Chapter 3

Dad—no, the time it took for the duke to calm down was precisely three minutes. He, who had puffed up as fast as instant food, gradually calmed down and soon his face turned red.

“Ahem, well this is something. I never imagined you would call me Dad, so I was startled without realizing it.”

“Not at all. Father.”

Droop-

Was it because he had seen too much of an exaggerated reaction? Unwilling to call him Dad anymore, I immediately changed my form of address. Instantly, the flowers that had been blooming behind his back wilted as if they had reached a wasteland, and the duke’s head, which had been smiling up at the sky, slowly dropped.

Whew, I don’t get it.

Personally, I had never given birth to a child, so for someone like me who didn’t understand the feelings of a father with a daughter, such a reaction was simply troublesome.

“Besides, the atmosphere feels a bit different from usual today.”

Prick-

At his words, I flinched without realizing it. Even though it was inside a novel, this was still a place where people lived, and the gaze of the duke, who had met many people as a duke among them, was sharp.

He had immediately noticed that my tone of voice and atmosphere were different from usual.

“Well, I’m not a little kid anymore, and I’m trying to pull myself together a bit.”

“…What?”

“…Pardon?”

At the words that simultaneously popped out from both the front and back, I let out a sigh once more. Exactly what kind of treatment had Armienne been receiving on a daily basis? Since she was only ever described as a vicious, bad girl within the novel, I hadn’t imagined it would be to this extent.

“Hmm, did I work too hard? I must be hearing things.”

The duke spoke once again, massaging the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger. Meanwhile, Yul showed her first change in expression as she patted me down from top to bottom.

“Are you feeling unwell somewhere, my lady?”

I began to feel a creeping sense of annoyance. Therefore, I decided to state my business quickly. Dragging it out for no reason would likely only result in stress. Besides, I resolved to completely tear down and rebuild every single perception of the young lady named Armienne, starting today.

“Father, I want to learn magic and the sword.”

At my words, the duke sighed while simultaneously continuing to send a gesture of vague regret through his gaze. At that sight, I barely managed to suppress the urge to flip the desk over. How could a cool, middle-aged man straight out of a book just five minutes ago break down this much over a single word?

“Didn’t you say after trying both of them in the past that you simply couldn’t do it?”

At the duke’s words, which had regained their dignity, I plastered the thick face I had prepared onto my own. It wasn’t like I had said I hated it, anyway; past Armienne was the only one who said she hated it.

“No, this time I really want to learn seriously.”

“Hmm…”

Seeing my gaze filled with genuine sincerity rather than the usual playful or insincere tone, the duke seemed to ponder for a moment before soon nodding.

“Well, I suppose that’s fine. It’s not that demanding of a request. However, while magic is fine, the sword is out of the question. It’s too dangerous. Besides, what reason do you have to swing a sword? Everything lying around in this vicinity consists entirely of my knights and my swords, and all of them will protect you.”

“No, the sword is a man’s romance! I mean, I just want to learn it, okay? Yes, please let me learn it!”

The duke shook his head firmly at my words. His face showed a steadfast determination that while magic was acceptable, he would never, ever permit the sword.

“Absolutely not!”

And I knew the magic word to break that steadfast determination of his.

“Dad.”

KABOOM!
In my imagination’s naval battle, my ship fired cannonballs toward a ship bearing the duke’s flag.

Hearing the report, “First artillery barrage initiated!”, I opened my mouth once more.

“Daaaad~”

“Ugh, a-absolutely…”

Enemy ship sinking! It looks like we only need to deliver the final blow!
Good. My fellow soldiers. I shall sacrifice my single body for your sake.
I clenched my fists tightly.

I, too, am a man, so I know this: even if it makes you cringe, precisely because it’s the kind of phrase that makes you cringe, it’s good!

“I love you. Dad, right? Can’t I really do it?”

“………….”

At my final blow, the duke hung his head low. Had he perhaps died? The moment I had that thought, he covered his flushed face and spoke.

“W-well, nothing can be done. Whew, I’ll allow it.”

“Yesss!”

“Hm?”

Such a mistake. I’d had a habit of letting out a battle cry whenever I got what I wanted since the old days, and of all times, it had to slip out here. I quickly changed my tune.

“Thank you, Dad. Heh-heh.”

“C-c-cough. I see. Then tonight, Da…d. and you will….”

Click-clack!

Before he could finish his sentence, I quickly closed the door and came out. In the distance, the voice of a middle-aged man, indistinguishable as whether it was laughter or crying, could be heard, but I ignored it. My original purpose was to ask the duke to let me learn the sword and magic, so once that request was fulfilled, there was no reason to stay with him!

“My lady, where would you like to go now?”

