CHAPTER 1

The curtain of night falls across the sky, and a gentle light begins its sweet song.

All living things hold their breath as they wait for you.

Your pain fades away, and warm air embraces you.

In this new world, all you need to do is run and play to your heart’s content.

A beautiful voice lingered faintly by his ears.

For someone like him, who found most sounds irritating and painfully sharp, it was an unfamiliar sensation, one he had never experienced before.

It was an incredibly warm and comforting feeling.

He slowly lifted his eyelids.

The Duke of Raphaereon awoke from a deep and peaceful sleep for the first time in a long while.

…A peaceful sleep?

Yes, unbelievable as it was, it had been a sleep as sweet as honey.

He could not even remember the last time he had felt so refreshed.

For once, he even felt his spirits rising.

Then he saw wheat-colored hair shimmering in the sunlight as it swayed gently before him.

As he looked at the figure nodding off with her head lowered, he remembered the eyes that had stared back at him boldly despite standing on the brink of death.

“It seems it really is true.”

They had said that if one listened to that woman’s lullaby, one could fall into a sweet sleep.

Idwin wore a dangerous yet thrilling smile, as though he had finally obtained something he had long desired.

“I almost want to shower her with gifts.”

Idwin’s gaze toward Arliata was hot and relentless.

It was the moment when Arliata, who had been dragged to the Grand Duke’s castle as a fraud just one day earlier, became the one tasked with attending to the Grand Duke’s nights after only a single evening.

—

The sun was already high in the sky when the door of a small, shabby house, devoid of any signs of life, was pounded loudly.

“Lily! Lily!!”

Bang!

Even though the voice was clearly coming from outside, it sounded as if someone were shouting right beside her ear.

Startled by the loud noise, Arliata rolled right off the bed.

“W-What is it?!”

“Something terrible happened! Hess got badly hurt!”

“What?! You mean Aunt Jeiny’s Hess?!”

“Apparently he climbed onto a wall and tried to walk on it! He fell after only a few steps! Hurry!”

She had planned to enjoy sleeping in since she had nothing to do for once…

Arliata hurriedly changed her clothes and rushed outside.

The moment she opened the door, she had to shut her eyes against the fierce sunlight, but her body already knew where Hess’s house was and headed there on instinct.

Arliata’s house stood on the outskirts of the village, so she had to weave through several paths as she ran.

“Hess!”

When she arrived at Hess’s house, where people had gathered, she saw a particularly small boy lying there with bandages wrapped around him and groaning in pain.

“Lily, you’re here! The elder helped us, and a doctor just came by. They said his ribs are broken!”

Jeiny, Hess’s mother, greeted Arliata with reddened eyes as if she had been crying.

“His ribs? What about everywhere else?”

“The rest are just bruises, but… sob… they think three of his ribs are broken. They told him to stay lying down so the bones won’t pierce his organs… My husband died after getting injured like this too… I’m so scared…”

Sure enough, Hess’s face had turned pale, and he was breathing heavily.

“I’ll take a look. Everyone, please step outside. You too, Aunt Jeiny.”

Arliata forcibly ushered everyone, including Jeiny, out of the room.

Then…

“Hess, bear with it just a little longer. I’ll make you feel better soon.”

She placed her hand atop Hess’s red hair and began to sing.

Creak—

A little later, Arliata emerged from the room looking exhausted.

The people waiting outside all looked at her expectantly.

“He’s asleep. He’ll be alright now.”

“Oh, Lily! Thank you, truly thank you!”

“He’s sleeping deeply, so don’t wake him. Give him his medicine after he wakes up. I’ll come back tomorrow afternoon.”

Jeiny tightly held Arliata’s hand and nodded repeatedly before taking out a small pouch from her clothing.

“Lily, our goddess. Please accept this money. It’s not much, but I’m so grateful to have something to give you…”

“Auntie, it’s alright! You’ll need a lot of money for Hess’s medicine too.”

“I know Hess will recover because you came. Please, take it.”

Jeiny pressed the small pouch into Arliata’s hands and hurried back into the house.

Unable to refuse, Arliata accepted it.

There was probably quite a large sum inside, considering Jeiny’s circumstances.

“You’re really our goddess, aren’t you? Hess will get better soon too, right?”

As the villagers gradually dispersed in relief, Yuel spoke teasingly.

“A goddess? Hardly. I just sang as best I could. Besides, Hess is strong. He’ll recover quickly.”

Although he had been seriously injured, he would probably be up and walking again within a week.

Arliata swallowed those last words.

Yuel lowered her voice as though sharing a secret and placed a hand on Arliata’s shoulder.

“That’s exactly why you’re our goddess. Everyone sings the same lullaby, but it’s different when you sing it.”

A lullaby.

A song sung to put children to sleep.

Whenever Arliata sang a lullaby that everyone in the Empire—no, everyone in the world—knew, something changed.

Those who listened to her lullabies forgot their pain in their dreams, and their wounds healed faster.

Those who suffered from nightmares or insomnia slept especially soundly after hearing her sing.

When they awoke from those sweet dreams, their skin seemed healthier, and they felt unusually cheerful throughout the day.

