I, the Firstborn of the Demon King

"How boring..."

Princess Reagan murmured as she lay face down, alone, in the palace courtyard garden. Her chin rested on one hand, and her eyes stared blankly at the noble children playing their little games.

If she weren’t worried that word would reach Floida and earn her scolding, she might have tested some of the spells she’d learned on them.

What’s so funny here? Or rather, does this situation even count as fun?

The princess had heard that there are two reasons why someone might laugh: either from joy or because something was amusing. Or sometimes both. But right now, she could see nothing amusing or fun about the situation.

Not that she ever acted on it, in the first place.

"It really is boring, isn’t it?" she asked, but found no one to answer.

"Isn’t it?" Still silence.

"Isn’t it? Isn’t it? Isn’t it? Isn’t it?" Yet, there was no reply.

Stubborn woman.

For years, the princess had been hearing voices in her mind, strange and dreamlike. Even she wasn’t always sure if they were real, and when she tried to speak back, she received no response. Among these voices, she had been hearing a woman’s voice occasionally for a few months now. It seemed distant, but she could still understand what it was saying. The voice had a rough, sometimes vulgar tone, but it spoke more sensibly compared to the others, and when she felt bored, calling out to it wasn’t so bad. Yet, as usual, she gave no response.

Truly stubborn.

She sighed softly and turned her gaze to a few noblewomen sitting in the pavilion near the children. Their faces held an expression she knew as a smile or smirk. But what a strange expression it was. It didn’t resemble the smile she’d seen on Floida’s face; from here, she could almost make out the exaggerated depth of the lines forming on their faces and around their eyes. Their glances, from time to time, shifted toward the princess, conveying something else entirely—though the princess couldn’t grasp their ill intentions.

Tilting her head slightly, she continued to observe them. They spoke aloud to one another, sporadically looking her way before covering their mouths with their hands, giggling to themselves.

It wasn’t as though the princess couldn’t hear some of the words. Clearly, they wanted her to hear. They didn't know her father is the king? And weren’t some of these the very women vying for the king’s favor? Yet they still dared to utter such strange words.

Still, the princess wouldn’t tell Aidz about any of this, even if it happened. In fact, she didn’t have much of a close relationship with Aidz to begin with. Their closest interactions were when they occasionally crossed paths and exchanged silent glances as they passed by. When Floida was with her, she never heard these kinds of comments from the nobles, though she always drew stares she couldn’t quite understand. It wasn’t that she cared or felt anything for them. In fact, she might be the most indifferent person in the world on this matter.

In the end, she shrugged briefly and turned her gaze away from them. The courtyard was quiet, except for the occasional clinking of the guards' ebony armor as they patrolled, the chatter of women, and the joyful sounds of their children.

Were there usually this many guards here? Hmm, strange...

On the other hand, the current situation was frustrating. She wished she could do something instead of just standing here. What would happen if she tried something while Floida wasn’t around?

In fact, why wasn't she trying out some magic, as she initially planned? After all, Floida isn’t here right now, okay?

But before that…

"May I ask what you are doing there?" she said in a flat, monotone voice, turning her gaze to the person on the branch of the tree she rested under.

"Huh?!" Then came the sound of a branch snapping, followed by a loud thud.

"Ow, ow, ow..." The boy, rubbing his aching backside with teary eyes, looked up at the princess. "You didn’t have to scare me like that!"

While the princess stared at him with a blank expression, she crossed her legs and folded her arms. "You didn’t answer my question. What were you doing up there?"

The boy sniffled a few times as he tried to correct his position and sit up. His bright blue eyes sparkled with tears. "I was just looking at the courtyard, and then..." His eyes grew wide when they fell upon the small notebook that had already ended up in the princess’s hands. "H-Hey, give that back!"

On the other hand, the princess, who had noticed the notebook when the boy fell, effortlessly held it out of reach from the shorter boy while flipping through its pages. As for its contents, the first page had a drawing resembling a four-legged animal; the next page was filled with random scribbles and a crooked sketch of someone with a big nose. Other pages contained odd drawings of various animals, and as for the last page... well, there was a frog-like creature with half of its body drawn and a black thorn on one side of its head.

The princess didn’t realize it was actually a drawing of herself.

