TL: Zimmings
âYes. You must have been sincere.â
When I spoke lightly, Storas raised his head and glanced at me.
âMeria to meâ¦â¦!â
âTo you what?â
âA little⦠mean?â
Meria had no interest in Lard Stor, or to be exact, she had no understanding of love between men and women; thus, she did not even give Storas the slightest chance.
âSheâs not.â
Storas grumbled as I continued to speak sternly.
âHow would you know that?â
âIâm Meria, Serga showed me the past!â
⦠I couldnât answer, but my eyes narrowed.
âI canât reveal that I was Meria right now.â
So far, the devils I have summoned have been unable to interact with one another, but I have observed some ancient pioneers who could travel between realms.
If it turns out that the devils are aware that I am Meria, the devils under the command of Neliard will launch an attack against me.
As a human being, there is no way I can defeat the devil. If they have attack-type powers, even Pur will not be able to stop them.
âThe cunning devils will prey on the humans around me like Storas. My family will be in danger.â
âDo you really think so?â
When I asked, Storas replied, âOf courseâ¦!â He shouted and turned his head.
He must have known that Meria wasnât interested in him. That doesnât seem to be distorted in his memory.
âThink carefully. If that article goes, the devils who will be summoned to the world would know about your first love right?â
âT-this meanâ¦â¦!â
âYes. I am a mean child.â
Storas gnawed his teeth and hid again.
All right, I think Storas will help me, and nowâ¦â¦.â
With that thought in mind, I turned my head to see my aunt, Cecilia, and my three maids, Dahlia, Linda, and Yuni, with their eyes wide open.
I said scratching my head.
âSo, uh, umâ¦â¦ Thatâs how it happened.â
âPardon?â
âYes?â
âWhat?â
The maids, Cecilia, and my aunt asked with hardened faces, and I said, âHehe,â with an awkward smile.
âI am a child of evil God who can summon devils.â
My aunt rose to her feet, Cecilia rubbed her temples, and the three maids exclaimed, âAhhhâ¦â as they slumped to the floor in stunned silence.
***
I explained my power to my aunt, Cecilia, and the three maids.
I told them about regressing three times, and after touching newt in this life, the power of the evil God was awakened, and I was able to summon the devils after obtaining etwal.
What was surprising was that my aunt, Cecilia, and the three maids were only momentarily startled, but did not look at me strangely.
âI recognized it at first sight. As expected, our lady was special! This brilliance! I couldnât believe you are an ordinary kid!â
The maids said that, and smiled.
Cecilia understood the situation more easily than they did even though she didnât know I was the child of the evil God summoning the devil.
And my auntâ¦
âIt must have been difficult.â
ââ¦â¦.â
âYouâve grown up so well even after going through all those terrible things. Youâre awesome.â
After she said that, she hugged me, and it brought tears to my eyes.
All that has been accomplished so far has not been in vain. Through so many things, I have had so many precious people.
âThis time, I will never die as a sacrifice.â
I intend to remain in this place for the rest of my life with my family and friends.
I made up my mind.
After talking with my aunt, I was snooping in the hallway when the chairman approached me.
âHave you been crying?â
âDo you think everyone is a crybabyâ¦â¦.â
âNo?â
âNo! Iâm crying because of what happened today!â
As I pouted my lips, the chairman said,
âIâm really glad you woke up. Seria, Trigon, and Zachary worried a lot.â
âI think the chairman did too?â
âI could barely sleep a couple of times a week.â
âYou mean other people were more concerned than that?â
âYes.â
The chairman, who smiled, guided me.
We walked into the greenhouse together. The chairman told me what had happened while I was sleeping. He told me about the hope mercenary guild, and the story of Cecilia having been appointed as the empress three days ago.
