Chapter 7

As if he could no longer bear the continued nonsense, Aexion swept his cloak and stood in front of the warp gate.

“Let’s not delay and leave immediately.”

Dad, unashamed, kept looking at me with a grin.

“My little one. Kiss. Mmm.”

“Mmmph.”

I kept pushing away Dad’s lips, which kept trying to kiss me, while watching the Holy Knights pass through the gate one by one.

In the midst of this, we passed through the warp gate.

“Huh.”

And I experienced the magic of being in a completely different space in an instant, marveling at it.

The high ceiling.

The sacred frescoes.

The majestic pillars.

And the priests with their holy faces, each wearing a look of surprise.

‘Magic is really amazing, truly.’

It was the gate room of the Pavil Cathedral.

“Sir Enoch.”

A grandfather with white hair stepped forward from among the priests.

“You have truly returned.”

“It’s been a long time, High Priest.”

Not only the High Priest but also the other young priests standing behind him all wore expressions of disbelief at Dad’s return.

And my presence, clearly Enoch Rubinstein’s daughter, in Dad’s arms.

“May the blessings of Primera be with you.”

The High Priest, who had been staring at me blankly, stepped aside hurriedly as he greeted.

Then Dad walked past them as if there was nothing more to see.

The flustered priests followed Dad like foot soldiers.

“Sir Enoch, do you plan to return home immediately?”

“Shouldn’t we at least hold a simple welcome ceremony?”

“We prepared for your return after receiving the news that you might come back….”

Before leaving the room, Dad turned around.

“There will be a welcome ceremony at the royal palace anyway. I’ll see you then. I’m worried that my daughter might be tired from the long journey today.”

Only then did the priests openly examine me, who they had been glancing at.

All of them wore expressions of interest.

It was understandable.

Enoch Rubinstein, who had suddenly disappeared and reappeared after seven years.

And his daughter, who had disappeared with him seven years ago.

For a while, I would surely be the focus of attention, not just in the cathedral but everywhere.

The quick-witted child that I am, I politely clasped my hands together towards the priests.

And I recited the greeting I had just learned.

“May the blessings of Primera be with you….”

The priests were surprised and moved.

“Oh, thank you!”

“May the blessings of Primera be with the princess!”

* * *

As soon as we left the cathedral in the center of the city, we were right in the heart of the city.

“W, wow….”

To me, who had lived all my life in a small village in the south, the scenery of the city of Pavil was a fresh shock.

“There are so many people.”

The tall, sophisticated stone buildings, closely packed together.

The bustling people, each dressed differently.

The well-groomed noble horses pulling splendid carriages and walking elegantly through the city….

“Bye, baby.”

“Lilith, take care.”

“Yeah, take care, uncles.”

The civil servants, having completed their tasks, were about to go home.

I waved to Philip and Ben, who greeted me separately.

“Don’t wander off and go straight home.”

“Where would I wander off to in the city? Hurry up. Huh.”

With a disgruntled look, Dad waved his hand, and Aexion, who was the last to leave, turned around….

Finally, Dad and I were left alone in the bustling city.

“Um, Princess.”

“Yeah.”

“Are you really not going to ride in a carriage?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s a 15-minute walk to get home. Your legs will hurt, so why don’t I carry you?”

“Sigh, Dad. You carrying me all the time made me forget how to walk. I want to walk now. I’ll walk. I want to see the city too.”

“Alright, then. But if your legs hurt, tell me right away, okay?”

“Got it.”

I firmly held Dad’s hand and started walking through the city in the late afternoon.

‘Alright, now it’s the beginning. I need to stay focused.’

Enoch Rubinstein, the protagonist, no longer needed to think about revenge for his daughter.

I had caused a major accident that eliminated the possibility of the original story even starting.

Therefore, I had to fix it.

‘I have to make sure the original story proceeds as planned. The first thing I need to do is….’

“Holy Knight, hello. May the great glory and grace of Primera….”

“Stop.”

“Always grateful. May the great….”

“Enough.”

…Hmm, maybe I should have just taken a carriage.

I tried to think while walking, but the annoying and tiring situation had already repeated itself about ten times.

Nobles and commoners alike bowed to Dad.

It was because of Dad’s blue cloak, which symbolized the ‘Dos’ class.

‘I knew it was bad, but it’s worse than I thought. What kind of country is this where people kneel and greet each other on the street?’

It was absurd.

But if this world didn’t have such a human rights-insensitive worldview….

‘The protagonist wouldn’t have to start a revolution, and I wouldn’t have to use it as a thesis topic.’

I pressed my temples with my small fingers and started thinking again.

‘So, the first thing I need to do is!’

Find the other protagonist, Cheshire, and introduce him to Dad.

Dad alone couldn’t start a revolution in this corrupt empire.

Cheshire’s help was essential.

Then, Cheshire Rubinstein.

Who is he?

1. Class, Dos (Dos).

2. Captain of the ‘Dos Swordsmen Corps’.

3. Swordsman, Swordmaster, and Duke Rubinstein.

4. In the setting, one of the two strongest characters in the world, alongside Enoch Rubinstein.

5. His punches are slow.

6. Originally an illegitimate child of a noble, he was abused until he caught Enoch Rubinstein’s eye and was adopted.

‘The problem is, what was the chance encounter that led to this!’

