I’m Cinderella, a plant monster girl.
And after the prince I met at the forest ball searched for a flower whose nectar tasted the same as mine, I found myself being brought to the Demon King’s castle.


Instead of being discovered through the glass slipper like Cinderella, I was identified by the taste of my nectar.

The prince—or rather, Fire Dragon-sama—looked completely certain as he declared that I was the Alraune from back then.
The flavor of my nectar had given me away.


Just as only one person could perfectly fit Cinderella’s glass slipper, if there was an Alraune whose nectar tasted exactly the same, it was hard not to suspect she was the same creature


If this were a fairy tale, the prince and Cinderella would be reunited and live happily ever after.
And the cinder-covered girl would finally become a princess.

But this isn’t a fairy tale.
To Fire Dragon-sama, I’m the murderer of his minotaur subordinate. If I reveal who I am, I’ll just get sentenced to another execution by fire.
Forget marrying the prince. This’ll be the end of me

That’s why there’s no way I can confess, ‘I’m the Cinderella from back then.’
Otherwise, just like the heroines from all those villainess novels I used to enjoy reading in my previous life, I’ll end up marching straight into a bad ending.


If I want to survive, I’m going to have to prove that I’m a completely unrelated Alraune, no matter what!


“I have… absolutely no idea… what you’re talking about.”

“Oh? So you intend to play innocent.”

“Perhaps… that Alraune… was one of my sisters?”


Fire Dragon-sama twitched slightly.
This might be working!


“I’ve been… in that forest… since I was born. Fire Dragon-sama… could the Alraune you met… be from… a different forest?”


I’m a plant monster.
I can’t walk because of my roots
The forest where I met Fire Dragon-sama and the Forest of Dryades are very far apart.
Since Alraunes can’t move, wouldn’t it make more sense that it was one of my Alraune sisters?


“Tell me, why do you know that I’m a Fire Dragon?”

“……Eh?”

“I’m currently in my human form. I do not recall ever telling you that I’m a dragon.”


Right, since he’s in human form, there’s nothing that obviously indicates that he was a Fire Dragon.
Immediately concluding he was a Fire Dragon just from his red hair and horns would actually be pretty strange.


“The fact that you know I’m a Fire Dragon means that, as I suspected, this is not our first meeting. It’s our second.”


Crapppppppppp!!
I accidentally called him Fire Dragon-sama! I’ve been calling him that in my head for so long that it just slipped out!!


As if to rub salt in the wound, Uncle Teddy chimed in.


“Naturally, neither I nor the botanical garden’s caretaker have ever revealed Lord Grüsch’s true identity. We were careful to not even mention his name.”


Come to think of it, they had always referred to him by titles like “lord” or “master.”
It seems the reason I never heard any detailed information about Fire Dragon-sama at the botanical garden was because his identity had been kept under strict information control.

Wait… does that mean I was under suspicion from the very beginning? Was this whole thing a trap?!


“Alraune.”


Fire Dragon-sama spoke as he stood up from the couch.


“How you managed to leave that forest, or even survived my flames, remains a mystery. Regardless, I’m happy we could meet again.”


I’m not happy at all!
I feel like I’ve just been declared guilty at a witch trial!


“You smell truly wonderful. This is the fragrance I’ve been longing for these past few months.”


Fire Dragon-sama gently touched my flower petals, speaking as if recalling a fond memory.


“Just as before, nectar is spilling from your eyes. Your appearance is to my liking. But I suspect I will like your taste even more.”


Fire Dragon-sama.
Please, please have mercy on me.

And while you’re at it, please stop holding me with your right hand while conjuring flames from your left.
You’re acting like I’m about to make a run for it, but I can’t escape even if I wanted to.

After all, I’m a plant…


“You needn’t be so frightened. You’ll be at peace soon.”


Does that mean you’ll burn me so quickly I won’t even have time to feel the pain?!
But I don’t want to be burned!


Fire Dragon-sama gently patted my trembling head.
Then he scooped up the nectar running down my cheeks on his fingertip.


“I’ll never forget the taste of this nectar. Just as I remembered, it’s exquisite.”


Tasting my nectar, he murmured in satisfaction.


“When you ate the minotaur, you must’ve felt the same joy of eating as I do now. Am I wrong?”


It’s not like I ate Mr. Minotaur because I enjoyed it. I only did it because I needed the nutrients.
Besides, I liked Papa Bear more.
Other than that, I’ve always thought of eating as nothing more than a means to survive.


“No… I like bear meat the best…”

“Hoh?”


Uh-oh.
For a split second there, Fire Dragon-sama’s expression looked a little strange.

Did something I say rub him the wrong way?
Don’t tell me I was supposed to say I liked Mr. Minotaur more?


“Now then, shall we continue where we left off?”


Does that mean it’s time for my execution…?


I could try fighting him.
But this is the Demon King’s castle, the heart of enemy territory.
Since I don’t have legs, I won’t be able to escape afterward even if I somehow won.
The moment I resist, it’s over.
Then again, if I stay quiet, I’m probably going to be burned anyway.


As I desperately searched for some way out of this impossible situation, salvation arrived in the form of a knock at the door.

Uncle Teddy headed outside to answer it.
A moment later, he returned.


“Lord Grüsch, it seems Her Excellency the Chancellor wishes to see you.”

“My elder sister, hm? She’s probably here to dump her work that’s been piling up on me.”


Fire Dragon-sama stepped away from me and walked towards the door.


“We’ll continue this when I return.”


Leaving those words behind, he departed the room with Uncle Teddy.


And just like that, I was left all alone.


──W-What do I do?


When Fire Dragon-sama comes back, there’s a good chance he’ll burn me.
I’d love to escape somehow, but escaping would require moving both myself and this heavy flowerpot, which I have absolutely zero ways of doing.


──Yeah.
Let’s give up on escaping. It’s not realistic.


In that case, I guess I have no choice but to fight.


If only I could’ve convinced him that I’m not the same Alraune from back then.
He still hasn’t realized that I had transferred myself into a new Alraune body.
And technically, the Alraune he met before really did burn to ashes… ah, that’s it!


Last time, I managed to escape Fire Dragon-sama’s flames by playing dead.
So why don’t I do the same thing again?
No one would ever imagine an Alraune could reincarnate by transferring herself into a new body.


If I’m not the Alraune who killed his subordinate, but rather merely the child born from that Alraune’s seed, then surely Fire Dragon-sama wouldn’t try to burn me.


Well then, there’s only one thing left to do.
I’ve already done it once before. This isn’t the time to be embarrassed.

Right. I’ve made up my mind.


I’m going to get pollinated.

For the second time.

***

Author’s Note:

Cinderella’s identity has been found out.

Next Time: Pollination Inside the Demon King’s Castle