âThere must have been a lot of work while I was away, but it was hard.â
âWe suffered a lot. Would you like to enter the Imperial Palace? When they heard that the young lady had woken up, I got a call from Empress Yvonneâs Palace and the Empress Dowagerâs Palace.â
ââIâll give it some thought. I need to organize my thoughts firstâ
âDo you have anything to organize?â
âYes. I fell asleep because the evil God showed me an ancient dream. Turns out, I was the sister of Neliard.â
Thud-!
It was the sound of a thick book falling from the chairmanâs hand.
He gazed at me with his eyes as wide as saucers and his mouth gaping open in shock and disbelief.
âH-how could you say something like that so casuallyâ¦â¦! Is it true?â
âYes. And I am also Storasâ unrequited love, Meria. Meria was my pseudonym in her previous life.â
Thud-!!
It was the sound of the chairman stepping backwards and hitting the wall.
I patted the chairmanâs jacket in amazement.
âCan you please donât surprise me? If I lose focus, I canât stop Storas from talking.â
âOf course Iâm surprised!â
âFor now, only the chairman knows. My dad and my brothers had worried a lot, I donât want them to worry more.â
As I walked ahead and spoke, the chairmanâs tone became more hushed.
âBecause you donât want to worry Lea and Javelin, you donât let them know youâre the youngest child?â
Standing tall, I stopped walking and looked back at him.
â⦠Iâll tell them after I finish everything.â
âWhat are you planning?â
âIâll prepare myself to slaughter Neliard and the temple first.â
âHuhâ¦â¦?â
âThink about it. If I reveal that I am the youngest child, I must also say that it was the temple that killed my mother and Reina. So how do you think Lea and my aunt will react?â
âIf itâs these two, they will most likely attack the temple.â
âWhat if someone confronts the temple?â
âThey will probably die.â
âYes. Thatâs why we all need to be ready.â
âAre you really going to fight God? Attacking the temple makes sense, but Godâ¦! Besides, arenât you siblings in your previous life?â
I pursed my lips as I stared at the chairman.
âThe Meria, who only knew her brother, had long died. The only one left is me, the child who dared to attack God.â
ââ¦â¦.â
âWhether itâs a God or a temple, if they hurt us, Iâll fight back.â
âYesâ¦â¦.â
âNow that you know, write an article. We need to pressure the temple first.â
âWhat article are you talking about?â
âThe title will be [Leblaine Lisette Dubblede awakens. The reason she slept for two months was because of the templeâs pressure?!] That would be enough.â
Having said that, I threw a magic tool at the chairman.
âWhat is this?â
âThe cardinal came to me and I recorded the threats he made. Spread the recording with it.â
âWow, youâreâ¦â¦.â
The chairman exclaimed and continued.
âYou must be the most cunning in the world.â
âThanks for the compliment.â
âYes, Iâve been thinking too hard when the solution is that simple.â
I hummed as I supported the back of my head with my hands.
âAh, chairman.â
âYes?â
âI have a favor to ask of Trigon. Call him.â
The chairman had a puzzled expression on his face, but soon nodded his head.
***
The empire was turned upside down with the article published by Dubblede.
The chairman cleverly re-edited the cardinalâs threats and sent out the article.
âWasnât the last case of Marquis Shuheil a ploy by the temple to obtain the child of fate?â
âThe reason Marquis Shuheilâs condition has reached that point is that the temple doesnât heal him purposely, right?â
âNo, I heard they deliberately made his legs rot.â
âOh my God, thatâs terrible!â
âAre those who bear the name of God actually so wicked? The child of little fate is pitiful.â
âShe must have suffered so muchâ¦â¦.â
The emperor sympathized with the controversy surrounding the temple and reduced the templeâs authority.
Because the public was not on their side, the temple could not use any other means, and sent Cardinal Reginald, who threatened me, to apologize.
I said to Reginald, who was trembling with disgrace.
âHaa-! Seeing the cardinal, I canât breathe againâ¦â¦!!â
âLady!â
âLeblaine.â
âKid!â
Then, I pretended to faint, Reginald, who could not apologize, had to come and go seven times.
