The Little Lady Is A Revenge Maker - Chapter 1

“Who’s that?”
“Is that a beggar?”

The presence of the child was simply shocking, for no other reason but how she looked.

“Why is a child like that here?”

Today was the day of the banquet, it marked the first time the Grand Duchy of Remdragon had opened its castle in 100 years.

As reputed, the castle was beautiful and mysterious.

There were chandeliers decorated brilliantly with diamonds and silver crystals.

The walls were adorned with ancient murals painted with gold and jeweled carpet ran down the long stairs.

The only thing out of place was the girl with silver-white hair that limped through the middle of the grand banquet hall.

(S)“Phew…”

The child looked around and sighed a little, making her cheeks look as white and plump as freshly baked bread.

She seemed about four or five years old, at most.

The child’s unkempt appearance was truly dreadful against the magnificence and splendor of the banquet hall.

Her hair was disheveled and messy.

The cotton baby dragon dress she wore had a torn skirt.

She even walked barefoot on one foot and would slightly wriggle her little toes as she stepped forward.

Who knew where her other shoe was.

Pathetic.

She resembled a stray cat who’d walked into the wrong place, those who saw it saying, “How did that thing get in?”

“How dare she come to the Grand Duke of Remdragon’s banquet? Did she just follow the smell of food?”
“But that hair color, it’s so unusual.”

The ladies, who would normally occupy the center of the ball, were instead standing by the walls.

It was the girls aged 5 to 10 years old that took the center of the hall this time.

All of them decked in red, yellow, green, light green, blue, and white dresses.

Of course she would show up at today’s ball.

After all, it was a ball to select a five-year-old’s political marriage partner.

“Look, they’re finally chasing her down!”
“Are they going to kick her out?”

Elton, the butler of the Grand Duke and the person in charge of the ball, approached the girl.

(E)“Young Lady, are you a guest of our Grand Duke?”

Everyone’s ears pricked up.

The child took a piece of paper out of her arms.

(S)“Here’s my invitation.”
(E)“Since you’re here, did you know this was a ball to pick your fiance today?”
(S)“Hmm…no…well yes,” the child answered, blinking her intelligent-looking eyes.

Elton received and read the child’s invite.

(E)“Oh, so you’re the youngest royal daughter of the Allegro family.”
(S)“…”
(E)“Your name is Ms. Sefjäll.”

He then nodded to the child.

“If you received an application, then it means you passed the good manners test at the entrance, that’s enough.”

That was one of the conditions to participate in this ball.

‘A girl of the lineage of the Three Kingdoms, excluding the Grand Duke’s, aged five to ten.’

Sefjäll was a young lady who met these conditions.

(E)“I allow her to attend the ball.”

Thump-thump

Sefjäll felt a wave of relief at his remark and held back from wanting to sit down.

Good, I still have a chance.

At this moment, Sefjäll was just barely escaping from hell.

I have to do well here to change my life.

She kept reminding herself how important today was for her future.
Those who heard what Elton said were in disbelief and couldn’t help questioning him.

“What? Are you really just going to move on and let her stay?”

Sefjäll didn’t have time to pay any mind to them.

At that moment, the sound of a clear bell rang in the hall.

“The selection is starting!”

There was a stair railing that came down from the second floor to the ballroom hall.

A large stand was placed beneath it, and a translucent insignia came down in a flash.

“Erga de Remdragon, the Young Master of the Grand Duchy of Remdragon.”

Behind the insignia, a small sound was heard, as if a door was opening.

But that was it.

The little prince did not show up beyond the insignia.

(E)“You don’t even want to show yourself?”

Elton questioned, ignoring the flustered crowd.

(E)“If you want to become the mistress, tell me what you can do for the Grand Duchy as a condition for marriage.”

One chance.

This was her only chance to show herself to the little prince, just as stated in the invitation.

An opportunity to link with the wealthy Grand Duke, the lineage of a dragon.

Nobody wanted to miss this kind of opportunity.

The Young Ladies’ faces were all tense.

It was an overall mess.

Sefjäll moved to stand in line faster than anyone else, hurriedly moving her small feet.

The arrogant Young Ladies almost shed tears seeing Sefjäll’s behavior.

“I guess she doesn’t have a mother.”
“Daddy said this smelly kid should have been captured by a servant and thrown out! Let’s bully her later!”

But Sefjäll only flinched and stood silently with her head down as they mocked her.

As it became their turn, the Young Ladies began courting in a dainty manner, just as they’d been taught.

“My family has a gold mine.”
“I’m a close relative of Qing’s Grand Duke, Lord Fuller.”
“My family has had decent sword masters for generations. We have many skilled knights that we can bring.”

However, none of these answers had satisfied them.

Elton just shook his head relentlessly and shouted, “Failed. Next!”

Before they knew it, it was Sefjäll’s turn.

Sefjäll walked in front of the Grand Duke and leaned down.

Then, as if she’d made up her mind, murmured in a grim tone.

(S)“Even if we get married, we can divorce at any time.”

Sefjäll made sure to say it quietly.

“What?”

None of the people standing behind her could hear or understand what she’d said.

It was at that moment that a small boy’s voice rang over the insignia.

(ER)“Accepted.”

The 5-year-old child’s voice was clear and definite, though it still held the juvenile tone of a prepubescent boy.

Clap-Clap!

And Elton clapped his hands loudly.

(E)“The match for the Little Prince of the Grand Duchy of Remdragon has been decided.”
“What?”

There was an uproar amongst the people.

