Chapter 2: 2

Thomas grabbed me and dragged me into the church.  

Giant, armed men were standing impatiently around the statue of the goddess. They were Thomas’s minions.  

According to memories from a previous life, the bandits who kidnapped Lily were the only ones gathered here.  

“It’s old.” 

One of the bandits gave me a worn-out girl doll in my arms. He seemed to be trying to create an innocent image, but I didn’t think it would help much because the doll’s hair was as red as mine. It was just tacky.

“It’s about time. Everyone, go back to your places.” 

At Thomas’ command, the men dispersed in unison. 

Seeing those giants hiding in the shadows, I guess a thief will always be a thief.

‘Poor bastards. You don’t even know that you are destined to be cut down by that mad duke anyway.’ 

Of course, it was not the truth. 

Of all the people here, I am the most pitiful one. My stomach was still throbbing because I was kicked by Thomas as I tried to escape from the carriage. 

I couldn’t let go of my regrets, and while I was looking around for a way out, Thomas slapped me in the back of the head.  

“Be quiet, fire ant. Are you going to miss your chance to become a princess?” 

I wanted to spit on Thomas’ face like a camel, but I resisted. If I didn’t resist now, I’d only get beaten more later.  

“It’s all right, there’s so much resemblance.”

Thomas said, gazing at my face the whole time we waited for Alan. 

His eyes seemed to hold a greater sense of wonder than his fear of being able to fool the mad duke.

‘I heard Lily was abducted a week after she was born… how much do I look like a newborn baby?’ 

I desperately tried recalling <No Dreams or Hope>. Maybe I could find a rope to get out of this situation in the novel. 

I roughly chewed my lips; my lips became torn and a small amount of blood hovered on the tip of the tongue. At that moment, the contents of the novel popped into my mind. 

‘It was ten years ago that Lily was abducted. The civil war between the imperial family and the noble family was severe.’

Alan, the Mad Duke, stood on the side of the imperial family and fought fiercely against Count Albrecht, the vanguard of the anti-imperial faction. 

So, the day Lily disappeared from the baby’s room, Alan mistook Count Albrecht as the culprit who kidnapped his daughter.

The anger of a parent who lost his child was beyond imagination. 

Alan immediately went into the county and put Albrecht to extinction. 

‘It was a fatal mistake. The real culprit, Thomas, fled to the western continent, taking advantage of Alan’s futile space.’

Alan, who later realized the real culprit, pursued Thomas by every possible means, but it was too late.  

The western continent where Thomas fled to was a land eaten by monsters a long time ago and a lawless land for villains who fled the empire.  

Whether his ability to escape was inversely proportional to his personality, Thomas managed to hide well there. For a whole 10 years.  

‘Well, it seems that this is the end of his way of always escaping like a loach.’

Earlier this year, good news flew to Alan, who had been living in sorrow. He managed to catch one of Thomas’ minions.

‘I heard he was tortured and killed horribly. I don’t even want to recall the original description.’

It was easy to find the remnants once they stepped on the tail. 

Despite the fact that his escape was insignificant, Thomas’ minions were captured one after another like string sausages.  

Thomas felt a sense of crisis and summoned all the men with their leashes attached.

He didn’t mean to apologize to Alan, but to carry out a crazy mission. 

“Let’s take a kid who looks just like her and use her as Lilietta! In return for giving back his daughter, we’ll beg him to save us!” 

Red hair like roses, emerald eyes, fine features. Above all, the hair was so similar to baby Lily that the duke would be surprised to see. 

That was me. 

‘….I’m in trouble.’ 

The more I thought about it, the more there was no answer. Alan was mad for a longer time than I’m alive. 

I’m just a normal kid, how can I avoid a man like that? 

“I’ll be able to sleep comfortably after I hand you over to the duke.”

Thomas, the mastermind of everything, swept his chest.

Have you had a hard time all this time? 

More than half of his blond hair was white.  

‘He has gone completely insane.’

How could you think of living comfortably after touching someone else’s precious daughter.

I was angry at the overreaching brazenness, but I grabbed the necklace on my neck and tried to calm my heart. 

For now, I had to focus only on surviving.

‘Should I run away when Alan goes wild?’

I pictured a plan in my head.  

When the door opens, Alan will enter the church, take the sword from the enemy hiding nearby, and decapitate him…

Thinking that far, I touched my chest. 

Impossible. Absolutely impossible. 

What kind of powers does an extra have? There was no way I could get out of the grip of a charismatic villain so easily.  

‘But then what?’

At the crossroads of life and death, tears welled up in sorrow and anger. 

I didn’t want to cry, but no matter how mature my soul was, the tear glands of a child did not listen to me. 

