Tti-ring!

At the sound of the alarm, I took handled my phone from my pocket.

Updated UP \ has been updated.

Click View.

“Oh, it’s already 6 o’clock.”

(translator note : a golden spoon refers to having a very privileged and wealthy life, basically like. . . filthy rich, and not having to work for it. . . ya know? Imagine it like. . . a baby being fed their baby food with an unnecessarily fancy, gold carrot spoon. )

The upload time for the new episode is 6 a.m. That means I stayed up all night working.

I rubbed the tight corners of my eyes.

‘Could I even manage to translate everything until Park’s departure?’

Honestly, it was impossible. It was not the amount that I could finish, even the few hours of sleep I got at night.

But…

“Are you giving up now? You should be thankful for writing as someone who has no academic background like you. Tell me any time if you’re unable to fulfill your responsibilities. There are tons of people waiting to replace you.”

I sent a burst of strength to the hand that tightly gripped my phone.

‘Let’s get back to work.’

I was about to come to the convenience store to buy coffee because I thought I would fall asleep. I picked up the cheapest canned coffee.

After paying the bill and leaving the convenience store, I pressed the “Right View” button.

Reading romance fantasy novels brought me happiness ( small amounts ) in my tiresome daily life.

It’s the only thing that brings me joy.

Seeing the heroine’s decision, I punched my stuffy chest.

“No, why would you leave when you have a handsome dad and brother in your privileged and wealthy life? So why would you want to leave that house?”

What about your beautiful (handsome) dad!

What about your (handsome) brothers!

You even were gifted a diamond mine today!

Why are you running away!

It was a well-written episode, although I didn’t agree with the main character. I left a comment at the end, after scrolling and reading the episode’s comments.

The number of likes went up at a rapid pace, as if everyone sympathized. Soon it became marked as a “best” comment.

It was at this moment that I was in a good mood, and smiled broadly.

Paaaaaaaang-

A tremendous intensity of light penetrated through the dreary dawn air and penetrated into my view.

I saw flashing headlights and a truck, about the size of a house.

No way, in this cramped alleyway? A truck?

It was even rushing at me at a tremendous speed.

So suddenly?

Gasp-!

Phew!

‘Yes. All of a sudden.’

That was my last thought.

‘To be exact, it’s the last thought of the \’

I gazed at my body with my arms crossed.

I didn’t even feel sick because I died in such a quick moment. I was still caught up in a daze.

I’m really dead?

Like this?

After all I’ve been through?

The futility surged in. It all felt pointless, useless.

It was then.

[Congratulations! You have a chance to reincarnate!]

I raised my head to the sudden throbbing voice.

Before I knew it, a boy was giggling at the firecrackers against the bright sky.

White hair soft as a cloud, and golden eyes.

A perfectly harmonious face, as if not human. Beauty out of this world, celestial, angelic even.

‘I guess I’m dead. I can see all this heavenly crap.’

[Excuse me? You have a chance to reincarnate. Will you please be a little more happy?]

What are you saying? A chance to reincarnate?

I pondered over his words in silence, and then gulped in a deep breath.

“Did I get hit by that famous fantasy truck?!”

A reincarnation truck.

A legendary truck that reincarnates you into a fantasy world if you get hit.

“I thought it was just a novel.”

[Surely you’ve seen a lot of novels! As expected, you’re the chosen one!]

“Huh?”

[I am a messenger of God, the lion of Aptanes.]

The messenger of God? You are an angel.

You know, the angels, demons, and the devil are the ones who talk to the dead.

Looking in detail, the boy had wings as big as beans on his back.

‘Angels are more frivolous and insignificant than I thought.’

[Aftanes created this world and referred to various things.]

I’m looking at God’s references.

The angel opened his arms as if he were saying something great.

[The most frequently referred to is a romance fantasy novel!]

What?

What are you referring to?

Go on, what do you mean, “Wow, woof”? His words were so bizarre, they felt like they were in another language.

‘I can’t believe you created the world by referring to romance novels!’

Are you out of your mind?

[What do you think? Isn’t it the world for you, the fantasy-romance addict reader? You want to be reborn, don’t you?]

“No, it’s a world created by a crazy god, who would want to go?”

Unconsciously, my turned serious.

The angel waved his arm, and puffed out a golden ball. He is a messenger of God, but rather than sacred, he is awe-inspiring.

[You just said you wanted to do it instead of Yeo-joo! (the FL)]

What?

[It was the best comment ever, and it gave a lot of advice to the main characters.]

“. . . .”

[Laughs to you, novel’s pro-beater!] A world where you refer to a suitable novel! How about it?]

As if it could not be clearer than this, the angel smiled refreshingly and winked.

[Please live and give me stars and comments!]

“. . . .”

Is God really concerned. . . about his angel’s stars and comments?

