CH 3

“Let’s go today?”

Hyeseo, who was sitting down on the sofa for a long time, raised her head and said to her mother.

“But Dad is tired. Let’s give him a break today. It’s not too late to leave tomorrow morning, right?”

“If we leave tomorrow morning, we will arrive after lunch at the earliest. Mt. Jirisan is very far, how can we go tomorrow morning?”

“What about Hyerim? Hyerim says she won’t be back from her friend’s house until evening.”

Alas, she didn’t think of Hyerim, and forgot that she ran to her friend’s house to do something…

Hyeseo quickly turned her head to look at the map on her phone.

“Right, didn’t she said that she will come by train? I did a search and there’s a train station that’s not too far from the highway. Just tell her to take the train up to there and we’ll just pick her up on the way to Mt. Jirisan.”

As Hyeseo’s reasoning got longer, her mother put her hands on her waist and raised her eyebrows.

She couldn’t help it. Hyeseo got up from the sofa and went into the bedroom while looking at her mother’s eyes.

In the master’s bedroom, Hyeseo’s dad, who just left for work this morning, was lying on the bed and resting.

Seeing her father awake, she was delighted.

“Dad, you’re not sleeping?”

“I just woke up.”

At the sound of Hyeseo coming in, her Dad raised his head to check on her face, and then laid back down comfortably to answer.

“Dad.”

“Don’t snort. I heard everything outside.”

“Hehe, did you?”

Hyeseo smiled mischievously.

“The reservation date for the cottage starts tomorrow, are you planning to sleep outside today?”

“Then I will call the cottage owner! I just have to call and tell them right?”

Before her father could answer, she called the cottage directly using her father’s cell phone.

“…Then, will you be able to come today?”

Maybe she heard Hyeseo talking on the phone with the cottage owner, so her mother also entered the bedroom.

“Did you say yes? You said you were tired. I told you not to accept all her complaints.”

“Haha, I don’t have much time to see the faces of my daughters, so would I still quarrel with her? The cottage owner doesn’t seem to have a problem, but you should call Eunho’s mom. I wonder if they can also leave today.”

Dad smiled and sat up on the bed.

“It’s not just inconvenient to us, but to Eunho’s family as well. Anyway, you’ll ruin your kids’ habits.”

Hyeseo’s mom grumbled and went out to get her cell phone from the living room.

The two families left after an hour because Eunho generously agreed to it.

Hyeseo’s mother was supposed to drive but Eunho’s family also brought a car.

“I’m sorry that we just changed the date so suddenly. But what would we do to the other car, Eunho’s mom?”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. We were also hanging out today in our spare time. Hyeseo’s father is tired today, so it will be difficult to drive for a long time, and it will be more comfortable and fun for the children to come together on their own. Let’s go together in another car and chat.”

[t/n: although the two mothers are close, the author deliberately used the term ‘Eunho’s mom’ and ‘Hyeseo’s dad’ as to not try to name them.]

Eunho’s father drove the car the adults were riding in, and Eunho drove the other car, so Hyeseo decided to go with him, while Hyerim was going to be picked up by Eunho and Hyeseo as they went.

“By the way, can Eunho drive there? Wouldn’t it be better for me to do it?”

Hyeseo’s mother, unable to shake off her worries, asked Eunho’s mom.

“Don’t worry, he drives better than me. He judges the situation quickly, and because he resembles his father, he is very natural in terms of driving. A few days ago, he drove for me and I thought he’s even better at me.”

“Then I’m glad…”

Still, she glanced at the car behind them with her anxious eyes and rummaged through her handbag.

Hyeseo and Eunho were fastening their seatbelts when Hyeseo’s mother approached the driver’s seat, so Eunho lowered the window.

“Eunho, can you drive well? I think it would be better for me to do it.”

Eunho smiled and waved his hand at her concern.

“No. I will drive very carefully and take Hyerim as well.”

Hyeseo’s mother glanced at her but Hyeseo pretended not to see her.

“It’s better not to go fast.”

Eunho laughed, saying it was really okay, Hyeseo’s mom then put a card on the dashboard of the car.

“Okay, use this card to charge oil and get something to eat at the rest stop. If you get tired while driving, make sure to take it easy and come slowly.”

“Yes, auntie.”

