Chapter 44 : Birth Festival (3)

Destiny trudged down into the underground prison, her hands bound.

With a deeply unjust expression, she mulled over the words of fate.

[New connections, new encounters, forge your ties.]

Fate had certainly whispered those words into Destiny’s ear.

She was sure of it.

And yet, why were her hands shackled?

The cuffs were made of sealing stone.

However, no mere trinket could suppress the magic of the top-ranking Demon Lord.

Gazing at the cuffs, Destiny watched as the guards who had shoved her into the cell laughed, then leisurely walked away from the underground prison.

“…You’re seriously locking me up?”

Wasn’t this just a childish tantrum?

And yet, they were actually imprisoning her?

Destiny had no idea that in the Dragon Kingdom, everyone was utterly devoted to the princess, willing to do anything for her.

Fate can be cruel at times.

Minho—no, Han Minho—was the type of person who utterly despised cults.

[Form a connection with her…]

[…After Void, it’s your turn…]

Fate still hovered noisily around Destiny.

Until its will was fulfilled, the echoes would not cease.

Ignoring the whispers, Destiny used her nine tails to make a bed and lay down.

“…I refuse to sit on straw.”

Though, either way, dirt would still cling to her clothes.

—”Aaaaaaaahhhhh!!!”

A man’s scream suddenly rang out.

It was an oddly familiar sound.

It sounded very much like the voice of the emperor who had been dragged away earlier.

“…Huh?!”

Hearing the screams from inside, Destiny, who had been lounging in a rather improper manner, quickly sat up on the straw, kneeling.

“A-hem! Straw isn’t so bad… I guess.”

Raising her tails, she sat primly, glancing toward the source of the screams every time they echoed.

Unlike her older sister, who fought against an Elder of the Mineral Dragons with hearty laughter, Destiny was rather mild-mannered.

She only pretended to be bold by imitating her sister.

‘…Please, save me.’

‘Ugh… Sister… I’m sorry.’

Even though she admired her sister deep down, Destiny still adored and relied on her.

It was simply unfortunate that her once fearless sister had now become a tail-wagging pup.

—”Aaaaagh!!”

—”Please! Save me!!!”

As the unending screams filled the prison, Destiny shivered and muttered:

“Fate is… cruel.”

Huddled in the underground cell, she shivered, cursing fate, though it had done nothing wrong.

It had told her to forge connections, not to recklessly charge forward.

But perhaps this, too, was fate.

Even so, fear was still fear.

Fate had hinted at her sister’s destiny, but when it came to Destiny herself, it remained silent.

It only appeared when necessary, whispering instructions on what to do.

“…Hmph.”

Honestly, she felt a little hurt.

Since birth, fate had only ever given her instructions without truly explaining anything, and Destiny resented it for that.

A spoiler-giving, backseat-driving nuisance.

Fate was far more annoying than she had imagined.

At that moment—

“Oh my, look who it is?”

“…Sister?”

Her own older sister had personally come all the way to the underground prison.

Void burst into laughter at Destiny’s dumbfounded expression.

“Isn’t this the great Demon Lord herself?”

“…U-uh, Sister…”

“What are you doing here?”

“…The birth festival happens only once every 1,200 years… If I didn’t show up, what would the dragons say?”

“Tsk, what kind of Demon Lord has such little nerve?”

Void’s mocking tone made Destiny flare up, glaring at her.

“Y-you’re one to talk! You ran away here yourself!!”

“…What?”

Void’s expression instantly turned icy.

‘D-did I go too far?’

Seeing the look in Void’s eyes, Destiny quickly backed down and apologized.

“…S-sorry.”

“Get up.”

Void smiled and opened the prison door for her.

—Thwack!

“Guh?!?”

‘Mess around and you’re dead. Stay quiet until we return to the Demon Realm.’

“Y-yep…”

‘If you so much as touch him, I’ll kill you before the Elders even get the chance.’

“…S-sorry…”

Void’s vacant, soulless eyes locked onto Destiny, her words void of warmth.

Destiny was used to Void’s cold tone, but her actions were usually kind.

Now, however, she was completely devoid of any compassion.

Shocked by this unfamiliar version of her sister, Destiny stared into her eyes.

That’s when she realized just how furious Void really was.

“…Sister…?”

“What.”

“Hiik?!”

Destiny immediately lowered her head.

She had witnessed firsthand what happened to those who incurred Void’s wrath.

Naturally, she bowed before her.

Though she had no idea why her sister was angry with her in the first place.

‘How dare you feed Minho?! Even I haven’t done that!’

Void’s reason for being angry was simpler than Destiny had expected.

The Next Morning

Perhaps she had eaten too many Wuha skewers—her stomach felt awful.

Practically crawling to the Elders’ chamber, she finally reached Grandmother Baal and received treatment.

“…Ughhhh.”

“Oh dear, my child! Eating too much isn’t good!”

