BSRF 02

Chapter 2

Life inside the novel gradually became familiar, and it had long been since I stopped pretending to be sick.

It was actually a pretty satisfying life. At this rate, I thought I could adapt well and live comfortably here too.

At least, until that happened.

One day during a meal, Father carefully spoke up.

“Shiona, the Berg Ducal House has invited you to their estate. They said they wish to personally apologize.”

“The ducal house?”

“Yes. It seems they feel greatly responsible for your injuries.”

“But they already apologized.”

I had clearly heard that the Berg family had already paid an enormous amount of jewels and gold as compensation. So there was no reason for them to seek my forgiveness now.

“Still, it seems they wish to meet you in person and check on your condition. They said they haven’t been able to sleep from guilt ever since you collapsed.”

Looking at Father’s troubled expression, I thought for a moment.

The Berg Ducal House was one of only three ducal families in the Perunia Empire. On top of that, thanks to the wealth and prestige they had accumulated over countless years, their influence rivaled even that of the emperor himself.

A family lacking nothing was inviting me over just to apologize?

‘Could it be the person who hit me with the carriage was Duke Berg himself?’

If it was Duke Berg, then he would currently be the male lead’s father. And the male lead was probably around my age right now. Becoming close with the male lead certainly wouldn’t hurt me.

‘Wait a second… this is interesting?’

In an instant, the plot of a romance novel completed itself inside my head.

Two people who happened to meet by chance at a young age. As they slowly grew closer and watched each other mature, strange feelings began to bloom…

No…! They thought they were just friends…?

Emotions changing from friendship into love… the two of them wavering…

It was a cliché development, but romance was always best when it was predictable.

‘This is good.’

I nodded with a pleased smile before shouting toward Father.

“Then of course I should go!”

The ducal estate we arrived at two days later was astonishing.

First, I was shocked by the sheer size of the ducal mansion, which was more than twice as large as our own estate.

Then I was shocked again because the person who invited me was a middle-aged man with a thick beard.

‘Is this Duke Berg?’

Clutching the hem of my dress, I bent my knees slightly toward him. Since I still wasn’t used to greetings learned merely by observation, my voice naturally came out small.

“Thank you for inviting—”

“You’re really completely recovered? My goodness! How can such a miracle exist?!”

“Yes, Duke Berg—”

“This is a blessing from the heavens! A child who survived being struck by a carriage!”

And Duke Berg was, astonishingly, the type of person who only talked about himself.

“Ah, ever since your accident, I haven’t closed my eyes peacefully for even a single day because of guilt.”

For someone saying that, his face looked rather well-fed and shiny with oil.

‘He looks like he’s been eating and sleeping just fine…’

“What can I do to ease your anger? Perhaps you should just hit me once instead?”

But I didn’t hold any grudge against the duke. After all, I wasn’t actually the one who got hit by the carriage, and when I woke up, all the wounds had already healed perfectly.

I tried to politely refuse.

“No, I—”

“Yes! That sounds good! One hit? Why stop there? You can hit me as much as you want until you feel better.”

He bent down to my eye level. Seeing him offering his cheek as if telling me to hurry and hit him made my brows furrow automatically.

“Go on, hit me already.”

‘What exactly does he want me to do…?’

Was he seriously telling me to hit him?

I hesitated for a moment, clenching and unclenching my fist.

This man… seemed like the type who would never back down. The kind of person who had to have things go exactly his way before he could be satisfied.

In that case, I just wanted this troublesome situation to end quickly.

He was the one who asked for it, so he couldn’t complain later. Besides, how strong could I possibly be?

I lightly tightened my fist.

Then I swung my arm toward the head in front of me.

Only then did Father realize what was happening and shout.

“Shiona! No!!”

But even Father’s cry couldn’t stop my fist once it had gained momentum.

The moment my punch struck the duke’s head, an enormous sound rang out—far too loud to believe it came from such a small hand.

CRACK!

“Guhk!”

The duke fell backward with a scream. I had hit his head, yet blood was pouring from his nose.

“Ah…”

Father froze in place and let out a groan toward the collapsed duke.

Caught in the unexpected situation, I blankly looked once at the duke and then at my own hand.

The duke wasn’t moving at all, as if he had fainted.

Sure, I put a little strength into it, but I hadn’t hit him that hard. Yet he collapsed from the hand of a mere thirteen-year-old?

A bad feeling crept all over my body.

Could this be some sort of plot by the ducal family to frame Father? Had our family fallen into a massive trap?

I swallowed nervously and quickly looked around. But no one came rushing to arrest us.

Father closed his eyes and muttered something under his breath. It looked like he was praying to the gods.

Then, from behind a white marble pillar, a man with brilliant golden hair stepped out. It seemed he had witnessed everything.

