Chapter 2
Anna seemed reassured and lay back down on the bed.
Phew, what an incredible acting talent. She really was born with it.
Letting out a sigh of relief, I held my breath and quietly observed the situation.
Before long, Anna had fallen fast asleep; all was silent again.
Only then did I quietly slip off the bed like a cat.
My destination: the desk.
‘It should be around here somewhere… Ah! Found it.’
Sitting down, I carefully searched through the things on the desk.
I couldn’t light a lamp because of sleeping Anna, but the moonlight pouring through the window was bright enough to manage.
Fortunately, just like eight years ago, most of my belongings were still where I remembered them.
It wasn’t hard to find my notebook and fountain pen.
‘Something about the Northern Duke and the Baron’s daughter’s contract marriage…’
I uncapped the pen and began writing down everything I could remember about the original story in the notebook.
Just in case, I made sure to write in Korean instead of the Empire’s language.
Since it was a script I hadn’t used much since 24 years ago, I hesitated over a few spellings,
but since I was the only one who’d ever see it, I didn’t really care.
‘…And this is the most important part.’
I put down the pen I’d been holding and picked up another one — this one filled with red ink.
Holding the red pen, I drew a big circle around the words:
“Harriella’s fiancé — the Third Prince.”
Then I added: five stars, a bold underline, and a curly tail for emphasis.
Below that, I scribbled:
“On her sixteenth birthday — Third Prince’s life in danger.”
The one and only fruit of my third life.
I’d finally managed to uncover a little of what that letter from the Imperial family had said!
In both my first and second lives, things ended with Count Lurupel reading the letter with a grim face.
So, by comparison, my third life had made some real progress.
‘The Third Prince must’ve died, right?’
The Empire’s lands were vast.
Even if the letter had been sent via magical courier, it couldn’t have arrived in just a day.
If the prince’s life had already been in danger when the letter was written,
by the time the bird reached Lurupel, he was most likely already dead.
The Third Prince’s death…
Maybe that was the reason for my regression — a vague intuition told me so.
Because tomorrow, I was supposed to receive a marriage proposal from the Third Prince.
The regression began with the prince’s proposal.
And it ended with his death.
A suspicious pattern if I ever saw one.
‘…Maybe this time, I should actually meet the Third Prince.’
Across all three of my past lives, I’d never met him — not even once.
As a designated villainess, I had no desire to tangle with the main characters and drag my life into the gutter.
Whether male lead or female lead, I wanted nothing to do with any of them.
But the one I most wanted to avoid was the sub male lead, the Third Prince.
Nothing good ever came from being involved with him — that much I could guarantee.
The prince fell in love with the heroine, killed Harriella — the villainess who stood in her way — and destroyed himself.
That was the tragic fate set for the villainess and the sub male lead.
Anyone with even half a brain would avoid getting caught up in that mess.
But I guess my brain was wired a little wrong.
Maybe I was missing a few screws up there.
This was my fourth life.
And maybe… I’d finally gone a little crazy.
* * *
It had been ten days since I tied a green ribbon to the messenger hawk that came with a blue one from the palace and sent it back.
At last, a reply from the Third Prince arrived.
“His Highness the Third Prince has decided to visit the Rudbeckia Court soon.”
Count Lurupel, reading the letter with a visibly tense face, spoke in a softened voice.
Apparently, the message was favorable.
Truth be told, the Count hadn’t given a clear response to the prince’s marriage proposal.
He’d only invited him to Rudbeckia Court.
Under normal circumstances, such a vague reply would’ve been an insult to a royal,
but surprisingly, the prince’s side didn’t take offense.
Whatever the reason, they seemed to be in quite a hurry.
From the day the reply arrived, the entire household went into chaos.
The Count busied himself inspecting every inch of the palace —
after all, it had been years since a royal guest last visited.
The Countess threw herself into preparations for a grand welcome party.
And as for me…
“Anna, do I really have to do this?”
