The Beloved Youngest Daughter of the Lord Family - Chapter 9
“Hic! Hic!”
I could barely make out the man’s desperate cry—“Just kill me!”—but I had no intention of honoring his wish.
After all, I didn’t desire a neat, tidy ending where someone who’d tried to kill another simply escaped punishment and slipped peacefully into death.
‘Handing him over to the guards just like this feels oddly unsatisfying.’
Luckily for me, I was a special child blessed with exceptional magical talent.
An ordinary two- or three-year-old would’ve been helpless, meeting a pitiful end without even the strength to resist.
I couldn’t fathom how many lives this man had callously ended for his own amusement.
‘Ugh, the more I think about it, the more infuriating it gets.’
This simply wouldn’t do.
Indeed, villains like him deserved proper retribution!
“Mister, you can live without one arm or one leg, right?”
“Guh…?”
“Good. You’ll be rotting in prison for life anyway. Can’t let you use magic.”
“Hah…!!”
Just as I raised my hand to deliver the perfect punishment,
three maids burst through the door with a loud crash!
“Lady Bella, it’s dangerous here! You must get away quickly!”
“Yes! The palace alarm sounded for an intruder… Huh?”
The maids stared alternately at the assassin—frozen solid on the floor—and at me, their faces full of disbelief.
No wonder they were shocked—an utterly disheveled man and a neatly pajama-clad little girl holding a doll made for a strange sight.
“S-so… Lady Bella did this to him? With magic?”
“We knew you had talent for magic, but never imagined it was this strong…”
“Hehe, surprised? Sorry.”
I scratched my cheek sheepishly and hid my tiny hand—still tinged with magical energy—behind my back.
I’d even kept this secret from Rosa, Roi, and Ronya—my closest attendants—precisely to prepare for unexpected dangers like today.
The assassin had underestimated me because he knew nothing about me.
Once the guards arrived and took him away, the commotion settled down somewhat.
After being moved to a secure location under strict guard, I slept soundly and peacefully.
The next morning, I opened my eyes to find Sione sitting right before me, as if by magic.
“Good morning, Lady Bella.”
‘Huh? My wish really came true?’
My prayer—asking her to return after just one night, not two—had been answered, leaving me both delighted and flustered.
She must’ve rushed back early because of the assassin, but regardless of the reason, I was simply glad she was back.
Rubbing my eyes with my sleeve, I quickly got out of bed.
“You came back, Tione! Did you have a good trip?”
“Yes. I felt the barrier I’d placed around the Rose Palace break, so I rode through the night to return.”
Noticing the dark circles under her eyes only now, I let out a deep sigh.
“Ugh, did you even sleep? You should rest a bit!”
“How could I rest comfortably while knowing you were in danger?”
Sione’s voice brimmed with guilt as she gently grasped my small hand.
“I’m truly sorry, Lady Bella. It’s all my fault for being so careless. If things had gone wrong… I can’t even bear to imagine it.”
Her body trembled so violently she couldn’t finish her sentence.
Through our clasped hands—hers large and warm—I could feel her tension and trembling clearly.
My heart clenched, and without another thought, I threw my arms around her neck.
“I’m really okay, so please don’t cry. Got it?”
“Lady Bella…”
Sione finally burst into tears and hugged my tiny frame tightly.
I patted her head gently—the way she’d taught me—to calm her down.
As I waited for her tears to fully subside, the maids, who’d been watching quietly from a distance, hesitantly approached.
“We must also apologize, Lady Bella. While Sione was away, we should’ve been more vigilant…”
“Yes! We should’ve stood night watch outside your room instead of being so careless.”
Truthfully, their words were half right and half wrong.
The artifact the assassin had planted created a kind of pocket dimension.
Even if someone had been guarding the room, they couldn’t have reached me once I’d been isolated into that separate space.
While listening to the maids’ apologies, Sione—who had already returned to her usual composure—narrowed her eyes and spoke.
“You three really need to reflect. Where’s your soldier’s discipline? Slacking off like this?”
“Eep! Sione! You promised you wouldn’t treat us like subordinates anymore! We’re proper palace attendants now!”
“A soldier is a soldier for life,” she replied. “And weren’t you the ones who insisted on following me even after my discharge?”
Ah, so all three had been soldiers.
‘No wonder they never seemed like ordinary maids.’
They were maids assigned to a palace with a baby, yet all three were clumsy at childcare and lacked any domestic skills.
Sometimes, while sweeping with brooms, they’d mimic sword drills—and now I finally understood why.
“I heard the assassin was locked up. What happened after that?”
“Commander Walter is away, so the deputy commander took charge of the interrogation himself.”
“The deputy commander…”
Sione crossed her arms loosely, lost in thought for a moment, then suddenly lifted her head.
“I should speak with him first. Let’s make it look like I captured the assassin, not you—and forge the documents accordingly.”
“Yes, that does sound safer.”
“And you three, keep Lady Bella’s abilities secret for now. We can’t hide it forever, but it’s best to buy some time until Lord returns.”
As I listened to their conversation, I thought again about the artifact the assassin had hidden.
