‘The Young Lady Survived Today.’
While browsing a community site, an ad for a web novel suddenly popped up, and the illustration was so beautiful that I clicked on it as if bewitched.
It was a romance fantasy novel aimed at women, so I felt some resistance, but I started reading anyway. Even on a community site mostly populated by male users, the reviews weren’t bad.
Exactly three days later, I had finished reading nearly four hundred chapters. The elegant descriptions aside, the solid story was considerably impressive.
‘Maybe I should write a short review tomorrow.’
Lost in the lingering afterglow, I fell asleep thinking just that….
When I opened my eyes before long, for some reason, an unfamiliar ceiling greeted me.
‘What the hell is this…?’
Countless question marks sprang up in my head.
Where am I? Who is here?
Ah, was it the other way around? Anyway.
Fortunately, it didn’t take too long for such questions to be resolved. The original owner’s memories had flowed in naturally.
I think I spent about five minutes spacing out and drooling, but regardless, it all felt natural.
‘Luke Ninehart.’
The original owner of this body, and now, my name.
It was fine that deep blue noble blood flowed through this body. Though I was the youngest of three sons and one daughter in a baron’s family crowded with those above me, considering that the average possessor was a street orphan, this could be considered much better.
However, there were a few problems that couldn’t be easily overlooked.
That this world was the world of the romance fantasy *The Young Lady Survived Today*, and that the fate given to me was to become the personal attendant of the novel’s protagonist, Elena Frozenhart.
‘And in the original story, I die…’
Because I had tried to assassinate Elena, the protagonist. Of course, there had been reason enough to do so, but even so, it wasn’t something that could be forgiven.
But the problem didn’t end here. No, if it had only been to this extent, I would have accepted it gladly. Because all I had to do was not attempt an assassination.
‘Her personality is no pushover…’
Having lost her birth mother in childhood and gained a stepmother, she was no different from the tyrants people spoke of. She was hardened by self-defense, aggressive toward everything.
When she was the protagonist, that appearance had been pitiful, but if I were to serve her as my master, well….
At the very least, she wouldn’t have an agreeable disposition.
‘Can I change my fate…?’
Fortunately, I had plenty of time. Elena had taken on a personal attendant around the age of ten, and I had just turned nine.
Changing mountains and rivers in a year might be too much, but surely I could change my own fate.
It was in the morning that I had made such a bold resolution, but the moment afternoon came, those thoughts were shattered into pieces.
“Your serving the Lady Elena was promised long ago. Even so, if you truly hate the idea, you will have no choice but to become a knight and join the army.”
“The… army, sir?”
“The northern barbarians are coveting our land as we speak. The Duke, who has cherished you since childhood, would be disappointed, but if you have the will to become a knight, he would not stop you.”
Freedom to do only what I wanted just because I had possessed someone—such freedom did not exist for me.
So this was the duty of a noble through whose veins deep blue blood flowed…!
“I shall serve the Lady with all my heart and devotion.”
House Ninehart was a vassal family that had served House Frozenhart for generations.
Under such circumstances, if I arbitrarily refused to become Elena’s personal attendant? That was something one must not do as a member of the family, nay, as a person.
It absolutely wasn’t because I could already picture getting called to the training hall and being chewed out.
That said, if you asked whether I was happy to become Elena’s personal attendant, that was absolutely not the case either….
‘She’s only just ten years old.’
Isn’t it said that words can pay off a debt of a thousand nyang? With my masterful silver tongue, I was sure to find a way.
It was then, just as I was devising a grand plan in my head, that Father took a sip of tea and carefully set down his teacup.
“Come to think of it, the Lady’s birthday is not far off. They say a banquet will be held this time, so why don’t you attend as well and offer your congratulations?”
We’re meeting already? I wasn’t mentally prepared yet; couldn’t we postpone this to next time?
Such a thought crossed my mind, but I couldn’t bring myself to utter it.
“To be able to offer my congratulations to the Lady would be an honor.”
