Rofan Rule #1: Don’t You Dare Break the Original Story - Chapter 32 - III.

III.

House Avery’s carriage cut through the dawn air as it raced along. As the mansion drew near, Anne opened the small side window and whispered softly.

“Don’t go all the way to the front entrance. Please stop at the main gate.”

The bearded coachman glanced back at her. He was House Avery’s driver who had taken Anne to the castle yesterday. Having waited for her anxiously all night, the area around his eyes looked completely hollow. Even so, the diligent coachman attended to the young lady of the household he served first.

“The air is still cold, Miss.”

“My parents will worry, so I want to slip in quietly. Please help me.”

Anne spoke as if coaxing him. Even with the cloak pulled over her, her disheveled state couldn’t be fully hidden. The upset coachman let out a loud sigh, as if making sure she heard it.

His resentment turned toward the prince. Even if they were engaged, for him to keep an unmarried lady with him all night… What kind of ill intention was that? Compared to that, how virtuous their young miss was. Kind, beautiful, and considerate enough to think of her parents’ feelings. His loyalty thoroughly bent inward, he willingly decided to cooperate with her.

“Yes, understood.”

Before long, the carriage arrived in front of the estate. As promised, the coachman let her down just inside the main gate. Then he quietly drove the carriage toward the stables.

Left alone, Anne tightened her cloak again. The ribbon of her dress, which hadn’t been properly tied, bothered her. Standing in the cool garden, she blankly looked up at the sky.

The dim sky where the sun hadn’t risen yet. Of all things, I ended up staying out overnight. A sigh escaped her at the sudden turn of events.

First, she needed to handle the situation. Anne quietly crossed the garden and headed beneath the terrace of her room. Ivy vines that had grown high along the outer wall. She grabbed the vines and tugged them hard as a test. Sturdy enough to support a person. After taking one last look around, she lightly pushed off the ground.

She climbed the wall, crawling up along the vines. In no time, Anne reached the height of the second floor and lightly swung herself over the railing. But the moment she landed on the terrace floor, the strength left her legs and she fell forward.

“Urk…!”

Anne hurriedly clamped a hand over her mouth. Instead of her legs, she grabbed her lower back. A sharp ache ran through it as if it had come loose.

“Gah…”

The price of facing off in a stamina battle with the male lead without any preparation was painful. Patting her back, Anne forced herself up.

Even in a contest of strength with a grown man, she wouldn’t lose, and she could climb walls using only the strength of her arms. The reason all of that was possible was because Anne Agnes Avery possessed hidden superhuman strength. It had been omitted in the original work, but it seemed this body had a special ability to begin with. Apparently, the first Duke of Avery had possessed extraordinary strength.

In any case, her full power far surpassed the limits of a normal human. And unfortunately, Anne’s destructive strength had only been properly revealed after the ‘Dragon Egg Cracking Incident’.

After that, she took extreme care not to reveal her strength carelessly. The Avery couple shared the same opinion. For a noble lady in a romance fantasy world, superhuman strength wasn’t particularly useful. What was she supposed to do with it, start a rebellion?

‘I should’ve just tried that earlier.’

She had been too busy hiding it all this time, and now a belated regret surfaced. The original story had already gone off the rails anyway, so who cared about the male lead anymore? She could just take the throne and make him her lackey.

Anne shook her head. It didn’t seem impossible, but it would definitely be troublesome. And it also felt like a waste of all the days she had endured without punching him once.

Suppressing her footsteps, she entered her bedroom. She wanted nothing more than to collapse onto the bed immediately, but reassuring the Avery couple came first. She took off not only the cloak but also the crumpled dress and stuffed everything under the bed. Then she pulled on her nightgown and deliberately messed up her hair, like someone who had just woken up.

Messing up the neatly made bed was essential too.

Anne looked over the scene she had staged with satisfaction. Mm, perfect. Looks like I haven’t lost my touch from back when I used to sneak out with cushions propped up. Oh, right. Shoes. Finally, Anne kicked her shoes off and shoved them under the bed as well.

Now it was truly complete. Fully prepared, Anne Agnes threw herself onto the bed. Then she immediately pulled the bell cord.

10, 9, 8…

Sure enough, not even ten seconds passed before the sound of hurried footsteps came pounding down the corridor. Anne squeezed her eyes shut. The door opened carefully, and a familiar voice called out.

“Young Miss Anne?”

“Mmm… some water…”

Rubbing her eyes, Anne spoke in a drowsy, just-woken voice. The maid gasped and rushed back out of the room.

“Madam, Madam! The Young Miss is in her room!”