At the end, he knelt down and begged earnestly to forgive his foolish self.
But I never forgave the temple.
The temple was once again subjected to humiliation.
And I snickered as I stared inside the deserted temple through my telescope from a safe distance.
âLook at that.â
Seria, who has a grudge at the temple, laughed and enjoyed the situation.
âOkay, thenâ¦â
With my gaze fixed on Etwal, I pulled out a long-distance teleportation scroll.
I found myself on the old plateau after tearing up the scroll and opening my eyes.
âIt was once where the ancient capital was located.â
Everywhere I looked, memories of Meria, the pioneers, and Neliard came to mind.
ââ¦â¦.â
I looked around without a word, then grabbed etwal as it gently gave me strength.
Storas appeared in front of me in his human form.
âCan you give it to me now? The book about devilsâ passages.â
âYou didnât make my wish come true.â
âIsnât your wish really to wipe out the traces of Meria from the human world?â
âOf courseâ¦â¦!â
Storas, who had been shouting, looked at me and gave a confused expression.
âOf course, I, that girlâ¦â¦.â
âDo you remember Meria?â
âYes!â
âDo you remember what she looked like, how she smiled?â
âThatâ¦â¦.â
He turned his head.
âAs expected, he only remembered that he hated a person called Meria, and canât remember her properly.â
I handed the magic tool I made with Trigon to Storas.
He took a close look at the magic tool before casting a curious glance my way.
âWhat is this?â
âIf you like it, make it your wish.â
âNo matter what this is, I wonât like it.â
He snorted and activated the magic tool. In an instant, the magic tool shone blue. And what appearedâ¦
[Iâm referring to Ediora. You have it right? Give it to me.]
Storasâ gaze trembled slightly.
In his two hands, he could see the ancient Meria grass.
[Letâs take a look at your herbs, huh?]
[Start!]
[Itâs three scoops of corn oil. Not two eggs.]
Gradually, Storasâ expression began to crumble. He gritted his teeth, bit his lip and lowered his head. Meria said with a wide smile.
[Iâm glad youâre here.]
[â¦â¦Lard.]
âLard.â
He shook his head at my words.
âHow do you⦠howâ¦â¦.â
âBecause I saw Meria in ancient times.â
ââ¦â¦It must be Serga.â
âYes.â
âBut whyâ¦â¦.â
âGod loves me, you and everyone.â
Storas let out a laugh, as Meria opened her mouth again.
[If your ribs are sore, go to the doctor who could take care of it.]
âMy bones werenât sore. This fool.â
[Why do you keep repeating the same thing over and over again?]
The vision of Meria, who smiled, soon turned into a butterfly and scattered in the air. Storas, no, Lard Stor murmured while holding the magic tool in his arms.
âI love you.â
ââ¦â¦.â
âI love you, Meria.â
Thank you.
A light appeared on Lard Storâs body.
[I hated you.]
âWhy?â
[Because you resembled Meria. Soâ¦â¦.]
âI know it without you saying it, fool.â
He glanced at me with a smile on his face and chuckled, exactly like he did back then. Then he vanished without a trace.
Before Storas completely disappeared, a book fell from the sky and hit the ground.
When I took the book, he had completely vanished.
Standing on the old plateau alone, I began to move.
Itâs getting close to the end of it.
***
The passage of time was brisk.
One spring day when the flowers are in full bloom,
âLady, lady! In front of the castleâ¦â¦!â
Laura entered the room and looked around with a puzzled expression.
âOh my, where are youâ¦â¦.â
âIâm here.â
Laura turned her head at the sound of a distant voice. Her beautiful curly hair fluttered below her chest, and her face was slender. With her chin on her hands, she looked at Laura and asked languidly.
âWhatâs going on today?â
âMaster Isaac broke a manâs leg who proposed to you.â
Taking a deep breath, she stretched out.
âLady, please save themâ¦!â
âAll right, letâs go.â
Leblaine is now 17 years old.
The curtain has risen.