It had been a few days since I woke up in this castle, and I still couldn't decide what was worse:

The fact that I had horns—Or the fact that everyone acted as if I might bite them.

Which…

Okay.

Fair.

Because apparently, the original me—the "Calamity Princess"—tormented staff with a Domination Skill, threw tantrums that shattered furniture, and smiled while doing it.

Meanwhile, I was sitting at breakfast trying not to have a crisis…

…while eating something that looked like a purple worm.

I stared at it on my plate as it might crawl back to life.

Then my stomach growled loud enough to betray me.

"By the Void…" I muttered and took a cautious bite.

It was…

…actually good.

Spiced like meat.

Sweet like something roasted too long over a careful flame.

Like the chef had looked at horror and said, I can season this.

I took a second bite, slower this time, trying not to look too excited about worm cuisine.

That's when a voice appeared behind me like a knife learning manners.

"Well," Aunt Sera said, "you've had an appetite ever since the day you woke up screaming."

I yelped so hard I almost inhaled the food in my mouth.

I grabbed for water, swallowed too fast, coughed once, and whipped around with my cheeks burning.

"Do you always have to sneak up on me like that?!"

Aunt Sera's mouth curved—barely.

Like, she found my fear mildly entertaining.

"You never acted like this before," she said. "You always knew when I was behind you."

Oh.

Right.

The Calamity Princess could sense everything.

Even ants.

I forced a laugh like I wasn't panicking internally.

"I… guess I lost my touch."

Aunt Sera didn't call me out.

She just watched me with those calm, assassin-still eyes, like she was measuring whether I was sick… or possessed… or simply annoying.

Across the table, my mother sat like a painting stolen from a museum and placed here to make the room feel smaller.

Lysandra.

Silver-white hair.

Skin like winter light.

Posture perfect.

Eyes closed, as if the world wasn't worth looking at unless it begged.

She didn't need to glare at anyone to make them behave.

Her silence did it for her.

"You've been acting differently," she said, voice smooth and cool. "Ever since you tried to rip off your horn."

I instinctively touched my head.

My horns were small—black, real, not costume plastic—and my scalp still remembered the pain like a warning label.

Lysandra continued, calm as a verdict.

"I told your father."

My throat went dry.

"And he insisted on meeting you after you eat."

I froze with food halfway to my mouth.

Father.

King Malphas.

Demon King.

The man who could probably erase a noble by blinking too hard.

My brain flashed a ridiculous image of myself getting snapped out of existence like a TV screen shutting off.

I stared at the purple worm as it could save me.

I tried to buy time by chewing more slowly.

Then Lysandra's head tilted.

Eyes still closed.

Somehow.

"Sophia."

That one word was enough.

Aunt Sera's presence shifted too—quiet a second ago, and now the whole dining hall felt like it had entered a danger zone.

I slowly set my fork down.

"…Really now?" I said, like I wasn't sweating. "He wants to see me."

Lysandra's lips barely moved.

"He is waiting."

I opened my mouth to argue.

Aunt Sera slid my entire plate away from me with one smooth motion.

"Hey—!"

"That's enough," she said.

I tried to imitate the Calamity Princess's attitude—something dramatic I half-remembered from old scenes.

"Y-you dare defy—"

Aunt Sera stared at me like I was a kitten pretending to be a tiger.

Then I was suddenly in her arms.

Carried.

Like luggage.

I flailed once, realized it wouldn't matter, and tried to save dignity by crossing my arms.

We moved through halls that were too tall, too dark, too expensive.

Black stone pressed around us.

Red inlay ran along the floor like veins.

Gold markings crawled up the walls, as if the castle itself were showing off.

A pair of massive doors waited ahead—obsidian-black, with gold designs so intricate they looked like an artist had gone insane and never recovered.

As we approached, demon knights bowed and stepped aside.

My stomach kept dropping.

Lysandra followed behind us.

Aunt Sera didn't slow.

The doors opened.

Light spilled out for half a second like I was walking into Heaven—then the brightness faded, and I realized it wasn't Heaven at all.

It was a throne room made of black obsidian and restrained violence.

Flames danced in braziers along the walls, but even the fire felt disciplined.

The kind of fire that knew who owned it.

Noble demons sat in a half circle, watching me like they were deciding what category of weapon I belonged in.

And at the center, half slouched in shadow—sat a man who made the whole room feel like it had to obey gravity harder.

King Malphas.

When he shifted, the light caught him just enough for me to see the truth.

He wasn't a monster.

He was worse.

He was a king who looked like he'd stopped needing to prove it.

Black armor trimmed in crimson, worn as he lived in it.

Horns curved back like a crown grown from bone.

His face was sharp.

Composed.

Almost calm.

Until his eyes lifted.

Red.

Not glowing.

Not flashy.

Just… red in the way blood is red.

In the way a warning is red.

And when those eyes settled on me, something in my chest went perfectly still.

Aunt Sera placed me in the center of the floor.

Like an offering.

Like a test.

Lysandra and Aunt Sera stood a respectful distance behind me.

