Lord Baby Runs a Romance Fantasy

Chapter 1

Ding!

I took my phone out of my pocket at the sound of my notification. It was a fresh update.

<The newest episode of Running Away from Rich Silver Spoon has been updated. Click to read now.>

Ah, it’s already six. The upload time for Running Away from Rich Silver Spoon was every morning at six. That meant I stayed up all night working.

I rubbed my dry eyes.

Will I be able to translate everything before Manager Park arrives for work? To be honest, it was impossible. I wouldn’t be able to finish it even if I stayed up for a few nights.

But...

“Are you complaining right now? You should be thankful that we’re even employing you without the proper academic qualifications. If you don’t think you can do it, tell me anytime. There’s plenty of people who are willing to take your place.”

I clenched my phone.

I should hurry up and head back. I was at the convenience store buying a cup of coffee in order to chase away my sleepiness. I quickly grabbed the cheapest canned coffee and headed to the register.

As I left the store, I habitually selected the <Read Now> button. Reading a romance fantasy novel was a small form of happiness in my endlessly exhausting life. Honestly, you could say it was the only form of happiness.

I may have been born with a rich silver spoon in my mouth, but I can’t live with my brothers and father anymore! I have to run away from this family as soon as possible!

I pounded my chest out of frustration at the heroine’s determination.

You were born rich and have a handsome father and brothers. Why would you want to leave?!

Do you know how much of a fool your (handsome) father is for his daughter?! And what’s so wrong with your (handsome) brothers?! They even gifted you a diamond mine today! Again, why would you want to run away?!

I left a bunch of comments out of extreme frustration.

User843: Dear heroine, can I please take your place and be their daughter instead? I promise that I can live your life better than you and I won’t run away either T^T

The number of likes on my comment went up rapidly, as if everyone agreed with what I said, and it quickly became the top comment. It was a small achievement that brought a smile to my face.

Hooooonk!

An intense ray of light pierced through the hazy early morning air. A glaring headlight. And a truck the size of a house.

Wait a minute. A truck in the middle of this narrow alleyway? On top of that, it was coming toward me at an incredible speed all of a sudden?

Screee—! Slam!

Yes, all of a sudden. That was the very last thought that came to mind. To be exact, it was the very last thought that came to mind back when I was alive.

I crossed my arms and looked at my dead body, confused. My death was so sudden that I couldn’t even feel any pain. I was just in a daze.

Did I really die? Just like that? What about everything that I suffered through up until now?

I was overcome with a sense of futility. It was at that very moment...

“Congratulations! You have been given a chance to be reborn!” I jerked my head up at the sudden sound of a voice.

The sky lit up around me, and in front of me stood a little boy smiling and setting off a firework.

His hair was as white and fluffy as a cloud, and his eyes were golden. His face was so perfectly symmetrical that it made it hard for me to believe that he was a human.

I guess I really did die. I’m starting to see things now.

“Hello? I said that you were given a chance to be reborn. Can you try to be a little happier?”

What was he saying? A chance to be reborn? I nonchalantly repeated the words in my head and gasped.

“Are you saying that I was hit by one of those famous reincarnation trucks?!” A reincarnation truck. It was a legendary truck that reincarnated whoever it struck into a fantasy world. “I thought that only existed in novels.”

“That’s definitely something an avid reader would say! No wonder you were chosen!”

“Huh?”

“I am a messenger of the God, Apthanes.”

A messenger of a god? He must be an angel. Well, I guess the only beings able to talk to dead people would be angels or devils. At a closer look, I noticed pea-sized wings fluttering on the back of the little boy.

He’s a lot more frivolous and not as grand as I thought he would be…

“Apthanes took many things into consideration while creating various worlds.”

The little angel spread open his arms as if to signal that he had just revealed a grand secret that gods also take references into account.

“Among the various things that were taken into consideration, romance fantasy novels were the most influential!”

Excuse me? What was the most influential? What kind of nonsense is this? Of all the things in this world, romance fantasy novels were taken into consideration to create a world?!

Is this god crazy?

“So, what do you think? Don’t you think it’ll be a perfect world for an avid romance fantasy reader like you? It makes you want to be reborn, right?”

Why would I want to be reborn in a world created by a crazy god who heavily relies on romance fantasies when making said world? I made a face before I realized it.

The angel with the pea-sized wings waved his arms and puffed his cheeks. For someone who was supposed to be the messenger of god, he was way more rowdy than divine.

“You commented that you wanted to take the place of the heroine in the novel you were reading just now!”

“Well, that’s because that world wasn’t created by a weird god... duh?” As I thought more about it, a frown took over my face.

