Baby Pharmacist Princess

“Ah?”

Suddenly, something warm and heavy was dropped on my head.

I peeked out from under it, noticing that it was Sihat’s outer robe.

“No! But what about you, Sihat? What will you wear?”

“I can maintain my body heat with divine power.”

“I have Dragon Heart too, you know.”

Even though Sihat had taken off his thick outer garment, thankfully, he was still wearing a long-sleeved shirt underneath.

Still, it was the only piece with fur.

“I’m already wearing a fur coat though…”

“Still, I’d appreciate it if you wore it for me. You’re only four years old, Shya. I’m eight. It’s only natural for the older one to take care of the younger.”

Wow, Sihat, acting all grown-up.

I slid my arms through the sleeves of Sihat’s robe and curled up inside it.

Honestly, I tried not to show it but—

“It’s cold.”

It felt even colder because of the unease.

My breath came out in white puffs. As I shivered, Dew approached and nuzzled me with his head.

Growl.

He let out a low rumble and then crouched down slightly.

Was this… an invitation to climb onto his back? I tilted my head in confusion.

“Are you… offering me a ride?”

Growl, growl.

‘How sweet of him.’

With some effort, I climbed onto Dew’s back, though, since I’d ridden him once before, it was easier to find a comfortable position.

“Hey, Sihat. Do you want to ride with me on Dew?”

“Hm, no thanks. I don’t think Dew would like that.”

Sihat smiled with a strange expression. Right at that moment, Dew turned his head away, clearly signaling his refusal.

Wow, he’s really making it obvious that he doesn’t want to carry anyone else…

“Then I’ll get down too.”

Dew’s fur was soft and warm, and I wanted to bury my face in it forever, but I didn’t want to enjoy it alone.

I was about to climb down reluctantly when Dew shook his head with a low growl.

“Huh? You don’t want me to get off?”

Growl.

“No, I can’t stay up here and be warm and comfy by myself. Besides, I have a blessing, so I’m fine.”

It really was strange how I could walk around in the snow for hours without losing stamina. I could probably trek through these snowy fields for hours.

But I couldn’t say the same for Sihat.

As I prepared to slide off Dew’s back, Sihat stepped in to stop me.

“Really, I’m fine. It would be a little awkward for me to ride something I can’t see.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Besides, there’s bound to be somewhere nearby we can rest. Can you ride Dew around and look for it? You’ll find it faster than I could.”

“Hm, okay!”

I was glad to have Sihat and Dew with me.

Honestly, if I had been separated from them, I would have panicked.

‘What if Dad can’t find me by sunrise?’

The snowy mountains stretched endlessly in all directions.

I was so small, too.

It made me a little worried.

“Trust in the Prince, Shya.”

As if sensing the worries floating around in my mind, Sihat spoke calmly.

“He’ll come for you soon. Let’s hang in there a little longer. He’ll be here within an hour or two.”

“I wish I could use magic freely…”

“Don’t think like that. If things get bad, you can always start a fire, right?”

“Hmm.”

Truthfully, I’d never managed to start a fire before.

Something about fire and I just didn’t get along.

But I did have a little box of seeds in my treasure chest that could ignite flames, so worst-case scenario, I’d use that.

‘Yeah, I should trust Dad like Sihat says.’

Even if Dad couldn’t make it, Idsys or Gergys would come.

I clenched my fists resolutely and started searching for a place where we could safely warm up.

Suddenly, I remembered the chocolate Sophia had packed for me.

“Look! Let’s eat this!”

“What is it? Chocolate?”

“Yeah! It’s supposed to help maintain body heat. It’s exactly what we need right now, right?”

I’ll have to give Sophia five hundred special kisses when I get back.

In a survival situation, dehydration or hunger aren’t the biggest threats. It’s hypothermia.

You can live without water for a few days and go without food for a week.

But hypothermia can kill you fast.

“One for you, one for me!”

“Perfect, two for the both of us.”

“Yeah, thank goodness.”

It really was survival chocolate.

As soon as I popped it into my mouth, warmth spread through my ears and forehead, which had been numb from the cold.

“Sihat! This is amazing, right?”

“It really is.”

“Sihat, did you eat yours?”

“Yeah, I did.”

But then, why didn’t Sihat’s face regain any color?

With a serious expression, I placed my hand on his forehead.

“You’re still cold!”

“I’ve always had a lower body temperature than others.”

“But… Could it be defective? What if mine was the only real one? I should have shared mine…”

Feeling a bit down, I gently cupped Sihat’s cold cheeks with my warm hands.

Even if it was just like this, I wanted to share some warmth with him.

“Thank you, Shya.”

Sihat smiled softly at me, his expression warm despite the chilly air.

