Goddess Kingmaker Chapter 3

“Aang…”

 

Still, I didn’t get wet.

 

The water droplets flowing through the head and body settled on the floor and disappeared without a trace.

 

People’s exclamations grew even louder at her soft face, with not a single strand of hair wet.

 

“Your Majesty, look at this! The baby—”

 

“Enough. What’s the big deal about that?”

 

The Emperor scoffed at Count Montes, who was flustered and unsure of what to do.

 

He mumbled for a while, saying that even a drop or two of light blood could do this and that he didn’t know anything yet, but at least he didn’t deny my existence anymore.

 

“You.”

 

Of course, it didn’t seem like he would kill me.

 

“Then you are really….”

 

“Huh?”

 

My pupils shook wildly as I looked up at the Emperor’s hand, which was still resting on my head.

 

I had been too shocked by my own dry body and let my guard down for a moment.

 

This was the Emperor, the grandfather of those reckless, troublemaking sons.

 

Just because he had spared his granddaughter for now didn’t mean I could be completely at ease. I had to do something.

 

‘This is driving me crazy.’

 

Wait, what was I doing just now?

 

“Ah, aang!”

 

Right. I was acting like a baby!

 

Recalling the only way I could possibly survive, I opened my mouth wide.

 

Smiling had already been used, and suddenly crying out of nowhere would be strange. What would a nine-month-old baby do in this situation?

 

As I flailed in frustration, my hand suddenly grabbed onto something.

 

“…Hmm.”

 

The Emperor’s white eyebrows twitched sharply as I grasped—more precisely, as I grabbed onto a single one of his index fingers.

 

I, who was genuinely startled this time, froze stiff as well.

 

“Hey, you shouldn’t do that, baby.”

 

“Ah…”

 

I know that very well.

 

The chamberlain was sweating nervously, but I couldn’t shake him off or hold on to him forever, so my small hands hesitated.

 

Then at least give me a rattle or something. Telling a nine-month-old baby “no” without offering any alternatives—what was I supposed to do?

 

“Ah, baby. I said no. If you suck on His Majesty’s hand like that—”

 

“…Ah, aang?”

 

Suck on it?

 

I shuddered at the chamberlain’s unexpectedly detailed guidance, which went far beyond what I had anticipated.

 

But my body, following its instincts, was already bringing the Emperor’s finger toward my mouth.

 

‘Ah, please, not this!’

 

Why was my saliva even flowing now?

 

It’s a mess.

 

My pink tongue flicked out involuntarily, even as I internally screamed

 

No matter how miserably I had fallen into the human world, I was still a goddess of the middle realm. And yet, here I was, about to suck on the finger of my grandfather I saw for the first time.

 

If I had just died earlier, I wouldn’t have to endure this humiliation.

 

The overwhelming self-loathing only seemed to make my appetite worse.

 

“What disgusting thing are you doing? Take her away.”

 

“Aaang!”

 

Fortunately, just before my lips could touch his fingertip, the Emperor abruptly pulled his hand away.

 

Before I could even feel a sense of loss, a wave of relief washed over me, making my entire body go limp.

 

“No matter how poorly you’ve been raised, you are still very ill-mannered.”

 

“…uuung.”

 

Yeah, yeah.

 

Maybe it was because my pride as a God had barely survived, so by now, even the Emperor’s harsh words didn’t faze me. No, I was almost grateful for them.

 

“Heh!”

 

Oops. I accidentally let out a small laugh, and the Emperor’s eyebrow twitched sharply.

 

The emperor stared at me as if he had something more to say, but then turned around coldly after noticing the gazes of those around him.

 

“Keep the child at Layton Palace for the time being. When Targa comes, I will deal with him or kill him immediately.”

 

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

 

So the midnight commotion ended relatively peacefully.

 

Not only had I survived, but I even had a place to stay. I couldn’t ask for more.

 

By the way.

 

‘If the Emperor’s gaze, lingering on the finger I had grabbed, looked oddly conflicted—was that just my imagination?’

 

Before I could confirm, the Emperor heartlessly climbed into his carriage and left.

 

My lips, which had nearly sucked on the Emperor’s finger, were still covered in saliva.

 

I wiped it away with the back of my hand before it could flow out, and that was when the grand view of the ducal estate came into sight.

 

‘…huh?’

 

In the darkness where all the lights were off, a red light flashed for a moment on the window. It was too vivid to be a ghost, yet too lifeless to belong to a human.

 

“Until His Majesty gives further orders, you will be staying here in Layton Palace.”

 

How far did we travel in the carriage?

 

I had fallen asleep for a moment, but I suddenly opened my eyes at the sound of a middle-aged woman’s voice.

 

‘This is my home?’

 

I had been wrapped tightly in a robe the entire journey here, unable to even open my eyes, let alone look around. As I shook off the robe with a light flick of my head, my eyes were wide open, filled with anticipation.

 

It felt a bit reckless to be this excited after barely escaping death, but so what?

 

‘This is the palace!’

