CH 1

Until I was two years old, I thought I was crazy. I can’t believe I’m a baby.

It was ridiculous that a person who lived well suddenly became a baby, and crying with, “Waaaah!” could never be done in my right mind.

That said, if I wasn’t crying, there would be a lot of buzz around me. The man who called himself my dad looked at me intently and muttered, “Where does it hurt?” as he looked at the documents by my side all day.

I couldn’t be so self-conscious.

It was an environment where I couldn’t help but cry.

So I decided to go crazy nicely.

I cried without my mind to overcome this shameful situation.

I grew up doing this too.

I was amazed by the people who immediately ran to me and soothe me as soon as I cried.

Of course, crying was hard, but changing diapers and drinking milk were even more difficult.

It was so embarrassing that it couldn’t even be compared to my courage to cry.

The best part was sleeping.

That was the best time.

Fortunately, it was a baby’s body, that’s why I slept infrequently.

“Wow, it’s really ugly!”

The boy, who was admiring my face brightly, reached out and grabbed my hand.

He looks almost like the man who claimed to be my dad.

The boy smiled brightly at me, who was lying on the bed. His golden hair fluttered in the wind that came in from outside the window.

The eyes I was staring at in wonder had a calm blue color.

The colors that made up the boy were very beautiful. And the boy seemed to have the same thoughts as me.

The boy stared at me as if he was possessed and muttered that my eyes were pretty.

Who’s looking at who and calling them pretty now?

Anyway, to sum up what that boy said, I was a girl with golden hair and red eyes.

In a way, it was a more colorful color than that boy.

And as I found out later, that boy is my brother.

His name is Edin Lerdonia.

And my name is Danae Lerdonia.

It seemed like a name I had heard many times, but I ignored it.

No, in fact, this sense of strangeness was growing.

The name ‘Danae’ was the name of a character in a novel that I liked and read many times.

I suspected that I had entered the novel, but soon dismissed it as meaningless.

I wondered if it was because I went through the absurdity of becoming a baby that made me fantasize about it.

And when I was four, my father, who has a very light lower body, brought in my three-year-old hidden brother, who was only a year younger than me.

He was a child with lovely green hair and green eyes.

What was his name again…

Ah.

Sylvester Lerdonia.

The name was nine letters long.

Eight letters for me, seven letters for Edin.

I seriously thought about whether the Duke was conscious of the number of letters and came up with the name, or if it was because he was greedy for sense of humor, but soon gave up.

Because the Duke was a great person.

Edin, me, and Sylvester’s mothers were all different. He was truly amazing.

And maybe I was a more awesome person than him.

It took eight years for me to fully understand this world after I opened my eyes.

This really couldn’t have been more surprising.

***

“This is Reynold. Reynold, you should say hello to Danae, right?”

The name of that boy standing in front of me while looking menacing is Reynold.

After hearing his name and multiplying it a thousand times, I fully grasped the reason for the strange feeling I had felt before.

It seems that I was right, I entered the novel I was thinking of.

Anyway, that doesn’t matter now.

Most importantly, I would soon die at the hands of that child.

In the novel, Danae was the childhood friend of Reynold, the villain and also the male lead, and was the first to be sacrificed by him.

Why did Danae die? Did I die at the hands of that guy because laughing felt bad?

Ha, it’s not even funny.

The soft black eyes, which had turned grey, were covered in devil.

Should I do an exorcism? I pondered for a moment.

The trouble was short-lived.

I took a handful of sugar that looked like salt and sprinkled it on Reynold.

Then cried out.

“I don’t want to be friends with him!”

The only way to avoid death was to avoid being friends by giving the impression of being rude on first impressions.

Reynold looked at me as if I was a crazy brat, but I couldn’t help it.

However, the villain was very different no matter what.

It wasn’t normal for one to take care of their expression immediately after being hit by sugar.

At the very least, I expected Reynold to be angry or throw sugar at me in the same way.

Still, his first impression on me  must have already been ruined, so I had a hunch that the prospects for my future would be good.

“…My goodness.”

Madam Collin stared blankly at her son, who had been demonized, with a blank stare, unable to keep her mouth shut.

Fufu, now say that he can’t make friends with such a crazy girl, Madam.

Please say so quickly.

I giggled inwardly and looked at her with an expectant look on my face.

However, the mother of the villain was also very different no matter what.

Instead of getting angry at me for being rude, she smiled brightly and came over and squeezed my hand.