Is this kid really a messenger of god? No matter how much I thought about it, a god, or an angel for that matter, wouldn’t be this weird.

“Why are you giving me a chance to be reborn?”

“Because you commented on every single novel read by Apthanes.”

What?

“You had the most top comments, and you also left the most advice for the main protagonists.”

I was speechless.

“A perfect world for a pro-romantic fantasy novel commenter like you! A world crafted by taking various romantic fantasies into account! What do you say?”

The angel smiled widely and gave me a wink as if to say that the signs couldn’t be any clearer.

“You can leave a rating and review after you experience it for yourself!”

I didn’t know what to say.

Was this god an attention-seeker? I didn’t have to experience this world to give it a 0-star rating, you bastard.

“Now then, if I’ve answered all your questions, you’ll choose to be reborn, right?”

Nothing you said answered any of my questions! As a matter of fact, it made me even more suspicious and doubtful than ever. This whole situation was, without a doubt, extremely suspicious. However…

I was already dead. I wouldn’t have had a problem saying yes since I had nothing to lose.

Normally, that is. But I was a reader of romantic fantasies—a heavy reader who had read dozens of novels in the span of a month.

There’s no way that I’m going to accept it just because he claims that I’ll adjust easily! There were many different stories when it came to romance fantasies.

What if I’m reborn as a character of a tragedy?! Even if it wasn’t a tragedy, there were other problems.

What if I was reborn as a villainess whose head was sliced off as soon as I was reborn? Or a supporting character whose only purpose was to be exploited?

“Why are you so hesitant? Wasn’t it your wish to live in a fantasy world instead of here?”

“My wish wasn’t to simply live in a fantasy world.”

“Then…?”

“As I wrote in my comment, I want to be reborn into a wealthy family with a handsome father and brother!”

“My goodness, you are so picky.” Look at him. I bet he was trying to reincarnate me into some weird fantasy world.

“That’s only the basic requirement of every romance fantasy.”

“Well, all right then. I shall let you be reborn into a wealthy family with a handsome father and brother.”

“And the entire family needs to die in my hands.”

“Hmm... I don’t think there are any romantic fantasy novels with that kind of plot. Even if they die at the end, people don’t usually like it when it happens toward the beginning…”

“What do you mean there aren’t any?! What about Lady Baby?!”

“Well, if you really want to start off with all your family members dying in the beginning, like in that story, then…”

“Fine, I apologize. That wasn’t what I meant to say. I’ll try my best...” Changing my attitude was the only way he’d give me a shortcut to a comfortable life.

“All right then, we’re to go, right? You accept being reborn?”

A wealthy family with a handsome father and brother. It was true those were the things that I wanted.

“Hmm, but don’t the heroines of romance fantasies usually have a special ability... or are typically super smart?”

“Seriously… you expect too much.” I heard a quiet mumble coming from the angel as he turned his head away.

“Huh?”

“Don’t worry. You’ve been specially chosen to be reborn. Of course, we’ll give you a special ability.”

The angel smiled as if he didn’t just complain under his breath. It sounded like he was bad-mouthing me, but...

A new life with a handsome father and brother and a special ability, huh? It was basically like a reward for all my hard work up until now. Indeed, I may not have lived a kind life, but I did suffer through a lot.

As the saying goes, every dog has its day!

“Okay then. I accept being reborn.” As soon as I finished my sentence, I felt a chill in my chest.

Flustered, I looked up and saw the angel looking down at me. The ends of his mouth were curled up into a deep smile. In that very moment, rather than an angel, he looked more like a—

“All right then, our contract has been established, human.” It was a tone of voice that I hadn’t heard before.

But at the same time, a huge crack began to form in mid-air. The inside of the crack was pitch black, void of any light. It was an abyss—something that didn’t fit at all with an angel or a god.

On top of that...

Did he say... contract? An anxious feeling came over my body. Don’t they typically say that God has graced you in these kinds of situations?

Contracts... aren’t those usually made with... With… Well, they were usually made with...

Devils. The blood quickly drained from my face.

“W-wait!” As the dark crack increasingly became larger, I urgently waved my arms. “I want to cancel this contract! I revoke whatever I said!”

“The contract has already been established, human.”

The completely widened crack split open its pitch-black mouth and started to suck in my soul. Any attempt at escaping was futile. At this point, I wouldn’t be able to prevent myself from being reborn anyway.

Then, I’d at least have to secure something that would help me!

“M-my ability...! What’s my ability?!” Devils are usually very deceitful creatures. What if he gives me a weird ability?

“Not to worry, human.”

“But I am worried, you devil!”

“You shall have an ability that suits you very well.”

