Only when I spoke again did she respond with a smile.
"No, it's just… you've changed a lot, Zeref."
"That's true," I said proudly, puffing out my chest as if I had accomplished something great.
After that, we talked for a while and then moved away from the crowd. I told them I wanted to explore the castle on my own, leaving my family behind to wander around.
As I was walking through the garden, I heard the sound of someone crying. I followed the sound and hid behind a tree, where I saw a group of boys surrounding and bullying a little girl.
"Little sister, I don't even understand why you're part of our family. With a face like that, you bring shame to us all."
"Yeah, you should just go far away so no one has to see you again."
"That's right, nobody wants to look at you."
The first boy's words were followed by the others, who continued to humiliate her. The girl simply closed her eyes and endured it in silence.
Focusing on her, I activated the system's reading function:
Name: Yukihana Cadaver
Gender: Female
Age: 10
Species: Human/Elf
Talent: 9/10
Power: —
Title: —
Affection: 0%
Description: A princess who, instead of living a happy life, has gone through much suffering. In secret, she is plotting her revenge.
Difficulty: A (She is intelligent, so you must proceed carefully.)
I was momentarily stunned by the information.
I didn't expect to meet her here. Yukihana Cadaver was also one of the heroines I had to conquer — and she was an exceptionally intelligent girl.
Her life could be described as tragic. She was a princess of a small kingdom — insignificant when compared to the Helios Kingdom.
Her mother was an elf who fell in love with the kingdom's king. The king deeply loved and respected her mother, but tragedy struck when she died giving birth to Yukihana.
Unlike in many fantasy worlds where half-elves are despised or ostracized, here they are different.
In this world, a half-blood individual has the potential to awaken the abilities of both races, granting them significant advantages.
Because of that, those who inherited traits from both parents were highly valued by every major power in Megicula.
The king had loved Yukihana's mother dearly, but because of her birth, her mother died — and worse, Yukihana was born with a red scar across her face, as if it had been burned, which made people feel disgusted when they saw her.
Many healers tried to cure the scar, but none succeeded — no one knew its cause. Her appearance led her to live a difficult life, full of bullying and loneliness.
But no one knew that she was just waiting for the right time. Though she appeared quiet and meek, her intelligence was extraordinary. She was biding her time, waiting for the perfect moment to strike back — to exact revenge on everyone who had hurt her.
Eventually, she would awaken her elven abilities and become a half-elf. After that, she would be taken by the elf kingdom and serve directly under the elven princess. With her awakening, the scar on her face would disappear.
She would transform from an "ugly duckling" into a beautiful swan — but that was only on the outside.
Inside, she would already be consumed by darkness. After moving to the elf kingdom, she would slowly start controlling the kingdom's markets, laying the groundwork to destroy her own homeland and inflict horrific deaths upon her family — all while pretending to be a well-behaved girl.
She would become someone who acts only for her own benefit — if there was no gain, she'd rather die than lift a finger. Her true nature and cruelty would remain hidden in the shadows.
Conquering her would be a huge challenge. First, I had to draw out her true nature, then work tirelessly to change her and make her better — only then could I conquer her.
Easy to say… hard to do.
But right now, I was facing a small girl. I was confident it would be easier to conquer her in this state — or at least, I hoped so.
While I was deep in thought, the bullying continued. And just as things were about to escalate, I stepped out from my hiding place and approached them from behind.
"Stop!" I shouted loudly.
My voice caught their attention. They all turned toward me — and when they saw me, their faces turned pale. After all, I was the son of a Duchess, and their status couldn't even begin to compare with mine.
Their positions could be in danger simply because I had witnessed this bullying. At that moment, a 12-year-old boy with brown hair and black eyes stepped forward to speak.
"Ah, Young Master Zeref. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Don't try to act smart. What do you think you're doing? Why are you bullying a girl? And not just that — what kind of brother bullies his own sister?"
My words made his face twist in anger. No matter what, he was still a prince — and Zeref's blatant disrespect ignited his fury.
But before he could say anything, I continued.
"I don't want to hear anything from you. The fact that you're bullying someone at Princess Theresia's birthday banquet is enough to have your family blacklisted."
"As long as you don't bother me again, I can forget this. But if you still have a problem, I don't mind discussing it directly with my uncle."
The more I spoke, the more frightened they became. And when I mentioned speaking to the king, their confidence shattered.
Like terrified chickens, they scattered and ran away.
Once they were gone, I approached Yukihana and held out my hand.
"Are you alright?"
But instead of responding, she hid her face and backed away. Then I saw her more clearly — she was wearing a light blue one-piece dress that matched her soft blue hair cascading over her shoulders, and red gemstone-like eyes.
Right now, she was sitting on the ground, hiding her face with her hands while peeking at me through the gaps between her fingers.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. I've already chased them away."
Even after I said that, she continued to hide her face.
"Y-you'll h-hate me once you see my face… just like everyone else," she whispered softly, still keeping her face hidden.
Hearing her words, my chest tightened slightly. No matter what, she was still just a 10-year-old girl going through a painful time in her life — and here I was, planning to use her vulnerability for my own gain.
…Sigh. At the very least, I can treat her better, I thought as I approached her.
"Why do you say that?" I asked gently.
"Everyone says I'm ugly… so no one will ever like me," she replied.
"Show me," I said simply.
My answer surprised her, and she looked at me, unsure of what I meant.