Chapter 1
The fire blazed.
A horrific inferno that swallowed the ducal castle whole. The sudden attack from the enemy, the House of Stafol, quickly dyed the fortress in red.
The allied forces had deployed all their troops to the north for a final strike.
But contrary to expectations, Stafol targeted the south. The unguarded inner castle was engulfed in thick smoke in an instant.
Who on earth…?
Rowena, the eldest daughter of the Greymont Ducal House, bit her lip.
Military secrets had been leaked. Otherwise, Stafol’s ambush made no sense.
It had been the perfect opportunity. A chance to end the centuries-long war with the House of Stafol.
But someone’s betrayal had completely destroyed that chance—turning a certain victory into defeat.
She couldn’t even begin to guess who the traitor was.
But there was no time to dwell on it. The flames set by the invading soldiers were already spreading deep into the castle.
She had to escape.
The castle would fall today, but as long as a member of the Greymont bloodline survived, there would still be hope to gather their scattered people and strike back someday.
So—
“Trying to run?”
At that moment, Otille appeared outside the bedroom door.
Otille—Rowena’s closest friend, and the only daughter of the Fairborn Count family, a long-time vassal of Greymont.
She had always been kind and supportive, but today her eyes were cold.
“Sorry, but it’s already too late to run. The Duke of Greymont has been beheaded, and your brother fled after being stabbed. Even if you survive, there’s no hope left for Greymont.”
She spoke as if it meant nothing. A chilling sense of dread crept up Rowena’s spine.
“…No way.”
“Otille… did you betray Greymont?”
“……”
“Was it you? The one who leaked our military secrets to Stafol?!”
At Rowena’s desperate cry, Otille smirked.
“Yeah.”
Rowena felt as if the fire in the castle had spread into her chest.
“Why…?”
“Because I got bored.”
“…What?”
Otille slowly raised her gaze.
“I was sick of it. You were just born into a ducal family, yet everyone praises you like you’re something special.”
“……”
“And if you won this war, it would only get worse. I couldn’t stand it. Honestly, what do the nobles even do? They sit safely and give orders while the lower ranks suffer, yet they take all the credit.”
Rowena clenched her fists until her nails dug into her palms.
“If we lose this war… do you think you’ll be safe?”
Otille burst out laughing.
“You naive fool. Stafol already agreed to accept the Fairborn family in exchange for the information I gave them. Do you think I’d act without securing my future?”
Her lips curled.
“Oh, and the Winsrop Marquis family is with us too.”
Rowena’s breathing faltered.
The Fairborns were Otille’s family—but the Winsrops were Greymont’s most loyal allies.
And Rowena’s fiancé was the head of that family.
No… Everett would never betray me…
As she tried to deny reality, Otille smiled slyly.
“You’re wondering why I mentioned them, right? It’s because I didn’t act alone. Your fiancé, Everett, helped me.”
“That’s ridiculous. That’s impossible.”
“Don’t believe me? Then look at this.”
Otille raised her hand, showing a loose ring on her finger.
It was an engagement ring—Rowena and Everett’s.
“…Why do you have that?”
“Why do you think?”
Rowena couldn’t respond.
She knew Everett wasn’t foolish enough to lose something that important.
If the ring was in someone else’s hand, it meant he had given it willingly.
She had to accept it.
The two people she trusted most—her closest friend and her fiancé—had been plotting behind her back all along.
And yet she had been blind, letting the castle fall into hell.
At that moment, Otille began pouring oil near the door.
“So just die here, Rowena. Even if you escape, the world will be an even worse hell for the defeated.”
She dropped a lit match.
Flames roared up, blocking the only exit.
“This is my last kindness to you.”
With a smiling face, she said goodbye.
“Farewell, Rowena.”
Then she disappeared beyond the flames.
“……”
Left alone, Rowena bit her lip.
Her anger burned hotter than the fire around her.
But the screams of the people and the hellish scene outside the window snapped her back to reality.
There was too much at stake to be consumed by rage.
Father is dead… my brother fled injured…
That meant she was the only remaining direct bloodline whose fate was known.
She had to survive.
Only then could she reclaim the castle—and drive a blade into the hearts of those traitors.
At that thought, she grabbed the oil lamp and poured it over herself.
The foul-smelling whale oil soaked her body.
She struck a match.
Flames reflected in her eyes.
There was a secret she had never told anyone—not even Everett or Otille.
A special technique passed down only among certain members of the Greymont family.
She was one of them.
One of those techniques… allows me to transfer my soul into another body.
It could only be used once.
And the condition was to burn her own body.
A horrifying pain where the flesh melts away—that was the price.
Without hesitation, she set herself on fire.
As her body burned, she engraved the betrayal and rage of this day into her soul.
Her father’s death. Her brother’s escape.
I will never forget this day.
With her eyes wide open, Rowena burned along with the collapsing castle.
***
A flash.
When Rowena opened her eyes again, she was lying on a hard bed in a small, dark room.
She quickly checked her body.
Smooth skin. A slender figure.
…I’m alive.
But she couldn’t relax yet.
When transferring souls, one enters the body of someone on the verge of death—specifically someone who attempted suicide.
So this body’s owner must have been in a terrible situation.
She looked around and found a mirror.
A pale face, delicate features, golden eyes, and long blonde hair.
A fragile kind of beauty—completely different from her original appearance.
I don’t like this face.
Judging by the worn clothes, this body belonged to a maid.
She checked a calendar—several days had passed.
Searching the room, she found a newspaper and a diary.
She read the newspaper first.
[Fall of Greymont Castle, Missing Members of the Ducal Family]
It reported that the duke had died, and both his son Lucan and daughter Rowena had disappeared.
It even described Rowena as a cruel villain.
Rowena crumpled the paper.
The article was clearly biased propaganda from Stafol.
In the end, the loser becomes the villain.
Still, one thing stood out—her brother’s body hadn’t been found.
He might still be alive.
Next, she opened the diary.
The body’s owner was named Clarissa.
A maid living a miserable life, harassed by a butler named George.
Driven to the brink, she had decided to end her life.
Pathetic bastard…
“Clarissa!”
Suddenly, the door burst open with an angry shout.
