Chapter 02
“My lady, hold my hand!”
Sasha’s face turned serious as she carefully grabbed my wrist to steady me. The knights riding beside the carriage shouted fierce warnings at the coachman.
Ah, there must have been a large rock on the road. Damn unpaved roads. At times like this, my previous life really was more convenient. When I turned my head, I saw Sasha’s pale face.
“Sasha, I’m fine. I’m really fine.”
“Phew… Your face is pale. You’re truly not hurt anywhere?”
“Yeah. Of course.”
So dramatic.
‘Though I understand.’
I was treated like a glass bowl about to shatter.
Well, looking at my physical condition, that wasn’t wrong. Even from an objective view, my body was in terrible shape—bad enough to surprise even myself.
Right now, I was on my way back home after leaving for recuperation for a while, accompanied by the carriage and knights sent by my family, and under Sasha’s care. That was my daily life.
I was born into good circumstances for once, yet I couldn’t even enjoy them because of this useless weak body. Feeling gloomy, I looked out the window again. Still, thinking about the family waiting for me made my small heart beat faster.
Going back home.
“Sasha. Mother and Father are doing well, right?”
Just thinking about them made the corners of my lips curl up.
“……Of course. They’re always lively, aren’t they?”
The meaning behind Sasha’s pause scared me.
“Hmm.”
I looked at her gloomily.
“That’s not what I meant. I meant… the mansion isn’t under renovation again, right—ugh!”
“Kyaaah, my lady!”
At that moment—
The carriage shook violently, and an unknown strong impact struck inside.
My body lifted into the air as if the carriage had jumped, then landed with a loud thud. My backside throbbed from the shock.
W-what was that?
As I narrowed my eyes and panted, I heard the knights shouting outside, and I felt Sasha tightly hugging me.
“S-Sasha?”
I was stunned. It was normal for me to cough up blood if I overexerted myself or get nosebleeds when stressed. But I knew this—my life here was supposed to be very peaceful. Accidents were not meant to happen to me.
Then why?
“Sasha. Wait. Let go for a moment. I think I need to go outside.”
“My lady, my lady….”
I stared in shock at the carriage door, which looked almost crushed. But what horrified me even more was the roof, dented inward. If I had moved just a little more, blood might have burst from the top of my head.
Wow. What is this? I almost died.
Cold sweat ran down my back.
“Sasha. Look at that. Do you see it?”
“My lady, what in the… Huh! W-what is that?”
Sasha gasped in shock, her eyes wide. Her expression matched my feelings exactly.
So it’s not a dream. No need to rub my eyes like crazy.
After taking a slow breath, I kicked the carriage door hard. It creaked and moved only slightly. Curse this weak body.
A nearby knight stepped forward and forced the crushed door open.
“It’s open, my lady. There are sharp edges, so please step down carefully. The impact was strong—are you hurt anywhere?”
No. I took the knight’s hand and stepped down, then looked back at the ruined carriage.
For a moment, I couldn’t speak.
“Sir… my carriage. Was it something that could be smashed like that?”
“……”
Looking at its condition gave me goosebumps.
What is that? It’s a miracle I didn’t end up crushed inside like a bean.
Why am I so shocked?
Because that carriage was special. Father had specially ordered it from the Magic Tower as a gift for my tenth birthday. He proudly said even a dragon’s claw couldn’t scratch it. If he saw this tragic sight, clear tears would surely fall from his eyes.
Our poor father was definitely scammed.
Damn those old men at the Magic Tower. I’ll get revenge.
I ground my teeth and wiped away the tears forming in my eyes.
“Sir. Did you find out what happened?”
“Well….”
“Yes?”
“It’s a bit hard to believe….”
I looked at Sir Aile, confused. He was Father’s most loyal knight and the captain of our family’s knight order—a very reliable man. And he was hesitating?
“Why? What happened?”
As I tilted my head, he sighed. Just then, another knight who had been hovering nearby ran over eagerly. Sir Aile frowned at his light attitude, but I raised my hand to stop him.
“What is it, Sir Jeffrey? You tell me.”
The knight who ran over was Jeffrey. A commoner-born genius who rose quickly to the rank of senior knight because of his incredible sword skills. Though his loose mouth didn’t match his talent at all. He loved to talk too much.
As expected, he looked thrilled to be given the chance to speak and began chattering brightly in a high, lively voice.
My ears hurt already.
“My lady! Something truly unbelievable happened!”
“Yeah. I see that. So what is it?”
Sometimes unbelievable things do happen in this world.
For example, what happened when I was born.
Compared to that moment, nothing should shock me.
“You’ll be shocked too, my lady!”
“……Yes. So what is it? How many times do I have to ask?”
Jeffrey seemed disappointed that I didn’t react dramatically. He muttered that I was too cold and immediately received a harsh smack on the back from Captain Aile.
Finally lowering his voice, Jeffrey pointed somewhere.
“That! That’s the carriage Duke Relte bragged about buying from the Magic Tower!”
My poor crushed carriage.
My eyes grew teary again.
“At first, we thought it was a landslide and a boulder fell! So I quickly moved to block your carriage and was about to split the rock in two—”
“Just get to the point, Sir Jeffrey. My ears hurt.”
“Do you know what I saw? Something truly unbelievable!”
I stared at him half-lidded. What nonsense now?
“Sir Jeffrey. You might not know this, but—”
“Know what?”
I remembered the moment I was first born into this world. The confusion and shock I felt then made my stomach ache even now.
Life.
“Life never tells you what kind of nonsense will happen. Life belongs to those who prepare. Even under a clear sky, lightning might strike—so always protect your head.”
“……”
Silence fell around us.
Jeffrey, who usually talked nonstop, was quiet.
Then he said in admiration,
“My lady, at times like this, you sound like an eighty-year-old grandfather—”
What? Grandfather? How dare he say that to a fourteen-year-old girl.
I narrowed my eyes coldly. Think carefully before finishing that sentence. Who controls your promotion? Your salary?
He must have understood my look.
“—I mean, you have profound wisdom!”
Good.
Satisfied, I smiled. Sasha sighed and smacked Jeffrey’s shoulder, whispering for him to shut up. Jeffrey turned pale and nodded quickly.
As far as I knew, Sasha and Jeffrey were friends from the same village.
Rubbing his shoulder, Jeffrey continued,
“Anyway, what fell on the carriage wasn’t a hard rock, a bomb, or magic. It was….”
Like the others, I looked at the destroyed carriage.
“It was a boy!”
What?
“What did you say?”
“A boy!”
All sentimental feelings disappeared instantly. Everyone stared at Jeffrey as if he were insane. As the representative of this group, I spoke sharply.
“Sir, what are you saying? Are you aging backward? Look at the situation. Should I teach that mouth of yours a lesson?”
“M-my lady! I’m not lying! It’s true!”
Jeffrey jumped in place, looking wronged. I snorted.
If an ordinary human fell from up there, he would have burst like a tomato. He wouldn’t have smashed the carriage like this!
I turned to Sir Aile to mock the nonsense—
But his face was extremely serious.
A chill ran down my spine.
Why is he looking like that? Don’t tell me it’s true?
“Sir Aile? It’s not, right?”
He lowered his head slightly.
“I’m sorry, my lady. Everything Sir Jeffrey said is true.”
