Baby Pharmacist Princess

“Yes, a lion.”

What???

I was so shocked I almost drooled.

“A l-lion?”

“Yes, a lion.”

Dad’s expression was completely serious. I stared wide-eyed, still in disbelief.

Not a horse, but a lion?

“We ride a lion?”

“Horses are dangerous because they’re animals. But a familiar is different. Even if it’s a lion, it won’t let you fall, so it’s safer than a horse. I’ll arrange it.”

“Uh, okay…”

With such conviction in his words, I suppose I’ll give it a try.

‘But it’s not a rabbit!’

I thought it was a rabbit, and that’s why I kept asking to see it.

With a sigh, I crawled off Dad’s lap and lay down flat on the bed.

I drank so much hot chocolate that my belly felt round and full.

As I patted my stomach, Dad gently brushed my hair and called my name.

“Cherry.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“No matter what you want to do, or who tries to stop you, remember that I am always by your side.”

Whoa, Dad’s unlimited power usage chance?

Feeling happy, I rolled towards Dad and smiled brightly.

“Dad is on Cherry’s side!”

“Yes. I’m on your side.”

Dad kissed my forehead. I wanted to kiss him back but felt a bit shy.

“Now, it’s time to wash up.”

“Brushing my teeth… is such a bother.”

“I should invent a teeth-brushing spell for you.”

“Really?”

“Yes. So tonight, let’s brush properly.”

It was really hard to leave my cozy, fluffy bed. But since Dad promised to create a teeth-brushing spell someday, I decided to brush my teeth today.

Dad turned off the candle and left. I snuggled under the covers and happily drifted off to sleep.

‘I need to ask Idsys to show me the familiar soon…’

Dlong, dorolong.

I faintly heard the sound of my own snoring as I slowly slipped into a dream.

—

The Castalia Empire is a polytheistic society.

There are a total of 28 gods, each with their own temples.

However, the most powerful among them is Haphneous, the main god of love and faith.

The pope, who manages all these gods and temples, is considered the incarnation of Haphneous.

An eight-year-old child ascends to the papacy and dies before reaching adulthood, a seemingly absurd tradition sustained by a strong belief.

The pope is not considered a mere human.

The pope is believed to be a demigod.

The miraculous healing powers and divine energy displayed by the pope during religious ceremonies reinforce this belief.

In truth, it’s not entirely false. Surviving after drinking unicorn blood is proof of divine selection.

However, the process of becoming the pope is horrifying.

When the previous pope dies, the central monastery of Haphneous selects eight-year-old children from the temples.

These children arrive at the papal palace with excitement, but death awaits them.

In the basement of the papal palace, there is a unicorn that has been confined for over a century.

The child who survives drinking the unicorn’s blood becomes the pope, but the blood is extremely toxic, infused with a curse against humans.

When death is imminent, the divine energy that bursts forth self-heals the child, or they die.

Shihat became the current pope through this process.

But becoming the pope didn’t change his situation.

Shihat received his daily meal of hard, dried bread and a glass of water and sat at a shabby, worn-out table.

The only space allotted to him.

A bedroom too humble to be called the pope’s chamber.

This was Shihat’s abode.

‘This place is still the same.’

Ha.

Shihat smirked.

The dry bread provided three times a day was excessively tough.

To eat it, he had to cut a piece and soak it in water.

Not a fitting meal for the head of a wealthy religious organization.

But Shihat was used to it.

This damn Haphneous Temple had always been like this.

Even before he became the pope, it had been like this for nearly a hundred years.

The pope is just a puppet, after all.

He only got decent food on event days.

That’s how the priests “trained” the pope.

Forcing him to use his forcibly awakened divine power and calling it a miracle of the gods, using it as a tool to collect donations.

But the popes, tamed from a young age for a long time, neither resisted nor fled.

They were rendered helpless.

“…”

Though the meal was trash, Shihat forced himself to eat.

The broken mirror on the rotting side table reflected his image.

A pale complexion with only his eyes red. His jet-black hair, dark as night, was a color he used to hate, but the “current” him didn’t mind.

Because she liked the color black.

She showed him how beautiful darkness could be.

‘It would have been better to go back to when I was about fifteen.’

Becoming an eight-year-old was inevitable.

It had to be before that bastard approached Cherishe as a friend.