A classic noble: thinking one thing and saying another.
Before I knew it, I had become an excellent noble.
* * * * *
About a month remained until Elena’s birthday. I spent quite a busy time as Luke Ninehart.
“Luke! With that form, your ribs are wide open!”
“I-I’m sorry, ugh!”
Under Father’s doctrine that to become an excellent attendant, one’s swordsmanship must also be excellent, I suffered one-sided violence disguised as training.
“Luke, did I not tell you that when pouring tea, you must pour carefully along the wall of the cup so it doesn’t splash? Pour it again.”
“Your standing posture is a mess. Always remember that you can affect Lady Elena’s reputation.”
Pouring tea, walking, even standing still. Every daily act was training for me.
At this rate, even breathing….
“Your breathing is too loud. An attendant must always be by one’s side without being noticed.”
No, why is this actually happening?
In the end, all this busy living was because I had to serve Elena, so I couldn’t possibly feel any goodwill toward her.
At times like these, I would chant a certain spell….
‘Whatever I do, it’s better than the army.’
It was a magic spell that made my desire to serve Elena bloom wildly.
Our Lady is the best. Even though I haven’t met her yet.
Time passed and flowed, and before I knew it, a month had gone by; it was finally the day to go see the noble countenance of the esteemed Lady Elena.
As befitting the occasion, I too wore luxurious clothes I had never worn before and put effort into my hair.
‘This is quite…’
Looking in the mirror, there stood a little brat who probably made quite a few girls cry in elementary school. It was my face, but the future seemed promising.
But in the end, the fate given to me was to toil my whole life as Elena’s attendant and die of old age; at least, in the sense that if I was going to be a servant anyway, it was better to be handsome than ugly, it was a positive thing.
Who knows. Perhaps Elena, taking pity on my cruel fate, would arrange a marriage partner for me.
While I was turning such positive circuits in my head, Father came to the room.
“Luke, are you read—”
For some reason, Father couldn’t continue upon seeing my appearance.
Is there some problem?
“I am fully prepared.”
“What is that hair? It’s a complete mess.”
In the end, I was forcibly corrected by Father.
The reflection in the mirror degraded from a decent-looking brat to an ordinary brat, but I couldn’t voice any complaints.
Just as they say when in Rome, do as the Romans do; this world had its own tastes.
Besides, to become ordinary just from a bit of styling—was it true after all that a man is all about his hair…?
“Then let us go.”
“Yes, Father.”
Following Father out of the mansion, I immediately boarded the prepared carriage.
‘To think I can ride a real carriage…!’
Where would a person living in twenty-first-century modernity get the chance to ride a carriage? Apart from those displayed in museums, I had never even seen one in person.
It didn’t take long for me, in such high spirits, to realize the truth of the world.
Why carriages had disappeared from the world. They had disappeared because they were all inefficient.
Not only was the speed slower than expected, but the floor’s unevenness was transmitted directly to my body, making the ride very, truly awful.
Still, well, since it was my first outing, my mood wasn’t all that bad.
I wonder how much time passed. Snow-covered land in the scenery outside the window gradually spread until soon a massive castle began to come into view.
Frozenhart Castle. The place where the Northern Grand Duke, who defended the northern territory from barbarians, resided, and simultaneously where Elena lived.
‘What does Elena look like at this age?’
As the protagonist of the novel, there had been many illustrations, but they were all of her grown-up appearance.
Now I was a prospective attendant who would serve her, but before, I had been a reader of the novel. It was only natural to be curious.
That question was resolved not long after.
The moment I entered the banquet hall with Father, the figure of a little girl caught my eye.
My first impression was that she was truly unparalleled. If those around her seemed colored with a ten-crayon set, she alone seemed to have used a hundred, a thousand colors.
If a protagonist existed in this world, it would undoubtedly be her.
“There she is. Let us go greet her.”
“Yes, Father.”
I took a step. Toward Elena, who would soon be my master and the protagonist of this world.