6. Warp Arrival and a Fateful Encounter
Not wanting to see more of Dad’s goofy faces, Axsion flung his cape and stood in front of the warp gate.
“We’re leaving. No delays.”
Dad, of course, was grinning at me like a fool.
“My baby girl. Kissy. Mwah.”
“Grrmmffflrg.”
I swatted away Dad’s lips as I watched the holy knights file into the gate one by one.
And just like that, we stepped through the warp gate.
“Whoa.”
In an instant, the world changed.
Soaring ceilings.
Holy murals.
Majestic pillars.
And rows of wide-eyed priests frozen in surprise.
‘Okay… magic is amazing.’
We’d arrived in the warp chamber of Paville Temple, the religious heart of the capital.
“Sir Enoch.”
A white-haired old man stepped forward from the group.
“You’ve truly returned.”
“It’s been a while, High Priest.”
Everyone—from the old man to the junior priests behind him—looked like they couldn’t believe their eyes. Not only because Enoch Rubinstein, missing for seven years, had reappeared… but because of the child in his arms, unmistakably his daughter.
“May Primera’s blessing be with you,” the high priest greeted, quickly stepping aside.
Without sparing a glance, Dad strolled right past him.
The flustered priests scrambled after him.
“Sir Enoch, are you heading home immediately?”
“Shouldn’t we hold at least a brief reinstatement ceremony?”
“We’ve actually prepared one in case you returned….”
Dad paused before exiting the chamber and turned his head.
“There will be a royal ceremony soon enough. I’m sure we’ll meet again then. I’d rather not tire my daughter more than necessary today.”
Only then did the priests start openly eyeing me with curiosity.
They had every reason to be interested.
The long-lost daughter of Enoch Rubinstein, who vanished along with him seven years ago.
Realizing the attention, I politely clasped my hands and greeted them.
“May Primera’s blessing be with you….”
Their eyes lit up.
“Ohh! Thank you!”
“May Primera’s blessing be with the young lady as well!”
Stepping out of the temple, we entered the heart of the capital.
“Woooow…”
Having spent my life in a quiet, rural village, the bustling cityscape of Paville hit me like a storm.
“So many people….”
Tall, elegant stone buildings clustered tightly together. Crowds wearing all kinds of fancy clothing. Well-groomed horses pulling luxurious carriages….
The knights who had escorted us were now preparing to leave.
“See you, kid.”
“Take care, Lilith.”
“Bye-bye, uncles!”
Philip and Ben waved, and I waved back.
“Head straight home, got it?”
“Like I’m gonna wander off. Shoo now, go.”
Dad waved Axsion off like he was swatting a fly, and with that, it was just Dad and me left in the busy capital.
“Hey, princess.”
“Yeah?”
“You really don’t wanna ride the carriage?”
“Nope.”
“It’s a fifteen-minute walk, you know. Want me to carry you?”
“Pfft, Dad. You’ve carried me so much I forgot how to walk. I want to walk now. I wanna explore.”
“Alright. But if your legs hurt, say something, okay?”
“Got it!”
I gripped Dad’s hand tightly and began walking through the golden afternoon streets.
‘Alright, this is it. Time to focus.’
The main character, Enoch Rubinstein, now has no reason for revenge. I’d completely derailed the original plot before it even started.
Which meant it was on me to set things back on track.
‘I have to follow the original story, no matter what. First priority….’
“Sir Paladin, blessings of Primera upon y—”
“Stop.”
“Thank you for your service. May Primera’s divine—”
“That’s enough.”
…Maybe we should’ve taken the carriage.
I thought I’d be able to think while walking, but already, about ten people had approached Dad to bow and fawn over him.
Nobles, commoners—didn’t matter. Everyone bowed on the street.
Because of the blue cloak Dad wore, the symbol of the Dos class.
‘I mean, I knew. But still. Who kneels in the middle of the road to say hello?’
It was ridiculous.
But then again, if this world respected basic human rights, there wouldn’t be a revolution to start—or a thesis-worthy story to begin with.
I massaged my temples with tiny fingers.
‘Okay, focus. What I need to do now is—!’
Find Cheshire and get him to meet Dad.
Because Enoch Rubinstein can’t start a revolution alone. He needs Cheshire.
Who is Cheshire Rubinstein?
- Class: Dos.
- Commander of the Dos Magic Knights.
