After saying that, he immediately added,

“─Joah. But I like Gampa more.”

I scoffed silently to myself.

Oh, really. What does he take me for?

Even so, I was someone who was reputed for social skills in my previous life.

Normally, when you say something like that, you mean the person in front of you.

“Grandpa, I─ like you best!”

Marquis Debussy chuckled and looked at Grandpa.

“That’s what he says.”

“Stop babbling nonsense and get to work.”

“Yes, yes, here is the report on the temple district. Recently in the Zodiac─”

“By the way.”

Grandpa flipped through some papers and continued.

“Aren’t there ancient-language inscribed stones on Hadix Mountain? If we take Erilot there, it might help with the search.”

Then he cleared his throat with a cough.

That night.

Having gotten Grandpa’s permission, I was excited.

‘Saying I like him best wasn’t such a bad move after all.’

Yeah, if someone says they like you, who’d dislike it unless it’s a special case?

And I was quite helpful to Grandpa, after all.

Humming happily as I walked, I ran into Conrad.

“Miss.”

“An-nyeong.”

“Yes, you seem to be in a good mood.”

“I’m going to the mountain with Abammi.”

“I heard. I’m glad it went well.”

Conrad wished me a pleasant hike, and I nodded.

“By the way, Conrad, where are you headed?”

He wasn’t wearing his usual aide uniform.

“There was an urgent request from the Count’s territory for a healer, so I’m taking one with me.”

If they requested a healer that urgently, the situation must be serious.

When I widened my eyes, Conrad explained in detail.

“It’s because of the late-born only son of the Count Draphdieu.”

“Is the child sick?”

“No need to worry too much.”

“Why not?”

“The healer is just precautionary in case of emergency; I think the fever is part of the blessing’s manifestation.”

Ah.

I nodded.

Conrad greeted me and moved on.

‘Blessing.’

I wish I had one too.

Not a fake like , but a real blessing.

‘Dahlia has three of them, so why didn’t I get even one?’

I grumbled into the air and sighed.

If you don’t have one, you just have to work that much harder.

That’s why tomorrow’s hike up Hadix Mountain is important.

‘I absolutely have to find the purification stone.’

I have to prove to Father that I’m useful!

I smiled broadly.

The next day.

I followed Father on the hike.

Father had heard from Grandpa to take me along,

“Damn old man.”

he muttered, but he brought me without much resistance.

At the entrance to Hadix Mountain, a search command post had been set up.

Father and the soldiers discussed search methods inside the command post, and I sat quietly beside them.

The three-meter-tall man I saw last time raised his arm.

“Do we just pick up every stone we find on the mountain?”

‘What?!’

How could they possibly gather all the stones from such a huge mountain?

That’s like finding a needle in a haystack.

If we find it, it’s lucky.

No matter how much you stare, you won’t find the purification stone.

‘The purification stone is inside a tree.’

A crystalline formation made by a tree over a thousand years old. That’s what the purification stone really was.

So even if they collect stones all day, they’ll never find it.

‘This is going to be a wasted effort and they’ll stop the search.’

I couldn’t just leave it like that, so I looked at Enzo.

“What’s a purification stone?”

Pretending not to know, Enzo, who was looking at a map, answered.

“Simply put, it’s a stone that removes curses.”

“How does a stone remove curses?”

“It’s because nature gave it a special power.”

“Nature is mean. It makes only purification stones. So unfair.”

When I deliberately spoke like a child, the soldiers chuckled.

“You even know the word ‘unfair’?”

“Come to think of it, she’s already writing letters.”

“So cute, so cute.”

While they were talking like that, Father’s gaze was fixed on the map.

“Baekgyeong ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ tree...”

“Yes?”

When Enzo asked, Father said,

“The reason purification stones only appear on this mountain must be due to some ‘special condition’ unlike other places.”

“What condition?”

“The only special condition this mountain has is the Baekgyeong tree.”

‘Right, exactly.’

