IBHD 09

Chapter 9

This wasn’t the same dirt clod.

The dry, unpleasant taste filling her mouth made Ariel burst into miserable tears.

“Waaaaah!”

Ahin, who had been talking with a knight outside the shop, came running over with startled eyes.

Jane, who had just finished shopping and was also making her way toward them, hurried over as well.

“What happened? Why are you crying?”

“My lady, why do you have dirt in your mouth…?”

The two of them stared in horror at Ariel, whose tears were falling like raindrops, and questioned her urgently.

But Ariel could only repeat the incomprehensible words,

“The dirt clod has gone bad! It went bad!”

After coaxing and soothing Ariel, they finally managed to hear the whole story.

The moment they understood what had happened, both of them burst into uncontrollable laughter.

The ridiculous comedy finally came to an end only after Ahin put an actual cookie into Ariel’s mouth and Jane taught her that its name was cookie.

And then—

“My lady, have a cookie.”

“Ah! Cookie!”

From that day onward, Ariel never forgot the name cookie.

Jane burst out laughing as she watched Ariel stuff two cookies into her tiny mouth and chew away.

“My lady, really. Eat slowly. You’re going to choke if you keep eating like that.”

But Ariel paid no attention.

She quickly devoured an entire plate of cookies before promptly holding out the empty plate.

“Give me more!”

“That’s enough for today. Eating too many isn’t good for you. I’ll give you more tomorrow.”

When Jane firmly shook her head, Ariel’s cheeks puffed up.

“Tch. So stingy.”

What was so special about a few cookies that she had to be this petty?

Ariel pouted sadly, but when Jane gently stroked her head, she soon broke into another silly grin.

She’s really strange.

For some reason, whenever Jane touched her, Ariel’s heart seemed to float and her mood instantly improved.

So much so that she couldn’t even bring herself to get angry at a human who dared to stroke the head of a goddess.

“Mmm. I like it.”

Ariel rubbed her head against Jane’s hand with a satisfied expression before asking,

“Hey, should we go outside again?”

Perhaps because she’d gotten a taste of going outside, she felt especially bored today.

But Jane shook her head.

“I’m sorry, but that will be difficult today.”

“What? Why?”

“To take you outside, we need permission from His Grace or the young master. But neither of them is here today.”

Why do I need permission from humans just to go outside?

Ariel grumbled inwardly, but soon sighed as though she had no choice.

Well, I do need the humans’ help to go outside.

The coachman, the knights, and the guide—

All of them were human responsibilities.

Though Ariel managed to convince herself of that, her already-dampened mood refused to improve.

With her cheeks puffed out, Ariel huffed and puffed through her nose.

“There she goes, getting sulky again.”

Jane giggled and poked Ariel’s puffed-up cheeks.

“His Grace will be back this evening. You can ask him then.”

“Ah! He’s coming back today?”

“Yes. It seems he’ll be returning earlier than planned. It must all be because of you, my lady.”

“Hm? Why is it because of me?”

“Because he has such an adorable daughter waiting for him at home. Surely he must feel uneasy leaving his daughter, who has only just recovered, all alone.”

What is she talking about? Why would he feel uneasy about leaving me behind?

As Ariel tilted her head in confusion, Jane giggled and whispered into her ear.

“So when His Grace arrives home, try telling him yourself. Say, ‘Daddy, let’s go out together!’”

“Daddy? What’s that?”

“It means the same thing as ‘father.’”

Ariel’s brows drew tightly together.

Grand Duke.
His Grace.
Father.

And now Daddy, too.

There were far too many words for one person.

Why do humans have so many names? It’s confusing.

Ariel was grumbling inwardly when—

“Oh, we’re out of water. I need to go to the kitchen. Can you stay here by yourself for a moment?”

Ariel obediently nodded, and Jane picked up the pitcher before leaving the room.

Left alone, Ariel sat blankly on the bed for a moment before suddenly running toward the window.

Unlike yesterday, a small child’s chair had been placed there instead of the tall wooden chair.

“Heave-ho!”

Ariel climbed onto the chair and flopped her body against the windowsill.

The magnificent garden spread out before her eyes.

“Hehe. It’s pretty.”

She smiled happily for a moment, but soon her eyebrows drooped.

It was sad that there were so many beautiful things out there, yet she couldn’t wander around wherever she pleased.

After absentmindedly counting the trees in the garden, Ariel suddenly muttered,

“Wait. Come to think of it, they said I wasn’t allowed to leave this house, right? They never said I wasn’t allowed to walk around inside it.”

Yes. That was definitely what they’d said.

Jane had only told her that she needed permission before leaving the residence.

Ariel’s eyes rolled from side to side before she hopped down from the chair.

She flung open the door and scampered down the hallway, a mischievous grin spreading across her face.

Ariel made it all the way to the garden without attracting anyone’s attention.

“Ah, it’s so soft!”

Stepping freely on the fresh green grass instantly lifted her spirits.

