episode_0001

Two months and a bit more.

I’ve transmigrated into a romance fantasy novel that my younger sister was so engrossed in, reading even the standalone volumes.

And to top it off, I’ve become the female lead.

It was easy to tell at a glance.

I snatched it away out of curiosity as to why my little sister was so immersed in reading it.

The name “Leah” itself is unremarkable and common, but if a girl with sky-blue hair bears that name, she’s almost certainly the female protagonist.

“This is insane….”

A fallen noble stripped of his title.

The novel’s plot flashed through my mind as he enters the academy and falls in love with a prince.

A prince?

Great.

Rich and high-ranking.

But still, he’s a man.

I have no desire to get close to him.

Although I’ve been caught trying to run away from home, there are still plenty of opportunities.

There’s about a month left until enrollment in the academy.

All I have to do is escape within that time frame.

I thought maybe I could just enroll in the academy, draw a line with the prince, and get by, but I didn’t want to leave even a 1% chance of getting involved with a man.

After all, a fallen noble.

No different from commoners.

There’s no one to inherit what my father will leave behind, just a mansion with exorbitant maintenance costs.

And the money he accumulated while holding a noble title.

I don’t want either of them.

In other words, there’s nothing to lose even if I run away.

“Leah-!!”

Father’s voice echoed as he stomped up the stairs.

Pretending to be asleep under the covers, I heard the door burst open, followed by my father’s rough breathing.

“I know you’re not sleeping!”

“…Caught?”

“Leah-!!”

I reluctantly threw off the covers and sat up, seeing my muscular father scowling and raising his voice.

He seemed like his blood pressure wasn’t good, making me slightly worried.

“What kind of complaint makes you run away like this at your age? If you were ten, maybe, but at just twelve, what are you trying to achieve?”

If I said I was trying to run away because I didn’t want to marry the prince in the future, I felt like I’d get slapped, so I subtly avoided his gaze.

Maybe I should act a bit more like a young child here.

“For… snacks.”

“You ran away in the late dawn for snacks? Do you think that makes sense? Moreover, that excuse was already used during your second attempt, so think again.”

Father furrowed his brow, took out a candy from his pocket, and tossed it to me, so I obediently accepted it and tried to come up with another excuse.

“For… flowers.”

“If it’s flowers you like, wouldn’t we have planted lots of them behind the mansion? Running away to see flowers? At dawn?”

“Just for a walk….”

“…Can’t even think of a new excuse now?”

As my planned excuses seemed to fall flat, I simply nodded my head in submission.

“Well, yes.”

“I’m not telling you to admit it!”

Seeing my father pulling at his hair in frustration, I scratched my cheek, then leaned my face in my hands, tilting my head with an innocent expression.

“…What is it?”

“I’m venting my anger by looking at my cute daughter.”

Though I say it myself, I am indeed cute.

With rare sky-blue hair that holds value on its own.

Fair, soft skin, and a much smaller stature than my peers, luckily inheriting my mother’s looks rather than my father’s, making me quite pretty.

“…Daughter.”

“Yes?”

“Let’s go to the temple. It seems like there’s a serious problem.”

Translated into modern terms, that means let’s go to the hospital.

“…Is it okay to drive your daughter crazy?”

“If you run away four times a week, I might as well call you crazy….”

“Isn’t it just a small act of rebellion that only children can do?”

As I replied without resistance, my father’s breathing became heavier.

He felt like he might get a bump on his head if he played around any longer, so he wrapped himself in the blanket, peeking out only his face.

“I’ll be good for about four days.”

“Daughter, your dates are quite specific, aren’t they?”

“I’m not the type to make promises I can’t keep….”

“Aaaahhh-!”

While Father leaped around wildly and dashed out of the room, I lay on the bed, planning my next move.

Since I practically announced that I would run away four days later,

It seemed more fitting to run away on the fourth or fifth day rather than right after the fourth day.

This is what they call strategy.

