A Twisted Fate
“…! Charlotte, what on earth are you saying? You’re going to follow them?”
Charlotte’s sudden words made her father, Village Chief Alton, shoot to his feet in a jolt.
He gripped the table and spoke with fierce conviction.
“No! I absolutely cannot permit it!”
“Dad! Please listen to what I’m saying…!”
“No, don’t talk nonsense and get out! You’re my only daughter—would I ever send you to a place this dangerous?!”
“…Dad! Please, I’ve wished for this my whole life!”
“A lifelong wish isn’t for moments like this! Go home right now!”
“……”
Charlotte bit her lower lip hard.
No matter what she said, it was clear her father Alton would stubbornly refuse.
She had known he would from the start.
But she simply couldn’t give up.
“Dad…! Actually….”
Charlotte squeezed her eyes shut and pointed straight at Lahan with her index finger.
“This man…! He’s my future husband…!”
“…!”
“…!”
“What…?”
Village Chief Alton collapsed back into his seat with a thud.
He looked utterly dazed, like someone who had just heard the most absurd and shocking revelation of his life.
But his mental shock didn’t stop there.
Charlotte figured she needed one more push.
“And he…! He made me pregnant…!”
Exactly— in the future.
Even if it was the future, right now it wasn’t something she felt the need to soften for the sake of the numbers.
She had always assumed it would happen soon enough.
“W-what… hah…!”
The chief slumped back against the chair, back of the neck clutched, body giving out completely.
Too sudden, too shocking a confession from his daughter, and even the wise old elder couldn’t hold on—his blood pressure spiked and he collapsed.
“P-please, Chief!”
Logan, the one seated between them, rushed forward in panic.
Logan, who was usually known for his calm and composed demeanor, had now frozen in shock and was running toward the chief.
“A-Alton! Pull yourself together…!”
“L-Logan. My daughter, my only daughter… she’s been forced into… hah…!”
“Chief!!”
Logically speaking, even a normal person would realize something like that couldn’t possibly happen in such a short time.
But the problem was that the wise, venerable Village Chief Alton—supposedly so wise—had lost his ability to reason clearly for the first time in his life.
Charlotte, who had brought down that mighty father, let out a sigh of relief and puffed out her chest with a triumphant smile, slapping her hand on her waist.
“There, now—!”
“……”
…What exactly had she “fixed”?
Lahan, suddenly thrust into the middle of this absurd drama and forced to be the central problem, simply sat there dumbfounded, staring at Charlotte in silence while she wiped the sweat from her forehead as if she had just done something impressive.
…But something felt off.
From the side, a dark, ominous aura was slowly creeping toward him.
Maybe it was just his imagination.
Lahan firmly refused to turn his head and closed his eyes obediently.
It seemed… this was now wrong.
***
“Huu…”
Alton finally recovered his senses, sat back down, and let out a long sigh.
He looked at his proud, dignified daughter.
…Is this a challenge to her father?
Charlotte still held herself with the same unyielding dignity.
Village Chief Alton looked at his daughter with a mixture of resignation and sighed deeply again.
“…So. Your ability to see the future told you that this man is your future husband?”
“Yes! So please allow me to follow him!”
“……”
Alton exhaled another heavy sigh, pressing his temples.
It seemed the sight of his reckless daughter was giving him a headache.
“…You. Now that I think about it, what was your name again?”
“Lahan. Lahan, sir.”
Logan had probably overheard the name from Estella, but Alton decided to confirm it properly.
“…Right. Lahan. You have a similar ability to see the future, like my daughter?”
“Indeed. It’s not exactly the same name or ability as hers, but the two of us did meet in a dream through our shared power of foreseeing the future.”
“…I see. That explains why my daughter reacted that way when she first met you. It felt… strange, somehow.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“No, no. Why would you apologize? You’re innocent. The fault lies with my foolish, reckless daughter.”
“……”
“Dad! I’m not that reckless!”
“……”
She didn’t even realize she was being reckless.
That was the picture of a typical reckless child.
“…Right. This is also some kind of fate. Even though we only really met recently, I’ve confirmed it through this conversation. Lahan, you are a very capable and talented person.”
“…Thank you for saying so.”