“Of course! You must show His Highness who the most beautiful lady in Letitia is!”
“I’m already pretty without all this.”
“I completely agree, my lady. But His Highness is coming from Asphodel Palace, remember?”
“So?”
“I heard the capital’s full of dazzling beauties from all over the continent! It doesn’t hurt to be prepared!”
“No, really, it’s fine…”
Because Harriella was already the most beautiful woman in this world.
I swallowed the words I couldn’t tell Anna.
She ignored my protests with practiced ease, focusing entirely on rubbing some suspicious liquid into my hair.
After the dubious hair treatment came twenty different dresses.
Anna’s eyes gleamed like a bull seeing red cloth.
Crushed beneath her fiery enthusiasm, I just let her do whatever she wanted.
We picked jewelry to match each dress, then the shoes to go with them.
Anna flipped through the catalog with a blissful, sparkling expression.
Meanwhile, I was slumped lifelessly on the sofa.
“Do you really like shopping that much, Anna?”
Her eyes went wide.
“No?”
“At least wet your lips before lying…”
“It’s not a lie! How can you say that? You don’t know, my lady — attending to your beauty is every maid’s dream!”
She clasped her hands together, eyes shining dreamily.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime event! Who knows when I’ll get the chance again? How could I take this lightly?”
Come to think of it, she was right.
In my last three lives, I’d never had anyone dress me up like this.
I barely left the estate, so there was never a need.
If I’d known Anna would enjoy this so much, maybe I’d have attended a tea party or two.
‘Fine. Let her do what she wants. What’s the worst that could happen?’
So I decided to let her go wild.
And at last, the day of the prince’s visit arrived.
I looked like a living Christmas tree.
My entire body sparkled — glitter falling from me with every step.
When Anna started dressing me, I hadn’t realized things would get this… intense.
We entered Rudbeckia Court before dawn.
I was so exhausted and sleepy I couldn’t even pay attention to what Anna was doing.
The Third Prince was expected around noon — not much time left.
“Anna, don’t we have another dress? This one’s way too much. I’ll look ridiculous.”
“Ridiculous?! Who could ever think that of you, my lady? Not even His Highness himself! If he dares disrespect you, I, Anna, will lay down my life to defend your honor—”
“No, Anna! Stop! That’s enough! Any more and it’ll be treason!”
Judging by her fiery response, I had no choice but to give up on changing.
Anna’s loyalty — excessive even in normal times — had doubled these past few days.
She’d gotten into the habit of saying she’d die for me, which was… deeply unsettling.
Of course, I didn’t need her life, nor her exaggerated devotion.
In third-rate romance novels, loyal maids like her always ended up dying in place of their mistresses.
I tried to stop her rambling, and as I did, our eyes met.
Anna’s gentle gaze was full of laughter.
Oh. She was teasing me.
I let out a weak chuckle and dropped my hand from her mouth — it hadn’t covered it properly anyway.
“Hehe. Feeling a bit less tense now, my lady?”
I was slumped on the sofa, utterly drained, when she asked.
When I looked up, she pointed at my palm.
“You’ve had such a stiff look all morning! Your fists were clenched the whole time, too.”
“…Was I really?”
“Yes! You were so tense, I was getting nervous myself!”
“…I see.”
So I was nervous.
When I opened my hand, faint red marks from my fingernails covered my palm.
I was scared — scared to meet an eight-year-old boy.
“I understand how you feel, my lady, but don’t worry too much. His Highness is traveling all the way here to see you himself. Isn’t that proof you’ve already won?”
Anna spoke with the cheerful confidence of someone solving an easy riddle.
But her words didn’t comfort me.
Because I didn’t know yet whether the flag in my hand was one of victory — or surrender.
In the story, Harriella’s fate was to die by the Third Prince’s hand.
Even after one death and four new lives, I was still afraid of dying.
No one knew how long this special chance — this borrowed time — would last.
