/
It wasn’t until the next day that we reached the land.
We went to Chatara through Stone Age.
Chatara, the very place that I burned without a trace in my previous life.
Seeing the servants who welcome us warmly even in the middle of the night, Bahel’s words came to mind.
“My kind miss, there was no one in that castle. It was a castle where the plague returned and everyone disappeared.”
It must have been a lie.
It must have been a complete lie.
Chatara lord and his wife were too kind to receive such punishment as the plague.
The lord’s wife was delighted to see me as I reminded her of the childhood of her married daughter.
“My Lord, can I sleep with my baby guest? After all, the Lord must not know how to take care of a child!”
Theodore looked at me with a troubled face.
“Baby, are you okay? If you feel uncomfortable, you can just sleep with me.”
What? Sleep with you?
I quickly stepped back and went to the lord’s wife.
I was uncomfortable with the madam because of what I did in my previous life, but I couldn’t share a bed with Theodore Halias.
We used to point swords at each other, and now that I’m small, I’m a little scared!
Then Theodore whispered something to madam. “But Madam, the truth is
”
Seeing the madam’s eyes wide open as she turned to me, the content was obvious.
He must be telling her that I’m Merdy’s child.
As I went to the madam’s room, the maids brought a bathtub.
The madam took off the clothes that wrapped me and fiddled with my red hair as if it was interesting.
“Oh my God, you’re really Merdy’s child
 Are you really Duke Merdy’s baby?”
As I nodded rather than stared blankly, the madam’s face brightened even more.
“On the last Verbti’s feast, I saw the Duke from a distance! When you get home, be sure to convey my respect, okay baby? I always pray for the Duke.”
Respect? Pray?
My conscience seemed to scream at the unexpected story.
In my previous life
 what did I do?
*****
When the morning came after an uncomfortable night, the madam looked for a small children’s dress and held it out.
“It was worn out because my daughter wore it a long time ago. You can’t go to see the Grand Duke in your indoor clothes, right? Oh, and it’s so cold, so you should have a coat
”
Just in time, Theodore poked his head out of the doorway.
“I was thinking of going to the store anyway. madam.”
Without wasting time, I quickly bowed my head to say goodbye.
“Thwank you vely mwuch. And, you ale vely beautipul”
The madam laughed as if she was having fun.
“You’re very beautiful too. Thank you, I hear the best from the little princess.”
I made a promise to myself in a dress full of memories of the madam.
This warm little castle will never burn again.
I promised over and over again that it wouldn’t happen even if a knife got stuck in my throat.
*****
I parted with the kind Lord couple as soon as I had breakfast.
As predicted, Theodore stopped at the children’s clothing store.
“I’m on my way to Halias Castle. Is there a coat that will fit this child?”
“Of course, young master.”
He was the son of the famous Halias, so the clothes the storekeeper showed us were all of the highest quality.
When Theodore paid for one of them, I honestly thought my eyes were popping out.
“That
”
I struggled to open my lips in a burdensome yellow cloak.
“Hmm?”
“I, I’ll chalg my mwothel fol the cloes. (I’ll charge my mother for the clothes.)
Don’t tell me my mother doesn’t have this much money.
When I spoke as if I wasn’t confident, Theodore said an absurd thing.
“What? Princess, are you calling me brother?”
[T/N : Liana said 였êč. This sounds a bit similar to 였ëč , that’s why Theodore said brother.”
No, you idiot.
How can you be my brother?
Ugh, I was going to die because I couldn’t pronounce it.
“No, It’s cloes. My mwothel will pey.”
He suddenly made a sad face.
“Do you remember your mother? Before you go to your mother, you must go to my father first. I’m sorry.”
That’s not what I’m saying, you idiot.
In the end, I gave up trying to make Theodore understand, and he continued to talk.
“So cute, like a chick.”
When his hand stroked my head, it gave me goosebumps and I shivered. The side effect was even greater.
“It shouldn’t be cold already
”
It wasn’t cold at all, but Theodore hugged me tightly.
I suffered for a while because of the hiccups that started again.
