CH 2

Hopefully, at Your Mercy – Chapter 2

But even at this moment when everything was unpredictable, one thing was resolute.

‘This guy is kind of leery.’

This man named Lord Kabila was a fraud from the very beginning. I needed to take a closer look.

‘Besides, when forming a contract, you have to set the upper hand in terms of the atmosphere. He took the lead! You must take it back. Allowing yourself to be pushed around will only make your opponent look down on you.’

Therefore, in my judgment, this was not the right time to seal the contract.

Sadly, however, the duke did not quite understand Delinda’s meaning.

“I know, Delinda. Now, it is clear that glory will once again return to our family.”

“Will it be glory? If I pray more…”

“It seems that your prayers have been answered today, Delinda.”

Lord Kabila rubbed his hands and exclaimed as if he felt a sense of crisis at Delinda’s words.

“That’s right! Isn’t this the moment when the Schultz family will walk the path of glory again? I am delighted to experience this shining moment with you, Your Highness, the Duke.”

“Haha… Is that so?”

“Yes! In fact, I received many proposals from other nobles, but I decided to refuse them all and come here. How common is it to gain the opportunity to serve the great founding family of Duke Schultz?”

This swindler’s enticing words were misleading Duke Schultz.

“Therefore, Your Highness, the Duke, please accept my admiration for your family.”

Bowing his head politely, Lord Kabila smoothly talked.

As soon as he finished speaking, Delinda felt it in her bones.

It was over. The duke was done for.

A noble honor. A great founding family. The words uttered by this swindler were able to sway the proud duke’s mind.

As the situation progressed, Delinda finally decided she needed to say something. Anything.

“It’s fake, Father! I think this is fake! It’s a fake jewel!”

It didn’t matter if it was real or fake. I just needed to buy some time.

Lord Kabila clutched the spirit stone, feigning offense.

“Fake? Even a person without mana or strength can wear this glove and crush it… See, look! Doesn’t it burn perfectly?”

The effect of the Spirit Stone was certain. When broken with force, a flame will blaze in the air.

It really started to burn. Now, the next thing was the problem.

What should I do?

Even as she struggled, the flame fluttered in the air, as if taunting Delinda. After a short thought, Delinda made a simple decision.

Screw up!

I’ll ruin this by stirring up a commotion!

Delinda made up her mind and lunged for the flame, grabbing it.

“Oh, dear! Princess!”

“Kyaa! It’s hot!”

Then, she aimed for the seat next to Lord Kabila and chucked it. His eyes widened in surprise. The roaring fire slammed into the couch and began to catch fire.

“No, there’s a fire! Argh! It shouldn’t expand to this degree because of its lower rank!”

Sir Kabila shouted and rambled, taking out magic sand and sprinkling it over the damage.

Recognizing the seriousness of the situation, the employees flocked around.

“Miss! Are you all right?!”

Philip, the housemaster of the mansion, made a beeline for Delinda.

“No! The duke’s favorite sofa!”

Varmo, the butler of the mansion, hugged the sofa.

The entire thing was confusing. It was noisy and hectic. It was exactly what Delinda wanted.

Lord Kabila, who had extinguished the fire, muttered as if he had lost his mind.

“How on earth did the princess touch it using her hands… The general public cannot…”

Delinda stood in the middle of the drawing room while it turned as chaotic as the market. Then she took a deep breath and shouted with the loudest voice in the mansion.

“I hate dangerous things! I hate things that burn, and I hate that he showed me something frightening! Tell him to get out of my house right now, Father!”

* * * 

It was fine.

That was stupid enough.

I looked very stupid.

Delinda smiled the entire trip to her room, accompanied by her maid, Rose.

I was reflecting on my performance just now.

What happened in the duke’s drawing room? The sofa burned, people panicked, and the contract was wet. A teacup tipped over during the commotion, and the ink smeared. They had to delay the contract momentarily due to the handwriting being unidentifiable.

When the princess appeared to be surprised, Duke Schultz sent Lord Kabila away and ordered him to deliver a new contract next time.

Anyway, there’s a moratorium now. I have time to carefully look over the contract.

Delinda was pleased with her foolishness, but her smile slowly faded as they approached the room.

‘…Wait a second. Is it okay to enjoy this?’

So to speak, what happened today? A terrible incident that made Delinda’s reputation as a fool shine even more foolishly.

“…”

After a painful silence, I decided to adapt to reality.

‘Ay, who cares? This isn’t even my body. It’d be better to act as a fool for now and protect the family’s money. I’m going back one way or the other.’

