Azphira Tales

Sierra nodded vigorously. Hanael opened her eyes wide and reached out her hand. [Hanael] "I-Is there a baby in your belly?" Unlike her energetic voice, the hands approaching Sierra's belly moved twice as carefully as usual. Sierra nodded, gently patting Hanael's hand. Atop their hands rested Cassius' thick hand as he stood beside them like a reliable knight. [Sierra] "Now our family, including Grandma, makes five people." Opening her mouth wide in wonder, Hanael shouted. [Han

After the midnight lemon commotion, Sierra recognized that her physical condition differed vastly from normal. Before the doctors arrived to examine her, she prepared a testing reagent with a pale face, worrying about her health. Her suspicion turned to certainty the moment she swirled the reagent in her mouth and spat it out. The simple diagnostic reagent she created turned red whenever an abnormality arose in her body. And the reagent she held in her mouth turned a vivid cr

Even after Hanael entered the Imperial Academy, time flowed relentlessly. Amidst the peaceful days passing by, Sierra recognized a strange change in her physical condition. It began when she brewed potions to participate in a charity event. She wished to donate potions brewed with her own hands to the charity. However....... [Assistant] "Are you feeling all right?" [Sierra] "No, um, yes...... I think my body is fine." [Assistant] "You look like you are overworking yourself...

A few months later. Inside Mandant Hall at the Imperial Academy where entrance exams took place, unseasonable heat burned with intensity. As the Imperial Academy emerged as the cradle of elite education, even small articles about the top scorer appeared in newspapers. Today marked the day Hanael, the sole princess of the Ideos family, took her entrance exam, creating media coverage resembling the commotion when the Crown Prince died suddenly. Naturally, Hanael paid no attenti

[Abel] "Hey, I am not joking!" Pouting after taking a wrongful blow from her fist, Abel wore a resentful expression. Feeling awkward, she stepped back. [Sierra] "Ah, really? I thought you two conspired with my sister." Also bearing a bump on his forehead, Ezel drooped his shoulders in resentment. [Ezel] "Do you know how much money we invested in this prep academy to lie like this?!" [Abel] "Right, Ezel! Ha! Do you know how hard we suffered breaking into this industry?!" I tho

Five harmonious and happy years passed. During that time, Sierra fulfilled her duties as a proper Duchess, hosting tea parties and managing household affairs. Naturally, she also interacted with doctors from the Hippo Kingdom, using her pharmacy skills to perform good deeds for the poor on the streets. Hanael remained constantly at her side. She watched with fascination as Sierra administered medicine to others. Saying things like My Mommy is the best! and I want to be like M

[Sierra] "Eat plenty too, Duke...... I mean, Your Grace......" Cassius chuckled quietly, observing Sierra's intense effort to maintain proper etiquette. Shaking his head, he leaned close to whisper into her ear. [Cassius] "Only close friends surround us tonight, so relax." He clearly recognized that she studied etiquette diligently lately. Falling asleep with etiquette textbooks beside her pillow...... During the daytime, lessons left Sierra dazed with exhaustion; at night, C

After their sweet honeymoon concluded, every plan that followed began with a single comment from Sierra. [Sierra] "Come to think of it, we should all gather and talk." [Hanael] "Hmm?" Hanael looked up from the storybook she had been reading eagerly under the bed. [Hanael] "We?" She tilted her head, not quite grasping the concept of "we." [Sierra] "Hanael. Do you not miss Auntie Mage, Brother Abel, and Ezel?" [Hanael] "Auntie Mage! Puppy Brother! Uncle!" Hanael opened her eyes

The Pope quickly composed her emotions and spoke. [Pope] "......It was to meet her mother again and make her happy." Sierra lost her speech. As if sensing her thoughts, the Pope continued in a solemn voice. [Pope] "Lady Hanael was a pure child who desired her mother's happiness above all else." Now that the Pope composed her feelings, Sierra's turn arrived. Realizing Hanael desired her happiness more than anything, she felt as though stepping into an abyss, caught completely

[Pope] "At the threshold of a warm summer, I wish God's blessing upon all the guests gathered here today." Her voice resonated with dignity, yet offered a typical officiant's speech. The Pope continued listing familiar tales of divine grace and blessings. The words proved dry and uninspiring, tiresome enough to induce a yawn. It matches the draft speech we received in advance, Sierra thought. Did she come simply to bless them? In fact, Cassius' investigation leading up to the

[Sierra] "Why is Her Holiness the Pope suddenly......?" In contrast to Sierra's bewildered expression, Cassius remained calm. Staring at his face, she asked again. [Sierra] "What do you mean by that, Cassius?" [Cassius] "Literally that. The Pope sent a letter." A letter from the Pope. Receiving a formal letter carried entirely different weight than a passing mention. Though citizens of the Empire didn't believe in God, as nobles, they still maintained respect. She tilted her

She chuckled to ease the atmosphere, gazing around the garden. [Sierra] "In the end, we couldn't plant our tenth-anniversary tree." His chest froze mid-breath. Sierra laughed and waved her hand. [Sierra] "Still, we are together now, so that is enough." [Cassius] "......Yes, Sierra." He called her name once more. Curiosity began stirring inside her. What could possibly make him hesitate like this? [Cassius] "We were married back then." He gently took her hand. When that sudden

Curiosity about her past grew slowly, but Sierra resolved to remain patient. Let us ask once Sister recovers her health—whether she wrote that letter or not. At least until Amille recovered her health. If she had not written that letter, the situation would turn horrifying, but they dealt with the Crown Prince regardless. Since time had even turned back, ignoring a mystery or two caused no harm. After all, Hanael remained at her side, along with Amille and Cassius; everything

[Cassius] "You know stories circulated that an evil spirit possessed His Highness the Crown Prince." Everyone knew. They had dismissed the rumors as mere gossip and suppressed them. However, ominous rumors easily crossed walls. Followed into the room by the Emperor, members of both the Emperor's faction and the Noble faction exchanged glances. They knew the Crown Prince suffered from inexplicable madness. Hostile murmurs filled the air. Covering his eyes and plugging his ears

[Sierra] "A fool must receive the exact consequences of his own actions." She looked down at the Crown Prince, who screamed relentlessly, speaking in a cold, merciless tone. Looking down at Amille, who lay collapsed on the floor barely breathing, Sierra gripped a pain potion in her hand. The Crown Prince, stripped of everything by the demon, faintly regained consciousness—the perfect moment to inflict extreme pain upon that bastard. [Sierra] "For now, he is half out of his mi

[Prince] "You bastard! Traitor to the empire......!" [Cassius] "Yes. I trapped you in a bottle. Do you remember?" At his words, the demon wearing the Crown Prince’s face turned pale, recalling the exact moment Cassius defeated it. It happened back during the Monster War. Grief-stricken after losing Sierra, Cassius fought recklessly without care for his own life. In a secluded canyon, he encountered this low-tier demon trapped pathetically between walls of ice. The demon attem