Chapter 2
By now, I had grown used to life inside the novel, and I had long since stopped pretending to be sick.
It was a fairly satisfying life. At this rate, I thought I could adapt and live well in this world.
That was, until that happened.
One day during a meal, my father spoke carefully.
“Shiona, the Duke of Berg has expressed his wish to apologize in person and has invited you to his estate.”
“The ducal estate?”
“Yes. It seems they feel deeply responsible for your injury.”
“But they already apologized, didn’t they?”
I clearly remembered hearing that the ducal family had already paid an enormous amount of jewels and gold coins as compensation. There was no reason for them to seek my forgiveness again now.
“Even so, they wish to see you in person and confirm your condition. I hear the duke hasn’t been able to sleep from guilt since the accident.”
Seeing the troubled look on my father’s face, I hesitated.
The House of Berg was one of only three ducal families in the Perunia Empire. With wealth and prestige accumulated over generations, their influence rivaled even that of the emperor himself.
For a family that lacked nothing to invite me just to apologize…
Could it be that the one who hit me with the carriage was the Duke of Berg himself?
If so, he would be the father of the male lead. And the male lead was probably around my age right now. Getting close to him wouldn’t hurt me at all.
Wait a second…
In an instant, a perfect romance-novel narrative formed in my head.
Two children who meet by chance at a young age. They slowly grow closer as they mature, until one day they realize their feelings are no longer just friendship…
No—wait! We were just friends… weren’t we?
Feelings that shift from friendship to love. Two hearts wavering…
It was a cliché, but romance was best when it was predictable.
This isn’t bad at all.
I nodded with a pleased smile and exclaimed to my father,
“Then of course I should go!”
***
The ducal estate we arrived at two days later was astonishing.
First, I was shocked by its sheer size—it was at least twice as large as our residence. Then I was shocked again when I realized that the person who invited me was a bearded middle-aged man.
Is this the Duke of Berg?
I gathered the hem of my dress and bent my knees slightly in a greeting I’d only learned by observation. Still unfamiliar with proper etiquette, my voice came out small.
“Thank you for inviting me—”
“You’re really fully recovered? My goodness! What a miracle!”
“Yes, Duke Ber—”
“This is a blessing from the gods! A child struck by a carriage and still alive!”
The Duke of Berg, it turned out, was astonishingly fond of hearing his own voice.
“Ah, after your accident, I couldn’t close my eyes peacefully for even a single night from guilt.”
Despite that claim, his face was gleaming with healthy oil.
Looks like he’s been eating and sleeping just fine…
“What would it take for you to forgive me? How about hitting me once?”
But I had no resentment toward the duke. I wasn’t actually the one who’d been hit by a carriage, and when I woke up, my injuries were already completely healed.
I tried to refuse.
“No, I—”
“Yes! That’s it! One hit is nothing. Hit me as much as it takes to ease your anger!”
He bent down to my eye level and offered his cheek as if urging me to strike him. I frowned instinctively.
“Go on. Hit me.”
What exactly does he want from me…?
Did he really expect me to hit him? I hesitated, clenching and unclenching my fist.
This man didn’t seem like the type to back down. He looked like the kind of person who wouldn’t be satisfied unless things went exactly his way. I just wanted this troublesome situation to end quickly.
He had asked for it himself, so he couldn’t complain later. And it wasn’t like a thirteen-year-old girl could hit that hard anyway.
I put a little strength into my hand, clenched my fist, and stretched my arm toward the head in front of me.
My father’s shout came too late.
“Shiona! No!!”
But his cry couldn’t stop my already-moving hand.
The moment my fist struck the duke’s head, a loud sound rang out—far too loud to believe it came from such a small hand.
Crack!
“Ghk!”
The duke collapsed backward with a cry. Though I’d hit his head, blood was flowing from his nose.
“Ah…”
My father froze in place, staring at the fallen duke in despair.
Stunned by the unexpected turn of events, I stood there blankly, looking from the duke to my own hand.
The duke didn’t move at all. He seemed unconscious.
I had put some strength into the punch, but not that much. How could a grown man fall from the blow of a thirteen-year-old?
A bad feeling crept over me.
Is this some kind of trap? Is the ducal family trying to frame my father? Are we walking straight into disaster?
I swallowed nervously and scanned my surroundings, but no one rushed in to seize us.