Father ordered,

“Search around the Baekgyeong tree.”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

Good!

I quietly clapped my hands inside.

The soldiers moved toward the Baekgyeong tree halfway up the mountain.

‘Now I just have to pretend to search properly and then say it might be inside the tree.’

Thinking that, I followed Father and the soldiers.

“The hike is tough for you; why don’t you stay at the barracks?”

That was when Enzo said.

The three-meter man who had asked about picking up all the stones said,

“Then how about I give you a piggyback ride?”

Good!

Riding is better than not going.

‘That guy’s a little slow but seems kind.’

I said “Yes!” and the burly man lifted me onto his neck.

I giggled.

Sitting high up was fun.

The man’s shoulders were very broad, so it felt stable to sit on.

“Alright, let’s go. We have to find it before sunset and get back!”

We set off toward the Baekgyeong tree.

Since all I had to do was ride on his shoulders, the hike was very easy.

The soldiers who reached the Baekgyeong tree began searching.

‘It’s noon now... hmm, if I tell them in about an hour, it won’t seem strange.’

I decided, and exactly one hour later, I started banging on the tree with a rock.

“Miss?”

Soldiers who saw my strange behavior approached.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m looking for something pretty to give Father.”

“It’s inside the tree. Water comes out. When it hardens, it becomes pretty. That’s what the book said.”

“Oh, you’re looking for amber?”

Someone else asked.

“Amber?”

“Don’t you know? It’s the stone formed when pine sap hardens... huh?”

The man who answered suddenly opened his eyes wide.

Then he ran to Father.

“General!”

After the man explained the situation, Father’s eyes narrowed.

“Right. The Baekgyeong tree sap might have hardened into purification stone. Bring an axe.”

The soldiers hurried to fetch axes.

The Baekgyeong tree was enormous. It truly was a tree that had lived over a thousand years.

Though the men gathered to chop at it, it wouldn’t fall easily.

The strongest-looking burly man also joined in the chopping.

It took quite some time, so I played by digging the ground with a twig.

After a while,

Someone came toward me.

It was Father.

I jumped up.

“Abammi.”

“...You’re following without getting tired.”

“Abammi, is it bothersome...?”

Father looked at me silently.

I nervously wrung the hem of my clothes while watching him.

“Then, I’ll go only once a day...”

“...”

“I won’t bother you and will secretly watch.”

“...”

“I’ll watch just a little and then leave.”

Just tell me not to come at all.

Only Father was my answer.

I’m only three, no blessing, and my fate is doomed.

Even if Grandpa helps me now, I don’t know how long that will last.

Sometimes, a child’s heart thought, ‘Maybe, just maybe...’

‘Maybe Grandpa really does like me quite a bit.’

Others like me too.

I’ve been helpful.

Every time I thought that, I closed my eyes tight and shook my head.

Stepfather was like that too. At first, he treated me like a daughter and was kind, but after Dahlia was born, he changed as if that never happened.

When Dahlia comes, things will change.

I saw it in the novel. How much Grandpa adored that child.

If I fall out of Grandpa’s favor, others will bully me. They’ll hurt me.

‘I don’t want to die like this.’

I was someone who died from illness.

I begged daily to live, to be saved from my sickbed.

I hated being reincarnated, but in truth, life was incredibly precious.

I really wanted to live.

So I desperately needed a father who would help me.

Father frowned. With a grim face, he looked at me and spoke.

“I, I will...”

“I found it! There’s a stone inside the tree!”

The soldiers shouted.

They hurried over to Father carrying the stone they found.

A red-haired soldier held the purification stone on his palm and showed it to Father.

I had expected it to be yellow and pretty like amber, but it looked like an ordinary roadside stone.

‘No wonder no one knew it came from a tree.’

Anyway, it was a relief that they found it.

Now, with this, Father wouldn’t have to worry about the curse killing him.

Just then.

Sshhiiiiiik─!

A sharp wind blew.

The soldiers looked toward the wind’s direction. And seconds later,

“Monster─!!”

