CH 2

Eventually, after a few hours, she caught no one, so Camry tried to help her clumsily.

“Oh!”

“Ugh! Camry!”

“Oh no! I tripped over a tree trunk and can’t move?!”

“I gwot you! (I got you!)”

Hence Izeline, thinking she was lucky, wasn’t the tagger anymore.

Then, Monica greeted her when she returned home around sunset after playing more games. Izeline quickly fell asleep as she was tired, perhaps from running all day. However, she was in the same room again the next day.

…Huh?

She was here again?

‘This makes no sense.’

Even then, Izeline tried to adjust. Usually, Camry would visit her when she was hungry and needed to eat, and the rest of the time was spent at home. She had been doing the same routine for a month.

“….”

Izeline stared at her little body in the mirror blankly. If it was a dream, she should wake up now.

“Cwazy. (I’m going crazy.)”

It didn’t seem like a lucid dream. At this point, no matter how stupid the person was, they would be bound to notice that something was strange. She began to be doubtful even though she normally wouldn’t have such thoughts.

“I… dwid I twansmigate… (I… did I transmigrate into a book…?)”

Even though she loved the book, and when she thought a few times about wanting to transmigrate into the book…

It was just a mere thought… how could she believe it was possible?

“Cwazy. (Crazy.)”

More than that, how could she possess the body of an unimportant extra?

When she opened the door and went out of the cabin, Izeline stood up in the yard. She immediately saw the luxurious Duke Armanty’s mansion. It seemed to be the mansion where Robert Von Armanty, the villain of the novel, recuperated as a child.

And it was also where her current mother, Monica, worked as a maid.

“It’s a bwig deal. (It’s a big deal.)”

She was worried about her mother.

Robert, the final villain in this novel, suffered from an incurable disease called ‘Krug.’ He had a pitiable childhood. Krug was a condition in which the skin around their heart grew, and eventually, it would eat the heart, leading them to their death.

Nonetheless, Robert survived, perhaps because he was the final villain. It was only at the end that he died due to the Crown Prince, not because of the illness.

In any case, because an effect of that was their skin problem, people treated them with contempt, saying they were cursed by the devil. The same was true for the Duke’s family. Many people, including the Duke, abandoned their children under the pretext of ‘recuperating’ outside.

He should be right here in this village.

Anyway, she couldn’t get involved with that mansion.

Robert, who lived on while hating the world, would become the underworld boss in the future. He kidnapped, tortured, and tried to kill Livny, the female lead who was the Crown Prince’s lover and his weakness.

⌊ Robert’s red eyes, which seemed to hold blood, turned to Livny. His rough hand gripped her chin.

“The Prince should’ve seen your frightened face, too bad.”

“Ugh…”

His expression was surprisingly calm as he spoke those cruel words… No, it seemed that cruel madness was underneath that calm facade. ⌉

Of course, in the end, the sword of the Prince, who was blinded by anger, slit his throat. After that, the cold-hearted prince eliminated every character around Robert.

So it meant if she went near there, she’d die in the distant future.

“Mothwer… (Mother…)”

How could that be your workplace?

But all of a sudden, she realized she had no idea at what point this novel was. How could she guarantee that little Robert was inside the mansion? Maybe he was already grown up and was in the capital?

“I hwave to check it out myswelf. (I have to check it out myself.)”

As she thought that, Izeline toddled solemnly toward the hill.

* * *

When she arrived in front of the mansion, she encountered a problem. It was because even though this was a village, guards stood in front of the mansion, and she had no idea how to pass them.

When Izeline approached them and moved around, the guard said sternly.

“Identify youself.”

“I-Ijeline! (Izeline!)”

She was surprised but answered immediately. Hearing that, the corners of the guards’ mouth was seen about to move. However, because they needed to keep their dignity as a guard, they quickly managed their expression.

The one who asked first opened his mouth again.

“What brings you here?”

“T-to see my mwother… (To see my mother…)”

“Who’s your mother?”

“Mwonica… (Monica…)”

Izeline lowered her head, wriggling her fat fingers.

For this trivial reason, it was impossible to enter Armanty mansion. Come to think of it, she could’ve asked Monica about it when she came home. For example, whether Robert was staying there now, whether he had the Krug disease, how old he was now, and so on…

She’d just go home if she were denied entry.

“You’ve been identified. Get in.”

Huh?!

Didn’t the guards give her a pass too easily…?!

Izeline was troubled.

‘Hey, guards. Even though she was a four-year-old child, was it okay to let a stranger in?’

However, after a while, she realized that being Monica’s daughter was already a proper identification.

“Oh my─how cute.”

“It’s the maid’s daughter.”

“How old are you?”

The maids surrounded her. Meanwhile, Monica wasn’t even seen anywhere.

The maids there were also divided into ranks. Those who came from aristocracy served the nobles closely, while those who weren’t were in charge of miscellaneous tasks such as cleaning.

“Whewe’s mothew? (Where’s mother?)”

Hearing her question, the maid dodged her gaze and answered nonchalantly.

“Is she in the master’s room…”

Something was suspicious. When she said that, people began to disperse one by one, saying excuses such as they had something else to do.

Izeline stood thoughtfully and began to walk.

‘Why did they run?’

It was truly strange.