My father closed his eyes and muttered something under his breath—it looked like a prayer.
Then, from behind a white marble pillar, a man with dazzling golden hair stepped out. He seemed to have witnessed everything.
He looked briefly startled, then quickly composed himself and approached me. His sharp eyes studied me as if measuring something.
“Are you Shiona Rodriz?”
I nodded slightly. His gaze dropped to my hand.
“Hmm…”
After stroking his chin thoughtfully, he turned and placed a hand on my father’s shoulder.
“Marquis, would you entrust this child to me?”
“…Pardon?”
The man’s expression was resolute, while my father forced an awkward smile.
“I saw everything that just happened.”
“Your Grace, Shiona merely complied with Lord Delicion’s request. The child did nothing wrong. She’s simply… a bit strong and sturdy.”
That was true. I hadn’t done anything wrong. If there was anyone at fault, it was the duke lying on the floor—
Wait. Your Grace?
I replayed my father’s words in my head and looked again at the unconscious man and the man standing before us.
They didn’t look particularly alike, but the man before my father had features that reminded me of someone.
Golden hair and blue eyes—just like the male lead described in the novel.
No, more precisely, he looked like how the male lead would look when grown.
Then this man must be the Duke of Berg… the male lead’s father?
Even as I pieced this together, the duke continued speaking.
“I’m not here to assign blame. Yes, she’s strong and sturdy. Recovering within days after being hit by a carriage, and knocking down a grown man with a single strike—those aren’t feats just anyone can achieve.”
Something about this conversation felt deeply off.
Strong? Sturdy? What is he getting at?
As if answering my question, the duke continued.
“Marquis, your child possesses innate talent. Don’t you agree she has the makings of an exceptional knight?”
“She’s still just a child, Your Grace.”
“I hear Alonso Vargas of the Imperial Knights held a sword as soon as he learned to walk.”
I frowned.
Alonso… who? And why were they talking about me as if I weren’t even here?
“The empire needs exceptional individuals now more than ever. With monsters increasing and neighboring kingdoms expanding their power, isn’t it time we stepped forward for the sake of the empire?”
My father rubbed his face and murmured quietly.
“So this is how it turns out… I suppose I always suspected this day might come.”
Father…?
I stared up at him, completely stunned.
“Shiona, when you were a baby and broke a chair… when you kicked me in anger and I couldn’t walk for a month—”
I don’t remember any of that…
Yet my father looked at me with a sad smile.
“I only ever wished for you to be healthy.”
The duke placed a hand on my father’s shoulder.
Both of them looked deadly serious. There was no mistaking this for a joke, and that made me even more anxious.
“This is a choice for the sake of the empire.”
“For the empire…”
Even my father’s expression turned solemn.
This was bad. A chill ran down my spine.
Instinct told me this was the greatest crisis of my life so far.
Desperately, I looked around, hoping to find someone—anyone—who might help me.
And then I saw him.
Behind a distant wall stood a boy watching everything. He looked around my age and had the same features as the duke.
That’s him!
I knew at once that he was the male lead.
I smiled brightly and tried to approach him—but the moment I saw his expression, I stopped.
The boy who would one day be the protagonist was glaring at me with intense hostility. His burning gaze flicked back and forth between me and his father.
Why…? We just met today, didn’t we?
Anyone watching would think I’d wronged him somehow.
…Wait.
Suddenly, I remembered a detail about the male lead I had forgotten.
His past.
As a child, he suffered from severe emotional neglect. A cold father devoted only to the empire, and a mother who died giving birth to him. Lonely, yet pretending to be fine, desperately yearning for love.
At this age, he must still have been struggling to earn his father’s approval.
Which meant that, to him, I looked like someone who had stolen his father’s attention.
That’s not it! It’s a misunderstanding!
I reached out to explain, but the boy turned away and disappeared without looking back.
After that day, my life veered completely off the path I had planned.
The duke urged me to join the knight order, promising unlimited financial support.
My parents told me the choice was mine—but I could see they were already swayed by the duke’s words.
Their eyes brimmed with pride and affection as they looked at me, and that affection weighed heavily on my shoulders.
Thinking I’d only take a brief look before returning home, I joined the knight order.
I ended up staying there for ten years.
Ten long years.
Time that felt endless back then now seemed to have passed in the blink of an eye.
The duke’s judgment had been correct.
In the empire, there was no one who could defeat me.
