DISCLAIMER:

THIS IS NOT MY NOVEL, MY ONLY PURPOSE IS TO SHARE THIS NOVEL!

PLEASE SUPPORT THE ORIGINAL NOVEL, THE AUTHOR, AND THE TRANSLATOR.

ORIGINAL AUTHOR/S: Winter Leaves & 겨울잎

Fiona Green

She was a girl who had really an unfortunate childhood. She was tortured from an early age because she was an illegitimate child of Count Green. But, she gradually revealed her talent for magic, and then later she was praised as a great mage.

From those points, it looked like Fiona was the main character in the novel, a genius mage who overcame a bad past. Wasn’t she really a typical main character cliché? Well, unfortunately, Fiona was never the female lead.

I sighed unintentionally while I was thinking about Fiona’s life. And suddenly, a loud sound of a stick hitting the floor scattered my thoughts and a hoarse voice followed after that, “Fiona, are you listening to this father?”

Having my mind not in the place as my body made me not aware of my surroundings. I quickly raised my head and looked at the man in front of me. The man who was in his early 40s was the head of Green Family, Count Green. He was Fiona’s biological father and because of this, I think it was not too much to call him my father now.

“I’m sorry, father,” I replied calmly.

“You little bitch.” Count Green clicked his tongue.

That was a harsh expression to be said by a parent to their daughter. However, Count Green never saw Fiona as his daughter. She was an annoying burden for him. He held his pride as a noble so high that accepting Fiona was an insult to his family nobility. Fiona was an illegitimate child, after all. For that reason, she never had been treated well by the Green family. And another good example of that was the half-brother, Cain Dell, who looked at me with so much hatred right beside me.

“Don’t pretend to be humble in front of father” Cain Dell said in a sarcastic voice.

Oh, I would rip that mouth apart later. I grumbled inside.

Cain Dell was Count Green’s eldest son and the successor of Green’s family. Therefore, he had to accept Fiona’s existence as his half-sister. So I also had no choice but accepted this irrational man, the man who despised Fiona so badly and treated her less than livestock as he knew the current Fiona was a 13-year-old girl and had no power.

Yes, I am 13 years old. And yes, the guessed was correct. I am now Fiona Green. I’m the old-fashion girl who later is praised as a genius wizard, Fiona.

And if it were listened up until here and, again, seemed like Fiona was the main character, she wasn’t really at all. Her futures were, she became the villain and in the end, died in the hands of the lead couple!

Why did I know so well? It was because where I am right now is in a novel world called “The Emperor and the Lady”. And as the title suggested, it was about saving the world while the male lead, the emperor, and the female lead, the lady, were dating. In addition to that, the ending of Fiona, the villain, was terribly miserable and unmerciful.

I still remembered the end of Fiona’s life correctly. She was a very talented magician. Then as her heart became dark, she made a contract with the darkness. At the very end, she became almost immortal and threatened the main character couple. And she was not easily killed.

The male lead had to cut Fiona’s neck with a sword, split her chest, and pulled out her darkened heart. But, that heart was still beating. Thus, he then stabbed the sword in that beating heart. Yet, it was not the end. Fiona’s neck, the world’s worst witch, was hung up on the wall while the rest of her body was burned. Her soul fell into darkness and suffered forever and never ends.

That was the end of Fiona Green. It was also a story that could be my future.

I smiled bitterly.

…. Haha, honestly, would you rather be comfortable if you die now?

I managed to brush my thoughts about Fiona’s terrible end or my future.

Currently, Count Green has called the whole family, including me, into the drawing-room. I’ve been caught again in this situation. In fact, I might be beaten with a stick.

“Everyone knows that the situation in war these days is not good.”

As expected, Count Green soon began to open his mouth with a serious look.

“And yesterday, in the Imperial Palace, an order fell on our family to send a mage to go to the northern front.”

Suddenly, my siblings in the drawing-room became fussed. However, I nodded calmly. If my guess were correct, it was still about six years before the original war began.

