Chapter 1
Muriel Terny took her own life.
Noāmore accurately, she only attempted to.
The poison she had swallowed was later discovered to be nothing more than sleeping pills.
“Did she really try to die?”
“No way. She was just acting to fool the lord.”
Even the servants, who had briefly felt uneasy at the thought that she might have truly attempted suicide, quickly returned to their usual habit of criticizing Muriel once it was concluded that the whole incident had been nothing more than a disturbance.
The wicked woman of House Terny.
A devilish woman who only committed evil deeds.
A terrible wife who everyone wished would disappear for the sake of the poor lord.
That was what Muriel Terny was in the ducal castle of Winterberg.
I was sure I had died.
But when I opened my eyes, I found myself in an unfamiliar place.
Not long after I realized that, a woman suddenly stormed into the room and slapped me across the face.
Smack!
Covering my burning cheek, I staggered slightly and let out a quiet groan.
Then came an elegant voice that sounded almost theatrical.
“How utterly disgusting. Muriel, you truly are the worst.”
I slowly turned my head toward her.
Pink hair like spring blossoms.
Eyes the color of clear water.
She was so lovely that it was hard to believe someone like her could exist.
“Starting a fake suicide just to get Raul’s attention? Were you really that desperate? And on the anniversary of the late Duke and Duchess of Winterberg’s deaths!”
Muriel?
Raul?
Those names were familiar.
Of course they were.
Muriel Terny.
Raul Winterberg.
They were the main characters from the regret novel I couldn’t stop thinking about until the very moment I died from my terminal illness.
…She definitely just called me Muriel, didn’t she?
If I’m Muriel… then the person in front of me is…
Sienna Castell.
The princess of the neighboring Kingdom of Castell, and Raul’s childhood friend.
“Your father, Duke Terny, murdered Raul’s parents so cruelly…! How can you possibly…!”
Breathing heavily with anger, Sienna took a deep breath and bit her lip.
Soon, she regained the dignity expected of royalty and scolded me in a firm voice.
“After committing so many crimes, not only do you refuse to repent, you pretend to be the victim and deceive everyone. And now you’ve caused this ridiculous incident… You should be ashamed of yourself.”
“…”
I parted my lips.
I had no idea what was happening.
I wasn’t even the real Muriel.
But hearing those words still felt unfair.
Because every crime Muriel was blamed for had actually been fabricated.
“I’ve already spoken to Raul. I suggested that you be exiled to the Contaminated Zone, according to the laws of Winterberg.”
“Ah…”
“Meeting a miserable end there is the only ending that suits you. Muriel Ternyāthe wicked woman of House Terny.”
After glaring at me with utter contempt as I sat on the floor, Sienna turned on her heel and walked away.
“…”
I remained frozen for quite some time.
Only when sunlight gradually brightened the dark room did reality finally sink in.
…I think I’ve possessed someone.
The tragic heroine of the regret novel with the bad ending.
Muriel Terny.
I had been an orphan.
At twenty-one, I was diagnosed with an incurable terminal illness.
Maybe that was why I became so emotionally invested in Muriel, who lived a life so similar to mine.
I wanted her to be happy.
But Muriel suffered her entire life before dying.
Meanwhile, the male lead Raul barely spent even a hamster’s eyelash worth of time regretting everything.
Why did it end like this?
Why couldn’t Muriel ever be happy?
I kept dwelling on that unfair ending until the very moment I died.
Maybe that was why I ended up possessing Muriel.
“…”
Rattle.
Rattle.
Inside the swaying carriage,
I sat across from Raul, staring out the window.
From the moment I got into the carriage, I could feel his relentless gaze stabbing into me, making my skin prickle.
Still, I stubbornly avoided looking at him.
As if determined to ignore my wishes, his cold voice cut through the silence.
“I have to admit, your acting is impressive. Did you fake your death just to get my attention?”
“…?”
No.
She had genuinely intended to die.
His shameless accusation left me speechless.
“And of all days, you chose the anniversary of my parents’ deaths. You have insulted the late Duke and Duchess of Winterberg.”
Well…
At that point, Muriel had been in such terrible mental condition thatā
Would she really have had the peace of mind to think about the late duke and duchess’s memorial day?
The Houses of Terny and Winterberg had been bitter enemies for generations.
So how had Muriel ended up marrying Raul?
Because the king wanted to settle the conflict within the kingdom.
Forced by royal decree, Muriel and Raul entered a marriage neither of them wanted as a symbol of reconciliation.
But…
Raul despised Muriel for being the daughter of his enemy.
He constantly treated her coldly and insulted her.
And he wasn’t the only one.
Everyone in Winterberg Castle rejected and tormented Muriel.
The one who committed the crime was Duke Terny, not Muriel.
Besides, Muriel wasn’t even the duke’s biological daughter.
Unable to endure everyone’s hatred any longer, Muriel drank poison in an attempt to end her life.
Except…
It turned out to be sleeping pills.
The pharmacist had scammed her.
So Muriel merely slept for two days as if dead before waking up…
That was the story up until the point where I possessed her.
“The fact that you kept sneaking into my bedroom every night was utterly disgusting.”
