Chapter 3
Decades ago.
I was resting, playing with baby elves on a ruined land.
Right at that moment, a guy called the Great Sage appeared.
In the middle of a barren, empty wasteland, no less!
I hadn’t even sensed a trace of magical energy—how in the world?
As I was reeling in shock, the guy opened his mouth.
“I know everything in this world.”
“I also know that the great Celus will soon become a lowly creature.”
“Lord Celus, don’t you want to hear more of this prophecy?”
Of course, I didn’t listen.
I thought the Great Sage was spouting nonsense.
Not to mention, the fact that he managed to approach me while evading my great senses was incredibly annoying and bruised my pride.
So, I beat the Great Sage to a pulp.
“If you ever show up in front of me again, I’ll kill you.”
And then I sent him flying to the other side of the continent.
“I haven’t heard from him since.”
He probably didn’t die. Sages are known for their long lifespans.
“That guy knew I’d end up possessing this body.”
If that’s the case, he must know how to heal this body and restore my original power.
Even if he doesn’t, I can make him figure it out. He’s a sage, after all.
“Alright. Let’s make finding the Great Sage my goal.”
But there’s a problem.
“Cough! Hack!”
“Good heavens, my lady!”
“I knew she was awake for too long today. To think her body would give out so suddenly…!”
“Lie down! Please!”
The problem is that this body is horribly weak.
To find the Great Sage, I’d have to scour the entire continent. But with this body, is that even possible?
“Cough! Hack! Urk!”
Absolutely impossible.
Even wandering around the room for a bit causes this much chaos with this frail body.
“Damn it…”
I need to build up my stamina first, but how am I supposed to do that with this pathetic body?
Everything went dark before my eyes.
“Oh! The physician is here!”
“My lady! Lie down! We’ll have you examined right away!”
Anne and Anna, completely unaware of my deep concerns, forced me to lie back on the bed.
This isn’t the time for this! As I was about to struggle, I stopped flailing my limbs, sensing something odd.
A very familiar, yet very pathetic energy.
This is definitely…!
“Aang?”
***
In the southern part of the continent, Teiti, an elf from the Insyha Mountains, was humming a tune while swinging his medical bag back and forth.
Lately, there had been an outbreak of plague across the continent, increasing the demand for elven physicians.
While this was an unfortunate disaster for humans, for Teiti, who had escaped the stifling isolation of the elven community, it was a golden opportunity to make money.
So, he settled in the capital, where the nobles showered him with money—literal cash cows.
Then, a call came from the Archduke Akion’s household, asking him to take care of their youngest daughter.
Rumors about the youngest daughter of the Akion family being afflicted with an incurable disease were widespread across the empire. Teiti hesitated slightly, but the astronomical sum offered blinded him, and he accepted.
“If they pressure me to cure her, I’ll just run away.”
After all, he’d already been paid in advance.
Humming merrily, Teiti followed the servant’s guidance and arrived at Daphne Akion’s door.
“For now, since it’s our first meeting, I’ll win her favor and squeeze out as much as I can…”
He was in the middle of scheming.
“Hm?”
Something feels off?
A very familiar energy washed over him.
An energy he used to feel occasionally when living in his homeland. A chilling, electrifying sensation that made his knees buckle and forced him to kneel…
“Fear.”
Teiti’s face turned pale as a sheet.
“No way.”
This is human society. There’s no way *that being* would be here. He’d been in human society for nearly fifty years and had never once encountered *them*.
“It’s a mistake, just a mistake.”
Living among humans for so long must have dulled his senses.
*Gulp.* Teiti swallowed hard, trying to calm his wildly beating heart.
“I-I’m coming in.”
And when he flung the door open.
“Aang?”
“….”
Oh, dear gods.
Teiti collapsed on the spot.
What he saw was clearly a five-year-old child. A cute little girl with shimmering blonde hair and sparkling lime-green eyes.
But Teiti could feel it. Inside that human child’s body…
“Why is that lunatic here?!”
The terrifying maniac was there!
***
“As expected, an elf.”
Daphne looked down at the trembling elf who had collapsed upon seeing her and gave a sly grin.
Elves, guardians of the forest, are revered as noble beings by humans, but that’s only from the perspective of humans.
An elf in the presence of a dragon that rules the land?
Less than an ant… no, just dust. Dust that would scream and scatter with a single puff.
“Got you.”
Daphne turned to Anne and Anna and said,
“I’ll be examined alone. So, everyone, leave.”
“What?”
Anne and Anna widened their eyes and asked.
“But we need to stay by your side to assist the physician, my lady.”
