Chastity-Reversed Hard Mode: Surviving as a Steel-Minded Adventurer in Another World - Chapter 33: “A Certain Noble Lady’s Backstory”

Chapter 33: “A Certain Noble Lady’s Backstory”

These days, Ursna talked like a street thug.

She would grumble in taverns about how she never got any action, complain loudly about not being popular, and when she spotted a man she liked, she would shove her breasts in his face and shamelessly grope him.

But she had not been born that way.

If you traced her roots back, Ursna came from extremely refined stock.

She had once been a noble of the Kingdom of Shalsmel, the neighboring country across the strait. And not just any noble—she had been the daughter of a Margrave, one of the highest-ranking lords guarding the frontier.

She had several older sisters, so her claim to inheritance was low. Still, that did not mean she had been raised lightly. Quite the opposite. Her upbringing had been mercilessly strict.

There had once been a time when Ursna was the picture of an ideal young lady.

She wore her golden hair long, flowing down to her waist. She possessed a graceful, delicate beauty. She mastered martial arts, magic, and scholarship. She carried herself with a refined, gentle smile and never laughed loudly or crudely.

It was almost impossible to imagine now.

Among the Margrave’s retainers, whispers had begun to spread.

Perhaps Ursna—so flawless, so dignified—was the one truly fit to inherit.

It did not matter that several sisters stood above her in the line of succession.

In the bloodstained history of Naroppa, family succession had never been clean.

Even now, primogeniture—where the eldest inherited everything—had become common. But not long ago, dividing estates among children had been normal. And once a parent died, siblings tearing each other apart over inheritance had been nothing unusual.

Bloodshed over a family title was simply tradition.

So there were those who approached Ursna quietly.

They flattered her. Praised her brilliance. Whispered that she deserved more.

But no matter how much they fawned over her, Ursna only smiled modestly and replied, “My, what a joke.”

And she never once took them seriously.

“I exist only to support my elder sisters. Even the sharpest blade is nothing more than a lump of metal without someone to wield it. If you have the time to look at someone like me, then please devote yourselves to supporting my sister instead. That is what loyalty as a knight of Shalsmel truly means.”

…Are we absolutely certain this was the same Ursna we know today?

Anyway, that was how she handled those around her—smoothly, lightly, never letting anyone pin her down.

Ursna was clever.

She knew very well that, in terms of talent, she surpassed her sisters. But she never grew arrogant. She always put the eldest first.

She also understood something crucial: one careless move, and she might be assassinated.

So she sealed away her naturally lively personality and maintained humility at all times.

More than anything, what made her truly sharp was this—she saw no real value in the seat of Margrave.

On paper, it was an extraordinary position.

You ruled tens of thousands of people. You dealt directly with foreign nations. You controlled trade rights. Money, fame, power—it was all concentrated in that single chair.

Anyone would envy it.

But the moment you sat in it, you stopped being yourself.

From then on, every word and decision had to match the dignity of the Margrave house. What you ate, what you wore, even who you married—everything would be decided by others and forced upon you.

The head of a noble family was, in the end, nothing more than the ultimate “slave of the house.”

There were surely people who would say, “Fine. I don’t care. I just want power and money.”

Like a certain devilish woman we all know.

But Ursna was not like that.

By nature, she loved freedom.

One day, she planned to give up her inheritance rights, become independent, perhaps live as a free knight or start a business—anything that would allow her to live by her own choices.

That quiet dream had always burned deep in her heart.

At the same time, she secretly looked down on those who clung desperately to power and wealth.

Of course, if you wanted to live life your own way, power and money mattered. Without them, people would treat you as insignificant. Ursna fully intended to gain both someday.

But there was a difference between using power… and being obsessed with it.

Those who flattered others and sold their dignity for influence or gold—she found them ugly. If you surrendered your identity for power and money, how was that any different from becoming a slave?

At the core of Ursna’s spirit was pride.

