I shouted urgently.
“Where are you going? Leave her alone today! Father already came by once!”
“Since when did you start siding with her, huh?”
Billaine didn’t stop walking—in fact, he rolled up his sleeves.
What if I provoked him and Larisa ends up getting hit more?
I felt the blood drain from my face.
Even with a limp, I hurried down the stairs and grabbed Billaine’s arm.
“I said leave her alone!”
“How dare you…”
Fire lit up in Billaine’s green eyes as he turned to look at me.
He raised his arm, as if he would strike me at any moment.
‘Is he really going to hit me?’
I flinched and shouted back.
“Are you planning to kill the goose that lays golden eggs? You at least need to keep her alive. One more blow and she might really die!”
It wasn’t an exaggeration. One more hit and she truly might not survive.
Billaine hesitated.
I didn’t miss the moment—I quickly took off the earrings from my ears.
They were emerald earrings, matching the color of my eyes.
“Take these and get lost. That should cover a month’s worth of booze.”
Billaine glared at me with a puzzled look before snatching the earrings.
“Fine, I’ll let it slide just for today.”
He staggered off toward his room.
I let out a deep sigh as I watched him go. Arguing with him drained all my energy.
So instead of heading up to my room at the top of the mansion, I turned toward the nearby parlor.
It wasn’t like there was anyone in either place anyway.
The maids I had seen earlier had brought enough firewood, and the parlor was warm and cozy.
‘Even though they say the family is going bankrupt, they still keep fires going in empty rooms.’
I let out a bitter laugh and sat close to the fireplace.
There’s always money coming in somewhere.
That belief is what made them so indulgent.
No matter how many businesses failed, Father would never admit he lacked business talent.
Even when money was tight, he’d rather go down to the basement than consider cutting down on staff to save expenses.
‘Thanks to that, my jewelry is still intact.’
I recalled all the jewelry and accessories tucked away in Marcia’s dressing room.
All those items had piled up from Marcia’s extravagant lifestyle.
If I used them sparingly, I could probably live off them alone.
But what about two people?
‘If it’s two, we’ll have to be extra frugal. Or maybe use them to start a small business or shop.’
I poked at the fireplace with a poker and muttered to myself.
Yes.
I had made up my mind to run away with Larisa.
I just couldn’t stand by and watch a 13-year-old child get beaten until she cried.
‘Money aside—how can anyone beat such a tiny girl? Are they insane?’
When I read fairy tales to my niece, I always had the same thought.
‘If you just need to make her cry, you don’t have to hit her, right?’
There are many ways to make someone cry.
Tears come when you’re sad or in pain, but also when you laugh too hard.
Even yawning brings tears.
You could slice onions together in the kitchen.
Or tickle her under the arms until she laughs so hard she cries.
‘Or you could just tell her a really touching story.’
That’s what I had thought—though I hadn’t thought deeply about it, since it was just a fairy tale.
“I never imagined it would become my own reality.”
If I had possessed this body before Larisa was locked in the basement, I might have stopped it.
But now it was too late.
Larisa’s emotions were probably dried up, except for fear and despair.
‘Once we get out, I’ll take her straight to a doctor.’
Do they even have therapists in this world?
It’ll take years of treatment to heal her broken heart.
And with the cost of treatment… my jewelry alone probably wouldn’t be enough.
Even though Larisa is like a walking diamond mine, I had no intention of exploiting her.
‘I’d rather starve.’
The image of the small, bloodied girl kept flashing before my eyes.
No matter what happened, I would never force her to cry.
That’s the whole reason I wanted to save her.
‘Wait… but if we run away together, won’t she miss her chance to meet the prince?’
She was supposed to endure three more years in this mansion, until a prince happened to pass by, fall in love at first sight, and rescue her.
If it were me, I’d ditch the prince and escape immediately. But would Larisa feel the same?
After all the abuse she’s endured, would she want to endure a bit more and marry a prince—then get revenge on her family?
