Chapter 2. The Prologue of a Tragedy, Part II

As soon as I took his hand, the silver-haired kid ushered me to a less crowded part of the city. Once we steered clear from the crowd, his eyes roamed around in search of something... or someone?

"Finn!" he called with a sense of urgency.

A young ironclad knight with bright red hair emerged from a distance. "Yes, young master."

Young master. So he really was a noble in disguise.

"This child has a bomb on her." The young lord imparted. "It must be the work of rebels."

The red-haired man stared at me in astonishment.

"May I take a look, young master?"

"Yeah, go on."

"Please excuse me, little one." Sir Finn politely told me before lifting my shirt. His eyes twitched upon seeing the bomb. "This… If I'm not mistaken, this was created using magic. Only a mage can disarm this. Shall I fetch one now?"

"Do it." The kid acceded.

"What about you?" Sir Finn queried reluctantly.

The young lord sighed. "I'll stay here with her. Can't you see that the child is scared to wits?"

The redhead knight seemed hesitant to leave his master with me, but he didn't argue any further. Sir Finn wasted no time and left the scene to search for a mage. The young lord, on the other hand, took a seat beside me on the stony ground.

"Don't worry." The kid tried to reassure me. For a noble, he seemed used to the outside world. "Help will be coming soon."

"Thank you." I said barely above a whisper.

"I'm Alistair." he introduced himself. "What's your name?"

"It's Callista!" I beamed.

That's my name in my previous life, by the way. Despite being in this body for quite some time now, I have no inkling who this child is. She didn't seem to have any family or friends. She was all alone, barely surviving on the streets through mercy.

That was the life I started to live when I possessed this body. A bony and dirty kid who was homeless.

"Callista." Alistair shot me a sideward glance. "It's too long to say. Shall I give you a nickname?"

"No, thanks. We're not close enough to call each other by pet names." I said as a matter of fact. "I only met you today, young lord."

"Hey! I saved your life, don't I have the right to give you a nickname?" He argued, pouting in dismay.

"But you haven't saved me yet. The bomb is still here on my tummy." I retorted shamelessly.

"I told you, help will be coming soon! I won't let you die." Alistair rolled his eyes. "As if I'd let those damn rebels succeed with their plan. How dare they cause a fuss during my father's parade?"

"Huh?" I blinked twice. "Father?"

"Alistair Kirsten de Averill." he remarked proudly. "That's my full name."

My jaw dropped. "You're the Grand Duke's son?!"

Instead of answering me, the silver-haired child impishly grinned. Oh, my god. It's the second male lead in the flesh! What the heck is he doing here in the city disguised as a commoner? Perhaps he wanted to watch the parade of his father?

Wait. More importantly, isn't this bad? If, by any chance we fail to disarm the bomb, he might die here with me!

"M-My lord, you have to leave." I urged him.

"No can do." Alistair drawled, ignoring my plea.

Shortly, Sir Finn returned with a female mage who seemed to have been briefed with the current situation. The brunette of small stature went straight into my stomach and examined the bomb.

"What do you think, Jean?" Sir Finn inquired with a hint of worry. "Can you do it?"

"Such an ornate bomb can only be created by an A-Class mage." Jean stated in an acrimonious tone. "How disgusting of them for using an innocent child."

The mage gently placed her hand on my cheek, as if telling me that everything will be fine. The warmth of her hand had me emotional. Can these people really save me? Is it possible to change the story?

"I can disarm it." Jean declared with confidence. "But it comes with risk. So, Sir Finn… I need you to take the young master as far away as possible–"

"No. I will stay here." Alistair firmly dissented. "You're a mage of the Lohefalter Knights. Do you not have the confidence to do it flawlessly?"

"Young master, with all due respect…" Jean knelt down on her knees. "You are the sole heir of the Averill duchy. Your safety is our priority."

"Just like you, I have my own duty as a noble. To help the citizens of this empire lead a safe and prosperous life." Instead of backing down, the young lord took a step forward, his eyes filled with conviction. "You think I'm a coward who would desert my own people at the mere sight of a bomb?"

"Of course not, young master!" The mage cried.

"I may be younger, but don't insult me, Jean."

The two of them stared intently at each other.

After a moment of silence, Jean sighed in defeat then turned to Sir Finn. "Protect the young master no matter what, even at the cost of your life."

Sir Finn nodded reassuringly. "Understood."

I stayed put as the mage began disarming the bomb. From her hands, she emitted an iridescent colour of light that surrounded my stomach where the bomb was strapped around. The tension was evident on her trembling hands, but her face was stolid calm.

Meanwhile, the young Averill lord was chatting casually with his knight. "I'm thinking of a good nickname for her, Finn."

"Why don't you think about it once we return to the estate, young master?" Sir Finn suggested.

"Alright. Since I already saved her, naturally, I have to take her with me." Alistair looked at me with a satisfied expression. "Didn't my father tell me to invest in people? After all, loyalty isn't something that can be easily bought. It's earned."

So after all of this, he wants me to be one of his people and swear my loyalty to him. How smart.

