I was possessed by the villain’s daughter.

EPISODE 6

[Change and adaptation].

My eyes are dizzy and my mouth tastes like me.

“Heh, heh, heh….”

I could feel myself running slower and slower. He gritted his teeth. In the distance, I could see Big Brother Yi fidgeting and fidgeting, not even paying attention to his training.

He said I shouldn’t worry.

I ran, wiping away the sweat. Finally, after the last lap, I collapsed in a heap, exhausted. Yit ran to me. He had a towel and a water bottle in one hand.

“Lara, are you okay?”

“Yes….”

I shivered and accepted the cold water and towel. After wiping the sweat off my face, I felt like I could finally see.

“Whew.”

I looked up at the sky. I’ve been running for a couple of weeks now. At first, I struggled to run a single lap, but now I could do three laps with ease.

“Are you feeling comfortable?”

Yit asked as if he was worried about me. I replied languidly.

“Of course not, but you should go ahead. The other knights are waiting for you.”

I said, glancing behind me. It was Yit’s job to train the men at the morning drill. I nudged him, telling him not to worry about me, and he nodded shakily.

After Yit went to take care of the others, I did my warm-up exercises. If I didn’t do this exercise, I might get injured or my muscles might stiffen up, so I made sure to do it no matter what.

I looked up as I was finishing up and the sky was blue. It must be because we were on the cusp of fall. I couldn’t help but smile.

It was a perfect day to go out and play.

The daily routine of a duke was surprisingly simple. There was training time from dawn to dusk when Yit and the knights train, and then I ran and stretch in a corner of the training grounds, and when I was done, I washed up and go to breakfast.

My father always made it a point to have breakfast as a family, except when he was sick or out of town. Did he think it gaves them strength?

After breakfast, Dad leaves for the palace, and Yit, the head of the palace guard, goes with him. Brother Eddie would tour the estates, take succession classes, or participate in top management. I stayed at home and received the family’s education.

Since I had lost my memory and there was much to learn, I was kept quite busy every day. After everyone finished their work, it would be around five to seven o’clock. Then I go home from work and the whole family gathers again for dinner. Sometimes my dad or Eddie couldn’t come because of work, or my brother Yit was on night watch, but I never ate alone.

But!

Today, all of that is canceled.

In other words, it’s a vacation.

I stood in front of the dressing table, unable to contain my excitement. The girl, a little thinner than she was a few weeks ago, was smiling.

“You’re so excited to go out today, aren’t you?”

Emma, who was braiding my hair into a two-part bun, giggled and said to me. Nana, next to me, was lining up my clothes, trying on different outfits to see which ones would look good on me. Some of the dresses were boldly off-the-shoulder, some were girlish, short-sleeved lace dresses and some were modest with high collars.

“I’ve decided. This is it for today!”

Nana picked out my outfit: a thin, lightweight apricot-colored dress embroidered with multicolored tiny flowers. To match, she pulled out a white hat and a pink diamond bracelet, and she began to dress me up in earnest. I wonder how much time passed.

“You look great!”

The maids exclaimed, clapping their hands together when they were satisfied with my appearance. I could only smile at the compliment. Despite her social reputation as a wicked woman, Laila was well-liked in her household. When I finished getting ready and walked down the stairs, three men were standing in the hall, all ready to go.

I was instantly impressed.

“You’re home, Laila.”

My father’s beautiful auburn hair was neatly tied back with metal jewelry. He wore a light, white suit that fit him very well and seemed to move with ease. He greeted me with a smile that made it hard to believe he was in his forties.

“Lara.”

Next to him stood my brother Eddie, dressed in a blue suit. His shoulder-length silver hair was tied back with a blue ribbon studded with sapphires. He was, without a doubt, elegant. He was so handsome as he smiled at me.

“Lara!”

Yit waved, smiling broadly when he spotted me. His short blond hair was shining as brightly as ever, and he wore a black knight’s regalia that made his bright hair color shine even brighter. He never left his sword behind, and even today he wore it at one hip.

I calmly lifted the hem of my robe and greeted him.

“Good afternoon.”

My father’s face broke into a grin as he lightly escorted me out.

“Yeah, it’s a nice day for an outing.”

“It’s not raining.”

“And just the right amount of cool!”

“You picked the right day.”

We chatted as we left the mansion and walked toward the carriage house.

In the garden, a picture sque white carriage sat in front of us. Four white horses whinnied to greet us, and the carriage moved smoothly, as if under some sort of enchantment.