After happily stomping her feet for a while, Ariel followed the flowerbeds stretching along the edge of the garden.

“Wow, they’re pretty.”

Unlike the modest wildflowers that bloomed around her dwelling in the divine realm, these flowers were splendid and extravagant.

Ariel gazed at the fully bloomed flowers, almost entranced by their beauty, and unconsciously reached out her hand.

Just then—

“Ouch!”

A tiny honeybee that had flown in from somewhere pricked Ariel’s hand.

Her delicate skin swelled up red.

“H-How dare you! How dare a mere insignificant creature injure the skin of a goddess?”

Ariel’s face turned as red as the spot where the bee had stung her.

“You insolent little creature! Get over here this instant!”

Ariel wildly swung her hands, trying to catch the buzzing bee.

And at that exact moment—

Bzzzzzz—

An ominous sound.

An ominous feeling.

Ariel slowly turned her head.

Her eyes widened at the sight of countless bees.

Suddenly terrified, Ariel shouted,

“W-Wait! Where did all of you come from?! Get away from me this instant!”

Perhaps they were angry because they thought Ariel had attacked one of their companions.

The bees swarmed toward her without giving her even a moment to escape.

“Waaaaah!”

One tiny bee was one thing, but could Ariel possibly withstand a swarm of hundreds?

Ariel let out a shriek and ran without even looking back.

“Don’t come any closer!”

But there was no way her short little legs could outrun a swarm of flying bees.

Bzzzzzz—

The swarm quickly caught up and launched a relentless assault on Ariel.

Her delicate skin began swelling wherever the stings landed, until she was a complete mess.

“Get away! Leave me alone, you insignificant creatures!”

Ariel ran about frantically until she finally managed to shake off the bees and came to a stop.

“…Where am I?”

She had wandered into a forest she had never seen before.

The forest, densely packed with tall trees, was eerily quiet.

Ariel’s body stiffened.

She had gotten lost in the mortal world.

And she was in a place where she couldn’t see a single human she could ask for help.

This is bad!

Panicking, Ariel searched through one part of the forest after another, but no matter how far she walked, the residence was nowhere to be seen.

“W-What should I do…?”

Just as Ariel was about to cry, a pitch-black object suddenly leaped into her arms at lightning speed.

Her tiny body rolled across the ground.

“Ugh! Who is it this time?!”

Ariel lifted her head and glared fiercely.

A pitch-black bird was staring back at her.

It was a fairly large bird.

“Y-You! What are you?”

Hiding her fear, Ariel interrogated the bird with a stern expression.

“How dare a mere bird that can’t even speak attack me?!”

But instead of being frightened, the bird charged at Ariel again.

Another attack for no reason whatsoever.

Ugh! Why is everything going wrong today?!

She had only just gotten lost after being chased by a swarm of bees, and now she was being attacked by a bird.

Ariel gritted her teeth as the bird attacked again.

She fought back against the bird once more, and during their struggle, she realized something.

This thing keeps going for my chest. Why?

Puzzled, Ariel looked down at her chest.

Only then did she realize what the insolent bird was after.

The necklace around her neck.

It was the necklace Ahin had given her just yesterday.

Caw! Caw!

The bird flapped its enormous wings and cried out in a chilling voice.

It was almost as though it were promising to spare her life if she surrendered the necklace willingly.

But Ariel had really liked the necklace she’d received as a gift yesterday.

There was no way she was going to give it up.

“You insolent creature…! How dare you covet something that belongs to a goddess!”

Ariel chose to fight the bird instead.

But—

“Kyaaa!”

After being subjected to one fierce attack after another, Ariel eventually fled as fast as she could.

She dodged between the trees and managed to shake the bird off, but another problem soon arose.

While running from the persistent bird, Ariel had failed to notice that the red sun hanging over the edge of the forest had disappeared.

The forest was now pitch-black, not a single ray of light penetrating the darkness.

It was cold and frightening.

And perhaps because she’d exhausted herself escaping the bees and the bird, even her legs had given out.

I shouldn’t have come out alone!

What had she been thinking, venturing out alone in a world where she knew absolutely nothing?

Ariel sank onto the damp forest floor and blamed herself for being so careless.

She didn’t know how to get back to the residence.

She didn’t know how to get out of the forest, either.

And on top of that—

Awooooo—

An ominous howl raised the tiny hairs on her body.

Ariel hugged her knees, trying to suppress the fear welling up inside her.

She didn’t want to give up, but what else could she do when she had no strength left in her legs?

There was nothing Ariel could do at the moment.

The best she could do was stay where she was and pray that no danger would come her way.

How much time had passed like that?

Suddenly, light poured down over Ariel, and a dark silhouette appeared.

“So here you are.”

It was a familiar voice.

The tension that had kept Ariel’s body tightly hunched melted away.

His face was hidden in the darkness, but Ariel knew who it was.

It was none other than—

“Daddyyyy!”