Only then could he change the future.

‘What I didn’t tell Cherishe.’

Shihat wasn’t a kind person, so it always bothered him.

Pabel.

That guy who claimed to be her childhood friend.

‘I have to survive, even eating this, and endure… to succeed.’

Fortunately, he remembered what she said and ended up at the Dragon Market Street, where he met her.

‘Young Cherishe.’

Shihat quickly covered his mouth to hide the spreading smile.

‘How could she be so cute.’

He always regretted not meeting her when she was young, but now he had a chance to become her childhood friend.

Shihat wanted to be her first in everything related to Cherishe.

“Your Holiness, it’s time for your evening lesson if you’ve finished your meal.”

Soon, a priest’s annoyed voice came from outside the door.

Shihat, without a word, stood up and quietly opened the door, making the priest who came to fetch him flinch.

‘What is this?’

Until yesterday, he was just a trembling boy who seemed overwhelmed by the position of the pope.

“Aren’t you coming?”

The priest flinched again at the calm voice. And he felt humiliated for flinching.

He’s just a child, so why!

Shihat, reading all of the priest’s thoughts, took a step forward without waiting.

Having voluntarily returned to this past hell, it wouldn’t be the same as before.

Shihat was ready to change the future.

In this future, Cherishe would still exist.

No matter the cost, he would change the future to one where she remained in this world.

That hope was the only reason Shihat stayed alive now.

—

“Ahhh!”

Under the clear blue sky! The season when horses grow fat.

Cutting through the cool, crisp air was a red stallion… no, a lion!

And clinging tightly to it, trembling, was me!

“Waaah!”

“Haha, are you scared?”

“Stop! Stop!”

“Didn’t you ask to ride?”

If I had known it would be this scary, I wouldn’t have begged to ride!

I was half-crying, clinging to Gergys.

Actually, I wanted to cry, but I was too scared to even do that.

Riding a lion is way more intense than I thought!

“Dad lied!”

Who said riding a lion was easy!

“Hey, chick. Are you frozen?”

“You’re bad! I said I’m scared!”

A moment later, Gergys ordered his familiar to stop, and I finally had the chance to make an angry face and pound his chest.

“Ouch, ouch, that hurts. You asked to ride, and I let you.”

“Who asked to ride like this?!”

I yelled, and Gergys clicked his tongue and scratched the back of his head.

I clung to Sophia, who approached me quickly, and gave Gergys a big snort.

“Hmph! Don’t talk to me from now on!”

“Lions are ridden this way. Besides, you want to learn horseback riding, right? If you can ride a lion, regular horses will be super easy.”

“What kind of logic is that!”

I did want to learn horseback riding.

That’s why I came to the training grounds of the White Night Knights with Sophia for an outing.

I planned to ask Gergys to let me ride a horse after his training. I thought I could learn how to ride by sitting in front of him.

But at least I wanted to ride a donkey or a pony, or a lion that walks slowly.

Not a lion that runs faster than a warhorse!!!

‘Oh, my aching bones.’

I pouted and leaned my chin on Sophia’s shoulder.

“Hey, are you really mad?”

“…”

“Woo, woo, peek-a-boo.”

What is he doing?

I glared at Gergys and then turned my head away again.

‘I should have waited until Idsys wasn’t busy to ask for help.’

I sighed and puffed my cheeks, looking at the lion that had just carried me.

It blinked at me as if asking if it did something wrong, which made my anger melt away.

It has such cool eyes, and I liked it when I first saw it.

“It’s not your fault.”

I gently reached out and stroked the lion’s nose. The lion responded with a soft growl.

As I was bonding with the lion, Gergys suddenly stuck his face in front of mine.

“So, you’re mad at me?”

“Hmph.”

After my heart stopped pounding, I realized there was no point in blaming Gergys.

I should have known that he would go crazy if given such an opportunity.

‘But maybe I should keep pretending to be upset?’

I couldn’t miss such a good opportunity.

I smiled inwardly but kept a sulky expression. Sophia supported me.

“This time, you went too far, Your Highness.”

“Well, I didn’t think she’d almost cry over riding a lion.”

“Princess is different from you. She’s very delicate, so you must be very careful with her.”

Well done, Sophia!

The royal family needs to adjust its standards.

‘How is riding a lion normal?’