Chapter 41 – The Youngest Daughter of the Count’s Family (4)
This place, built from the patient’s favorite novel, was a classic feudal era.
King, nobles, knights, commoners, slaves.
The feudal system was broadly divided into five classes, with one’s birth determining their lifelong status.
‘Not sure if it’s the same here.’
I don’t assume the history I learned in school is absolute truth.
The feudal system here likely depends on how the author of ‘I Became the Youngest Daughter of a Count’s Family’ set it up.
“Take this money.”
The handsome knight who escorted the count’s youngest daughter handed me a pouch of coins.
“What’s this for…?”
“Don’t feel burdened. Consider it compensation for getting caught up in our troubles.”
“Oh…”
“This is the will of the Chimac Count’s family.”
“Then I’ll gratefully accept.”
Jingle♪
Nobles ruling territories collect taxes from commoners in exchange for protection, using the funds to train knights and armies to strengthen their power and wage wars.
But history is full of nobles who neglected protection, hoarded taxes, and fell to ruin…
‘A true noble!’
Considering that, the Chimac Count must be above average, whether by novel setting or not.
“Not a bad start…”
I nearly died from arrows for no reason, but I got clothes and living expenses for this world.
Isn’t that a net gain?
Now I just need to find the patient who’s mistaken this novel for reality.
Growl.
“…Should I eat something?”
Finding her is important, but first, I needed to fill my stomach.
Jingle♪
The sound of the coin pouch alone felt nourishing and healing!
‘Gotta be careful.’
Not wanting to waste time on part-time jobs, I stepped into the bustling streets, wary of pickpockets.
“Apples for sale!”
“Come eat!”
“Check out our clothes!”
Aside from no card payments, it wasn’t much different from the modern world.
However,
“Sweet chocolate~!”
“How about a cup of coffee?”
“We’ve got rum too!”
The setting is pre-14th century, when knights hadn’t yet declined, but the lifestyle feels late 16th century?
Given that coffee and chocolate, once noble luxuries, became widespread in the 18th century, this made no sense.
‘It’s a novel, after all.’
My heart accepted it, but as a cultured citizen who studied world history, the setting irked me.
Anyway,
“Let’s eat.”
I entered the shabbiest-looking restaurant around, likely the cheapest.
“Welcome!”
“Hm… I’ll have this.”
“Yes~”
Killing myself would let me escape this world instantly, but since I’m here, I wanted to meet the patient and say something.
Her parents are grieving and struggling!
‘My body’s fine, right?’
I trusted the coach to watch over my collapsed body at the hotel. For now, eating well and resting was key.
I needed to restore my stamina to find the patient somewhere in this world, didn’t I?
While waiting for my potato dish, I eavesdropped on other customers’ conversations.
“Hey, ever seen the Chimac Count’s youngest daughter?”
“Saw her by chance. She’s as gorgeous as the rumors say!”
“Really? I wanna see her!”
“They say the young emperor of the empire proposed to her…”
“You’re behind. She rejected him, and it caused a stir.”
“What?! How could she?”
Half the conversations were about the count’s youngest daughter.
Because she’s the protagonist of this world?
Having seen how everyone was obsessed with the ‘Magic Boy’ in Choi Kang-min’s dream, I couldn’t brush it off.
‘Something’s off.’
The Magic Boy was a globally famous hero.
But the count’s youngest daughter is just one of many nobles’ children. No matter how beautiful, she shouldn’t command everyone’s attention and love.
“Your food is here.”
“…Oh! Thank you.”
Snapping out of my thoughts, I tried the potato dish.
‘Oh! Tastier than expected.’
I’d only meant to fill my stomach, so this was an unexpected win.
Tender boiled potatoes, creamy mayonnaise sauce, warm mushroom soup, and bread…
I missed cola a bit, but expecting carbonated drinks in this era would be beyond luxury—it’d break the setting.
