I Became A Wretched Extra In A Healing Story - Chapter 2

“It’s certain, she is indeed the daughter of the criminal Felicity.”

The woman, who had been silently examining Reibella’s face, nodded with a confident expression. Then she added to the knight standing next to her, detailing the age at which the girl had been injured and the scars that would remain.

Reibella watched this scene, recalling the face of the nameless servant who had once sworn eternal gratitude. But soon, the greedy present overshadowed that innocent smile, causing it to vanish like smoke.

Unable to bear watching any longer, she closed her eyes.

‘Why am I here?’

Reibella thought she would die in front of her father’s grave. She planned to curse the damned emperor as soon as she was captured.

Suddenly feeling dizzy, she lost consciousness, and when she came to, she found herself in an unfamiliar place.

What was happening? What was going on?

“Get up, kid.”

The knight’s authoritative voice interrupted her thoughts, and she looked up again. The surroundings had grown silent.

She could clearly feel the knight’s disdain towards her.

“Certainly the last of the Felicity line.”

The knight, who had bent down to meet her eyes, muttered coldly. His gaze was filled with hatred.

“Since it is confirmed that you are Reibella Felicity, your fate will be decided three days from now, after the princess’s birthday celebration.”

Though the criminal Felicity deserved immediate execution, they could not tarnish the noble princess’s celebration with her blood.

“Be thankful to the princess.”

Be thankful to the person who took everything from you.

How do the minds of these people work?

Though a disrespectful thought briefly crossed her face, the knight did not notice. He had already turned and started walking ahead.

“Follow me. If you’re lucky, you’ll go to the mines, but you’ll likely end up in the mountain swarming with demonic beasts. You are, after all, the bloodline of a family that committed treason.”

“……”

“Your parents tried to sell the country to ascend the throne and attempted to assassinate the princess, didn’t they? They say the last two droughts were also because of your Felicity family.”

The knight spat out these words with such conviction, as if he believed them to be the absolute truth.

… Unjustly.

‘Why did Dad try to save these foolish people?’

Her father, Duke Felicity, had prevented the emperor from starting a war under the pretext of seeking a gift for the princess. He worked so hard, valuing even their lives.

But all that came in return was hatred and curses.

… It would have been better if he hadn’t cared whether they lived or died while seeking the princess’s gift.

Thanks to the knight’s babbling, she could roughly understand the situation.

She had likely been dragged to the capital guard while unconscious. They were confirming her identity to ensure that she was indeed the last Felicity and to properly conclude matters.

Now that her identity had been confirmed, she would soon pay for her crimes. In other words, she would die.

‘Did I take the wrong ladder in hell?’

Why does it feel like I’m the only one endlessly suffering?

“Do you think this is your home? Can’t you come right away?”

The knight who had been walking arrogantly, turned and glared at Reibella. He seemed completely oblivious to the fact that the criminal he was dragging was a 7-year-old child.

Letting out a sigh inwardly, Reibella hurried to keep up with him, almost running. Soon out of breath, she panted, but the knight just continued on his way.

Before long, they arrived at a prison filled with iron bars.

The knight walked slowly, surveying the area, then opened a small cell and roughly shoved Reibella inside. He slammed the iron bars shut with a sinister smile.

“Blame your damned parents. You’re suffering because they dared to abuse our empire’s treasure, the princess.”

“……”

“Then, live well until the end, kid.”

He taunted her, tapping the bars, and then disappeared.

Only after his footsteps faded did Reibella collapse to the ground.

Looking down, she saw her fingertips trembling. She had been shaking without realizing it.

She clenched her hands to hide her fragile heart, and Reibella steadied her breathing.

‘Does this world not have child protection laws?’

Can they treat a child like this? When I’ve done nothing wrong!

‘The enemy is the cunning Felicity. We can’t let our guard down just because she’s a child.’

Come to think of it, she seemed to have heard such a voice before losing consciousness. Maybe that’s why they were treating her so harshly.

‘What happens now?’

The mines? The mountain of demonic beasts?

Public execution like those who defied the emperor?

Whichever it was, the future seemed bleak.

