FPLNC 03

Chapter 3

“Let’s go today. Yeah?”

Hyesuh was sprawled out lengthwise on the sofa, lifting only her head to speak to her mom.

“Your dad’s tired. Let him rest today. If we leave tomorrow morning, we still won’t be late.”

“If we leave tomorrow morning, even at the earliest, we’ll only get there after lunch. Jirisan’s really far, you know. Can’t we just go today and start playing from tomorrow morning?”

“What about Hyerim? If she leaves from her friend’s house, she won’t get here until this evening.”

Ah—she’d forgotten about Hyerim. Why did that girl even have to tag along when her friend moved house anyway…?

Hyesuh quickly pulled up a map on her phone, thinking fast.

“Oh, right! Isn’t she taking the train back? I checked, and the train station there isn’t that far from the highway. We could just tell her not to take the train, and pick her up on the way to Jirisan.”

The longer Hyesuh talked, the more her mom’s hand slid to her hip and her eyebrows arched higher.

Yeah… Mom wasn’t going to go for it.

Watching her mom’s expression, Hyesuh quietly slipped off the sofa and ducked into the master bedroom. Inside, her dad—who’d gotten home from work only at dawn—was lying on the bed, resting.

Seeing that he was awake, she brightened.

“Dad, you’re not sleeping?”

“I woke up just a little while ago.”

Her dad only lifted his head to check who’d come in, then lay back down.

“Daaad.”

“Don’t whine. I heard everything you were saying outside.”

“Hehe. Can’t we?”

Hyesuh grinned sheepishly.

“The pension booking’s for tomorrow. Planning to camp out in the mountains tonight?”

“Then I’ll just call the pension! If they say it’s fine, then it’s fine, right?”

Before her dad could answer, she grabbed his phone from the bedside table and dialed the pension.

“…So we can check in today?”

Her mom, hearing the call, came into the bedroom.

“You told her yes? You said you were tired! I told you not to give in to her whining.”

“Heh. I hardly get to see my daughters, so why waste time bickering? The pension seems fine with it. Can you call Eunho’s mom and see if they can leave today?”

Dad chuckled and sat up in bed.

“It’s not just us, it’s Eunho’s family too—we can’t just spring it on them. You’re spoiling the kids.”

Muttering under her breath, Mom went to the living room to fetch her phone.

Thanks to Eunho’s family generously agreeing, both families set out an hour later.

Originally, Hyesuh’s mom was supposed to drive, but Eunho’s parents insisted on taking both their cars.

“Oh gosh, we changed the date at the last minute, and now you’re even taking both cars? I feel bad, Eunho’s mom.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. We were just lazing around today anyway. Hyesuh’s dad is too tired for a long drive. And the kids will have more fun going together. We can just chat in our car.”

The adults rode in Eunho’s dad’s car, while Eunho drove the other one with Hyesuh as his passenger. They’d pick up Hyerim on the way.

“But are you sure Eunho can drive that far? Wouldn’t it be better if I did it?”

Still worried, Hyesuh’s mom asked Eunho’s mom.

“Don’t worry. He drives better than I do. He’s quick to judge situations—got it from his dad. Just the other day, he drove us all the way to the grave site and back, and he was so good at it I thought he must’ve been secretly driving to school all along.”

“Well… that’s a relief.”

Still, she glanced nervously at the second car and rummaged through her handbag.

As Hyesuh and Eunho were buckling up, Mom came over to the driver’s side. Eunho rolled the window down.

“Eunho, you sure you can handle it? I still think it’d be better if I drove.”

Smiling, Eunho waved off her concerns.

“No worries. I’ll be super careful. I’ll pick up Hyerim safely too.”

“Sorry about this. That big lug’s got a body like a mountain but the sense of an ant. Your uncle’s driving tomorrow… It’s her fault you have to put up with this.”

Mom shot Hyesuh a glare, and she looked away, pretending not to notice.

“The sooner we get there, the more fun we have.”

When Eunho smiled reassuringly, Mom placed a card on the dashboard.