He wore a slightly surprised expression at first, but quickly composed himself and approached me. His sharp eyes seemed to be assessing something.

“So you are Shiona Rodriguez?”

I gave a small nod.

His gaze shifted toward my hand.

“Hm…”

After stroking his chin thoughtfully, he turned and grabbed Father by the shoulders.

“Marquis, would you entrust this child to me?”

“What? What do you mean…?”

The man’s expression was grave, while Father awkwardly smiled in confusion.

“I witnessed everything just now.”

“Your Grace, Shiona merely granted Lord Delicion’s request. The child has done nothing wrong. She’s simply a little strong and sturdy.”

That was only natural. I hadn’t done anything wrong. If there was anyone at fault, it was the duke lying unconscious over there—

‘Wait. Your Grace?’

Repeating Father’s words in my head, I looked between the collapsed man and the newly arrived one.

The two didn’t resemble each other very much, but the appearance of the man standing before Father immediately reminded me of someone.

The man with dazzling blond hair and blue eyes looked strikingly similar to the appearance described for the male lead in the novel.

No, more accurately, it looked like how the male lead would appear once he grew up.

‘Then this man is Duke Berg… the male lead’s father?’

Even while I was trying to figure that out, the duke continued persuading Father.

“I’m not trying to assign blame. Yes, she’s strong and sturdy. Recovering within days after being struck by a carriage, and possessing enough strength to knock down an adult man in a single blow—those are not abilities just anyone has.”

For some reason, it felt like the conversation was heading in a strange direction.

‘Strong and sturdy? What’s with all this talk about strength?’

As if answering my question, the duke continued.

“Marquis, your child possesses natural talent. Wouldn’t you agree she has the makings of an excellent knight?”

“Your Grace, she is still just a child.”

“I heard Alonso Vargas of the Imperial Knights grasped a sword the moment he learned to walk.”

I frowned while listening to the duke.

Alon… who? Who’s that? And why are they talking about me among themselves instead of asking me directly?

“The Empire currently needs talented individuals. With monsters continuously increasing and neighboring kingdoms gradually expanding their power, isn’t it time for us to devote ourselves even more to the Empire?”

Father rubbed his face and muttered quietly.

“So this is how it ends after all… Yes, perhaps I always suspected this day would come eventually.”

‘Excuse me, Father…?’

I stared up at him in shock, wondering what exactly I was hearing.

“Shiona, even when you broke chairs as a baby, or when this father of yours couldn’t walk for a month after you kicked my leg in a tantrum—”

‘I don’t remember any of that.’

But Father looked at me with a sorrowful smile.

“All I ever wished for was for you to be healthy.”

The duke approached Father, whose expression had darkened, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Both of them looked far too serious for this to be a joke.

Which only made me more anxious.

“This is all for the Empire.”

“For the Empire…”

Even Father’s expression became solemn.

This was bad.

A chill ran down the back of my neck.

Instinctively, I could tell the greatest crisis of my life had just arrived.

Panicking, I looked around for someone—anyone—who might help me.

And then I spotted a child watching everything from behind a distant wall.

The boy, who looked around my age, had facial features identical to the duke’s.

‘It’s you!’

I recognized at a glance that he was the male lead.

I smiled brightly and tried to approach him.

But the moment I saw his expression, I froze.

The future protagonist was glaring at me with intense hostility. He alternated his gaze between me and his father, his eyes burning fiercely.

‘Why…? Isn’t this our first time meeting today?’

Anyone looking would think I had personally wronged him somehow.

Huh? Wait a second…

Then suddenly, I remembered the male lead’s backstory that I had completely forgotten.

The male lead’s past…!

I had forgotten that he suffered from severe affection deprivation during childhood.

A cold father devoted only to the Empire, and a mother who died giving birth to him.

Though he felt lonely from the absence of family, he pretended otherwise while secretly yearning for love.

Since he was still young right now, this was probably the period where he desperately struggled to earn his father’s recognition.

Which meant that, from his perspective, I looked like a thief who had stolen away his father’s attention!

‘That’s not it…! It’s a misunderstanding!’

I reached out, trying to explain myself, but the protagonist turned away and disappeared without looking back.

After that, my life flowed in a completely different direction from the plans I had made.

The duke recommended that I join the knight order. He even promised not to spare any financial support.

My parents gave me the right to choose, but their hearts already seemed completely won over by the duke’s persuasion.

Their eyes were full of affection as they looked at their proud daughter.

And that affection felt unbearably heavy to me.

In the end, I reluctantly joined the knight order thinking I would merely observe for a short while before returning home.

Instead, I ended up spending ten whole years there.

Ten years.

At the time, it had felt unbearably long.

But looking back now, it had passed in an instant.

The duke’s judgment had been correct.

There was no one in the Empire capable of defeating me.