Episode 1: Dad was actually the heir to an evil family
I was sitting on the earthen wall of a house filled with blooming flowers, waiting for my dad.
With porcelain-like, white, and chubby cheeks, soft twin braids like a blanket, and round and flat legs evenly soaking up the sunlight, I started feeling good.
“Dad said he bought some meat! Meat!”
I happily smiled while swinging my short and chubby arms and legs like tissue rolls.
“Today is a beef party!”
Waiting for dad with only my head sticking out on top of the fence is boring for anyone. Moreover, even though I may call it my second life through reincarnation, due to penalties from the gods during my rebirth, my physical development was much slower than other kids.
They say a healthy mind resides in a healthy body.
For me, it was the opposite. Instead of gaining memories from my past life through reincarnation, I was born with a more immature body compared to others.
Unfortunately, the immature body sometimes affected my mature mind. Occasionally, it meant my mental age matched my physical age like a young child.
It was the same today.
I was about to puff up my cheeks with my round hands but stopped myself.
“Oh, this is such a babyish thing to do!”
I tried to censor myself, but for some reason, my body didn’t cooperate. The weather was lovely, and the wind even blew against my cheeks, making me feel sleepy.
“I feel like a real baby. I hope Dad comes soon.”
Besides, days like today were too challenging for a baby to endure sleepiness…
The sunlight was lazy, the air was cool, and my cheeks felt warm. On a day like this, I dozed off while sitting on the fence.
How many hours had I slept like that?
“Hey, little one.”
I quickly blinked my closed eyes and looked ahead.
“Yes?”
I widened my round eyes and tilted my head. Knights wielding swords or spears surrounded our house, the small earthen wall, and me. The glimmering armor reflecting the light made me tilt my head.
“Is there no adult here?”
“Adult?”
“Yeah, the man who lives here. Isn’t he around?”
It seemed like they were referring to our dad.
Instinctively, I sensed danger and lied.
“He’s gone to work.”
“Is that man… with blue eyes and black hair, around thirty years old?”
The knight approached with friendly words.
His eyes were darting back and forth. The look in his eyes reminded me of con artists who would steal my dad’s money. It made me uncomfortable.
‘Thinking about it, they might be looking for dad. It’s suspicious.’
If they are talking about my dad, he’s the most innocent and kind person in the village…
A total pushover.
He has such a kind heart that he even donates money to the villagers under the guise of charity. He doesn’t accept any remuneration for his work and always smiles cheerfully.
As I reminisced about my dad, who used to make dumpling buns that were so full of filling they would burst, I suddenly felt a foreboding sense of unease.
Finally, did my dad get involved in such a serious matter that even scary knights came running? Was he falsely accused of someone else’s wrongdoing?
Dad is smart, but he’s so kind that he always ends up at a loss. Sometimes, he even offered guarantees for others.
Every time that happened, I would lure them with cuteness by offering a plump potato from our yard and manage to cancel the guarantees. People in the neighborhood knew me as the adorable kid, and they couldn’t resist petting my head like a soft-boiled egg before leaving.
‘I wonder if my aegyo (cuteness) will work on these knights?’
I sighed and puffed up my cheeks like a deflating cream bun as I spoke.
“I don’t know. There’s no one like that here.”
Using my sparkling eye-rolling skill, I looked up at them.
The knight who caught my gaze tightened his lips. I squinted my eyes, wondering if it was a failure, but the knight said, “You’re really cute.”
Indeed, my cuteness resonated throughout the entire world.
Internally, I smirked darkly and boldly replied, “I know!”
“B-but… Could you, maybe, hold my hand just once…”
Watching the knight opening his mouth like a fool and slowly extending his hand, I shook my head vigorously.
“Not gonna happen.”
The knight quickly regained his senses and gestured towards another man standing beside him.
“What should we do now?”
“We came here after hearing reports that someone is here, but this is a big issue.”
“Should we withdraw for now? Should we come back tomorrow?”