He’d gone so far as to install it inside my room to enable future intrusions—it was clear he’d been planning this for a long time.
Who on earth was targeting my life?
Just as I sank into thought, the conversation turned exactly to that.
“Infiltrating a sealed palace isn’t something a lone assassin could pull off. Someone must be pulling the strings behind him.”
“Well, isn’t that obvious? It must be one of the pureblood faction members who sees Lady Bella as a thorn in their eye. And among them, it’s most likely someone aligned with Lord Wilhelm…”
“Shh! Watch your tongue, Rosa.”
Rosa—the eldest of the maids—reluctantly fell silent, and the other two glanced nervously at Sione.
But judging by the atmosphere, their thoughts clearly aligned with Rosa’s.
‘Wilhelm… I haven’t even seen what he looks like yet. Could he really be the one trying to kill me?’
Lineage, character, and capability—
my eldest brother Wilhelm, said to possess all three, was the complete opposite of Luka in temperament.
If Father returned from his campaign, I might finally get a chance to meet him myself.
‘It won’t be too late to judge him then.’
Deciding to avoid jumping to conclusions, I quickly shifted my gaze to Sione.
“But anyway, how was your trip?”
“Fortunately, I managed to meet my master. We couldn’t talk much due to the circumstances, but he gave me this instead.”
Sione reached into the bag on the table and pulled out a palm-sized gemstone.
The irregularly shaped magical stone pulsed with a reddish glow, dimming and brightening rhythmically, as if breathing on its own.
“Wow. It’s pretty. This thing.”
“This is a mana stone. You get them by defeating magical beasts. People often refine them into necklaces or earrings.”
“Right.”
“Mana stones hold vast life energy—that’s why they’re called a monster’s second heart. Removing one usually kills the beast instantly. Would you like to touch it?”
I nodded and carefully stroked the mana stone she offered me.
Instantly, my mind cleared and vitality surged through me—it clearly had real effects.
“Wow! I feel strong just by touching it!”
“Actually, this mana stone comes from a dragon. For people like you, Lady Bella—who suffer from innate mana depletion—it’s as good as a miracle cure.”
A dragon?
Hearing the name of that legendary creature—one I’d only read about in myths—left my mouth hanging open.
How on earth did she get her hands on something like this?!
“So, if I just use this, everything’ll be fixed, right?”
“Unfortunately, no. Consider it more of a temporary measure until we find a permanent solution.”
Aww, what a letdown.
I pouted disappointedly.
Still, according to Sione, this would reliably prevent me from suddenly collapsing and losing consciousness, and I could finally resume serious magic studies—definitely good news.
“For the time being, you must always carry this mana stone with you wherever you go. It’s a one-of-a-kind item, so don’t give it to anyone or lose it.”
“Who would I give this precious thing to? You gave it to me, Tione.”
“Oh, you’re so sweet.”
A while later, Sione left the Rose Palace to meet the deputy commander, and I returned to my ordinary daily life once again.
Everything seemed to have settled—for now.
[This is the timeline separator]A few days later, an incident shook the royal palace.
The imprisoned assassin committed suicide with poison, and all evidence related to the crime—including the artifact itself—vanished without a trace.
Even the artifact that the Royal Mage Corps had been investigating disappeared, plunging the entire case into complete mystery.
“Damn it. I should’ve kept the artifact myself.”
Sione, who’d been obsessively reinforcing the barriers around the Rose Palace, buried her face in her hands in despair.
To make matters worse, Lord Vlad—in his capacity as the head of the family—was away on a long campaign, making further investigation severely limited.
“You three start gathering records on nobles residing in the capital. Movement is restricted due to the lockdown, but we must do what we can in advance.”
“Yes. But… should we explain this situation to Lady Bella?”
Sione fell into brief contemplation.
Bella was exceptionally clever and articulate for her age—but she was still just a two- or three-year-old child.
Like any loving mother, Sione wished for her to grow up slowly and peacefully.
After all, this poor little girl would inevitably spend her entire life fighting just to protect herself.
“No. I’ll explain everything to her personally later. For now, it’s best to let her focus on recovering. She’s only just overcome the hardship of mana depletion recently.”
“You’re right. We must take even better care of her. She’s always so confident and mature that we sometimes forget—she’s still just a baby.”
After reaching this consensus, they dispersed, and Sione quietly headed to Bella’s room, where she was taking her afternoon nap.
‘She’s sleeping deeply.’
Sione tiptoed gently to Bella’s side and carefully stroked her hair.
The little girl’s angelic sleeping face looked utterly adorable.
“Mmm… More candy…”
Murmuring in her sleep, Bella soon broke into a satisfied smile.
She must’ve been eating her favorite sweets in her dreams.
“Hehe, how can you be this lovable?”
Sione pressed a quick kiss on Bella’s marshmallow-soft cheeks and carefully tucked the blanket around her.
She prayed silently that moments like this—filled only with happiness—would repeat forever.
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
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Woww, what a great father he is.
Claimed to love the mother, but ignored their own child…. how great.
Oh, what’s happening? My poor baby Bella! I hope someone comes to help her quickly 😭💔