“Yes. It’s true. And it’s all true that you’ve done shameless things to me, Father.”

I spoke clearly without the slightest tremor. Marquis Seraphina frowned, then gaped. He seemed very surprised that I wasn’t stuttering.

“Y-you…… What is this….!”

But he wasn’t happy like Belta—he was very flustered.

Why on earth!

This d*mn family seemed to have some disease that made them feel bad when Roa spoke properly.

“……What did you do?”

Marquis Seraphina’s wrinkled face cracked bizarrely like severely drought-stricken land.

I shrugged with an expressionless face.

“What did I do? I’m just saying what I want to say.”

“You?”

“Am I not allowed to? Ah! You haven’t treated me like a person all this time because I was a timid stutterer, right. A defective product or whatever.”

“Wh-when did I!”

Still, he seemed to hate being openly labeled as the ringleader of *buse. The marquis clenched both fists and gritted his teeth. Then he looked me up and down as if he couldn’t believe it.

I fully immersed myself in Roa and poured out words.

“Looking at me with contemptuous eyes every time I stuttered. Cursing or hitting me. Locking me in my room telling me not to go outside.”

I listed out the humiliations the Roa in the book had suffered. It felt strange, as if I were talking about my own past.

Patricia snorted, dumbfounded, and the marquis made an unpleasant expression as if he’d drunk herbal medicine.

“……You cured your stutter and became a completely different person. Have you been hiding such inner thoughts all this time?”

The marquis got angry like a beast meeting a natural enemy. I couldn’t understand at what point he got angry. It was all the truth.

Well, that was the same with my father who had anger management issues.

When I didn’t answer at all, the marquis spewed insults again.

“To speak of shameful things so openly…… If we spent money to educate you, you should at least maintain basic standards!”

“Right, at least pretend to be refined!”

What?

The father and daughter spouted nonsense together.

Who are they calling uncultured? They must both be crazy.

I wrinkled my brow and shouted loudly.

“Why should I be ashamed of that? It’s a problem with an evil and violent family. This is total gaslighting.”

Manipulating my psychology cunningly to make me doubt myself!

I couldn’t understand why all abusive families were exactly the same like this.

Hearing words that disgrace the marquisate, Marquis Seraphina grabbed the back of his head in shock. He looked like he might collapse any moment.

“Gas…… what? You. You’re not Roa. Just because Roa can speak properly, there’s no way she’d be this arrogant!”

Marquis Seraphina pulled his arm from Patricia’s and approached me irritably. Then, as if truly determined, he gripped my shoulder tightly with his solid hand.

“Ah!”

At the rough touch with no consideration at all, I let out a groan. Instantly, my chest tightened and my mouth went dry. These were symptoms that appeared automatically when I sensed violence.

Marquis Seraphina immediately shoved me into the room. He breathed heavily with an unusually pale face.

“You look like you’ve seen a monster.”

If Patricia treated me like a ghost that shouldn’t exist in this world, Marquis Seraphina treated his child like a mutant monster. Both of them were truly wicked characters.

At my sarcastic words, the marquis closed the door without a moment’s hesitation.

—You’re absolutely not Roa. You’re not Roa! Until you come to your senses, you won’t be leaving that room!

The marquis announced in a coercive tone. He’d clearly panicked at his youngest daughter’s completely changed appearance.

Clunk!

I let out a small sigh as I heard the lock click shut. Confinement, just like in the book.

I felt sorry thinking about how hard it must have been for Roa all this time. Though I was now that Roa.

I calmed my excitement as much as possible and sat down on the simple white bed.

After exchanging words with Marquis Seraphina, it seemed I’d keep clashing with him if I lived according to my personality.

“I want to get out of this d*mn house right now.”

Unfortunately, having just transmigrated, I didn’t have that ability. I lowered my large eyes and crossed my arms.

Whether it was book transmigration or whatever, anyway, since I’d become Roa, I needed to find a way to survive in this world.

“F*ck! What kind of sh*t is this!”

Even so, I had pointless doubts about whether I’d really entered the world of a book.

I spent a long time rummaging through various things in Roa’s room, trying to grasp the sense of reality. I was so tired I thought about giving up and jumping out the window, but my life was too precious.

‘Get it together, get it together!’

I barely managed to get my head working. I had to survive in this raunchy romance fantasy world full of strange settings.

※※※

Ultimately, I needed a solid source of funds to become independent.

The reason I set this goal as soon as I became Roa was because I already knew from experience that it’s best to quickly escape from a dysfunctional family.

Hadn’t I almost been strangled to death after living with my biological father just because he was my father!

