I Reincarnated as the Daughter of the Runaway Sub Heroine

 

Unlike me, who remained unfazed after being hit by the prince moments ago, Persis was sent flying by my punch.

I didn’t stop there; I climbed on top of Persis, who was lying on the grass, and continued to rain down punches.

“Apologize? Who should really be apologizing? You should apologize!”

It was the prince, not the mysterious boy in the hood, who had blood streaming from his nose. Even seeing the blood didn’t ease my anger; I was fuming. I felt like breaking one of his limbs.

“Who do you think you are to insult my mother? What do you know, anyway?”

Just as I was about to swing my fist again, someone suddenly grabbed me from behind and pulled me away from Persis.

“Let go!”

I struggled wildly. Only then did another boy, who had been watching the scene in shock, rush over to help Persis up.

“Calm down. I’m trying to help you!”

At the sound of the young boy’s voice behind me, I stopped struggling and turned around.

He was another boy my age. With his clean platinum hair and bright blue eyes, he looked like a figure carved from ice.

Who is this kid, and why is he trying to help me?

While I took a moment to catch my breath, Persis, supported by the other boy, finally regained his composure. He wiped his nose with his sleeves.

“…You!”

Seeing the blood smeared on his face, Persis’s expression twisted in anger. Then he immediately grabbed the riding whip at his waist.

What, is he going to swing that at me? For revenge?

Persis raised the whip high.

I froze as it flew toward me, but the boy behind me suddenly leaped forward. He drew a sword and sliced the whip in half.

Persis shouted angrily, “Hyun, what are you doing?!”

“What are you doing, attacking a defenseless person?”

“Shut up! I won’t let that guy get away with this.”

“Persis, are you really going to swing a whip at a lady?”

At those words, both I and Persis were taken aback. Persis pointed at me.

“L-lady? You mean she’s a girl?”

“Yes, so stop it.”

“But she’s wearing boy’s clothes, so why is she a girl?”

That idiot seems to think that anyone in men’s clothing must be a man.

Ah, right. He’s seven years old, isn’t he? Such reactions might be normal for a child.

The platinum-haired boy blocking Persis was surprisingly mature for his age.

“Just look at her; she’s obviously a girl.”

And that statement surprised me once again. What is this? Do the duchess and this kid have some kind of gender detection ability?

Then I realized that the platinum-haired boy’s face looked somewhat familiar. Yes, he resembled someone I knew. The name “Hyun” also sounded familiar.

Hyun, Hyun…

Hyperion?

The original protagonists’ son was named Hyperion. The twins’ names were Ivette and Hyperion.

So that explains how he figured out my gender. He must have heard it from the duchess already.

“A-a girl…? I got beaten by a girl…?”

The prince seemed to be in shock from an utterly unexpected realization. While he stood there dazed, a man’s voice suddenly boomed from behind.

“What are you doing right now?!”

I turned around in shock and was stunned to see my parents, along with His Majesty, standing there.

The expressions on their faces as they looked at us were all the same—utter disbelief. It was no wonder, as this place was a complete mess.

The prince with a bloody nose and the grand duke’s daughter who had been slapped. And then there was the duke’s son, who had drawn his sword against the prince, claiming it was to protect me.

I had acted impulsively, without thinking things through, but now that the situation had escalated to this point, I was the one who was most at a loss. After all, the prince was the one who had been hurt the most in this whole ordeal.

“Your Majesty…”

This is bad…

The prince’s face was a picture of distress, and I could feel the weight of the situation bearing down on me. If he were to report this incident to his father, I would be in big trouble.

“Persis, your face… Who dared to do this to you!”

As expected, the king was furious. While I rolled my eyes, trying to think of how to resolve the situation, an unexpected voice rang out.

“Prince, did you just use violence against my daughter?”

My father, with a very angry expression, stared at my reddened cheek before looking back at the whip the prince was holding.

“To me, it looks like the prince not only slapped my daughter but also tried to whip her. And it seems Hyperion intervened. Is that correct?”

