I Found the Heroine!
I wandered all over Gray Garden for quite some time. Yet there was no sign of the original heroine—or even a single vagrant, for that matter.
“Your Highness, do you truly not know where your friend’s house is located?”
Roclaire, who had miraculously recovered his lost ability to speak, asked me.
“I know the general area… but all the structures look so similar that it’s difficult to find the right one.”
It wasn’t exactly a lie. The buildings the vagrants had thrown together all looked roughly the same, as if they had made some kind of pact.
“Then at least tell us your friend’s name. We will find them for you.”
I didn’t even know their gender—how could I possibly know their name?
“That won’t be necessary. We are the closest of friends, so I must go in person.”
“Ah…!”
Roclaire’s shoulders trembled as he wiped away the tears pooling in his eyes.
“My thoughts were too shallow…! Please allow this humble life of mine to atone for its sin…!”
The moment he finished speaking, Roclaire drew his pure-white sword and, without hesitation, flipped it around. Gripping the blade with both hands, he pointed the tip straight at himself—the perfect stance of a knight resolved to commit suicide.
‘Crazy. This guy has no middle ground at all!’
I quickly wrapped my hands around his, stopping the blade.
“Your death would be an act of betrayal against the empire. If you wish to atone, then swing that sword for me—no, for the empire.”
“To receive your guidance not once but twice from someone as lowly as myself… I don’t know where to put myself! Barshain’s Sword Master Roclaire swears to devote his utmost loyalty to Your Highness the Princess…!”
I had turned even a Sword Master into a loyal subject. Maybe I really was pretty strong?
I barely held back the smile threatening to break free and kept a solemn expression.
“A fine mindset. However, what matters most right now is finding my dear friend.”
“Is there any good way to locate your friend…?”
Wondering if the contents of The Map of Fate’s Treasure had changed, I hurriedly opened it.
The contents of the map remain unchanged.
‘Damn it. It’s exactly the same.’
The map showed no difference from before I came here.
“At this rate, night will fall before we find her. I didn’t want to resort to this method, but it seems I have no choice.”
At my words, the entire escort party flinched with startled expressions.
“D-do you have a good idea, Your Highness?”
The simple method I had come up with to locate the original heroine.
“It’s quite straightforward. Just bring every single female vagrant before me—even if you have to threaten them.”
Given that the original story had a harem tag, the heroine was probably a woman.
‘And she’ll be insanely beautiful. With huge breasts, too.’
She would look just like the typical harem heroines.
“Understood! Then we shall conscript every female vagrant in the area. Your Highness, please rest inside the carriage. I leave this to you, Kal.”
“Yes, Sir Roclaire. This way, Your Highness.”
With those words, Jack, Dias, and Roclaire headed toward the vagrants’ settlement. Since the camp wasn’t far, I could still faintly see their figures.
“If you don’t want to die, bring your wife immediately!”
“You must present your wife to Her Highness the Princess!”
“Are you resisting? You parasites who dare set foot on imperial land—how dare you!”
‘…….’
It’s fine. The kids are good-hearted. They just slightly misunderstood what I said.
Once we left the camp, even their bandit-like appearances vanished. Inside the ash-covered forest path, Kal and I walked silently back toward the carriage.
We had walked quite a distance, yet Kal hadn’t said a single word to me. He simply stayed vigilant, fulfilling his duty as an escort knight.
The cold atmosphere was suffocating me. Wanting to break the awkward silence, I spoke first.
“Kal, are you satisfied with your current life?”
Kal glanced back at me for a moment before the corners of his lips lifted slightly.
“Yes. Not only myself, but I believe everyone feels pride in working for the empire.”
“I see. Now I understand why Roclaire trusts you so much.”
Apparently pleased by my lip service, Kal smiled in a way I had never seen before.
“Haha! Not at all. Sir Roclaire is kind to everyone.”
‘Look at this guy acting all humble.’
Anyone could tell Roclaire paid special attention to him.
I asked Kal something I was curious about—about the man himself.
“What is your current level of mastery? From what I’ve seen, you appear to be at the Expert rank.”
Kal looked surprised, then scratched the back of his head.
“Oh… I’m astonished by Your Highness’s keen eye. To be precise, I stand right on the threshold of Sword Master.”
‘I thought he was just talented, but he’s actually a genius pretending to be average.’
If he could handle aura even more freely, becoming a Sword Master would only be a matter of time.
“Hmm… Do you not desire it? The rank of Sword Master.”
“It would be a lie to say I don’t. I train every day, yet sometimes I wonder if this is as far as I can go… Your Highness?”
I ran over on my short legs, stood on my tiptoes, and gently pinched both of his cheeks without hurting him. Then I puffed them out like balloons.
“Words become seeds. Watch your speech and actions. And from what I have seen of you, I am certain you will one day reach the rank of Sword Master.”
“Your Highness…”
“Let us continue on our way.”
Kal looked like he wanted to say something, but he soon shook his head and returned to his usual demeanor.
. . .
After comforting Kal, we continued walking and finally reached the carriage. Kal opened the carriage door for me until the very end.
