Chapter 05
‘In a fight, the first strike wins!’
The boy staggered for a moment after taking a solid kick to the stomach, then glared at me with a terrifying look in his eyes.
“You arrogant little…!”
I’d thrown that kick with all my weight, intending to knock him down, but maybe because of the difference in our physiques, he didn’t go down easily.
Still, I managed to draw his attention to me.
“You’ve got a death wish, don’t you?”
“Sir Denson, it’s just—”
“It’s fine, Mary. Stay back.”
I stepped in front of Mary and faced the boy.
“Hah, both you and your maid are going to die today.”
The boy swung his sword menacingly, glaring at me with a terrifying face.
‘He’s a whole head taller than me and even pulling out a weapon? What a coward.’
But I didn’t think I would lose.
Maybe it was thanks to the medicine the Duke gave me yesterday, but my body felt light and nimble.
‘I might not be the smartest, but I’m confident when it comes to physical stuff.’
The neck of the evil dragon who once drove the continent to the brink of destruction wasn’t something that could be easily severed.
The boy raised his arm and swung his sword in a wide arc.
Judging by his firm muscles and the clean, steady path of the blade, he seemed to have trained quite seriously.
He was probably one of the more skilled among his peers.
‘But I can read him like a book.’
To me, that sword coming at full strength looked incredibly slow.
I dodged the swing and moved inside his guard.
The moment I reached right in front of him, he panicked and tried to step back—but it was too late.
‘If I don’t have a sword, I’ll use my fists!’
I clenched my tiny fist and swung it upward.
My punch landed squarely on his chin.
‘If you’re weak, aim for the vital spots!’
“Argh!”
While the boy reeled in pain, clutching his jaw, I didn’t miss the opening and delivered a solid punch to his solar plexus.
“Gah!”
‘I do feel a bit bad, but I had no choice!’
If I showed mercy in a fight, I’d end up dead.
No joke—this frail body might actually die if that sword landed a hit.
‘Still, I’ll spare your life!’
Thinking that to myself, I hooked my foot behind his leg as he stumbled in pain.
The boy lost his balance and fell to the ground, and I climbed on top of him and rained down punches.
“We’ve said it repeatedly—if this was going to happen, you should’ve adopted Denson instead!”
The Duke of Clasta’s brow furrowed in displeasure.
Denson was the grandson of the Senate Chairman.
Just the sight of him pretending to be well-mannered whenever he passed by made the Duke feel sick.
“Who I choose as my successor is none of your business.”
“There’s a fine young man like Denson, and yet you brought in some child with no known background…”
“Do you even know what that child’s parents did? For all we know, she could be the descendant of criminals. Just the thought of someone like her joining the Clasta house is revolting.”
“We only speak out of concern for the Clasta family! If she came from an orphanage, she probably can’t even control her mana properly yet. Making such a child the heir will be the end of the Clasta family!”
It had been 30 years since the evil dragon had died, but the continent was still in chaos.
The dragon’s followers remained hidden in the shadows, and the monsters had grown even more vicious and greedy.
Powerful military strength was now a basic requirement for nobility to defend their territories.
The Clasta family had grown to its current strength thanks to the Duke’s exceptional skills.
And now he was making some unknown child his heir?
They could already envision the downfall of the Clasta family.
“No matter what you say, the adoption process is complete. There’s no undoing it.”
“Your Grace!”
“Enough. I’ve listened more than enough. The heir is decided, and this discussion is over.”
The Duke waved his hand dismissively and stood up.
At that moment, a knight burst into the meeting room and rushed to the Chairman.
“What? Denson got injured in a fight and collapsed?”
Everyone in the room turned to the Chairman in shock.
Denson, the Senate Chairman’s grandson, had always received the best—food, education, tutors.
He was talented, physically strong, and already capable of going up against a grown knight.
And yet he had been injured in a fight?
Everyone was now curious.
“Who in the world did this?! Was he up against an elite knight? Who dared…!”
The Chairman, furious that his precious grandson had been beaten and was now bedridden, shouted in rage.
His aura was so fierce that even the messenger knight looked flustered.
“W-well…”
“Speak! Or did you let the attacker escape?!”
“She’s been imprisoned, but… it’s just that…”
The knight glanced at the Duke awkwardly.
“She claims to be your daughter—Ariel Clasta…”
Ariel?
The very name that had just been mentioned in this room had people gasping in surprise.
Someone even asked the knight to confirm.
“She really said she’s Ariel Clasta?”
“Yes, that’s what she said. That she’s the Duke’s daughter… but we hadn’t heard anything official yet…”
Ariel’s identity had only just been made public in the meeting.
And while everyone’s guard was down, this had happened.
People began recalling Ariel’s image.
A girl with long sky-blue hair, a calm expression as if she didn’t care what was said about her.
