There was a time when I prayed to God, saying that I wouldn’t ask for anything else if only I could be under the same sky as Mom and Dad again.
And right now, I am under the same sky as my parents.
Since my impossible wish has been fulfilled there shouldn’t be anything left to pray for, but there is no end to human greed.
I have been longing for something very eagerly now.
‘Get me out of here⋯⋯!’
“Ueueue!”
I made my way to the door with all my might.
I did my best but in the end my body was already soaked with sweat.
My arms and legs started trembling, so I fell on the floor and took a breather.
Is it enough ⋯⋯ to be halfway toward my goal?
I panted and looked back to see how far I’ve gone.
Through my tired eyes, I could see the rug still under my feet.
“⋯⋯.”
I was silent for a moment and blinked.
Is there something wrong with my eyes?
I rubbed my eyes just in case, but the location of the rug remained the same.
That means I only took around three steps from where I originally opened my eyes.
I felt dizzy.
‘Euaaaa.’
I’ve been trying so hard, but I’m only able to get this far? Did I try hard enough?
To make matters worse⋯⋯.
‘I’m hungry⋯⋯.’
I’ve never had a baby, so I’m not really sure, but I’ve heard that babies need to be fed very often.
And I’ve heard that they’re very delicate.
Babies are very weak, so if they have a fever, their nerves get damaged and they become crippled.
But now I’m hot, dirty, hungry, and sleepy.
It meant that I was dissatisfied with my neglected basic needs in many ways.
I was dissatisfied that my basic needs were neglected in many, many ways.
‘How long have I been asleep?’
It felt like I opened my eyes here right after I finished the spell. But maybe I’ve been lying on the bare floor for a long time.
Since it’s the Imperial Palace, I might have to wait for someone to come, but my aunt is away on a long trip at this point in time. I’ll have to wait about a week until she comes back, but for the baby, a week was enough time to starve.
‘I have to hurry and get out of here.’
I glared at the antique door like it was an enemy.
And with a solemn face, I raised my chubby arms and stretched them out.
“⋯⋯ Kkya!”
Then, I flailed both hands and pushed my stomach forward as hard as I could.
My underdeveloped muscles complained about the pain as if they were about to tear apart.
Sweat dripped down my ears, and tears pooled in my eyes.
“Please, please.”
Although God wouldn’t listen to a witch’s prayer.
I prayed from the bottom of my heart. Give me strength.
The power to protect the people I love.
I pushed the floor as hard as I could and dragged myself. Even if I was slow, I didn’t stop and moved forward little by little.
It soon got dark and I couldn’t see well, but it felt as if the door was closer than before.
“He, heg.”
I took a deep breath and fell on the floor.
My face was a mess with sweat and tears.
While panting and catching my breath, I was surprised by the familiar sensation under my feet.
This soft feeling⋯⋯ No way.
I shook and turned my head, and found a rug that was still touching my feet.
“⋯⋯!”
I stiffened as if I had not seen anything.
“Heuaeng ⋯⋯.”
Suddenly, my eyes fluttered open.
Is it because of the trauma? It felt like all the resolutions I had were suddenly irrelevant.
This is an opportunity that a few of my people have given up their lives for.
I, who had only repeated failures in my life, succeeded in this miraculous magic for the first time.
‘Did I make it ⋯⋯?’
I tried to reach out, but it didn’t work.
My body lost all strength and my soft cheeks were pressed to the floor.
I fell to the floor, breathing slowly.
I can’t give up here.
I stared at the door, groaning while rolling my eyes.
The wooden door, which would have been easily pushed out if I was my original size, looked like a stubborn iron wall.
‘I succeeded in a spell that is close to impossible, and then I’ll die just because I can’t open a door.’
Because I couldn’t reach the door exactly.
Stupid Evenna.
Even in the midst of my exhaustion, the sorrow I felt was overwhelming. I really thought I did it this time.
Why is my life always like this?
Why do things that come easily to others become difficult for me? Why is the door that is open to others closed to only me?
“It’s okay⋯⋯.”
I felt the warmth sinking down my eyelids.
‘If you close your eyes and open them again, this will all be gone. ’
I heard my aunt’s voice, who was thinking of her niece even in her death.
Probably the best advice I’ve ever received in my life.
A voice came from beyond my distant mind.
“Didn’t Princess Viola go on vacation?”
“But you definitely heard something, right?”
Click, the sound of the door being unlocked.
“To hear a baby cry here, what nonsense⋯⋯.”
The door opened.
The light flowing through the gap of the open door shone on my body, and I looked up blankly.
The two people, who looked like maids, were looking at me with surprised faces.
That was the last thing I saw, before I blacked out.
Oh, how noisy. Why are you talking so loudly when a person is sleeping?
Be quiet.
I hummed solemnly as if trying to say that.
“Eunng.”
As I was about to go to sleep again, I noticed something strange.
‘What kind of voice just came out of my mouth.’
I came to my senses as if someone had poured cold water over my head.
“Heub.”
In my line of vision, blurred from the lack of sleep, a small, stubby hand came into view.
‘Crazy, it wasn’t a dream.’
Then here ⋯⋯.
As I lifted my head, I saw 3 people.
The two young women in blue dresses were probably court maids, and the middle-aged woman standing on the right seemed to be a maidservant based on her age and attire. They are ordinary people who can be seen anywhere, but their clothes were a little different compared to my time.