In this world, the war was not a conflict between nations. More precisely, it was the fight between evil and humans. There were mosnters led by cursed dragons, and to block their attack, people who could fight—mercenaries, mages, knights, etc.—participated in the war. Perhaps at this time, the empire was in a disadvantageous situation because the war had been pushed out for a long time.

If you were to ask me in my past life about why Fiona had no dreams or hopes in this romance fantasy novel, honestly, it was just to make the main characters stand out.

The summary of the storyline was roughly like this. In this world, more and more humans were dying due to cursed dragons and monsters. Then, the people were saved by male and female leads who appeared like comets. That was it.

“Because of this, one of you must join the war in the northern front.”

The words “join the war” that came out from my father increased the agitation of my older siblings who gathered in the reception room.

“Father, it’s a war. Are we really going?”

“oh my god….”

The House of Green was one of the imperial mage families. So when things got worse, it was natural for the Imperial palace to order support to all families that existed. The biggest question was, who the hell would go to the war?

Everyone was a child of a noble family who grew up fine; even I never had done a chore, let alone a war. If someone tried to join the war that had been delayed for a long time, they would not be able to fight properly. And Count Green, who knew the truth better than anyone else, gave a fake smile.

“I wonder if any of my children will bravely volunteer for this glorious thing.”

“….”

Everyone was silent while looking at each other.

At that time, Cain Dell nudged my side and whispered. “you go, rice worm*”

Gosh, since earlier, this guy. I glanced at him with my eyes throbbing.

The Count had four children. Except me, the youngest, all the three above me were born from the Countess. So, all of them wanted me, the useless bastard, to go to war instead.

Even more, Cain Dell raised his hand and said, “Father, our proud youngest sister wants to go. I think she can’t speak up because she is shy.”

“wa, wait..”

Of course, I’ve never said a word! I looked at Cain Dell with my eyes wide open. When his eyes met mine, he made a very mean smile. This son of a bitch.

“Oh, good, so you’re saying you will go, Fiona.” Count Green‘s face became bright as he welcomed the idea. This father-and-son duo was just the same. Wasn’t this what they two had been planning from the beginning?

“It is an honorable thing to do to represent the family. I want to thank you for taking this opportunity to repay me for raising you all this time.”

No matter how much I heard this, it just sounded like he was telling me to go to the battlefield and die. No, that was not it. In fact, how could there be a family that sent a thirteen-year-old kid to the battlefield without hesitation in the first place!

The second sister even started to help them next to me. “Yes, Fiona. Cain Dell has to be in the family to continue, and I’m about to get married. The third brother, Jen, is about to get engaged to a beautiful girl. How can you send the family’s limbs, legs, and arms to that situation? You’d better go.”

What the hell! I wasn’t even taught magic properly since I am an illegitimate child. They locked me up in the attic every day, and then beat me up.

Well, even so, I was familiar with magic. I learned by watching them from a side and practicing secretly. So, fortunately, I already knew the basic way to use magic.

“I’m…”

The second I opened my mouth, everyone stared at me with their stiff face. I was not so foolish to not know the meaning behind that venomous sly look.

‘You think you can refuse?’

The realization came after I finished my judgment about the situation. It was already decided. The thing was I never had a choice in the first place. If I were to refuse, they would forcibly throw me into the middle of the battlefield like a beast being dragged to the slaughterhouse. There was no one on my side in the first place in this mansion, and no one was going to feel sorry for me either.

“I’m….”

There was only one line of past settings for Fiona, who was not even the main character. ‘As an illegitimate child, she grew up tortured by her family.’

That was exactly what was shown to me in front of my eyes. A family who casually sending a 13-year-old into the middle of the battlefield to die. As the childhood phase of the villain, there was no dream or hope.

I managed to swallow a sigh and spoke slowly. “…. Yes, I understand. I will go”

What if I refused and rebelled with force? Even if I were to act like that, getting rid of this sly family in front of me, my dark future was still the same.

Naturally, even in this world, the punishment for the murder of relatives was strong. Even if I were to escape the situation right away, I could be put in jail for the rest of my life, or the life of the fugitive was the only one opened.

So if I had to go unconditionally, I should go with two feet like a person rather than being dragged like a beast. At least, this was the way to keep my pride.

