DKWSVF Chapter 01

 Episode 1

Chapter 1: Prologue  

The Grand Duchy Castle of Ortezo in the North was known as the 'Haunted Castle.'

A place where sunlight never reached, shrouded in gloom, and covered in dust.  

It was the aftermath of a long war with monsters, leaving the area saturated with a malignant aura.  

Could the sinister energy of the monsters have engulfed the northern lands?  

One of the famous traits of this haunted castle was none other than...  

“Muahaha! You fools! Catch me if you can!”  

The children, who were worse than monsters, were utterly wild and unruly.  

The bloodline of the Ortezo family, living in the North, was divided into two groups:  

'Immunes'

Those unaffected by the malignant mist, a sinister and intangible haze that engulfed the entire North.  

They often possessed various supernatural abilities, hence called 'the Gifted.'

'Non-Immunes'

 

Ordinary people who couldn't withstand the malignant mist.  

The Ortezo family ensured that all immunes—whether from the main or branch family—were educated within the castle. Meanwhile, non-immunes were sent outside.  

Children who were not only resistant to the malignant mist but also gifted with special abilities were granted significant privileges.  

However, there was a problem.  

'The stronger the gift, the worse the temperament.' 

The children of the North were, in many ways, troublemakers.  

Even the head maid and her team, who were also immunes with minor abilities, struggled to handle these unruly little powerhouses.  

“That’s the first patriarch’s treasured item!”  

“Yeah? So what? You’ll never catch me!”  

Towering maids and butlers, over 2 meters tall, raced through the halls trying to catch a group of mischievous children. But the children, with their superior status and abilities, always had the upper hand.  

One seven-year-old darted through the corridor and picked up a crafted item.  

It was a delicately made glass artifact.  

“Please, put it down!”  

“That’s dangerous!”  

An intense standoff ensued between the maids, butlers, and the child.  

However, their pleas were in vain. The boy giggled and stomped his foot.  

Crash!

The glass figurine fell to the floor and shattered into pieces.  

A maid, standing tall at 190 cm, raised her sturdy fist and shouted,  

“A glass figurine has shattered in the hallway! Proceed with caution!”  

“What? Be careful? Why bother being careful…? Aaargh!”  

Another accident occurred, as expected.  

Blood trickled from the foot of the boy who had stepped on the broken glass.  

The head maid sighed as she gathered the shattered pieces of glass and examined the boy’s injured foot.  

“Another incident to add to the tally today.”

“But at least it ended here. No one died this time...”

As such thoughts crossed her mind, she treated the boy’s wound.  

“What are you staring at? Lower your eyes.”  

The insult was all too familiar.  

The malignant aura blanketing the North seemed to gnaw particularly hard at the children's minds.  

For this reason, the servants understood the children's unruliness—most of the time.  

But the torment wasn’t over yet.  

The boy suddenly stood up and yelled,  

“Hahaha! You idiots!”  

The bandages wrapped around his injured foot unraveled and fluttered in the hallway.  

The boy, now leaving a trail of blood as he ran away, looked more like a demon than a child.  

The head maid, standing tall like a mountain in the hallway, muttered,  

“That cursed little monster...”  

The maids and servants of the North suffered constant torment from the outrageous antics and tyranny of these children.  

Just when the stress levels were peaking at 120%, a voice broke through:  

“Emergency situation.”  

Several guards appeared in the hallway.  

Typically calm and composed, their demeanor today was different.  

Behind them, a small child was walking.  

“Huh?”  

“…......?”  

The startled maids and servants turned their gaze to the figure approaching.  

It was a lovely child with nearly white, silver hair and striking purple eyes.  

In the North, where the influence of the malignant aura was strong, it was commonly accepted that the hair and eye colors of its people darkened.  

Thus, the child’s appearance was starkly out of place, utterly foreign to the Northern region.  

Wrapped snugly in a sweater adorned with floral patterns, the child bowed politely.  

A polite greeting?  

Even the head maid, usually unshaken by most events, mumbled softly,  

“Pardon me, but who…?”  

One of the guards, wearing a flustered expression, spoke up,  

“She’s the youngest lady of the family. Apparently, her maternal family personally requested a week-long visit.”  

“The youngest lady? How… how did she get here?”  

“She came via scroll, ma’am.”  

“.......”  

That wasn’t the point—the question was how she managed to travel alone.  

The head maid quickly spoke up.  

“Y-you’re not an immune, so how can you be in the household… Are you all right?”  

She looked Airi over with a concerned expression.  

'I heard she was a fragile non-immune, entrusted to her maternal family in the South right after birth because the North would be too harsh for her.'

But Airi responded energetically.  

“Yes! I’m fine!”  

Seemingly unaware of everyone’s worried gazes, Airi’s round eyes sparkled with warm kindness as she gave a polite bow.  

“Hello! I’m Airi Ortezo, five years old!”  

Introducing herself so politely and courteously?  

In the North, most children began with 'Get lost.'  

Everyone was left speechless, waiting for Airi’s next words.  

Airi made a sudden expression, as if realizing something.  

'Is she finally going to cause trouble? What’s in the hallway?'

Just as tension peaked with everyone holding their breath over the child’s every round and subtle move, Airi lifted her long skirt slightly and bowed deeply once again.  

It was a perfect 90-degree bow.  

“Please take care of me from now on!”  

Even her bright, chirping voice was unheard of in the North.  

The head maid was the first to snap out of the daze.  

“May I ask why you’ve come? And… why there’s no escort…?”  

She bit her tongue as soon as the words left her mouth.  

Flustered, she realized her tone might sound as though blaming the youngest lady.  

But Airi maintained her respectful tone.  

“I came alone. But, may I ask where the head of the household is?”  

Even with her polite manner, the use of the term 'head' felt childish yet endearing.  

The head maid, her stiff demeanor softening slightly, finally replied,  

“Due to the monster war, both the previous grand duke and grand duchess, as well as the current grand duke, are away. That is, they’ve gone outside the castle.”  

“Oh..…”  

Airi’s face showed a moment of surprise.  

In the North, surprised children often threw tantrums, rolling around on the floor.  

But instead of losing her temper, Airi replied with poise,  

“I didn’t expect this, but it’s all right. I’ll wait then.”  

Every maid, servant, and even the battle-hardened guards in the corridor swallowed nervously.  

Her radiant smile.  

Eyes twinkling with brightness.  

Loving and kind demeanor.  

Cheeks warmly flushed with innocence.  

Airi was an entirely new species, the likes of which the North had never seen before.  

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