“Huu. Although the situation is like this, as a father I must ask a favor. Please take my daughter with you?”
“……”
Lahan kept his eyes on Estella, who was emitting a sinister black aura beside him.
If she saw him, he would die by her hand.
That thought flashed through his mind in an instant.
Even without that, he had no intention of looking at another woman.
“…I’m sorry to say this, but as you know, I have Estella as my partner right here. In this situation, traveling with another woman would be… difficult.”
“……”
The three others in the room fell silent.
Logan, who had been introduced first, had already stepped away at Alton’s words.
The dark, ominous aura that had been slowly approaching from the side seemed to have receded a little after hearing the answer.
The chief’s face was troubled and complex, while Charlotte—his daughter—bit her lower lip tightly.
It looked like her habit whenever things didn’t go well.
Village Chief Alton made another plea.
“Don’t say that. Think about it again. If what you two see in the future is real, then this is also some kind of fate or connection, isn’t it? I’ve already gained a son-in-law like you.”
“……”
Lahan felt genuinely dizzy.
The seat really was like a bed of nails.
“Even so, suddenly… that’s a bit…”
“I know it’s a difficult choice. I understand why you’re struggling to reject my daughter’s pleas. But even if I didn’t, my daughter would chase you anyway. I know her stubbornness better than anyone.”
“……”
“Truly… I feel so ashamed. In the end, I’m asking you to look at another woman on my daughter’s behalf.”
“No, please don’t say that.”
Seeing how he spoke like a sinner, Lahan half-rose from his seat to stop Alton’s bow.
Alton was truly an honest elf and her father.
He was bowing his head to his daughter’s childish wishes and dreams.
…I hope she isn’t just glancing at us from the side, but that she’s truly listening with her heart and gaining multiple meanings from this deep resolve.
She seemed a bit like Estella—stubborn yet sometimes lacking in common sense.
Estella could be quite stubborn or innocent at times.
“Lahan. I’m not asking lightly. Please take my daughter Charlotte with you. At least until you return here. I beg you. My daughter has already made up her mind to follow you completely.”
“……”
He had heard the saying that no parent can defeat a child, but he hadn’t expected to see it play out like this.
I wonder if my own child will face the same situation someday.
Lahan looked toward Estella with a troubled gaze.
At the end of that glance, Estella’s aura had noticeably brightened. She sat with her knees together, head slightly bowed, lost in thought.
Estella seemed to sense the weight of Lahan’s gaze and let out a deep sigh before speaking.
“Alright. But there’s one thing I want you to promise.”
She deliberately used honorific speech so everyone could hear.
In other words, it wasn’t just for Lahan—it was for Charlotte and her father Alton as well.
“I will always be first. The main wife. You must always follow my advice. That way, I’ll be allowed to travel with you.”
Her final glance was directed straight at Charlotte.
Her eyes were saying: If you don’t agree, I will never allow you to stay by his side.
Was this already a battle of wills?
Lahan didn’t speak up any further.
After all, Estella had already made the decision after careful consideration.
‘Even though the world allows polyandry… is this really okay suddenly?’
Having lived in the twenty-first century, he had no fixed idea that a man could only look at one woman.
It was proof that he didn’t let strange preconceptions or fixed notions sway him.
As a primal male and a man, he found himself inwardly somewhat pleased.
He was probably just a helpless son after all.
At that moment, Charlotte finally answered Estella’s unspoken question.
“I understand. I’ll follow your words. No matter what.”
“Good. Then since I’m first, I’ll speak freely. From now on, you can call me Estella. I’ll call you Charlotte.”
Nod.
Charlotte obediently nodded in agreement to Estella’s more cheerful tone.
“Huu… Thank goodness, Charlotte.”
“Yes, sorry Dad. And thank you. Really.”
Lahan quietly became part of the furniture, silently watching the warm mother-daughter scene.
After all, his part in this story was over.
Gradually, the atmosphere in the room grew harmonious on its own.
Lahan, who had been carefully observing them from the middle while trying to stay out of the way, suddenly thought:
…But isn’t something strange?
Why had his opinion been completely ignored and the conversation suddenly flowed among them?
Before he knew it, Lahan had unknowingly been slowly swallowed up by this fate called “naengjeon” — the twisted, forced fate.