Chapter 1
Why am I dying?
“What exactly was put into Stelshernin’s body?”
“This amount shouldn’t be enough to kill her. She has been trained to resist poison since childhood… She’ll be fine. Let’s inject more of the experimental serum.”
Gasping for breath, I looked at the two men talking.
I had long since lost my sense of time, but it felt like I had endured at least four months of human experimentation.
Afraid that I might swing a sword, they had tied both my arms behind my back with ropes.
Afraid that I might cast magic, they had stuffed a gag into my mouth.
One of the men met my eyes and stared at me in fascination.
“Those jewel-like eyes… No matter how many times I see them, they’re truly remarkable.”
“Stop admiring them and give her the injection.”
Those were the last words I heard.
Then I died.
Again… I’ve returned again.
This was already my fourth life.
Before I was reincarnated into this world, I had been dirt poor.
I had never received allowance money.
Shopping and eating out were things my family could never even dream of.
“You should be grateful you weren’t born in Africa!”
My father would always shout that whenever he was drunk.
Dad, people in developing countries probably live better than we do. Or at least about the same.
I always wanted to say it.
But I never did.
I envy them.
When I was little, I admired celebrities living glamorous lives.
They earned lots of money.
They were beautiful.
They were popular.
And what about people born with silver spoons?
They inherited luxury goods, real estate, and stocks.
At least they don’t have to worry about the things I do.
I hated going to school.
“Do you know where she lives? It’s practically falling apart. You can’t even call it a house. I bet they’re renting it too.”
“I heard she wears the same clothes every day.”
“A one-outfit lady.”
I hated hearing my classmates whisper behind my back.
So I rarely spent time with anyone.
I was simply known as the quiet girl.
My only hobby was reading web novels that became free if you waited.
I especially loved villainess stories.
Compared to kind-hearted heroines, I preferred villainesses who confidently crushed anyone standing in their way.
If I were the one reincarnated as a villainess, I could’ve done much better.
Maybe it was because I had never been confident in real life.
Or because I had spent years working part-time at a convenience store, forced to smile even at abusive customers.
I should’ve told those kids that mocking someone for being poor was disgusting.
I should’ve stopped smiling and called the police on that awful customer.
Every night before sleeping, I replayed all the unfair things that had happened to me.
I should have.
But I never did.
Then one day, I suddenly woke up in another world.
I hadn’t died in a traffic accident like in the novels.
I hadn’t been struck by lightning either.
I had simply… opened my eyes in another world.
Maybe I adapted so quickly because I was sick of poverty.
Besides, I had read enough romance fantasy novels to know this kind of beginning.
Unlike those heroines who cried endlessly after reincarnating, I had always found them frustrating.
I’m even a noble.
I’m unbelievably beautiful.
And my family is rich.
Can I finally live like a proper villainess?
Back then, I had been full of hope.
Unfortunately, life was never that easy.
There was no original novel here.
But if I had to describe this world’s genre…
It was closer to a dark tragedy.
In other words—
The survival difficulty was hell.
And everywhere you looked, there were powerful people and villains.
In my first life, I was sold as the fourth wife of an insignificant noble.
Then the first wife poisoned me to death.
Our family’s ancient enemy—
The House of Catobleta of the Mist—
had completely crushed my family,
The House of Stelshernin of the Sun,
and treated us like conquered subjects.
They sold me off for their own benefit.
Being powerless really is miserable.
In my second life, I decided that becoming stronger was the only answer.
That part was a success.
I found a hidden sword master and became his disciple.
The problem was… my master was insane.
He put a sword in my hands and forced me to kill countless people.
I couldn’t resist.
Thanks to the knowledge from my previous life, I managed to save my family.
But my mind was shattered.
In the end, I refused to keep killing people… and my own master killed me.
In my third life, I never sought him out.
I protected my family.
Everything went smoothly.
Then someone discovered that I was actually from Earth.
“That body contains the soul of someone from another world!”
The Pope had uncovered my secret.
After that…
My life became hell.
The strongest people in the world were always bored.
To them, someone carrying the soul of another world was the perfect toy.
I was kidnapped.
Locked away.
Brainwashed.
Tortured.
Abused.
“…I escaped.”
Only after finally dying…
…did I return for my fourth life.
My own voice sounded unfamiliar.
I always returned to the spring when I was seventeen.
Outside the window, the weather was beautiful.
Unfortunately…
My circumstances were not.
“…Miss? Are you feeling unwell?”
I was sitting before a mirror while two maids dressed me.
Would it be troublesome if they found out I’d regressed again?
Keeping a calm expression, I answered,
“No. Continue.”
As a member of The House of Stelshernin of the Sun, I had inherited our family’s distinctive appearance.
My long silver hair shimmered with countless tiny golden lights, like scattered stars.
Some people called them fragments of the sun.
I preferred calling them golden dust.
My eyes, inherited from my mother, who was famous for enchanting everyone she met, were a brilliant sapphire blue.
In the mirror stood the face people often described as—
“A woman whose beauty ruined her life.”
Even though the House of Stelshernin is a family of villains, the reason they forced me to drink concentrated pheromone extract from childhood in my first life was because of this face.
There was a reason I had been sold as the fourth wife.
To House Catobleta, I was merely a beautiful spy meant to seduce a noble.
Instead, the legitimate wife became jealous…
…and poisoned me.
I quietly closed my eyes.
I felt the maid dusting powder across my cheeks.