“…”
That was because the maids kept releasing rats and insects into Muriel’s room, forcing her to run away.
“Do you honestly believe I’d ever want to sleep with you? I’d rather die than share a bed with a woman who makes me sick just by looking at her.”
Wow… what a complete piece of trash.
Inside my head, I gave him a sarcastic round of applause.
“A decision regarding your punishment has already been made. Stop pretending to be the victim in an attempt to escape responsibility.”
Pretending to be the victim?
You’ve got to be kidding.
You don’t know anything.
I wanted to argue.
I wanted to clear Muriel’s name.
But…
He wouldn’t believe me anyway.
That’s exactly how it happened in the original novel.
Right.
No point wasting my energy.
Ignoring him was the better choice.
I turned my gaze back toward the window.
I could still feel his dissatisfied stare, but I simply stopped caring.
A short while later, the carriage reached its destination.
“From today onward, this is where you’ll live.”
A shabby cabin stood before a black forest.
Around it stretched a barren wasteland where not even a single blade of grass grew.
This was the place where Muriel had been exiled after suffering endless false accusations at Winterberg Castle.
“Do not take even a single step beyond this place. Live here as though you’re already dead. That is the smallest mercy I am willing to show you.”
…So my real suffering begins.
“Now that you’ve been exiled, you’re officially a criminal. Even if you die here, House Terny will have no grounds to protest.”
Protest?
As if they would.
They’d probably celebrate my death.
Muriel was nothing more than discarded trash to House Terny.
Though, of course…
Raul didn’t know that.
“Food and daily necessities will be delivered once every month. As you can see, everything around here is contaminated land.”
He was right.
This was a contaminated area.
Living here wouldn’t kill someone immediately.
But staying longer than six months was dangerous.
Your physical abilities would gradually decline.
Your skin and internal organs would deteriorate beyond repair.
The Muriel from the original story…
Had become so weak she could barely live normally.
Eventually, she even developed an incurable illness.
“Let me repeat this one last time.”
Raul’s blue eyes flashed coldly.
The only emotion they held was hatred toward House Terny.
“I could poison you without leaving any evidence. I could even disguise it as an accident. Be grateful that I chose to let you live.”
Ah… yes.
Thank you so very much.
Should I bow while I’m at it?
I secretly shot him a glare.
“…If you need anything, send a request to Winterberg Castle. A servant will come once a week.”
That servant probably won’t come.
Every single servant in Winterberg wanted Muriel dead.
“Then, spend your days reflecting on your sins.”
After the infuriating future-regretful idiot left with his usual icy attitude, I stepped inside the cabin and looked around.
Just as I expected…
The furniture was old and worn out.
The windows looked as though cold wind would blow through them at any moment.
The wooden floor was covered with thick dust.
Spiderwebs hung from the walls and ceiling.
I couldn’t help letting out a sigh.
“…First, let’s clean.”
I threw open every window.
Then I dusted off all the furniture.
After that, I swept and scrubbed the floor with all my strength.
I cleaned the window frames.
The walls too.
About thirty minutes later…
The cabin wasn’t sparkling clean…
But at least it looked decent enough to live in.
“Heh. Cleaning really is one of my specialties.”
Feeling rather proud, I looked around the cabin.
It was old, but it wasn’t a terrible place for one person to live.
Since I had finished cleaning, I stepped outside and sat weakly on the bench beneath the porch.
How am I supposed to survive here from now on?
At the very least, I had to endure living here for one or two months.
Only after that could I think about escaping in the middle of the night.
With Muriel’s pathetic stamina, traveling alone was impossible.
I’d collapse and die on the roadside.
For now, my goal is to build up my strength.
The problem was food.
In the original novel, Muriel barely survived on the food and supplies the servants brought every month.
Couldn’t I do the same?
No…
Probably not.
Because…
Those bastards stole everything.
There was a small storage shed beside the cabin.
Inside were several boxes that the servants were supposedly supposed to leave behind.
But when I opened them…
Every single one was empty.
I don’t know why, but this is different from the original story.
The servants had bullied Muriel before, yes.
But not to this extent.
“…Sigh. I’m a transmigrator too. Couldn’t I at least get some kind of cheat ability?”
I muttered to myself with another deep sigh.
Thenā
“…?”
A strange sensation suddenly caught my attention.
Slowly, I raised my head.
Something unusual shimmered before my eyes.
A mysterious blue light floated in the air, almost close enough to touch.
Its shape gradually became clearer.
Until…
ā¶ā¶ā¶ Adjusting connection status… Please wait.
It transformed into a window that looked exactly like something from a video game.
“What is this…?”
Was I hallucinating?
I blinked several times.
Rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand.
Looked again.
The glowing blue window was still floating in front of me.
Could this be…
A status window?
ā² Connection complete! Updating soon. (Estimated time remaining: 29 seconds…)
Fwoosh!
The screen emitted a brilliant light and expanded in size.
Then familiar words appeared before me.
Congratulations!
You have obtained the special bonus: āHealing Farm Lifeā
From this moment on, you will receive skills and items for your new farming life.
May the system always guide your way, and we wish you a happy farming life! ā”
