Prologue
Sunlight scattered brilliantly across the leaves of the hawthorn tree. Under a sky without a single cloud, any worry seemed to lose its gravity.
On a beautiful afternoon, the laughter of lovers filled the walking path. Meanwhile, the investigators, who hadn’t looked at the sky even once past noon, wore faces so grim they seemed ready to explode if disturbed.
The series of assassination attempts had paralyzed their work. Knowing the situation at the Imperial Security Department’s Criminal Investigation Bureau, I didn’t take offense at the investigators’ rudeness when they didn’t even greet me upon my arrival.
“Ahem… may I have a moment?”
I addressed a middle-aged investigator who looked experienced enough to have handled serious cases, only to receive a suspicious glare that struck like an arrow.
“I have business regarding the security of the imperial household.”
The nameplate on the desk read “Wulf.” Seeing the honorable badge pinned to his collar—an award only given to investigators with over ten years of service—I knew I had found the right person.
“Excuse me, but what is your position?”
“Don’t worry. I’m not a suspicious person.”
“Judging by your appearance, that’s hardly reassuring.”
Looking like a petty thief with my hood covering my hair and tinted glasses masking my face, it was no wonder I drew wary glances.
Still, I couldn’t reveal my identity. After carefully disguising myself, would I really casually tell anyone that I was the Thirteenth Princess Consort?
“This matter is serious, so I’d like to remain unidentified. In fact, I already know the identity of the spy.”
“A spy?”
To ordinary citizens, that word conjures thoughts of enemy agents; to investigators, it usually signals a false report.
Wulf seemed uninterested, responding half-heartedly as though it wasn’t worth his time.
“So, who’s the spy? The newlywed next door? A fruit vendor? Or you?”
“The Thirteenth Prince, Rosinante.”
At that moment, the hand that had been flipping through documents like shooing away a fly froze abruptly.
“Sir, one does not speak recklessly in front of an investigator.”
“I’m not joking. The real Prince Rosinante defected to the enemy country, and the one here is a fake switched at a young age—”
“Yes, yes, understood. So, you’re saying the prince is the spy? I’m a bit busy, so you’ll have to continue the story elsewhere.”
Wulf pointed toward the exit, clearly meaning, don’t bother me, now leave.
This left me with no choice. Boldly, I removed my glasses and hood.
The flow of the room shifted, and all eyes turned toward me. Thankfully, Wulf didn’t embarrass me with comments like, “So you were hiding such extraordinary beauty.”
“I am Levieta, Thirteenth Princess Consort. Now, will you take this report seriously?”
“So, the target of the report is none other than…”
“Yes. The spy is my husband!”
The man pretending to be the Thirteenth Prince, playing the role of my husband, was an imposter—a spy from the enemy nation acting as the prince’s double.
The real prince had been swapped with a spy in childhood and defected to the enemy. He would survive and eventually seize the throne.
There wasn’t much time left before the real Rosinante, the protagonist of this world, returned to his homeland.
Before the male lead returned, I had to abandon my husband. For a trivial supporting villain like me, now was the right time to step away.
“Arrest him. Before I change my mind.”
As the surrounding investigators grabbed their handcuffs, I shut my eyes tightly, like someone refusing to face reality.
This wasn’t my plan from the beginning.
I only wanted revenge, yet somehow I had become entangled with the spy pretending to be the male lead. To explain everything, I had to go back to the moment immediately after my reincarnation.
1.
In short, I miraculously came back to life.
The moment I closed my eyes as I was dying to become a sacrificial seal, I opened them again to find my wounds completely healed, the blood-soaked prison gone, and the reception room of a mansion unfolding before me.
Seeing a familiar place from a child’s perspective stirred a vague sense of déjà vu.
Could it be…
Had I regained the memories of my past life just as I was dying?
With my Korean identity intact, my expression grew uneasy.
Though there were few happy memories from my previous life in the book I’d possessed, there was plenty of useful information—like how to travel back in time.
I’ve returned to the past?!
A mukbang streamer. A vessel without memory.
Now, after regaining my memories following reincarnation, I had lived three lives and learned only one skill: perception.
I frowned at my reflection in the glass.
Yep, that’s definitely me.
Disheveled silver hair. A face streaked with tears. Everything as it had been.
I had returned as nine-year-old Levieta, entering the horrific Grimlawer Duke Mansion for the first time thirteen years ago.
At this point, I didn’t even carry the Grimlawer name.
I had been an orphan from the slums, sold into a noble family just four days after being adopted—not as a member of the household, but to pay off gambling debts.
To be discarded twice in this miserable story! Ugh. It’s my own fault for becoming a supporting villain.
In the war-themed story The Real One Never Dies, supporting villains were irredeemably malicious and foolish.
Levieta was the most beautiful trash in the empire.
She spent her life jealous of her talented younger sister and harbored murderous hatred for the saint who stole her crush.
And because such a villain had the backing of the highest-ranking family, every indulgence and act of cruelty by Levieta Grimlawer shook the entire empire.
Yet being caught trying to steal her sister’s talent and being cast out, or failing to kill the saint and becoming a slave, were minor offenses compared to her worst crimes.
The legendary villain Levieta even committed the heinous crime of sealing the Grand Mage…
While nothing in the book was false, the truth of Levieta’s life I experienced was far more miserable.
This life will be different.
I would show a villainous mukbang to get revenge on all those who wronged me in my past life!
Determined, I looked at the young girls in the corner of the reception room, quietly sobbing. At most six years old, they huddled together, trembling.
“Girls.”
Like me, the children had been sold to pay off debts. Fear had drained their color; their skin was pale, almost green, and they barely seemed to hear me.
I approached and jingled a small pouch of coins. It wasn’t much, but enough for carriage fare.
“Take this and go to the Atulem Orphanage in Pineden. There, you’ll be safe until you get back on your feet.”
“Wh-why are you helping us?”
The older sister of the pair stepped forward, shielding her sibling. Her watery eyes trembled with caution.
It reminded me of how I had wanted to play the older sister role for “that girl.” Though scared, she was summoning courage, which tugged at my heart.
“You’re too young to face the Grimlawer devils.”
“But you’re so young too…”
“I’ve been through all sorts of trials. I’ve met His Majesty the Emperor, ah, well, the prince… Prince Rosinante, and even had a conversation with the Grand Mage. Do you know the Grand Mage?”
“N-no.”
“I do. So take this and head to Pineden.”
Overpowered by my authority, the girl took the pouch. Before leaving, she asked one last question:
“What’s your name?”
“Levieta.”
“Thank you, Levieta-unnie!”
The girl hugged me tightly. While I could fend off curses, compliments were my weakness, so I awkwardly waved.
“Go safely. Watch out for pickpockets.”
At the Atulem Orphanage, the trustworthy director would provide a far better guardian than someone selling their children for money.
After settling things, I leaned arrogantly against the sofa, relieved.
A short while later, a maid with a horse-tail hairstyle burst into the reception room almost simultaneously as I crossed my legs.
“The filthy rat had the nerve to sneak in! So bold! You! Where do you think you’re sticking that dirty backside?!”
The maid’s voice erupted the moment she spotted me.
