Chapter 1. A Five-Year-Old Must Hide to Survive
The underground space, barely seven pyeong (approximately 23 square meters), was dark and damp.
How did I end up hiding in a place like this?
It was an unavoidable choice for survival, but I wasn’t sure if this was truly the best course of action.
Being a mere five-year-old—on top of that, possessing the body of a minor villain doomed to a tragic end—felt far more suffocating and bleak than this underground hideout.
.
.
In my past life, I was a soldier in the South Korean Army Special Forces. I died during a high-altitude jump training exercise.
The moment I heard the doctor’s declaration of death, I thought that was the end. But then, a brilliant light appeared, and I felt someone shaking my body.
When I woke up, a blonde woman lay before me. Her frail, sickly face was streaked with tears as she tightly grasped my hand, uttering her final words.
‘Roella, you must follow Duke Arcades. I’ve sent him a letter—he should be on his way. Promise me you’ll go with him.’
As I sat on the bedside, trying to comprehend the situation, the names ‘Roella’ and ‘Duke Arcades’ sparked recognition.
They seemed to be names in a romance fantasy novel I read before I died.
The first thing I did was find a mirror to examine my reflection.
A small girl with golden hair stared back at me from a dusty, worn-out mirror.
Though it was hard to believe, I had no choice but to accept that I had been reincarnated into the body of five-year-old Roella.
And the woman who had just died before my eyes—she was Irene, a mage of the temple and Roella’s mother.
As soon as I grasped my situation, Roella’s tragic fate unfolded in my mind like a vivid painting.
Irene had told Roella to follow Duke Arcades, but in the original story, she never made it to him.
Instead, her uncle, Viscount Nopert, arrived first.
As a greedy and cunning man, Viscount Nopert effectively imprisoned his young niece in the temple.
She was ultimately exploited by both the temple and the imperial prince, meeting a tragic end.
If I wanted to survive, I had to change the original story.
That meant avoiding my uncle at all costs.
Irene had already sent a letter to Duke Arcades, and inside was a formal contract stating that Roella would marry the duke’s son.
The thought of marriage was unsettling, but it was undeniably a better alternative than going with the viscount.
The duke, devastated by the loss of his wife, would come to retrieve Roella as soon as he received the letter.
The problem was, he would arrive half a day later than Viscount Nopert—by the evening.
I had to stay hidden until then.
There was no time to hesitate.
I immediately ran to my neighbor, Madam Dorothy.
In the original novel, after Roella’s death, Dorothy had pitied the child and secretly retrieved her body for a proper burial. If anyone would help me, it was her.
Thankfully, my hunch was correct.
‘Mom came to me in a dream,’ I told her, weaving truth with a well-placed lie.
‘She said my uncle is coming to take me away. She told me to hide and wait until evening when the duke arrives. She said I must follow him.’
Madam Dorothy, who had initially been lost in sorrow, slowly regained her composure.
Eventually, she agreed to hide me in her underground storage.
For a moment, I considered running away entirely. But that wasn’t a viable option.
I didn’t know the geography of this place, and my uncle had already been informed that Irene and her daughter lived here.
If I suddenly vanished, he would assume I had gotten lost and order a thorough search of the area.
Later that day, when Duke Arcades finally arrived, Madam Dorothy informed him that my uncle had already taken me.
The duke, in response, presented the marriage contract and formally requested Roella’s hand.
However, the viscount refused, claiming the document lacked proper certification. He also rejected the duke’s request to meet me in person.
At the time, the duke, still drowning in grief over his late wife, lacked the determination to push forward.
That meant the only way to change my fate was to take action myself.
Hours passed in the darkness of the underground storage.
The dampness seeped into my skin, and my mind felt as if it were sinking into a bottomless swamp.
Even if I escaped this crisis, could I truly defy my predetermined fate?
My uncle would surely visit Madam Dorothy.
Would she be able to lie convincingly?
Now that I was hiding, unforeseen risks began surfacing in my mind.
What if my uncle didn’t leave before the duke arrived?
What if they encountered each other?
As I racked my brain for solutions, I suddenly heard voices outside.
Was it the viscount?
I held my breath and clenched my shoulders, trying to suppress my fear.
I couldn’t tell what was happening outside, so I had no choice but to wait.
After what felt like an eternity, the murmuring outside gradually faded, replaced by silence.
Despite my growing anxiety, I had to trust the original story.
Half a day felt like a whole year, and just as exhaustion was setting in, voices echoed from above once more.
Then, at last, the wooden trapdoor to the underground storage creaked open, and a faint light poured in.
Madam Dorothy’s voice called out.
“Roella, come out. The duke is here, just as you said.”
Exhaling a deep breath, I felt the tension in my body release all at once.
The duke had really come.
“H-he’s really here?”