Malphas didn't speak to the court.

He spoke to them.

"Leave us," he said.

The half circle of nobles went still.

Because they didn't want to leave.

But they did.

One by one, they retreated like the air around Malphas was a boundary they couldn't cross without permission.

The doors shut.

Silence pressed in.

My heart hammered so loud I felt like he could hear it.

Malphas leaned forward slightly.

"My daughter," he said, almost amused, "you search for your mother?"

I swallowed hard.

"N-no. I was just… wondering where they—"

His gaze sharpened.

My words died.

He didn't raise his voice.

He didn't need to.

"Sophia," he said.

My spine snapped straight on instinct.

"Yes!"

He watched that reaction like it confirmed something.

Then his voice dipped lower, dangerous in its calm.

"I received… revelations."

He said the word like it tasted wrong.

Like it didn't belong to demons.

Then he laughed once.

Short.

Humorless.

"I cannot believe demons can receive such things."

My breath caught.

Malphas leaned back in his throne and rested his fingers against the armrest.

"In my sleep," he said, his eyes narrowing, "a voice spoke."

A pause.

Then his hand slammed down—hard enough that the sound cracked across the throne room like a whip.

"What game do you think you are playing with me?"

The air felt heavier.

"I know my daughter," Malphas said softly. "And since you woke up… something has changed."

My throat locked.

His gaze pinned me.

"You smell different," he continued. "Not divine."

That should've been comforting.

It wasn't.

It was terrifying.

He asked again—quiet, absolute:

"Who are you?"

I looked at him, and my chest squeezed so hard it hurt.

I didn't know what to say.

Tears started before I could stop them.

Not dramatic tears.

The ugly kind.

The kind you hate yourself for.

Malphas didn't move.

He just watched.

Something in his expression shifted—barely.

Not softer.

Just… confused.

Like he'd never seen me cry like this.

I tried to speak.

Nothing came out but a broken breath.

"I… I don't know," I choked. "I don't know what's wrong with me."

My voice cracked.

"I woke up, and everything feels… different."

Malphas stared.

He didn't press.

Not yet.

He watched the tears as if they were a foreign language.

Then—before he could say anything else—A knight rushed in, breathless, armor clinking.

"Your Majesty! We have an issue—our general—"

Malphas's head turned like a blade.

"How dare you enter with the doors closed?" he snapped.

The knight flinched as if struck.

Then he forced the words out anyway.

"General Drake is wounded by something we have not seen before. We cannot mend it. We cannot seal it. If we do nothing—"

Malphas was already standing.

"Drake," he said, his voice turning colder. "My friend."

He pointed.

"Bring him. Now."

The knight bowed so hard it looked painful and sprinted out.

And that's when it happened.

The air beside my vision shimmered.

Pale emberlight text—neat, polite, and completely evil—appeared as it had always belonged there.

[ LEDGER OF MERCY — UMBRAL GRACE ]

[ DIRECTIVE: SAVE GENERAL DRAKE ]

[ STATUS: PENDING ]

My mouth fell open.

No.

No, no, no.

Not now.

The doors opened again.

Two demon knights carried in a massive figure—armor half ruined, posture still proud even while dying.

General Drake.

The wound on his back wasn't bleeding.

It was glowing.

Not bright.

Not clean.

A pale, sick radiance embedded in torn flesh like a parasite.

The smell hit a second later.

Hot metal.

Ash.

Something sterile.

Holy residue.

Behind the knights, Lysandra and Aunt Sera followed immediately—fast, controlled.

Then a boy appeared in the doorway like he'd been dragged there by fear itself.

Dragonkin.

 Silver hair.

Small horns swept back.

Scorin.

His eyes were locked on Drake as nothing else existed.

"Father—!" he breathed.

Drake's chest rose shallowly.

He tried to straighten out of pure stubbornness.

Malphas was already at his side, staring at the wound with a fury that didn't need flames to be felt.

"My friend," Malphas said, low. "Speak."

But I was already moving.

I grabbed Lysandra's sleeve as she reached for me.

"Mom—let go," I said fast. "I know what that is."

Lysandra's eyes opened.

Sharp.

Cold.

And for a heartbeat, she didn't just look at me—

She looked through me.

Her hand tightened like she was going to pull me back.

Then she froze.

Her gaze flicked slightly, like she was listening to something inside her head.

A woman's voice—soft, distant, certain—slid into the air like a secret:

Let her go. And watch.

Lysandra's fingers loosened.

Aunt Sera stepped forward immediately, confused and alarmed.

"My lady—"

Lysandra lifted one hand.

A stop.

Aunt Sera went still.

And in that stillness, I reached General Drake.

Scorin looked at me like I was insane.

Like I was hoping.

I didn't say anything fancy.

I didn't announce miracles.

I dropped to my knees like this was triage and he was my patient.

My hands hovered near the wound.

Assess.

Stabilize.

Don't panic.

The holy glow flickered when I got close, as it hated me on instinct.

Then something answered in my chest.

Darkness gathered.

Not violent.

Not loud.