The customers’ chatter continued.
“I heard she summoned a guard knight to her bedroom at midnight…”
“Shh! Want to die? This is the Chimac Count’s territory!”
“Wasn’t she in love with a prince and that’s why she rejected the emperor?”
“Hah! All rumors. Forgot she’s betrothed to the neighboring duke’s eldest son?”
“True. Breaking that promise could start a war.”
I pieced together the overheard information.
My conclusion?
‘What a greedy woman.’
She might not like any of her suitors, but that’s no attitude for a noble responsible for protecting her land and people.
“Well… the author will handle it.”
I decided to focus only on finding the patient somewhere in this novel world.
If I had artistic talent, I might’ve sketched a composite, but finding an unknown woman with just black hair and eyes as clues was impossible.
Still, I’d recognize her if I saw her, so I held onto a thread of hope…
“Yeah, no way.”
I visited a place that finds people for money, but they said it was too little information.
I agreed.
I still had about half the money from the Chimac Count’s family, but I concluded further searching was pointless.
Was it due to lack of effort?
Absolutely not.
‘Eight days of searching all day without slacking is enough!’
I felt I’d repaid the expensive ice cream and soda I’d been treated to.
Plus,
“Raise your weapons!”
“For the Chimac Count’s family!”
“Chimac! Chimac! Chimac!”
A war broke out with the neighboring duke’s family, leaving no time for leisurely searches.
The cause? The count’s youngest daughter ignored her betrothal and was caught kissing another man by her fiancé!
If she’d apologized on the spot, it might’ve ended quietly, but her brazen attitude escalated things beyond control…
“Crush the duke’s family!”
“Glory to the Chimac Count!”
“Protect the beautiful lady!”
“Chimac! Chimac! Chimac!”
Objectively, the fault lay with the count’s youngest daughter, and she gave the war its justification.
Yet, ironically, all the blame fell on the duke’s family!
It was like dealing with fanatics.
“You there! Hold your spear straight!”
“Yes!”
And I, simply for being a young, healthy male, was forcibly conscripted and dragged into the war.
Now, I was training in a temporary barracks set up outside the city.
Preparing to be thrown into battle if the final negotiations failed.
All I could hope for was that the talks went well…
“Your stamina is impressive.”
“Thank you!”
If I’d rested when others did, I wouldn’t have stood out, but my desire to get stronger made me push ahead.
Then, suddenly,
‘What am I doing here…?’
The question hit me.
Instead of finding the patient, I was learning how to kill my own kind efficiently.
An officer, noting my stamina, ordered his subordinate.
“Starting today, assign him to the scout unit.”
“I’ll arrange it immediately.”
My opinion wasn’t considered, but the mood wasn’t right for protests, so I complied silently.
At that moment,
Clang! Clang! Clang…!
The war bells on the watchtower rang loudly.
“Negotiations have failed!”
“Take up arms!”
“For the Chimac Count’s family!”
Clank, clunk…
Everyone in the barracks grabbed their weapons and moved to the designated clearing.
“Neigh~!”
A knight on horseback raised his sword and shouted.
“For Chimac!”
“Waaah!”
“Chimac! Chimac! Chimac!”
“Move out…!”
Caught up in their fervor, I was swept into the battlefield.
‘Is this for real…?’
I thought it’d be a show of force, followed by negotiations and a fizzle!
And then I died.
***
“Arghhh!”
Regaining consciousness, I screamed and bolted upright.
Pop, pop, pop…!
The medical devices attached to me stung as they fell off, but I had no mental space to care.
“Ha, ha…”
Thump, thump!
My heart pounded like it would explode.
‘They’re all insane…!’
The physical pain of being stabbed and slashed was bearable, but the mental toll was immense.
Killing, killing, and killing again…
Repeating the act until you lose your life or can’t move a finger.
That’s war.
A place where stepping over corpses was accepted as normal.
‘Where am I…?’