Ironically, while many nobles of Shalsmel were exactly the kind of power-and-money slaves she despised, Ursna—raised under strict discipline—had been taught that pride was a virtue above all else.

Her noble education and knightly training had planted deep roots of honor in her soul.

A noble of Shalsmel must always carry pride in her heart.

She must not bow to power.

She must not yield to the temptation of money.

A knight of Shalsmel must respect gentlemen.

She must become a shield for the weak.

That “pride” was the ideal burned into her during her upbringing.

And Ursna worked every single day to move closer to that ideal.

And yet…

That very pride was also what quietly pushed her farther and farther from freedom.

Someday, she wanted independence.

She wanted to be free.

But everything she was now—the skills, the education, the strength—had come from the wealth of the Margrave house and the guidance of her parents.

After receiving so much, could she truly just walk away and live however she pleased?

Was that something a person with pride would do?

Ursna longed for freedom.

But she did not want to become shameless.

No matter which path she chose, she wanted to say, This is who I am, without lowering her head.

Caught between gratitude to the family who raised her and her desire for independence, Ursna struggled constantly.

So she trained every day. She studied endlessly.

Out loud, she declared she would one day support her elder sister and devote herself to the family.

But in her heart, she dreamed of stepping out on her own.

She was a noble lady polishing her talents day after day.

And yet—

There was one thing she could not understand.

Her parents’ attitude.

Normally, a daughter with low inheritance rights was little more than a spare. That was true even in the highest noble houses.

They would raise her quietly, then eventually allow her independence—perhaps as a knight, perhaps in trade.

That was the usual path.

So in most families, younger daughters were raised rather loosely. Education was expensive. Pouring money into someone who would eventually leave was considered wasteful.

But Ursna was raised under absurdly strict conditions.

Compared to her older sisters, her education was clearly harsher and far more advanced.

Her sisters would snicker,

“Poor Ursna~ Mother’s so strict with you. We’re off to have tea with boys again today.”

Which, of course, meant dates.

They would grin smugly as they said it.

But Ursna understood how expensive education truly was—the tutors, instructors, specialized training.

So she simply smiled politely and let their teasing slide.

Still… the question lingered.

Why was she the only one being raised like this?

For a moment, she wondered if they intended to bypass the normal order of inheritance and make her successor instead.

But judging by how her parents treated the eldest daughter, that did not seem likely either.

Then there was her mother’s favorite phrase.

“If you continue to excel in your studies, I will reward you with a fine husband one day. Your duty is to pass on our blood.”

Her mother would always say that—her eyes cold, almost devoid of affection.

It was a strange look to give a daughter she had carried and birthed herself.

…Why did her blood need to continue?

As long as the eldest daughter had heirs, the family line would survive.

Outwardly, Ursna would reply obediently, “It would be my honor. I shall work even harder.”

But inside, unease grew.

The more she thought about it, the more it seemed her parents saw her not as a daughter… but as a device meant to produce children.

And that thought left bitterness in her mouth.

She learned the true meaning behind those words not long after she begged the family butler—once a spy—to teach her stealth techniques.

One day, while practicing by moving through the mansion’s hidden passages, Ursna accidentally overheard a secret conversation between her parents.

She was not their real daughter.

Officially, it was kept secret—but she had been adopted. She had originally been born into a different noble house. Now, her adoptive parents were searching for a suitable man… so she could bear children and continue that bloodline.

She had been deceived.

The moment she understood, every ounce of loyalty she felt toward the family vanished.

That very day, Ursna packed her belongings and ran away.

Her family likely noticed quickly and sent people after her.

But they never caught her.

Perhaps it was because she made it appear she was heading toward the royal capital, only to change direction at the last moment.

Anyone would assume a runaway noble girl would remain within Shalsmel, where she knew the language—or at most flee to a neighboring country sharing the same tongue.

No one would expect her to cross the sea to the Great Brishav Empire—a historical enemy with a different language and long-standing hostility.

