As I stood there dumbfounded, the guards spoke to Jas with a troubled expression.
“Sir Jas, please take this child with you. I’ve never seen His Highness so angry before. We fear something serious might happen.”
Jas’s icy gaze hardened towards me.
“Um…”
With a soft sigh, Jas placed his hand on my shoulder.
“Let’s go for now. I’ll explain everything as we walk.”
I nodded weakly. There was nothing more I could do here.
“His Highness has been searching for Miss Olivia continuously over the past six years.”
Walking down the corridor, Jas began to explain the events of the past six years to me.
“When Miss Olivia suddenly disappeared, I was a young knight-in-training. Even in my young eyes, His Highness seemed almost like a madman. He’s probably still in a state of shock now. He’s finally found Olivia after all this time, but she’s on the brink of death. So, try not to take what happened earlier to heart. Adults may seem mature, but sometimes they’re more immature than children. Ah, am I talking too much again?”
I quickly shook my head. Normally, I’d find talkative people annoying, but strangely, listening to Jas now wasn’t so bad.
“Don’t worry too much about your mother. His Highness knows more about demons than anyone else. He’ll definitely be able to save your mom’s life.”
Oddly enough, those words touched me deeply. Even when my mother collapsed and lost consciousness, I didn’t shed a tear.
Finally, I realized. Ah, I must have been deeply wounded in my heart right now.
I had thought of him as someone unrelated to me, but perhaps because he was my father, I felt a pang of sadness when he treated me like a worthless object. My mind went blank, and I couldn’t say a word.
I now understood that being rejected by a stranger and being rejected by family were entirely different. Yet somewhere deep inside, I had hoped he would treat me warmly.
What a foolish thought.
“Oh!”
Jas looked surprised as tears streamed down my face. He looked at me with a mixture of surprise and concern and then knelt down on one knee in front of me.
“Don’t cry,” he said gently, wiping my wet cheek.
“I’ll keep you updated about your mother. At times like this, all you need to do is eat and rest well. Show your mother a healthy face when she wakes up; she’ll be happy. Understand?”
I silently nodded, and he gently stroked my head.
“Earlier, were you running into the street to meet His Highness?”
“Yes.”
“It was reckless, but brave. His Highness will surely come to admire you.”
I didn’t believe that would ever happen.
If he cared even a little for his child, he wouldn’t have made the choice to follow my mother into death, as in the original. In this world, my mother was the only person who mattered to him.
As my tears began to subside, Jas asked,
“Oh, I forgot to ask, what’s your name?”
“Ar.”
He smiled broadly upon hearing it.
“Ar, huh? I’m Jas Rikaind. Just call me Jas. Our family has served His Highness for generations. It’s a bit of a complex concept for you, I suppose.”
Contrary to his thoughts, I knew very well about his lineage, the Count of Rikaind. About 50 years ago, the sudden death of the King of Castoria occurred. The cause was never revealed, but rumors spread ominously: the king’s body turned blue as if poisoned; it was said he had eaten food given by his younger brother the previous night, and such sinister tales proliferated.
The 10-year-old young prince, suddenly bereaved of his father overnight, was stripped of everything. The throne fell into the hands of his uncle, Marquis Nicholas, who soon after becoming king bestowed the seemingly grand title of Grand Duke on his young nephew and banished him to the harsh lands in the north.
Everyone knew that the new king hoped that his young nephew would either freeze to death or be killed by demons in the north.
However, contrary to those wishes, the prince stubbornly survived. He began to eradicate demons and develop the rugged land. The family that contributed the most in this process was the Count of Rikaind. Starting with him, the nobles of the North swore allegiance to the Grand Duke one by one.
The impoverished and monster-infested region transformed into prosperous lands in just 20 years.
Subsequently, the prince married and had a child. That child was my father, Karim Iskas.
It would have been wonderful if he could have lived happily ever after, but my father—Karim Iskas—was left alone at the age of 10, just like his father. His father, summoned to the royal palace, returned as corpse.
His death was also an unsolved mystery. The Grand Duchess, who was greatly shocked, also passed away not long after.
Thus, from a young age, my father harbored a great resentment towards the Castorian royal family. To him, they were the ruthless usurpers who had killed both his father and grandfather and stolen the throne.
For revenge, he meticulously disguised himself and became friends with the male protagonist of the original novel.
The male protagonist, Gerard Acanthus, was the head of the only ducal family in the kingdom.
The Acanthus Duchy was the oldest noble family in the kingdom and wielded considerable power, enough to even be noticed by the royal family.
The reason my father approached the Duke of Acanthus was because he was the person who would be the biggest obstacle if he were to commit a rebellion in the future.
Moreover, my grandfather losing the throne to his uncle and being driven out was also due to the powerful Duke of Acanthus, who favored placing Marquis Nicholas on the throne.
At that time, Duke Acanthus judged it better for Marquis Nicholas to become king rather than a powerless young child and cause chaos in the country. In return, he spared the prince’s life.
As a result, my father did not have a favorable view of the Acanthus family either.
However, he hid such dark feelings and smiled at the male protagonist. That’s how they became inseparable close friends.
Then one day, a beautiful and kind female protagonist, known as the “Miss Sunshine,” appeared before them.
The original story began right here.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
After escorting me to my room, Jas left again.
Now, all I could do was wait until my mother woke up. Lying in bed, I dreamed about the world I had inhabited before I possessed this body.
It was a world where science had developed to an extreme degree instead of magic. Tall buildings and cars driving on the roads. Airplanes flying in the sky. The people of this world had a lifestyle that was unimaginable to the people here.
Perhaps, to the people here, the world I lived in might seem like a utopia. In reality, although not perfect, everyone nominally had equality and could elect their own leaders. There were many problems there too, but I couldn’t know them all.
“Ar!”
I seemed to have drifted off for a moment. Someone was shaking me awake. When I opened my eyes, I saw Jas’s face.
“Are you awake?”
The room was dark, lit only by the flickering light of the candle Jas held in his hand. Looking out the window, it seemed to be midnight.
I quickly got up. I realized that Jas coming to see me at this hour wasn’t ordinary. Surely, something urgent must have brought him here in the middle of the night.
“Uh, is there something wrong with Mom?”
My lips trembled involuntarily. I was terrified that he would say that my mom had died.
Mom had worked herself to death because of me. This time, I wanted to protect her.
Was it going to end like this, so meaninglessly?
Then Jas smiled brightly.
“No, your mother just woke up. That’s why I came to get you.”
Before I could react, Jas took my hand and pulled me along.
“Let’s hurry. Miss Olivia is looking for you.”