Ignoring their words, I pretended to hum casually while thinking, ‘Phew, thankfully, our dad is excluded from their target.’
The chattering knights kept stealing glances at me, but that’s not important!
I pursed my lips and loaded imaginary bullets into my sparkling eyes.
‘I’ll ask dad about what happened at night and suggest we escape if it’s a big problem. Yeah, that should work.’
In the Thirty-Six Stratagems, there’s a rule: if dangerous enemies appear, escape is the answer!
However, it was precisely at that moment when I bit my lips and thought about my dad’s future.
“Sien!”
…Oh no.
‘Isn’t this my foolish dad’s voice? Why did he come so quickly? I need to send those knights away quickly!’
I opened my eyes wide and turned my head towards where the voice came from. Seeing me turn, the knights also turned their heads in the same direction.
“Sien! I brought the meat—”
“Hmm. Shh!”
I quickly took a deep breath. Waving my hands to signal him to go away was just an extra measure.
However, my dad ignored my urgent rescue sign, narrowed his eyes, and then swiftly ran towards me.
The problem was that my dad’s every step was as fast as a Swordmaster’s.
He may have a gentle demeanor, but his physical abilities were unparalleled. Due to his dedication to farming, he had developed incredibly strong and muscular arms.
‘It seems like my dad’s approach is threatening to the knights!’
It was not good to provoke the knights; it was a big problem.
Last time, when I was nearly attacked by a threatening monster chicken, Dad demonstrated extraordinary abilities.
And it seemed to be the same today.
Perhaps he thought I was in danger, as a resolute glint appeared in Dad’s innocent eyes.
‘Dad, you’re so fast!’
In the perilous moment with knights crowded around, my dad was running towards us, carrying a bag full of meat and trying his best to protect me.
He was rushing towards us as if to protect me, the kindest and only one on my side, my dad.
“Who are you?”
Dad narrowed his eyes, and with a stern and serious tone, he asked the knights.
I let out a long sigh.
‘Why did you come now, silly Dad!’
Those knights could be very, very dangerous. I tried to brush them off with my cuteness, but with Dad arriving so quickly, I couldn’t save him.
But it was precisely at the moment when I was about to kick those knights away with my foot.
“I am the first Mirmod, Sir Matthias Mirmod. I greet you. It’s time to end this game and return.”
My foot, which was about to kick the knights away, froze midway.
‘…What? What did you say? Mirmod?’
The Mirmod family.
An infamous existence in the empire, a family involved in all kinds of fraud, illegal activities, and crimes.
A place where every member is specialized in magic or swordsmanship, and they have been known to commit crimes, including murder, without hesitation.
‘These knights’ sharp eyes must have mistaken something. Calling my dad scarier than a tiger, they must be wrong.’
I clenched my plump fists and tried to object. No, that’s not right. Our dad’s connection to the ‘Mirmord’ has nothing to do with it. So, I told them to leave.
But right at that moment, my dad asked solemnly as if it were obvious.
“You want me to finish the game and return?”
At that moment, a blush spread across my white cheeks.
His calm response made me feel like he was a real Mirmod Wangja (Prince of Mirmod). I blinked in surprise.
***
…Surprisingly, it seems like our dad is indeed that Mirmod Wangja.
Since the knights visited, our humble country home disappeared and turned into rubble.
And…
Dad and I were dragged and brought to the strange and dangerous Mirmod Ducal Palace.
The palace seemed gloomy and eerie.
It was tough to come to terms with the fact that my simple-minded dad was not just an innocent country farmer.
So, let me summarize what happened.
In reality, our dad was the first Wangja (Prince) of the Mirmod family. He was exiled for reasons he couldn’t talk about, but finally, the exile order was lifted, or something like that.
‘Our kind-hearted dad is part of the Mirmod family? The Mirmod family is a villainous family in the novel. This is unbelievable.’
This place was the world inside the novel I had half-read, <The Life of Melodia>. It was a novel that depicted the beautiful love story of the Crown Prince and Saint Melodia, but as the protagonist was a prince, it also frequently involved political power struggles.