Like Cinderella’s pumpkin carriage leading her to her wonderful castle,
to our destination, Lake Lemia.

***]

Lake Lemia is a beautiful tourist destination on the outskirts of the capital. The grounds were very large and despite being a tourist destination, it was not crowded. The roads were very well maintained thanks to the capital’s designation of the area as a special management zone.

Neither my father nor my brothers are easy-going people, so we couldn’t take a long vacation unless it was a special occasion, so we decided to take a quick tour around the capital.

Of course, my dad wanted to use the teleportation portal to show me all the beautiful places in the country, but I stopped him in his tracks. Did you have any idea how much gold it costs to use a teleportation portal?

All I wanted was a simple, unpretentious family outing. It was enough to make me feel better.

In that sense, Lake Lemia, which Eddie had picked out, was close by and reputed to be very beautiful.

It didn’t take long to reach the lake and I exclaimed.

“Dad, Brother Eddie, Brother Yit, look!” I exclaimed.

They beamed at my exclamation.

I had never traveled before because my life was full. School trips were races and backcountry. The beautiful sight in front of me made my eyes widen.

“A pink lake….”

In front of me was a vast pink lake. Oh my God, a pink lake. I’ve never seen it before in my life.

The lake was faintly pink and shining like rose water. I rushed over to the lake and dipped my hand into the pink water to see if it tasted different, but my impression was completely ruined.

“Ugh, salty…! Why is the lake so salty?

My father, who had been watching me from behind, came up to me and explained.

“Legend has it that a dragon’s blood seeped into the lake, and that’s why it turned pink when it was blue.”

“Dragon’s blood?”

My eyes rounded in surprise.

“That’s why there’s a legend that if you tell a lie here, you’ll be punished by the dragon.”

“That’s interesting….”

Dragon’s blood, what a fantasy.

My siblings, my dad, and I strolled along the lake, chatting away, while the servants prepared the grounds for the big day.

First, a wide, thick, white, and red checkered mat was laid out on the flat grass. Then came the folding table, chairs, and fluffy cushions that matched the colors of the mat. One by one, meals began to be placed on the table, which was leveled so well that it didn’t wobble despite being on a cloth.

A refreshing fruit sorbet was served first, followed by golden honey bread and carrot soup. This was followed by aromatic herb-roasted chicken legs, mashed potatoes, tangy shrimp with peeled shells and spicy sauce, crunchy vegetable sticks and herb dips, sandwiches, and sweet fruit punch, in no particular order. For the main dish, the chef’s cut of roast beef was juicy, even in the open air. Emitting a fragrant odor, it was cut and eaten with hot vegetables…

“Delicious!”

I cupped my cheeks and smiled happily. After all, my family’s chef was the best in the world. Not to be outdone, my brothers and dad offered me more food.

After I was stuffed to the gills, it was free time.

Eddie and Yit went off to play with a ball and came back shortly afterward. As I watched them, I thought, “Why don’t I teach them to play soccer or baseball?

My dad sat in his rocking chair and looked out at the lake, and Eddie took his colored pencils and started sketching it.

Yit was reading a mystery novel and dozing off.

I wanted to walk around the lake more, but everyone seemed to be busy with their things, so I sneaked out. When Eddie saw me leave, he put down his colored pencils and started to stand up, but I gently nudged him with the words, “I’m looking forward to your drawing and I’ll be sad if it’s not finished because of me,” and walked away.

As I walked, I glanced back and saw the faces of my family members, each with their sense of peace.

It was a nice sight to see. I was glad I had asked them to go out.

I walked slowly along the lakeshore. The golden reeds and grasses swayed as I smiled from ear to ear. A cool breeze blew in from the lake. I was enjoying the breeze when a gust of wind blew in,

a gust of wind blew in.

The ribbon of my hat came loose, and my white lace hat flew into the air.

“…ah….”

The sight of the white hat fluttering against the blue sky was picturesque. But I couldn’t let it go. The wind was strong enough that the hat went into the reeds. It would be a shame to let the hat get wet in the lake. I got pretty impatient and scrambled to my feet and ran.

But before I could find it, I was dazed.

There was a hand grabbing the white hat.

Short, black hair ruffled in the breeze. Black hair, black eyes. It was a nostalgic color that reminded me of the old me.

The person holding my hat was a boy who looked about my age.

As the wind died down, my green eyes met his black ones. The boy’s eyes twinkled and he smiled.

“Hello?”

I opened my mouth, dumb founded.