I looked at my dad with a truly astonished expression.

Indeed, the eyes of someone who had been through war seemed different. Like a detective identifying a suspect just from the crime scene, my father seemed to have figured everything out from the circumstances alone, and he was only picking out the details that favored me.

“W-well, she hit me first…”

“Ugh!”

Seizing the moment, I quickly covered my cheek and sank to the ground. In a teary voice, I pleaded my case.

“Actually, I wanted to be friends with the prince and approached him, but he slapped me first…”

Just moments ago, I had been swinging my fists, but now I was acting like the tragic heroine, and the prince gaped at me in shock.

“What’s wrong with you! Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”

“It’s all my fault. Someone like me shouldn’t be friends with the prince…”

“Th-that’s!”

I couldn’t help but laugh inwardly as I looked at the almost frantic little boy.

No way, kid. You’re not going to get away with this.

Inside the six-year-old Arcadia was an adult who had already experienced the ups and downs of life. That little brat was no match for me.

The king scolded Persis with a fearsome expression.

“Persis, is that true? Did you really hit the princess first?”

“It’s true that I hit her first, but…”

“So you admit that you laid hands on a lady.”

“Uh…I…”

The prince eventually shut up and looked down, unable to respond to the king’s repeated questioning.

The king let out a deep sigh, briefly covering his forehead with his hand before lowering it. He then apologized to my father.

“I’m sorry, Karim. I’ve raised my son poorly and caused harm to your precious daughter. I apologize on behalf of my son.”

“Not only that, but the prince also attempted to injure my daughter with a whip.”

My father pointed out the crucial detail without missing a beat.

“It’s shocking enough that he laid hands on a girl, but to swing a whip at her? This is absolutely unacceptable.”

“Y-yes, I apologize for that as well. Please, for my sake, let this matter go lightly. Persis, you should apologize to Princess Iskas as well.”

“But Father, I was hurt more…”

“Persis!”

At the king’s roar, Persis flinched. He then quickly bowed his head towards me.

“I’m sorry.”

I blinked in surprise at how easily the apology came out. Huh? I thought he would argue until the end?

In any case, now that it had come to this, it felt awkward to press the matter further. Having burst the prince’s nose and received apologies from both the king and the prince, I suppose I should be satisfied with that.

“Yeah, right.”

With the two nobles having apologized neatly and me accepting their apologies, the incident was settled for now.

Persis left to receive treatment for his injuries, and a warm compress was placed on my swollen cheek.

“Oh my, Arcadia…”

Then my mother hugged me tightly. In her arms, I quietly closed my eyes.

You know, Mom, I don’t regret hitting that guy at all. If anyone insults you, I won’t let them off, even if they’re a king.

Meanwhile, my father approached Hyperion to express his gratitude.

“Hyperion, thank you for helping my daughter.”

“It’s nothing. I’m glad I could be of assistance.”

Hyperion smiled, a smile so well-groomed and neat that it was hard to believe it belonged to a child.

You know how it is. Just the right amount, as if he had been highly trained for a long time.

‘My son is really handsome.’

I recalled the words of the duchess from last time and scrutinized Hyperion’s face.

Indeed, he had the kind of looks that the duchess could take pride in. While the prince was also quite handsome, Hyperion had a completely different charm.

If I had to categorize it, it would be the cool, aloof type? The kind of guy who would send cold disdain towards women who desperately wanted to get close, saying, “I’m not interested in ladies” before turning away?

As I pondered this and stared, Hyperion turned his head toward me. In a moment of embarrassment, he walked over to me.

“Hello, Arcadia. I’m Hyperion Acanthus.”

He then extended his hand toward me.

“We didn’t get to introduce ourselves properly.”

Ah, right. I hurriedly extended my hand and grabbed Hyperion’s.

“Um, nice to meet you. My name is Arcadia…”

At that moment, Hyperion spun my hand around and pressed his lips to the back of it.

I froze for a moment.

What is this? Is he a genius at romance? A flirting prodigy?i