Episode 4. In This Life, I’ll Become the Villain
Maybe it was because of some noble soul’s wish —
But Everett found no peace even after her death.
As the flames that burned her body faded, she reached out her hand toward the last flicker of light.
Through that light, a voice rose softly.
— Remember.
“Remember… what?”
— Remember all the truth.
As the clear voice echoed, every moment of her life — from birth to death — passed before her eyes like a movie.
The face of her aunt, the first thing she saw after being born.
Her mother holding her baby body, thrown away like trash after losing her powers.
The long, miserable days spent between the Fellum family and the Montegue family.
Every memory was pain.
“I don’t want it!” Everett screamed. “I don’t want to remember this! I want to erase it all!”
No one answered.
Instead, she opened her eyes again — in a completely different world.
A world with new customs, new values, and new ways of living.
And in that world, she was given a new name: Yooina.
Her parents loved her deeply. They didn’t need her to prove her worth — they loved her for no reason at all.
There were no people trying to use her, no one trying to steal what she had.
The painful memories of her past still haunted her, but the new ones slowly covered the scars.
She grew up and became a lawyer.
With a strangely perfect memory — perhaps a gift from the gods — she graduated top of her class from law school.
It was a life completely opposite to the one she had as Everett, when she could barely read.
She refused offers from big law firms and instead opened a small office to help innocent people.
Maybe it was because she saw herself in them — poor, helpless, and wronged.
“Attorney Yoo, you worked so hard this time! Winning against a big company — that’s amazing! Let’s celebrate tonight!”
“Sorry,” she said. “I don’t have much time before the next trial. I should go back to the office.”
Her staff sighed, their faces drooping.
“You’re pushing yourself too hard! You barely slept for weeks preparing this case. What if you collapse from overwork?”
“I’ll be fine. I’ll go home early today, so don’t worry. Take this card and eat something nice. You all worked hard.”
Everett — now Yooina — refused without hesitation.
When she was Everett, she couldn’t even say no to false accusations.
But now, after years of living freely, she could.
“Go on, hurry,” she said with a smile.
She could say it because she knew they wouldn’t hate her for it.
“You need to rest too, Attorney Yoo!”
“I enjoy winning compensation more than resting,” she joked.
Her assistant pouted. “You really love your job too much.”
“That’s not wrong,” Yooina laughed.
“I’m serious! When the truth comes out and the guilty side gets cornered, you look so happy. Like… you can finally breathe.”
“Do I?”
“Yes! Right, everyone?”
All four employees nodded. Yooina touched her face, surprised.
She hadn’t realized she looked that way.
“Even now, after a big win, you’re already preparing the next trial,” one said. “You look excited. Sometimes I even feel bad for the people you go against. Maybe… you’ve gotten addicted to revenge?”
“Revenge…”
That word made her freeze.
Revenge — she had never once thought about it before.
Yooina stared blankly, whispering, “Revenge…”
Her staff quickly added, “I mean, you’re just passionate, that’s all! Anyway, please don’t overwork yourself. We all worry about you.”
“Yeah… okay.”
After they left, Yooina stayed alone in her office, preparing for the next case.
By the time her eyes burned from exhaustion, dawn was near. She hurried home to her small apartment and lay down, too tired to move.
That night, she dreamed of her past.
Yes, it was definitely a dream — but…
“…Where am I?”
Even after waking up, she was still inside the same nightmare — inside the old mansion.
Maybe I worked too hard, she thought.
She rubbed her eyes — and froze.
The feeling was too real to be a dream.
Cold air touched her skin through the thin sleeves.
Dust floated in the air.
The low ceiling of the attic was within arm’s reach.
“This is… my old bedroom.”
She took a deep breath.
“Everything is just like before.”
It had been nearly thirty years since she’d lived as Yooina, but every memory of this place remained clear.
This was the attic of the Fellum family mansion — the small, lonely room where Everett had spent most of her childhood.
