Dawn of the First Month: Kidnapped by the Duke
The sun rose on the first month since my possession—and kidnapping.
“Heh heh hum~.”
I sat on the rooftop of some random house at the crack of dawn, swinging my legs back and forth.
The Sun Rises Over the Empire, Too.
That was the title of the romance fantasy novel I'd possessed into.
A tale of vile scum banding together to overthrow His Imperial Majesty, the most august Emperor.
In other words, your run-of-the-mill mass-produced rom-fantasy.
The moment I realized I'd woken up inside the novel—one day overnight, no less—in the body of a little girl, I nearly made a big decision.
But as the crown of creation, the animal of adaptation, I'd somehow managed to survive just fine.
The character I'd possessed, Ruen, was just one of the countless orphans in the North.
An extra who didn't even get a single line of dialogue.
She was probably one of the kids the heroine “saved” when she came to “rescue” the North or whatever.
I knew exactly how that story ended, seared into my brain, so the day I became self-aware, I bolted from the orphanage.
To a commoner like me, the main plot was just some fairy tale from a novel anyway.
...Though, yeah, it is literally a novel world.
Shaking off the brief reminiscence, I spotted a wagon approaching down the road in the distance, plowing through the snow. I hopped to my feet.
“Hmm...”
Doesn't look too promising today.
I stroked the air with my long fingers, and azure crystals materialized.
This way, that way.
The crystals danced at my fingertips before slipping past the guards and latching onto a box atop the wagon.
It was a bit shabbier than usual, but what can you do.
I lifted the crystals, yanking the box clean off, and placed a thrilled hand on the lid.
Of course, I didn't forget to plant an illusion in its original spot for the perfect crime. This was my one and only joy in this boring medieval drudgery.
A random gacha event every other day.
Not that it mattered; left alone, it'd just go to the villain of the story, Count Lupiento. And then? Probably fund his drug smuggling or some shit.
I licked my lips with my tongue before popping the lid, savoring the anticipation.
I was hoping for the salty tang of gold coins.
But reality? Just a wad of musty paper scraps.
“Bust...”
Burying my disappointment deep inside, I grabbed the papers and headed back to my cozy little hut.
*
The beautiful girl in splendid uniform, Arwen, let out a sigh.
The North's Grand Ducal House, with its two centuries of history.
A burden too heavy for a girl barely into her twenties to shoulder alone.
The worsening finances strangled the proud house's neck, until she ended up collaring herself and handing the leash to the central nobles.
And now, the owner of that collar was pressuring her to recover stolen restraints. What a joke.
‘The twentieth time already in the North alone. Twenty times!!’
‘Every single time, it's only in the North that my goods get stolen. How can I not suspect something?!’
‘Please. Don't put our friendship to the test.’
Arwen slowly read down the list of stolen items she'd compiled so far.
Gold coins, food, silk, more gold coins.
This time, even the IOU they'd handed over as collateral for the loan from the count.
At this point, she half-suspected it was the count's scheme to choke the North's lifeline, but she had no better options.
“If only we had a mage...”
That was why she had no choice but to borrow from that sleazy bastard count every time.
Endless demand, but a pathetically short supply of top-tier talent.
Mages didn't budge for pocket change.
Especially not for a call from the barren North.
They made plenty lounging in the warm, bountiful capital. Unless it was the count's orders, no freak would drag their fat ass all the way up here.
“House head! We found tracks!”
“Let's go.”
Maybe an unaffiliated mage will drop from the sky...
Arwen prayed silently to the North's guardian deity as she strode ahead.
The pale cloud from her heavy sigh drifted high into the sky.
*
I'm pretty much screwed.
That was my conclusion after peeking at the paper I'd snagged last week.
In exchange for a large sum of gold coins, military supplies, and the support of one mage, the North grants command of the 3rd Legion to a candidate recommended by the Lupiento Count and appointed by the Imperial Family.
Failure to repay the principal by the final Harvest Month in three years will result in partial forfeiture of the Grand Ducal House's autonomy.
With trembling hands, I reread the precious document I'd stashed on my desk.
No matter how many times I scanned it, the words wouldn't change themselves.
I knew the North's finances were bad, but this bad?
What do I do...
This wasn't like pocketing a few gold coins or bolts of silk.
I didn't know the full story, but desperate times call for desperate loans, I guess.
Without this IOU, it'd be a nightmare for both the count and the Grand Ducal House.
The wagon's route had seemed off... Guess it wasn't the count's smuggling path but one straight from the Grand Ducal House.
“Aaaah...!”
Do it if you wanna do it. A hard lesson from my army days that I'd briefly forgotten.
I even considered sneaking it back into the Grand Ducal Castle, but their security was insane—no way I'd try infiltrating that.
It's the North Grand Duke, after all.
Anyone who's read a rom-fantasy knows the trope: cold-blooded to everyone but the heroine.
Too bad I wasn't the heroine. Damn it.
I paced in circles dozens of times, stomping my feet, racking my tiny brain for solutions.
After much deliberation, three options emerged.
Option 1: Hand it over to the Grand Duke now and beg forgiveness.
Option 2: Burn the IOU and vanish right this second.
Option 3—the one I'd been putting off: make that big decision.
I was still mulling, head wrapped tight, when—
—BAM!!
The rickety hut door exploded inward as knights in silver armor poured in.
Uniforms emblazoned with a blue wolf emblem—straight out of the novel's description of the Grand Ducal knights.
...Looks like I'm doing 1 and 3 at the same time.
“This the place?”
“Yes. Footprint size, villager testimonies—all match.”
Through the shattered door, I spotted a local I'd seen around. That trash!
After all the bribes I slipped them!
My slow backward creep hit the hut wall.
The knight eyeing my shivering form deemed me harmless and ushered the knight squad's master inside.
“Come in, Your Grace.”
“Huh? It's... warm...?”
At the center, parting the knights like a golden wave, was a blonde girl.
This novel stuck to clichés faithfully.
If memory served, the Grand Duke was a guy, right?
No time for deep thoughts.
A sword slammed into the floor right beside me.
“Eek—!!!”
Having spent most my life as a strapping man, I couldn't even imagine such a cute scream escaping me.
Fresh realization: fear trumps pride. No self-loathing over my own squeal.
Survival instinct or last gasp? Mana surged unbidden, unleashing a shockwave.
A circular blast from my body pulverized everything around: the table and chairs I'd made myself, the log floor I'd painstakingly laid.
Wood shards scattered like they'd been shredded, their trajectories the only proof my hut had ever existed.
The wave hurtled toward the Grand Duke's chin next.
No, nooo!!
Bells rang in my head. Hurt her now, and death wouldn't even be the end.
Reason and emotion, opposites for ages, finally clapped hands.
—Whoosh.
My daily mana control practice—skipped only on wagon days—shone.
Unlike the wrecked surroundings, only a faint breeze tousled the Grand Duke's golden hair.
No such thing as injuring a noble by accident, right? No way.
“Magic...?”
Luckily, the Grand Duke and knights just gawked, dumbfounded.
Relief was fleeting.
“Careful...!”
“It's fine. Stand back.”
The Grand Duke, lips curling in what might've been a smirk, waved off the knights and approached slowly.
No, wait! It wasn't me who stole it...!
My pounding heart couldn't spit out the excuse I'd rehearsed.
“A-”
My chattering jaw bit my tongue hard.
Sharp pain filled my mouth.
The next instant: floating sensation.
“Return to the Grand Duke's Castle. Search and seize all stolen goods.”
““Yes, ma'am!””
And so, dangling from the Grand Duke's grip, I was kidnapped to the Grand Duke's Castle.