The sky was starting to snow lightly, and a few wet flakes drifted down.

While Cherishe was scanning the surroundings, Sihat smiled to himself, unnoticed.

‘This must be the work of the Dragon Lord.’

A sudden teleportation spell.

The perfect timing, interrupting Pabel mid-sentence.

It was clear that this had all been orchestrated.

This wasn’t a real survival crisis.

‘I almost had a heart attack thinking she might get too close to Pabel.’

Had he not arrived at the tent at just the right moment, the two of them might have bonded.

Pabel seemed to have intentionally injured himself and waited for the opportunity.

‘Now that his plan failed once, he won’t try it again.’

Sihat calmly surveyed the area, releasing his divine power to create a protective barrier.

No monsters or dangerous creatures would approach them here. This place now exuded the aura of someone precious.

Cherishe deserved nothing less.

Even amidst chaos, she strove to maintain order and morality, offering hope through her countless medical inventions even in the darkest times.

Sihat knew how brilliant this little girl would become as she grew into adulthood.

It was sometimes hard to even look at her without feeling in awe.

“But Shya.”

“Yeah?”

“Why did you… ask that earlier?”

The Dragon Lord must have made her do something mischievous.

Even though he had a good idea of what had happened, Sihat intentionally brought up the earlier situation.

It was a way to distract Cherishe, to ease the fear of being in an unfamiliar place.

“Ah, that…”

As expected, Cherishe hesitated, unsure of how to respond.

Her puffed-up cheeks as she pondered her answer were too cute, and Sihat couldn’t help but smile quietly.

“Sihat! Look over there! A path!”

But before I could hear her answer, Cherishe excitedly pointed to a trail.

It was a little disappointing, but Sihat didn’t let it show as he turned his gaze in that direction.

As much as he wanted to tease her for being flustered, he didn’t want to make things difficult for her.

“It looks like there’s a village nearby, Shya.”

“Really?!”

“Yeah, let’s go check it out. We can’t stay here much longer. It’ll get colder as night falls.”

No matter how warmly a child is dressed, they can’t last long in this kind of cold.

The Dragon Lord must have sent them toward a mountain with a village.

Perhaps a village in need of Cherishe’s help.

‘The Prince will realize something’s wrong in about five minutes. It’ll take him thirty minutes to assess the situation and start searching.’

The Prince would arrive in about two hours.

Until then, Sihat was determined to protect Cherishe with everything he had.

Vikal, who had just severed the eye of a giant serpent, sensed that something was wrong.

It was an instinctual sense of danger, honed through years of battle.

Slicing through the creature lunging at him, Vikal quickly pulled up a projection.

It was linked to the ring that Cherishe wore.

“…”

And in that moment, Vikal understood what it meant to have the world turn pitch-black before his eyes.

His daughter’s view showed no one.

She wasn’t in the tent or aboard the airship.

Snow.

All there was, was a vast expanse of white snow.

Quickly tracing her location, Vikal realized Cherishe was nowhere near him.

“Father!”

At that moment, Gergys, his face twisted in fear and confusion, came running toward him.

“Father, Dew is with her!”

“Where is Cherishe?”

“She’s not here! I don’t know where she went, but she suddenly disappeared with the Pope!”

Crunch.

As soon as Gergys finished speaking, every monster within a 4-kilometer radius was crushed to the ground under an immense gravitational force, obliterated instantly.

The knights stared in bewilderment at the Amons they had been fighting.

Some of them were so shocked by the sudden event that they even dropped their swords.

Even if a thousand monsters appeared, Vikal could easily handle them on his own.

Seeing the true extent of Vikal’s power, the knights allied with Jen’s faction looked pale.

The power of the royal family was such that it often made knights feel utterly useless.

“…”

Holding back his seething anger, Vikal spoke in a low, threatening voice.

“I’m going to retrieve Cherishe.”

Even the few seconds it took to speak those words felt like a waste of time.

But just as Vikal prepared to cast a teleportation spell, a strange wave of energy suddenly surged from the distance.

“Ugh!”

“What is…!”

The knights squinted their eyes against the violent snowstorm that whipped against them, raising their arms to shield themselves. Then, they realized it.

A chilling aura.

The kind that sends shivers down the spine.

Instinctively, Vikal shouted a command.

“Everyone, fall back! Form a defensive formation!”

The defensive formation was a battle strategy in which the royal family took the front while the knights raised their shields behind, maintaining a strong line of defense.

It allowed the knights to effectively hunt monsters while minimizing injuries.

‘What is that?’

Through the dispersing snowstorm, a figure appeared, vaguely silhouetted in the distance.

Vikal narrowed his eyes, focusing on the being.

It looked human but was far from it. A creature that sought nothing but pleasure.

Without a doubt…

‘A demon!’