An hour after my escape, I was confronted by a pack of vagrants.

“Hello, that looks like something we can sell off at a fair price.”

“You’re right. Hey, get it off of her!”

“Or get her! We can sell her too!”

Ah. I shouldn’t have come to the backstreets wearing such expensive clothes.

It was amazing how well I remembered the streets I’d seen in my dream. Getting away from the mansion had been a breeze. Everything was going according to plan until some bums caught sight of the dress I was wearing and began to chase me.

My feet were aching, the soft skin of my soles peeling off on the rough streets, but I didn’t have the luxury to care about that. I ran as fast as I could, my breath catching in my throat. I’d only been able to get this far on my short legs because there had been some distance between us to begin with.

A little more, just a little more! I have to get out into the main street! I panted, breath ragged. I’d done what exercise I could in my room in the mansion while dreaming of my escape. Though I couldn’t do any sit-ups, I had done somersaults and jogged in place! But despite my best efforts, my body was weak from malnutrition. I’m going to get caught at this rate.

Trumpets blared as what sounded like a million military boots marched on, shaking the ground with their thudding. It seemed like the victory procession was just around the corner.

“Stop right there!”

“Get her!”

Rough hands tried to grab my hair, but I swiftly ducked out of the way. Was it just a naive dream to think that everything would turn out fine? Was I going to get caught like this and sold off somewhere? I was scared. So scared.

I’m so scared!

“You little—! Got you!”

I burst out of the alleys and was just about to jump into the crowd of people watching the procession when a vagrant grabbed me around the waist.

I instantly squirmed and kicked my legs. “No! Leggo!” My shouting alerted the bystanders, and the vagrant’s arms momentarily loosened their hold out of surprise. (No! Let go!)

An enormous black steed approached us, swallowing the light around it with its massive size. I snapped my head all the way back to look up at the face of the man sitting on it. Daddy!

Only two people in this world had ever had an obligation to protect me—my mommy and daddy.

“Hurraaah!”

“Three cheers for His Grace the grand duke! Hurrah!”

“Hip hip, hurray!”

I must’ve felt relieved at seeing my daddy’s face, because the moment I saw him, my legs lost all strength. The excited crowd pushed me from behind, and unable to withstand their force, I was thrust forward and fell to the ground. Dirt smeared my ruined yellow dress, now drenched in sweat. I felt a blast of air from the steed’s nostrils as a dark shadow loomed over my head. I froze on the spot.

If I die here, please send me back in time. I squeezed my eyes, praying to a god I didn’t even believe in. Truth be told, I was scared. A future where I’d have to kill someone, needing to escape on my own, being surrounded by people who hated me... Since I’d overcome all my fears, didn’t I qualify for another chance?

“Stop.”

My heart sank as a low, heavy voice wrapped around my ear. The horse stopped in its tracks, and the procession immediately came to halt.

“Looks like a half-drowned duckling that was fished out of the water.”

What a metaphor to come out of the mouth of the man who would destroy the world. I inhaled a hot breath, gazing at my daddy, who looked much more intimidating backlit by the sun.

I can do this. I have to get myself together and speak smart and properly. But for whatever reason, the sight of the frown on his face as he gazed at me made all the sorrow I’d kept inside until now burst forth in an emotional wave. “I-I...”

“Strange,” he said. “Why do you smell like mine?”

“Th-that’s...”

Because you’re my daddy! Wasn’t my own daddy supposed to recognize me right away?! My body trembled, unable to say that one sentence out loud. It felt like the entire area had quieted and dropped several degrees at my father’s single question. My pallid lips quivered as I forced myself to speak.

In the end, I couldn’t take the pressure and wailed, “Ch-chi-chide suppoh’ pwease!” (Child support please!)

Oh… I hadn’t meant to get that straight to the point.

* * *

In a short while, I found myself wrapped in a fluffy blanket, sitting in a jaw-droppingly luxurious sitting room with a cup of tea too bitter to take a second sip of in my hand.

The victory procession had come to an early end after I’d burst into the middle of the parade. To be more precise, my father had just up and quit.

“Your Grace, the emperor is expressing her annoyance at the interruption of the victory procession.”

“Tell him that I’ve played along with her amusements long enough, and that I’ll be slitting her throat in her sleep if she demands any more of me,” said the grand duke. “Make it clear that she’d better shut her mouth unless she’d like to look down on her own body from the end of a spear.”

“What a brilliant reply. I expected nothing less from you, Your Grace.”