“Okay. Fill up the tank with this, buy some snacks at the rest stop, and take it slow. Stop if you get tired.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“And don’t let her touch the wheel on the highway, no matter what she says. Got it?”

“Yes.”

“I wouldn’t ask to drive on the highway anyway.”

Hyesuh’s sulky protest made Eunho chuckle.

✿ ✿ ✿

Thinking back to the two families cheerfully getting into their cars, Hyesuh’s eyes filled with tears again.

Why did I insist so much? I’m not even a little kid. Just to play a few more hours… what was I thinking?

She didn’t even think to wipe her tear-streaked face as she curled into herself.

I don’t care if I have to live here forever, never seeing my family or Eunho’s again—just please, save them. Please let everyone survive without serious injuries… no, even if they’re hurt, let them recover. Please don’t let Hyerim be left alone. If I have to stay here for the rest of my life, I will. Just… save everyone else.

After crying for a long time, she felt short of breath and nauseated.

When she finally sat up, her eyes fell again on the mirror on the wall opposite the bed.

The same little girl she’d seen before going to sleep looked back at her.

Her legs trembling, Hyesuh forced herself to stand and walk up to the mirror.

Even after one day, two days… she was still the same pretty little girl with blonde hair and green eyes.

She reached out to touch the face in the mirror. The cold glass under her fingertips made her grip tighten unconsciously.

Okay. First, I’ll live. I’ll adapt and survive here. Whether this is a dream, a past-life experience, or virtual reality—it doesn’t matter. This is my reality now. And who knows? If this is another world, maybe there’s a way to get back to where I came from.

Licking her dry lips, Hyesuh—no, Ellen—firmed her resolve.

✿ ✿ ✿

If I’m going to live here, I should start by gathering information, right?

But despite her dramatic determination, Ellen found it surprisingly hard to get any useful information—mainly because she had to avoid revealing that she wasn’t the real Elenoa Quinter.

Luckily, she was a child, so no matter how strange her questions, people found her cute and answered kindly.

The Quinter family, she learned, was a count’s house in the Dukalion Empire, a frontier family guarding the northern border.

Her father was Gerald Quinter—so tall and broad-shouldered that anyone would guess his profession as “knight” on sight.

Since his youth, he had earned many military merits. His face when he smiled and when he didn’t were like two completely different people—when smiling at family, he was the ultimate goofy dad; when giving orders to the butler Albert or aide Lotz, he looked as if he might lop off someone’s head with an axe if they disobeyed.

A moment of silent sympathy for Albert and Lotz, working under such a terrifying boss.

Her mother was the beautiful blonde woman she’d met just the other day—Gloria Quinter, daughter of the current emperor.

A princess for a mother! What a golden birthright. She even had two older brothers, one of them the crown prince.

It would’ve been strange for a daughter old enough to speak not to know her parents’ names, so Ellen didn’t dare ask them directly and had to figure them out on her own.

Her mother’s name was the hardest—her parents only called each other by name, and while her mother called her father “Gerald,” her father used the pet name “Ria” for her mother.

I almost thought her real name was just Ria.

Still, she had the basics down now.

And honestly, she was glad this body was so young. Truly.

✿ ✿ ✿

That evening, Ellen could hardly contain her excitement—she’d heard they were going to Karzelga the next day, about an hour’s carriage ride away with her mother.

Karzelga was also a count’s house guarding the border, its lands adjacent to the Quinter territory. Though both held large territories, their manors were close to each other.

The count and countess of Karzelga were close friends of her parents—the mothers had been friends since childhood, and the fathers had met through them, later growing close as comrades on the battlefield.

Karzelga also had a boy named Roillete, one year older than Ellen.

The thought of visiting a new place and meeting someone her own age made her giddy—until morning came, and she remembered two important details she’d forgotten.

First: the heir of Karzelga was actually seven years old. Unlike her, he wasn’t an adult inside—a real, genuine seven-year-old kid.

Which means I’ve basically been signed up for babysitting while the adults have fun. A seven-year-old boy? Terrifying.

Second: that seven-year-old boy was technically her “older brother.”

Sure, I’d had fantasies about having an older brother… but not a seven-year-old one!

Ellen screamed internally.