My family cheered pretentiously at my words.

“That’s a very good choice, Fio”

“I’m very proud”

“You are finally doing your part”

From the beginning, this was the reason why they called me to go here. They didn’t usually treat me like a human being, so I thought they’d lock me up in the attic and not call me to the family gathering.

“….”

Somehow I felt sad. Even a year ago, when I realized that I first possessed Fiona’s body, I wasn’t so sad. Did Fiona, the villain I created, feel this way?

I was deeply sorry for some reason. Fiona, who had never been truly loved by anyone in her life, resented the world. And her wrong choice led to an irreparable swamp.

But, unlike her, I didn’t feel like blaming anyone easily.

Right here, because this is the world I wrote.

***

Rice Worm: a Korean term; a person who only eats and sleeps all day/ a person who doesn’t do their duty properly and just gets their wage in a lazy way like the worms that eat rice in storage as a parasite.

The Heilon was a representative family defending the northern territory for a long time. The Lord of Heilon family was Duke Abel Heilon and he was known for being very tough and merciless, just like the man in charge of the front line.

Yeah, this was also the setting that I wrote.

And now, I was forced by my parents and my older siblings to go to the northern territory which was ruled by that ruthless Duke Abel Heilon.

“I dug my own grave….”

As soon as I arrived at the northern territory, the first place that I went to was the castle of Duke of Heilon. Like the owner characters, it gave a tremendous sense of pressure. On the outside, it was similar to the Demon Castle in the some fairy tales. It was really huge and had towering spires and walls that looked as hard as a mountain range.

“ha.. my life” From here alone, I could guess that this new job would not be easy. I think I would get a heavy amount of work. No, maybe before that, I might be kicked out because they didn’t need a kid.

In the story, Duke Abel Heilon was an important supporting role. More precisely, he was the helper of the male protagonist, Sigren. He was quite popular among readers as a great middle-aged character that helped the main character at every important moment. At the beginning of the book, he was described as in his late 30s. But, now, since it was six years before the beginning of the book, he roughly was in his early 30s.

If there were a problem, Abel was no doubt would always be in favor of the main characters. But the truth was, his personality was just shit. And now, when he was much younger than in the original timeline of the story, he was literally in his wildest era.

I wondered whether this Fiona who was going to be the villain could handle that horrible character.

“Come this way.”

The knight who guided me inside the castle stopped. I looked up at the door in front of me. It was really huge. I was sure where this door led me: it should be the entrance to the room where I was going to meet the Duke.

“Open the door.” The knight gave an order to the two soldiers who appeared to be the door guards. As the two soldiers were pushing the huge door, it opened slowly with a heavy sound. I blinked at the slowly unfolding scene.

The inside room’s interior was made of carved hard stones: overall it was really amazing but felt cold. There was a young-looking man sitting in a huge chair in the middle of the room, a young-looking man with hair as white as snow and eyes as blue as a piece of ice. The face itself was beautiful and had a sharp-mind impression. Surprisingly, the face gave the feeling of an intelligent staff officer rather than a strong warrior. However, he indeed gave the terrifying pressure as someone who governed the rough northern area.

I gulped down my saliva.

That man was Abel Heilon, the character who later became the teacher of the male lead, Sigren. As soon as he met my eyes, he frowned.

“I’ve definitely heard a new mage is coming to apply.”

The words that followed were so cold that it gave me goosebumps on the nape of my neck and arms.

“What the hell is this skinny little thing?”

Well, the dark future days were waiting for me.

***

“I’m Fiona Green.” In spite of the harsh response I got, I greeted him with the utmost courtesy.

Abel without changing his expression turned his head to a man who appeared to be the close aide to him. “Jeron, what the hell is going on here?”

That ‘Jeron’ man was a young man whose face was like in his mid-20s. He looked at me once with a puzzled look on his face and turned to Abel again. “I’ve heard that Count Green sent a mage who was his immediate blood, but….”

Well, that was not totally incorrect. I am a direct blood relative, although an illegitimate child, and I do know how to use magic.

Abel gritted his teeth. “Are you saying that the answer to the last order is this little kid?”