 

To my eyes—ones that had lived an ordinary life in South Korea until my past life ended—everything about that place was fascinating.

 

A palace where the Emperor lived? Maybe it would be like the French palaces I had visited during my backpacking trip.

 

TL: A backpacking trip is a travel to a place without carrying burdensome items or luggage.

 

The chandeliers sparkle and the huge marble columns in each hallway are magnificent—

 

‘what….?’

 

Is this a horror movie set?

 

The expectations that had just lifted my spirits immediately came crashing down. My mouth was left hanging open in wonder, filled with saliva once again.

 

I swallowed it down before it could embarrass me further, but no matter how generously I looked at it, this place was nothing more than a glorified storage room.

 

‘Wouldn’t be surprised if a Western ghost popped out.’

 

To be exact, it’s dark, but the palace itself isn’t small or unsplendid.

 

The cobwebs stretched across every corner and the thick layers of dust piling up here and there made it no different from an abandoned ruin.

 

‘What does that old man think his granddaughter is, seriously?’

 

My mouth was twitching because I felt like I wanted to swear to my heart’s content, but I couldn’t bring myself to do so in this baby’s body.

 

Even if this was only temporary, I hadn’t expected them to dump a “potential granddaughter” in a place like this.

 

A surge of betrayal rose in my chest, and I gritted my few baby teeth together.

 

‘No, I shouldn’t expect anything in the first place.’

 

I quickly shifted my mindset and relaxed my nose bridge.

 

I had only wished to survive—when had I started getting greedy? Right now, just getting into the Imperial Palace should be enough of a victory.

 

At least I could still breathe a proper sigh despite my lack of teeth.

 

“By the way… What is your relationship with the baby?”

 

No to this, no to that.

 

The middle-aged woman who had been giving me boring explanations for a long time belatedly glanced at the man holding me, perhaps because she thought something was strange.

 

She looked as though she wanted to get a better look at his face beneath the robe, but when I tugged at it and whimpered, she gave up and stepped back.

 

“Well, whoever you are, you have to leave now.”

 

“Then the baby….”

 

“If you leave it here, I’ll send someone over tomorrow.”

 

The woman pointed to the old cradle as if to say, “What does that have to do with you?”

 

And blatantly looked down at the man.

 

“Haven’t you heard? This is the palace where His Majesty the Emperor resides. Lowly people whose identities we don’t know cannot walk around freely, so please go out and leave.”

 

“But—”

 

“If you were expecting compensation, you should be grateful you even made it out alive.”

 

The woman scoffed, her tone so cold it was almost baffling. Urging the man to leave, she impatiently waited.

 

After a brief hesitation, he finally set me down.

 

“……”

 

Underneath the man’s black robe, his dark blue eyes sparkled, but it was difficult to say a proper goodbye anyway.

 

As he left, the woman looked even more displeased at me for being left alone.

 

“Hah, why do I have to deal with this nonsense in the middle of the night?”

 

“……”

 

Muttering her complaints, she quickly exited the room as well.

 

At least she should have covered me with a blanket, but the sound of her clothes being hastily shaken off echoed through the empty hallway.

 

‘Wow. Does she think I’m some kind of disease?’

 

The Emperor had at least some reason to dislike me, but a mere servant on a payroll acting this way? That was laughable.

 

I hadn’t expected a warm welcome, but I hadn’t thought even the maids would treat me with outright disdain.

 

‘As expected, it wasn’t the hardest difficulty for no reason.’

 

Exhausted from the events of the day, I weakly glanced around.

 

The creaky cradle, the blanket that hadn’t been washed in who knows how long—there wasn’t a single thing I liked.

 

But the most frustrating thing right now was…

 

“Ugh, ugh.”

 

『Just swear.』

 

Suddenly, someone’s voice came in through the open window like the wind.

 

I didn’t even need to turn my head. A black robe fluttered like mist as the man lightly stepped over the window frame.

 

『You’ve become really ill-tempered. Don’t you go crazy if you can’t swear when you want to?』

 

『Belzer.』

 

His mocking tone landed softly over my cradle.

 

But this time, he was no longer a human man—his entire body shimmered in deep blue as he took the form of a bird.

 

『Did you really insist on coming down here just to live like this?』

 

『What are you talking about now?』

 

Still, it wasn’t bad to finally have someone I could communicate with.

 

The privilege of gods—being able to read each other’s thoughts without speaking.

 

『Siren, you really don’t know what I’m talking about?』

 

『…….』

 

To the others, he was just a shady, ragged man.

 

But no matter how he looked, Belzer was a god. A celestial god, one level higher than me.

 

Among the gods of the Middle Realm, he was the fastest to ascend, an ace among aces.

 

My long-time friend… and ex-boyfriend.

 

『I guess I’ll live long enough to see something like this.』

 

『Do you want to die?』

 

『As if you could kill me?』

 

『…….』

 

I glared at the annoying beak of the smug bird, as if he were about to start whistling.

 

Seeing my ex in that form wasn’t exactly pleasant, but ironically, the only one who had come to help me when everyone else turned away was Belzer.

 

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