As I considered that, a chill ran down my spine.
‘What if… either way, it’s a doomed ending?’
Surely I can still change the ending.
I clutched my head with both hands.
And then—an idea hit me.
“Wait, what if I go find the prince first?”
Yes. If they’re destined to get married in three years, why not just have them meet earlier?
I could introduce them ahead of time and get them engaged.
‘If things go according to the original story, it’ll be fine. He’ll fall for her at first sight.’
Since the original ending says they get married and live happily ever after, the prince will surely take good care of Larisa.
I liked this plan a lot.
Once Larisa was safely with her fiancé, I could sell my jewelry and quietly live on my own.
Even if Larisa came to hate me, she wouldn’t go out of her way to execute the person who rescued her from this house.
“Perfect.”
Smiling in satisfaction, I stood up from the parlor chair.
There were a few things I needed to check before executing the plan.
* * *
“This can’t be.”
I groaned, clutching my head, slumped over the desk in the study.
The royal genealogy and nobility register I had been reading were now crumpled and shoved aside.
“A fairy tale with no prince? Are you serious?!”
To my shock, this country had no prince.
To be precise, there were no unmarried, young princes.
On the verge of tears, I pounded the books in frustration.
Technically, there was one prince.
But he was well over thirty, already married, and had a child with the princess consort.
No way was that the prince from a fairy tale.
And his son—the crown prince—was only two years old.
Way too young for a romance plot.
‘How could Marcia not know something this important?’
I silently cursed Marcia’s memories.
Though, to be fair, it wasn’t hard to see why.
She had never studied, nor read a book in her life.
And while the Blick family did have noble blood, they held no actual title.
They just happened to own a tiny patch of land.
As a daughter of such a family, Marcia only got invited to certain parties.
She wouldn’t be seen at gatherings hosted by counts or higher.
And since she never had a chance to meet royals or high-ranking nobles, she had no reason to care.
She had dazzling blonde hair, mesmerizing green eyes, and a pretty face. She drank like a fish and danced like a dream.
But that was all Marcia had going for her.
Even the servants called her stupid and mean—behind her back, of course.
“What do I do now?”
If there’s no prince, even if I escape with Larisa, we’ll have nowhere to go.
Still slumped over the books, I bit my lip.
Then, my eyes caught a word.
I sat up straight.
And read the line I had just seen over and over again.
[Prince Laurent.]
“He still exists!”
“Prince” here referred to the title of Duke.
In this country’s language, the same word was used for both “prince” and “duke.”
It felt like a bit of a stretch, but a duke was close enough to a fairy tale prince.
And this country had exactly one ducal family.
The Laurents.
I went straight to the end of the Laurent family tree.
At the very last branch, I found hope.
‘Yes, this is it!’
The last name listed: Fabian Laurent, twenty-one years old.
Clearly a male name, and unmarried.
‘He’s eight years older than Larisa, but in this world, that’s totally normal.’
Looking a line up, I saw that his parents had passed away long ago.
So he must have inherited the dukedom at quite a young age.
“Fabian Laurent…”
I committed the name to memory.
The Laurent family tree took up several pages, and at the top was their family crest.
‘Wait a second… I’ve seen this somewhere before.’
I squinted at it.
A shield decorated in red and white, wrapped in thorny vines, with two crossed swords behind it—a very classic, noble design.
“Where did I see this?”
Marcia wouldn’t have seen it at a social gathering.
I chewed on my lip, digging through my memories.
“Aha…!”
I remembered.
It was on the very last page of the original fairy tale.
[And they lived happily ever after.]
Alongside those words was a grand wedding scene.
Behind the beaming bride and groom stood a crowd of guests, and at the far back was a faintly drawn castle.
At the top of the castle fluttered a tiny flag—and on that flag was the very same crest.
‘The original fairy tale was a picture book. The hints weren’t just in the words!’