The mansion was large, and she needed to walk for a long time though it wasn’t difficult to find the master’s room.

Clash─!

“Are you kidding me?! I can’t believe you put this sh*t in my room!”

The maids were pacing nervously around the room where the disturbance took place.

Izeline opened her green eyes wide.

The voice was probably from Duke Brioche von Armanty. Looking at him acting that way, it seemed like Robert was still a weak child now. Carefully, when she approached the room, she could see Monica’s shoulder crouched through the gap in the door.

‘Mother!’

Slap─!

At that moment, Monica’s head was turned alongside Duke Armanty’s hand.

‘Gasp! Is he crazy?!’

Even though she was just an extra, she was her kind and sweet mother. Forgetting her social status, she was about to meddle.

“I-I’m sorry. I won’t see you in the eye agwain. I won’t cwome again.”

She paused at the trembling voice.

It was the young Robert. Even though he was hidden by the door, the child’s voice felt pained and afraid.

‘Ugh, it breaks my heart.’

Izeline stared at the Duke through the door, shaking her little fist. It occurred to her belatedly that if the maid’s daughter made a fuss, her mother’s head could be cut off.

“If you know it, go away!”

Monica and Robert quickly stepped aside when they heard him while Izeline ran into a corner and hid herself. When she peeked out, she could see Robert walking helplessly and Monica, who was holding his hand affectionately next to him.

At first glance, it was a touching scene, but on the other hand, she also thought it was dangerous.

‘I didn’t know they were that close.’

If the Crown Prince eliminated Robert’s people, one of them might be Monica. Then, she herself would be in danger.

But…

“Sniffle…”

“It’s okay. I’m here with you, master.”

“Monica… ugh…”

“It’s okay. It’ll be fine.”

Seeing his small whimpering shoulders, it wasn’t that Monica didn’t understand what was wrong with this child. It wasn’t his fault that he got Krug disease in the first place.

“B*stard.”

Izeline murmured soft enough for her to hear, then she glared as hard as she could toward the door where Duke Armanty was at. Well, that was the only thing she could do now.

How long had he been treated like this?

Step, step.

Coming out of the mansion, she saw Robert heading somewhere alone. Actually, she wasn’t sure because they wore a robe, although Robert’s supposed to be the only one with a child’s height in this mansion.

‘Where is he going?’

He looked around like a thief as he toddled to a deserted place. No, he squeezed his little body into overgrown bushes.

Izeline immediately followed him.

Rustle.

After passing through the bush, she saw a small dog hole on the wall.

“Is he gwoing to run away? (Is he going to wun away?)”

Witnessing the scene, she was taken aback.

No, but what kind of situation was this…

“Hey!”

When she shouted through the dog hole, Robert glanced back and started running.

‘Seriously, this kid…!’

Izeline’s fighting spirit was ignited.

“Whewe awe you! Ah, no, where awe you gwoing─! (Where are you! Ah, no, where are you going─!)”

“D-don’t fwollow me!”

As Robert frowned and increased his speed, Izeline also ran fast behind him.

Step, step.

An unexpected chase ensued.

The two children ran fiercely down the hill and soon arrived at the forest where the children would sometimes play hide-and-seek.

“Ugh!”

“Huff! Huff! Why awe you so fast! Cough, cough!”

She put her hand on her waist and hurriedly yanked off Robert’s hood as she breathed heavily.

“Who awe you!”

He frowned and turned his head away. Izeline’s green eyes opened wide in surprise after seeing Robert.

“Oh? You….”

Hair as black as the night, eyes as red as the burning sun. It was because he was the boy she met while playing hide-and-seek on the day she possessed this body.

“How…”

Izeline, who was about to ask if a duke’s son could come out so freely, recalled the dog hole a moment ago.

Oh, my God.

It seemed that he often went in and out through the dog hole in the walls of Duke Armanty’s mansion. There was a hole the size of a four-year-old child, yet the security was so lax…

She was dumbfounded but also wondered whether this was also possible because this was a novel.

‘Is this part of the setting?’

Well, at least she thought so.

“Mowe than that, awe you okay? (More than that, are you okay?)”

“W-what?!”

Robert blushed and shouted out loud. The same scene flashed in both of their heads. It was when Duke Armanty scolded him.

“I- I’m not that pewson!”

“Oh…”

He didn’t say it with any context, but Izeline understood. Robert must’ve been embarrassed that someone like him was caught sneaking into a dog hole, so Izeline decided to play along.

“Then who awe you?”

“Oh… I…”

As if he hadn’t thought about it, Robert was nervous, but he eventually opened his mouth again.

“I’m a maid’s son.”

“Me too. I’m Ijeline, what’s youw name? (Me too. I’m Izeline, what’s your name?)”

“…Lemo.”

The name he made up hurriedly was strange. However, she tried to play along again.

“Oh. I’m a maid’s dawghter.”

“….”

At those words, Robert’s eyes shook strangely. As Izeline held out her hand to shake his hand the next moment, he only looked down at it.

“Huwwy.”

When she urged him by waving her hand as if her arm was in pain, he instantly opened and closed his fist a few times before taking her hand.

“Hehe─”

As she smiled broadly and shook their hand, Robert stared at her and pursed his cute lips. The sun was setting. Perhaps because of this, his cheeks were slightly red.