Reborn As a Character That Never Existed

“My male lead, who had the perfect conditions of black hair and red eyes. He had slightly raised eyes like a cat, but since he was still a child, they didn’t look too sharp.

When I finally saw my favorite character, I felt a strange feeling. When it came to As, he was so pretty that I couldn’t help but open my mouth.

Rayan was also very pretty, but I was drawn to his atmosphere and gaze. Although he pretended to be mature, unlike As, whose eyes were the same age, Rayan’s eyes were sunken.

I chewed on the bread in my mouth to say something to him.

Roxana seemed to be watching how I would behave. Rayan looked at me for a moment and then fixed his gaze on the bread in my hand.

I heard his stomach growling. I willingly handed him the bread.

“What are you saying?”

“….”

“It’s okay. I washed my hands.”

My pronunciation became muddled, perhaps because there was still bread in my mouth.

Rayan accepted the bread with permission from the thin woman who was behind him. It seemed like he was very hungry, as he immediately stuffed the bread into his mouth. I handed Roxana the remaining bread.

“I’ll give this to my mom.”

“Really? Tilly is so kind.”

Roxana took the bread and patted my head. Rayan, who was eating bread absentmindedly, suddenly stopped and stared at me and Roxana.

Roxana noticed Rayan’s gaze and hardened her expression. But she soon smiled again and introduced me to Rayan.

“Tilly, this is Prince Rayan of the Selis Kingdom. He came to the Empire for study purposes, but he ended up staying at our house for a while because something came up. Prince, this is my eldest daughter, Taleia. She’ll be the same age as you, five years old, next month.”

I knew how absurd it was for a five-year-old to come to study, but I pretended to be ignorant of the adults’ circumstances and smiled.

“Hello!”

I deliberately greeted him with a childish smile, but Rayan just stared at me with the bread in his hand.”

As an awkward silence fell, the thin woman standing behind Ryan let out a dry cough. Ryan flinched at the sound and glanced at her before turning to greet me.

“Good day, Lady,” Ryan said stiffly.

“…,” I remained silent.

Rosanna’s smile deepened at Ryan’s formal greeting. However, her smile was not the affectionate one she usually showed me.

As I examined Rosanna’s smile, I shifted my gaze to the thin woman. When our eyes met, she gave me a small smile and bowed as if to greet me. It was a different attitude from when she had pointed out Ryan’s stiff behavior.

“She’s probably a surveillance agent placed by the queen.”

“My name isn’t Lady.”

“Huh?”

“Of course, I am Lady of Lemetrio, but my sister is also a Lady… uh, both of us are Ladies, so it’s better to call us by our names instead of getting confused… right?”

I circled around Ryan, teasing him and making him dizzy, as his subordinates looked at me with faces that showed they didn’t know how to deal with me, a child who acted on their own.

Adding the subtle “uh” at the end was a behavior that teased them by pretending to show courtesy.

“My name is Talleia. Since it’s hard to say, call me Tilly. But if you call me Tilly, you have to be my friend. If you’re my friend, you don’t have to use formal language unnecessarily.”

“…,” Ryan remained silent.

“What I just did was an example of informal language. So, Prince of the neighboring country, do you want to be my friend?”

“…,” Ryan just stared at me with a blank expression and didn’t answer. As it was too quiet, I became uneasy and started to chatter.

“As a sibling, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon Lord’s throne is vacant. It’s also called the Jjol-ddagu (meaning the weakest) position. Aren’t you interested in that too?”

“…Anything.”

“It doesn’t matter what it is.”

“Whatever it is…,” Rayan’s eyes were already filled with deep resignation.

During their first meeting, she had been careful, and there were no visible signs of wounds or abuse that she could see right now. However, from the way he looked at her and the way others looked at him, she could tell what kind of treatment he was receiving.

From the perspective of the agents, they were stuck in another country without any guarantee of returning due to the prince, so they had to look good. Of course, it wasn’t Rayan’s fault.

“For a few months, they probably had to keep moving in a carriage among those people.”

Considering the distance between the kingdom and the empire, Rayan’s arrival should have been delayed by a few months from now. However, since they arrived so early, someone must have pulled the schedule up considerably.