‘Are they people from ⋯⋯879?’
(TL/N: That’s the Imperial year, 878)
“You must have slept well,now that you’re awake.”
The maid said and raised her head.
“Did you find the person who left the child?”
Naturally, I followed her gaze and stiffened.
I didn’t know at first because I couldn’t see them, but two holy knights were standing by my bedside.
The white armor they were wearing had a snow crystal pattern engraved on their shoulders,
symbolizing the Holy God.
My heart froze as I remembered the knights, who slaughtered my people, at my uncle’s orders.
‘Did they find out?’
I remembered the spellbook hidden in my aunt’s room. The clothes I was wearing. Will they find out who I am, a witch? Did they find anything strange? My heart was pounding uncontrollably.
“No, the guards say they haven’t seen any suspicious people passing by today.”
“If there were no suspicious people, then the possibilities would be narrowed down to two.”
The maid muttered and reached over my head. I shrank in surprise.
“Since Her Majesty, the Princess, is away, I couldn’t find anyone coming and going simply because of neglected security. Or….”
The maid’s hand wrapped around my forehead. I frowned and looked up at her with narrowed eyes. It felt like years passed by as her sharp gaze scanned my face. My body trembled with anxiety. She opened her mouth with a serious expression
“It was the work of an insider of the Imperial family.”
“⋯⋯.”
My body trembled at the unexpected theory.
“Are you saying that a person working in the Imperial family left their baby in the Princess’s room?”
“If it were someone working in the imperial family, I don’t think their baby would be this dirty.”
“Well, the baby is in such good condition considering that she’s very dirty. Rather, I think they made her look dirty on purpose to look like a beggar.”
“Actually, that’s what I was thinking too. I heard that the servants left a small window open for ventilation. It’s a small window that most people can’t get through, but there will be enough room to throw this baby in.”
“Who made the baby dirty and threw it through the window? Oh my god.”
“I don’t know who left the baby, but this is too much. Luckily, I don’t think they got hurt anywhere, but what if they accidentally bumped their head!”
The maids and Holy Knights looked serious
‘Ha, I lived⋯⋯.’
I grabbed my pounding heart and let out a sigh of relief.
Judging by the reactions of these people, the spell book hidden under the bed had not yet been found.
“By the way, the baby’s eyes…”
At that moment, one of the maids who was staring at me suddenly frowned. Her gaze drew people’s attention. I blinked in embarrassment when I suddenly received the gaze of 5 adults.
‘Oh no, my eyes⋯⋯?’
The left side is a grayish blue, and the right side is pink. Odd eyes with two different colors. People used to find this unpleasant.
These heterogeneous eye colors were an aspect of me that couldn’t be completely blended in anywhere.
TL/N: Heterogeneous eyes are a way to say a pair of eyes with different colors.
‘Ugh, I should have kept my eyes closed.’
If I showed my eyes like this, it would only make me feel uncomfortable, but I forgot my appearance because I wasn’t in a good mood.
“Isn’t the left eye the same color as His Majesty the Emperor?”
But the maid said something completely different from what I expected.
‘The current emperor’s majesty is ⋯⋯ grandfather.’
Come to think of it, my dad said he looked a lot like his grandfather. And my left eye was inherited from my dad. As I grew up, I took after my father, but when I was younger I heard that I looked similar to my mother. However, I felt strange when the maid recognized my father’s traces in my appearance. My heart started pounding.
“After hearing those words, it reminds me of what happened six years ago.”
The maid said something out of the ordinary. At her meaningful words, one of the knights put on a reluctant expression.
“Well, something similar happened six years ago.”
When he responded, the eyes of the people looking at me became subtle.
‘What is it?’
Was there an incident where someone abandoned a baby to the Imperial family six years ago?
⋯⋯I didn’t know who they were, but I was truly gratefully to that person.
Thanks to this, people seemed to be completely convinced by the idea that someone had thrown a baby into the Imperial palace.
“First, by tomorrow morning, we’ll have to find out if any of the Imperial servants have abandoned their babies. If no one confesses, the baby will be sent to an orphanage according to procedures.”
“Yes, we will look around the palace to see if we have missed anything. If the baby didn’t appear out of thin air, you could find any traces.”
“By the way⋯⋯.”
The maid looked back at me. She muttered as if it were curious.
“You’re such a quiet baby. You must have been very surprised at being abandoned by your parents.”
“⋯⋯.”
I rolled my eyes.
In order to look like a normal baby, I thought that I should cry even now.
“You know your situation, poor thing. Guys, go and get some baby formula.
“Yes.”
As the maids disappeared, the knights also said goodbye and went out for a recheck. I touched my chest. If he looks for traces of where they left me, he probably won’t find any clues. Because I really appeared out of thin air.
‘Until tomorrow morning⋯⋯.’
I clenched and opened my fists, which were as soft as cream bread.
Understandably my magic power was gone because I used a time leap, but my divinity was gone too, so I was puzzled. Perhaps this was the price of using the spell or a reaction to becoming a baby.
But fortunately, even the stigma on my body didn’t seem to have regressed. I felt my divinity slowly rising from the center of my chest. As I gathered it in my right hand, a glimmer of light gathered in my palm.
‘It’s far less than my original power, but if it’s this much⋯⋯.’
I clenched the divinity gathered in my small palm.