My goal…
…is to become someone beyond the reach of the law.
I never wanted to die again.
Getting stronger won’t solve anything.
No matter how powerful I became,
someone even stronger would always appear.
I was already strong enough.
Did I really have to keep chasing endless strength?
I had already suffered enough endless competition back in Korea.
Entrance exams.
Building my résumé.
I was tired of constantly struggling.
But…
I hated being looked down on even more.
I hated being powerless.
I hated unreasonable people.
I hated anyone above me.
And I hated being ordered around.
Unfortunately, this empire placed enormous authority in the hands of the Emperor.
As long as I remained a noble of this empire,
I would always be nothing more than another cog in its class system.
Should I flee to another country?
No.
People were the same everywhere.
If I obtained political power myself… I’d probably work myself to death.
I had already exhausted myself working part-time jobs in Korea.
There was no way I was going to spend this life working until I died too.
So there was only one answer.
To become someone beyond the reach of all authority.
A place where power, wealth, fame, even the law itself—
could no longer touch me.
That was where I intended to stand.
She should be here any moment now.
Bang!
“What are you doing, Sister?!”
The door burst open.
Without even knocking,
my half-sister,
Talesset,
walked inside.
“…You’re still as rude as ever.”
“Still?”
There was something strange about the way she repeated my words.
I signaled for the maids to stop and calmly stood.
The hem of my brilliant red dress flowed elegantly across the floor.
She stabbed my servants.
The two attendants guarding the door were clutching their bleeding stomachs.
After glancing at the servant coughing up blood,
I turned toward Talesset.
“Do you realize we’re already going to be late for the baron’s birthday ball?!”
Only then did it truly sink in.
I had just returned.
“If the only thing you’re good for is seducing men, then go charm the baron or flirt your way into his bed and at least make yourself useful!”
Someone aiming to become untouchable by the law…
…couldn’t allow herself to be treated like this by a half-sister two years younger.
To be honest,
every member of House Stelshernin was trash.
Every single one of them committed terrible crimes.
Of course,
that was only by modern standards.
Inside this family,
that was considered completely normal.
“Just because you were born with pretty eyes doesn’t mean you’re special! You’re dead last in the succession rankings!”
Talesset had always bullied me more than anyone else.
And nobody ever stopped her.
Within House Stelshernin, every child competed to inherit the family.
Your rank determined how you were treated.
There was no affection between siblings.
We barely even called each other brothers or sisters.
We simply referred to one another as fellow candidates.
Until I turned seventeen,
I had ranked dead last.
Even now,
none of the servants dared interfere.
If I don’t want anyone to suspect I’ve regressed…
I’ll simply pretend I’ve been hiding my strength all along.
Looking at the furious Talesset,
I calmly said,
“I’m not going.”
“…What?”
“I’m not going.”
Attending the party had originally been my assigned mission.
But that would soon change anyway.
The moment I answered so casually,
Talesset froze,
her fan still in her hand.
“If someone has to go, you go.”
Naturally,
she wasn’t the type to accept that calmly.
After staring blankly,
she burst into laughter.
“Have you gone insane? Why would I attend that perverted baron’s birthday party? Do you want to die by my hand just like your mother and sister did?”
“No.”
“You’ll be the one dying by mine.”
“…What did you just say, you worthless insect?!”
Talesset specialized in assassination.
She coated the sharp edge of her fan with deadly poison before killing people.
Even among the cruel Stelshernins,
she stood out.
She was the one…
…who murdered my mother and my older sister.
“Save me… Letiana…”
My sister’s desperate voice echoed through my mind.
If Talesset could kill even her own blood relatives,
there was no reason she’d spare anyone else.
She frequently murdered poor people for amusement.
More than that,
she loved abusing children and animals.
She stitched them together into chimeras,
then laughed while watching dogs and children scream in agony.
Even the servants of House Stelshernin,
who were already accustomed to cruelty,
often felt sick whenever they were around Talesset.
Whenever she committed those atrocities,
her fan danced gracefully through the air.
That was why she treasured it more than anything.
“H-How did you…”
For the first time in her life,
the fan had been taken from her.
Now it rested in my hand.
Smiling,
I replied,
“You shouldn’t treat other people’s servants like this.”
“So…”
“How does it feel when it happens to you?”
“W-What… what is this?!”
“You still haven’t figured it out?”
A thin cut ran across Talesset’s body.
Her eyes widened in disbelief.
It was magnificent.
I had wanted to see that expression at least once.
My father,
the head of House Stelshernin,
had eighteen daughters
and twenty-five sons.
Among them,
I had always been known as the weakest—
a pretty face with no real strength.
Until today.
“How… could the lowest-ranked candidate… defeat me…?”
Her legs gave out,
and she collapsed to her knees before me.
Meeting her eyes,
I quietly answered,
“I’ve been hiding my strength all this time.”
“Impossible…!”
The poison spread through her body.
Little by little,
she became unable to move.
I watched calmly until her very last breath.
When I looked up,
the servants were staring at me,
their shock mixed with newfound respect.
“Report to Father.”
“Tell him Letiana has killed Talesset…”
“…and risen to ninth place in the succession rankings.”
I handed Talesset’s fan to one of the maids.
“Do it.”
“Y-Yes, Miss.”
The maids hurriedly bowed.
Only then…
did I finally feel at ease.
From now on, I would receive only the respect and treatment I truly deserved.