Whether it was intended to protect Rayan or to torment him was unknown, but there was a significant lack of consideration for the child.

When Rayan saw me staring at him, he lowered his head deeply. As if asking me how I was doing, I looked at Roksa, and she gave me a sad smile.

It was easy to guess that Roksa’s intentions played a significant role in Rayan’s sudden arrival at the ducal palace. If that’s the case, then I should be a good friend to her daughter.

“Okay. From now on, you’re my Four Kings. Even though it may not seem like it, I’m a Great Demon King who values my subordinates, so I’ll treat you well.”

As a tyrant who had made a sudden career change to a holy king, I smiled and extended my hand to Rayan. Rayan hesitated for a moment but took my hand.

****

“Mom, I’m hungry! Let’s eat.”

“What about Dad? He won’t wait for us?”

“Dad said to eat without him.”

“He’ll cry again.”

“It’s okay. You can comfort him.”

Loksa-na laughed at my words and suggested we have snacks instead of dinner.

“You can eat ice cream, sherbet, cake, whatever you want. We won’t say anything if you can’t eat much for dinner because you’re too full. Of course, our foodie girl will eat dinner deliciously too.”

“Huh? Why?”

“It’s just one of those days.”

I looked at the bread in Ryan’s hand and hesitated. It wasn’t hard to guess that Ryan had been starving all day.

“Until I awaken my abilities, I lived by stealing food.”

“Then let’s go on a picnic in the garden. We’ll bring sandwiches and the bread Yumo made. We can play while waiting for Dad to come.”

Loksa-na nodded her head as if it was a good idea. She smiled politely, thinking about what to do with the prince’s servants.

“I’m sorry. It was a sudden decision, and the annex that you and everyone else will be using is not yet ready. How about spending some time in the garden together? Everyone must be tired after the two-month march….”

Loksa-na spoke and looked at the thin woman with a guarded expression. I gave Ryan the remaining bread and turned his gaze away.

“I understand. But I need to manage the following group, so please take care of the prince.”

“Yes, you can talk to my butler about managing the annex.”

Chamber, who had been silently guarding the whole time, stepped forward.

Chamber was the chief butler of the Duke’s household and was in charge of managing the information organization under Urien.

He was a regular in the novel, and although he always had a smiling face in front of me, I knew very well that he was a scary person.

“Butler Grandpa!”

I gestured as if telling Chamber to listen closely, and he willingly knelt down and bowed his head.

“From now on, you’re the devil king’s subordinate, Prince. Grandfather will also make you one of the Four Heavenly Kings, so let’s do some bad things together.”

At the mention of doing bad things, Chamber smiled knowingly and said it was an honor. He was indeed quick-witted. I gave Chamber a peck on the cheek and took Layan’s hand, leading him upstairs.

“Before we go on our picnic, I’ll introduce you to my little brother. He’s really ugly!”

“Tilly, I told you not to say that to Lona. Even babies can understand.”

While Roxana pretended to lecture me, she signaled to Chamber to take the others to the annex. I pulled on Layan’s arm and urged him on.

“Tilly, you’re hurting your friend.”

“He’s not a friend. He’s a wimp.”

“Where did you learn that kind of language?”

“From dad.”

I released my grip on Layan’s arm and licked my lips with a late-coming groan.

Roxana laughed mockingly and advised us to go slowly as we started climbing the stairs and running. As if Roxana’s words were a signal, Layan and I both stumbled and fell together. As soon as he fell, Layan got up and helped me up.

“Damn, this body of mine. It doesn’t listen to me.”

I wish I could control my limbs as I wanted, even for just one day.

Fortunately, the entire hallway was covered with soft carpet for me, so I wasn’t hurt and didn’t hurt much.

“I told you not to run, Mom. Are you hurt? Are you okay, Prince?”

“Mom, hug me.”

“I have to walk on my own two feet.”

“No, hug me.”

Roxana lifted both Layan and me up, as if there was no choice. It was a difficult task to lift two young children at the same time, but she was not just a knight. Suddenly, when our sight went up, Layan looked up at Roxana with a bewildered expression.

“Shall I put you down?”

“…No.”

Layan’s voice was very small, but it was heard well, perhaps because he was close. Roxana and I exchanged glances and smiled at the same time.