“The person who will be marrying the little prince is that-”

The guests stared at each other breathlessly.

“Really? His bride was chosen just like that?
“Is he crazy?”

But Elton’s mouth didn’t stop.

(E)“Princess Sefjäll de Allegro!”

It was the time for applause, but the crowd remained quiet.

(E)“You will carry out the old covenant between the Three Kings of the Grand Duchy and the Kingdom Union, ‘the covenant promise.’”
And just like that, Sefjäll was chosen for the marriage agreement.
Sefjäll finally made a tiny smile.

Yes, my plan was a big hit!

At that moment, Sefjäll expressed her genuine feelings…

This honey pot is mine now. Exactly how I wanted it to be.

***

Clap

Sefjäll looked at her hand.

She still had little white and plump fingers, still couldn’t see the sunlight.

The reality of her situation hadn’t changed even after pinching herself several times.

(S)“What the heck happened to me?”

She was sitting in a dungeon.

The same place where she’d been barely fed and was left alone until she was 15.

(S)“No matter how much I think about it, there’s only one answer…”

Sefjäll looked over at the wet prison wall.

On it were five lines drawn by a child’s fingernails.

These were the lines Sefjäll had marked so she wouldn’t forget how old she was.

(S)“I’ve come back to when I was five-years-old.”

Why did this happen?

She couldn’t help but want to cry.

She knew very well how her life would be like in the future.

There were four monarchs.

The House of Allegro, whose ancestors were from Matap Province.
The Grand Duchy Fuller of Qing, founded by King Seonjo, who used to be a former member of the Changeback family.

The Golden Grand Duchy, which governed the free city-state of Bolun.

And finally, the Grand Duchy of Remdragon, a family with the lineage of a dragon.

These four monarchs ruled a confederation of kingdoms.

Sefjäll was born the fourth daughter of the Allegro royal family, of the Magic Kingdom. This was where the first monarch reigned.

The problem lied with the prophecy that came down secretly in the Allegro family.

“If a white-haired, red-eyed child is born into the royal family, unfortunate things will happen.”
That child would be the “cursed one” of the royal family.
“If the cursed child laughs, blood and tears will flow from the kingdom,”
“The child will curse the kingdom even as a ghost.”

It was an endless prophecy.

And I was born with white hair and red eyes.

On top of that, Sefjäll was an illegitimate child.

Her mother, whose face she didn’t even remember, died just a few days after giving birth to Sefjäll.

What a birth.

It was like winning a lottery.

Somebody come save me.

The only good thing was that the people of the Allegro royal family were uncivilized in their superstition.

Though they were now the House of Allegro, the Magic Kingdom, they were originally from an ancient, lowly sorcerer’s family.

As such, they firmly believed in superstitions and prophecies.
Beliefs and superstitions like, “A ghost who died unjustly as a child will cling and curse the family forever.”

So since they were afraid that their family would be cursed, the Allegro’s kept Sefjäll alive.

Instead, it was a lifetime of neglect and abuse that was decided upon my birth.

Fortunately, little Sefjäll was an obedient child.

Sefjäll would just look around with her red, pomegranate-looking eyes, and fall asleep while washing the humble ends of her blanket alone.

No toys or delicious food was ever given to me.

No one was kind enough to talk to me.

Unloved.

That’s all I remember feeling as a child.

Legend had it that if she smiled, misfortune would come to the country.

So it was natural she’d be treated like that.

Fortunately, they let me study.

She may never be allowed to go out, but they thought she should learn, just in case.

They were concerned about the possibility of the hidden royal daughter eventually being exposed to the world.

“You are a nation’s princess. You should at least not speak or write like an animal.”

And so the royal family had her taught basic education.

It’s actually a tradition for this damn country to give even death row inmates books for their disposal.

So she at least learned the alphabet.

“I would usually never allow a little girl in my class, so don’t even think about whining!”

Though the private teacher would always give Sefjäll a scolding when she did have lessons.

And Wieteger III, Sefjäll’s father, would sometimes, albeit reluctantly, come to see her in prison.

(W)“Be a good girl”

Wieteger used to say that with such a kind-looking face.

(W)“Ah, I heard you were the child of the prophecy. You’re more ordinary than I thought.”

All I wanted was for my father to stroke my head, just once would’ve been fine.

But I never said anything.

Sometimes her father would bring her older brother to the prison.

He would pat her on the head and whisper sweet nothings.

I only wanted that one thing.

She would hold on to the bars as she watched him leave.

Oh…

She would just bite her lips and hold it in.

And as time flew by, Sefjäll slowly grew.

But you know.

Sefjäll sighed, unconsciously chewing on her small lips.

Isn’t it a little too much to be a genius in this life?

The dungeon where Sefjäll was trapped was a royal prison.

It was a dark underground space with bars on it, but…

At least there’s a nice desk and an old bed.

Her hygiene couldn’t help but be poor in this place, though.

Since there were royal members who had been in the prison, there were also many books and writings around that they’d left behind.
After she’d taken notice of the books, Sefjäll read one from her stock each day.

And sometimes, in her dreams, someone would mutter and talk to her.
It was amazing.

After having one of those dreams, a mathematical formula and a difficult book would come to mind.

There was nothing else to do, so I studied, reviewed, and wrote every day.

Besides, the only thing she was allowed to have was paper and a pen.

***

The days passed by slowly in the dungeon, and it’d been ages since she’d last seen the sunlight.

Before she knew it, Sefjäll had turned 15 years old.

In the previous timeline, this was when something happened that changed Sefjäll’s life.

Something big.