If I don’t live. . .you’ll get zero stars.

[Come on, if you’ve solved the question, you’ll be reincarnated, right?]

That doesn’t solve the question! On the contrary, my suspicions only grew bigger. This deal. . . is very suspicious.

But. . . I’m dead.

This was a gamble, yet I had nothing to lose, so I decided I would nod my head coolly.

‘Honestly? Yes.’

I’m a romance-fantasy reader.

A very heavy who reads hundreds of books a month.

‘Oh, that’s it, you can do it! Adjusting would be easy.’

There are so many stories as well.

‘What if you were reincarnated from the impoverished state?’

It’s not a waste, but it’s a problem.

What if she turns into a crooked villain?

Or the supporting actor who ends up being used?

[Why are you hesitating?] Didn’t you want to live in a fantasy world instead of here?]

“I don’t just want to live in a fantasy world.”

[Then?]

“I want to be reincarnated in a house with a handsome father and brother, in a wealthy and privileged life, as I said in the comments earlier!”

[*Laughs*\, you’re tricky.]

Look at this. Before I changed it, I’m sure I was going to get reincarnated into something weird.

“It’s the basis of romance-fantasy novels.”

[Well, that’s good. You will have a handsome dad and a brother, and I will make you wealthy.]

“And the whole family has to die with me.”

[Hmm…. that’s not the best romance-fantasy I’ve ever read. I didn’t like the story at first… ]

“Why not! Lady Be**”

[Well, like the novel, if you want to start with the whole family dying…]

“No, I’m sorry. That was a slip of the tongue. Please do a good job. . .”

A quick transition is a shortcut to a comfortable life.

[So, that’s enough? You’re reincarnating, right?]

Let’s go to the handsome dad and brother.

That’s exactly what I want.

“Well, but most of the romance-fantasy heroines have special abilities, but they’re also smart.”

[……There are many things you really want.]

I could hear the angel muttering something small as he turned his head.

“Huh?”

[Don’t worry. I’m going to give you a special reincarnation, but I’ll also give you some skills.]

The angel smiled sweetly, but still looks as if he was struggling.

I feel like I’ve sinned, but. . .

‘A reincarnation with a handsome father and a brother and a special ability.’

At this point, it’s like a reward for my hard work, in my dreadful life.

Yeah, I didn’t live a good life, and I’ve had a lot of trouble.

But… finally, the day has come!

“Okay, then. I’ll reincarnate.”

The moment I finished saying my sentence, I felt a sharp stabbing sensation in my heart.

When I looked up in bewilderment, face flushed in embarrassment, the angel grins, and laughs.

A hearty laugh, with the corners of his lips rolled up. The smile isn’t one of an angel. . . rather—.

[Then the contract is made.]

A distinctly different tone rang overhead.

At the same time, a great crack began to form in the air.

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The cracks are so dark that not a speck of light dares to come in.

There is an abyss that simply does not fit in with the angels or gods.

‘Did you. . . say “contract”. . .?”

Anxiety struck.

Isn’t it usually said that God gives grace?

‘Isn’t the contract done by. . .?’

That.

I mean—-.

‘The Devil.’

All the color drained from my face.

“Come on, hold on!”

The black cracks keep getting bigger and bigger and bigger.

Because of that, I shook my hand hurriedly.

“This contract is canceled! Hurray!”

[The contract has already been made, human.]

A completely enlarged crack opened its dark mouth and began to absorb my soul.

It was helpless to try and get out.

I couldn’t stop him from reincarnating like this.

Even so, anything should be done!

“My, my ability……! What is my ability!”

If the demons are deceiving you, aren’t they just going to give you the strangest of abilities?

[Don’t worry, human.]

“I’m worried, you devil!”

[It’s the ability that best suits you.]

“What is the ability that best fits me?”

I was very anxious because I felt like I was being cheated in real-time.

“The ability to be swindled dies, for real!”

[You don’t have to worry. . . because you’re my—]

‘What?’

I didn’t hear what he said at the end. I tried to ask him once again, but my soul was already sucked into the cracks.

And there came the terrible darkness, which felt nothing.

***

‘You swindler devil!’

I rubbed the marble floor with a brush and swallowed my pent-up anger.

‘Where’s my handsome dad?’

My fingers were red because it was in the middle of winter.

‘Where’s my handsome brother!’

I feel like my fingertips are going to fall off, without feeling numb, despite the cold weather.

‘My life of luxury and privilege!’

I flung myself down.

Then a wide hall with no end in sight caught my eye.

A magnificent and dazzling hall, as if it were in an ancient castle, where one would be required to pay an entrance fee.

Ordinary people would have admired it, but I couldn’t.

I have to clean the floor of this spacious hall.

‘It’s not even a dirt spoon, it’s a dust spoon.’

