CHAPTER ONE.
The Beginning

『The Path of Wildflowers』.

The genre is a kind of heroine fantasy, but now it is mixed with reverse harem… Although it did not gain mainstream popularity, it received great love among the enthusiasts, with its dense narrative and deep worldbuilding.

Why am I suddenly explaining the book?

In order to calmly deal with the situation I am facing right now, I needed to recall as much detailed information related to it as possible.

The current situation is, well…

“Father, I mean…”

“Yeah, that’s right, Lily.”

The sunshine is bright, and the grains of sand sparkle in the morning. I calmly watched the scenery that my father showed me as he came into my room in the early morning.

My excited father, the butler who came in to take care of Father, the servant who followed them, and the shabby-looking, unimpressive boy who was brought along with them…

“You mean you brought this child in exchange for the gambling debt, right?”

“Yeah, for our little Lily!”

My father beamed, just as he had the first time I babbled, ‘dadadada’.

“Father. I was just wondering…”

“Yes, go on, Lily.”

“You do realize that exchanging a person for money, including slavery, is a form of human trafficking and is an illegal offense under Article 27 of the Kingdom’s Criminal Law, right? And gambling debt is also a monetary relationship.”

“Huh? No, um, that’s… “

My father was slightly alarmed, surprised by my unexpected reaction, and cold sweat trickled down his forehead.

“No, our Lady Lionella…! When did she grow up like this? You even know the laws of the kingdom?”

In his confusion, my father desperately tried to cloud the issue by performing Lady Something-or-other on a mere seven-year-old, namely me.

“Well, um… So right now… No matter how much Father doesn’t have much interest in politics, you are still a marquis of the Kingdom of Lycius, and you’re confessing to me, your daughter, knowing it’s illegal. What do you have to say?”

“No, that’s…!”

“Even though I’m just seven years old and considered a minor, because I am the daughter of a marquis, according to Article 11, Paragraph 2, of the Nobility Law, if I testify about this matter in court, it will be valid, you know?”

“W-well, that’s…!”

Following my relentless onslaught, my father, the Marquis of Parma, stumbled over his words. This wasn’t a situation where he could form a logical retort, but him choosing to commend me once again brought about the intended result.

“But when did our little Lionella become so sharp?”

As for when, it’s since I was born with memories from my past life.

“And about the matter concerning the gambling debt… Who taught you that?”

I remembered it right away the moment he brought that little one before me.

While exhaling a short sigh, I observed the boy standing alone beside the servant, like a sack of potatoes. He looked like a really unimpressive boy, with his thin frame and roughly chopped, dirt-covered hair, making him appear even more raggedy than someone my age.

But the moment I caught a glimpse of the boy, his shoulders hunched and head bowed, glancing this way and that, and the moment I saw his truly rare red eyes… I was convinced that I had been reincarnated into the world of a book I had read in my past life.

So, into 『The Path of Wildflowers』!

My head throbbed at the sudden appearance of a flag of doom, and I clenched my jaw tightly before speaking.

“Well, anyway, you’re saying that you brought this kid so I could have him as my own whipping boy¹a person who is made to bear the blame for another’s mistake; scapegoat?”

“Yeah, yeah! I heard that even Count Rauden and Baron Eldon each have at least one child who gets beaten at home, but my Lionella has never had one.”

Father described a culture of illegal human trafficking, bringing young children as slaves and subjecting them to abuse, as if it were a Tamaxxchi trend. Of course, until recently, I, too, would have found this worldview ridiculous and would have turned a blind eye whenever I saw young nobles with whipping boys…….

However, as a modern person in my past life, I never wanted a whipping boy.

Especially since it would connect to my doom flag.

‘I was worried about this, that’s why I’ve been brainwashing my father to never touch the slave trade……!’

My father, the Marquis of Parma, acquired this child through a gambling debt, rather than from a slave trade, which is what I told him not to do. Engaging in illegal gambling is just as bad as engaging in a slave trade, but he disguises it as enjoying leisurely gambling.

In the legal market, I couldn’t have imagined, even at the age of seven, that there would be a situation where money could be made by buying and selling slaves.

The effort I had put in seemed to have been proven in the most undesirable way, and I really felt like crying.

‘I should have explicitly said that I don’t need a whipping boy…!’

Seven years ago.

Having been born with memories of my previous life, I quickly became fluent in talking, which gave me a strange sense of discomfort.

The Parma family name… doesn’t it feel familiar?

A while later, when I realized the cause of that discomfort, the name of the embarrassment that followed was ‘f*cked.’

‘I can’t believe this country is called Lycius… it’s the same as the country’s name in ‘Wildflowers’…!’