- Magic knight, swordmaster, and Rubinstein’s adopted son.
- Co-protagonist of the story.
- His punches move slower than time.
- Originally an abused illegitimate child of some noble, adopted by Enoch after a fateful encounter.
‘The problem is, I have no idea what that “fateful encounter” was!’
The novel never specified how Enoch and Cheshire first met.
Now that I, the daughter, exist, Dad probably won’t care enough to adopt someone else.
So I’ll have to create that encounter myself.
‘Needle in a haystack.’
I sighed, glancing around the overpopulated city.
And then—
“Dad?”
He had gone quiet. I looked up and saw him staring down a side alley.
“What is it? Something over there?”
He glanced at me, smiled faintly, and resumed walking.
“It’s nothing. Let’s go.”
“Wait.”
Being an observant kid, I tugged on his sleeve.
“What’s wrong?”
“Just some kids fighting. The city guards will handle it.”
“Kids are fighting? We should stop them!”
“I know, but it might be dangerous for you.”
“…”
I was speechless.
The Enoch Rubinstein I knew would never walk away from something like this.
‘It’s me. I’m the problem. Ugh.’
I realized I was dampening my dad’s heroic instincts.
“Let’s go check. You’re super strong anyway, right?”
“Well… alright.”
Uncomfortable as he was, Dad took my hand and headed into the alley.
And as we turned the corner—
“Eek!”
I gasped and covered my mouth.
I had expected some classic fantasy scene of nobles bullying commoners.
But no. These were kids.
Teenagers were mercilessly beating a younger boy.
“You—you guys! What are you doing?!”
All five looked up.
I yelled, furious.
“You little punks!”
A stunned silence fell.
Even Dad, who was about to step in, stared at me in disbelief.
‘Oops.’
Not quite what a seven-year-old girl should be shouting.
“S-Sir Paladin! Blessings of Primera upon—”
“Stop.”
The lead boy recognized Dad’s blue cloak and immediately dropped to the ground.
“What’s going on here?”
“Uh! Sorry if we were noisy, sir. This commoner didn’t show proper respect….”
“You—you're beating someone up for not bowing? And a kid at that?”
The boy glanced at me, then calmly replied:
“Um, miss? I’m an Octava.”
“Wow.”
I drooped.
“Wait, so because you’re a high-ranked ability user, you can beat people up?”
“…”
“…”
Silence again.
They just stared at each other.
‘Can they? Yeah. They can.’
I let out a bitter laugh.
This world is built on that kind of cruelty.
If that commoner kid really failed to bow, then by this twisted logic, he’s the one at fault.
Group violence, and yet the aggressors aren’t guilty at all.
Because they’re nobles and ability users.
Dad stepped forward.
“Leave. Now.”
“Y-yes sir!”
“May Primera’s blessing—”
“I said go.”
“R-right!”
Even Dad couldn’t do anything.
Just like you can’t yell at someone for… breathing.
Because in this world, this kind of injustice is just “breathing.”
‘This country desperately needs a revolution, Dad.’
Experiencing it in person made it all too real.
“Wow. Life in the capital sure is great….”
I muttered sarcastically.
Dad knelt in front of me and gently cupped my cheek.
“Princess, listen…”
“Wait!”
I remembered the beaten-up kid.
I rushed over.
“Hey, are you okay? Ahh! Blood….”
The boy sat up as if nothing had happened, wiping his bleeding mouth.
Then he looked at me.
He had beautiful crimson eyes.
But his gaze—it was completely empty.
‘Can a kid really have eyes like that?’
I hesitated, then dug through my robe.
I had a rabbit-print handkerchief Dad gave me.
“Hey, here. Let me wipe—ah!”
Smack!
He slapped my hand away.
Startled, I stared at him.
He didn’t speak, but he looked ready to scratch me like a feral cat.
“I—I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I’ll just… leave this here.”
I gently placed the handkerchief on his leg.
He didn’t move, just stared.
I stared back.
And suddenly—
‘Wait a second.’
Now that I looked at him properly…
He was… weirdly good-looking.
‘I mean, he was just getting beat up, but… still….’
Insanely pretty, even at his age.
Black hair. Red eyes.
I slapped a hand over my mouth and toppled backward onto my butt.
“Lilith!”
Dad’s worried voice made me look up.
And there he was—my equally handsome father.
And I remembered my #1 rule.
‘There’s no such thing as a “random” handsome extra.’