The mines where criminals went were said to be hellish, with guards whipping them and barely feeding them. The mountain of demonic beasts involved prisoners moving the carcasses of beasts slain by knights, often dying from the beasts’ blood.

Survival seemed unlikely in either scenario.

‘They were all fools.’

In the end, it would come to this. What was worth risking their lives to protect?

The faces of the knights who fought to the end to save her flashed before her eyes. She swallowed the names and faces that came vividly to mind, forcing herself to forget. She had learned painfully over the past three months that revisiting the past was useless, as it couldn’t be changed.

‘I want to live.’

She was still only seven and hadn’t been able to use any of the advantages of knowing the original story. She had never even experienced her grand dream of living a leisurely life.

This second life, which was given like a blessing, felt too precious to waste.

Having lost her first life in a car accident, she wanted to live this second one without regrets.

Even if everyone pointed fingers and told her to die, she was still alive.

‘There is a way.’

The downfall of the Felicity family was a story not detailed in the original work. If she could avoid further entanglement with the princess, she might escape the novel’s influence and live a peaceful life.

“……Felicity? The family that tried to kill our princess?”

But unfortunately, the world was not so kind.

The moment she felt the crowded stares, Reibella realized the knight had exposed her identity and crimes.

‘Your parents tried to sell the country to ascend the throne and attempted to assassinate the princess?’

He listed her crimes and banged on the bars, announcing her presence.

In an ordinary place, it might not have been a big deal. She was just a child, after all.

But the world she breathed in was different.

This world was a childcare story, filled with people of all ages who were obsessed with the female lead.

“What? They tried to do what to our princess?”

“Crazy people like that exists?”

It seemed even criminals were not an exception.

Fragments of old novels she had read came to mind.

Killed by stones thrown by the crowd…

Beaten to death in prison…

Gulp.

‘They said my fate would be decided in three days.’

Damn extra!

* * *

Tap. Tap-tap.

The pain that woke her from her sleep made Reibella squint her eyes open, the first thing she saw was the damp, mossy stone floor.

Ugh. She swallowed a groan and tried to get up, but again, tap, tap-tap. Small stones hit her head and rolled to the floor.

Though the stones were small, they hurt. As she clutched her forehead and groaned, the burly young criminal across the bars chuckled at her expression.

Just as he had for the past three days. Today was no different.

‘That damned extra.’

Thinking of the knight who had thrown her in here made her teeth clench in anger.

Every day was like walking on thin ice, wondering what the Felicity family had done so wrong. She couldn’t even breathe freely.

On top of that, she constantly heard curses about Felicity and praises for the princess, making her ears feel like they were bleeding.

“Lately, there have been fewer beast attacks on villages. Even the beasts recognize the princess.”

“Only beasts? Even criminals know how great the princess is. They say crime rates have dropped nine out of ten since her birth.”

“Have you seen the princess in person? They say meeting her washes away all sins. Everyone wants to live righteously.”

“I heard even the temple is interested in the princess. Since her birth, droughts and floods have decreased. She must truly be a gift from the heavens.”

“The damned kingdom bastards dared to mock her as a bastard. I couldn’t help but smash their mouths! If that’s a crime, I’ll gladly take it.”

Some people are hated just for breathing, while others are loved so much that even absurd stories are believed.

Aren’t all lives equal? Is it okay to discriminate like this?

‘I will leave this filthy country.’

She had only lived in the Felicity territory, unaware that the entire empire was a den of fanatics. She had to escape as soon as she got the chance.

To avoid ending up like her father, she had to, without fail, by all means necessary!

‘Luckily, today is the day.’

Today was the day the knight had foretold. Today, Reibella’s fate would be decided. Whether it was the mines or the mountain of demonic beasts, it didn’t matter.

Though others might see it as a journey to death, it was better than immediate execution.

She’s confident in escaping. If she could just get out of the novel’s influence, she was confident she could survive.

Determined to live, Reibella smiled faintly despite the stones hitting her.

Hoping that after this hardship, she would have plenty to smile about.

But unfortunately, Reibella’s plan was thwarted from the start.

“We will give you the opportunity to serve the princess.”

All because the protagonist of this world, Princess Erina, had said, “I feel sorry for the children in prison.”