Finally, she lowered the notebook and allowed the boy to take it. "I thought it would have important things. I don’t know why you’re reacting like that."

What the princess meant by 'important' was actually information on strange magic formulas and alchemical ingredients that could create various potions and chemical substances, not quite suitable for her age.

The boy, his eyes filled with tears and the tips of his pointed ears flushed red, quickly snatched the notebook from her hands. Without even giving her a second glance, he began running off, crying.

Wait a minute... Pointy ears? Big, beady eyes and a beautiful face?

Hmm... The princess pressed her index finger to her temple, trying to recall all the information from the books she’d read up to now.

Hmmm...

This kid... is he a...?

A... Ah, what was it?

Ah-ha, is he an elf?!

"Wait!" the princess called out, walking quickly to catch up with him. Even though the boy was running, it didn’t take long for the princess, who was merely walking, to catch up.

"Huh?! N-No!" he squealed when he noticed she was gaining on him. Unfortunately, the poor child didn’t have the luxury to escape further before he was caught by the princess.

"Are you an elf?" she asked, placing her hands on his shoulders. She wasn’t aware that her gaze was intense, nor that her hands were pressing down harder on his shoulders than she intended.

The boy’s eyes widened in fear, and his face twisted in pain. Though he tried to push her away, the girl didn’t budge an inch.

"Let go! You’re hurting me!" he cried out, and the princess had to release him, albeit reluctantly.

What? What did I do to get such a reaction?

Are elves this fragile?

"What is going on here?!" a woman’s voice echoed through the courtyard. Even the noblewomen chatting and their children playing at the far end of the courtyard fell silent.

When Princess Reagan turned her gaze to the source of the voice, she saw multiple figures approaching her and the boy. Leading the group with graceful movements was a woman more beautiful than any she had ever seen before.

The woman’s elegant, flowing green robe trailed behind her like a river, almost as if it were floating with each light step she took, and her piercing, bright water-green eyes were fixed on the princess. Her pale skin, full pink lips drawn into a thin line, and her long, straight hair shining like gold added to her pure, graceful figure.

The followers trailing behind her, with their long, pointed ears similar to hers, also drew attention.

As for the boy next to the princess, when he saw the woman, he immediately ran toward her, diving into her embrace with tearful eyes. His wide eyes reflected a sense of relief as he looked back at the princess, this time.

The beautiful woman, gently stroking the boy’s head with compassion, turned her piercing water-green gaze to Reagan with a disdainful expression. "What is going on here?" she demanded, her tone authoritative yet quieter than before. Her melodic voice, almost like she was singing, carried an unusual, threatening undertone that would seem strange to anyone meeting her for the first time.

Woman, seeing the princess returnes her gaze –with her usual blank expression– narrowed her eyes and, without looking away, addressed the boy clinging to her arm, "Explain, Tee’yhan."

The boy’s gaze shifted between his mother and Reagan before eventually dropping to the ground, and he whispered softly, "Nothing..."

The woman lowered her piercing gaze to her son, her voice turning sharp as she warned, "Don’t lie." The boy swallowed lightly, his eyes shifting away. "She... grabbed me hard. It... hurt a little..." he said, his voice just above a whisper as the redness in his ears deepened.

As the princess watched the interaction between the two, and the exchange that was soon to be directed at her, she also glanced at the others watching her, their eyes fixed on her with expressions she couldn’t quite comprehend.

Who exactly are they?

When the woman shifted her gaze from the child back to the princess, there seemed to be a renewed coldness in her eyes. Just then, a elf woman–probably one of the beautiful elf's followers– in a purple dress with a thin veil on her face approached from behind, whispering something in her ear. Her eyebrows raised with interest. "Oh, is that so?" she said, with a cold smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

As she approached Reagan with elegant steps, she remarked, "So, you are Princess Reagan? The unfortunate little girl born with a single horn who will never have a chance at the throne." She studied the princess's face, her blank expression for a moment, before her gaze settled on the small, single horn she had just noticed.

The princess responded, "And who might you be? From what I can tell, you must be elves. I’m curious to know what you're doing in the Demon King's palace." Her tone was devoid of any emotion. While she sensed something off about the woman, she couldn’t quite discern any malice. Her terrible ability to read expressions and understand emotions didn’t help in this situation.