( translator note: referring to a golden spoon, aka: privileged life. )

Tears welled up in my eyes.

Maybe I shouldn’t have reincarnated then.

I hugged my short legs tightly with my short arms.

Even an adult wouldn’t be able to clean up alone, much less now.

I was in a child’s body.

I heard a thunderbolt from behind me, sniffling.

“You’re kidding me! Again?”

I couldn’t look back and fell down reflexively flat.

“Come on, I’m sorry ····!”

My lips trembled and my whole body stiffened.

I didn’t want to be this weak but learned fear is my body.

He encroached on.

“Does such a lazy thing resemble my sister?”

Tut, the sound of a clicked tongue.

As he approached me, he struck the bucket of water with his foot. The bucket fell and rainwater poured down.

The hem of my dress was wet and damp.

“You look like a filthy mouse.”

Cold.

“You’re not even a decent thing.”

It’s cold.

“You can’t even do what you’re told to do.”

I’m lonely.

I couldn’t even squeeze my fists well with swollen hands.

“……wrong.”

I looked up carefully at him.

“Uncle.”

The man who scolds me and curses my mother was not anyone else but my uncle.

The person who ordered this wide hall to be cleaned by a child alone.

No sane person would do such a thing.

Nor was I the only one to clean up this mansion.

Because both this big hall and the huge mansion that holds this hall belongs to him.

“How dare you pretend to be my niece?!”

He got angry. It must have bothered you to have me call you uncle.

“The Marquis. . .”

He quickly corrected the title, and he went and snorted.

“You should know your subject.”

Shiny, greasy feet pressed against my shoulders.

The child’s body could not bear the weight and collapsed.

“This is why your father abandoned you.”

I could not groan and listened to his abusive language.

“Well, maybe she’s the real duke’s daughter.”

A word, a word stuck in my young heart like a thorn.

“My sister, but your mother must have been frivolous.”

A mother I’ve never seen before. And yet, my uncle speaks ill of my mother.

My nose was watering and my stomach grew sour.

“There’s nothing strange about having other children.”

No!

“There might be another one besides you. Because she’s that kind of girl.”

My mom’s not that kind of person!

“Who are you staring at!”

With the shouting, the foot, which was weighing on the shoulder, was tightened.

“Hush. . . “

My face was plunged into the cold marble floor. Soapy bubbles mixed with dust and gray fluid soaked my cheeks.

I bit my lips tightly and swallowed a cry. If you cry, you’ll get in more trouble.

When I was born again, I thought about it while looking at a colorful and beautiful house.

I would be born in a good house.

I didn’t know what my family’s gonna be like.

Well, at least you won’t spend the winter in fear of freezing to death.

Survival is not the biggest problem, but you will live a life.

Then you’ll be able to experience many things.

Maybe you can have a dream.

Maybe you’ll be loved.

You can grow up to be a healthy, bright, warm child, as you don’t know about misfortune in a harmonious family.

Maybe, maybe like the heroines in the novels. . . you will have a happy ending.

I’m excited.

I have hope for life, expectations for my future.

My heartbeat because it was so dark that I had it.

But.

“Daddy?”

Everything was an illusion.

That position wasn’t mine.

I know the main character of this world.

The girl, who put her head out of the open door, covered her lips.

It was a lovely child with bright, coveted blond hair.

“What are you doing there?”

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If the world was in a novel, it must have a heroine.

One child.

Asked my cousin, Clattie, with an angelic face.

***

DUN DUN DUNNNNNN. . .

“Tie, what brings you here?”

The Marquis asked in a soothing tone, his voice entirely different from when he spoke to me.

Clattier, who came into the hall, put both of her hands on her waist and raised her eyebrows.

“Daddy, you shouldn’t be stepping on a child like that yet.”

The man laughed, clearing my shoulders from the heavy burden of his feet.

“You’re too kind to them. You care about all these kids.”

“Tush!”

Clattier rubbed her lips. A shy flush rose on her face.

“It’s my birthday soon.”

“Yes, that’s why we’re cleaning the hall.”

“We don’t have to party in this big hall.”

While saying so, Clattier’s eyes betrayed her words. Her eyes glistened with joy as if she was expecting a big birthday party.

“It’s my daughter’s birthday. I can’t do it half-heartedly, can I?”

“Daddy, you’re too kind.”

Her light-pink shoes slowed to a halt in front of me.

“Are you all right?”

A sweet voice sprinkled down on me like the soft petals of a blossom.

I nodded, raising my upper body.

“Then cheer up.”

Clattier hugged the Marquis’s arm, smiling. The latter stroked her hair with love.

The friendly father and daughter began to move notes towards the door.

“Hey, Dad—my shoes got wet in the dirty rainwater.”

