Chapter 2
“Even after joining the expedition, do your best not to disgrace the name of Ardena.”
Even while saying all that, the Duke of Ardena continued talking only about what he wanted.
There wasn’t even the slightest sign that he was worried about his daughter. He was calm, as if he were simply handling some business, and there wasn’t a trace of affection in his eyes as he looked at me.
Is he really my father?
“I can’t even hold a sword.”
I protested calmly.
I could easily list a hundred reasons why I shouldn’t join the expedition.
And most importantly, I didn’t want to die.
I didn’t want to follow the expedition and come back as a cold corpse.
“I’ll only become a burden to the others. And if that happens, I’ll disgrace the name of Ardena.”
“That isn’t for you to worry about. I’ll take care of everything afterward, so you only need to do as I tell you. Whether you become a burden or disgrace the name of Ardena is for me to decide. Not you.”
What an absolute king of patriarchs.
It was painfully obvious that he considered his children his personal property.
No, Rosana. I thought you were simply a character who caused trouble, but that wasn’t it…?
Of course.
Villainesses weren’t simply born that way.
You know how those badly behaved children on TV often had parents who were the real problem?
With a father like that, it was obvious that Rosana had no choice but to grow up the way she did.
He had already decided to force me into this, so there was no point resisting any longer.
“Do as you’re told. If you disobey me again, I won’t let you off. This time, you won’t get away with being locked in the attic for only a day or two.”
The Duke’s voice dropped coldly.
Every noble family was required to send at least one person to join the expedition.
Since the fate of the world was at stake, even the Imperial Family was watching closely to see whether each family participated.
Any family that refused would find it difficult to avoid punishment.
Wait, he actually locked his own daughter in the attic?
Rosana’s memories suddenly came flooding back.
‘Something possessed by an evil spirit like you needs to be locked up and starved before it comes to its senses. Lock Rosana in the attic and don’t give her even a drop of water.’
‘Rosana, you’ve made another mistake. You spilled soup on Her Majesty the Empress’s dress? Are you out of your mind? Even the horses in the stable are better than you! If your trembling hands are the problem, then there’s a way to fix them! Make Rosana live in the stable for a week!’
‘Useless thing.’
I remembered the Duke’s cruel words directed at me, along with the violence that always followed.
There was even a memory of crying myself to sleep in the stable.
Is that really his biological daughter…?
No matter what I said, things would eventually go exactly the way the Duke wanted anyway.
I clenched my teeth.
“Yes, Father.”
“…You’re not planning to run away again, are you? If you were born into the Ardena family, then maintain your dignity and keep your promises, Rosana.”
“No. I won’t run away.”
It was obvious that even if I ran, I’d just be caught and brought back.
Did I know the geography of this world? No.
Did I have money? No.
Did I have anyone to help me? No.
I didn’t know the roads, I had no money, and I had no friends. What could I possibly do?
Whatever I tried would be like throwing an egg at a rock.
It was better to stay quiet and wait for an opportunity.
There was no reason to cause trouble and get locked up again.
There had to be a way to escape this horrible place eventually.
“Really?”
“Yes, Father. Just as you said, I’ll be representing the Ardena family. I’ll consider it an honor.”
“That’s surprisingly sensible of you to say. Good. You’ve made the right decision.”
I obeyed with my mouth while thinking something completely different.
This world was already ruined.
Monsters had taken over villages, and countless people were dying.
The soldiers had been helpless when they first encountered the monsters. Against creatures with bodies far stronger than humans, humanity had been pushed to the edge of destruction.
Then, people with special abilities began to appear.
One of them was the male lead.
An expedition was formed around him.
The main story was about the male lead and female lead successfully defeating the monsters and bringing peace back to the world.
Since this was the novel I had been reading before falling asleep yesterday, I remembered it clearly.
The important part was this:
The female lead and male lead succeed, and peace returns to the world.
Now then.
This world would return to normal eventually anyway.
If so, I needed to prepare for the future.
I would avoid every death flag I could, survive, and make it back.
Back to the capital.
And when that happened, I wouldn’t return to the Duke of Ardena’s estate.