“I-it’s not like I wanted to eat that much…”

“Hmph! Eating lots and enjoying it isn’t bad! You’re still a baby, you should eat plenty!”

Destiny looked at Grandmother Baal with bewildered eyes.

Grandmother Baal, looking a little awkward, scratched her cheek with a sheepish smile.

“When Grandma and Grandpa give you food, you should eat it all, understand?”

“Yes.”

Destiny nodded.

It seemed that even in this place, grandparents had a habit of overfeeding their grandchildren.

Honestly, she found it a little scary.

Perhaps it would be best to avoid meals with the grandmothers from now on.

Later

“Alright, let’s go.”

“Okay, Sister.”

Her older sister was waiting for her behind, reaching out a hand.

It was an invitation to be carried.

Since she was offering to carry her, there was no reason to refuse.

Destiny immediately chomp chomp chomp latched onto her sister.

After giving Grandmother Baal a polite farewell, her sister swiftly dashed toward the castle’s main gate.

Today was the day they would meet and exchange greetings with the important figures from various nations—along with Sister, Emila, and herself.

Outside, the citizens continued to enjoy the festival as they had the day before.

However, the high-ranking officials would be gathering in the palace’s designated park to hold discussions.

In other words, it was a serious meeting.

Trying to suppress the growing tension, Destiny rubbed her cheeks.

There was something oddly comforting about how soft and squishy they felt, fitting perfectly in her hands.

“Pfft! Minho, you look like an electric rodent!”

“Huh?”

“Why do you keep rubbing your cheeks? Are you trying to act cute for me?”

Since they were alone, her sister laughed and teasingly asked.

An electric rodent?

That was a character from a kids’ cartoon.

Sure, it was cute.

But it wasn’t like I was trying to act cute.

I frowned, my eyebrows forming an inverted “ㅅ” shape.

How annoying.

“I’m not!”

“Stop seducing me. That level of cuteness is lethal.”

“What are you even saying?”

Ignoring my sister’s teasing, I kept squeezing my cheeks.

At the Garden

As soon as we arrived, my mom spotted me and—

“KYAAAAA!!!”

She shrieked and pulled me into a tight embrace.

“So cute! So cute! So cute! SO CUTE!”

“M-Mom?!”

“You’re so adorable, I just want to bite you!”

And she really did.

With a loud “Chomp!”, she bit my cheek—not hard enough to hurt, but enough to stretch it.

“Uweh…!”

—Boing!

My cheek snapped back to its original shape.

“Eww, spit!”

“S-sorry! I’ll clean you up.”

She immediately cast a cleansing spell, making my entire body feel fresh.

“Oh.”

“Feel better?”

“Yep!”

“That’s good.”

Mom smiled and stroked my head.

Grinning at her touch, I turned to look at the white garden behind us.

There stood a man glaring at the arrogant emperor—who, by now, looked utterly disheveled.

Sitting beside him was Fate’s cultist, looking quite dejected.

Apart from the glaring man, everyone else seemed kind of strange.

Feeling lucky to have my sister and mother, I reached out and tightly held onto Emila’s hand.

“Minho, never respond to that emperor. Just ignore him.”

My sister warned me just as our eyes met with the emperor’s.

He flinched.

The arrogance he had yesterday was completely gone.

A satisfying sight.

Beside him, the black-haired man looked genuinely shocked.

He had been staring at the emperor like an old rival, but now, his expression suggested he couldn’t believe how much the emperor had changed.

‘Did Dad do something to him?’

I was wondering that when—

“Sorry, I’m a bit late. Had to investigate something.”

“Dad!”

“Ah, my youngest!”

Dad finally arrived at the garden.

A vast lavender field stretched around us, with pristine white chairs arranged neatly.

“Alright, shall we begin?”

And so, the gathering started.

A Sudden Plea

“…If I knew it’d turn out like this, I wouldn’t have taken such a risk…”

A hollow murmur came from someone nearby, but I was too focused on the snacks that appeared before me.

“Pastries!”

“Minho, eat slower.”

“Okay!”

Despite my sister’s advice, I stuffed my mouth with treats.

Maybe it was because I had turned into a child, but I just couldn’t resist sweets.

It wasn’t until much later that I finally started paying attention to the conversation around me.

“Princess…!! Please listen to me! I really want to make up with my sister…!!”

“…Huh?”

“Hing…”

I never expected to hear the Demon Lord tearfully pleading for help in reconciling with her sister.

As I was processing the situation, the Demon Lord’s eyes filled with tears, and she begged:

“I want to make up with her… Please help me!”

“…?”

Why me?

I turned to my parents, but instead of helping, they just gave me a thumbs-up, as if saying, “You’re the only one who can do it.”

Both my sister and Emila were watching me with pleased expressions.

At some point, the emperor had collapsed on the ground, but no one paid him any mind.

The black-haired man also had the same dumbfounded look as me.

‘He’s a lot like me, huh?’

For some reason, he seemed unexpectedly mature.