♧ Chapter 2 ♧
1: A Suspicious Guest
“The child is very pretty.”
I blinked as I looked at Rebecca Marchione.
Rebecca, the heroine of this world, looked much more ordinary than I had imagined.
The only thing that truly stood out was her bright red hair, blazing like fire.
“Little one, how old are you?”
“I’m six years old. You’re pretty too, Miss.”
Maybe I was shy.
Or maybe I was afraid of Rebecca.
Without realizing it, I hid behind my eldest sister’s leg.
A month ago, when I had suffered from a terrible fever, the story of the dark reverse harem novel <Rebecca Marchione> suddenly appeared in my mind.
The story of <Rebecca Marchione> was simple.
Rebecca left her homeland, Trovanza, to take revenge and settled in the Empire.
There, she became involved with the male leads by chance, and they all fell in love with her.
The male leads desperately tried to possess her by using their power.
Rebecca took advantage of them, started a war, and turned her homeland into a sea of flames.
In the middle of that war…
My family, who had done nothing wrong, became the victims.
My eldest sister, Aliche, died in battle.
The war ended with Trovanza’s defeat.
And I was taken to the Empire as a prisoner.
‘I have to do something so the story doesn’t follow the original plot…’
The problem was…
Even after learning the story, I was only a six-year-old child.
And judging from how I felt, my mental age didn’t seem particularly high either.
Maybe it was because the original story ended when I was fifteen.
I felt slightly younger than that.
‘To be honest, I don’t even know if I was reincarnated or possessed someone else’s body.’
Before I learned about the original story, I had been an ordinary six-year-old.
Even now, I couldn’t remember my previous life.
It was as if lightning had suddenly struck me, leaving only the memories of the original novel behind.
“She’s usually not this shy.”
“It’s alright.”
Rebecca took something out of her pocket and handed it to me.
It was chocolate.
A luxury snack that was difficult to find in Trovanza because of its isolation policy.
“Wow…”
Without thinking, I reached for the chocolate.
Rebecca casually gave it to me as a gift.
Meeting the heroine of the original novel during this cruise party was already surprising.
Getting delicious chocolate from her made it even better.
“You like chocolate, don’t you?”
“Yes! Liliana loves chocolate!”
“Hey, little one. Say thank you.”
At my youngest sister’s reminder, I quickly bowed my head.
“Thank you!”
“Um… may I pat Liliana’s head just once?”
“Of course. If Lily is okay with it, then so am I.”
“Liliana. Is it okay if she pats your head?”
“Yes! That’s fine!”
My mouth was already covered in chocolate as I happily agreed.
Rebecca crouched down until we were at eye level.
Then she gently stroked my curly hair with her long fingers.
“…I have… so much… to be sorry… for…”
“Hm?”
It sounded like Rebecca had said something.
But I was too busy enjoying the chocolate to hear her properly.
“Liliana, what’s your dream?”
“I want to live happily with my sisters forever!”
“Really?”
“That’s a wonderful dream.”
For some reason, Rebecca’s smile looked bitter.
She slowly stood up.
“Lily… please grow up healthy.”
That was the last time I ever saw Rebecca.
That same day, someone fell overboard from the ship.
After searching for an entire month without finding a body, everyone concluded that the person had died.
That person…
Was Rebecca.
My sisters were repeatedly questioned during the investigation.
I was confused as well.
‘The story ended before it even began…’
The original heroine had taken her own life.
‘Can something like this even happen?’
Why?
Why would she do that?
The heroine’s death was something that had never happened in the original story, leaving my thoughts in complete chaos.
If Rebecca had really died…
Then what exactly were the memories inside my head?
* * *
Warm sunlight poured through the windows.
The house was filled with a cozy atmosphere.
The smell of delicious food drifted through the air.
And yet…
This peaceful world was supposed to be the setting of a dark reverse harem novel.
A story where the male leads would even wage war just to win the heroine’s favor.
‘I can’t believe it.’
I quietly picked the bell peppers out of my food while holding back a sigh.
If the original heroine was dead…
Would the future war disappear too?
Or would the war still happen even without her?
Politics wasn’t something that changed just because one or two people disappeared.
“Sigh…”
“Hmm? What’s wrong with our little one? Why are you sighing again?”
My eldest sister looked up from the newspaper and asked gently.
Her long black hair sparkled in the sunlight.
She wasn’t beautiful just because she was my sister.
She was genuinely beautiful.
Kind.
Warm.
In every way…
Aliche was the most wonderful person in the world.
“It’s nothing.”
“What is it? Are you keeping a secret from your big sister? Can’t you tell me just a little?”
She carefully patted the top of my head without messing up my braided hair.
“Sister. She’s just sighing because she doesn’t want to eat bell peppers.”
My youngest sister, Emilia, interrupted coldly.
Since I had secretly pushed all the bell peppers to one side of my plate, I flinched.
Emilia always looked sleepy.
This morning was no different.
She looked completely exhausted.
