Chapter 5

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The water in the fountain’s basin seemed far out of reach as I struggled. Somehow, I managed to steady myself by gripping the side of the fountain, but given my current height and my short arms, the chances of the pacifier touching the water were slim.

Maybe if I’m lucky… Perhaps a little magic would help me dunk it.

I focused hard on the thought, but nothing happened. Simply put, I couldn’t focus while standing. After barely managing to struggle to my feet, collapsing on the ground and awkwardly lying on my back so I could use magic would be so embarrassing. What if someone saw me?

In any case, I don’t want anyone watching me in broad daylight. I might be a good-for-nothing baby, but I would not stoop to such a position to use magic.

I desperately lifted my heels off the ground, stretching as far as I could to reach for the water with the pacifier in my hand. My stubby legs felt pathetic. I guess I must have been well-fed at some point for them to be so plump, but now they seemed to be weighing me down.

I couldn’t even see the water, let alone reach it. The sound of trickling echoed in my ears.

“Baa!” How frustrating! Ugh, why does my voice sound so ridiculous?

I was beginning to lose hope. With a deep sigh, I slumped back to the ground, stuffing the pacifier in my mouth. I was physically exhausted. I sucked on the pacifier and dropped my head.

I felt as if I were being watched. When I turned my head, I saw a group of people gathered, peering at me with interest.

I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t use my magic. I’m sure they would have laughed at me if I started grunting and flailing. As I sighed in relief, I began to make sense of the figures.

Could it be? It’s Deschar and Charente Klaune. Fortunately, they didn’t seem to have changed much from the last time I saw them. That meant that it hadn’t been too long since I died.

Considering my past life, I would be able to wield magic properly by the age of five or six and be able to use some simple magic circle spells. Since I experienced it all before, learning the techniques a second time would go much quicker. Once I got to a certain level, I should be able to move onto intermediate circle spells without much difficulty. At that point, I could live independently and use magic to create food for myself and craft magic stones or objects to sell.

I planned to store whatever documents I managed to take in a subspace and retrieve them later. Using those secrets, I’d return to Sylopia, eliminate the ones who betrayed me, and reclaim my position. I would have to wipe out about half of the empire to do it.

Charente Klaune is a bit of a nuisance. Not only was he gifted with intelligence, but his innate judgment skills were top-notch. He could always tell where a magician’s weaknesses lay. I heard he was around his mid-thirties, but I’ve known him since I was sixteen.

His arrogance couldn’t be understated, and he didn’t even bother with commoners. He only dealt with individuals of high class and noble lineage. He probably ranked people in his head and only interacted with those he deemed above a certain score threshold.

Deschar Klaune, however… Dealing with the duke was more than just a bother.

Although I was Sylopia’s representative leader, I had often found myself lacking in experience and negotiation skills because I was so young.

As a fledgling kingdom, Sylopia had to pursue diplomacy through various means. Honestly, Sylopia hadn’t had much to gain from diplomatic relations with the Hayren Empire. We could easily produce an ample supply of creatures, fertile land, and magic objects to satisfy the supply and demand within our own kingdom. Magical assistance made farming simple. Through magic, one could obtain seeds and create any environment to suit livestock or crops, even ones that only thrived in specific conditions. There was no need to suffer economic losses by pursuing exchange with other countries.

Still, Sylopia was a country founded by witches, who were vilified until recently. We could not show our weaknesses to others and needed to create a stable foundation for ourselves. The first nation to extend its hand to us was the Hayren Empire, but I was reluctant to enter into any agreements with them that would be unsatisfactory or disadvantageous to Sylopia in any way.

I had been desperately putting off the decision, but Charente and Deschar Klaune had constantly pressed me—Charente with his words, and Deschar with his actions. Not that they said or did anything dishonestly, trying to mislead me.

Each time I met with them, I promised to give them an answer the next time and resumed deliberations. That was how I had to deal with them—delay, delay, and try to come up with a decision before the next diplomatic meeting. It was the only way I could make up for my lack of experience and protect my kingdom.

I slowly lowered my gaze. But this time, I’ll have the upper hand. No noble house could remain unscathed when their confidential documents were stolen and their military forces were seized. As I imagined my glorious future, I felt better.