Mixing in a bit of deception works much better than showing an honest pattern, isn’t it common sense?

“…Still, to mix in some deception, I’ll have to behave myself for a while.”

Waiting quietly is the key.

It’s about choosing the best time to escape.

“But really, Father is quite amazing….”

I might seem too obvious in my runaway attempts, but I prepared well in my own way.

Since every attempt has been thwarted, I now feel an urge to succeed and can’t give up.

In Father’s eyes, I may appear as a daughter who has lost her mind falling from a tree, but I was perfectly sane, and it was precisely because I was sane that my competitive spirit burned fiercely.

“Father… it’s a challenge….”

As education at the academy is mandatory for nobles and those of noble descent, I couldn’t outright refuse.

Therefore, running away seems like the best way to avoid entanglement with princes.

Since Father was blocking that path, I had to find a way to surpass him.

It’s a clash of spear and shield.

“But honestly, it’s not my fault….”

I pursed my lips.

It’s unreasonable from the start that I would be possessed just because I read the novel my younger sister brought home out of boredom.

If she had to be possessed, it would have been better if she and everyone else were happy.

No, no.

Even if I were to be possessed, if it had to be by a man, it would have been better if it were a prince.

There would be no reason to dislike living sweetly and romantically with a pretty girl.

Anyway, what I wanted to say was that there were many other ways to handle this situation.

Much better ways, in fact.

But why did I have to be possessed as the female lead?

Me, dating a man?

As if that would ever happen.

If I manage to enter the academy and live well on my own, such a future might never come.

And logically speaking, that was even more likely.

However, from the moment of possession, the novel I read was practically like a prophecy coming true.

It’s wise to act assuming that the events written in the prophecy will actually happen.

Avoiding the events written in the prophecy cannot simply be brushed off with a casual “maybe,” so I resist with all my might! That’s my current state.

“Let’s stay strong….”

I nodded firmly.

A body that, even though female, has a male mind from the moment of possession, can never lead to a relationship where one lives happily ever after with a prince – that ending, for me, is not a happy ending but rather a bad one.

Shaking my head, I tapped my cheeks vigorously with both hands until a slapping sound echoed, then delved into my thoughts.

After running away, or if I fail to run away within the designated period.

What should I do?

“Sigh….”

I ran out in the early morning to escape, got caught and dragged back home right after.

By the time morning came and Father came to talk to me, I hadn’t slept properly due to exhaustion.

In reality, I could stay up for about two nights.

No matter how tough things got, it was pathetic to feel drowsy just because I didn’t sleep at night.

It was so pitiful that a sigh escaped me.

“For now, should I sleep and then think….”

Since drowsiness was overwhelming and hindered clear thinking.

After a sigh and a good night’s sleep, I would plan with a clear mind.

“…Sleep well.”

I tossed the words into the empty air, pulled the soft, fluffy blanket up to my head, and closed my eyes tightly.

Hoping it’s all a dream, falling asleep for the seventieth time.

Still unable to wake up.

***

Did I sleep wrong? My body aches and fatigue is no joke. “Ugh….” Irritated, I opened my eyes.

……It’s an unfamiliar ceiling.

Unable to hide my confusion, I frantically looked around.

It wasn’t my home.

“What?!”

Right next to the bed where I had just been lying, there was a note placed on the table.

Reaching out with trembling hands to confirm, my father’s handwriting caught my eye.

In summary, it was that kind of story.

The candy he gave me was actually a sleeping pill,

and while I was asleep for two whole days, he had already sent me to the academy,

where I made friends, learned academics, and the note urged me to grow up.

“Oh man… I fell for it.”

Probably, this is the academy’s dormitory.

“My father isn’t easy….”

Slowly, very slowly.

Trying to control my bewildered heart as much as possible, I examined the dormitory again.

My belongings, neatly arranged in one place as if prepared for my escape, caught my eye.

I washed my face.

I never thought he would outsmart me.

Defeat is bitter.