It seemed everyone had gone to sleep, leaving the mansion in absolute silence.
In the stillness bathed in moonlight, he slowly raised his hand. The boy’s thin palm and wrists were already covered in scars.
Izal touched each scar one by one with his fingertips. Every single one of them had been earned by surviving death itself.
At fourteen, he had been brought into the Felicita Marquis’ estate. A not-too-big, not-too-small room provided by the marquis.
A shabby boy sitting alone in that room.
Everything was exactly the same. And yet, at eighteen, he had set this place on fire with his own hands. The memory of watching the mansion burn black and red from a distance was still vivid.
Izal’s life had not been long. At the moment his breath was cut off, the one who drove a blade into his heart had said:
“Your soul… will be forever alone.”
But the Izal who died with a pierced heart had returned to the past.
Fourteen years old. A boy who had nothing but a name and scars.
When he opened his eyes, Marquis Felicita stood before him, saying he had come to take him to the estate.
It was as if the clock had been turned back—everything repeated exactly as before. It wasn’t an illusion spell or a dream.
He had already confirmed it in the carriage with Marquis Felicita.
There was only one answer left.
“I’ve regressed.”
This could have been a curse. But to Izal, it was not.
No matter who cast it, he would gladly kiss their feet.
A smile that didn’t belong to a child appeared on the boy’s face.
His violet eyes, filled with his final memory, glowed coldly.
“I will never die like that again.”
A voice slipped through his lips.
“Not in this life.”
He already knew what would happen. That made dealing with it easy.
His younger, naïve self had lacked all skill. Foolishly, he had trusted the world.
To become a proper villain, he should have abandoned everything. But not anymore.
As he wore a relaxed smile, something came to mind and his brows furrowed.
Only one thing was irritating.
Izal turned his head. Neatly hung on the wall were a luxurious shirt and trousers.
“I will never forgive you for disgracing our family.”
Honey-sweet golden hair. Blue eyes like embedded stars.
He had long learned not to be deceived by her angelic appearance.
But everything else remained the same—only she was different.
His memory couldn’t be wrong. He clearly remembered what Shuen had done to him.
Today, Shuen Felicita was supposed to pour hot water on him.
That was how it was supposed to be…
Izal touched his left shoulder. The skin, which should have been burned and scarred, was perfectly fine.
He recalled the girl’s bandaged fingers and frowned slightly.
“Annoying.”
Why?
The warmth of a hand gripping his wrist. The face that looked hurt even while speaking sharply.
That expression kept lingering in his mind.
It would be better to eliminate her quickly if she was destined to disappear anyway.
Just as he thought that—
He felt a massive surge of mana spread throughout the mansion.
“…!”
He shot up and followed the flow of mana.
The source was—
Shuen Felicita’s bedroom.
Meanwhile
I collapsed onto the floor.
“I’ve been scammed…”
They said they’d bake bread, not that I’d sign a contract. I never imagined a promise would turn into a binding deal.
No, in the original story they drew complicated magic circles and made a huge fuss.
At the very least, shouldn’t there have been a “Do you accept the contract?” confirmation screen?
Everything about this was suspicious from the start—including that system voice.
“This is nothing like the novel at all.”
I shouted into the air.
“This is a fraudulent contract! Cancel it!”
Ding.
<<Contracts with dragons cannot be reversed.>>
The firm message sent me into despair again.
The only relief was that no warning appeared when dealing with the baby dragon.
“So how did this even happen?”
I couldn’t understand it at all.
Humans making contracts with dragons was extremely rare. Only those recognized by dragons were chosen.
Characters who made contracts with dragons in novels were all geniuses with extraordinary abilities.
Compared to them, Shuen—or me—had no abilities at all.
“All I can do is ‘automatic villain mode’…”
Why would a great dragon choose me as its contractor?
Ding.
<<The great dragon Akaterian is chewing on your dress hem.>>
Watching the baby dragon gnawing on my dress, I sighed.
In the original story, this dragon was supposed to contract with Izal.
“So what happens now?”
Izal only begins his revenge after forming a contract with Akaterian.
But Akaterian already contracted with me…
“Does that mean he might not fall into darkness?”
A small voice interrupted my thoughts.
“Shushu.”
The baby dragon, still chewing my ruined dress hem, asked:
“When is breadd?”
This was supposed to be a scam contract made in exchange for bread.
“Then… if I give bread, will the contract end?”
I quickly started thinking optimistically.
I jumped up. It was too late to call a maid for bread.
I decided to go down to the kitchen myself.
Holding the baby dragon, I opened the door slightly. The dark hallway was empty.
I tiptoed downstairs. Every creak of the wooden floor made my heart pound.
Finally, I reached the kitchen. The kitchen and storage room were connected by a single door.
I whispered again as I opened the pantry.
“Be quiet, okay?”
“Mmm.”
The baby dragon in my arms nodded obediently, flapping its wings. Its pink eyes shimmered in the dark.
“What am I even doing…”
I never imagined I’d be raiding the pantry at night like this.
I began searching inside. The cold storage was filled with various ingredients.
“No bread left…”
Then I spotted a basket covered with clean cloth on a shelf.
Inside were loaves of bread.
The baby dragon wagged its tail eagerly.
“Gib bread. Fast.”
“It’s ‘bread,’ not ‘bread bread.’”
“Yup. Breadd.”
I tore off a piece and handed it over.
The baby dragon happily stuffed it into its mouth—but its expression quickly changed.
It spat it out.
“Blech. No good.”
It rubbed its mouth with its paws furiously.
For once, I felt like I had found a comrade.
It wasn’t that the overall living standard here was low.
But the bread was strangely terrible—dry, bland, and flavorless.
If even the royal bakery was like this, that said everything.
“Shushu lied to me!”
“What?”
The baby dragon slapped its tail down angrily.
“Bread is bad!”
Something inside me snapped.
“No, it’s not!”
I grabbed the baby dragon and shook it slightly.
“Bread is delicious!”
I quickly realized I had raised my voice and shut my mouth.
But I wasn’t wrong.
Bread is delicious. No matter if the world flips upside down or the earth flattens.
Bread is always delicious. It is what makes the world beautiful.
What this thing ate wasn’t even worthy of being called bread.
Calling this rock-like thing “bread” and deciding it’s bad…
My pride as a baker wouldn’t allow it.
A fire lit inside me.
There was a proper stone oven in the kitchen.
I placed the baby dragon on the table.
“Wait here.”
“Mm?”
“I’ll bake real bread for you.”
The baby dragon’s eyes sparkled.
“Real breadd!”
I rolled up my sleeves.
Maybe I wouldn’t sleep tonight.
I gathered ingredients: flour, salt, butter, sugar, natural yeast, and most importantly—milk.
This was a noble lady’s body with no muscle whatsoever.
My thin arms shook as I kneaded the dough, and I controlled the oven fire until my pale hands turned red from heat.
I placed the dough in a bowl.
“Now we wait.”
Fermentation was the most important part of bread-making.
But there was no fermentation machine here. We had no choice but to wait.
The baby dragon puffed its cheeks.
“Wait? Why?”
“It can’t be baked yet. It needs about an hour.”
“One houur…?”
The baby dragon stared at the dough.
Then its pink eyes shimmered.
In an instant, the dough swelled up perfectly.
I checked it in shock—it was perfectly proofed.
I looked at the baby dragon.
It chirped proudly.