“Little one. Eat all your bell peppers while I’m still asking nicely.”
“Siiigh… I don’t like bell peppers…”
She had probably stayed up reading until dawn again.
Which meant…
She was in a bad mood.
She glared at me.
I quickly stuffed the bell peppers into my mouth.
“Good. You have to eat well if you want to grow taller. You can’t stay tiny forever.”
Even though she acted like this…
In the original story, after the war started and I was taken to the Empire, she did everything she could to rescue me.
She had even secretly infiltrated the Imperial Palace.
Just then, my second sister, Regina, walked out of the kitchen carrying a large pot.
By the way…
Regina and Emilia were twins.
Regina had simply been born seven minutes earlier.
“Hehe. Little one. Even if you don’t like bell peppers, you need to eat everything if you want to grow big and healthy.”
“Seriously… how long are you going to make everyone wait? I only slept for one hour last night.”
Ignoring Emilia’s complaint, Regina lifted the lid off the pot.
Inside were octopus and shrimp cooked in cream sauce.
I didn’t know the name of the dish.
But it smelled wonderful.
Regina placed several shrimp onto my plate.
“Lily, eat lots and grow up healthy, okay?”
“Mhm. Okay.”
The moment I bit into the juicy shrimp…
I realized what I truly wanted.
To keep eating delicious food like this.
To stay together with my wonderful family forever.
Since the original story had already ended before it even began…
Surely all that was left was a peaceful life.
“Mmm! Second Sister! It’s so delicious!”
“Eat as much as you want, Lily. Oh, right. Big Sister, I heard the Imperial Family is visiting soon. Do you know why they’re coming?”
“How do you know about that? It’s supposed to be a secret unofficial visit.”
“Someone I know is going to cook at the government banquet for the Emperor. They even asked me if I wanted to help that day.”
The Emperor was coming here?
To Trovanza?
Was there ever an event like that in the original novel?
I searched my memories.
But the novel never mentioned anything that happened before the story began.
The original plot wouldn’t even start until six years later, when I turned twelve.
And now…
The heroine was already dead.
“So who’s coming from the Empire?”
“Regina. Don’t tell anyone outside the family, alright?”
“Come on, Sister. Do I look like someone who’d spread secrets?”
“The Emperor is coming, along with Duke Waltrahen as his escort.”
My ears immediately perked up.
The Emperor.
And Duke Waltrahen.
Both of them were male leads from the original story.
“The Emperor and our government officials may make a Soul Oath to establish a peace treaty. Duke Waltrahen will serve as the Empire’s witness.”
About one hundred and fifty years ago, the Empire had begun its wars of conquest.
Since then, it had swallowed nearly every neighboring country.
The only nation that had remained untouched…
Was Trovanza.
It had survived because it was an island nation far from the Empire and because it had many exceptionally talented people.
For decades, Trovanza had maintained a strict isolation policy while remaining in constant tension with the Empire.
But…
What was a Soul Oath?
The original story had appeared in my memories, but I still only knew as much about this world as an ordinary six-year-old.
“Emilia, what’s a Soul Oath?”
Emilia answered while lazily eating her breakfast.
“It’s an oath made with your life. If someone breaks it, both the people who made the oath and the witness will have their hearts burst and die.”
Then she looked at me seriously.
“And don’t you ever even think about making an oath like that. If you do, I’ll kill you myself. Understood?”
Her voice sounded as casual as always.
But knowing Emilia’s fiery personality…
I knew she meant every word.
“Okay! I’ll never make one!”
I nodded quickly.
Only then did Emilia smile in satisfaction.
I wanted to hear more of the conversation between my sisters.
But Emilia suddenly stood up.
She said we had somewhere to go after washing up.
At least that meant I didn’t have to finish my carrots.
“Emilia, where are we going?”
“To buy you some pretty clothes.”
“Clothes? I already have clothes.”
“No. You don’t.”
“I bought some last week.”
“That’s still not enough.”
…This was strange.
Whenever she talked like this…
I usually ended up at the hospital getting an injection.
Emilia held my hand tightly.
‘It feels like she’s making sure I can’t run away…’
A chill ran down my spine.
Completely unaware of my worries, Emilia led me into a café.
As soon as we arrived, she looked around for someone.
Then she walked toward a man sitting by the window.
“Wow…”
I couldn’t stop myself from gasping.
His sparkling silver hair…
And a face so beautiful it hardly looked human…
Immediately caught my attention.
The man smiled softly when he saw me.
“Hello, little lady.”
“H-Hello…”
He was so handsome that I instinctively hid behind Emilia’s leg while greeting him shyly.
Emilia, who didn’t seem affected by his appearance at all, asked in her usual indifferent tone,
“Are you François Cassel?”
The moment I heard that name…
I froze.
François Cassel.
The genius magician.
The Head of the Magic Tower.
One of the original male leads who eventually descended into madness.
And…
The man who imprisoned the heroine inside the Magic Tower.
The very same man…
Who forced me to become the heroine’s maid.
