And I was shocked to find out that I had opened my eyes.
I opened my eyes? Am I alive? So that means ⋯⋯.
‘⋯⋯ Does that mean I succeeded?’
As I blinked my eyes, the scenery around me came into my view belatedly.
The evening sunset coming through the window was coloring the room yellow. The red moon, which had been coloring the sky with an ominous color until just now, is nowhere.
As I looked around the room, I saw a warm-colored light green wallpaper first. It must have been well managed. I don’t know why I don’t feel my divinity, but maybe it’s a magical side effect?
My body trembled at the unbelievable reality.
I, who had only failed all my life, created a miracle.
I burst into tears.
‘My aunt was right.’
(Ghost: Don’t know why, but this moment melted my heart TwT)
My will, like a desperate prayer, saying, this will all be gone when I close and open my eyes.
I was able to keep my word. Lost people can be reunited.
‘I’m glad, really⋯⋯ I’m glad ⋯⋯.’
I crouched down lying on the floor. Tears blurred my vision, so I raised my trembling hand to wipe away the tears. A small sob came out of my mouth.
“Ugh⋯⋯.”
‘⋯⋯ Huh?’
In my ears, which were filled with emotion, I heard a cute voice that didn’t suit the situation.
What was that a cry just now?
Did that come out of my mouth?
Confused, I lowered my gaze. I was perplexed.
“Woo, ah⋯⋯?”
‘What is this ⋯⋯?’
The first thing that caught my eye was a small, plump hand like a hoppang.
(TL/N: A hoppang is a steamed bun in South Korea.)
I doubted my eyes and looked at my body slowly.
My chubby and pale arms. They were dirty with ash and dust, but there were no wounds or burn marks. The clothes I am wearing flowed down my body and were scattered on the floor.
My feet and legs were all covered by clothes. I tried to pull out my legs, but my weak body couldn’t move the way I wanted. Did I damage my spinal nerve on my way to the past?
I whined and forced myself out of my clothes. At that moment, a full-body mirror built on the wall caught my eye.
‘⋯⋯Where am I?’
The only thing reflecting in the mirror was a baby lying flat on the floor.
“Ubbs.”
I took a breath out of embarrassment. Even the voice is unfamiliar.
Chubby cheeks. The right eye is pink, the left eye is blue-grey. The baby in the mirror was looking at me, blinked with different colored eyes.
(Ghost: She sounds so adorable :0)
My black ashened hair is pink, not platinum blonde like my father’s. My hair, which used to be pink like my mother, gradually faded as it grew, and became platinum blonde as I became an adult. But now, this look⋯⋯.
“Huh⋯⋯.”
A moment later, a thunderbolt-like truth striked my head.
Before my uncle came in, my aunt told me.
‘I don’t know if there’s any side effects. The spellbook only said that in exchange for powerful magic, something precious will be taken away. I can’t say for sure what that is.’
A large-scale magic comes with a price.
The spellbook left by my mother did not specify what the price was.
But at this moment, the real price was revealed.
‘⋯⋯ Age?’
What’s precious is⋯ Was it age?
I shook my head with a puzzled heart.
Not only was I overwhelmed by this miraculous sight, I was also overwhelmed by the scenery.
This room was just too big.
“Oh, dear ⋯⋯.”
I panicked and looked down at my hands.
I thought it would be okay if I lost my limbs, but turning into a baby was completely unexpected.
“Uykka?”
As I was examining my confusing small body, something caught my eye.
A book hidden behind my baggy clothes.
A Pentagon carved with gold leaf on a green background, with a sparkling emerald in the middle.
‘It looks just like my mother’s spellbook.’
As I tilted my head, I became belatedly surprised.
‘It is her spellbook!’
Why is it here again?
Did I get caught in the riot and entered the magic circle? Terrified, I reached out for a book.
But I couldn’t reach it.
“Eup-ya!”
‘I’m right in front of it! My arms are too short to reach!’
In a hurry, I floundered my limbs as if swimming. Then my body slipped on the clothes and was pushed forward.
“Uuug!”
A little bit more! A little bit more!
I stretched out my hand as I looked at the book that was getting closer and closer.
At that moment when the book touched my short, chubby fingertips.
“Kkya!”
I got you!
After struggling for a while, I finally got my hands on the book. I raised my head proudly.
Where should I hide this?
I quickly ran into a second problem.
Drawers, bookshelves, and even a simple table.
Everything was infinitely far and high for me.
“Kkyaeueu⋯⋯!”
‘I’m going to go crazy from jumping up and down⋯⋯!
A spacious room. A faraway wall and a high handle.
For a long time, I looked at this huge room and my fate around me with puzzled eyes.
The baggy clothes were caught on the legs and dragged.
Sweat from my forehead dropped on my eyelids, making my eyes sting.
Even though the sun was setting, the heat came through the open window.
July 22, 879, the imperial calendar, summer is in full swing with tropical nights.
Today, which I set as the destination for the time leap, was the day my aunt and I designated after much consideration.
The day my father received the oracle that the ‘Child of God’ was coming!
‘That day, he received the oracle and waited for the news. But the Child of God did not appear. What have he missed⋯⋯.’
Dad, who was still a prince, tried to search for the child of God, but he could not find them.
‘Because the Child of God only came to the Vatican three years after my father passed away.’
Child of God, Sophia. An orphan girl from an abandoned city.