Tap tap!

Then someone knocked very softly on the door. It was so quiet I almost didn’t hear it.

I straightened my back and approached the door. I had an idea who it was.

“Belta?”

At my question, Belta made a slightly crying sound.

—Sob sob! Lady Roa. What should we do, you’re confined again.

“I’m fine, so don’t cry.”

—……But you really don’t seem like the Lady Roa I know.

Belta said, hesitating slightly. I scratched the back of my head with a serious expression.

What should I do?

I wondered whether to speak honestly to her, who I expected to be an ally, or keep denying it to the end.

If I spoke honestly, I couldn’t predict Belta’s reaction, and if I kept denying it, she’d beg me to call a healer or shaman.

‘Ugh…… Why is this so difficult.’

But no matter how much I thought about it, I didn’t think I could completely deceive Belta, who knew Roa best.

Hadn’t I already shown my true self to Marquis Seraphina? There’s no way Belta would believe me if I acted like the character Roa!

I needed to know more accurately about this person called Belta, so I decided to test her reaction a bit.

After taking a slow deep breath, I spoke as casually as possible.

“Do you want to test whether I’m Roa or not?”

—What?

Belta questioned my somewhat out-of-the-blue statement.

I carefully threw out bait.

“I think I’ve lost some memories…… Ask me anything. I’ll try to answer.”

Belta grumbled for a while as if asking what I was talking about, then groaned at my still resolute appearance.

“Hurry. We don’t have time.”

When I kept urging her, Belta finally opened her mouth after a while.

—The day we first secretly left the marquisate residence. Do you remember what we did?

I answered without a moment’s hesitation.

“I don’t know.”

—What? You don’t know that? Don’t tell me you forgot?

“It’s not that I forgot, more like I have no memory of it at all?”

—That can’t be…… A-anyway, I’ll ask the next question. Do you know…… why I have a scar on my back? You must know, right?

A scar?

I was slightly flustered, wondering if they were close enough to share such deep stories.

It didn’t seem like just a master and maid relationship……

I answered carefully.

“N-no. I don’t know.”

—There’s no way you don’t remember that.

Belta’s voice suddenly turned cold.

I took a deep breath, wondering if I’d touched the wrong nerve even though she was my maid.

I heard sniffling sounds from beyond the door.

—How can you not remember? I’m so hurt I could cry. Lady Roa! Lady Roa!

This result was unexpected.

When the master seemed to have lost her memory, I thought she’d scheme or try to take advantage.

Is she hurt right now?

It was difficult to understand with my way of thinking. If it were me, instead of expressing hurt feelings to a master who’d lost her memory, I’d think it was a good opportunity.

‘What do I do now? Is Belta really someone I can trust?’

My head was a mess. I didn’t think anyone in transmigration stories would confess ‘I’m actually not from here!’

Actually, I’d only heard about it, and I didn’t regularly read romance fantasy, so I didn’t really know what the right method was.

I tried to pull myself together and dug another trap.

“All I remember is that you’re my dedicated maid and the most trustworthy person in this house.”

Come on, take the bait.

What could be easier to manipulate than a master who’s lost her memory?

I was very curious about Belta’s reaction.

After a moment, Belta’s resolute voice was heard.

—Yes. I also think you’re the only person I can rely on in this mansion, my lady.

“……”

—But it’s really strange. Even if you suddenly lost your memory, I don’t think you’d forget the scar I got from being hit by the young marquis in your place. Am I thinking wrong?

“What? That son of a b*tch!”

I shouted filled with indignation.

Hearing that it was a scar related to Alpheus, the eldest son of the Seraphina marquisate, my blood boiled. Alpheus was a cold-blooded person without compassion, a character I really hated.

—Gasp!

I heard Belta swallow air, startled by my curse.

She’d even taken a beating in Roa’s place. That absolutely wasn’t an action anyone could easily do.

The image of my biological father beating my biological mother came to mind.

「Kyaaah! Stop it! Honey!」

「Die! Just die!」

「Aaah! I’m really going to die at this rate!」

I want to save Mom.

I want to save her.

I thought desperately, but my feet wouldn’t move easily. I could only crouch in a corner, clutching my head and crying.

But Belta saved Roa.

“Ahhh……”

My tense body relaxed smoothly. I felt that even in this unfamiliar world, I had someone I could rely on.

If she’d throw her body to protect her master……

For the first time, I felt envious of the character called Roa. I hadn’t been able to save my biological mother either, but no one had helped me when I was assaulted by my biological father.

‘Even my biological mother left me.’