Chapter 3
“Who are you?”
My whole body trembled. It was terrifying not knowing who the person in front of me was—but now that I did, it felt like a funeral march was blasting in surround sound in my ears.
What the hell! Why is Richard here?!
I didn’t understand. No matter how deep I’d gone into the forest, I’d never left the woods attached to Opal Palace. That meant this was my territory.
And he was charging into another princess’s land with a sword? That was practically a declaration of war…
Ah, right.
I grimaced.
He really loves war, doesn’t he.
Unlike other heirs who avoided open conflict, Richard always carried a sword through the palace, as if daring anyone to provoke him.
I had no idea why he’d come here, but one thing was clear: he wasn’t the type to understand the basic rule of not trespassing.
“Mute, huh?”
When I didn’t respond, Richard muttered to himself.
Even in fear, I found it ridiculous.
Demanding someone to speak while radiating the kind of murderous aura that could strangle them—wasn’t that a bit much for a twelve-year-old?
I glared at him without realizing it.
Maybe he saw the expression on my face, or maybe he just found it amusing that I, trembling and terrified, dared to glare.
Richard let out a short, amused chuckle.
In that instant, I forgot everything about my situation.
In the lush forest, his blond hair shone like sunlight streaming through the leaves.
His face was overwhelmingly striking, and in the center, his red eyes burned with intensity. Like the final brushstroke of a master painter’s work, perfect and deliberate.
He was just smiling, yet all sound around me vanished and time seemed to slow. That’s how devastatingly beautiful his face was.
Wow… Richard is even more handsome than I imagined…
“Ah, so that’s your weapon?”
I snapped out of my daze at his words.
He was nodding toward my right hand—or more specifically, the mushroom skewer I was clutching even in this ridiculous moment.
Wait… what? That skewer is my weapon?
“No, this is…”
I raised my hand in confusion. I only wanted to show him the mushroom.
Then, suddenly, something brushed past me and the skewer snapped in two, falling to the ground.
“Don’t move.”
I gaped.
It had just happened in front of me, yet I couldn’t comprehend it. He… sliced the skewer with his sword? I didn’t even see him swing.
“Cute try. Not bad, actually,” he said, stepping closer, his smirk growing more disdainful.
“Th-that’s not… a weapon…”
I tried desperately to reason with him.
“But I’m not the kind of person who spares someone because they’re cute. Isn’t your strategy flawed?”
Of course, a mad dog of the Esperusa royal family wouldn’t listen to reason.
Damn it! At least pretend to listen!
“That idiot who sent you… too dumb…”
Richard trailed off mid-sentence, glanced behind him, frowned slightly, and swung his sword in a wide arc.
I shrank instinctively.
Boom!
But the strike wasn’t aimed at me—it was behind me.
An explosion rang out, and Richard disappeared from view. His movement was too fast to track with my eyes.
I turned to look, still crouched.
The half-ruined cabin was now completely destroyed, reduced to rubble. And in the center of the debris, Richard was throwing out sword energy as he fought.
Several figures moved around him with astonishing speed, evading his attacks.
“…!”
I pressed my hand over my mouth to stifle a scream.
The attackers were all dressed identically, in black from head to toe, their faces hidden behind white masks.
Anyone seeing them in a manga or game would instantly say, “assassins.”
Their movements were fast, yet oddly strange—more like slithering mollusks than humans.
Then Richard’s sword cut one of the assassin’s wrists. Instead of blood, black smoke surged up and instantly formed the shape of the hand.
I recognized the inhuman entity at once.
The Fifth Prince’s Shadow Puppets!
If Richard, the twelfth prince, was a sword genius, Rudolf Sol, the fifth prince, was the empire’s greatest mage.
Shadow puppets were his signature technique and had appeared in the original story to kill Imelda.
Each puppet possessed swordsmanship on par with a skilled assassin and could recover from all but fatal wounds. Few had survived facing multiple at once.
Even the original male protagonist struggled tremendously protecting Imelda from them…
Swish.
At that moment, Richard’s sword sent out a slash of red energy, cutting three shadow puppets at once.
They exploded, scattering like ash in the wind.
That… wasn’t supposed to be that easy…
It’s daytime, that’s why, I muttered.
Shadow puppets are stronger at night, and Tristan, protecting Imelda, couldn’t use his full strength.
As a fan of the original protagonist, I clung to that excuse, refusing to accept that Richard could be stronger.
There’s no way he’s stronger than the male lead!