Fortunately, the secret Brishav language lessons she had taken out of curiosity paid off.

Once inside the Empire, Ursna traveled even farther inland, away from the port.

Through contact with a courier from an underground guild, she slipped quietly into a remote fortress city called Thousand Leaves.

By then, her travel money had run out. She needed work quickly.

Luckily, the Adventurer’s Guild there was recruiting.

The city had been struggling with troublemakers and rowdy fighters, so the guild aimed to organize them by giving official work.

Because of that, they focused more on whether someone could handle rough types than on noble pedigree.

Which meant no one asked too many questions about Ursna’s past.

Ursna had mastered swordsmanship rivaling a full knight. As part of noble education, she had studied magic as well. In truth, her natural talent leaned more toward magecraft.

But to avoid identification, she registered under a combat-scout profile.

Thankfully, she had learned martial arts and stealth skills too.

And so, in a land where no one knew her name, Ursna became an adventurer.

At last—she had gained the freedom she longed for.

But…

She snapped.

Perhaps it was backlash from years of suffocating discipline.

Perhaps it was the sudden taste of unrestricted freedom.

Either way, she transformed into a loud, booze-chugging, dirty-mouth, chest-shoving delinquent who laughed far too loudly at her own crude humor.

Originally, she had intended to act as far from a “noble lady” as possible to avoid suspicion.

But the rough behavior fit her natural personality all too well.

Before she realized it, just one year later, both body and soul, she had become a complete hooligan.

During that year, however, she rose quickly through the ranks.

Most top-tier adventurers already had experience from other cities, so for a rookie, her progress was exceptional.

She climbed solidly into the mid-tier.

Thanks to Guild Master Deabolica’s generous pay policy, adventurers were compensated well.

Ursna saved enough to casually visit brothels whenever she wished.

The ultra-luxury establishments were still out of reach.

But if she wanted a decent, clean man free of disease, she could have him in her bed anytime.

Yet Ursna never actually bought one.

She acted like a flashy playgirl, surrounded herself with men, drank with them, laughed loudly, flirted shamelessly.

But when it came time for actual sex, she would suddenly toss some money down and leave.

A complete coward.

The male escorts, however, thought she was “cool” and “mysterious.”

Yes. She was a virgin.

What smoldered deep in her heart were her mother’s words: “Your duty is to pass on the bloodline.”

(I am… I’m not some tool meant to give birth. My body belongs to me. If I ever have a child, it will be with a man I truly love. A man I fall for so deeply that I’d think, yes—I want his child.
Though honestly… a man like that might never appear in my lifetime. Well… if that’s how it turns out, so be it.)

Poor thing.

With that mindset, she was practically signing up for lifelong singlehood.

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Now then—

Ursna had been racing full speed down the path of “wild-looking party girl destined to die alone.”

And one day, in a tavern, she met her so-called fate.

Yes.

It was Yuji Ojima—the otherworld traveler from modern Japan.

That said, Ursna did not fall in love at first sight.

Certainly, he possessed that ridiculously toned, lean muscular body. Rock-hard abs. Black hair. Foreign features. The kind of man whose existence screamed raw sex appeal.

But Ursna spent plenty of time in brothels. She was accustomed to attractive men.

Simply being hot was not enough.

Anyway.

She dismissed him as “just another sexy guy” and was about to leave without another thought.

And then it happened.

Yuji ordered rabbit stew.

When the dish arrived, he looked troubled.

And he said—

“Um… could I get a spoon and a fork?”

The tavern erupted.

Women burst into loud laughter.

“Ohhh? What are you, some kind of noble?”

“This ain’t that kind of place! We don’t have fancy stuff like that! You grab it with your hands or soak bread and eat it!”

“Where’d this pretty boy drift in from? That’s common sense! Go run back home, little rich kid! Want me to escort you? To my bed, maybe?”

For the record, the ones saying all that were not hairy bandit thugs.