Thinking about it that way made me feel more at ease.

Moreover, I had a feeling that in a few years, I’d be able to return to reality as before.

‘Relax, the real princess will return to this body someday. I’ll help her physically and mentally so that the princess’s father doesn’t get cheated.’

How many years will it be this time?

But even so, I was glad to be a daughter of a wealthy family this time. Even though it’s all going down the drain.

I tried to recall the events of my 1st life, slowly bobbing my head back and forth.

However, 

‘I can’t think of anything.’

I couldn’t remember my 1st life.

Everything was blurry. As if a thick fog were clouding my brain.

‘Okay, then, let’s put the pieces together.’

Delinda began to unravel the jumbled clues together, step by step.

First of all, I clearly lived here in the past. I was also certain that I lived in a different body, not Princess Delinda’s.

The problem is that I can’t remember whose body it was exactly.

When I was in the real world, I guess I just left the novel and lost my memory… but it’s become a problem now that I’m here again.

It was my previous life that I couldn’t remember.

Some things were still vivid, like the accent of the Bakhyan Empire’s official language, the price of a single flower sold at the market, and even the taste of cherries. But other matters were unknown to me.

‘Come to think of it, who was the main character of this novel?’

I’m pretty sure this body isn’t the female lead.

I barely moved my feet, and my face blanks as I tried to remember the past. As I was walking so frantically, I didn’t realize that Rose, who was ahead of me, had stopped.

I bumped into Rose when she stopped to open the door.

Delinda struggled to keep her balance. But Rose weaseled out of the way and rushed to the wall instead of holding me steady.

Bump! I hit my face. I didn’t bleed, but it was tingling.

“Ah…” 

I rubbed the bridge of my nose, and for a second I thought I was going to cry because the tip of it burned. But as I touched my nose, I felt something off.

Why is it so strange to be hurt? What the hell…

Meanwhile, Rose opened the door wide and beckoned me to step inside first.

“You have a precious body, Princess, you must be careful. How can you constantly behave this carelessly?”

…Huh?

Delinda lowered the hand rubbing her nose. This person’s tone and nuance did not seem to be of general concern.

If a person appears to be hurt, shouldn’t you worry first?

Is it in my head? Am I delusional?

I stopped walking and focused on Rose’s face. Rose came to let out a sigh of disappointment, telling me this was not an illusion.

“Go on. Everyone will feel frustrated with the princess should you act slow.”

“…”

“It was like that before. You put the duke in an awkward situation since you requested to welcome an important guest together, and in the end…”

“…”

“The princess’ strength is that she is always pure, but now you should learn how to act as a noblewoman. The uncaring actions of the princess can seriously tarnish the honor of the noble Schultz family. You know that, don’t you?”

It was a calm, gentle reproach. Delinda narrowed her eyes.

What the— What is this irreverent tone?

The expression disappeared from Delinda’s face.

Unlike the Idiot Princess Delinda, Han Ji-an’s pouty temper skyrocketed.

Was it always like this for Princess Delinda?

No, if a child is lacking since birth, it is essential to be understanding. Do you push emotional pressure onto her like this behind her back?

To demoralize an already lacking child…

Delinda glanced back at Rose. Rose was staring down at Delinda with her chin in the air.

“Rose, express yourself correctly.“

“Pardon me?” 

“Why the elusive remark? Was it concern or sarcasm? Don’t act worried and confess to me your true feelings. Princess Delinda was acting foolish as per usual and entirely ruined things.”

Now, my insides were cool.

Rose clutched her dress in surprise, and then let it go.

“What on earth do you mean, Princess? How could I dare say such a thing to the princess? You’re mistaken.”

Contrary to Delinda’s expectations, Rose’s eyes widened and she denied it as if it were inappropriate.

“Ah, I’m mistaken? Well then, you should have spoken clearly so that you would not be misunderstood.”

“What?” 

“I figured you were pretending to care about me and were actually treating me as a fool.”

“That’s absurd, Princess. I am a faithful servant to the princess.”

Rose, who looked bewildered, quickly schooled her expression. Her thin gentle smile made up the façade of her usual composure, just as if she never felt any stir of emotions whatsoever.

‘Oh… Rose is like a true noble. Isn’t that annoying?’

She was truly dignified. A trained calmness allows her to put on a masking smile and hide her true colors and inner feelings.

What type of person is this maid?

As soon as I turned curious, unfamiliar information began to flood my brain.