While I was lost in such foolish thoughts, Richard shook off his sword, his expression annoyed. My heart sank.
Wasn’t he supposed to enjoy a fight against strong opponents? The shadow puppets were strong enough, yet he looked irritated.
“Not joining in?”
He approached slowly.
“I thought you were on the same side. How did you know I’d be here?”
“N-no, I…”
Okay, I understood the situation.
Richard had either been chased by the Fifth Prince’s assassins or was chasing them here.
And by sheer bad luck, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time—and he mistook me for an assassin.
The funeral march returned to my ears, and cold sweat ran down my back.
“Ah, whatever.”
Richard muttered in a low voice. There was a trace of annoyance in it, making my skin crawl.
Haha, even Richard wouldn’t think “I’ll kill her because it’s troublesome…” would he?
“I’ll kill her because it’s troublesome.”
Exactly!
Richard raised his sword lazily, exuding sheer annoyance. My mind went blank.
Ah… I’m going to die.
The terror peaked, and strangely, my body relaxed. I lost all tension without realizing it.
And then…
Grrrrrr…
My empty stomach didn’t miss the opportunity to roar.
It was truly a roar—the kind of sound that could be called nothing else.
Richard stared at me, utterly bewildered.
“That just now…”
He muttered, incredulous.
“The sound… came from your stomach?”
A chill ran down my neck. I looked and saw his sword had stopped mere inches from me.
“Ugh.”
A wave of sadness surged from deep inside me.
Sob…
How could I even describe my feelings?
Months had passed in this story world. I had survived without proper meals, ignored by the servants.
But I endured it.
I knew stepping outside the story’s script could go terribly wrong—and in this palace, that meant death.
I thought patiently waiting would bring happiness.
But what was this?
I hadn’t even survived a year before running into the original story’s villain, getting mistaken for an assassin, and now about to die embarrassingly.
First: overwork. Second: murder.
Why is my life such a disaster?!
Waaahhh… sob…
Before I knew it, I was crying. Not pretty little tears, but wailing, pitiful sobs.
“Tsk, seriously.”
Richard let out a short, awkward laugh, no longer exuding his usual composure. He seemed… slightly flustered.
“Do you think I’ll let you get away just because you’re crying? You’re pretending to be weak to make me lower my guard…”
“I’m not!”
I had nothing left to lose. I shouted, cutting him off.
“I’m not pretending!”
Without even wiping my streaming tears, I shouted with all my strength.
“I’m just… hungry!”
My grief bubbled up again, and I wailed.
My mushrooOOOoms!
Birds scattered from the trees at my scream.
Sob… my mushrooms…
I mumbled to myself, exhausted from crying, unable to shout any more.
Then, with a rustle, something dark red appeared in front of me.
“Here… want to eat this?”
Richard handed me jerky.
It was slightly smaller than my palm, and the smoky aroma made me lose all sense of reason. I snatched it and shoved it into my mouth.
Gulp, cough!
“Hey, chew it properly!”
He patted my back as I choked and handed me a water flask. I drank, then chewed the jerky thoroughly.
It was incredible.
I had no idea how long it had been since I’d eaten real meat. No rot, no spoilage. The flavor was rich, the texture tender, smoky from the fire.
Sob…
It was so delicious that tears flowed again.
I’ve never had jerky this good…
“Why are you crying again?”
Richard rifled through his pockets, looking for more food, but this time he pulled out a handkerchief.
“Don’t worry, nothing poisonous. And here, water and jerky. I brought it to eat too.”
When did I even worry about that? Some people think too much.
I chuckled softly, and he flinched slightly, then carefully wiped my face.
Chewing jerky while letting Richard touch my face felt… strange.
My frustration gradually settled. My runaway reason was returning.
I’m doomed, completely doomed.
It was true. I survived, but my plan to quietly live out the story had failed utterly.
Whether it was the embarrassing sounds from my stomach, or my crying over mushrooms, Richard no longer suspected me as an assassin.
Instead, he would likely begin a new suspicion.
Perhaps, “Who is that girl of the right age wandering the Opal Palace forest in a dress?”
“Hey.”
Richard stopped wiping my face, eyeing me suspiciously. His red eyes scanned me and my clothes.
I swallowed the last piece of jerky I’d been chewing.
Yes, I’m the weak, helpless little sister—no strength, no power, no ambition for the throne… I was about to say.
“Are you a maid working in Opal Palace?”
Richard had completely misunderstood my identity.