Thick and gentle, like a blanket pulled over feverish skin.

Umbral Grace.

The glow resisted.

I pushed anyway.

Not force.

Mercy.

I treated the holy residue like an infection.

Found the edge.

Lifted.

Drake's body jerked.

His teeth bared.

A sound tore out of him—half growl, half breath.

Scorin stepped forward, hands shaking like he wanted to grab his father and couldn't.

I kept going.

The glow cracked.

Fractured.

And then it was gone.

The wound finally bled like a real wound.

Dark demon blood.

Thick.

Alive.

Then the flesh began to knit.

Slow.

Impossible.

Real.

Drake sucked in a breath like a man surfacing after drowning.

His eyes widened.

He didn't sit up.

He simply…

Lived.

The Ledger pulsed again.

[ STATUS: FULFILLED ]

And the instant that word appeared, my entire body remembered I was small.

Exhaustion slammed into me.

My vision went gray at the edges.

I swayed—and the floor rushed up to meet me.

For half a second, I felt arms scoop me up.

Warmth.

Silk-smooth control.

A grip that didn't tremble.

Then my body reacted like the Ledger had pinched something inside me.

I made a small, ugly sound—half whine, half protest.

My shoulders tensed.

I fussed in Lysandra's arms like my nerves had decided they hated being managed.

Lysandra adjusted her hold instantly.

Firmer and gentler at the same time.

"Enough," she murmured, not unkindly. "Breathe."

Aunt Sera stood behind her like a shadow, eyes sharp with confusion.

Then the air shifted.

Shadow-smoke manifested near us.

Silent.

Sudden.

Malphas.

He appeared like he had been watching from a place the room didn't have access to.

His gaze scanned me.

Measuring.

Reading.

Deciding.

General Drake was still down on the floor beside where I'd fallen.

Scorin stood over his father in shock, as fate had just slipped off the rails.

Malphas lifted me from Lysandra's arms with the ease of a king taking back what belonged to him.

One arm under my body, like I weighed nothing.

His other hand pressed to his forehead like he couldn't believe his own luck.

"A miracle…" he whispered.

Then his smile widened into something dangerous.

"A miracle, huh?!"

He laughed.

Sharp.

Loud.

Victorious.

Like a man who had been starving and just discovered the world could bleed for him.

"A MIRACLE, HUH?! HAHAHA—"

Then he stopped.

Just as suddenly.

He looked down at me and wiped the sweat from my face with a thumb that should've been too rough to be gentle.

His expression shifted into something proud enough to hurt.

Not soft.

Possessive.

Like I wasn't just his daughter.

I was proof.

He turned and handed me back to Lysandra like I was a limited artifact.

Lysandra took me without hesitation.

Eyes closing again.

But her grip stayed tight.

Possessive.

"I told you your daughter is still here," she said quietly to Malphas.

Cool.

Edged.

Dangerous.

Malphas barked a laugh.

"Of course!" he said, as if the world was stupid for questioning it.

Then he turned toward the nobles and retainers lingering at the edge of the room—those who always waited to turn miracles into leverage.

Malphas's voice dropped.

Dangerously pleasant.

"Listen carefully," he said.

The air tightened.

"Anyone who speaks of what occurred here as betrayal…"

A pause.

"…your head will come clean off."

Darkness slid off his feet like living smoke.

It crawled toward the nobles.

They didn't flinch until it touched them.

Then—one by one—an unseen pressure pressed into the skin of their necks.

A mark.

An oathbrand.

They couldn't see it yet.

But their bodies knew it existed.

Malphas, satisfied, leaned back like a man who had just installed locks on every door in the world.

He exhaled.

Then smiled toward nothing.

Toward the ceiling.

Toward the idea of a goddess.

"Thank you," Malphas said softly. "Evil Goddess."

His smile turned cruel with joy.

"I suppose having a goddess behind you is… nice."

His eyes gleamed.

"I guess this is how the Holy Kingdom feels."

A beat.

Then his voice rose into laughter again—bigger, brighter, insane with triumph.

"HA… HAHAHA…"

Then he spread his arms slightly, as if embracing destiny itself.

"IT'S FINALLY OUR TURN."

That night, Lysandra sat in a chair beside my bed like a hawk pretending to be a mother.

Aunt Sera stood behind her like a shadow.

My breathing was even.

My horns didn't hurt.

It was just silence…

And watching.

Aunt Sera finally spoke, carefully.

"Lady Lysandra… what happens to her now?"

Lysandra lifted a cup.

Dark-blue liquid swirled inside—Aetherplum wine, sweet enough to lie about what it was.

She sipped slowly.

Then said, quiet and absolute:

"The woman who told me to let her go…"

Her cup frosted.

Umbral ice crawled over the rim.

"…I listened."

The ice thickened.

"And I will not be told to let go of my daughter again."

Aunt Sera went perfectly still.

Then Lysandra's voice softened—just a fraction.

Not weak.

Never weak.

But… grateful.

"Still," she murmured, staring at my sleeping face, "thank you…"

Her eyes closed again.

"…for giving her back to me."