What will happen in the next 16 years, will this bright boy become the ghost of Halias?
Maybe the world wasn’t harsh only to me.
*****
In the end, Theodore was right.
Not long after heading north, my jaw began to tremble.
He opened his fur cloak and tucked me in as if to hide me.
“Why is the weather so bad
”
I barely parted my upper and lower lips, which seemed to freeze and stick to each other.
“C, Cod
 (Cold
)”
“What should I do
”
Theodore pulled me closer and pulled his cloak a little tighter, but it was still too cold.
To make matters worse, snow began to fall.
Theodore stopped his horse and got off to gather his men.
“The weather is worse than I thought. You all, take off everything you can take off.”
“Yes?”
“If Princess Merdy freezes to death on her way to Halias, we are worse than ruffians. I forgot that the child was born and raised in a warm place.”
Aren’t they cold?
As soon as he finished speaking, he took off everything.
Theodore loosened his thick fur cloak. Some took off their gloves, some took off their vests, and some took off their scarves.
“Bu, but the lod is cod too
”
Even though I was trembling, I refused at once.
It’s disgraceful for the son of Halias to take off his clothes, no matter how old I was.
He smiled softly, unaware of my dismay.
“The chick princess is warm, so I’m not cold.”
This time it was so cold that I didn’t even have hiccups.
I became a big ball draped in this and that over the chick’s cloak.
Wow, I had flames in my previous life, so I didn’t know about it.
Halias was a place for ghosts to live, not a place for humans to live.
Hey, ancestor.
My bloodline is Merdy, so I’m not going to freeze to death, am I?
But it felt like I was going to die even in the next moment.
Theodore sat me well on his lap again, who had become a big ball and started.
I fell asleep in the cold.
Surrounded by clothes, I couldn’t move, and I couldn’t see well.
The snow trip was excruciatingly long.
Being close together, I woke up to the sound of horses running over the drawbridge.
Under the setting sky, the spiky stone roof of Halias Castle was visible.
Only then did I realize where I was going.
It reminded me of my previous life where I had been climbing a rocky mountain for years with Edifa until I could climb this tall castle like a squirrel.
When I was on the last mission that I worked so hard on, I met a man sitting behind me. I was so busy dealing with him that I couldn’t see the trap under my feet.
After being captured, I was thrown into a nonflammable noose in the middle of an icy lake where nothing could be burned and starved for days, and at some point, I lost consciousness.
When I woke up, I was taken to the dungeon at the bottom of this castle and met Alseid Halias.
How did he answer the last question of my life?
“All the rest of the Merdy’s are dead.”
Thinking about it, I couldn’t help but ground my teeth.
But if I didn’t go into that jerk’s castle, it felt like I would freeze to death right away. Then, I couldn’t figure out who killed my parents, even in the flames of eternity

“We’re here, Merdy’s baby.”
Thinking hard, I trembled in surprise at Theodore’s sudden voice.
You’re not taking me to kill me while calling me ‘baby’, are you?’
I was suspicious again, but since I had followed him all the way here, I had no choice.
Whether you guys are my enemies or not, let’s see this once.
One of the enemy candidates whispered sweetly.
“When we’re inside the castle, let’s sit by the warm fireplace and eat soup.”

that soup isn’t poisoned, is it?
As my suspicions arose, the words that followed were even more suspicious.
“Everyone will be happy to see you.”
What the h*ll do you mean happy?
It didn’t take long for the question to be answered.
***
As I climbed the stairs of Halias Castle in Theodore’s arms, a little boy shouted.
“Father! Second brother brought the trash again!”
Hey, what?!
I couldn’t argue because my lips were frozen, but Theodore replied with a straight face instead of me.
“Zion, it’s rude to say such a thing to the princess. She’s a young miss from a precious family. Go ahead and apologize.”
Hey, are you that famous Zion Halias?
Seriously, is this little boy going to be the greatest scholar on the continent?
Theodore untied the clothes that were tightly tied to me.
When I stared at Zion in my chick cloak, Zion was even more startled and ran away.
“Argh! Father! Second brother picked up another living thing!”