Abel then rose from the chair, his thick cloak was fluttered. The way he looked at me became darker. His blue eyes made me felt like I was trapped in winter.

“At least, now, I can see, he thinks we’re ridiculous. After this damn war, I will get rid of that Green family”

Oh, I’m screwed! The strongest Duke in the north must be very angry!

Although, honestly, I didn’t care that much about what would happen to the Green family in the future. Rather, the main problem was I had to face Abel who is on the verge of anger.

Ugh, stop staring at me.

The echoes of Abel’s shoes hitting the floor as he was walking slowly towards me were giving me a great amount of pressure. Abel stopped in front of me. He was really tall and since I was so skinny and much smaller than my peers because of the lack of proper meals, I was very small in front of him. I had to lift my head to look at him. I looked straight to his eyes.

“hey, kid.” His facial expression was so cold.

Wait, I’m sure I said my name before, and I think it’s a nice name.

“let’s hear your explanation. Why did Count Green send a little kid like you here? Does he not have talented people over there?”

Well, I didn’t owe any loyalty to anyone. So, I would just give him an honest answer. “The first brother, Cain Del, should be in the family, and the second sister, Jane, is about to get married. Then, the third brother, Jen, is about to get engaged.”

But, somehow I felt like a child who was snitching. I swallowed my saliva lightly and then said, “And so, I, the youngest of the family came to you”

“huh.” Abel clicked his tongue as if he had no words for the facts that I said. “I see, they’re looking down on this war.”

He looked at me with his haughty gaze. “Anyway, I’ve got the idea why, kid. You must have made up your mind to come all the way here. But, go back home”

Then he continued with a heavy expression, “A child like you is not needed here.”

As I guessed earlier, I got kicked out, and it was five minutes after I got here. It was pretty fast.

Abel, who gave his command, turned around without regret. For him, there was no time to invest in a useless thing. And I was a useless thing for him.

I felt no sense of warmth in that cold appearance. But, well, I didn’t care about his look. I had nowhere to go. Went to Count Green, the one who sent me to the battlefield? I was treated so badly when I was there. My room was the old attic with no warmth, and the meal I ate was the leftovers from their meal. Even if I were to go back to that mansion right away, I was sure he’d kick me out because why would he waste the chance he waited so long to get? And actually, in the original story, Fiona who had not yet been known of her talent was kicked out of the Green family and went over the street. Fortunately, later she found a place to stay. However, the scars left by the world at this time were an important factor in Fiona becoming a villain.

Now, since I knew Fiona had a great talent sleeping in her body and skilled mages were treated well, I think I could have a better option: prove my talent early and build extensive knowledge in advance. I think this option was far better than being driven to the streets.

After all, the war still would end with the appearance of the male lead. Until then, the best option to avoid my future despair was, I would bear up and save money, then go down to the countryside, and live in peace.

So the first thing I had to do was get permission to stay here as a mage. Then, all I had to do was out of Abel’s sight until the male lead appeared.

After I calculated all the things in my head, I looked at Abel’s back without any regret and calmly said.

“Wait a minute, Duke. I have something to tell you.”

Abel stopped walking, and turned around, glanced down at me. “What?”

“I couldn’t follow that order”

Abel frowned while looking at me. If I were an ordinary 13-year-old kid, I might have cried.

“What?”

I looked up straight at Abel. “I’m not going back. But I’m not going to be stubbornly asking you to allow me to stay here. Just give me one shot.”

Abel’s pupils were briefly shaken. “What are you talking about?”

“An opportunity to prove my worth?”

Abel’s face was changed as he was interested in the idea I brought up. Well, of course, it was amazing that a girl who looked like an ordinary 13-year-old could say something like that.

He spoke with a rough voice as if to scare me. “A little girl like you? Are you trying to do chores? But, I’ve already had many excellent servants in this place. If it was not that, I wonder how you are going to prove it”

It was not a difficult question. Besides, I had some knowledge of how to deal with Abel. Never look arrogant, but do not look sloppy. I clenched my fists and said in a steady voice.

“Just for once, let me go on the battlefield as a mage. I’ll show you that I can be of sufficient help in this war.”