Chapter 5

I possessed the daughter of the runaway female lead—Chapter 5 (5/171)

When I arrived back at the room and opened the door, Mother was crying in the arms of the Duke.

Her appearance at that moment seemed the most at ease I had ever seen her. It was as if a weary little bird had folded its wings to rest, finally finding a place to land.

I realized that if this was Mother's happiness, I could never separate these two people again.

"Alr?"

Upon noticing me, Mother quickly pulled away from the Duke. For a moment, a displeased expression flashed across the Duke's face, but it quickly disappeared.

The sight was so amusing that I almost burst out laughing.

"Alr, come here."

Mother held out her hand to me. In that instant, an overwhelming flood of emotions filled my heart.

I tried to hold back my tears, but soon I was sobbing. It had been a whole week since I last heard Mother's voice.

"Mom!"

I ran to her and embraced her. I tried not to cry, but hot tears streamed down, soaking her white nightgown.

"Alr, you must have been so worried, right?"

Mother also burst into tears as she held me, crying like a child.

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. My baby, how scared and alone must you have been?"

"No, Mom. I'm fine."

I wrapped my arms around her neck and rubbed my cheek against hers. It was hard to believe that someone who had been on the brink of death could recover to this extent.

I pulled away to examine her face. She still looked pale and as if she could collapse at any moment.

"Are you okay now? Are you fully recovered?"

In response to my question, Mother nodded.

"Yes, I'm fine. I'm fully recovered. So you don't need to worry anymore."

Just as Mother was about to say more, my body was suddenly lifted upward.

"...Your Highness?"

The Duke had placed his hands under my armpits and pulled me away from Mother.

While I was still stunned, the Duke spoke.

"Rivi, you promised to only see her face briefly."

"But, Your Highness..."

"Didn't you hear the doctor say that it's too much for her right now?"

His angry tone made Mother shrink back.

I sighed softly. I wanted to tell this obsessive man to let us talk for a bit, but I didn't have the courage. He loved Mother, not me.

"Your Highness is right. It's too late now, so let's talk again tomorrow."

When I called him 'Your Highness,' Mother's face showed clear signs of surprise.

"I really should have told you this earlier. Alr, you should greet your father first..."

"Take this child away."

At his command, Jas, who had been watching from the side, stepped forward. The Duke handed me over to Jas as if I were a doll, and I obediently took Jas's hand.

Mother tried to say something more, but I placed a finger to my lips.

'I'll come again tomorrow, Mom. Rest.'

Seeing my silent message, Mother nodded slightly.

Jas and I walked down the corridor again. Jas examined my expression and said admiringly,

"Alr, you're really mature. You didn't throw a tantrum about staying with your mother."

I chuckled softly.

Of course, I'm much older than you.

In my previous life, I had lived for 20 years, making me a sister to Jas, who was currently 17.

"But how did you know the Duke is your father?"

His sudden question made me widen my eyes.

"What?"

"I overheard a bit of their conversation. Lady Olivia said she never told you about your father, and she was curious how you found Your Highness."

I couldn't say I read it in a book, so I made up an excuse.

"Well, the only family that uses dragons in their crest is the Iskars Duke's family. I had been guessing based on Mother's ring."

"Wow, Alr, you're really smart!"

Seeing his genuine admiration, I quickly changed the subject.

"Can I visit Mother again tomorrow?"

Jas nodded.

"Of course, as long as the doctor allows it... Oh, will Your Highness interfere again like today? Hmm..."

Jas thought for a moment and then smiled at me.

"Tomorrow, Your Highness has a meeting with Lord Sale in the morning. So you can spend plenty of time with your mother. I'll let the guards know in advance."

"Thank you, Jas."

"Feel free to ask me for anything. I'll do my best to help."

Jas was as kind and gentle as he was in the original story.

Actually, my current position was quite precarious. I couldn't have a genetic test to confirm if I was really the Duke's child, and the Duke hadn't acknowledged me as his child yet.