They were a sharp-looking intellectual mage with glasses… and a pure-looking swordswoman with thick, tempting thighs.

In their minds, they were kindly offering advice.

Poor girls.

With their “years single = entire life” record, they had absolutely no idea how to speak normally to a man.

Yuji lowered his head shyly and used torn bread to scoop up the meat.

Seeing that, the female adventurers laughed even louder.

They were not mocking him.

They had simply never seen a man act shy like that. Their hearts pounded, and they had no clue how to respond. So the confusion came out as laughter.

Inside, though?

—God, I want to pin this cute thing down and ruin him.

Ursna… did not laugh.

She looked at the bowl of soup.

He had seen it—and calmly asked for cutlery.

That meant he came from a culture where that was standard. And he had not asked pretentiously. He asked as if it were obvious.

In Naroppa, eating with a spoon and fork was noble etiquette.

Commoners ate with their hands.

Even the intellectual-looking mage with glasses plunged her hand into the soup and chewed noisily.

Yes—loud chewing was normal.

Everyone did it.

So no one cared.

But this Eastern man quietly chewed with his mouth closed.

No slurping. No messy sounds.

The manners were simply… natural to him.

To Ursna—trained in noble etiquette—it was still somewhat rough. Not perfect aristocratic table manners.

But it was definitely not the behavior of an ordinary commoner.

…Where had this man come from?

And why did he carry table manners that did not match Naroppa’s customs at all?

“Now that’s interesting…”

Ursna muttered, slowly licking her lips.

From that day onward, she began poking at him constantly.

At first, it was only teasing.

She would flash her bare breasts to fluster the obvious virgin—roughly the same maturity level as a dumb middle-school boy flashing himself to feel superior. Just reversed.

Stupid. Harmless. Pure trolling.

What changed everything…

Was the day they had a drinking contest.

That day, Ursna heard the rumor that Yuji was quitting the Adventurer’s Guild.

Her mood sank instantly.

So the day had come.

No one would stay at rock bottom forever. Of course he would leave eventually.

Yuji would become some other woman’s man.

He would be locked away in a house somewhere, no longer someone she could casually drink and joke with.

As she drank herself into a haze, forcing down liquor while chewing on that bitter truth, regret rose inside her.

If it was going to end like this, she should have just taken him by force and made him hers.

She held back because she feared punishment from the guild.

But she had always been an outsider here anyway.

Sure, she had earned a name in this city.

But if it meant having Yuji… she would gladly throw it all away.

She could have kidnapped him and fled. Started over somewhere far away.

She was an idiot.

Only realizing what something meant when it was about to disappear…

Unlike certain reversed-world pretty boys, Ursna had no taste for watching someone she liked be taken by another woman. That kind of twisted pleasure meant nothing to her.

She just felt miserable.

And then—

Yuji appeared.

As casually as ever.

The moment she saw his face, heat coiled low in her belly.

I want his child.

I want him. Completely. Mine.

The desire flooded her mind so violently it was almost frightening.

She forced herself to remain calm. Forced her expression to stay normal.

Thankfully, the rumor about him quitting turned out to be false.

The relief was overwhelming.

And once she admitted that what she felt was love—

She grew restless in an entirely different way.

She even went so far as to slip sleeping medicine into his drink—something she had originally obtained for spy work—intending to take him while he was unconscious.

But for some reason…

It had no effect on him at all.

The next day, it was revealed that Yuji was actually a Saint with healing powers.

Ursna accepted it almost naturally.

A man who could drive her this insane could never be ordinary.

Of course a Saint would not be affected by sleeping drugs.

“…He’s truly an interesting gentleman.”

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The novel is getting published as a book!

It honestly feels like a dream.

I’ll announce the publisher and illustrator later.

The book version will include plenty of extra content—more heroine scenes, more spicy developments (that’s the plan!)—so if everything goes well and it reaches release, I would be thrilled if you picked up a copy.

Now then, please look forward to Volume 02 of the web serialization!