“Get out!”
Lorin shoved Claire toward the doorway and snapped, “Why aren’t you bonding with your dear sister? Why are you bothering me instead?”
Claire clung desperately to the doorframe, refusing to budge.
“Bonding with my daughter is obviously more important!”
“Who’s your daughter?! There’s no daughter of yours here. Be smart and put me back where you found me!”
Lorin’s face was full of exasperation as she doubled down, using all her strength to push Claire out of the room.
Eventually, she managed to succeed and was about to slam the big pink door shut—
—but suddenly paused.
Hope flickered in Claire’s eyes.
Was she going to change her mind?
Then came Lorin’s voice, sharp and businesslike:
“By the way, when are you going to compensate me for my alchemy item—my spatial cube?”
She had almost forgotten about that.
Since Claire had voluntarily delivered herself to her doorstep, she wasn’t going to be polite.
Claire froze, eyes narrowing as memories surfaced.
She remembered the little alchemical trinket Lorin had used to ambush her in that alley.
Her lips curled into a cold sneer.
“You know, I was fine until you brought that up. But now I’m pissed.”
“You stabbed me twice and now you’re asking for compensation?”
“That’s a separate matter entirely…”
Lorin muttered under her breath, face red with embarrassment.
Claire had been the one who’d walked into her knife—not her fault!
And besides, she’d already paid a very heavy price for those stabs.
“I’ll compensate you,” Claire said slowly, “if you let me take one little bite.”
“No way!”
The memory of Claire biting her in that alley had become a recurring nightmare—many a night she’d cursed herself for ever picking that fight…
“Fine then,” Claire said, backing up with a sinister smile.
“Let me bite you anyway, and I still won’t compensate you.”
Lorin froze.
She suddenly sensed danger… and when her eyes met Claire’s, they were filled with hunger.
Lorin: “!!!”
“Forget the compensation!”
She spun around in a panic and grabbed the door handle with both hands, slamming the door shut with a bang—
—or so she thought.
A slender, snow-white hand shot out and braced the door open.
Lorin shoved with all her might, but the door wouldn’t budge an inch—it might as well have been nailed to the wall.
Tears welled up in her eyes.
She squealed, half-threat, half-plea, “Claire! I swear, if you try anything, I’ll scream!”
“Even if you scream until your throat breaks… no one will come~”
“HEEELP!”
Claire swooped forward and scooped her up like a prize.
Up to now, Lorin had always been the one biting her.
Claire had yet to taste what her daughter was like.
“Mother dearest~”
Lorin switched tactics, going full spoiled princess.
Unfortunately, this only triggered something in Claire.
“Mommy’s here~”
***
The next morning, Lorin opened her eyes wearily atop the huge pink bed.
She was exhausted.
Thank goodness she’d bitten Claire a few times in return last night, or she might not have survived her wrath.
“Damn Claire! Crazy daughter-obsessed psycho! Evil woman!”
“Why… why is my life such a never-ending string of tragedies?!”
Sitting upright, Lorin began loudly cursing Claire’s vile conduct.
Of course, none of it changed her fate.
Her title of “Princess” came with no dignity attached.
Her eyes drifted to a nearby blood pack.
With a long sigh, she reached over and began her breakfast in silence.
Moments later, she sank into full-on sage mode—life just felt so… empty.
“No. No! I refuse to let Claire ruin my youth. I will never surrender!”
Closing her eyes, she focused inward, feeling the flow of mana through her body.
She was close—very close to becoming a fourth-tier mage.
Once she got there, she wouldn’t have to fear Grace anymore.
Knock knock knock!
“Come in,” Lorin called lazily.
Grace entered quietly.
Before the maid could speak, Lorin cut her off. “Take me to your alchemy workshop.”
Since Claire had no intention of compensating her—and even dared to bring up the stabbing—then Lorin wasn’t going to hold back either.
She had paid a very steep price for that incident, thank you very much.
She planned to use the Blood Clan’s alchemy materials to craft herself a new artifact.
If she could find spatial cube components, all the better.
Because she wasn’t just a grand archmage—she was an alchemist.
Alchemists had three tiers: Explorer, Equivalent Exchange, and Gold.
In her past life, she had reached the second tier—Equivalent Exchange Alchemist.
“Your Highness…”
Grace looked like she wanted to say something but hesitated.
Lorin raised a brow. “What is it?”
“The Queen and Princess asked that you go to the royal office… to handle some matters.”
Lorin’s face twisted in disdain.
So they really were treating her like an heir.
No thanks!
She needed to find a way to return to her original body and start a romantic journey worthy of a young adult.
There was no way she was staying trapped in this loli form.
What if things got serious and someone looked at her and said, “Wait… you don’t have that?”
Where would she even put her face then?!
“No—”
Just as she began to refuse, Grace added, “The Princess said that if you don’t go, she’ll personally come visit you. Every single night…”
“I’M GOING! Heading to the royal office now—let’s move!”
Lorin did a 180 on the spot.
***
“Where are they?”
Lorin looked around, bewildered.
The massive royal office was completely empty.
It sat at the highest level of the castle.
The morning sun poured in through spotless windows, flooding the space with a warm, golden glow.
The walls were painted a pristine white.
A few abstract paintings hung in asymmetrical harmony, adding life and artful flair to the otherwise orderly room.
At the front sat an enormous, finely crafted desk.
Its surface was as smooth as a mirror, glinting faintly in the light.
Behind it stood a luxury chair—its ergonomic design perfectly blended comfort and nobility.
Soft leather.
Precise stitching.
The kind of craftsmanship that screamed expensive.
Piled high across the desk were towering stacks of documents, blocking Lorin’s line of sight… and maybe her future.
“They… went out to inspect the Bloodlands,” Grace said after a moment’s thought, carefully choosing her words.
Lorin stared at the paper mountain and swallowed hard.
She had a very bad feeling.
This stack… couldn’t possibly be for her, could it?
“Uh… actually, let’s just head to the alchemy lab—”
She tried to slip out, but Grace blocked her path.
“The Queen and Princess said they’d like to assess Your Highness’s capabilities in governing state affairs.”
“Wha—?! Is that even legal???”
Lorin was dumbfounded.
Then she laughed coldly.
Oh, now she got it.
The two of them just wanted to go out and have fun without coming back to a fortress buried in paperwork.
So they’d dumped it all on her, like she was some beast of burden in the royal stables.
“Assessment,” they said… Ha!
Half of Phyllis’ current governing skill came from her guidance back in the day!
Though of course, no one here knew she was once the famed archmage of the Northern Continent.
“Not doing it!”
She raised both hands in protest, declaring her resignation from responsibility.
“The Princess… left a letter for you.”
Grace quietly took out a sealed envelope and handed it to her.
Lorin accepted it and looked down.
Scrawled across the front was a single name:
Christian Byrne.