Chapter 52 – The Youngest Daughter of the Count’s Family (15)
[Chapter 3 – Verse 7] Shall I Help?
Readers live vicariously through the protagonist, spending their hard-earned wages for that thrill!
Most romance-fantasy heroines are female because women readers find it easier to immerse themselves.
In short,
“This can’t be…!”
Angelina Chimac, practically dragged from the count’s estate to the royal capital.
She clutched her beautiful hair, screeching in frustration.
‘Marry the prince?!’
It wasn’t that she disliked him. But for someone who craved the attention and love of many handsome men, like the original protagonist, this was the worst.
If she’d wanted to marry the prince?
She could’ve done it ages ago.
‘No.’
A young emperor who’d grant any request was far more appealing than an aging future king.
Yet she’d rejected his proposal too.
Why?
“Too soon.”
Every new charming man set her heart racing!
Watching them vie for her love was thrilling.
That’s why <I Became the Youngest Daughter of a Count’s Family> had captivated her among countless romance fantasies.
She couldn’t give up that joy.
Which meant,
‘Marriage is absolutely out…!’
Would a queen tolerate other men around her?
In a world without DNA tests, no king would risk paternity scandals.
Marriage = game over.
She’d have to yield all her men to other women and spend her life as ‘one man’s wife’.
“That bitch…!”
The object of Angelina’s hatred: her third sister, Anmilina Chimac.
Per the author’s setting, the upright Count Chimac felt guilty for his youngest breaking the betrothal first and kept it in his heart.
But,
‘The fiancée was supposed to be me! Why her…!’
The warring families had miraculously reconciled through Baron Somaek and Anmilina’s meeting!
That was the final blow.
With moral issues resolved, the count agreed to the prince’s demand to marry off his youngest.
Powerless to resist, she was confined in the prince’s villa, awaiting the wedding.
“Infuriating!”
Even her handsome guard knight, once her steadfast protector, was reassigned by their father to her third sister.
To mend ties, Anmilina was heading to the Somaek duchy—he was tasked with guarding her.
Nothing went her way.
Knock knock!
“Lady Angelina, His Highness is here.”
“Tell him I don’t wish to see him now!”
She snapped at the maid’s voice outside.
Click—
But the door opened anyway, and the prince entered.
“Lady Angelina, I understand your heart is unsettled by the swift progress, but no need to be shy.”
“Get out…!”
“This is my house, and where I belong. Where would I go?”
He closed the distance, voice gentle.
Angelina backed away.
“D-Don’t come closer.”
“We’ll soon be husband and wife. Only us here. No need to avoid me like before, wary of other men’s eyes.”
Balance shattered.
In the original, from volume 1 to 5, the men’s rivalry prevented anyone from forcing marriage.
But she couldn’t perfectly mimic ‘Angelina Chimac’.
Even a devoted fan has personal tastes—some men more appealing, others less.
“Your Highness, I have no intention of marrying you.”
If forced to wed, she’d choose the emperor.
“…”
The prince’s smile slowly vanished.
Fear struck, but with no retreat left, Angelina summoned courage.
“The more you force this, the further my love drifts.”
“Hm…”
“Stop the wedding and return with me to the Chimac estate. Don’t you remember? Our joyful days together.”
“…Angelina.”
“Yes, let’s go back—”
“You’re gravely mistaken.”
“Pardon?”
Where was the misunderstanding?
“I never once enjoyed myself in the Chimac territory.”
“W-What do you…”
“I only pretended calm. Every smile you gave another man twisted my insides.”
“…”
She felt as if a hammer had struck her head.
“Lady Angelina, I’ve known from the start you don’t love me.”
“That’s not true…!”
“Didn’t you look at other men?”
“I love everyone!”
“Haha! I love all the kingdom’s people too. But the one I truly love is you, Angelina Chimac, and you alone.”
“Why…”
She couldn’t comprehend the prince’s logic—loving a woman who didn’t love him back.
Of course she couldn’t.
“Love needs no reason. Even if you hate me, I’ll love you to the end.”
“T-That’s…”
It’s the setting of the “prince” who loves the protagonist. Dislike it? Complain to the author.
Madness flickered in his eyes.
“The emperor threatened to destroy the kingdom if I don’t hand you over.”
“Ah!”
A ray of hope.
“I refused.”
“Are you insane?!”
The situation spiraled beyond her control.
“I’ve already won this war. Because you, the emperor’s prize, are by my side.”
“Urk! It hurts!”
The prince seized her slender wrist.
She struggled instinctively, but strength failed her.
“If you bear my child, the emperor will despair.”
“Child?!”
His hand crept lower; her face paled.
Knock knock!
“Your Highness.”
“…What is it?”
“His Majesty urgently summons you.”