With her fair skin and slightly upturned eyes, she had a cute, catlike appearance. Her small frame showed signs of malnourishment—understandable for someone from an orphanage.
And yet this girl had defeated Denson, who was taller and more physically imposing?
“That doesn’t make sense. Was her swordsmanship that good?”
“Did she learn swordsmanship at the orphanage? This is suspicious. Explain exactly what happened.”
The knight, hesitant, relayed what he saw.
“Well… it wasn’t with a sword. She won with her fists.”
The room fell into stunned silence.
Then, suddenly, someone burst into loud laughter.
“Hahaha!”
It was the Duke of Clasta, clutching his stomach as he laughed heartily.
“Oh, this is too good. I knew she was unique, but I didn’t expect such a spectacular entrance.”
Still chuckling, the Duke added,
“Looks like my daughter is far more capable than the Denson you all recommended.”
As the others stared in shocked silence, the Duke smiled.
“Seems there’s nothing more to say. I’ll be going now—to retrieve my daughter from the prison.”
“Young miss, are you hurt anywhere?”
“No, I’m fine. What about you, Mary?”
“I’m perfectly fine, thanks to you.”
Mary and I were locked up in a cell.
When the knights arrived at the scene and found Denson lying on the ground, they arrested both of us on the spot.
Even though Mary told them I was Ariel Clasta, daughter of the Duke, they hadn’t been informed and threw us in jail anyway.
“If you’re hurt, you have to say something.”
“I’m really okay. You’re so kind, young miss. I didn’t expect you to stand up for a mere maid like me. Where did the Duke find an angel like you?”
Mary took my hands gently, her voice sweet and warm.
“You were amazing earlier. Facing off against Sir Denson like that—you were so brave, I think I fell for you right then and there.”
“That was nothing. He was just weak.”
Unless it was someone like the Duke.
“Sir Denson is one of the stronger ones his age. And yet you’re so humble, young miss.”
Every time Mary spoke kindly, my heart fluttered.
‘Reagan always scolded me, no matter what I did. But Mary’s so kind.’
“When we get out, I’ll cook you something delicious. I noticed you liked beef—do you like fish too?”
“I do!”
As long as it’s not full of pebbles, I’ll eat anything.
But then I mumbled with a gloomy face,
“But will we ever get out of here…?”
I acted on impulse, but what if the Duke got angry and ordered me locked up forever?
‘Then I guess I’ll just have to escape in secret.’
I’d scouted the place a bit on the way in. The guards didn’t seem too alert.
If I worked at it for a year or so, I might pull off a jailbreak.
That’s when a familiar voice called out.
“Don’t tell me you prefer the prison over the bedroom I prepared for you.”
The Duke motioned, and a knight quickly opened the cell.
As I stepped out, he crossed his arms and looked down at me.
‘Maybe I should start by apologizing…’
But before I could, he broke into a wide smile.
“Well done.”
Then he bent down, lifted me into his arms, and tugged playfully at my nose.
“I hear you shattered his jaw. Next time, break his nose too.”
“He’s really shameless, isn’t he? Picking a fight with a girl five years younger than him—and using a weapon too!”
Owell shouted furiously.
“I was about to get hit too! If it weren’t for the young miss, I’d be the one lying in that bed right now!”
Mary added, making Owell blink in shock.
“What? He tried to hit a maid of the house?”
“Yes! What the young miss did today was something everyone should’ve seen. She didn’t hesitate at all—even though he was so much taller. I fell for her right then and there!”
I sat quietly in the Duke’s arms, staring up at him.
“You’re not mad?”
“Why would I be?”
He tousled my bangs playfully.
“I told you—all you have to do is survive here.”
“Even if it includes things like this?”
“Yes.”
Carrying me in his arms, the Duke said,
“From now on, if anyone bothers you, just do what you did today—win.”
“But what if I mess with someone I shouldn’t?”
Back when I was the evil dragon’s daughter or under Reagan’s care, everyone was more important than me.
There was no one I was allowed to get angry at.
The Duke laughed heartily.
“Who in this world is someone Ariel Clasta isn’t allowed to mess with?”
My chest felt oddly warm.
That unfamiliar emotion made me bury my face in the Duke’s chest.
“I won’t accept this! That brat ambushed me! I went easy because she was young… If I hadn’t, she’d be dead by now!”
Denson shouted, his face twisted in fury.
Then, wincing from the pain, he quieted down.
“Calm down. If you keep yelling, your wound might reopen.”
His grandfather, the Senate Chairman, tried to soothe him as Denson clenched the bedsheets in frustration.
“Wherever the Duke found her, he brought in something nasty. I thought she’d be easy to get rid of, coming from an orphanage… but I guess she’s not that easy. Fine. She wants to play hardball?”
The Chairman gripped Denson’s hand.
“When the Duke dies, there’s no one else fit to take over the duchy except you. Just be patient. I’ll make sure you get your revenge soon.”
