PRKE 03

CHAPTER 03………………………………..

‘I really almost succeeded.’

When Mother died in Hubert’s place, and the family began discussing compensation for her sacrifice, I moved faster than ever.

I gathered every book and newspaper related to marriage and spread them everywhere, even hired obscure actors to pretend to be passersby and casually mention marriage.

All to plant the word marriage in everyone’s subconscious.

Thanks to my efforts, someone even suggested taking me in as the new Countess, as part of the “compensation.”

Of course, that too was something I orchestrated by bribing and coaxing the Lorenst household servants with money and flattery. But still—
the discussion did happen.

‘If only the king hadn’t interfered.’

I used to think that.
If not for the king’s objection, who knows what might have happened.

‘But looking back, that was all theater too. After that article came out about Hubert’s supposed proposal, I got slandered while Hubert was praised.’

No matter how hard I tried, I never could have become Hubert’s wife.
Just as I could never truly become a member of this family’s bloodline—even if I ground my bones to dust in loyalty.

I wrinkled my nose as I pulled the perfectly baked white bread from the oven.
The savory smell of butter lifted my mood.

‘Is it okay to adapt this fast?’

It was unavoidable—
the space, the actions, everything was too familiar.

“That’s enough, Miss. I think I can take it from here.”

A kitchen maid with egg stains on her white apron spoke to me.

“Miss?”

I tossed the freshly baked bread onto a plate.

“The food’s already been served. You can take your time.”

“But the portions were small—we’ll need to send out more.”

I ignored her concern and handed her a bottle of cold water from the ice room.

“Oh goodness, thank you.”

No matter how familiar this place felt, the heat was real—her face was red as a heated stone as she drank.

As soon as she finished, she shot me another worried look, silently asking why I wasn’t going back out yet.

At that rate, it was impossible not to move my feet.

When my head fell into the guillotine and I later opened my eyes in my own bed, I had no time to feel grateful to be alive or moved by traveling back in time.
Ordinary life attacked me immediately.

Carefully plating dishes in the kitchen made me realize it for real:
I’d returned to the past.

Pulling a tray along the corridor toward the dining room gave me a strange feeling.
My steps grew sluggish like a lazy bear.
There was no real need to hurry.

The dining room smelled pleasantly of flowers—so different from the kitchen.

Half-finished dishes still sat on the round table; the maids must have cleared away the empty ones.

And the sweet, intimate conversation floating in the air made my ears buzz like an annoying insect’s wings.

“Hubert, taste this. It’s so delicious.”

“You should eat more than I do. How will your thin body handle running around the temple and studying doctrines? I’m worried about you—that’s why I haven’t sent you to the temple academy yet.”

His gentle, caring voice was dripping with affection.

‘Didn’t she run away from the temple academy because she said it was too boring?’

I placed the dishes on the table.

Aris may be slim, but she’s perfectly healthy. Treating her like a fragile patient was absurd.

If she had any condition at all, it would be selective migraines.
The kind that flare up depending on mood and environment.

‘That’s actually a fairly accurate diagnosis.’

In other words—she was faking it.

I set the freshly baked bread down.
A pale but sturdy male hand reached out, grabbed the bread, sliced it, and spread fig jam over half before bringing it to Aris’s lips.

“I put your favorite jam on it. No excuses now. Go on.”

“Oh, come on, how can I eat all of this?”

“You can drink milk with it. And if you don’t eat, you’ll get scolded.”

“Hmph. And how exactly will you scold me?”

“Want me to show you? Are you prepared?”

“No! Okay, okay, I’ll eat it. I’ll eat.”

Listening to their flirty bickering made something twist unpleasantly inside me.

I glanced around—the maids serving them looked completely unfazed.
And why would they be?
They’d seen this scene a thousand times.

My gaze landed on Aris.

Aris Dolensia.

Beautiful but ignorant. Blessed but selfish.
A noble lady of impeccable lineage.

She was the ward of Lady Emern, the former Countess and current Viscountess, and a collateral relative of Lorenst blood.

I remembered vividly when they had first arrived at the estate.

I had been tasked with ensuring the new family members felt no discomfort.

The grand carriage they arrived in, the white stone path, the blooming flowerbeds—
I had prepared all of it.

Had I not been inducted into the household as a foster daughter, I would probably be working as the estate’s butler by now.

A sudden, foolish laugh slipped out.
The thought amused me.

‘What difference does it make?’

Only my status changed; the work remained the same.

‘A thief almost climbed her way up.’

I looked down at my hands—the hands carrying their food.

The dishes I had made with such care to feed Hubert and Aris, while I hadn’t eaten a single bite myself.