The woman narrowed her eyes, looking her up and down with an expression that hinted at subtle dissatisfaction mixed with incomprehension. She masked it as quickly as it came, so no one present noticed. "I see you act more mature than your age, little girl," she said, calm but with a hint of disdain that reflected in her eyes. The fact that she didn't address her as "princess" and ignored her question didn’t go unnoticed.

She moved even closer, casting a long shadow over the princess. "Tell me," she said, her voice only slightly louder than a whisper, but it sent ripples through the courtyard. "How should I punish you for daring to hurt my child?"

Reagan could feel the pure magic power emanating from the woman. Her posture was upright and regal, and she maintained a calm demeanor, yet the aura visibly swirling around her seemed to contradict her collected attitude.

The princess, not entirely sure what mistake she had made in the first place, now realized she was in danger. She felt no fear, but she didn’t allow it to lead her to act recklessly. It was also somewhat irritating that someone she didn’t know, especially a non-demon, whether noble or commoner, was threatening her within the boundaries of the palace where she was born.

Fortunately, she didn't have the capacity—or rather, the capability—to feel anger intensely, allowing her to think calmly without concern for her honor or pride.

One might think, what honor could a little child have? And indeed, it wasn’t entirely unreasonable. But could the same be said for a princess who seemed wiser than her age?

Well, at this moment, she saw no problem in begging for her life in front of the woman if necessary and wouldn’t even feel ashamed of it. However, if she became known as someone who easily yielded to those she didn’t know, wouldn’t that have consequences for her in the future? Wouldn’t people consider her easily intimidated when she grew up?

After all, she didn’t know who this person was. There could be many attendants standing behind her, but even an ordinary person could appear high-ranking if they were surrounded by people. The princess wasn’t foolish—she knew this woman wasn’t ordinary, yet she still couldn’t allow herself to be subdued by someone she didn’t know. The fact that she was a five-year-old child didn’t influence this at all.

She fixed her emotionless gaze on the woman’s eyes without blinking and clasped her hands behind her back as she walked towards her slowly.

The sounds of the people around them holding their breaths went unheard, drowned out by the sound of the aura the woman had partially unleashed, echoing in Reagan's ears as she approached, her expression unbothered. A few watched her with wide eyes, as if witnessing a peculiar incident—because it indeed was—while others stepped back, feeling queasy from the aura of the elf woman.

In that moment, even the elf woman couldn’t help but stare at her with surprise. “What are you?” she murmured under her breath.

The princess finally stopped just a few steps away from her. "As you already know, I am a demon, and as you are also aware, I am the daughter of Aidz Hū Baūl, the King of these lands, Princess Reagan Mrithūnjaya." She tilted her head slightly, looking at the woman with an expression as if peering into the depths of her soul. "Allow me to ask again. Who are you, and what do you seek in our lands?" Her quiete but clear voice echoed lightly in the courtyard, devoid of emotion.

The woman narrowed her eyes and stared at her, working to suppress the emotions tearing at her outer mask: uncertainty and, buried deep within...

...fear?

At that moment, the grand doors of the courtyard opened once more, and Floida entered the scene, as composed as ever, walking briskly toward them.

Even though she was surprised by princess standing before the elf woman and sensed that something was wrong —what else could elf's mana flow indicate?— she approached the princess without showing any expression, and gently pulled her a few steps back, slightly bowing her head along with her own in front of the woman. "Queen Yewsher, His Majesty awaits you."

Huh? Queen? How, in what way?

Elf Queen Yewsher's eyes remained slightly open for a moment, but then, as if nothing had happened, she assumed her former haughty and noble demeanor—retracting her mana—turning gracefully and gliding with her entourage through the courtyard gates into the palace corridors. Meanwhile, the child, before starting to follow his mother, glanced back at the princess for a moment, his large, bead-like eyes filled with mixed emotions.

The small-scale show Princess Reagan had just performed was deflated like a balloon pricked by a needle. At least, that was her thought.

Ahh, Floida... Why do you have to have such terrible timing? You should have come before.

The princess gave a sidelong glance at Floida with a slight sigh, the reproachful thoughts crossing her mind.

*

Well, at least people won't consider me easily intimidated, in the future... I guess...