‘Why am I always an extra?’ 

A drunken father, mom who left home not long after giving birth to me. Cold, hungry and dangerous days in an ant cave. 

It was hard enough to grow up and I couldn’t believe that I’d die before I became an adult. 

There was no way I could accept that fate….

‘….I’ve been working so hard.’ 

Life would get a little better if I kept working hard. And one day, there would be a day when I could scoop up a huge whipped cream cake. That was what I thought. 

‘I thought so, I thought so!’ 

“I don’t want to die.” 

I murmured. I never wanted to be killed like this. 

Instead of giving up, I gritted my teeth out of frustration. 

At that moment, a clever idea suddenly came to mind. 

You are reading story How to Live as the Mad Duke’s Fake Daughter at novel35.com

‘There was a description of Alan’s surprise at the sight of his fake daughter. He was confused whether she was his real daughter or not until she told him the truth. Then….’ 

It might fail. 

But even so, it would be better than doing nothing. 

I swallowed my tears and raised my head.  Although I am an extra, I still want to live. 

Creak, the door to the church opened. 

Thump, thump.

A man with a good appearance appeared under stained glass, which scattered a brilliant light. 

Black hair that was a little messy, dark green eyes, and black uniform that looked good on him. 

A strong impression like a black leopard was overwhelming at one glance. 

Alan found me and stopped in place. His eyes widened as if he had seen something that shouldn’t have existed. 

Up to this point, it was the original I knew. 

I made an angelic smile with all my might. 

“Father.” 

There was only one way to survive. 

I’ll be the real daughter of the Mad Duke. 

*** 

“It’s different from your promise! You said that if I return your daughter, you will save… Argh!” 

The tragedy happened as expected. 

Thomas died as soon as he said his character’s lines, which were as bad as his personality. 

It would have been a big deal if he revealed about me before he died, but fortunately Alan’s hand was faster than Thomas’ tongue. 

Unlike the original, I survived safely.

‘It was a good thing so far.’

But after putting out the urgent fire, there was another problem. 

I was now riding the main carriage of the Duke of Bauner’s with a mad duke who was supposed to kill me according to the original. 

The doll in my arms, which received all my anxiety, was crushed to the point where it was no longer a human-form doll. 

“….Lily.”

I was afraid to breathe in peace. 

What if he takes the knife out because the way I breathe is different from his real daughter? 

“Lily?”

“Yes, yes?”

I noticed Alan’s voice belatedly and looked up. 

Because of the tension, the tone of my voice came out high. 

Inside, I slapped myself up to come to my senses, and Alan muttered in a crawling voice. 

“…I’m sorry.”

I was perplexed with a sudden apology. 

Alan, who looked down at me with sad eyes, held his hands together as if he was praying. 

“I’m to blame, all of it.” 

His eyes were deep, as if recalling the distant past. 

I didn’t think it was an apology for killing the bandits in front of a 9-year-old child. 

I hesitated over how to react. 

‘If I stay still, will I cover half of it? No, rumor has it that Lily was an angelic baby. But I wonder if there are any newborn babies who don’t look like that…’

After agonizing for a while, I carefully grabbed Alan’s little finger. 

Alan opened his eyes wide as if he couldn’t believe my warmth. 

I carefully whispered, after going through the words in my head several times. 

“It’s not father’s fault.”

Alan’s shoulders trembled. 

His eyes, what should I say? There was no other description but the phrase ‘I received a salvation’ could describe it.

Rattle! 

Then the carriage bounced. Alan hugged me almost at the same time as the sound of a wheel bump. 

“Lily!” 

The strength of the arms tightening around my whole body was amazing. I felt like every bone that hadn’t even grown was going to be crushed.

“Are you okay?”

‘It’s suffocating!’ 

At this rate, I was going to die because of the choke instead of beheaded. 

I was about to get out of his arms, but the carriage shook again. 

‘The road is very rough….’

….I thought so, but my vision gradually declined.

I didn’t fall down. The carriage I was riding on was overturning sideways.

Thud!

Soon, with a huge sound of shock, my eyes went black as if the lights had gone out. 

I was startled and floundered my limbs like a drowning man.  

‘What, what’s going on…! Oh, it’s Alan’s cloak.’  

Alan’s black cloak covered my face.  

After removing the thick fabric, I unknowingly swallowed my breath.  

Alan’s eyes were shining blue, like a carnivore’s.  

It was not a metaphor, it was literal.

I looked away in embarrassment and noticed something strange. The cloak that obscured the view was removed, but the surroundings were still dark.  

I lifted my head involuntarily and then froze on the spot.  

‘….What is that, that.’

Through the carriage window that stretches up to its roof, a strange sight I had never seen before was unfolding.

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