"Therefore, from this day on, I declare this child as a part of the Averill duchy." Alistair enunciated.

I raised my hand. "I refuse."

"This insolent…" A vein popped on his forehead in irritation. "Hey! Is this how you repay me–"

"Pfft." I laughed. "I was kidding, my lord."

His jaw dropped upon seeing me laugh.

"W-Well, as long as you know…"

Sir Finn and Jean quietly listened to our banter.

"I'd like to be modest and say that I'm undeserving of your kindness, but…" I played with my hands. "To be honest, I'm desperate to have a better life."

The three of them exchanged sympathetic glances.

"My lord, you said that loyalty isn't something you can easily buy." I looked straight into Alistair's eyes. "But mine can be bought easily. If my loyalty can fill my stomach and give me a roof above my head, then I'll gladly sell it to you. So, please…"

"If you swear your loyalty to me," Before I can even finish my sentence, the young second male lead approached me then held my hand. "You won't have to starve for days or sleep outside during winter."

My eyes watered with tears.

"I promise to give you a life much better than the streets." He gently patted my head. "You don't have to worry anymore. From now on, I will call you Callie."

I was rendered speechless.

He smiled radiantly. "It suits your pretty face."

My heart pounded at his words. This child promised me a better life. I'm not sure if my entrance to his life will change the plot of this novel, but I'll worry about that later. For now, I'll let myself bask in this happiness.

"As an expression of my gratitude, I would also like to give you a nickname, my lord." I boldly proposed.

"Oh?" Alistair blurted out in amusement. "Okay. If it's good, I'll allow you to call me with it."

I closed my eyes. What would be a nice name?

"How about Aki?" A bright smile dawned on my face. "It's short for Alistair Kirsten."

His brows lifted in surprise. For a moment, the young lord couldn't take his eyes off my face until his cheeks flushed. "Hmm. Aki, huh? Not bad."

Alistair turned his back on me, but I could see his ears reddening as well. Why is he blushing just because of a nickname? Kids, seriously.

"I think that's about it." Finally, Jean stood up from her spot then wiped off her sweat. "Thankfully, I managed to deactivate the magic–"

All of us were surprised when a crimson light illuminated from the device on my stomach, which Jean was supposed to have disarmed. Sir Finn swiftly unsheathed his sword then wrapped his arms around Alistair, who still had his back turned from me.

"Huh?" Jean blurted out in confusion. "Why…"

"What happened?" Sir Finn exclaimed while protecting Alistair. "Jean, snap out of it!"

"W-What's up?" Alistair tried to face my direction, but Sir Finn refused to let him go and caged him in his arms.

My eyes widened in fear when a magic circle materialized in front of me. It was so red as if made from blood itself, with many ornate patterns and incomprehensible scribbles. The magic circle amplified the crimson light, impeding our vision.

"There was another layer of magic!" Jean cried while desperately forming a barrier to protect the three of them. "It activated the moment I disarmed the bomb!"

"What about Callie?!" Alistair's voice was taut with panic. "Do something about it, Jean!"

Her face blanched. At that moment, I realised that there's no other way to turn this page, that this chapter will end how it's supposed to no matter how hard I try to change it.

"I'm sorry." The mage burst into tears as she strengthened the barrier around them.

Before the device completely exploded, Alistair managed to break free from Sir Finn. For the last time, he tried to reach out his hand to me, but the barrier stopped him from touching beyond.

Gone were his golden eyes that shone brightly like the sun. Now they resembled the dark clouds, on the verge of crying and pouring rain.

"I see. So this is goodbye." I whispered then gave him a rueful smile. "Still, thank you, Aki."

The next thing I knew, my body was already bursting in flames.

It hurts. It hurts so much that I couldn't think of anything else. I just wanted all of it to end. I wasn't a wee bit hopeful that I would be able to survive, because my life wasn't that good, anyway. This world gave me nothing but pain and suffering.

Looking back on those days when I almost died from hunger and died from the harsh winter, I'm actually glad to die like this, because my suffering is finally over. I won't have to worry about where to sleep. I won't have to beg for food like a dog.

In the end, I still couldn't prevent the tragedy.

I knew what was about to happen, but nothing changed. Although I altered the turn of events a bit, the major turning point of the story remained the same. Perhaps my death was necessary to advance the plot. Such is the fate of an extra.

Wait. What was the plot of this novel again?

I don't remember much about it, but I think this was only the prologue of the novel, which tells how the two main characters met as kids.

Ah, it also tells the traumatic childhood of the second male lead. Unfortunately, Sir Finn and Jean will die here today. Alistair will lose them from this bombing incident and he'll blame his incompetence for years.

Had I known that I'd be the cause of his pain for the rest of his life, I would've ran away from Alistair right when I met him. That way, those two could've lived. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to kill anyone.

Oh, dear gods. If you were going to kill me so soon, what was the point of bringing me into this world? Were you simply toying with me? If that were the case, how cruel.

And so, a year after transmigrating in this story as a nameless extra, I died.

That was my first ever role in the novel.

---