“Oh my gosh… I never thought there would be a child who’s very much the same just like my son!”

“…?”

“I wondered if he was making a bad impression on his new friend, but Danae would put my mind at ease.”

At her words, my escort knight, Paul, also opened his mouth to the Madam, sweeping my chest.

“Madam Lerdonia was right. She said that the lady was more suitable as a friend for the Young Lord than the young masters.”

“I don’t need a friend, though?”

I looked straight at Reynold and spoke clearly.

But, as if she was quite happy that her son had a friend, she didn’t even listen to me.

She seemed to think it was just a small child’s whining.

It’s not a complaint, though.

Look, it’s something that’s hanging on the strings of my revenge!

She patted Reynold on the shoulder and brought him in front of me.

Reynold, who had a completely rotten expression, had a dirty personality at a glance.

The Madam smiled benevolently and opened her mouth.

“You guys, should you be friends from now on?”

The narration of the ending part of the program, which features a lot of animals, seemed to pass by briefly.

“I don’t need friends.”

When I communicated my intentions once more, Paul, who was standing behind me, started to feel unsafe.

Collin was a duke, just like Lerdonia.

The difference is that Duke Collin is the younger brother of the current emperor.

In a way, they could be said to be a much more powerful duke than Lerdonia.

But it was unavoidable.

Even from the perspective of the Duke of Lerdonia, I thought that it would be better to have a bad relationship than to lose his daughter for no reason.

But as if Madam Collin was accustomed to placating her devil son, she began to placate me in a gentle tone.

“But now that you’re here to play, how about just being friends for today?”

“I don’t want to.”

At my firm reply, she hesitated for a moment, as if she hadn’t even dreamed that I would reject her.

Reynold, who had been quietly listening to our meaningless conversation, suddenly smiled lightly and opened his mouth.

“Let’s play.”

Hearing that, I sincerely thought that my ears were crazy.

“…What?”

“Let’s go play.”

No way… Are you saying you want to play with me now?

However, Reynold’s face as he looked at me was so innocent that there was no room for interpretation.

…Has he really taken a liking to me?

When I responded to Reynold’s completely unexpected words, Madam Collin, who didn’t miss that moment, grabbed my hand tightly.

“Like Reynold said, just play for a day and go. Could the two of you get along well?”

“It’s okay. I still… like books more than friends.”

My emotions were tinged with bewilderment, but luckily my reason was intact.

After hearing my words, Madam Collin put a little more strength in her hand.

She also seems to have tears in her eyes.

“Baby, books are good, but playing with your friends is better.”

“…Sorry.”

“It’s just for today, though?”

The Madam, holding my hand as if she were about to crush it, asked me in a pitiful voice as if she would burst into tears any second.

I opened my mouth to give the same answer, then closed it.

Was I too cold?

It was true that my mouth was bitter to think that my mother was like this to other children.

In the end, at her slight asking look, I reluctantly pretended to nod my head.

A day or so should be fine.

It might be better to cut ties altogether today.

Then Madam Collin’s face lit up at once.

“Good idea. Would you like to go and play in the garden with Reynold?”

Madam Collin whispered softly as she kissed my cheek.

“Reynold, go to the garden with Danae. I’ll prepare a snack for you right away.”

“Yes, Mother.”

Reynold responded with a pretty smile in response to the Madam’s words.

Then he nodded slightly as if to tell me to follow him.

I followed him even though I thought something was strange.

***

The road to the garden was quite long.

“What did you say your name was?”

“…”

What is it, why is he being so nice?

When he didn’t get an answer from me, Reynold turned his head to look at me, perhaps feeling puzzled.

I hurriedly opened my mouth.

“Danae.”

Could it be that he already forgot what happened a while ago?

I felt a little awkward when Reynold, who had been quiet so far, asked my name.

Looking at him, I asked cautiously.

“…Do you have anything to say to me?”

“No, not like that. My mother was very much looking forward to meeting you, and I was curious about you too.”

And his words that followed was something I never thought of.

“The Madam…? Why?”

I stopped involuntarily and asked Reynold. He shrugged his shoulders lightly as if it was no big deal.

“My mother is close to your mother. Maybe because of that.”

It was a story that I couldn’t help but let out a sigh. But just because the two of them were close, it didn’t mean that I and Reynold had to become friends.

“Then let’s never be like that.”

Hearing my words, Reynold put on a puzzled expression.