Chapter – 01
She blinked several times to clear her hazy vision and rubbed the remnants of sleep from her eyes.
After waking up completely, she stood and dragged her feet off the bed.
She found a mirror hanging on the wall. The polished surface reflected her image.
Thick, chubby hands.
Sausage-like plump arms.
Fluffy cheeks.
A tiny body that refused to move as she wished.
No matter how she looked at it, this body belonged to a four-year-old child.
She stared at herself in the mirror and thought,
“Again. I’m back again. I can’t believe I’m going to live in this crappy world once more.”
My name is Leblaine.
In the beginning, my life wasn’t a mess.
I was the only orphan born on February 29th who also possessed divine power. Because of that, I was called “the Child of Fate.”
I was certainly lucky.
Simply by sitting on the Empress Dowager’s lap and choosing one of three portraits, I became the child of the family I selected.
There were three choices.
1. The Duke of Amity — a warrior of justice who protected the Empire.
2. The Duke of Vallua — a prestigious family that had produced countless scholars.
3. The Duke of Dubbled — a house with immense military power and vast wealth, but infamous as the Empire’s greatest villain family.
In my first life, I chose the Duke of Amity.
He was a good father.
Prudent, just, and rational.
I respected him and happily accepted him as my new father.
Life remained peaceful…
Until she appeared.
The real Child of Fate.
I had been nothing more than a fake.
Unlike me, who trained for three or four hours every day yet failed to properly awaken my divine power, Mina was the perfect Child of Fate.
She shone like the sun.
Everyone loved her.
Even the Duke of Amity.
Father and Mina were drawn together as though destiny itself had brought them together.
With the Pope’s support, Mina eventually became Father’s second daughter.
During a devastating drought, she summoned spirits.
She prevented a war through her gift of foresight.
And I…
I was sacrificed in a ritual to seal away an evil spirit.
A sacrifice made for Mina.
When I first regressed, I was happy.
I believed God had given me another chance.
In my second life, I chose the Duke of Vallua.
It turned out to be a terrible mistake.
The Duke abused me every single day.
He struck me with his own hands, claiming it was part of my education.
The only time he dressed me lavishly was when we visited the palace.
The last day of my second life was no different.
After another beating, my head struck the edge of a desk.
When I opened my eyes…
I had regressed once again.
In my third life…
I ran away.
But what could a child possibly do alone?
After enduring endless hardship…
I died of starvation.
After three lives, I finally realized something.
“Yes. This is all wrong.”
“So this time… I’ll defect.”
The moment I reached that conclusion, the door burst open.
An elegantly dressed elderly woman entered the room.
She gently lifted me onto her lap and motioned with her hand.
Soon, several maids entered carrying three portraits.
“It’s time to choose your father.”
She smiled warmly.
But I knew the truth.
The moment I was revealed to be a fake…
Those gentle eyes would become colder than ice.
The Empress stroked my hair and handed me the portraits.
“Here, Child of Fate. Choose one.”
Looking at the three portraits made me incredibly nervous.
I clenched my tiny fist and closed my eyes.
“Calm down.”
“I still need somewhere to live.”
“I can’t die as a starving beggar again.”
“I need a family where I can quietly survive…”
“…and eventually defect without worrying about starvation or death before I escape.”
“That’s the kind of family I’ll choose.”
“Then this time…”
“Oh my God.”
The Empress and the maids stared at the portrait I had chosen with wide eyes.
When I arrived at the mansion carrying the Empress’s letter, I finally met the man who would become my father.
I swallowed nervously.
“He’s unbelievably handsome.”
He had a sharp jawline.
Mesmerizing cyan-blue eyes.
A high nose bridge.
Perfectly sculpted lips.
A magnificent physique hidden beneath his clothes.
He was tall, broad-shouldered…
And terrifying.
Because despite that breathtaking appearance…
His eyes belonged to a killer.
The man I had chosen was none other than the infamous villain—
The Duke of Dubbled.
Standing beside me, the Duke’s lieutenant awkwardly spoke.
“The Empress has requested that you raise this child.”
The Duke stroked his chin with his long fingers before replying,
“She’s become senile.”
Without the slightest hesitation, he declared,
“Send her back.”
“But, Your Excellency, this is an opportunity to improve your relationship with the Church. Rejecting the Empress’s request outright could cause serious complications later.”
This was my only chance.
Amity was too responsible.
Vallua cared too much about honor.
Neither would ever allow me to escape.
But a father who had absolutely no interest in me?
He was perfect.
“This is my only way out.”
I patted the lieutenant’s trousers with both hands.
“Thews’s an unnounaunced tyax awdit on Decyember sebent.”
(There’s an unannounced tax audit on December 7th.)
“Huh?”
The lieutenant looked completely confused.
My childish pronunciation had sounded like meaningless babbling.
“It hasn’t been long since I regressed.”
“My tongue still isn’t working properly.”
I remembered it clearly.
During this very winter, Duke Dubbled—the master of tax evasion—had been caught in a surprise audit and forced to pay an enormous fine.
The Duke had three sons.
Surely someone experienced with children could understand my baby talk.
At least…
That had been my hope.
I quickly gave up.
A cold-blooded man like him probably hadn’t raised his own children personally.
“I wish I could write…”
“But I’m terrible at it.”
“It wouldn’t help anyway.”
Suddenly…
The Duke lifted me into his arms in a single motion.
His sharp eyes narrowed suspiciously.
“There’s a tax audit on December 7th?”
How had he understood that?
Completely bewildered, I forced myself to look as innocent as possible.
Just in case he suspected I wasn’t really a child.
“Uh-huh.”
“Shh…”
“It’s a secret.”
“I see.”
The Duke turned toward his lieutenant.
“How organized are the account books?”
“…Your Grace… She’s only four years old.”
“Do you really believe her?”
“You can’t ignore a four-year-old who knows the phrase ‘unannounced tax audit.'”
“I’ll investigate immediately.”
The lieutenant rushed out of the room.
The Duke and I stared at each other in silence.
“He’s really scary…”
Despite possessing incredible looks, immense wealth, and overwhelming power…
He still didn’t have a wife.
It wasn’t difficult to guess why.
Most women probably found him impossible to approach.
A short while later, several maids entered the room.
“May we take the young lady to bathe?”
“Yes.”
One of the maids gently took me into her arms.
And just like that…
I was carried out of the room.
