I'll Stop Regressing and Raise a Baby Dragon - Chapter 40

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 40
“……Countess Stefan.”
Harrison called to her in a low voice.
Stefan turned slightly, a smile playing at her lips as she acknowledged the address.
“I know. You’re speaking of the newcomer, aren’t you?”
“Yes, but the gift I prepared is…….”
Harrison caught herself mid-sentence, her mouth snapping shut.
She glanced nervously around the room.
‘That’s the second slip of my tongue today. I can’t let this keep happening.’
Her father’s lecturing voice still echoed in her mind like an afterimage.
He’d said that because she’d humiliated herself that day, no one would help with his business endeavors.
Stefan observed Harrison worrying her fingers together with evident satisfaction.
“Ah, I see. You may not understand what a proper gift actually is.”
“…….”
“After all, you’ve never given or received one before. How pitiful.”
She hummed a little tune, her words dripping with unmistakable mockery.
Stefan shifted positions, catching a glimpse of Aria out of the corner of her eye.
‘Foolish thing. Who would ever call that garbage a gift?’
She was stifling her laughter at this internal critique when a brilliant thought occurred to her.
An inspiration bloomed in her mind.
“What if my turn comes right after that pathetic gift?”
The gap in their standing would be laid bare for all to see.
“……Hehe.”
Harrison simply watched as Stefan’s lips curved into a smirk.
***
“Aria. Be especially careful today.”
Edward approached and whispered naturally.
“Don’t worry. Do I look like the sort to give my brother cause for concern?”
She delivered the words with a laugh, and he shook his head as if resigned.
“Everyone is watching you. You cannot afford a single mistake.”
Of course.
She’d been thoroughly drilled in etiquette for this very occasion.
“Don’t worry.”
“……I see.”
He left with a sigh.
With each step, he glanced back over his shoulder, exhaling heavily each time.
He seemed more nervous than she was.
“But then…….”
That girl sitting in that chair—was she really the Imperial Princess?
Lesiana Hernon Rothbis.
She traced the contours of her face slowly.
The first thing that struck her was skin so pale she’d never seen its like.
One might wonder if she could collapse at any moment—that’s how unwell she appeared.
Hair as bright as pearl hung past her waist with equal luminescence.
Eyes of deep crimson, framed by thick dark lashes, drifted without focus.
Lesiana pouted her lips.
Something clearly displeased her.
Yet even that fretful, sullen expression held a heartbreaking beauty.
‘The rumors about the Empire’s incomparable beauty aren’t exaggerated, then.’
She noticed young noblemen around her age glancing at Lesiana with flushed cheeks.
Naturally, I commanded the attention of those same onlookers no less than Lesiana did.
Though the reason was entirely different.
It was simple curiosity, nothing more.
The rumors spoke of a penniless commoner girl now moving about the Imperial Palace.
Anyone would be drawn to look.
‘The young noblewomen are all glaring at me as well…….’
Wherever I turned my gaze, eyes met mine.
I’d never longed for Croyman Mansion more.
I shifted my attention to the box I held so carefully in both hands.
‘Hmm, there’s definitely a rough-hewn quality to it.’
I’d expected as much, but among all the splendor in this place, only this box stood out.
There’s nothing for it—I made it myself.
A striking gift held by a striking person draws the eye inevitably.
It was only natural that gazes would follow.
“Countess Croyman.”
Lesiana called to me softly.
Though her voice was gentle as jade, to me it fell like a thunderbolt from a clear sky.
“…….”
Silence descended over the Banquet Hall, which moments before had been full of conversation.
Only the gentle melody of instruments reached my ears.
Without looking, I could feel every gaze in the room turning toward me.
I handed the gift I’d been holding in both hands to a nearby attendant.
Then, gathering the hem of my dress, I bent my knee in a graceful curtsy.
I held the position for a moment.
“I have the honor of receiving the young sun of the Empire.”
The words I’d practiced so relentlessly—simple as they were—spilled from my lips.
Then I rose very slowly.
“Yes, I’m so glad you came.”
Lesiana smiled as she spoke.
Those reddish-brown eyes, which had seemed dull moments before, now sparkled with life.
“Would you come closer? I’d like to talk with you.”
Her tone was gentle, yet there was something ingenuous about it.
Like a pure and innocent child.
