Chapter 3…
The Place I Entered Three Years Ago
I had a bad feeling, since he was usually a dignified and strict man.
“May I have a moment to speak with this child? Please, I beg you.”
The village chief bowed to the knight in charge of the royal guard. The officer frowned briefly, but under the village chief’s earnest gaze, he sighed and nodded.
What was that expression? It looked like a prison guard reluctantly allowing a family to exceed visitation time because he felt sorry for them.
The village chief approached and firmly took both of my hands.
“Village chief?”
“Listen carefully, Lucina. Beg His Majesty. No matter what.”
“Pardon? I didn’t do anything wrong, so why would I—”
“You might get your head chopped off before you can even beg, so just beg!”
“M-my head chopped off?”
“You’ve lost your memory and don’t know how the world works!”
The village chief rarely raised his voice, but he did now. A growing sense of unease crept over me.
Just what kind of person is the Emperor that everyone is acting like I’m going to die?
“Father. Lucina hasn’t done anything wrong, so please don’t pressure her.”
Beiser unusually spoke up against the village chief. However, the village chief’s expression only grew harsher.
“Listen carefully, Lucina.”
I swallowed dryly. His experienced eyes gleamed intensely.
“His Majesty the current Emperor, three years ago, formally adopted his niece, the Imperial Princess.”
So she’s not his biological child? But what does that have to do with me?
“However, that’s not all. The Emperor reduced the Tehan Kingdom to ashes within a year—the very kingdom that caused the death of the Princess’s father, my younger brother.”
“One… year?”
“That’s not all.”
Again?
“Though it’s said he destroyed the Tehan Kingdom out of grief for his brother’s death, in truth, it was merely a pretext for a preemptive strike. Rumor has it he enjoys slaughter. If something irritates him, he kills not only aides and servants but everyone within the palace.”
“…Excuse me?”
Whether he noticed my stunned expression or not, the village chief continued with a grave face.
“But that’s still not all!”
What—there’s more?!
“Everyone who enters his chambers has their head—”
The village chief, pale-faced, drew his thumb across his neck.
“Chopped off.”
“…Pardon?”
He sighed and muttered:
“Right. Well, being of the most concentrated dragon bloodline in history, one cannot expect human kindness or consideration—”
“D-dragon?”
The village chief looked surprised at my reaction, then frowned.
“What, you didn’t even know that? The imperial family’s ancestors are dragons.”
No one ever told me that!
I had been thrown out by debt collectors right after waking up, my house ruined, struggling just to repay debts—how was I supposed to know any of this?!
A wave of frustration surged up from my core.
The village chief shut his eyes tightly and let out a long sigh.
“Ah… that’s my fault. My fault. After your suicide attempt, you’ve had a hard time, haven’t you? I thought that since you always avoided matters of the state, it would be fine not to tell you…”
I pulled my hands free from his grip and clasped them together in prayer.
…Oh, gods. I want to live. I really want to live.
At that moment, a knight’s voice rang out coldly, impatient from waiting.
“Make haste. Do you intend to keep His Majesty waiting?”
“Um… if we go and clear up the misunderstanding, I’ll live, right?”
“….”
Several knights exchanged glances.
After a moment, they closed their eyes and averted their heads with solemn expressions.
Don’t look away! It’s scary!
A chill ran down my spine as I trembled.
Stay calm. Even if a tiger eats you, you can survive if you keep your wits.
I just need to go to the palace and clear up the misunderstanding. Surely I won’t die? I saved the Emperor’s niece, after all.
They wouldn’t treat me like a niece if I saved his niece, right?
“We will depart.”
The officer gestured toward me.
The knights approached and grabbed my arms.
“Wait, I can walk on my own!”
Despite my protest, I was lifted into the air, carried by the knights. No matter how much I kicked my legs, they didn’t touch the ground.
“I said I can walk myself!”
“Lucina!”
Beiser ran toward me but suddenly stopped, noticing something.
Following his gaze, I saw the Imperial Princess, just awake, her hair disheveled.
“P-Princess.”
The knights holding me froze as if their strings had been cut.
Despite her messy appearance from just waking, her eyes sharpened as she glared at the knights holding me.
The knights flinched and stepped back.
After a moment, the girl clenched her fists and shouted while trembling:
“Don’t touch her! Don’t bully my mom!”
“Mom…?”
Everyone present tilted their heads in confusion.
The princess dashed toward me like a small beast, tears welling in her eyes.
“Let her go!”
“P-Princess, please calm down…”
The officer waved his hands helplessly, unable to approach or retreat.
At that moment, the princess slammed her fist into my wooden hut nearby.
“Don’t bully my mom!”
