“Agh!”

In a moment of forgetfulness, thinking the warp had placed him on solid ground, Yurik stretched his foot forward only to find empty air. A brief scream escaped his lips as he lost his balance.

“Screech!”

Poppy, who had been trailing behind me, frantically gripped the hem of my dress with its short arms. It exerted all its strength to hold on, but it only lasted a few seconds.

Squeak—dash.

Soon after, the sound of fabric tearing filled the air, and my body plummeted.

“Your Highness!”

It was Lillies who swiftly rushed over and enveloped me in his arms.

“That was a close call.”

Lillies looked down at me with a pitiful face. He couldn’t believe that someone not three but ten years old could fall like this. I felt a strong aversion to being held by a snake in this situation.

“It seems you’re quite shocked by the appearance of the World Tree.”

While still holding me, Lillies examined me for any injuries, his expression filled with pity.

“Just let me down already.”

Though I was genuinely friends with Yong-yong, I was not immune to the shock caused by their words.

What bothered me more was the sympathy and compassion Lillies showed me.

I despised being looked at with such eyes. Always being perfect, the strongest, at the pinnacle of all things, I could not tolerate such a gaze from anyone.

When I was reborn into the body of a destitute person, that’s why I lived a life full of pessimism until I died.

“Oh, it appears I’ve displeased you.”

“If you know that, let me down.”

I slapped Lillies’ chubby arms, and reluctantly, he set me down.

“Sometimes you need to know when to give up.”

“But if I hadn’t caught you, you would have been severely injured.”

“I know, but that’s not the point.”

I sighed, saying, “Oh dear,” and quickly urged us to return.

After going back to the reception room where we had unwrapped gifts via the secret underground passage, I acted as if nothing had happened.

“You’re the culprit. Got it?”

“Quack?”

I quickly sent Lillies away, and before calling the maids with the bell, I pointed at the torn hem of my dress.

Since I couldn’t reveal that I secretly visited the temple through the underground warp, I had to explain it as if Poppy had accidentally torn the dress while playing.

“Screech~”

Poppy didn’t seem to mind. It bounced up and down in place, and after patting its obedient head, I yanked the bell rope several times.

“Your Highness, how did this precious dress get torn?”

“Ah, that was Poppy…”

Act well, you little…

I opened my mouth and looked at Poppy, showing three fingers from my fist hidden behind my back, implying I would reward it with three cookies for completing its mission.

“Screech…”

Poppy suddenly made a guilty face and slumped to the floor. Miranda and Hailey wore perplexed expressions but soon just lightly scolded, saying not to do it again next time.

And then that evening.

“Ah, I really can’t concentrate.”

On days when there were guests or when dealing with the children of the Fleur family, classes were optional. I had been engrossed in my studies for a while.

“So to summarize, the ones related to me are undergoing some kind of punishment…”

As my concentration began to wane after reading several thick books, I shoved all the books to one side, laid my forehead on the table, and slumped over.

‘As you know, the World Tree is the only being promised eternal life by the gods.’

‘The punishment it received was to dedicate its eternal life to all beings on this land.’
The thoughts Yurik had shared during their daytime encounter slowly resurfaced, igniting previously deferred questions into intense reverberations.

Why was it that only I couldn’t express the answer that God had in mind? Why was it that only I was banished from paradise, leaking into the world where the second race of humans lived, and yet the punishment was shared, as if on the same stem of a birch tree?

“But one thing is clear: every being around you also receives a punishment like the World Tree.”

“And if you consider it, punishment is something you receive for doing something wrong. They chose this themselves.”

“Exactly. They’re beings that either liked or disliked you.”

Lilith had long left paradise and claimed not to understand the purpose, much like straining every muscle to pull out a sword stuck in an unbreakable massive ore.

Despite gaining much knowledge and power while living amongst the second race of humans for hundreds of years—knowledge and power I did not possess in the days of the first humans—I still didn’t know what I sought.

“I’ve had so many admirers, I don’t even remember who was who.”

I turned my face to the side, blowing air into my cheeks and emitting a sound of irritation. Poppy stared blankly at the ceiling, her demeanor slightly stiff, perhaps recalling past times when she got into trouble for my poor mood.

“Did I even have people who disliked or hated me to begin with?”