Because they began their day in such a good mood, everything seemed to go better for them.

The stories spread quietly by word of mouth, and eventually some people even began paying Arliata for her help.

Eight months ago, she had merely been one of the many outsiders who had come to this village.

Now she had become the village’s Goddess of the Heart.

“Don’t say things like that. A real goddess might get angry. If you sing sincerely, your feelings will reach people.”

“Hmph. No matter what anyone says, you’re our goddess. Is there anyone in the village who doesn’t listen to your songs?”

Yuel spoke grumpily as her long sky-blue hair fluttered.

“Remember Mr. Berg? They said his broken leg might never heal, but he recovered in just a week. And Grandma Perry was finally able to close her eyes peacefully. Isn’t that right?”

Thinking back on those events, Arliata shrugged.

Grandma Perry, the village’s oldest elder, had been suffering from an incurable illness.

It was during that time that Arliata arrived in the village.

‘I can’t cure the disease, but I can ease the pain.’

The villagers had not believed the words of an outsider like Arliata.

But Grandma Perry had been different.

‘A life that’s going to end anyway… If I can at least go peacefully, then I am fortunate.’

Every day, Grandma Perry listened to Arliata’s lullaby and fell asleep.

‘Lily, my dear… Meeting you has been such a blessing. Every night, I actually look forward to falling asleep.’

Even on her final day, Grandma Perry closed her eyes peacefully.

A smile had lingered on her lips.

“If I really were a goddess, I would have cured Grandma Perry and saved her.”

“Still, it had been so long since she looked that peaceful. She suffered for years.”

Yuel, who had adored Grandma Perry since childhood, smiled faintly with a somewhat dark expression.

“No matter what others say, I truly think you’re a goddess. Do you know how many people are sad because they can’t repay you properly?”

Arliata chuckled softly at Yuel’s passionate words.

“Alright, alright. We’re almost at my house, so you should head home too.”

Just as she was about to send Yuel away, Arliata’s expression suddenly stiffened.

Several large men in uniforms embroidered with luxurious designs were standing in front of her house.

“W-What… who are those men?”

The men, dressed in obviously expensive clothing and carrying large spears, noticed Arliata and Yuel and immediately approached them, pointing their spearheads forward.

“Eek!”

Arliata and Yuel instinctively raised both hands above their heads.

The sharp spear tips gleamed in the sunlight.

The taller of the two men spoke.

“Who is the outsider that entered this village eight months ago?”

With a rigid expression, Arliata answered with difficulty.

“I-It would be me. Who are you people, and why are you suddenly doing this…?”

“H-Huh…! Th-That’s the Raphaereon crest!”

“What?”

At Yuel’s words, Arliata’s eyes widened.

She looked at the crest on the men’s uniforms and saw a silver dragon with crimson eyes.

“We have received information that you have been deceiving people by claiming you can heal illnesses and accepting payment. You dare commit fraud within the sacred Grand Duchy? Take her away.”

“F-Fraud?! What kind of nonsense is that?!”

As Arliata stood frozen, Yuel shouted with all her strength.

In the meantime, the two men lowered their spears and firmly grabbed Arliata by both arms.

“Wait! Lily committing fraud?! That’s impossible! She’d never do that!”

Yuel desperately clung to one of the men’s sleeves, but he did not budge in the slightest.

“Yuel!”

“Lily has never scammed anyone! Aah!”

As though she were a nuisance, the man shook Yuel off and tossed her aside.

Then they stuffed Arliata into the carriage waiting nearby.

Bang!

Rattle!

The moment the door slammed shut, the carriage lurched forward violently.

“Ah!”

Since she had not even managed to sit down, Arliata could only roll across the carriage floor.

The ride was terrible.

Every third turn of the wheels came with a heavy jolt.

After finally pulling herself onto a seat, Arliata rubbed her bruised body and took a deep breath.

“Arliata… think this through. They always say that if you keep a clear head, you can survive.”

If this involved the Grand Duke’s family, then it was undoubtedly the Duke of Raphaereon, ruler of this Grand Duchy.

And the accusation of fraud must be referring to the lullabies she had been singing.

She did not know how the story had reached someone so high above her, but…

Perhaps her mistake had been staying in one village for far too long.

“It’s alright. I’ll just escape from this place the same way I’ve escaped before.”

Even as she said it, she could not ignore the trembling in her hands.

The highest-ranking noble she had ever met was the lord of a small provincial city.

She had never met a Grand Duke before.

And this was Raphaereon.

The one and only Duke of Raphaereon in the Empire was also called the King of Demonic Beasts.

It was said that no demonic beast ever cried out before him.

Because all of their throats had been cut before they could make a sound.

He had reached the rank of Sword Master at the age of ten, an unbelievable genius.

From the age of thirteen, despite his young age, he had rampaged across battlefields with his massive physique.

Among the common people, there was even a rumor that it had been the ancestors of the Duke of Raphaereon who had actually founded the Empire.

The current Emperor hated this story, so commoners spoke of it only in whispers.

Even so, everyone believed it to be true.

That was because there was a theory that the Alferno Empire had originally been a land of demonic beasts.

Arliata clasped her trembling hands together and slowly steadied her ragged breathing