“I’ll buy you new ones, so don’t worry.”

“Wow, Dad’s the best!”

I stayed alone and looked at their retreating figures.

The rainwater was wetting my whole body.

Boom. The doors closed.

I stared at the tightly blocked door and lowered my head.

“. . . Let’s clean up.’

You don’t know what else you’ll get if you don’t finish it.

Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

The hall was struck by thunder.

I rolled up my body as much as I could, but it didn’t work.

My hungry stomach still clamored for food.

I was punished by my uncle for not cleaning up the hall.

Even though done with a thin whip, my calves suffered greatly from the thirty lashes. Pink flesh stood out on my calves as if marred by a blade.

He told me in public, who was already sick and unable to stand properly.

“There will be no dinner for you until after a week from today.”

That meant eating only one meal a day.

Usually, I had only two meals, breakfast, and dinner.

The most proper meal I’ve received so far was soup with hard bread and dry water.

Clattie came in when the Marquis left.

“Oh, you poor thing.”

Clattier kicked her tongue as if she were sorry for my bruises and torn flesh.

“Don’t be too upset. My dad’s a fair-minded man. It’s not fair to others to give you free meals because you’re my cousin.”

You and I are different even if we are cousins.

Her eyes were saying so.

“Next time, do your best. You have to finish your work well. Dad said so. He said those who don’t work should not eat either.”

Clattie smiled brightly and left the room to see if she was proud of herself.

The thought of that time made me angry.

‘So far I’ve been eating. . . ‘

Growlrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

I wanted to say I didn’t need food, but I was so hungry.

‘It hurts.’

My empty stomach hurt, the pain clashing with my searing calves.

My breaths are shortening.

My exhales are hot.

My mind is blank.

‘This is certainly distressing’

I was wearing my cold wet clothes until they dried up, and I was about to catch a fever.

I hid in an old blanket. The chill of the winter night froze my body.

In the daze of a fever and the cold, the Marquis’ voice rang out.

“You should thank me.”

“Your father irresponsibly leaves you here and doesn’t even pay child support.”

“So you’re going to have to pay for your meals, right? Do you know how much you eat? How much money it costs to feed you?!” He cried out.

“In the end, you still didn’t pay for your meal, again! You’re lazy! For something as useless as you, you shouldn’t get to eat and you shouldn’t get to sleep, either. Lord be thankful for my mercy.”

My ears shut out the voice of the Marquis, who continued.

Now I could not feel hunger, nor the pain of my calves.

I gasped with my chest tight.

“It hurts so much. . .”

My heart seemed torn. I don’t want to, but I keep trying.

My heart was broken.

When I stood in front of the master, my whole body trembled and I couldn’t speak properly.

In my child eyes, he seemed too tall.

“Your biological father abandoned you, and I’m taking care of you and raising you, right?”

“Oh, I’ll have to see if he’s really your biological father. You can’t even use magic.”

I clasped the blanket tightly.

‘Did I really get abandoned?’

I couldn’t grasp it at first, but now I did.

No matter how evil your opponent is, a contract is a contract.

But the result is this.

‘I was a fool to believe in the Devil’s contract.’

I don’t know how many times you’ve been disappointed.

I don’t expect to keep promises that won’t be kept.

So you don’t have to be disappointed.

She contemplated her decisions with a whimper.

I had a runny, flushed nose.

Tears trickle down my cheeks.

This is nothing much. Why is there water coming out of my eyes?

‘I’m sure it’s because I’m still young!’

Breathe.

‘Damn that Devil.’

You said it was a gold spoon. A life of competence and privilege.

You said you’d give me my dad and brother.

“. . . Family, having thought it was alive.”

“Ah-chu!”

The sneeze shook through my entire body.

I snorted and clutched the blanket tightly. There’s little to no warmth, but it’s better than nothing.

‘There’s no cold medicine here, and this young body is too weak.’

I’ve almost died once or twice.

Today is the same.

. . .It might be easier. . . to just die.

‘No, no, no! Don’t be weak!’

I can’t die like this even if it’s unfair.

I’ll survive half a life in this zero-star world.

***

“Tie, happy birthday!”

“Oh, my God, you’re still so young, but you’re dazzlingly beautiful.”

“All the men of the Empire will fall for our Tier.”

Clattie, who is surrounded by her family and smiling brightly, looked as cute and lovely as an angel.

It was sad.

She was wearing a light pink dress today, which was so luxurious and colorful that she could not think of as a child’s.

A dainty, ankle-high, voluminous dress was adorned with several layers of lace, embroidered with tiny diamonds.

No matter how rich they are, they don’t look so luxurious in children’s clothes that they can’t wear after a year.

But to show how much the Marquis loves Clattie, by the time of her birthday, this expensive dress arrived at the mansion.

