"Ruby, please help us light up all the candles!"

"Okay!" I run to the source of the voice and see some people organizing hundreds of candles.

"Wait, why do we need so many candles?"

"For decoration!"

"Fine!"

I use my fire magic to light them all at once.

"Thank you so much!"

Just as I'm about to sit, someone screams my name again. I run over and see three kids struggling to lift some bags.

"Help us, Sister Ruby!"

"Fine!"

I use wind magic to lift the bags of flour to the kitchen.

"Thank you so much!"

"Be careful, okay?"

"Okay, Sister!"

Another call of my name can be heard. I run to the voice and see a very exhausted man.

"Please, chop down... haah... 5 more trees. I almost died cutting down 10 of them alone."

"Where are the others?"

"They're doing other tasks."

I make a wind blade and cut five trees down at once.

"Thanks, Ruby!"

"Yeah!"

"RUBY!! HELP!!"

This is H-10 of my uncle's wedding. We planned an outdoor party as our house is small. They decided it would be on the same date as my birthday. Stop thinking unnecessarily—I need to help the others. My whole family is in the capital! I'm the only Greydoll here!

"I-I can't cut this cute chicken!"

A woman cries in front of the chicken pen, watching the chicken before her.

"You can do it! For money!" My voice echoes and she looks at me.

"Yeah! I need to feed my family!" She grabs the knife and starts processing the chicken. My power can only influence people who desperately need encouragement. Like a kid too scared to run—I can make them run, but if they don't want to, I can't force them.

"Ruby! Help me!"

This time I see a man being swarmed by cats.

"I'm going to die if this keeps up!"

"How did you... never mind."

I walk to the miserable man.

"Go away or I'll kill you all!"

The cats get scared and run away. I help the man stand up; he has many scars on his body.

"Thank you so much! I accidentally got doused with catnip while cleaning the storage room."

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"Oh, damn."

Other than encouraging, I can also discourage. I learned about it when I got pissed off at a squirrel and screamed "Kill yourself!" at it. It jumped from a tree and died.

Two months have passed since I met the god of fate. There's so much to discover about myself! I acquired ice magic after learning I'm a Nortis, then mastered all the magic in the book. My grandfather laughed at me because he tricked me into saying awful things to my uncle. Turns out, my uncle had received a letter from Grandpa, instructing him to act scared around me. Those two conspired to embarrass me!

"Small mistress!!!"

A soldier ran up to me.

"We've spotted a dragon flying near the lake! Please use the family pigeon to inform Lord Reynold!"

"No need."

I walked past the soldier.

"Guide me."

"Eh, ah... okay!"

The soldier led the way. We arrived at the lake, where a dragon was flying overhead.

"Stand back and evacuate nearby villagers."

"Yes, miss."

I watched the dragon from the lakeshore. It noticed me and started flying towards me. I pointed my finger at it. As it neared the shore, the dragon began charging a beam.

"You're small, you're slow, you're weak, you're not him!"

I shot a fire bullet. It penetrated the dragon's skin and head. The dragon fell near the shore—though small for its kind, it was still as big as two elephants.

"Miss, we've evacuated the villagers."

"Call the dragon merchant. I've killed the dragon. Write up a report on how much they're willing to pay for it."

After returning home, I enter my room, my breath becoming heavy.

"Hah... hahaha, I can one-shot a dragon!" I jump joyously.

I then flop onto my bed.

As the archivist says, I'm too fixated on order, so I tried to find my own objective. I found one—I'll create my own villain. I will find you, I will kill you, my nemesis: Giant Golden-Eyed Dragon. I will avenge Felis!

Yeah, it may sound lame, but at least I have a goal to achieve.

I hear a knocking sound from the door. I open it and see a maid.

"The dragon merchant has arrived."

"Guide them to the Guest Room. Tell them to wait."

"Okay, miss."

I don't recognize the maid. All of mine always call me by name, never "miss." I don't remember accepting any new maids, and most of them are helping with the wedding preparation.

I walk to my father's office and search for the selling history book. I find it, then remember the suspicious maid.

I spread my mana throughout the whole house and detect some maids playfully washing clothes, some people sitting in the Guest Room, a person cooking in the kitchen, and someone standing in front of my father's office. I point my finger at the wall where that person is standing.

"State yourself, or I will kill you."

The person remained still.

"If you want to kill me, do it right now before I become any stronger!"

My voice echoed, and the person walked to the door. It was the maid from before.

"What did you do? I can't control my body!"

"Come closer if you want to kill me."

"Wait, no!" She took a few steps forward but managed to stop.

"How does it feel, your heart disobeying your logical thinking? Keep walking here."

"No! Stop!"

She walked herself in front of me.

"Kneel." I tired to keep tilting my head upward.

She knelt, her face scared. I made a magic circle above her head. If she suddenly jumped at me, I would kill her immediately.

"You desperately need money, right? Otherwise, you wouldn't be influenced by my skill."

"Y-Yes."

"Who ordered you?"

"I don't know! The person who came to me was anonymous!"

"Are you lying? Tell me the truth, and I'll give you part of the money I'll get from selling today's dragon."

"The Crown Prince ordered me! What—why did I blurt that out?"

"I've been laying low this whole time. Why does he want me killed?"

Has the power struggle begun? Is the king sick and nearly dead?

"I really don't know about that!"

"You know what? I'll use the guild to find out your identity. I'll hunt your family down."

"No! Please, NO!"

"Then kill yourself."

"Okay! Wait, no! No!"

She grabbed a knife from her pocket and was about to stab her neck.

"No! I don't want to die yet. They'll starve if I die!"

She managed to stop herself. I also realized what I had almost done. I then grabbed my pendant from my pocket and wore it. I sighed and calmed myself down. I removed the magic circle above her head and walked to the door.

"Stay here until I order you to report your mission to the Crown Prince. If he asks for any report, tell him I left no opening to be ambushed because I am a Greydoll. When my family comes home, tell them everything."

I closed the door and sat on the floor.

Oh god, why did I suddenly get so agitated? Are you the real Ruby? Can we talk if you're really still inside this body?