Moreover, if I’m born in the marquisate of Parma in Lycius… then according to my memories in 『Path of Wildflowers』, this is the family that becomes a sort of sacrifice when the sub-male lead first assists the protagonist.

「”Take this and go to the Council of Elders. It will be the princess’s first achievement.”

“No, Cardinal… If I recall correctly, you’re the guardian of Parma, aren’t you? You grew up together with Lady Parma from a young age…”

“Guardian… Yes, that’s right. On paper, at least. Would you like to see the very last page?”

“No, no, this is…!”

“Yes… It’s evidence that 20 years ago, Parma illegally purchased slaves.”

“Oh my god…”

“And the slave purchased at the time was me… I was a whipping boy for Lady Parma until I manifested holy powers and became the Marquis of Parma.”」

The list of Marquis Parma’s misdeeds that the sub-male lead handed over to the protagonist was endless, and with the protagonist’s sense of justice, she successfully debuted in the political scene by reporting his crimes to the Council of Elders, which had long eradicated the illegal slave trade in the kingdom.

So, the goal was to sacrifice the corrupt nobles, including Marquis Parma, and open the protagonist’s path to the throne.

「Your Eminence²a title used in speaking to or about a cardinal, the Senior Secretary has decided to expel the six families, including Marquis Parma, from the Council of Elders! So, in fact, it means their extinction.”

“If Parma has fallen, then what about the lady…?”

“She has entered the nunnery, but Her Highness Daniella said that the lady will be subject to an inquisition based on the charge of His Eminence the Cardinal.”

Ah, so it has come to that in the end… The man closed his eyes instinctively, dazzled by the radiance of the chosen sun of his heart. Tears welled up, running down his eyelids, which were adorned with silvery eyelashes.

It was the right choice.

Finally, it was only then that he was able to support the fragile shoulders of the wounded, child who still lingered in his heart, sobbing.」

And that is how the Marquisate of Parma from the Kingdom of Lycius met its doom in the world of ‘Wildflowers.’

Of course, I initially hoped that it was not my story.

Who in the world would immediately accept the fact that they were reincarnated as a trashy villain with a predetermined ending to be destroyed?

Since neither the name of the Marquis of Parma nor the name of the lady were specifically mentioned in ‘Wildflowers,’ I had no idea that the marquis and his daughter were us.

But somehow, like Marquis Parma, my father loved to mingle with unruly friends, and somehow, it seemed that the name of the current king was similar to the king’s name in ‘Wildflowers.’

So, just in case, I cracked down on my father, who may have been the mastermind behind the extinction of the family, as soon as I was able to speak.

Especially to prevent any involvement with the sub-male lead.

‘Do you buy and sell slaves? Aren’t slaves human too? Father, you’re not that kind of person, are you?’

‘No, Lily.’

‘Father, Lily likes legality. I want you to do only good things, no matter where you are.’

‘Well then, I guess Lily is doubting Father’s integrity because Lily doesn’t know how righteous he is!’

Fortunately, Marquis Parma loved me greatly, even though I resembled my mother who died when she gave birth to me.

So I always talked about what was right and just at home when facing my brainwashed father; telling him to keep his distance from bad friends, and living as a family-oriented father who came home for dinner with his only daughter.

And so, I could relax, thinking that he had become a decent Marquis of Parma unlike the one in the novel ‘Wildflowers.’ That he’s not a foolish man who follows his friends to Gangnam and indulging in entertainment.

‘It was all because I turned a blind eye…!’

You went gambling last night after putting me to bed, didn’t you?

The feeling of betrayal I felt towards my Father was not just one or two, but like a blow to the back of my head.

I gazed at the young boy in front of me with mixed feelings. Underneath his hair, which looked ashen with dirt, surely lies silver hair once cleaned, and his bright crimson eyes that could never be tainted by anything shone brilliantly.

And yet… I quietly asked, as though I was grasping onto the last straw.

“You… what’s your name?”

“Mi… Misha… Mishael.”

I tightly closed my eyes.

「Through my closed eyelids, I recalled a faded scene from my childhood.

‘Mishael? Such a noble name doesn’t suit a lowly person like you!’

That was exactly your reaction upon hearing my name, Miss.

Now you’ve been expelled from the noble families of Lycius, and will soon you’ll be found guilty and condemned in a religious trial.

I, the Cardinal of Lycius, and you, abandoned by both your country and the embrace of the goddess.

Now, who truly is the lowly one…」

Game over.

The red-eyed boy with silver hair, whom my father brought back as a whipping boy, was Cardinal Mishael, who would bring the Marquisate of Parma to ruin twenty years later…!

***