It’s a beautiful outfit with a different dimension than the usual clothes I wear, so I always expected what kind of dress would be for Clattie.

‘The Marquis didn’t tell me what kind of dress it was.’

No matter how many times Clattier dozed off, it was no use asking for a hint.

If the momentary surprise could have made her happier the moment she received it, he would have kept it a secret.

‘You’re really loved. . .’

I turned my eyes and looked at the beautifully decorated party hall.

Of course, the hall was cleaned and decorated with glitter.

Even the Marquis couldn’t have thought I could clean it all up in the first place.

‘He was just trying to mock me by assigning all that work.’

I looked at my toes and clung tightly to the corner of the walls.

A shabby shoe, worn on one small foot did not fit here.

Even the serving servants and maids were wearing better quality shoes and clothes than me.

‘It’s shabby.’

Even though she was still in the corner, she could feel a sneering look.

It was a small, family birthday party, but I couldn’t join it.

Well, who would see me now and think of me as the family of the Marquis family?

In fact, I didn’t attend the birthday party as Princess Paeraton’s cousin.

“Oh my God!”

Clattier’s startled voice rang high.

While cutting the cake, the whipped cream fell on top of the sphere.

The new shoes I bought were going to get damaged, and my face turned sour.

“What are you looking at so far?”

Then the voice of the Marquis gave me a sharp slap on the back.

“Without wiping!”

Yeah, it wasn’t as a cousin that I was here.

‘Instead, I was present as Clattier’s servant.’

If you wait any longer, the Marquis will punish you again.

I quickly approached Clattie’s front and talked to the maid standing beside me.

“Well, something to wipe . . . .”

She turned away with an embarrassed look before I could finish talking.

It was obvious why.

‘It’s the order of the Marquis.’

I went to Clattie’s front and kneeled without asking any more questions.

When I pulled up my sleeve and scrubbed it, the feeling of the oily creaminess made me feel disgusted.

But there was something worse than that.

Countless gazes attach upon my prone back.

When I raised my head, I immediately met the Marquis and his eyes.

His eyes were intoxicated with contempt, joy, and triumph.

“Is that all you cleaned up? It has to shine!”

The Marquis flocked towards me.

The small hand grasped at my sleeve gave me a burst of strength.

“She’s not listening again! Was starving for a week not enough? Or was the lacking of hawks?!”

I bit my lips tight.

‘Get up and tell that abuser. . .!’

I wanted to shout at his face.

But this little body was so shaky that it wouldn’t move.

Scared. Scared. I’m scared.

Regardless of my will, my body peeped and moved.

My posture was lowered and my lips were as close to the ground as Clattie’s shoes.

Clattie shook her foot hastily. The wind really touched my lips on these shoes.

‘It’s all right. This isn’t a big deal.’

I am. . . a precious person.

‘Really?’

A voice filled with doubt was heard from the bottom of my heart.

It was when I tried to ignore it and blow my breath.

“Is my memory wrong?”

Lee, who has a low but clear voice, divided the chairman’s mind.

“My daughter wasn’t blonde.”

When I raised my head, a tall man with a cape fixed on one shoulder stood crooked.

He was looking at Clattie with a frown.

The light pink dress Clattie is wearing, matched the embarrassed flush on her face.

“The—, Duke of Paeraton?!”

The Marquis cried out in shock.

I flinched, my heart leaped high before sinking.

The Duke of Paeraton?

That guy?

My gaze shook at the sight of that man.

The Duke of Pateraton.

He is my father, Prince Paeraton.

***

Even standing in a carefree way, you could tell he was a great looking man. Wide shoulders and long limbs, and a tight waist. With a grim face that seems unlikely to bleed a single drop of blood, even upon stabbing.

A massive burst of energy came from within my whole body.

You can’t hide your handsomeness.

‘Wow. . . You look handsome enough to be the male lead in a Romance Fantasy. . .!’

His hair was the shade of darkness that is deeper than the abyss.

His eyes are redder than sparkling rubies and pure pigeon blood.

If you were to describe him in a novel, you’d see a sentence like that.

He was more like the main character than all the self-reliant men I had ever imagined.

“Well, weren’t you supposed to be on the western front?”

The Western Front?

My eyebrows crumple under the Marquis’ words.

They loosen after a while.

‘So the Duke was at war?’

I didn’t know.

“It’s over.”

“Yes?”

“It’s over, the war.”

The Marquis shook his head as if it could not be.

“It’s over, I’m sure of it. . .”

“—and even the little ones take care of themselves, and mind their own business. Do I look so free and unbusy that you want me to give you a rundown on everything that has happened this year?”

The Duke’s eyes caressed me like a sharp day.

It was still a lewd and languid attitude, but that alone changed the air.

The Marquis and his wife took a hard breath and hardened their bodies.

