
But even then, the door remained closed.
“Mom? Are you okay?”
Mom’s face twisted with deep sorrow, so I asked her worriedly.
She quickly forced a smile.
“O-Of course! I’m fine. Looks like your cousin is really tired today.”
“Why don’t we go somewhere else for now? I need to help with reopening the birth festival preparations, too.”
The festival had been postponed?
Well, I guess there was no helping it.
“Okay!”
“Good girl.”
Mom took my hand and turned back the way we came.
I turned with her, but my eyes stayed fixed on the closed door.
‘…She said she was tired…’
‘Well, suddenly coming to a new place would be exhausting, I guess.’
In the end, I brushed it off and moved on.
Inside the dimly lit room.
Under the covers, a pale and haggard Emila held her breath.
Only after the sounds of footsteps faded did she whisper to herself.
“…Why?”
“What is this…?”
“I’m scared…”
“…So confused.”
“God… please, give me an answer.”
“I-I’m so scared…”
“…I’m terrified that the dragons might hurt me.”
The dragons had saved her.
The princess had collapsed after saving her.
And yet, every day, the dragons came to check on her.
It was all just too much for Emila.
She knew they were approaching her with kindness—
But in her life, people who seemed kind had always had ulterior motives.
Even the Great Mage had approached her with a friendly smile at first.
Emila’s heart, locked away in fear, would not open easily.
Because to her, the goodwill of the dragons felt eerily similar to the false kindness of the Great Mage.
She couldn’t bring herself to trust them.