Bathed in the soft yellow glow of a nightlight, this wasn’t my hotel room.
The vibe was similar, but it was much larger, with added furniture like a sofa and display cabinet.
And the out-of-place medical equipment.
Very familiar.
“You’re awake.”
“Dr. Seo?”
Dr. Seo Hye-joo, in luxurious silk pajamas, walked in from another room.
Instead of a greeting, she looked at my arm and asked,
“Does it hurt?”
“…I didn’t have the mind to notice.”
Blood trickled from where the IV needle had bent.
“Stay still.”
“…”
I wanted to ask why Dr. Seo Hye-joo was here, but for now, I decided to follow her instructions quietly.
“All done. You should be able to move comfortably now.”
“Thank you. But how did you…”
“I called to check on you, and your swim coach answered.”
“Oh!”
Hearing I hadn’t woken up all day, Dr. Seo had packed her bags and caught a flight…
Checking the medical equipment, she said,
“Died again?”
“How’d you know?”
“Your heart stopped for 17 minutes before you woke up.”
“Oh!”
“Mr. Kang Moon-soo, this isn’t something to brush off. When oxygen stops, brain cells die rapidly. Want to end up dumber than a goldfish?”
“No way.”
I absolutely want to avoid that!
“How’d you die?”
“Got drafted into a war and didn’t last a day.”
I was treated slightly better than slave soldiers used to exhaust enemy arrows.
“A war? You have some wild experiences.”
“Not good ones. Better off not knowing.”
“Still, I’m curious. Tell me about the dream.”
Her eyes sparkled like a granddaughter begging her grandpa for a story. I gave a hollow laugh.
“It wasn’t a dream.”
“Huh?”
“It was a novel’s world. The one the autistic girl was holding.”
“I Became the Youngest Daughter of a Count’s Family?”
“Yes, that one.”
Dr. Seo’s face lit up with interest.
“A novel reflected in a dream… Fascinating. Oh! I read that book out of boredom.”
“Really?”
It wasn’t important, so I brushed it off with a smile.
“But that’s odd.”
“What?”
“That novel doesn’t have a single war.”
“…Seriously?”
“Yes. It’s a romance novel about love, so over half the readers are women. They wouldn’t include wars, which women generally dislike.”
“Wait. No wars at all? Not even a mention?”
“Nope. It’s all romance from start to finish. There’s an incident that could’ve led to war, but the protagonist cleverly resolves it peacefully.”
“What?!”
I could only let out a hollow laugh.
‘No wars in the original?’
An event occurred that ignored the author’s intended plot.
That could only mean one thing!
“Was there an ambush on the protagonist’s carriage?”
“Hm… Not in my memory. The novel had no violent content.”
“As expected…”
“What happened?”
“I got caught up in a war caused by the protagonist’s ‘cleverness.’”
“Huh?”
“Now I understand why I couldn’t find the patient.”
I thought it was because the world was too vast, a reasonable assumption.
But no.
‘She was right in front of me!’
Starting in the Chimac Count’s territory, the novel’s main stage, wasn’t a coincidence.
“Mr. Kang Moon-soo.”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t realize the protagonist was the patient?”
“What?!”
“You really didn’t know.”
“How’d you figure that out?”
“Think logically. Romance novel readers imagine themselves as the beautiful protagonist for vicarious satisfaction. Why would they choose an unattractive side character?”
“…”
Now that she mentions it…
“Mr. Kang Moon-soo, shall we measure your brain cell count?”
“I’ll pass.”
Ignorance is bliss for uncomfortable truths.
“Going back in?”
“Of course.”
I’d feel cheated giving up now. But I won’t go in blindly.
“Can I borrow it?”
“The novel? It’s long.”
“How long?”
“Five volumes in serialization. It just concluded recently after a long hiatus.”
“Won’t take too long.”
For the first time in my life, I dove into reading a romantic fantasy novel.