A monster appeared overhead.

‘What on earth is going on? This mountain is famous for no monsters appearing!’

Wait a moment.

I whipped my head around and looked at the fallen Baekgyeong tree.

Could it be that monsters didn’t appear on this mountain because of the Baekgyeong tree?

A sacred tree that produces purification stones.

The perfect condition to serve as a monster barrier.

‘There’s more than one.’

The monsters had sharp teeth and bat-like wings—there were five of them.

Kyaaaak─!!

The screeching pack of monsters flew toward us.

“Prepare for battle!”

Enzo shouted urgently.

Clang!

The soldiers drew their weapons—swords, spears, axes.

The only relief was that these were elite soldiers from Astra’s Western Army.

The three-meter-tall man grabbed the neck of the charging monster and swung himself up.

Then he chopped its wing with an axe.

Kyah─!! The monster’s scream echoed through the mountain.

Enzo hurled a huge spear at the falling monster.

Thud─!

The monster rolled on the ground.

“Miss.”

Enzo hurried toward me.

Just as he was about to hold me, the remaining monsters charged at us.

‘Ah!’

I covered my head with my arms.

I was trembling but didn’t feel any pain.

Peeking out, monster flesh flew all around.

‘Ah...’

Father’s blessing, .

The strongest offensive blessing that decomposes anything it touches.

The monster’s body fell apart and dropped to the ground, revealing Father standing behind.

His shining blond hair, like molten gold, fluttered in the wind.

His blood-red eyes glowed coldly.

Father fixed his gaze on the monsters and said,

“Erilot.”

“Yes.”

Enzo pressed close behind me.

He didn’t hug me.

He needed his hands free to fight the monsters.

Escorted by Enzo, I hurriedly ran.

Just as I was about to descend, the monsters attacked again.

A red-haired soldier swung his sword to block them.

At that moment.

Thud.

The purification stone the soldier held dropped to the ground and started rolling.

“Father’s purification stone!”

Without it, Father could be cursed and eventually die.

I rushed toward the stone.

“Miss─ ugh!”

Enzo tried to grab me quickly but was pushed back by a charging monster.

I ran hard, but my short child legs couldn’t catch up to the stone fast enough.

Thankfully, the stone stopped after getting caught in some weeds near the cliff.

‘If it had fallen, it would have been a disaster.’

As I reached for the stone,

Flap─!

With a fierce beating of wings, a shadow fell over me.

Looking up, one monster broke off from the group and hovered above me.

“No!”

I threw myself over the purification stone, curling my body tightly.

Flap─!

Flap!

“Ow, ow!”

It hurt to be stepped on, but I refused to back down.

“Miss Erilot!”

“Miss!”

Soldiers ran toward us.

The soldiers launched an attack against the last monster.

With a swish! an axe swung and grazed the monster’s wing.

The monster, weakened with one damaged wing, was dragged down by chains thrown at it.

As the soldiers moved in perfect coordination,

Brrrrrrk─!

A loud blast sounded, and the monster was decomposed into pieces like before.

Only then did I let out a breath.

‘I, I survived.’

Behind me was a cliff, and above me was the huge monster. I was so scared I didn’t know what to do.

Enzo quickly helped me up.

“Are you alright?”

Before I could answer, Father strode over.

His face was rigid.

“What, what is this─!”

With trembling hands, I held out the purification stone.

“I, I caught it.”

“...”

“I, I caught the stone Father needed.”

“...”

“Now I’m not a bother, right...?”

I gave a nervous smile.

“...”

“...”

“...”

No one said a word, staring at my battered body and face.

Father’s eyes slowly twisted.

Clenching his teeth, he bent his knees and reached out his hand.

I offered my hand so he could easily take the purification stone.

But what he actually hugged was,

“You idiot.”

─ Me.

I blinked in surprise.

No one had ever hugged me like that before, not even in Yoo Hyemin’s life—it was a distant memory.

So,

“Hoo...”

Tears fell.