Even if the Duke acknowledged me as his blood, it wouldn't be the end. If he continued to deny his feelings and kept Mother as a mistress, as he did in the original story, I would just be an illegitimate child.

Despite this, Jas tried his best to help me. This was undoubtedly due to his warm and kind nature.

In the original story, the Duke would soon rebel and die along with Mother.

And the same fate awaited Jas, who was standing right in front of me.

This kind and gentle person would die before he even reached adulthood.

"..."

As I looked at his face with a somewhat complex feeling, Jas rubbed his cheek with his finger.

"Is there something on my face?"

I shook my head.

"Nothing."

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

The next morning, I woke up early, eager to see Mother.

When I opened the window, a cool breeze blew in. The air was quite cold, as it was the transition from autumn to winter.

After eating the breakfast the maid brought, I headed straight to Mother's room. However, I unexpectedly ran into someone in the corridor.

"Oh? You?"

It was Rido, Lord Sale's son. I flinched and stopped in my tracks.

"What? I thought you had run away somewhere since you didn't show up for class."

"It's not that..."

"Perfect timing. Follow me."

I took a step back, but two servants immediately grabbed my arms.

"Sir, I've quit that job!"

"Don't be ridiculous. Who said you could quit without my permission?"

My desperate cries were in vain. I was dragged along by the servants.

Unfortunately, there wasn't a single knight from the Duke's household in sight in the corridor.

Even if there were, it probably wouldn't have made much difference. Apart from Jas, almost no one knew about my relationship with the Duke.

To them, it would just look like the son of a lord dragging a commoner child, and they wouldn't interfere.

Rido took me to an open space behind the castle. He usually received sword training there. Of course, every time he didn't do his homework or performed poorly, I would be the one to get punished.

"...But there's no sword training today."

Rido took sword lessons three times a week, and the next lesson was scheduled for tomorrow.

Rido shrugged.

"Since there's a lesson tomorrow, I need to practice today. If I do well tomorrow, you'll get less punishment, so it's good for both of us, right?"

I sighed inwardly. Given his stubborn nature, I concluded that helping him practice and then going to see Mother was the better option. After all, he would be exhausted and give up after about an hour, as he always panted after a little movement.

"What do I need to do?"

"Be my sparring partner."

"But I haven't learned swordsmanship."

He grinned.

"That doesn't matter."

I soon understood what he meant. Rido drew his sword from the scabbard on his waist and stood in front of me.

The problem was that the sword he was holding was not a wooden practice sword but a real one. He continued to grin as he looked at my frozen face.

"I've always wanted to use a real sword. Don't worry. I won't kill you, of course."

Right, he won't kill me. Instead, he'll play with me like a cat with a mouse, enjoying my fear.

I gritted my teeth. How could a 9-year-old boy grow up to be such a monster?

"..."

Before I could think further, the sword came flying at me. I quickly dodged to the side, and Rido swung his sword again.

"Ugh!"

This time, he grazed my shoulder. Seeing the blood flow, Rido's eyes sparkled.

"Hey, try to dodge better. It's no fun if you're this easy."

You're insane.

The servants showed no intention of stopping him. As I glanced at them, I realized that the only person who could save me was myself.

I almost died yesterday, and today, this happened. It seemed my luck was particularly bad lately.

"Even when I'm being gentle, your dodging is too slow. How am I supposed to improve my sword skills like this?"

Rido laughed and approached me. As he raised his sword, I ducked. Then I grabbed some dirt from the ground and threw it in his face.

"Aaaah!"

Hearing Rido's scream, I started running. When you encounter a madman with a knife, there's no other option. You have to run for your life.

"Stop her!"

At Rido's command, the servants chased after me. I ran as fast as I could, fearing I would really die if I were caught.

However, it was impossible for a 6-year-old's short legs to outrun adult men. Just as I felt a servant's breath on my back, I collided with something hard.

"Ah!"

My body was thrown backward. Stars danced in front of my eyes, and tears streamed down my face from the pain.

A surprised voice came from behind me.

"Y-Your Highness!"

Your Highness?

Looking up, I saw the Duke of Iskars standing right in front of me.