I gazed up at the man elegantly threatening death before me. My daddy. This probably wasn’t the best time to be thinking this, but he was really very handsome.

Daddy was just standing there, but there was an indefinable sense of defiance about him, and even the sneer on his lips was captivating. If I had to compare him to something, I’d say he looked like an apex predator that none could tame. There was a restrained yet weighty air to him that made me a little scared to approach him.

It was strange. Why was my daddy so much more intimidating than my aunt who’d beaten me, or even my uncle who’d killed me? Daddy probably hasn’t ever been afraid of anything since the moment he was born. I could just feel it. It was a merciless kind of menace that only those at the top of the food chain could have, which my instincts recognized and quaked in the face of.

No. I can’t be afraid. I struggled to get my bearings and turned my gaze to the man wearing glasses standing next to him. Did he work for Daddy?

The two continued their conversation, unconcerned whether I heard them or not. It mostly consisted of badmouthing the emperor.

“But what about that young lady, my lord?”

I’d been vacantly listening to their conversation but flinched when their attention turned to me. I was so surprised I nearly dropped the teacup from my hands. To be honest, I hadn’t seen anything in my dream from here on out, so I was a lot more nervous than I’d thought I’d be.

Daddy scanned me over with his pretty scarlet eyes and said in an uninterested tone, “I’m going to listen to what she has to say. That small one has my scent on her.”

“Yes, my lord. Then it might be wise to let her sleep here, my lord. She is too young to send back out...”

“Assign anyone to attend to her.”

“Yes, my lord. I do not think I can attend to her myself, considering she is an honorable female. I will ask Tina to attend to her, since they’re nonbinary.”

Honorable female? Nonbinary? I struggled to understand what I was hearing, but it was no use. My five-year-old body was too weak. I wanted to stay alert, but my eyelids felt heavy from exhaustion.

“Should we treat the young lady like the young masters for now, my lord?”

“Very well.”

Daddy was silent for a moment. What came next was more like a whisper to himself. “How curious. I’ve only been away at war for a few years, and here comes something smelling of Durndevre... Asking for child support at that.” His voice lingered in the air, so low and pleasant that sleep almost overtook me.

I took another gulp of the bitter tea to force myself awake. “Blech.” Gross. I spit the tea back out. Still, I didn’t think that they gave me this drink to bully me. The light-green liquid smelled good at least. But it tastes awful.

I lifted my head up with my tongue sticking out between my lips and gazed straight into my daddy’s eyes. Eep! Had he seen me spit the tea back out? Oh no. I had to look mature to be taken seriously at the negotiating table!

“Hiccup!” I hastily covered my mouth with both hands and checked for my daddy’s reaction, but he was simply gazing at me with an expression I couldn’t read. Then his gaze moved down to the sloshing teacup. “Do young entities not know how to drink tea?”

“Hmm, I’ve also never seen any other young ones aside from the young masters, so I’m not certain... But it definitely looks like she doesn’t like it, my lord.”

“Abel had no problem.”

“Well, my lord, Young Master Abel happily drank minotaur horn broth.”

“True. Then prepare something the child would like. She’s nothing but skin and bones.”

“Yes, my lord. As you wish.” The glasses-man bowed.

Daddy looked at me once more with a funny look in his eyes and stood to leave the sitting room. I couldn’t let him leave like this, so I jumped to my feet, making the teacup fall and roll across the ground. I ignored the hot tea spilling over my feet and frantically limped forward. “Da-ddy!” (Daddy!)

“What did you say?”

“I’m wigh’. You aw my daddy. My weal daddy.” (I’m right. You are my daddy. My real daddy.)

I was in such a rush that this was what came out of my mouth. But he hadn’t squashed me with his towering horse, and he’d brought me here. I placed my hope in that and clung to his leg. I squeezed my arms hard, like I was determined to never let go. I thought I felt him momentarily freeze up, but I was more important to me right now, so I repeated the words I’d practiced over and over.

“Wanna make a deaw. Gowin’ to poijon!” (I want to make a deal. Going to poison!)

This was good enough. I thought I did an excellent job getting my point across. I was about to feel quite proud of myself, when I noticed the very, very odd expressions on my dad’s and the glasses-man’s faces.

Just as I was about to repeat what I’d said, in case I got something wrong, Daddy’s lips curled into a smile. “So you’re saying if I don’t make a deal with you, you’re going to poison me? How very devilish of you.”