Chapter 01
The heir to the throne of the Apolethis Empire was struck by a bolt from the blue.
“Eek!”
Rosebel—reckless and willful beyond measure.
Rumors were often exaggerated, but the Crown Prince knew that she was even more uncontrollable than people said.
Had she simply followed the path properly, she wouldn’t have fallen into a ditch.
“Lady Efrien!”
Arkangelos was startled when he saw her bleeding after hitting her head on a rock.
Normally, maintaining composure wasn’t difficult for him. But a noble lady getting injured while accompanying the imperial heir was no laughing matter.
* * *
Duke Efrien was known for his gentle disposition.
There was only one thing that could make such a man lose his calm—
his one and only daughter.
“She hasn’t woken up for days. Could there be another problem?”
“No. Her breathing is steady and her complexion is good. Let’s wait a little longer.”
Despite the physician’s reassurance, the duke couldn’t calm himself and continued pacing restlessly.
Then—
“Argh! Are you insane?!”
The Duke of Efrien jumped in shock as his daughter suddenly bolted upright.
“Rosebel! Are you all right?”
“Ah…”
Seeing Rosebel in confusion, the duke hurried the physician.
“Physician, examine her quickly. She’s clutching her head!”
The physician was also flustered by her sudden awakening, but Rosebel spoke first in a trembling voice.
“No, I’m fine. More importantly… could I be alone for a while?”
The duke assumed she was embarrassed about fainting in front of the Crown Prince.
Considering her usual personality, her overly calm behavior felt strange.
After finishing the examination, the physician explained her condition.
“Your body is in excellent condition. The head wound only needs to be disinfected morning and evening.”
“Head wound?”
When Rosebel touched her forehead, she felt something rough and thick.
“You injured your head when you fell into a ditch.”
“Ah… I see. Father, if the physician says I’m fine, may I lie down again?”
The duke was unsettled. Normally, she would be screaming and crying as if the world were ending. But Rosebel was far too composed.
“Very well. If anything feels uncomfortable, tell Maria.”
“Yes. You must’ve been worried because of me, so please rest too, Father.”
The duke wondered if a personality change was possible after a head injury.
“Rest well, then.”
He had earned his title solely through his ability to cultivate high-quality apples.
But his daughter felt ashamed of that fact, and the duke understood her feelings.
Rosebel had been born a noble, naturally assimilated into high society, and learned aristocratic ways of thinking. It was only natural she couldn’t understand him.
Once the two left the room, Rosebel slammed her pillow repeatedly, screaming silently.
“Does this make any sense?! What is this? These memories in my head—what are they?!”
She was overwhelmed by unfamiliar memories filling her mind.
No—more precisely, it was hard to accept that she herself belonged to this world.
Was it even possible that another life existed besides the one she had lived until now?
“How did this happen? Why? No, more importantly—this whole situation is such a romance-fantasy cliché!”
She blurted out words that came naturally to mind as she struggled.
Unbelievable as it was, the memories flooding her mind felt as though they were engulfing her entire body. So she decided to think simply.
“That’s right! This is a dream!”
After vehemently denying reality, she accepted that her twenty-something self now had to live a new life as a sixteen-year-old girl on the verge of adolescence.
“…Still, what am I supposed to do now?”
Her final memory before death surfaced.
A traffic accident.
Pointless and common—something that could happen to anyone.
“A traffic accident… So it wasn’t death by overwork? How ridiculous.”
She let out a hollow laugh. But now wasn’t the time to dwell on her past life.
Rosebel.
If her memory was correct, a friend had once said this novel was a typical romance fantasy—except for the absence of a villainess.
Or was it that there was no villainess, not no antagonist?
She desperately tried to recall the plot.
What happened to the original owner of this body?
At that moment, unpleasant comments came to mind.
“—Fine, the main characters fall in love and get married. But why did this girl ruin her perfectly good family?”
“—Did she choose a handsome man just to live off his looks?”
“—Not even that—probably just because he looked similar to the male lead.”
“—It’s nice there’s no villainess, but turning a normal female character into an idiot was unnecessary…”
“—Every story has a dumb character. Even at work, there’s always one or two idiots.”
“—She feels like a disposable character used to highlight the male lead’s sickly beauty. If she’d been smarter, she could’ve been a charming supporting character.”
