Prologue
The failed love of others is delicious.
I was no different. While reading the romance fantasy novel ‘The Wind and Flowers Spoke to You’, I found myself more engrossed in the story of the sub-couple with a tragic ending than in the main couple, who had a happy ending.
This novel, which was quite popular, had a rather bland narrative for the main couple, whereas the sub-couple’s story was filled with settings that readers would love.
For instance, the sub-male lead, who held the position of Grand Duke of the North, was both the male lead’s friend and the final villain. He lived a life driven by revenge and ultimately led himself to ruin.
This Grand Duke had a long-time mistress, but due to his excessive pride and denial, he only realized his true feelings for her too late. Specifically, it was after she took an arrow for him.
It was only after she collapsed, bleeding, that he understood that his feelings for her were not mere possessiveness but genuine love.
However, tragically, the sub-female lead met her death right then. Until her dying moment, she never knew he loved her.
“My love for you won’t change, even if you don’t love me.”
Those were her final words.
Having realized that he had lost the most precious thing in his life, the sub-male lead abandoned all thoughts of revenge and chose to take his own life.
Someone’s sad ending becomes another’s happy ending. This novel also completed the happy ending of the main characters through the tragic love story of the sub-couple.
To be honest, I was satisfied with the ending, having enjoyed the tragic love story of the sub-couple.
The problem was, this was the story of my mother and father.
I had transmigrated into the body of the daughter of the sub-couple who had a failed love story.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
“Do you see the person on the black horse at the front? That’s Grand Duke Iskas.”
Listening to Tom, I looked down from under the roof. Knights clad in armor were marching in line down the street filled with red rooftops.
Emblazoned on their chests was the symbol of a black dragon, the emblem of the Grand Duchy of Iskas, the guardian of the North.
“Ar, are you really going to do it?”
Tom had been looking at me with a restless expression for a while now. Ignoring his worry, I nodded.
“Yes, I’m going to do it.”
“But you could die doing this. The moment you jump in front of the Grand Duke, you’ll be cut down by his sword!”
Tom’s face had already turned pale. However, I calmly replied.
“There’s no other way.”
I had tried every method to get close to Grand Duke Iskas, but all failed. A commoner girl from the village could not get near someone of his noble status.
So, this was the only option left for me.
“If I don’t do this, mom will die.”
Not long ago, our village was attacked by demons. Many people were killed and injured.
Unfortunately, my mother was also attacked by one. The wound itself was not large, but as the demon’s claw grazed her arm, she was poisoned by its deadly venom. Within days, she lost consciousness and began to hover between life and death.
After much difficulty, I brought a doctor to our home, but after examining my mother, he said,
“It’s too late. The poison has already spread throughout her body. She will die in a few days, so go find a priest.”
My mother’s complexion was deathly pale, as if she could die at any moment.
In the original story, she died instead of the Grand Duke of Iskas. But as a result of my meddling with the original plot, she was now at risk of dying even sooner.
“Recently, with so many people dying from monster attacks, it’s not easy to receive a priest’s blessing. If you don’t want her body to rot, listen to me.”
Here, you needed a priest’s blessing to conduct a proper funeral. A body that hadn’t received the priest’s blessing was considered unholy and couldn’t be buried in the cemetery.
The doctor was saying that if I wanted my mother’s body to be properly buried, I had to find a priest first.
The neighbors said the same thing. They told me there was nothing more I could do and that it was time to let her go.
But I couldn’t bring myself to do that.
It was because I had come to love and pity this woman who had been my mother over the years.
Born into a poor family, she had been sold off by her father to the Grand Duke’s household, where she fell in love with a man. Despite being ignored by him all her life, she ultimately sacrificed herself for him—a foolish and pitiful woman.
Even though she had led such a hard life, she poured all her love into her daughter, me. She would go days without eating but always brought me warm bread, and once she even ran into a burning house to save me.
I never wanted to give my mother such a miserable end.
But with no other options, I was at my wit’s end until I heard an unexpected piece of news. The Grand Duke of Iskas was coming here to exterminate the demons.
Was it divine intervention for my mother or a cruel joke from the gods that we could never escape our fate?
Either way, I decided to let him know about my mother and me. It would be best if he could save her, but even if he couldn’t, she had to meet him before she died.
Her final moments needed to be in his arms. That would be the happiest death for her.
“Ar…”
I reminded Tom, who was still filled with worry.
“Just like we promised, if something happens to me, you must bring him to my mother. Got it?”
“What is your connection with Grand Duke Iskas to do something like this?”
“He’s my father.”
“What?”
Ignoring Tom’s shocked cry, I immediately stood up and ran to the edge of the roof. My plan was to jump down as Grand Duke Iskas passed by. It was the only way to meet him.
They say that knights trained through rigorous drills and real battlefield experience act on instinct when in danger.
If I suddenly appeared in front of them, I might be struck down by their swords.
‘But I have no choice.’
I quietly bit my lip.
‘I can’t let my mother die like this.’
I tightly grasped the ring hanging from a string around my neck. He would surely recognize what this ring meant.
It was none other than the ring he had given my mother.
Luckily, the roof’s low slope meant I wouldn’t break any bones if I jumped down. Of course, the biggest problem was that I might die before I even had a chance to break any bones.
The procession was approaching the spot where I was standing. As they drew near, I jumped off the roof without hesitation.
“Who are you!”
As soon as I hit the ground, the knights drew their swords with lightning speed. A cold, sharp blade came straight at me.
Seeing the sword about to strike me, I tightly shut my eyes. Was I really going to die like this without even getting a word out, just as Tom had warned?
Clang!
Just as the sword was about to strike, a loud metallic sound echoed through the air, followed by the sound of a horse’s rough breathing.
Purrrrrr. Purrrrrr.
The sound of a horse’s hooves pawing the ground echoed right next to my ear. Only then did I realize I was still alive.
When I opened my eyes, I saw the hooves of a horse standing on the ground. As I looked up, I saw the black mane of the horse.
And atop the horse was a huge man. His shadow blocked the heat of the sun. Through the backlight, I could see dark black hair and contrastingly clear emerald green eyes.
The man’s intense gaze, as sharp as a well-honed blade, was fixed on me.
‘Your eyes are just like your father’s.’
My mother would always say that when she looked at my face. She would always have a longing expression on her face, saying that the oasis in the distant desert must have this color.
So I was certain. This man was truly my father.
“Your Highness?”
A startled voice spoke up then. The knight’s sword, which had been aimed at me, was blocked by the Grand Duke.
I swallowed as I looked at the two swords crossed right in front of my neck. If the Grand Duke hadn’t intervened, I really would have died.
“It’s dangerous. Don’t let your guard down just because it’s a child.”
Despite the knight’s warning, the Grand Duke’s gaze remained fixed on me. No, to be precise, it was fixed on the ring swinging near my neck.
“Step back immediately!”
But the Grand Duke moved in the opposite direction of what the knight intended. He forcefully knocked the knight’s sword away and guided his horse closer to me.
“…That ring.”
As the man murmured those words in a peculiar tone, I grabbed the leather necklace string and tore it off. A ring hanging from the string glinted in the sunlight.
I held it out to him.
“Your Highness, the Grand Duke, you surely know what this is.”
His gaze fixed on the surface of the ring. The moment he saw the black dragon insignia engraved there, his dark eyebrows twitched noticeably.
“Olivia Hazel, that’s my mother’s name!”