“It would be my honor, Your Highness.”
I approached her carefully, the attendant holding the box following in my wake.
“You’re even prettier up close. People must tell you that you look like a doll all the time, don’t they?”
Was she introducing herself?
‘…… I’d like to believe that’s what this is, but I know better. I don’t know where to look.’
Despite my confusion, I smiled as brightly as I could manage.
“You’re too kind. I’m overwhelmed by your praise.”
“Oh, how can I…… Even your smile is beautiful. Of course it is when a pretty girl smiles like that, isn’t it?”
That was when I understood.
I finally grasped why everyone spoke of her as someone unique.
‘I want to go home.’
Seized by an intense longing to escape, I manufactured an inoffensive reply.
She rested her chin in her hands and giggled.
“What’s your name, Countess? Oh, and speak comfortably with me. I like that better.”
“It’s…… Aria.”
“Aria—such a lovely name. Did the Duke give it to you?”
“No, my name was…….”
Kai gave it to me.
In my first life.
We gave each other our names as gifts.
In the laboratory, they called me by a serial number: BI-0627.
Kai had no such designation—he was simply called “Dragon.”
So I wanted us to call each other by proper names, at least between ourselves.
But.
‘I can’t tell her the truth.’
So I spoke whatever came to mind.
“The orphanage that took me in gave me the name.”
“I see.”
Lesiana seemed to give it no further thought.
I was grateful the lie had emerged so naturally.
“By the way, about the gift you prepared for me.”
She leaned in and whispered.
Then she glanced lightly over the box.
Her legs bounced with excitement.
“Is it that one? Right? Did you see? You did see it, didn’t you?”
Her fists clenched, arms swinging rapidly as she pressed me urgently.
The sudden shift in her energy made cold sweat bead on my skin.
But outwardly, she kept her composure and lowered her head.
“Yes, I made it while thinking of Your Highness.”
“Really? I must be mad……!”
She tapped the armrest of her chair with delight.
The attendant holding the box trembled slightly.
He seemed startled.
Such an expression was hardly befitting the Empire’s Princess.
“May I open it myself?”
“Of course. It’s a gift made solely for Your Highness.”
“Wonderful!”
Lesiana sprang from her seat and strode purposefully toward the attendant.
He flinched and bowed deeply, supporting the box with both hands.
She accepted it carefully and held it to herself.
“To recreate it exactly as it was…….”
Lesiana clutched the box to her breast, overcome with emotion.
“The sequel doesn’t get much attention, you know. This moves me. I’ve never received anything like this before.”
The novel Kai had shown me — A Wish in Broad Daylight.
The sequel to A Dream in the Night, and Reverie, which Liliana had mentioned.
A book filled entirely with the romance of two protagonists who had been unhappy in the original work.
I thought it would be fitting to give Lesiana a gift connected to this book.
A box made of oak.
A small heart carved in the right corner.
And right in the center, two initials carved in crooked, clumsy strokes.
Made exactly as it appeared in the novel.
‘She really loves that story.’
I felt both astonished and grateful.
Grateful that she recognized it so quickly, that she reacted so intensely.
All the days I’d spent puzzling over this gift were worth it.
Lesiana opened the box carefully, a shy smile on her face.
“Is this…… surely not.”
She looked inside and her mouth fell open as she turned to me.
I smiled silently in return.
She would understand the meaning of the Message Card I’d placed in that box.
In the original work, that had been the true gift as well.
“……Really?”
“Yes.”
“Will it be all right?”
“Don’t worry. If it’s acceptable to Your Highness, I take responsibility for it.”
She covered her mouth softly with the Message Card.
“……I want to receive only this today. I don’t need any other gifts.”
With that declaration, the rustle of fabric swept through the hall.
It was the sound of nobles moving about, those who had been listening in secret.
‘They’re surprised, I see.’
It was a complete success.
“Aria, what did you like about that book? Which passage was your favorite? Oh, let’s go over there and talk. I have a dessert I absolutely adore — I’ll introduce you to it.”
Lesiana rattled off her words and linked her arm through mine.
I followed where she led, crossing the center of the Banquet Hall.
Along the way, I caught sight of some Countess grinding her teeth.
‘Ah, her. She was at the tea party too.’
Stefan, Harrison’s friend.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————