A tiny bed. A worn desk. A single chair.
She stood up and walked toward the cracked mirror in the corner.
When she wiped away the dust, the reflection of Everett appeared — younger than her last memory.
She touched her face slowly.
“I really was this thin…”
Her face and body were painfully skinny. Her long hair fell to her knees, dull and dry. Her skin looked lifeless — not like a noble’s daughter at all.
Everett let out a bitter laugh.
“I didn’t even look human.”
It was still better than how she looked in prison, but compared to her modern self, it was pitiful.
Maybe 40 kilograms at most.
Because she wasn’t short, her thin body looked even more like a skeleton.
“My lady?”
While she was staring at her reflection, the attic door opened, and a thin, older woman stepped in.
“You’re awake already, at this early hour?”
“…Nanny?”
Everett’s eyes widened, and tears immediately filled them.
The woman — her nanny — rushed over and wiped the tears from her cheeks.
“Did you have a nightmare, my lady?”
“Yoo… Yoo… I missed you so much.”
Her throat tightened.
This was the one person she never wanted to forget — Gemma, her nanny.
The only person who had always given her warmth, even when the world turned cold. The only one who had ever said, “You did nothing wrong.”
Everett clung to her, trembling, feeling the warmth of Gemma’s fragile body.
“You must’ve had a terrible dream,” Gemma said softly. “I came at the right time.”
“This isn’t… a dream, right?”
“Oh dear, you must still be half asleep.”
Only when she felt Gemma’s warmth for real did Everett realize the truth.
She was back — back as Everett.
“Shhh, nightmare, go away now,” Gemma whispered, patting her back and humming softly.
Her body slowly stopped shaking.
When Everett finally calmed down, Gemma pulled away slightly. Everett buried her face in her chest again, not wanting to let go.
“There’s something I need to tell you,” Gemma said.
“…What is it?”
Gemma glanced at the small bundle she had brought, then hesitated.
“I’m leaving the mansion today.”
Everett’s heart clenched.
She knew this day.
It was the day her only ally left her — the cold autumn of her 19th year.
To meet her again, only to lose her right away…
Everett bit her lip.
“My younger sister is very ill,” Gemma said gently. “There’s no one else to care for her, so I must go.”
A lie.
Everett knew it — just like before.
Gemma was being forced out of the mansion.
When Everett had been born without powers, the Marchioness had fallen ill from the stress, and Gemma had cared for Everett instead. But when Gemma herself got sick and couldn’t work, the family heartlessly expelled her. She had died not long after.
And it was my fault, Everett thought bitterly.
One day, the maids gave Everett spoiled food. Gemma had secretly switched her own portion with Everett’s. Her illness had worsened because of it.
That’s why her body had been so thin — her warm embrace had always been bony and frail.
Guilt filled Everett’s chest until her hands shook.
“I feel bad leaving you when you still cry from nightmares,” Gemma said softly.
Everett bit her lip until it hurt, then forced a smile.
“If your sister is sick, you should go take care of her. It’s sad to be alone when you’re sick.”
Gemma’s eyes widened.
“You’re… letting me go?”
“Of course. I’m not a child anymore.”
For the first time, Gemma’s worried face relaxed into a soft smile.
“Thank you, my lady.”
“I’ll come visit you,” Everett promised.
“I’ll always be waiting,” Gemma said warmly.
“I’ll miss you.”
“My sweet lady,” Gemma whispered, wiping her tears. “Even while I’m looking at you, I already miss you.”
Everett wanted to hug her forever, to talk with her all day, but she held back. She wanted to stay as the “good girl” Gemma remembered.
From the small attic window, she watched Gemma’s figure slowly disappear down the path.
Left alone, Everett clenched her fists.
Not this time.
I won’t let you die again.
She would save her nanny — and destroy everyone who had ruined their lives.
She wouldn’t be the foolish victim again.
She would become stronger.
In her dry, sunken eyes, a sharp light began to glow.