“Ha, ha, ha, no way.”

The Marquis approached the Duke with a forced smile on his face.

“By the way, what brings you here without any contact?”

“It’s obvious what I’ve come for.”

The Duke moved the notes in defiance of the latter.

Perhaps because his legs were so long, he arrived in front of Clattier in a few steps even though he was moving leisurely.

The red pupils screamed at Clattie.

Clattie shook her head, unable to bear his cold, sharp-eyed stare.

Her trembling body and blue face seemed that about to bite back the foam in her mouth.

The Duke’s gaze narrowed. His bloodshot eyes moved slowly.

‘Ah.’

Their eyes met.

The peacock’s eyes maneuvered.

“You snobbish rat.”

“She’s working in my house—“

“You can’t possibly mean that this ugly girl is my daughter.”

The Duke’s voice was low enough to be dangerous.

No matter what he explained by his side, the Marquis remained stiff and couldn’t continue his words.

The Marquis family and all the employees around him couldn’t even breathe.

I couldn’t spit out any words easily.

The room filled with stifling silence.

It was so thick and deep that even a needle wouldn’t fit in.

I curled my head, neck tucking towards my chest.

A scrawny rat, that’s the way it is, even I saw myself as shabby and ugly.

‘Oh, my God. You don’t like that I’m your daughter.’

You’ll want to deny it, but. . .

“Well, could you—could you still burn me?”

I gathered all my courage and courage and looked up the Duke.

I can’t live here anymore. I was almost sure I’d die at this rate.

The red pupil in his face warps.

“What?”

“Oh, it’s because I didn’t wash up. . .”

I moistened my mouth, trying to look as neat as possible.

“It won’t bother you. I can wash well even if I stand alone.”

It was like a thump in my ear.

“I’m good at cleaning rice, too! I can make a living. Because I’m eating a little bit of rice. . .”

The Duke was silent.

“I’ll also wipe your shoes every day! I can wipe it off like crazy!”

My courage is fading away.

I tried not to, but my head kept going down and I could only see his jawline, not his eyes.

“And, again, again—?“

His chin went stiff.

My head is facing the floor completely.

Clattier’s shoes were seen, with the cream’s grease left.

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I don’t like it here.

A warm, cozy, and relaxing place, I’ve always wanted to live in a place like that.

Even now, even in my previous life, I’ve always—

“—I want to go home . . .”

***

Mini Things to Note:

* * – Sound effects

” ” – Dialog

‘ ‘ – Thoughts

Italics – Flashbacks/ A memory of the past

——————————————————

Chapter 3

– – –

A quavering voice leaked out.

It was sad.

It was sad and depressing.

I feel like I’m alone in the world.

The Duke’s cold voice came above my head.

“You’re full of energy.”

Hic.

“It’s Dad!” I shouted and raised my head.

To be honest, when the Duke appeared, you couldn’t tell he was my father right away. So perhaps it was due to how the child looked that it was abandoned by it’s real father.

“Heug…”

I tried not to cry, but it seemed that tears came out of my eyes anyways.

The Duke’s face quickly became blurred.

Soon, I was courageous again, because I couldn’t see his cold and hardened face with the blurry vision.

“It’s my dad!”

Just as Clatier has the Marquis, I have you.

“I want to go home!”

Thick tears continued dripping down endlessly without fail. My nose became sour again.

I clenched my two small fists and hugged the Duke’s legs tightly.

I won’t miss this opportunity to leave.

“Dad, take me away—!”

【🌺 • 🌺 • 🌺】

“…”

“…”

It was too quiet. At first glance, it seemed that I could even hear the sound of swallowing around me.

I quietly opened my eyes.

At the same time as the tears that had formed fell, the face of Duke Paeraton was seen.

It was a terrifying face.

It wasn’t that he had a harsh expression or distorted his eyes. Rather, he had a face that was infinitely close to expressionless.

Still, I felt his blood colored eyes on me.

*Hiccup.*

Hiccups came out without realizing.

The Duke reached his hand out to me.

‘No! I won’t let go!’

I was desperately hanging on to his leg.

Although I was clutching his leg with all my might, Duke Paeraton easily grabbed me with one hand.

Contrary to expectations, he didn’t throw me away or yell at me to get lost at all. Instead, he raised me to his eye level and stared.

His red eyes and my eyes met at a distance.

At first, it was a look that I didn’t like.

Oh, what do you even like about me?

If I live continued to here, I would die, so I can’t help it!

*Hiccup.*

Unlike the bold (inwardly) shout, small hiccups kept leaking out.

The Duke raised one eyebrow at me before beginning to move, with me still picked up.

“Your Excellency.” The aide who was guarding his back like a shadow, called the Duke of Paeraton as if he was under a lot of pressure.

“Go back.”