KOOOONG—CRASH!
“What?”
In an instant, the hut I had lived in for three years collapsed with a thunderous sound. The wooden structure splintered and crumbled, dust rising like smoke.
Everyone—villagers, knights, Beiser, and myself—stood there with mouths agape.
Some time later, the villagers who regained their senses murmured in disbelief.
“Oh my…”
“Lucina… how tragic…”
I stared blankly, then took a sharp breath as memories buried deep within my mind surged up.
A princess with monstrous strength. Dragon lineage. Imperial blood.
“…That niece of mine.”
Ah.
Now I finally understood where I had been all along for the past three years.
It took me three years to realize that this world was the setting of a novel.
The only novel I had ever read—<Disaster and Calamity>.
That title referred to the Emperor and the Princess.
It was a novel recommended by a high school student in the hospital bed next to mine, which I had finished reading.
The DiCart Empire.
According to history, the imperial family’s ancestors were dragons, and they inherited both immense magical power and monstrous strength.
Among them, each imperial member excelled in one ability, and there was one who possessed the most extraordinary magic in history.
Calix—the Emperor of the Empire.
And his niece—the girl I had just saved—was none other than the Princess who would later bring about the destruction of the world: Rubelin.
The unique aspect of this story was that the protagonist was the villain.
Rubelin’s life was not peaceful.
Despite Emperor Calix’s objections, the second prince, Alec, married a princess of the Tehan Kingdom and was soon killed by the Tehan King.
In response, the Emperor reduced the kingdom to ashes and took in his niece as his daughter.
However, the Emperor was cold and incapable of affection.
He restricted Rubelin’s outings, never hugged her, never patted her head. She was only allowed contact with her tutors and servants.
She grew up in isolation, subjected to abnormal imperial education.
Having never received love, she never learned how to give it.
Imperial members were trained to control both magic and strength, but Rubelin never managed to control her monstrous strength even as an adult—she couldn’t even lift a spoon properly.
As she grew older, she became aware of her power and distanced herself from those around her.
Then, rebels against the Emperor spread false claims to Rubelin, telling her that the Emperor was responsible for her father’s death.
“My life was ruined because this world exists.”
Fueled by resentment toward her power and the Emperor, Rubelin sought to destroy everything.
The moment she killed Emperor Calix, she said:
“Just once. If you had been warm to me even once, I wouldn’t have gone this far.”
The Emperor faced her rebellion without emotion, remaining seated on the throne until his death.
After that, Rubelin turned the world into a sea of blood before ending her own life.
No wonder readers criticized the ending so much.
One reader even said the Emperor felt like a competent but cold and terrible boss.
If the Emperor had treated Rubelin better, the story wouldn’t have gone to ruin—but he couldn’t be fully hated either.
He too had endured a tragic childhood.
In short, it was a combination of a villain and the maker of a villain.
Clatter, clatter.
Inside the carriage, I snapped out of my thoughts.
Rubelin, seated across from me, tilted her head.
“Mom, why are you shaking?”
“Sh-shaking? N-no, of course not.”
“You are shaking.”
“I’m not.”
“Are you cold?”
No. I’m scared.
I forced a smile, clasping my trembling hands.
Rubelin moved beside me and stretched out her arms.
“Want a hug?”
“Um… about that…”
How could I refuse without hurting her feelings?
Just moments ago, I had witnessed her monstrous strength.
If the Emperor’s magic was a living bomb, then the Princess’s strength was a living weapon.
If she squeezed an apple, a human skull would crush just as easily. A single kick could split the ground.
I couldn’t just hug her recklessly.
If she placed a hand on my shoulder, my bones might shatter.
What should I do—
Just then, the carriage lurched violently.
Rubelin lost her balance.
“Princess!”
Instinctively, I grabbed her shoulders to steady her.
Rubelin’s eyes widened in surprise.
Soon after, the carriage stabilized, and she smiled, placing her hand on mine.
I flinched and shut my eyes tightly, expecting pain.
But… nothing happened.
When I cautiously opened one eye, I saw Rubelin smiling with a slight blush.
Huh? That’s strange.
Her weak strength should’ve broken bones.
Lost in thought, the carriage came to a stop.
Footsteps approached outside.
It was already here?
I looked out the window, then remembered the image of Rubelin destroying my hut.
…Right. This is a world with magic and strength.
“…Hnn…”
When I removed my hand from her shoulder, Rubelin pouted slightly.
“…Cute.”
…Maybe it’s okay to hug her.
“Princess. I will open the door.”
The door opened, and a knight wrapped entirely in a robe appeared.
“Pardon me, Princess.”
After bowing, the knight carefully lifted Rubelin into his arms.
