A purple flame burned brilliantly as Zestia placed her brooch in the goblet.
Soon, a pale aura of black flame enveloped her body, and she smiled with satisfaction.
Once a year, a member of House Winchester is recognized and bonded to the eponymous Black Dragon.
The thicker the Winchester blood, the darker and larger the flames.
“My turn.”
Stepping up to the black goblet, Othello inserted the ring from his pinky finger.
The dark, colorful flames rose beautifully like a small fountain, and there were murmurs of admiration.
Othello twisted the corner of his lips and stepped back. He could feel the black flame on his body getting stronger.
Next, Jin Winchester.
Everyone held their breath and focused on him.
The flames were a symbol of his power.
Of course, dueling and combat could be improved through training, but absolute power depended solely on the concentration of the black flame.
Unlike Othello, Jin was completely focused as he placed his button into the cup.
Before the button even touched the surface of the goblet, dark red flames burned with tremendous concentration.
I could have sworn I heard an explosion.
The flame was bright enough to light up the dark night sky.
“…….”
Unlike with Othello, most of the people were silent.
A few opened their mouths in surprise, but…… Jin was the undisputed heir to the Winchesters. His aura and abilities were almost identical to those of Recardo Winchester when he was his age.
Recardo Winchester sat at the head table, close enough to Jin to observe him.
He then looked at me for a moment.
“…….”
I stood there holding the ball that he had passed to me yesterday.
It was my way of saying, “I’ll put it to good use”.
After all, I had ruined the mood a bit yesterday.
After a few moments, Recardo stood up.
~ Translations by Lurelia | Editing by Valpal | Read only at moonlightnovels.com ~
His turn had come.
He approached the goblet and casually tore off the hem of his sleeve, dropping it into the glass.
And at that moment, an enormous black flame, not even comparable to the black flame of Jin ……no, a distinct dragon form, wriggled out of the glass. It was a dense, roiling black flame.
You could feel the heat as well as the light.
The black flames of the dragon’s form shot upward and scattered majestically in the air.
Like a flamethrower, the huge flames spread and died.
I stared at him in amazement, while the others looked at Recardo in awe and fear.
Holy shit! So that’s the way it works!
I hid my astonishment at this demonstration of unparalleled power.
* * *
After the participants had finished ritualistically checking each other’s powers, it was back to the lively atmosphere of the ball.
When they finished, I stepped aside to return to my room.
“Baby, don’t you want to try it?”
I jumped at the sound of Permetis’s voice next to me.
When did she show up next to me?
She grinned wickedly when I gave her a wary look. Then she leaned in and whispered in my ear.
“Now’s your chance, no one else is putting it in.”
If I were a normal three-year-old, I may have taken her at her word.
The fireworks were beautiful enough to mesmerize everyone, and it’s the kind of thing that makes most babies want to try it themselves.
But I knew what they were thinking the moment I saw Zestia behind me, the corner of her mouth twitching upwards.
They tried to figure out my power with the Shadow of the Abyss before.
If I demonstrated my power by putting an object in it, their purpose would be fulfilled, and I would be the only one who would be scolded by Recardo.
‘How cowardly. Taking advantage of a baby.’
“You’re a pretty little thing, you know,” Permetis crooned, leaning in close, trying to coax me into action. “Let me see what you’ve got.”
I nodded.
Then, with a twinkle in her eye, she took my hand.
She pulled me closer to the platform where the goblet was placed. None of the adults seemed to be paying any attention to us, a couple of kids.
Permetis stepped up to the platform first and held out her hand.
“It’s okay, come on up.”
I handed her the ball instead of my hand.
She must have thought I wanted her to keep the ball for a moment, because she grabbed it with her other hand and reached out again.
“Your flame will be prettier than mine, let’s go.”
But I did not take her hand.
“Then I will be praised by my mother, and you…….”
It was then that her eyes widened.
“Wudada.”
I was running hard on my short legs.
“Ba…..by?!”
I could see Permetis’s expression change.
And when I had run quite a distance by my standards, I pointed my finger at Permetis and shouted.
“Ball!”
The eyes of the people who were engrossed in their own conversations turned to me, and then to Permetis.
“Sasha ball!”
I noticed Permetis’s facial expression contort.
‘Seven-year-old sister, I’m sorry, but if I add my age in my past life and now, I’m 27 years old. I don’t fall for poorly thought-out tricks.’
The reason why I shouted ‘ball’ with a defeated expression was simple.
It was to draw attention to Permetis.
“What do you think you’re doing, Permetis, trying to put Sasha’s ball in?”
I think the grown-ups told her to do it. Maybe Zestia.”
I could hear the clansmen murmuring.
“But that doesn’t mean you can take the baby’s ball.”
I could see Zestia’s face flush red.
Apparently, Permetis had been caught trying to steal my ball and put it in the goblet.
~ Translations by Lurelia | Editing by Valpal | Read only at moonlightnovels.com ~
Permetis opened her mouth in embarrassment.
“Ah…… this, Sasha said she wanted to put it in first.”
“The one who can’t talk?”
The mocking stares poured in.
They’d seen me giggling with a sheepish expression yesterday, and there’s no way they’d think I’d deliberately put her in trouble.
Permetis looked at me and gritted her teeth.
“You….. said you were going to do it!”
I heard a voice say.
“Stop.”
There was silence, and the atmosphere froze.
At the sound of Recardo’s voice, who was talking to some of his lieutenants, Permetis dropped the ball with a shudder.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Recardo’s gaze was on the ball, reprimanding her for her error.
“I’m…… I’m sorry.”
Finally, Permetis lowered her head.
“Come down here…. let’s go……!”
Zestia stepped up to the platform and pulled Permetis’s hand. She looked furious.
It made me feel a little better.
How dare they take advantage of a baby who doesn’t know any better.
Well…… actually not a baby who knows nothing.
“…….”
Suddenly, I felt Recardo’s eyes on me.
Surely, he hadn’t seen everything?
I took the ball back from the servant as if I didn’t know anything about it, and then scurried away.
* * *
‘Anyway, I’m sure it went off ……without a hitch.’
Just as everyone was leaving and I was about to grab Maya’s skirt again, I heard Recardo’s voice.
“Wait.”
Turning around, Maya looked at Recardo questioningly.
“Yes, Your Grace. Do you need something?”
“I need you to step outside for a moment, Maya.”
Maya was a little taken aback by his order.
But the look in his eyes was so cold and firm that she couldn’t help but swallow hard and leave.
Alone with him, my heart was pounding. My hand tightened on the pink ball.
He can’t have seen what I did earlier. I saw him talking to his lieutenants and followed Permetis.
Was he going to ask me where the toy came from yesterday?
Or was he going to say he saw me disappear?
I was a little worried, but I managed to keep it under wraps, and made eye contact with him.
“Dad?”
Ricardo’s eyebrows twitched as I spoke.
“……Sasha.”
His lips twitched and a low voice came out.