“There won’t be anything for you to do anyway, right, elf?”
Daphne shot a glance at Teiti.
Teiti, trembling under the full force of the dragon’s aura, barely managed to stand and nodded vigorously.
“Yes? Oh, yes! Nothing! There’s nothing! How could I dare ask for assistance! I can handle it alone! Absolutely!”
“See? He says so. Go on, leave.”
Anne and Anna tilted their heads, finding it odd, but eventually stepped back and replied.
“Yes, call us immediately if anything happens.”
“Alright.”
*Click.*
The door closed as Anne and Anna left.
Now, only Daphne and Teiti remained in the room.
Daphne rolled her eyes and gestured toward Teiti, who was sweating profusely.
“Do you know who I am?”
“Y-Yes?”
Teiti took a sharp breath and straightened his back.
“Of course! It’s Lord Celus, isn’t it? Only Lord Celus could exude such a grand and terrifying aura!”
Pleased with the response, Daphne curled up the corner of her mouth.
“Well-educated, aren’t you? Quite promising.”
“Haha… thank you.”
“But why are you still standing?”
“…What?”
“You know who I am, yet you dare stand on your two legs? You must be itching to die.”
“N-No, that’s not it!”
*Thud!*
He dropped to his knees faster than anyone, in a way no one else could. The sound was so loud it seemed like his kneecaps might have shattered, but Daphne didn’t care in the slightest. She just stared at Teiti quietly.
Teiti wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand and swallowed hard.
In truth, elves living in human society are somewhat bolder than those in the forest.
Even if elves are a race subjugated by dragons, they have enough nerve to resist or escape.
Teiti, too, would have tried to flee and hide if he had encountered any other dragon.
But this is Celus.
The insane, morally bankrupt black dragon, the great calamity Celus.
Caught in Celus’s sight and thinking of escaping?
He wouldn’t even get the chance to try.
Even if, by some miraculous chance, he managed to escape, he’d have to live in hiding, barely breathing, for the rest of his life.
Teiti recalled the dark elf clan that had been thoroughly beaten by Celus in the past. And he thought to himself, *I must never defy her…*
“Are you the physician assigned to me?”
“Y-Yes. Starting today, I’m in charge of… no, I mean, Lord Celus’s treatment.”
“Daphne.”
“What?”
“This body’s name is Daphne. Call me that from now on.”
“Understood, Lady Daphne.”
Teiti cautiously opened his mouth, watching Daphne’s—formerly Celus’s—reaction.
“But why is a great dragon in a human’s body…?”
*Twitch.*
Daphne, feeling a pang of guilt, avoided Teiti’s gaze.
Could she admit that she was sealed after losing to a human hero and somehow ended up possessing his daughter’s body?
“No, absolutely not.”
It’s a secret she’d take to her grave. Daphne shook her head.
“I’m just here for a bit of fun.”
“What?”
“A diversion, I mean. A diversion. I wanted to experience the world as a lowly human.”
“Ohh!”
Teiti exclaimed as if he finally understood.
“So that’s why you’ve hidden your magical aura! As a dragon’s kin, I sensed it immediately, but other races wouldn’t notice at all. Truly, dragons play in such a grand way!”
“….”
Daphne felt another pang but couldn’t deny it, so she changed the subject.
“Anyway, I have something to ask you.”
“Yes, please speak.”
“This body is afflicted with an incurable disease.”
“Yes, I’m aware.”
“Do you know the name of the disease?”
“No.”
As Anne and Anna had said, the name of this body’s illness wasn’t known to the public. Daphne lifted her chin.
“It’s the Black Butterfly Disease.”
“Aha. Black Butterfly… what?”
Teiti’s expression turned strange.
“Is it really the Black Butterfly Disease? You’re not mistaken?”
“Have you ever seen the great me make a mistake?”
“I’ve seen plenty… I mean, no! The great Lady Daphne would never make such a mistake.”
Hahaha. Teiti quickly changed the subject.
“The Black Butterfly Disease is a curse of dark magic. It’s not about finding a cure but a way to break the curse.”
Daphne slightly furrowed her brow.
*Black Butterfly Disease*
The cause of onset is unclear. The most likely theory is that it’s a curse of dark magic.
So it’s not just a theory—it really is a curse?
Daphne ruffled her hair and took a deep breath.
“Why is this body cursed? At such a young age? What could this young body have done wrong?”
Teiti scratched the back of his head and gave a bitter smile.
“That body hasn’t done anything wrong. The fault lies…”
And he pointed to the family crest hanging on the wall.
“With the warrior .”
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By Anna 💓