However, the Duke left only those words and continued to step forward.

I wondered in the Duke’s arms every time he took another step.

‘If I really go back with him like this… will they take me in?’

My heart was pounding.

Finally, finally I escaped from this terrible place!

It was when I was looking at the door that was getting closer, step by step, without blinking my eyes.

“Ah.”

Suddenly, the Duke of Paeraton stood tall.

‘Why did you stop?’

I glanced up at him, but I couldn’t read anything from his expressionless face. Somehow, smoldering anxiety clawed up my insides.

With the exit close at hand, he turned around.

I, who was lifted up in the Duke’s arms, had no choice but to turn my back at the door as well.

‘Well, no way…’

My heart dropped all the way to the floor. I held the Duke as if I was holding my lifeline.

‘No! Don’t throw me away!’

That was the moment.

“Ahhhhhhhhh!”

A loud, terrifying scream rang through the hall.

‘What…?’

I held onto the Duke’s chest and stared at the source of the sound.

“It, it’s Tie!”

“Miss!”

“Oh what the hell is going on…”

The shape of Clatier was seen through the crowds of people.

Even without a dress, the cost of embroidered diamonds alone would cost billions.

“My, my dress! My dress is…….!”

Clatier sat down and gripped the tattered dress.

“Duke Paeraton!”

The Marquis covered Clatier’s shoulders and called the Duke with a deep blue face.

‘There’s no way that’s what the Duke did?’

The Duke didn’t even pull his sword out, and he wasn’t close enough to Clatier. But when I looked at the timing and the attitude of the Marquis, it seemed he did.

“Is your discernment lost? You shouldn’t be this greedy to point fingers.”

At the cold words of Duke Paeraton, the Marquis was bewildered.

I was amazed at his action of ignoring the Marquis, as if turning away without being punished immediately was completely normal.

The Marquis, who was so big that I couldn’t rebel, lowered his posture so easily now, but–.

‘He seemed like a person who had been stabbed.’

That was the most amazing thing.

“Oh, Dad!”

Clatier called the Marquis with a crying face, but the Marquis was currently overwhelmed by the Duke and could not pay attention to her.

The Duke turned around as if there was nothing else left to see.

I sighed with relief, still hanging on to his chest.

‘It’s a good thing, because you’re not leaving me.’

By the way, what was the Marquis stabbed by?

Leaving that question behind, I left this hellish place owned by the Marquis and headed for the home of the Duke of Paeraton.

【🌺 • 🌺 • 🌺】

‘The ceiling of the bed is so beautiful.’

I had seen it every day during my ten days or so at the mansion of the Duke of Paeraton, but I still haven’t gotten used to it.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I was surprised again, and I stretched out.

Ahhhh…

Even though I slept so comfortably like that, my eyeslids still felt quite heavy.

‘What time is it?’

The people here don’t wake me up no matter how much I oversleep. Thanks to this, I was able to sleep as much as I wanted.

When I wake up, I’m not unnoticed like a ghost, and people often enter the room like this.

“Did you just cough, young miss?”

“Yes, good morning.”

At my words, the maids and the other servants became silent.

I dipped my hands in the water and glanced at the maids and servants who stood like interior decorations.

‘They still have no expressions today.’

It’s been quite a while since I came here, but I have never even seen a smile from them. Only the necessary words and responses were exchanged.

‘At least they don’t seem to hate me…’

After washing my face, I came down from the bed.

The bed here was bigger than the beds I had commonly seen in my previous life, so it was difficult for me to get up and down with a small body.

Well, even in my previous life, the expensive beds were big because…

I’ve never had a bed.

After successfully landing on the rug with two feet, I tried to walk around.

‘Okay, my legs don’t hurt now either.’

There used to be a lot of pain when the muscle in the calf was used due to the wounds, but now there isn’t any pain at all.

It’s also been a long time since the cold went away. After coming to Paeraton’s residence, my health recovered rapidly.

Ever since I escaped the old days and slept in a warm blanket every night, I was in a better condition than before I got sick.

‘The Duke never comes to see me.’

Even if he was working at a slow pace, more than ten days passed.

In the mean time, I guess I can’t see the Duke.

‘I don’t really want you to come, though.’

When I first met him, it seemed that he didn’t think of me as a daughter.

I was a little ashamed to think about it then.

As an orphan in my previous life, I never had a family.

Uh, it was embarrassing.

‘No, this is a situation I can deal with because I am satisfied and I can protect myself.’

The feelings of shame or embarrassment were a luxury in the face of pain and hunger. Those emotions were easier to deal with.

“…”

‘I want to stay here forever.’

The thought swelled like a balloon in my heart.

I haven’t been told that I can continue to stay here.

‘But, before focusing on that, we should first figure out who the Duke is.’

The Duke seemed far from good words such as justice, guardianship, and peace.