“Yes. Your uncle came by earlier, but just as you predicted, he left without finding you. I also told the duke why you had to hide. He’s waiting for you, so let’s go quickly.”
I followed Madam Dorothy up the stairs, stepping out of the underground storage.
From this moment forward, the story would deviate from its original path.
That meant everything depended on how well I handled things.
Determined, I stepped outside and was met with an overwhelming sight.
Torches illuminated the courtyard as if it were broad daylight. Knights armed with swords surrounded the house, each of them tall, disciplined, and exuding the air of well-trained soldiers.
Their presence felt both nostalgic and comforting—like seeing my comrades-in-arms again.
My gaze naturally drifted to the man standing in the center of the knights.
A strikingly handsome man, he was tall and lean, yet his presence was undeniably formidable.
Even without anyone telling me, I knew at a glance—this was Duke Arcades.
Feeling nervous, I clutched the hem of my dress. After spending hours in the underground hideout, my plain dress had become visibly dirty.
The duke spoke in a deep yet gentle voice.
“Are you Irene’s daughter, Roella?”
His voice was both imposing and gentle. The kindness in his tone melted away my tension like snow in the spring.
“Y-yes, sir.”
“I received a letter from your mother. She asked me to take care of you… So, is it true that your mother had a dream of your uncle coming and told you to hide?”
“It is true. Mother told me never to follow my uncle and to go with you, Your Grace.”
I gathered my courage and conveyed Irene’s final words. Since the Duke knew my mother was a mage, he would likely believe her dream held some truth.
In reality, the pledge was written not by the Duke himself but by my mother and her friend, the late Duchess Adele.
However, because he had loved his deceased wife, he did not ignore the pledge and acknowledged it.
In the original story, he had come to take me in for that reason, and I was sure that was why he was here now.
I could feel his warm gaze as he studied me for a moment.
“You may not fully understand the situation yet, but if you come with me, it will be to become my daughter-in-law. Will you follow me and accept that role?”
A soft breeze drifted through the courtyard, gently ruffling my hair. I tucked a stray strand behind my ear as I replayed his words in my mind.
It sounded like exactly what I wanted to hear, but had I misheard? Had I been so mesmerized by this handsome man that I imagined things?
“Excuse me… could you please repeat that?”
“I asked if you would become my daughter-in-law.”
Ah! So I had heard him correctly. He didn’t disappoint my expectations.
The term ‘daughter-in-law’ felt a little overwhelming, but if it meant being under the Duke’s protection, my uncle wouldn’t be able to lay a hand on me.
In this unfamiliar world, as long as I could survive, I was willing to do whatever it took.
“If you take care of me, I will do my best! Sir!”
I even gave a proper military salute as I responded loudly.
And… only then did I realize.
Ah! This cursed occupational habit. Why on earth did my words come out like that?
A wave of embarrassment surged over me, making my face burn.
The Duke looked down at me with a slightly puzzled expression. He was probably wondering what on earth that gesture was.
It was embarrassing, but what could I do? At least I had shown my resolve.
Feeling awkward, I quickly lowered my hand and avoided his gaze, shifting uncomfortably.
“Cherto, pick up the child and seat her in the carriage beside me.”
There were no further questions or confirmations. The moment the Duke gave the order, a towering man behind him stepped forward and lifted me effortlessly.
I was carried into the carriage by the knight named Cherto. The carriage was gilded in gold, with an eagle emblem carved into the door panel.
Inside, the seats were covered in red velvet—plusher and cozier than I expected.
“It will take some time to reach the capital. It may be difficult, but bear with it for a little while.”
The Duke gently placed a lap blanket over me as he spoke.
Sitting stiffly with both hands on my lap, like a proper soldier, I answered briskly,
“I am fine, Sir.”
The Arcades Ducal House disliked weakness.
Even though the Duke was grieving his wife’s death, he had once found joy in hunting monsters in the North and had made significant contributions to the Western war.
His accomplishments were so great that the Emperor had awarded him the duchy, even though he had not sought the title.
So, no matter how young I was, I could not show weakness.
The carriage began to move slowly.
Through the window, I could see moonlight shimmering as we traveled down the darkened road.
If we reached the Duke’s estate safely, I would have survived the first major crisis.
But life never goes exactly as planned.
It happened just as our carriage exited the village and merged onto the main road.
“Stop the carriage at once!”
A voice called out from outside.
I quickly closed the window curtains and focused intently on the situation.
“Who dares block the path of this carriage? His Grace, the Duke of Arcades, is inside!”
A man’s voice, seething with barely restrained anger, rang out—followed by the sharp sound of steel being drawn.
The knights had unsheathed their swords.
A crushing sense of foreboding wrapped around my chest like a tight net, making it hard to breathe.
