# 2
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The dilapidated orphanage building with the cold wind creeping in, the evil adults who torture and do not provide food or decent clothing, and the orphans who harass weaker children to survive in the midst of it.
In fact, when I first opened my eyes in this world, I didn't know who this person with a miserable background was.
There was a character in the novel who had distinctive white hair, red eyes, and a wonderful appearance.
But the characters that I knew in the novel based on appearance only were all holders of high positions, such as the duke, the duke’s daughter, and the crown prince.
I was confident that in the novel in which only noble people appear, the 'orphan girl' did not appear with dazzling beauty even once.
But regardless of the story, I had to survive.
The constant violence, hunger and cold haunted me.
A small child in the next room died of hunger.
If I do nothing, it will definitely be my turn next.
I thought about what I could do to get a meal, and decided that I would learn to read and write here.
If I could read, then with my skills as an employee honed for years in South Korea, I would be able to convince the heroes and manipulate them in some way.
But in a place that didn't even provide food, they couldn't teach me the letters, so I pretended to clean and run errands to peek into the documents of the adults in the orphanage to learn the letters.
Strangely enough, I could figure out the words just by seeing them once, and I could interpret the next sentence.
In just one week, I completely mastered the lingua franca of this continent.
Does this make sense logically?
But at that time I didn't think much.
I said to myself: ‘They say that a child’s brain is like a sponge, and since it is my mother tongue, I learned the letters quickly,’ but I did not pay much attention to it.
My only concern was to quickly recognize my skills in order to get a real meal.
So, I gathered the adults and told them that I was good at reading and formatting documents.
The result appeared immediately.
Their facial expressions changed as they looked at me.
A smile appeared on the faces of those who looked at me like I was a cockroach whenever I passed by them.
'I did it. I'll be able to get decent food here.'
And when I thought that, their smiles went beyond just smiling and reached the point of malicious laughter that sent goosebumps.
By the time I realized something was completely wrong, it was too late.
Once the adults at the orphanage realized that I was very smart, they started forcing me to study more to get support from the nobles.
And I couldn't stop.
If I failed to learn the assigned lesson, I would receive severe corporal punishment throughout that day.
As the torture continued without food, I had no choice but to do what they asked.
The only happiness I found amidst the massive amounts of study and torture was the newspaper that the adults would throw for me to study.
The heroine of the novel appeared frequently in the newspaper.
Based on the articles that said it was moving at an amazing speed, as if it had traveled back in time, I was aware that this place was not reality, but the world of the novel.
But the misfortune did not end there.
When the elders learned that the little girl in front of them had mastered in one month the difficult modern language 'Croult's language', and that she also possessed 'mana', they were not satisfied with obtaining the support of the nobles, but they coveted more.
While I was studying without knowing anything, a huge, extravagantly decorated ducal carriage appeared before me, and it was said that it wanted to adopt me as a daughter.
When I learned that the name of the family that owned that carriage was 'Rosebler', one fact came to mind.
The name of the white-haired, red-eyed villainess in this novel is “Eveliana Rosebelaire.”
Yes. I embodied the evil, deranged childhood.
If they took me off like this to become a noble, I would end up killed by the heroes who went back in time. So, the choice here is...
“Let's run away.”
If I don't appear before the heroes' eyes, won't they forget the villain's existence one day?
The heroes were the nobles of the duke family, and I am now an orphan below the common people, so if I escape now, the probability of meeting them is close to zero.
So, I took advantage of dawn when everyone was asleep and escaped from the orphanage.
Knock, knock, knock!
In a deep, desolate forest, I ran like crazy after successfully escaping.
Sweat was pouring from my forehead like rain.
“Hq, hq.”
My muscles were screaming in pain, and my joints were cracking as if they were begging me to stop, but I could not stop running because of an unknown anxiety.
As for my shoes, which were worn out from the beginning, they lost their shape a long time ago.
My feet, which had been scratched and hit by stones and tree branches, became bloody and swollen.
"Yes!"
While I was running unconsciously, I tripped on a rock and fell to the ground.
“Ooooh!”
When I tried to get up, I saw that my knees were badly scraped and blood was pouring from them.
I tried to stand again, but I was in tremendous pain and it was difficult for me to breathe.
Should I rest a little and then continue?
If I run again, I might faint without realizing it.
I ran until my feet swelled, then I fell from exhaustion, then I got up and ran, and fell again.
This happened several times, sometimes it was daytime before I lost consciousness, and sometimes I woke up and found it at night.
