Chapter 1
Richesia was from an orphanage. Abandoned as a baby, she lived in an orphanage for the rest of her life. But that changed on her fifteenth birthday. The fairy power sleeping inside of her awakened and her life was completely changed. Before she could adjust to the sudden change, Richesia had to flee. It was because of the hunters who followed the traces of the fairy. Richesia, who ran away from the orphanage completely, had one goal. To survive. So, she did everything she could. She deceived her opponent with clever lies and suppressed them with her power. As she struggled to survive, she thought. ‘Why do I have to suffer to this extent?’ She wanted to know why. After digging into the cause, she found out the truth. Richesia was the daughter of a fairy who died because of madness. Because she was born with the blood of the mad fairy, she was born with powers different from ordinary fairies. Because of her abnormal birth, she was abandoned in the fairies’ world. She was in the position of being chased by slave hunters. Richesia started looking for the culprit who ruined her life. After a lot of hard work, she got a clue. She learned of a rumor that one of the three aristocratic families of the Great Empire of Palen had committed a cruel experiment on fairies. But that was it. Even though she is Richesia, she couldn’t meddle as much as she wanted with the powerful aristocratic family of the Great Empire. It was a time when she was seeking an opportunity no matter what to break through in a dead-end situation. “They’re secretly adopting a baby?” “Yes, Richesia-nim*!”*The Korean suffix 님 (nim) is a high-level honorific used to show respect to someone.
Hata clenched his fists. His purple eyes, which had always been gloomy, shone brightly. “Certainly. They say Count Basilian is looking for a baby to adopt!” Hata explained hard in a very excited voice. “It is said that they are going through the orphanages one by one while hiding their identity, but this is high-quality information that is not yet known. Only Hata knows.” The Count Basilian was the most secretive of the three noble families of the Great Empire. There was not much information known to the public because of his infrequent external activities. It was also the family that Richesia was most suspicious of as the culprit. A count family who already had three sons. But suddenly they are looking for a baby to adopt. Not from a local aristocratic family, but from an orphanage. It was a very suspicious thing. “Hata thinks it would be nice to pretend to be the orphanage’s director and then approach the count.” “No. Such a temporary approach is not enough.” “Ah, then what should we do?” Richesia smiled brightly in front of Hata. Hata looked at her with anxious eyes at the bright smile as if a flower was blooming. “I myself turn into a baby and get adopted into the count’s family.” “Aarrgh!” As he pressed his cheek with his hand, he despaired. “It is dangerous, it is really dangerous!” “It’s not like I do something dangerous once or twice.” She just simply wanted their unknown information hidden from the outsiders. In particular, the servants of Count Basilian were famous for their high loyalty and heavy mouths. It couldn’t be bought even with money, so she couldn’t get a peek inside. Now this was the perfect opportunity to step inside the mysterious county. “What’s wrong with you suddenly?” Seeing the wink, Hata’s face turned bright red even though he was crying. After hesitating, he finally let out a sigh. “Hata will make a potion to turn the body into a baby….” Thus, she drank Hata’s potion and turned into a baby. A small body about 2 years old. Short, curly blonde hair. Her eyes, which had been red like blood, turned bright pink. It was a cute and adorable baby that you would never have imagined was Richesia, the witch fairy. With the help of Hata, Richesia went into an orphanage. With the fake name of Chesha. The orphanage she lived in was a mess. ‘It’s so chaotic, chaos.’ The skinny children fought every day over rotten food, rag-like clothes, and ragged blankets. The director was only thinking of extorting money from the sponsor. And never thought to improve the children’s environment. It was because a lot of support would come in only when they were pitiful. Richesia, no, now Chesha, has been in that chaotic orphanage for a month. Thanks to deliberately coming in filthily, she was able to live naturally buried among other children. However, there was just one problem. ‘I’m going to stay calm until the count comes!’ … As she thought like that. This wasn’t very easy. It was because the children that bossed around at the orphanage were territorial towards Chesha. They took away the food and harassed her with all kinds of childish behavior. ‘I’m an adult, so let’s not fight with the brats.’ Stepping on a month since she suffered and tested her patience. Finally, Count Basilian came to the orphanage where Chesha lives. That day, the director was annoyed from the morning. It was because there had been no sponsors who had recently made money. It was a time when he was catching the children and showing off his temper. That person appeared suddenly. The time when the sun goes down and the setting sun fills the sky. A carriage came into the desolate orphanage yard with no grass, raising a cloud of dust. The director hurriedly ran out. The orphanage children clung to the window with curious eyes. Chesha also quickly stepped on a chair and looked out the window. At first glance, the carriage without any design looked just like an ordinary carriage. But the well-bred horses and the dignified manners of the coachman convinced her. It was clearly a carriage belonging to a high-ranking aristocrat. The coachman, taking the whip, straightened the steps of the carriage and opened the door. A man got out of the carriage slowly. Chesha was involuntarily amazed. “Woah….” Count Basilian was really beautiful. Looking at herself in the mirror every day, even Chesha, who had sky-high eyes, was startled. The hard-earned portrait couldn’t capture even half of his appearance. ‘So that man is Kiern Basilian.’ It was a time when she looked at him with strange eyes. Count Basilian, who had an expressionless face, opened his mouth. “I’m going to adopt a child.” His cool voice was deep, at the same time, clear. The director, who was overwhelmed by the atmosphere, shuddered as if he had been hit with icy water. “Tha, thank you for visiting our orphanage! First of all, please go inside and have tea….” Kiern stared at the director, who hunched over without replying. The meaning of the cold gaze was clear. This meant that he had no reason or time to drink tea in a place like this. The director quickly ran into the orphanage and threw the door wide open. “Guys! You have to greet our precious guest!” He pushed the backs of the hesitant children and made them all come out into the yard. About 50 or so children gathered in the yard. Normally, it was a situation where they would have to say a word or two so loud that her eardrums would tear. But the yard was so quiet that she could hear the sound of bread crumbs falling. Everyone was frightened when they saw Kiern, so they kept their mouths shut and only shed tears. ‘Such cowards.’ Among the children with their eyes down, Chesha raised her head proudly. But she is too small. Kiern carelessly looked over the children, but he didn’t even look at the little Chesha. He narrowed his eyes. “It seems there are no children to take.” Chesha, who had been struggling to stand on her tiptoes to raise her height among the children older than herself, frowned. ‘Me! In this mess! I went through hardship for a month!’ She couldn’t miss it. Now was the time to bring out the secret weapon. It was a long hard loaf of bread that had been served as a meal a few days before. Chesha shouted, holding up the hard bread. “Itz me!” A loud cry spread through the quiet yard. The director and the children all looked at Chesha with bewildered eyes. Count Basilian’s gaze finally turned to Chesha. However, when the length of the bread was added together, she was still small, so it was difficult to see. Chesha hit the bad guys in front of her with the hard bread. The children screamed and ran away. “Ack!” “Urgh!” “Argh!” They were all the guys who had bullied Chesha, so she beat them up with peace of mind. Chesha, who made a path out of bread, ran to the front. Shaking the bread again in front of Kiern, she shouted fervently. “Me! Take me pleaze!!” Kiern’s eyes, which had been cold until now, curved for the first time. He asked with a pale, twisted, but clear smile. “Why should I?” Seeing Count Basilian up close, he was even more beautiful and also looked dangerous. His black hair, dyed all over by the red sunset, was smooth like the scales of a snake. As if to call for the deep darkness to come after the setting sun. His crimson eyes, filled with faint interest, shone cruelly. The moment she looked into his eyes, she knew what answer to give. “I am!” Chesha lifted her chin and put her hands on her waist. Then she pushed her chubby belly forward and said confidently. “Cute!”