“You’re good at driving, but the expressway is not easy, so you should never turn over the steering wheel. Got it?”

“Yes.”

“Neither do I ask for a steering wheel on the highway.”

At Hyeseo’s harsh words, Eunho giggled as he looked at Hyeseo.

***

Hyeseo’s eyes was filled with tears once again as she remembered the two families who got into the car.

‘Why did I even force that? I’m not a child, can’t I wait a few more hours to leave?’

Hyeseo crouched down, not even thinking of wiping her wet face with tears.

‘It’s okay for me to live here for the rest of my life. I just hope that everyone is safe and uninjured. No, even if they get hurt, just let them survive. I hope that Hyerim won’t be alone. If I have to live here until the day I die, I will. Just let everyone else live.’

She laid on her stomach for a while and cried, and she felt like she was suffocating and about to vomit.

Hyeseo, who sat up from her seat frantically, saw the mirror on the wall opposite the bed once again. In the mirror she could see the reflection of the little child she had seen before she fell asleep.

Hyeseo gave strength to her trembling legs and she got up slowly to walk towards the mirror.

A day or two passed, and she was still the pretty girl with blonde hair and green eyes.

She reached out and touched the child’s face in the mirror. The feeling of the cold glass inadvertently put strength into her fingertips.

‘Okay, let’s adapt for now and survive here! Whether this is a dream, the afterlife, or a virtual reality, it doesn’t matter. Because for me, right now, this is reality. If this is a new world, there might be some way to get me back to where I used to live.’

Licking her parched lips, Hyeseo, no, Ellen, pulled herself together.

***

‘Since I decided to adapt and live here, I need to gather information first, right?’

However, compared to her firm determination, Ellen had to sweat quite a bit just to gather useful information. This is because she had to find out about the people in this family without being caught not being the real Eleanor Quinter.

Fortunately for her, Ellen is just a young child. No matter how absurd the questions she asked, everyone would think of it as cute and will answer her kindly.

This Quinter Family is a County in the Ducalion Empire, and it was said that they were the marginal family that guarded the northern border.

Ellen’s father was Gerald Quinter, who was so tall and strong that no matter how much she asked anyone, the answer seemed to be always, “He is a knight!”.

Her father, who went to the battlefield since his childhood and made a lot of achievements, has a completely different face when he’s smiling and while he’s not. He looks like the world’s stupidest Dad when he smiles to his family but he looked like he would cut the throat of the butler, Albert, or his aide, Lotz, if they didn’t listen.

A moment of silence for Albert and Lotz, who works for such a scary boss.

Her mother, Gloria Quinter, was also the beautiful blonde woman she had seen yesterday. She was said to be the daughter of the current Emperor.

Her mother is a princess! What a golden umbilical cord!

Her mother has two brothers, including the Crown Prince.

It would be strange for their daughter at this age who could hear and speak to not know the name of her parents so Ellen couldn’t ask the name of her current mother and father, hence, she had to try hard figuring it out on her own.

The most difficult thing to figure out was her mother’s name. In this mansion, only her Mom and Dad call each other by their names, because Mom calls him “Gerald” but Dad affectionately calls her “Lia.”

‘I almost thought my mother’s name was ‘Lia’.’

But at least, she found out now the basic informations!

Really, she’s thankful to be in a young child’s body.

***

Ellen has been excited since the evening. After all, she’s going to the Carzel Estate in a wagon with her mother.

The Carzel Family is also a County who guards the border, and shares territory with the Quinter Family. Although the territory was very large, the residence of both families are close to each other.

The Count and Countess of Carzel are said to be very close friends of her parents. Her mother was friends with the Countess since childhood, while her father became friends with the Count through her mother and became back-to-back comrades when they were younger. Moreover, there’s a Carzel boy who was just a year older than her, named Roylette.

Ellen is thrilled with the idea of ​​visiting a new place and meeting her peers, and it wasn’t until morning that she realized two things she had forgotten.

The first thing was the fact that the boy was just seven years old, a real seven years old, not with an adult inside like her.

‘In a nutshell, while adults are talking, I am chosen to babysit a seven-year-old baby. That’s terrifying.’

And second was the fact that the seven-year-old boy was even older than her.

‘I dreamt of meeting you, but I didn’t want a seven-year-old!’

Ellen screamed inwardly.