“Understood.”
Swish—
Releasing her, the prince turned.
“In two days, a ball. To announce I’ve defeated all rivals and claimed you.”
“…”
“I love you.”
Thud.
Overwhelmed, Angelina collapsed into sobs the moment he left.
“Help me…”
‘Someone, please help!’
She couldn’t endure this derailment.
Then,
“Shall I help?”
A suspicious woman in a black pointed hat parted the third-floor terrace curtains and stepped in.
Clack clack.
Her high-heeled black shoes echoed like thunder as she approached, slow and regal.
“Who…?”
“My identity isn’t important. Isn’t it?”
“…Can you help me?”
“Of course. I desperately wish for your happiness.”
The witch smiled.
***
I returned safely to the Somaek mansion, but without a day’s rest, I was whisked to the tense port city.
“Oh! Baron Amolang! Welcome!”
“Thank you for the warm reception, Your Grace.”
“As you predicted—the emperor’s lost his mind!”
“So it seems.”
From the watchtower overlooking the warships, the duke spotted me and beamed like greeting a savior.
“No official declaration yet, but the empire has declared war!”
“On what pretext?”
“Kidnapping the empress. Absurd, isn’t it?”
“Indeed.”
In the emperor’s head, the protagonist is already his wife.
‘What terrifying obsession!’
I knew it, but reality was ludicrous.
“Baron, tired?”
“Yes.”
“Haha! Still, we must go at once! The battlefield awaits you!”
“Battlefield…”
It had come.
“Scared?”
“Yes. Terrified.”
Afraid of losing precious brain cells.
“You’ll get used to it soon.”
“…”
Let’s hope the patient comes to her senses before the war escalates.
***
Between the kingdom and the empire lies a sea the size of Europe’s Mediterranean.
Geographically, the Somaek duchy has been forced since the kingdom’s founding to serve as a breakwater against the imperial navy.
“It’ll be a tough fight. The emperor himself is moving.”
A young emperor with no heir—'not even a bastard’. His death ends the empire!
He knows the risk, yet the protagonist’s wedding news drove him to lead the campaign personally.
“Then we just need to crush the emperor’s main fleet.”
“Right. Capturing him alive would be ideal, but dead works too. An empire without an heir plunges straight into civil war.”
“That’s our chance.”
For the Somaek house to ascend to royalty, imperial chaos is essential.
“Don’t worry too much. Count Pimaang, who dislikes the emperor, sent me a secret letter.”
“What did it say?”
“If we capture his worthless son sailing with the emperor, his fleet will surrender immediately.”
“Perfect.”
“That gave me chills—your foresight, Baron Amolang.”
“You flatter me.”
The duke proudly surveyed the warships at port and detailed the strategy.
Time to sail—
“Your Grace! Urgent report!”
“What is it?”
“Lady Angelina Chimac, fourth daughter of Count Chimac and bride-to-be, has vanished from the palace!”
“…When?”
“Two days ago!”
The time it took for news of the capital’s uproar to reach Somaek.
I was stunned.
‘Ran away to avoid marriage?’
But escaping the prince’s surveillance?
“We’ll find her soon. Maybe already have.”
“True. That girl’s hobby must be causing trouble.”
“Ha, ha…”
Unable to curse the patient, I laughed it off.
Then—
“Your Grace! Another urgent report!”
“Found her, I presume.”
The duke guessed, bored.
“No!”
“Oh! Found as a corpse?”
“No!”
“…”
“Lady Angelina, missing from the palace, is in the empire!”
“The emperor, desperate to marry her, has finally lost it. Making a fake.”
The duke’s judgment was sound.
Traveling from the kingdom’s inland to the empire in two days is impossible—the sea crossing alone takes over two days.
‘Utter nonsense!’
We dismissed the messenger’s report as rumor.
But…
“Your Grace, a letter from Count Pimaang.”
“Show me.”
The mood turned grim.
“…Baron Amolang, steel yourself.”
“Pardon? Steel myself?”
“The emperor returned to the imperial capital with Angelina Chimac in his arms.”
“…”
Our plan to capture or kill the emperor and throw the empire into chaos—gone.
“His son, Baron Pimaang, confirmed it’s the real her. The emperor’s even holding a welcome banquet. Haha!”
“Impossible…”
A physically impossible fantasy had occurred.
Anyway,
‘I don’t understand why the patient fled the kingdom for the empire.’
Her groom just changed from prince to emperor.
“Baron, take up arms. The war has begun.”
“Isn’t it over?”
The empire lost its pretext of reclaiming a kidnapped empress.
“The exiled girl begged the emperor to destroy her homeland.”
“What?”
“Baron Amolang, doesn’t the world seem mad?”
“Indeed.”
Now it’s a fight to the death.