Now, I can't fall like this.
The search party sent by the Duke's family was looking for me.
I looked around and hid in the nearby bushes.
While I was quietly shrinking, I saw berries growing under the bushes.
I must eat as long as possible.
I grabbed a handful of berries and quickly put them in my mouth.
Because of the sweet juice that filled my mouth, I felt a slight improvement in my energy.
And at that moment.
“There are traces of blood in this area!”
“Heh, it's close.”
The sound of horses' hooves and the knights' conversation could be heard from afar.
It was the search party sent by Duke Rosibelair.
Damn, they're close again.
I thought I had gotten away from them a little while ago, but they found my trail again.
Unlike the orphanage's idiots who were easy to escape from, the search party made up of knights and wizards was pursuing me with extreme determination.
“Miss, come out. We are not scary people!”
“Aren't you hungry? We brought delicious food with us.”
They started trying to lure me while speaking in whispers from afar.
The delicious smell of food spread throughout the forest.
The villains were tempting me with food because I had not eaten for days.
“Miss, don't be afraid!”
“If you come with us, you can wear pretty dresses and eat as much delicious cake as you want.”
The magician called in a soft, loud voice.
Maybe if I were a normal 10-year-old, I might have been fooled by their sweet talk.
But I wasn't a normal girl, and I knew they weren't that nice.
I put my hand on my stomach so that my stomach would not make noise in response to the sudden smell of food, and I shrank even more until I was stuck to the ground of the bushes.
After staying hidden for so long, it seems that the knights and wizards who were looking for me have lost their patience and revealed their true colors.
"You bastard! Why don't you get out!"
The wizard who had been speaking softly a moment ago shouted as he spat on the ground.
“If you don’t come out now, I will break your limbs! Won’t you come out right now?”
The knight with a baritone voice shouted terrifyingly menacingly.
His words were filled with clear killing intent.
I felt that if I really appeared in front of him, he would actually break my limbs.
Crazy people..
Aren't they deranged? To do this to a ten-year-old girl... Even if they spoke kindly, I might not go out, so how could they threaten like that? Do they think I'll just say 'yes, there' and walk out?
I was determined to never be caught by these deranged people, so I grabbed a stone around me and threw it away in the opposite direction from where I was and the knights.
The stone made a big arc and fell over the bushes.
clink.
Because of my strength in throwing, the sound of the stone falling was clearly heard.
"there!"
“Damn it! If I catch this little girl, I will kill her as hard as I can.”
The knights started off, uttering terrifying words, in the direction in which I had thrown the stone.
When the knights moved away, I quickly emerged from the bushes and climbed a tall tree that was beside me.
“Not here, sir!”
“There is no trace of it no matter how much we search?”
Immediately afterwards, the sound of sighs of knights and wizards mixed with curses was heard.
“Where in God’s name did this girl go?”
“Let's go in that direction.”
The search party that was consulting began to move and passed the tree under which I was hiding, heading somewhere.
Once they were gone, calm returned to the noisy forest.
I did not descend safely from the tree until long after any trace of the search party had disappeared.
'Hah, I survived.'
Is it because I have the body of the evil one who destroyed the world?
At the age of ten, with a small body and weak stamina, I was successfully evading powerful knights and wizards.
Huff...this is amazing.
I praised myself, took a deep breath, and then started running south.
It was getting late and night had fallen.
'There is only a little left.'
If I cross the valley with the waterfall from here, I will reach the borders of the empire.
If I escape from the empire that is the setting of this novel, I will be able to live in peace without worrying about meeting the heroes.
I quickly moved my steps while enduring the pain in my trembling feet.
How much did I run? The forest that was dark is now immersed in complete blackness.
Since I didn't have a map, compass, or anything, I was heading toward the border, guided only by the bright stars and the moon in the sky.
“Kat...”
My body seemed to have reached its limit, my legs spasmed and bent.
They no longer move properly.
I sat on the ground and started massaging my legs that were not moving, trying to get up, and suddenly a strong sound of trickling water was heard from somewhere nearby.
What...
'...It's the sound of a waterfall!'
I'm close to the border.
At that moment, my mind was fuzzy and I felt pain in my joints, but I quickly shook my head.
I can't fall here.
I will try my best a little later.
And at the moment I tried to get up towards the sound of water.
Zing!
With an unknown voice, a small, shining magic circle was drawn under my feet.
“I got you! You damned mouse!”
With a rustling sound, two men appeared from the distant bushes.