When I thought of her, naturally, I also remembered my past, when I was cursed as a witch who stole the Holy Emperor’s seat.
“Kkyau⋯⋯.”
I shook my head. That’s not what’s important right now. Okay? The important thing right now is.
‘The moon⋯⋯.’
I looked at the wonderful wooden door that was decorated with neat and sophisticated decorations like the princess’s room.
Twenty-two years ago today was a time when my father was not even married, let alone I was born. But all of a sudden, I met my father who was a bachelor.
‘Nice to meet you, I’m your daughter from 22 years in the future. I just arrived at the Imperial Palace from the past, hehe.’
What I say would be hard to believe. In addition to that.
“You marry a witch in the future and gave birth to me. Of course, the witch is the Pope’s old enemy, but your love has easily overcome such obstacles! But my uncle tried to kill me, so I escaped with magic. Please scold my uncle.
If I had said something like that, it might not be my uncle, but me, who would face my father’s malice.
My aunt warned me.
“Before he met your mom, my brother was a person who was envied by everyone, but there was a lot of pressure that comes with that, and he always dealt with it. So your dad in the past may be different from what you remember. He will be more demanding and difficult to deal with.’
So I chose today.
“A child of God will appear in the world.”
The day my father first heard the oracle before he became the Pope.
Dad has been waiting for the saint’s visit all day.
So if I suddenly appear in the Imperial Palace today, they will think of me as a saint.
At this time, my aunt went on a trip and the room was empty, so the location was perfect.
That was the first step in the plan my aunt and I made. Returning to Oracle Day, pretending to be a saint, building favorability from my father, and developing power and influence.
Later, when Mom and Dad met and fell in love, I was going to reveal that I was their daughter and tell them what would happen in the future.
How the two of you will die later, and how the empire will crumble.
Once my parents avoided death, it’ll be easy after that. All I have to do is help my capable father prevent all kinds of catastrophes in the world.
I’ll act as a helper for my parents.
The most difficult part of the plan was to trigger the time leap. I thought it would be very easy to go to the past and change the future if only the time leap was activated. No matter how stupid a country is, it can recite the history that it has been through.
But I guess that was all.
Because I can’t even speak correctly, let alone pretend to be a saint!
“Eubyaa!”
This body must have been around 6 months old at most.
A time when you can’t control your arms and legs properly.
Of course, the pronunciation and vocalization are not good. The only words that can be said are exclamations such as ‘kkyau’, ‘ukkyag’, and ‘euaeng’.
I looked at the spellbook in front of me with my eyes as if looking at the enemy.
An unidentified baby and spellbook that suddenly appeared!
If anyone other than my father discovers me, they will think of me as a witch, or at least a witch’s child.
And I’m under that awful suspicion. At best, it was rewarding to come back in time.
My heartbeat fastened. I took a deep breath and lifted my head again.
I want to clench my teeth, but I have no teeth.
I quickly closed my mouth, clenched my fists with a wretched face, and pounded them on the floor.
And I pulled my body with all my might.
“Ubu⋯⋯ Ap⋯⋯!”
In a nutshell, I did baemil.
(TL/N: Baemil in korean means child crawling on their stomach)
In an instant, both cheeks heated up red. Children’s physical strength is weak. I just did a simple act of pushing my stomach, but my whole body ached. Elbows, stomach, chin and knees that are rubbing on the floor.
Every move came with pain. Tears welled up in my eyes.
But whenever I felt pain, I thought of my dead aunt. I thought of Count Klang and Asil. They had their necks cut off and their stomachs pierced, how painful it was. Compared to their pain, this was nothing.
They endured the pain of death and protected me. They believed in me.
I will definitely pay the price for their lives.
“Abu⋯⋯ Ooh!”
I tried my best to stand, while thinking about the people who died for me.
‘As I repeated it, I got the hang of it little by little.’
‘Stretch my arms, touch the floor, push my body, and hit the book with my hands!’
Tok.
Contrary to my ambition, the book was pushed under the bed little by little with the sound of a timid hit.
I put my hands in the air again.
“Ubb.”
Tok. Tok. Tok.
When I tapped with my fingertips, the book gradually disappeared under the fluttering bed skirt. Finally, after hitting the book completely under the bed, I pulled the bed skirt with my hand and barely held it. It was after washing the hands thoroughly on the rug to avoid getting dirty dust.
Seeing the bed returned to its original state, I proudly wiped my forehead.
“Hyuu.”
A bit sloppy, but this was the best I could do. It’s physically impossible for me to hide it in a high drawer or a bookshelf. It seemed to be a temporary measure in its own right. Fortunately, I won’t be caught for a while because I set the date for the time leap to when my aunt went on a trip.
‘Now let’s get out of here quickly!’
I turned my head and looked at the door.
“Euu.”
And swallowed my saliva.
The door, to my eyes, looked as far away as the other side of the world.
Besides, even if I get to the door with all my might, how do I pull the doorknob that hangs high in the sky?
With this fragile body, it was impossible to crawl, let alone stand.
‘⋯⋯ A baby’s life is fierce.’
Looking at the end of the spacious room, I let out a sigh of frustration as I inflated my plump cheeks needlessly.
“Puuu⋯⋯.”
I’m seriously going to turn around, this is driving me crazy⋯⋯.
Thank you for reading, hope you guys enjoy it ~ (No crazy cliffhangers/intense chapter this time OwO)