‘He’s rather like a villain.’

From my long experience in romance fantasy, villains tend to fall into two main categories.

1. A villain who must be defeated like Marquis of Tarenka.

2. A villain\, a tyrant\, and a black curtain\, but actually a good person.

Number 2 is my favorite character attribute. And due to the flow of things right now, the Duke must be No. 2! This life, I was successful!

Finally, the day it will be sunlit even in the mouse hole……!

[TL Note: I think this is a way of saying that she’s finally getting something good after experiencing a harsh life for so long.]

—Is what I’d love to say, but after I was reincarnated, I’ve lived in the house of a devil all my life.

Last time, when I signed a reincarnation contract saying that I would get something good out of it, it was way worse than my previous life.

‘There wasn’t anything that he said was going to happen. I have to be vigilant.’

So, how do you know this?

‘I had to pay for the meal once.’

I said to the Duke, I can pay for the meal, so ask me to do it.

Like the Marquis, I can tolerate certain people, unless I was forced to do something unreasonable from the beginning.

I’ve been working since I was a baby, even in cold weather.

So let’s pay for the meal and see the reaction of the Duke.

If the Duke is No. 1, I’ll have to lay low and prepare to escape, and if he’s No. 2, then my life will be blooming with success!

I clenched my little fist.

‘Okay, let’s get to work!’

【🌺 • 🌺 • 🌺】

“May, the young miss……”

“This is what we…”

The employees of the Duke of Paeraton were always cold.

There were no missteps in the motions that seemed to be measured with a ruler, so I didn’t even know if they were there unless I checked it with my own eyes.

But now, they were embarrassed with a rare expression.

“Once you have it in your mind, you give the order to us.”

“I have to do it.” I responded simply and then wiped the window frame with great effort.

“But…”

“I was the one that decided to work like this and that’s why I came here.”

“Yes?”

At my words, the maids and servants were much more embarrassed than before. They exchanged their gazes for a moment, and then opened their mouths as if they were determined.

“There seems to be some sort of misunderstanding.”

“My lady is the youngest daughter of the Duke of Paeraton, she shouldn’t have come to work.”

“If I could have lived here because I was the young miss in this house, then I would have stayed here earlier.”

Not the Marquis of Tarenka.

“The illegitimate b*tch, who was abandoned by her own father, doesn’t even know her subject!”

The words of the Marquis were still stinging in my heart.

I denied it many times since it couldn’t possibly be right, but I knew the truth.

I was abandoned.

—I’ve never seen a parent who said that they’d return.

Moreover, the Duke of Paeraton made no promises to me.

‘An abandoned child can never truly become a child again.’

The iron door that had been coldly closed in front of my eyes in my previous life was reflected in the window.

“Young lady, that is…”

The maid opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but held her tongue as if it had dried up.

I continued to wipe the top of the frame as if trying to erase the illusion from the window would work.

【🌺 • 🌺 • 🌺】

“What are you doing here?”

At the sound of the cool voice from behind my back, I stopped washing the windows and turned around.

Under the afternoon sun, I saw a handsome man that looked as if he belonged in a picture.

It was the Duke of Paeraton, my father by paper.

‘It’s rare, but it looks like he came back early today.’

I asked him where he was many times while staying here, but every time, I was only given the answer that he was absent.

“I’m good at cleaning.”

Although it was originally clean, it is so transparent now that it seems as if the glass window did not exist.

I was confident.

But the Duke’s eyes were sharpened

“Who told you to do this useless thing.”

Useless?

“I said, I’ll pay for the meal— ack!”

“You’re still struggling.”

The Duke of Paeraton lifted me up before I even finished speaking.

He looked at me as if he was actually facing a decent thing, and then took a few steps with it.

I got nervous almost immediately.

No way, just because it’s useless, you’re trying to throw me out like this!?

But instead, where I arrived was at a dining hall.

“Eat.”

If I don’t eat, I will be killed.

It was definitely a tone that seemed to sound such a threat.

My stomach became as small as a bean, but I stretched my hand toward the plate anyways.

The Duke was staring at me while I was eating—it felt like a struggle to keep living.

His eyes are so sharp, ‘If I don’t eat, he might really kill me!’ That’s what I was thinking in that moment.

I wanted to put the bread in my mouth without care of where it would end up later.

But I also had my limitations.

“Can you eat all that?” The Duke asked, as soon as my hands stopped.

It was such a cold voice that even my bones were freezing.

I once again, stretched out my hand to the plate, but couldn’t put any food into my mouth.

It’s not a lie, it really seemed like I was going to burst because of how full I was.

“Would you be able to eat more?”

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Is it intimidation?

 Are you thinking of killing me by making my stomach burst!

‘This, this devil……!’

《Chapter 3 – End》