At Yul’s question, I fell into thought. The sword and magic I had wanted to try most after coming to a fantasy world would soon have teachers arranged by my reliable dad, the duke, so there wasn’t really anything appropriate for me to do right now.

“True.”

Shall I go take a look at the village?

Curiosity about how people in the medieval era lived suddenly welled up within me, and just as I was about to tell Yul that we should head out to the village, it happened.

Rumble-crash!

Raindrops began to fall one by one from the suddenly gathered dark storm clouds, and since I didn’t particularly feel like wandering around a village on a rainy day, I quickly changed my mind.

‘Come to think of it, I can’t rely on Yul to guide me forever.’

Figuring that at a moment’s notice I ought to be able to walk around alone without Yul anyway, I spoke to my first-class maid, Yul, who was standing neatly behind me.

“It’s raining anyway, so let’s take a look around the mansion. Guide me, Yul.”

“Yes, my lady.”

The very first place Yul guided me to was the mansion’s kitchen. The moment we arrived at the kitchen, what caught my eye was the number of chefs. True to a ducal household, there weren’t just one or two chefs, but nearly ten of them. The moment I revealed myself in the kitchen, all of them stopped what they were doing and bowed their heads at nearly a ninety-degree angle.

“G-good day, Lady Armienne!”

“………….”

Surprised by their sudden behavior, I couldn’t say a thing. Having never held a position leading anyone—like a class president or student committee head—in my entire life, their greetings were far too overwhelming for me to accept naturally.

Ssssssh-

The sound of burning food reached my ears, and of course, the chefs couldn’t possibly have missed it. However, they didn’t look like they had any intention of raising their heads. Just as I was roughly thinking, Ah, so this is where the majesty of a villainess shows, it happened.

Whoosh-

Fire finally broke out in one of the charred dishes, and seeing the flames, I couldn’t help but scream. One of the things I hated most in my past life was fire. Back when I was a child, a gas accident had once burned my house straight to the ground.

It wasn’t that I was scared; I just hated fire.

“Y-yikes! Fire!”

Then, out of the training I’d received back in South Korea, I reflexively grabbed a bucket of water and tried to dump it onto the burning food. Seeing that, Yul shrieked. It felt like the first time I had ever seen her look shocked.

“Eek! My lady!”

And only after hearing Yul’s scream did the chefs cautiously raise their heads. Spotting me holding a bucket of water, everyone let out a yell.

“Oh no, my lady.”

“We’ll take care of it.”

“Please step back.”

“If the young lady gets hurt even a little bit, we’re all dead!!!”

“………….”

In an instant, a storm swept through the kitchen. The chefs, sweating profusely and struggling mightily, managed to suppress the fire and clean up the kitchen. Feeling like it was all my fault for no good reason, I quickly left the spot without a word.

I would only learn later that rumors spread from that day onward claiming that Lady Armienne’s pranks had gotten even worse.

After the kitchen, I had them roughly show me the garden and the quarters where the maids and servants stayed, and finally, I was being guided to the backyard.

And right there, a war—or something close to it—was unfolding. Unaware that it was going to rain so suddenly, the maids were sweating as they hurried to pull in the laundry. I quietly watched them from afar without revealing myself.

If I showed myself here, it was certain I would see an outcome that was at best similar to the chefs in the kitchen, and quite possibly much worse.

They were already having a hard time; I couldn’t make things any harder for them here. It was a bit bitter knowing it was because of Armienne’s past behavior rather than anything I had done, but what could I do?

“My lady?”

Perhaps finding me strange, a hint of worry laced Yul’s voice as she called out to me.

“It’s nothing. Let’s head back to the room.”

That was when I said those words and turned to go. A maid, hurriedly running while holding a massive armful of laundry that practically blocked her view, crashed straight into my back.

Since Yul hadn’t anticipated such a thing happening, she naturally couldn’t catch me as I fell forward due to the law of inertia, and my face slammed directly into the muddy, rain-slicked ground.

Splat-

“Ow, ow, ow! Who are you?! Huh?! What are you planning by standing right in the middle of the walkway? Ugh, now I have to redo the laundry.”

At the thoroughly irritated voice coming from behind me, I calmly stood up and lightly brushed the dirt off my face and the mud off my clothes.

“H-hey, I asked who you are! Who…?”

The maid’s words trailed off and could not continue. Because right in front of her was the person in the entire ducal house you had to be most careful around—the kind of person who would get your head chopped off instantly if you crossed them—wearing dirt on her face, yes, but sporting beautifully maintained skin and luxury clothing, looking right at her with a gentle smile.

“Say what you just said one more time.”

It might not have been a big deal, but as a timid man, I was pissed.