Chapter 12
“Run. That’s the fastest way.”
…Following Killid’s advice, I had been running laps around the training ground for an hour every day for the past two weeks.
Bella had gotten stronger.
No, that’s not right—this was my achievement. I should change the subject.
I had gotten stronger!
How strong, you ask…?
‘I can now run three laps around the training ground without stopping.’
A remarkable improvement.
I used to only manage half a lap. That means my stamina had improved sixfold in just fifteen days.
‘Although… if you think about it, even a sixfold increase from 0.1 only makes it about 0.6…’
I rated Bella’s stamina on a scale of 1 to 10. Fifteen days ago, she was at a 0.1.
I almost gave myself a zero or even negative points. But I didn’t want to believe I was that hopeless.
In hindsight, 0.1 was actually a fair score. Looking back, Bella at least had some stamina.
My goal is to raise that 0.1 to above 5.
Too ambitious? Of course—it has to be.
‘The task ahead is huge. If the goals I set to achieve it are trivial, that’s not good enough.’
I glanced at the calendar.
May.
For reference, this world also divides the year into twelve months. Don’t ask me why—that’s something only the author of “My Daughter Inside the Novel” knows.
There was a time the author explained the behind-the-scenes worldbuilding of the time, dates, and seasons in the afterword, but I didn’t pay much attention, so I forgot.
Anyway…
‘Since there are four seasons here too, it’ll start getting cold around November. I need to run away before then.’
I may have become Bella overnight, but I had read enough fantasy and romance fantasy novels to know that winter was something to watch out for.
In the dead of winter, when snow falls in great heaps—probably—I’ll have to travel outside without a padded coat or heat packs. Carriages and inns will be cold too. There’s no heater or boiler here.
Honestly, a cold carriage or inn isn’t even the worst part. The worst would be getting lost outside, especially in a forest.
I never thought of myself as someone with a poor sense of direction, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is the environment. I don’t have a phone with GPS or a map, and this place is more foreign than any foreign country.
If I’m unlucky, I could easily get lost while running away. Then what? …I’ll freeze to death. Probably won’t last a day. I already said—I have no heat packs.
Anyway, there are plenty of reasons why running away in the winter is a bad idea.
‘It’d be safest to flee in September at the earliest, or by October at the latest.’
Summer might not be a bad option either, if I’m prepared enough…
Hmm, should I mark the calendar or something? August and September.
It won’t seem suspicious. Because, coincidentally, both Ethan Creford and Killid Creford’s birthdays fall in August and September.
‘If it’s Enfi, she might not find it suspicious at all. She might even get emotional thinking I marked Killid’s birthday…’
As I was thinking of Enfi, who often seemed to hope that Killid and I would get along better, the bedroom door opened.
“Young Lady, the carriage is ready.”
I turned to Enfi and smiled softly.
“Thank you.”
***
It was my first outing. Naturally, I meant since becoming Bella.
As I admired the street that looked like it had come straight out of medieval Europe, I glanced at the man walking beside me.
Delta Lu.
His name popped into my mind, followed by some additional details.
A promising young knight of House Creford.
And currently—
The bodyguard accompanying “Elisa Creford” on a visit to the marketplace.
‘I wanted to go alone, but…’
Yeah, no way that was happening. Elisa was a duke’s daughter, after all.
Still, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask, so I suggested to the Duke that I’d go alone and be right back. I was immediately rejected. As expected.
‘At least they didn’t assign a whole group—just one guard. That’s a relief.’
But this one guard…
I’d have to find a way to get rid of him somehow.
“Young Lady, is something wrong?”
Delta Lu stopped when I did and asked me a question.
I answered as if I had been waiting for it.
“My legs hurt. And I’m a bit thirsty.”
“In that case…”
He looked around and pointed to a three-story building with a sign.
“Would you like to rest in there?”
“Sounds good.”
I followed Delta Lu toward the shop.
I briefly considered making a break for it while his back was turned… but no. That would be foolish.
At my current speed, he’d catch me in no time. Even if by some miracle I got away, there would still be consequences.
‘Let’s stick to the plan.’
I mentally reviewed the plan I’d made before the outing.
The place we arrived at was a café-restaurant hybrid.
A staff member guided us to a window seat on the third floor. As I sat in the chair pulled out for me, Delta Lu remained standing by my side.
I didn’t bother inviting him to sit and simply opened the menu.
“The first drink on the list.”
“Yes, I’ll bring it right away.”
And it really did come quickly. I hadn’t paid attention to the name when I ordered it, so I ended up sipping on a mysterious green drink—probably melon-flavored.
Then I opened my mouth.
“Sir Delta.”
“Yes?”
“I want a strawberry tart.”
“I’ll call a server.”
“No.”
Delta Lu, who had just started to turn his head, looked back at me.
Putting on my best impression of a spoiled noblewoman, I said:
“Not from here. I want the strawberry tart from Mila’s House.”
“…Mila’s House? The shop with the blue roof?”
“That’s the one.”
“But Mila’s House is more than 30 minutes away by carriage.”
I know. I know that very well.
“Then it’ll only take an hour for a round trip.”
“Excuse me?”
“Go quickly.”
Only then did Delta Lu seem to understand what I was asking. His face showed clear signs of panic.
“I’m sorry, but I’m here to guard you, Young Lady. I can’t leave your side for an hour just to get a tart.”
“Guards are for outside. This place is safe. Why are you guarding me in here?”
“My duty is to stay by your side no matter the place.”
“No. Your job isn’t to stay by my side—it’s to attend to me.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Today, your job is to bring me the strawberry tart I want.”
“……”
“Hurry back. I absolutely must have that tart from Mila’s House.”
“Then… I’ll send a runner.”
Just as I thought I was close to success, he said something unexpected. I blinked and looked at him.
“…A runner?”
“Yes. I’ll ask the staff here or someone on the street to go buy it.”
Wait. This is bad. I didn’t account for a runner.
What should I—Ah.
“One strawberry tart is enough, right?”
“Everyone you just mentioned is a commoner.”
“…Pardon?”
“You want me to entrust my tart to a commoner?”
“……”
“What if they touch my tart with their dirty hands and I get sick? Then what?”
Now, this line of reasoning was clearly flawed—Mila’s House was also run by commoners, after all.
It made no sense that the person delivering the tart had to be a noble, while the one making it didn’t. But Delta Lu didn’t point that out.
He looked too stunned by my nonsense to argue.
“Getting sick is unlikely…”
“Sir Delta. Please stop disappointing me.”
“……”
“I quite like you, you know. I hope you stay in the Duke’s household.”
“……”
“So hurry. I don’t want to wait more than an hour.”
With that, I turned toward the window, signaling that I had said all I needed to say.
A long silence followed—until Delta Lu’s voice finally broke it.