As I chuckled deviously, a maid with a menacing look in her eyes approached me out of nowhere. Y-you cowards! I thought. Charente and Deschar had clearly sent her to do their dirty work for them.

I quickly pulled myself back onto all fours and rapidly scurried away. I’ve got to get out of here!

The fountain wasn’t going to work. Next time, I would definitely have to find the pond and get this pacifier washed off. It’s disgusting. If I keep sucking on this thing, I’m definitely going to come down with something.

The best I could do for now was to perform a gravity spell. Even that required me to intensely concentrate and grunt embarrassingly.

“Aboo!” A strange sound leaked out of my mouth. It didn’t seem like a word, but it wasn’t a random cry either.

I frantically wiggled my arms and legs. My palms and knees hurt, but I couldn’t risk getting caught by the maid. I couldn’t keep sucking on this dirty pacifier either!

“S-stop right there! Put your hands up!” the woman shouted.

Put my hands up? A baby? What an idiot.

With a malicious grin, I flailed my limbs and rushed forward. But at the next moment, I suddenly felt like I was floating. I frowned as I realized that I had been picked up,

Ah… No matter how fast I crawled, an adult could catch up to me in just a few strides. Trembling all over, I hung my head low. Damn it. I’m pathetic. My reign as Hela is over.

Slinging me under one arm, the maid returned me to the nursery and quickly plopped me into the crib. She glared at me with a deep sigh, then fetched a heavy blanket to swaddle me and keep me from moving. She pressed down on me as I struggled helplessly. Come on! What did I do to deserve this wretched treatment?

“How on earth did you escape? I had to face the head butler’s scolding because of you, you worthless half-blood!”

Her face contorted with anger as she spoke bitterly. Her image seemed distorted and her words were cliché. It was like I was reading a panel in a third-rate comic book.

As I stared at the woman’s pathetic face, I momentarily forgot about the pacifier. I was familiar with this maid’s expression—it was the expression that fools made when they were consumed by jealousy and insecurity and unable to control their emotions.

Such a sad woman. Humans were indeed quite stupid. I sucked on the pacifier even harder.

“You little brat. You’re irritating, you know that?” she grumbled.

Takes one to know one. I proceeded to blow a raspberry at her.

Smack!

As I stuck out my tongue, the maid, finally fed up, forcefully smacked my forehead.

My head rang and I felt dizzy. Tears welled up from the pain. I writhed in anger, but there was nothing I could do.

If only I could use a bit more magic… I’d wring lemon juice into their eyes! Or maybe I would turn them into frogs and let them eat flies until the spell wore off…

“Gah…” I felt annoyed and frustrated. I looked ridiculous, and it infuriated me to be treated like this by a petty maid.

She seemed pleased at my distraught face. On her way out, she kicked the crib with her foot.

“Gah! Ababa!” Damn you! This is infuriating! I struggled with all my might, but my sausage-like limbs couldn’t escape the thick and heavy blanket wrapped around me. It was way too hot. It felt like even my mind was trapped.

Did she even consider that I’m a baby? I felt like I was being roasted. What was I, a chicken? No matter how much I struggled, I only felt myself getting weaker. I squeezed my eyes shut and exerted all my strength.

If I could just roll a little to the side… The blanket was too heavy for me to move and use any magic. In the past, I could move myself just by flicking my eyes. Now, I had to put all my strength into flailing around embarrassingly.

“Waa!”

I finally managed to roll the blanket aside and turn sideways, flailing my arms and legs. I had barely managed to escape.

I sighed in relief, but my mouth felt conspicuously empty. Huh? My mind grew hazy, and my eyes began to close.

Oh no… I suddenly noticed the pacifier rolling around on the floor. It seemed like this room had never had a proper sweeping, as I could see a thin layer of dust on the marble.

“Baa!” Oh, crap. It’s going to get even dirtier. By this point, it might be completely blackened by the time I got it back. I couldn’t remember what it looked like originally, but it definitely hadn’t always been that grayish color.

Not again… My pacifier…! My head drooped forward and the world spinning before my eyes gradually faded into blackness. My last memory was pitifully reaching out for the pacifier.