Dad and Cheshire’s first meeting is not described in the novel, so I don’t know.

But with Dad’s daughter clearly alive now, the probability that Dad would take an interest in Cheshire is low.

Therefore, my job is to artificially arrange their meeting….

‘It’s like finding a needle in a haystack.’

I felt despair as I looked around the overpopulated city.

Then.

“Dad?”

I found it strange that it was so quiet and looked over to see Dad staring at something.

It was a secluded alley across the street.

“What is it? Is someone there?”

Dad looked down at me for a moment, then smiled and started walking.

“It’s nothing. Let’s go.”

“Wait.”

The quick-witted child grabbed Dad.

“What is it?”

“Nothing, just. It looks like there’s a fight. Since the city guards are patrolling, we don’t need to worry. Let’s go, Princess.”

“Who’s fighting over there? We should stop it, right?”

“That’s true, but we can’t risk our Princess getting hurt.”

“…”

I was speechless.

The Enoch Rubinstein I knew wouldn’t have ignored such a situation.

‘The problem is me, it’s me. Sigh.’

I realized that I was a big hindrance to the protagonist’s sense of justice.

“Let’s go see. Yeah? Dad is really strong, so it’ll be fine, right?”

“Alright, then.”

Dad, who seemed uncomfortable, took my hand and quickly headed towards the alley.

And the moment we entered.

“Eek!”

I covered my mouth in shock at the unexpected scene.

I thought it would be a typical scene in this novel where a powerful person was bullying a powerless one….

Surprisingly, it was children.

To be precise, middle school-aged children were mercilessly beating up an elementary school child.

“What are you doing!”

The five children turned around at once.

I shouted, feeling indignant.

“Y-You… young brats!”

Silence fell.

Even Dad, who was about to intervene, looked down at me with wide eyes.

‘Oops.’

It was a bit out of place for a seven-year-old girl.

“K-Knight, hello. May the great glory and grace of Primera….”

“Stop.”

The boy in the middle, recognizing Dad’s blue cloak, was startled and immediately bowed.

“What are you doing?”

“Ah! If we were noisy, I apologize. This commoner didn’t greet us….”

“Didn’t greet you, so you beat him? A child?”

The boy, taken aback by my sharp retort, said.

“W-We are acolytes? I’m an Octava (4th rank among 6 classes of ability users)?”

“Wow.”

I slumped, dumbfounded.

“…But, can ability users just beat people up?”

“…”

“…”

Silence fell again.

The children just stared at each other blankly.

‘Can they beat people up? Yes, they can.’

I chuckled.

This is a very common situation in this wretched world.

If the commoner child really didn’t greet them, the fault, sadly, lies with the commoner child.

Even though they used group violence, the perpetrators are not at fault.

Because they are ability users and nobles.

Dad stepped forward, taking over from me, who was speechless.

“Stop causing trouble and leave.”

“Yes, sir!”

“May the great glory of Primera…!”

“Go.”

“Yes, sir!”

Dad can’t do anything more.

Just as you can’t suddenly ask a passerby, ‘Why are you breathing?’….

It’s a crime, but in this world, it’s as natural as breathing.

‘A revolution is really urgent, Dad.’

Feeling the grim reality of this world firsthand was truly bitter.

“The city is really lively….”

Muttering sarcastically, Dad knelt in front of me.

Then, with a darkened expression, he stroked my cheek and spoke.

“Princess, you know.”

“Wait, a moment!”

I remembered the child who was being beaten.

I rushed over.

“Are you okay? Oh, oh! Blood….”

The boy sat up nonchalantly, wiping the blood from his split lip with his hand.

Then he looked up at me with a completely expressionless face.

His eyes were a beautiful shade of red.

But the look in his eyes was empty, as if life had no meaning.

‘Is this the kind of look a child this age should have?’

I swallowed a sigh and searched my priestess robes to clean the blood.

Dad had bought me a rabbit handkerchief.

“Hey, let’s clean the blood… Oops!”

Thwack!

The boy’s arm sharply hit my hand as I brought the handkerchief to his lip.

I held my stung hand and stared at the boy blankly.

Though his face was expressionless, I could tell his mental state.

Like a cat with its fur bristling, on guard….

“S-Sorry…. I’m sorry for touching you suddenly. Here, take this.”

I carefully placed the handkerchief on the boy’s thigh.

He didn’t move, just stared at me intently.

I looked back at him, and suddenly.

‘Huh?’

I was surprised as I finally took in his overall appearance.

It was strange.

‘I feel bad for thinking this about a child who was just beaten….’

He was handsome?

To the point where I would never forget his face once I saw it.

Even at this young age, he had such a distinct appearance.

Moreover.

‘Black hair, red eyes.’

I covered my mouth and staggered, falling backward and landing on my butt.

“Lilith!”

I turned around at Dad’s alarmed voice.

I saw Dad’s face, which was just as stunningly handsome.

I recalled the ironclad rule I had decided not to forget.

‘There are no handsome extras.’