Chapter 01: Is This a Parenting Story?
“Haa, Miela. Even if I die, you must remember this clearly. This is a novel world!”
Stephanie panted heavily as she gripped her daughter’s hand tightly. Tears welled up and fell from Miela’s large eyes.
Those tears soaked the hem of Stephanie’s worn-out clothes.
With a sorrowful expression, Miela nodded hard and replied,
“I know. How could I forget something you’ve told me hundreds of times?”
Stephanie had always shared her story with her daughter.
At first, Miela didn’t really understand what her mother was saying.
Stephanie claimed she wasn’t originally from this world. She said this place was the world of a book she had read in her previous life.
“Miela, I’m a ‘possessor.’”
She called herself a possessor—someone whose soul had entered another body.
But unfortunately, Stephanie wasn’t the protagonist of the novel. She wasn’t even an extra with any significance—just one of the many nameless background characters.
Even though she knew the plot of the original story, she couldn’t use any of it to her advantage. That’s because she had possessed a body long before the story’s timeline began.
And as if that weren’t enough, she was born into a life of extreme poverty, with a frail and sickly constitution to boot. Her second life was a constant struggle.
Then one day, Stephanie met a man. He wasn’t a dashing duke like the novel’s hero, but he sincerely loved her and took care of her with all his heart.
After marrying him, Stephanie gave birth to her beloved daughter, Miela—a child so precious she couldn’t bear to take her eyes off her.
‘I always wished I could return to my original body… That was before I met him and you, Miela…’
But happiness was fleeting. Just after Miela was born, her husband died in a carriage accident. Stephanie had to raise her daughter alone with her sickly body.
Still, she never once resented her child.
‘How could I not love a child like you?’
At some point, Stephanie accepted her fate. Her past life hadn’t been anything special, so it made sense that even in this world, she wouldn’t live like a protagonist.
But Miela—Miela had to live differently. Even without considering that she was her daughter, she was just too sweet and lovely to be left behind in the background.
‘If only I could’ve changed that naïve personality of hers that trusts people too easily…’
Even as her vision dimmed, Stephanie continued to take in Miela’s face.
Soft hazelnut-colored hair and eyes. Her big, round eyes looked like a baby squirrel’s, and her feathery lashes fluttered like angel wings.
Her cheeks, flushed a peachy pink, were so precious—Stephanie felt like crying just knowing she’d never see them again.
‘My beautiful, sweet, beloved daughter, Miela…’
Of course, Miela wasn’t the story’s protagonist either.
Stephanie knew that, but still wished her daughter could shine like one. So, she began teaching young Miela the events of the novel—an early education of sorts.
In hopes that one day, she would use that knowledge to live a better life.
Thanks to that, Miela could now recite the novel’s plot with her eyes closed.
“You remember everything I taught you, right, sweetheart?”
Stephanie asked in a weak voice, lips dry and cracking.
“Y-Yes. At fifteen, I go to the capital and become a maid in the Valuar Duchy. At twenty, I go to Roten and buy an abandoned mine. And then… I get a small cottage in the southern coastal village of Aronin.”
She stumbled a bit, but didn’t get a single part wrong.
“Yes, that’s my girl. So smart… You did well. Just do exactly that.”
Stephanie smiled weakly, her expression like a candle about to flicker out.
‘If she becomes a maid in the Valuar Duchy—the male lead’s household—she’ll be paid well. Normally, a noble family wouldn’t hire someone without experience, but around that time, the duchy will be desperate due to all the rumors.’
The rumors were just nonsense, all stemming from the male lead’s supposed curse.
‘If she endures five years, she’ll receive severance pay. And with that, she can buy the abandoned mine—which will later turn out to have a hidden gold vein. Not a huge amount, but for a commoner with no background, it’s just enough. Too much would only attract leeches.’
With that money, she could buy a small house and live out her days peacefully.
‘According to the novel, the safest and quietest village is Aronin on the southern coast. It’s perfect for Miela.’
Just knowing that much would let Miela live a safe, stable life, free from money troubles.
If she were more ambitious, she could even become the wealthiest person in the empire using the novel’s information.
But Stephanie knew her daughter well. Miela wasn’t like her. She had no greed or ambition—just a gentle, innocent soul.
“Yes… Even without me… You must live well. Never forget what I told you, okay?”
With all the love in her heart, Stephanie looked at Miela.
But Miela was only nine years old—still just a child.
Terrified at the thought of losing the only family she had, Miela burst into sobs and clung to her mother’s frail body.
“Please don’t say you’re going to die. H-hic… I’m scared, Mommy. Don’t leave me!”
Stephanie wanted to grant her every wish. But this time, she couldn’t.
Her consciousness fading, she whispered her final words.
“My daughter… Miela. I love you. Please, survive. You must not die without doing anything like I did. Don’t live like this mother of yours. So please… cou-gh—!”
“Mom!”
Blood poured from Stephanie’s mouth. She coughed violently, then suddenly lost all strength.
Even in her final moment, she worried only for Miela.
Could a child who knew nothing of the world really survive without her?
Stephanie’s face twisted in pain.
‘Even I, a possessor, couldn’t do anything in the end!’
Naive, innocent Miela… Would she ever understand how much her mother wanted to shield her?
‘Even if it was a battered, broken shield, I wanted to protect you with everything I had. I’m sorry I couldn’t…’
With that final thought, Stephanie slowly closed her eyes.
Miela screamed in grief as her mother’s death hit her. Even after her mother’s consciousness faded, her cries seemed to echo endlessly in the air.
* * *
About a year had passed since Stephanie’s death.
Though Stephanie had worried endlessly about how her daughter would fare without her, Miela was surviving in her own way.
“Here you go, Miela. I gave you a little extra today.”
Now ten years old, Miela helped villagers with chores in exchange for food or small wages. That was her daily life.
Today, she had spent the whole afternoon helping Nancy, the innkeeper and cook.
Seeing the heavy food bundle, Miela couldn’t hide her delight.
“Wow! Thank you, Aunt Nancy. Well, I should get going now!”
“Hoho, alright. Be careful on your way back.”
“Yes! Goodbye, Auntie!”
Carefully cradling the bundle in both arms, Miela skipped off toward home.
Her “home” was a tiny shack made of old planks, nearly falling apart. But Miela didn’t dislike it.
‘I still remember it so clearly… Every time I open this door, it feels like Mom will be waiting to greet me with a smile.’
She had lived there since birth, and the house was full of her mother’s traces. A precious sanctuary—even if she was now its only resident.
‘I should patch up that broken corner of the wall today…’
The sky was overcast. Rain looked likely. She needed to finish repairs before it came.
‘I’ll drop off the food at home first, then go to the nearby mountain to get some clay for the wall.’
Miela organized her plans in her head and walked briskly.
But just as she neared her house, she stopped in her tracks.
Something lying near the roadside had caught her eye.
“W-What is that…?!”