The title might as well have been:
A Final Meal for My Enemies.

‘It’s so ridiculous it’s not even funny.’

I hadn’t planned revenge.
But…

“Ha… honestly.”

Watching them made my stomach churn.

I repay insults with insults and kindness with kindness.
But I’d already repaid every kindness they’d ever shown—more than the price of a single loaf of bread.

‘Now it’s time to repay the betrayal, isn’t it?’

I looked at Hubert and Aris dining leisurely.

‘It’s still surreal.’

The two people I cursed before dying were sitting right in front of me, alive and well.

The feeling was stranger than seeing my younger reflection in the mirror.

Had I dreamed a prophetic dream?
Was it all just nonsense?

But the moment I saw Leo’s spirit stone—once shining beautifully and now dull like a pebble in the street—every doubt vanished.

The rusty guillotine blade that surely held traces of countless victims.

The people who hurled accusations at me.

The nobles who looked at me like filth—and Hubert Lorenst, who denounced me among them, with Aris Dolensia in his arms.

The Leo who disappeared in my place.

It had all happened.

‘And it will all happen again.’

Oh.
Our eyes met.

Hubert smiled warmly.

“Thank you for your work, Igrein.”

“…”

“For dessert, please bring Aris’s favorite—cherry sherbet.”

A shock ran down my spine.

‘Oh, look at this.’

Even a thief who survives on stolen goods has more shame than this man.

‘Wait—why am I cooking for these shameless bastards?’

I stared at the beautifully plated dishes on the table, and anger swelled like an overboiling pot.

‘Ugh, but what am I supposed to do?’

I felt confused.

Part of me wanted to flip the entire table over, but the identity of being a maid-turned-foster-daughter froze my body in place.

“Big sister.”

Aris called me.

“…Hm?”

I forced my head to turn, and she frowned prettily, like a lightning bolt drawn across her forehead.

“This is too salty.”

She pointed at the marinated beef.

The moment I saw the dish, all sorts of information flashed through my mind:

The highest-grade veal, procured because Aris only liked tender meat.

‘I remember the stress from dealing with that picky merchant guild.’

He irritated me so much that I stole his favorite fountain pen…

“The meat is fine, but the seasoning is a bit lacking. You made this, didn’t you?”

That snapped the last thread of my restraint.

I pulled my hands away from the plates and walked to the opposite seat across from the two of them.

Thud.

The thick layers of my dress made the chair rattle loudly as I sat—a sound like dust scattering.

One maid glared at me.

Georgiana.

Despite her innocent appearance, she constantly compared Aris and me and made sure everyone knew how unfit I was to be a lady of the household.
She served Aris.

Next to her stood Rosa, her friend, a maid from the kitchen.

‘How dare she glare at me when I’m her superior.’

“What are you doing, Igrein?”

Hubert’s displeased voice cut through the air as I turned from the maid to him.
Everyone was staring at me now.

“I’m going to eat. It’s mealtime, isn’t it?”

“…”

“…Is that a problem?”

Aris’s jaw dropped as if she’d just witnessed blasphemy.
Her surprise gave me an odd sense of satisfaction.

The Count’s estate was refined and elegant—but suffocating.

Maid or foster daughter, my status had changed, but my nature remained that of a street thief.

After a moment of silence, Hubert said:

“There’s no problem.”

“Great. I’ve been working since morning—I need to eat something. I can’t just keep serving, can I?”

I ignored Aris’s stare, clearly asking, Isn’t that your job?, and flicked my finger to the side.

“Georgiana?”

“Y-yes?”

I pointed at the tray arrogantly.

“Give me a plate. And put the salmon pie in front of me. I feel like seafood more than meat today.”

“Ah… yes.”

Grudgingly, Georgiana brought my plate over, repeatedly glancing at Hubert and Aris as if waiting—no, hoping—for them to scold me.

I snorted internally.

‘What did I do?’

A foster daughter of the Count’s family sat down to eat and asked a servant to serve her.
That was all.

Georgiana’s reaction meant that in her mind, I was closer to a servant than to a lady of the house.

I spooned a piece of salmon pie onto my plate.

The savory smell made my mouth water.
The taste spread delightfully as soon as I bit in.

‘It’s delicious…’

Tears pricked my eyes.

Salmon was a rare luxury even in the Count’s estate, and I could hardly ever eat it.
Despite loving seafood, I rarely had the chance—unlike Aris, who’d eaten so much she was sick of it.

All those salmon pies I’d served her over the years…
The injustice boiled up again.

I stuffed a big bite into my mouth to keep myself from yelling.

Silence fell over the dining room.
An ice-cold silence.

No one moved.
Everyone just stared at me.