I would become independent.
With my own strength!
I would become an amazing person who would never again be controlled by the Duke of Ardena.
It was exactly when I reached that conclusion.
“Still, I don’t feel comfortable leaving her alone. Lock that girl up. If she behaves obediently, make sure she’s fed properly.”
No one dared to disobey the Duke of Ardena.
It seemed my transmigration was going to begin with imprisonment.
Is that really my biological father?
What the hell is this?!
I looked around the room.
It was called an attic, but perhaps because it was still a place where his daughter would be imprisoned, it had the basic necessities.
There was a bed.
A window.
Hmm. There was even a wardrobe?
There was nothing inside it, though.
The bed was reasonably soft too. It wasn’t so bad that I couldn’t sleep on it.
Even the bathroom seemed to be somewhat maintained.
This isn’t too bad.
Before I transmigrated…
Well, I guess that was my previous life now.
Before I died, I had been Korea’s first female UDT combat operator.
Only people who knew what that meant understood how impressive it was.
I had endured far harsher conditions than this.
I had trained beyond human limits without eating properly or resting enough.
“This is nothing.”
I had joined the military to escape the loan sharks chasing my father over his debts.
I figured they wouldn’t dare chase me all the way into the military. And if I was going to run away anyway, I thought it would be better to go out to sea completely.
Then I thought it would be nice if I became strong enough to beat up any ordinary loan shark.
I had originally planned to become a Marine who hunted ghosts, but somehow ended up taking an even more difficult path.
I had been blessed with excellent physical abilities.
Then there was my determination to work until I nearly died.
And on top of that, I had talent.
Someone eventually noticed that I possessed all three.
Thanks to that, I became the first female combat operator in history.
Compared to everything I had experienced, this environment was nothing.
And this world was already ruined?
Maybe this was actually an opportunity given to me by God.
“The male lead and female lead will save the world.”
All I had to do was sit back and enjoy the benefits.
The problem was this body.
I pressed and squeezed my soft arms and body.
Just as I thought.
There wasn’t even the slightest bit of muscle.
Still, the natural bone structure didn’t seem too bad.
I did some light stretching.
Fortunately, perhaps because she came from a knightly family, her physical condition itself wasn’t terrible.
She had been born with such good physical potential, and yet they had allowed her body to become such a mess.
It was all because of those people pretending to be her family.
‘I want to learn how to use a sword too, Father.’
‘Honestly, you are hopeless, Rosana. Just like your mother. The things you need to do have already been decided! Listen to me, behave quietly, and marry into a good family that I choose for you. That’s all you need to do to contribute to this family. Stop doing useless things and do as you’re told.’
The memories were all still there.
Even the reasons why Rosana had been abandoned by her family and gradually become twisted.
And why she had become nothing more than a troublesome character with a sharp mouth.
There were so many things she wanted to do.
There were so many things she was capable of doing.
But everything had been blocked.
Whenever she rebelled, she was often locked away like this under the excuse of “disciplining” her.
And because she couldn’t eat properly, her body had become thin and weak.
Tsk, tsk.
There was another father like mine.
He reminded me exactly of my father before I died.
Was this some kind of parallel universe theory?
How could I meet someone so unbelievably similar?
My father had even borrowed money from loan sharks, yet he still said things like girls didn’t need an education.
Now, let’s think about something more productive.
I wasn’t going to die the same way again, was I?
Whether I wanted to or not, I would be dragged into the expedition.
And if I wanted to survive there…
“I need to be good at running, at least.”
I carefully examined the muscles in my legs.
Hmm.
They were a complete disaster.
I looked around the room.
If I wanted to turn this trashy body into something useful, I would need intense training.
Fortunately, despite being an attic, the room was fairly spacious.
This should be enough…
It’s good enough to exercise.
Do you know how effective bodyweight training was for improving physical strength?
And if I cut these curtains properly…
I could use them like towels or straps for training.
That man who called himself my father had already told me the date when the expedition would leave.
One month from now.
That’s right.
One month.
Before then, I would definitely accomplish something.