“—Ruining her parents’ legacy with luxury and men—legendary.”
Nearly all the negative comments were about stupid Rosebel.
She believed she could’ve lived well without obsessing over the male lead. But Rosebel ruined everything over lingering feelings for an unfulfilled first love.
And the result, just like the reviews said…
“Insane! The orchard failed, and the entire family was exterminated for that crime?!”
The male lead of the novel had a special constitution that required him to eat apples to survive.
And according to the reviews, the two protagonists reached a happy ending without major conflict.
“A romance fantasy through and through. Romance was the focus. But that’s not the problem! The orchard failed because of Rosebel!”
She recalled the rough setting of the character she’d transmigrated into.
In the novel, Rosebel was a noble with high pride but suffered from an inferiority complex because her parents were commoners who earned their title through apple farming.
Though Duke Efrien made a fortune from the orchard, money wasn’t everything to nobles.
So Rosebel tried to hide her inferiority with extravagance—and sought to prove herself by becoming Empress. She had ambition, but she was foolish.
After Duke Efrien passed away for certain reasons, Rosebel failed to become engaged to the Crown Prince.
Instead, she married a man who was merely decent-looking.
The Efrien household declined due to luxury, and since she knew nothing about farming, the orchard’s collapse was inevitable.
Unable to supply apples to the imperial palace, the Emperor purged the ducal house.
It was entirely Rosebel’s foolish choices and inferiority complex that led to the family’s destruction.
And she was executed by beheading.
As an early disposable character, her ending was easy to remember.
“There are no coincidences in anything.”
That was a realization she’d gained from her previous life.
“There must be a reason I transmigrated into this body. But now that I’m here, there’s no way I’m dying like in the novel! Still, something bothers me…”
How did the male lead survive if apples became unavailable?
“The female lead must’ve had some special ability. That’s how they got their happy ending. Ugh, whatever! Forget it! As long as I live well, that’s enough!”
She wasn’t transmigrated into a villain or an important character like in other stories.
“What matters is that I can change things. I’m a Korean with iron will! I will survive!”
What had happened was already done. What she needed to do next was clear.
“First, let’s organize what I know.”
With the indomitable soul of a Korean, Rosebel climbed out of bed and sat at her desk.
Opening a drawer, she found a contract written in messy handwriting.
“You never know what’ll happen in life. Writing garbage like this—how stupid.”
The protagonists were already decided. Her goal now wasn’t to become Empress, but to become the head of the family.
“Farming, huh… Who knew ten years of rural life would help like this? Though all I know about orchards comes from documentaries… I’ll just have to learn properly from Father.”
Rather than getting entangled with the novel’s protagonists, she resolved to persuade Duke Efrien and become the family head.
She hadn’t encountered the Crown Prince many times, but he gave her an uncomfortable feeling.
It didn’t seem like he visited merely for apples.
Whatever he wanted, she only hoped it wouldn’t involve her.
* * *
After Rosebel’s injury, the atmosphere in the ducal household changed. The servants struggled to adjust.
“♪ With a bumpy, lovely body~ wearing reeeed clothes~ ♪”
She hummed cheerfully while wearing floral-patterned rubber pants.
Maria covered her face with both hands at the eye-searing patterns.
Normally, Rosebel would be obsessing over choosing extravagant dresses. But after waking up, she wore nothing but loose floral pants.
“Lady Rosebel…”
“What?”
“How long do you plan to keep wearing such clothes?”
Seeing Maria’s forced smile, Rosebel retorted,
“You don’t farm while worrying about looking pretty, do you?”
“Well… that’s true, but…”
Maria trailed off.
Of course, no one could stop the young lady once she made up her mind.
But it was even harder to adjust since she was up and moving from early morning.
The duke was also bewildered by his daughter’s change—but amid the confusion, he welcomed it.
As a result, rumors spread throughout the territory.
From reckless Rosebel to the matured Lady Efrien.
Rosebel’s mornings were unlike those of other nobles.
She loosely tied up her long hair, pulled on a bonnet that covered her neck, and headed straight to the orchard.
The fresh morning scent filled her lungs. Morning dew dampened her pant legs, but she smiled.
“♪ Like an apple~ my face~ so pretty indeed~ ♪”
She walked slowly, humming, when a gentle breeze blew—as if responding to her song.