“And what ability is that supposed to be?!” I was extremely anxious because it felt like I was being scammed in real-time. “If it’s an ability where I’m likely to get scammed, I’m seriously going to kill you!”

“I said that you don’t have to worry... for you are my—”

What? I couldn’t catch what he said at the end. I wanted to ask him to repeat his words, but my entire soul had already been sucked into the crevice.

I was met with a senseless pitch-black darkness.

* * *

That swindler of a devil! I swallowed my anger while scrubbing the marble floor.

Where’s my handsome dad?! My fingers were chapped and red due to the cold winter air.

And where’s my handsome brother?! My fingers felt like they were going to fall off because I had lost all feeling in them.

What about my rich silver spoon?! I fell to the floor.

As I fell, the endlessly massive hall caught my eye. It looked like one of those majestic halls that you would see in an old castle where you had to pay an entry fee to enter. Normally, I would’ve been amazed, but I couldn’t be because I had to clean this entire hall all by myself.

This isn’t even a bronze spoon. It’s more like an old dusty spoon...! My eyes began tearing up. I shouldn’t have accepted this deal. I tightly caressed my tiny legs with my tiny arms.

Even an adult wouldn’t be able to clean this entire hall by themselves, much less this child’s body that I was stuck in. As I sniffled, I heard a thunderous roar come from behind me.

“There you are, lazing around again!” My body automatically folded itself to the ground without having to turn around to see who it was.

“I-I’m sorry...!” My lips quivered, and my body froze. I didn’t want to act like a stupid fool, but an instinctual fear overtook me.

“I bet your laziness takes after your mother.” He clicked his tongue as he walked closer to me and kicked my bucket. The bucket fell, and the soapy water poured onto the floor, soaking the hem of my clothes.

“Seeing you like this reminds me of a soaking wet rat.” It was cold.

“You don’t even have an ounce of dignity in that body of yours.” I was cold.

“Nor are you able to finish any of your tasks.” I was lonely.

I couldn’t even ball up my hands into a fist with how swollen they were.

“I’m… sorry…” I cautiously lifted my head to look at him. “Uncle.”

The man who came in yelling at me while insulting my mother was none other than my uncle. He was the same man who ordered a child like me to clean this massive hall all by herself.

Even a total stranger wouldn’t treat me the way he did. It’s not like I was the only one available to clean this hall, either. After all, this huge hall and the mansion that housed this hall were all his.

“How dare you act like my niece!” he yelled. I guess it got on his nerves when I referred to him as my uncle.

“Marquess…” As soon as I corrected myself, he let out a snort.

“You should know your place.” He pressed on my shoulder with his polished shoes. Unable to endure his weight, I collapsed to the floor.

“This is exactly why your father abandoned you here.” I lay there listening to his criticism, unable to let out a single sound.

“Well, I suppose we don’t even know if you’re the duke’s real daughter anyway.” Every word from his mouth pierced through my heart like a sharp thorn.

“She may have been my sister, but she was far beyond careless.” He spoke of my mother, whom I’d never seen, yet my stomach turned into knots, and my nose stung at the sound of my uncle bad-mouthing her.

“I wouldn’t be surprised had she carried another man’s child.”

No!

“She might even have given birth to children other than you. After all, that’s the kind of wench she was.”

My mother’s not like that at all!

“How dare you glare at me like that?!” He pressed harder on my shoulders as he criticized me.

“Heuk...” My face was shoved into the cold marble floor. The soapy water, which had mixed in with the dust and turned gray, soaked my cheek.

I clenched my lips and swallowed my tears. I’d get punished more if I cried.

Upon being reborn, I saw the lavish and gorgeous mansion that had appeared before me and thought to myself, Ah, I was born into a wealthy family.

I didn’t know what my family was like yet, but I thought at least I wouldn’t have to spend the winter trembling in fear that I might end up freezing to death.

Worrying about how to get through each day would be the least of my worries in my new life. I might even get a chance to experience a lot of new things. Maybe I could even have dreams.

Maybe I would even be loved. My family might love me so much that I’d grow up to be a healthy and warm child who has no idea what it meant to be unfortunate. I might even be able to get the happy ending that every protagonist gets...

I was excited. I had hope for life. Anticipation for the future. I hadn’t experienced such feelings in so long that the thought of it alone made my heart pound. However...

“Daddy?”

It was all a lie. That wasn’t my role. I wasn’t the heroine of this world.

A little girl poked her head through the half-open door and clasped her mouth as she gasped. It was a lovely little child with bright, golden-blonde hair. Surely, she would’ve been the main heroine of this world if it were a novel.

“What are you doing there?” my cousin, Clytié, asked with an angelic look on her face.