In the novel, the antagonist with a strong presence is undoubtedly the formidable ‘Mirmord Family,’ the archenemy of the Crown Prince. They employ all sorts of dangerous means like deception, evil deeds, violence, and gambling. They are the typical villainous family that everyone fears and respects…
Moreover, within the Mirmod family, internal conflicts and killings occurred constantly. They killed each other to become the successor, to become the Duke, or to acquire dangerous but powerful magical artifacts and relics.
News of people dying every day was commonplace there. And no one found it strange.
In the end, it was a villainous family that met its doom under the hands of the prince.
The problem was this.
My dad’s name, “Martius,” didn’t even appear in the novel.
In other words, our dad wasn’t even a character and maybe was just an extra who got killed?
‘Ha, a kind person like our dad doesn’t fit with a villainous family. But why was he summoned here…?’
Since he didn’t fit, Dad might have voluntarily retreated to the countryside. Our dad wasn’t one to strive to become the successor. He wasn’t a ruthless person who could participate in the successor war, and if the other party wanted to become the successor, he would gladly step aside and support them.
‘Could they have summoned Dad to remove the successor contention?’
The cozy country home where Dad and I used to be together had already been destroyed.
Our family was in a state of displacement, wandering around with nowhere to go.
In this situation, if the villains were to harass our dad…
An emergency warning sign flashed in my mind.
As in the original story, it seemed inevitable for us innocent people to become pawns of the villains.
I was deeply troubled, and my once rosy cheeks turned pale.
‘Can Dad and I survive here?’
Various worries swirled in my mind, making it difficult to eat and sleep.
Dad, sharp as ever, noticed my state.
“What are you thinking, my daughter?”
I let out another big sigh and looked around.
This place seemed to be used as a meeting room for the villains’ family, and it felt eerie and intimidating.
“There seem to be skulls scattered around the floor here and there, but it must be my imagination. Surely, it’s just a misunderstanding.”
Nonchalantly sitting on the eerie chair with skull patterns, Dad gently placed me on his lap and embraced me in his arms, comforting me by patting my shoulder.
“It’s okay, our daughter. You must be very tired, right? Let’s finish this quickly and go to bed.”
Dad smiled like a fool as he gently ruffled my hair.
This was a critical situation for survival, yet Dad was acting so carefree amidst this dangerous family.
‘This is unbelievable!’
Suddenly, I found myself worrying about survival with my foolish dad. I felt frustrated and helpless. I had only been excited about catching crayfish today and looking forward to having pork for dinner tomorrow.
‘But there’s nothing we can do about this situation.’
I sighed heavily, then lightly slapped Dad’s arm while resting my body on his lap.
“There, Dad.”
“Hmm?”
Dad responded with a warm laugh, and his big hand gently played with my two pigtails.
He had carefully braided my pigtails this morning, but they had slightly come undone during our entry into this family, which bothered me.
I let out a long breath and leaned my small body against Dad’s broad chest.
“Don’t worry, Dad. I’ll protect you!”
This place felt like a venomous zone, full of danger. It wouldn’t be strange for villains to appear anytime.
Although my arms were trembling like sausages, I couldn’t help it.
I glared fiercely into the air.
They would unveil the curtains soon, and the villains would appear, right?
Then, I had no choice but to protect Dad.
‘Scary and dangerous monster villains, back off! I’ll protect our Dad!’
As I was mustering up my fighting spirit, Dad squeezed my hand that was holding him and whispered gently.
“You don’t have to protect me, Sien.”
His voice contained a faint hint of laughter.
“Dad will protect you. My daughter.”
His thick muscular arms that enveloped me and his hands, filled with unknown calluses, seemed quite impressive, but considering Dad’s soft personality, they didn’t appear too imposing. My soft and chubby arms would probably feel more reliable, wouldn’t they?
I let out a deep sigh.
I’m really worried about my silly dad and our future…