“We have arrived, Your Highness. I shall take my leave now.”
“Thank you for escorting me.”
“Ah, Your Highness!”
Kal called out just as I was about to climb into the carriage. When I turned to look at him, he pulled out a dagger that looked rather light.
“In case someone threatens Your Highness. Ah, should I continue guarding you?”
I would be grateful if he did, but…
‘At that speed, when would he ever bring the vagrants back?’
“I appreciate the thought, but it is fine. Go quickly.”
I could manage somehow with the dagger he gave me.
“Understood, Your Highness. I will gather the vagrants and bring them here, so please wait.”
With those final words, Kal sprinted away at an incredibly fast pace.
‘…He seems faster than Usain Bolt.’
It made me realize once again just how extraordinary these people who had transcended humanity truly were.
Once Kal left, I was completely alone.
“Maybe I should have asked him to guard me after all…”
I, who still hugged a doll to sleep, was quite prone to loneliness!
“If only Kal had asked me one more time, I wouldn’t have to be alone…”
By now, Kal had probably already joined the escort party and was searching for the vagrants. Even if he had walked, I would have been anxious, but he had run off at terrifying speed.
‘I guess I’ll just have to stay alone until Roclaire returns…’
There was no Roclaire to listen to my dad jokes, no Kal who always smiled brightly, no Dias or Jack. Not even my daughter-obsessed father, Calian.
“I am lonely right now…”
While I sat inside the carriage trying to soothe my loneliness, I heard rustling sounds coming from outside.
‘It doesn’t sound like a small animal…’
The rustling was quite loud, so that was my conclusion.
A deer? A bear? A tiger? I was the kind of person who was too scared of animals to even visit the zoo.
“I-I’m scared…!”
I pulled out the dagger I had kept in my bosom to steel my nerves.
Before long, the rustling had turned into the wet, squelching sound of footsteps on muddy ground.
Knock knock.
The unidentified creature was now busily knocking on the carriage door.
“H-hiiik…!”
I drew the dagger from its sheath and slowly approached the carriage door.
Bang!
The moment I flung the door open, I pointed the blade at the suspicious person’s throat.
“Who are you? Reveal your name.”
A woman with dry, frizzy white hair and dull yellow eyes that suggested she was underweight. She looked slightly surprised when she saw the dagger, but soon wore an indifferent expression.
“M-my name is Liana… P-please, give me something to eat…”
With those words, Liana collapsed to the ground.
I calmly examined her condition. Parched lips, a body cold as ice, and a faintly beating pulse. She was the textbook example of someone suffering from severe malnutrition.
‘I need to get something into her.’
Unfortunately, the food I could give Liana was extremely limited. Inside the carriage, there were only the snacks I had brought for myself and some milk to drink.
“Hmm… You’re making things troublesome for me.”
It would have been nice if I could have carried Liana inside the carriage, but sadly this body was only nine years old. Lifting a fully grown adult woman was no easy task.
After leaving Liana on the ground, I brought out the milk.
‘But how much should I give her?’
Even Dr. Hong Sung-woo’s 100 Emergency First Aid Guidelines didn’t specify exactly how much to feed someone in this condition. Still, it did explain in great detail how to administer food to a person who had collapsed from malnutrition.
‘I’ll just have to trust my instincts.’
“You must not die!”
I slowly fed Liana small amounts of milk. Dr. Hong had said that feeding her too quickly out of annoyance would send her straight to the afterlife.
After giving her some milk, color gradually returned to Liana’s previously pale face. The immediate crisis was over. Now it was time to deal with the lingering problems.
‘Hypothermia is the issue now.’
The inside of the carriage was completely empty—except for the mat.
I pulled the mat off the seat and rolled Liana up in it like a kimbap. She looked a bit like a giant rice roll, but who cared?
‘Not dying comes first, right?’
I plopped down beside the rolled-up Liana. If her condition worsened even a little, it would become a huge headache.
“It would be nice if you turned out to be the heroine of the original story…”
There was no way such a lottery-like coincidence would happen again.
Thirty minutes later.
In the distance, I saw Roclaire’s group approaching, followed by a large number of female vagrants. At some point, Roclaire appeared before me, his hair whipping in the wind.
‘…Is this even the same species?’
Kal’s speed had been impressive, but Roclaire was on another level. He was so fast my eyes couldn’t even follow him.
“Your Highness, who is this person?”
Roclaire stared intently at Liana, who was sprawled on the ground.
“She knocked on the carriage door. When I opened it, she was already collapsed in front. I have administered temporary first aid, so you may rest easy.”
“As expected of Your Highness…! How can you be so merciful! I look forward to the day you become the mother of the empire!”
It was true, and I didn’t exactly dislike it, so I let it slide.
“Your Highness, we have gathered every female vagrant in the area. Please check if your friend is among them.”
‘…….’
“From what I saw while watching from afar, my friend does not appear to be here, unfortunately… Then let us return to the castle—”
Roclaire suddenly grabbed my shoulder.
“There is always the possibility of a one-in-a-million chance. Please check for yourself.”
“N-no! Are you trying to kill me?!”