Episode 1
“Another terminal illness? Seriously?”
I let out a sigh while staring at my reflection in the mirror, soft, light yellow-brown hair, and eyes that sparkled like melted peridot.
“Why did my eyes have to be peridot colored?! If they were emerald, I could’ve possessed a completely different novel!”
The moment I started my fourth life, it also came with an expiration date.
Because I’d possessed a terminally ill character, one who knew exactly when, how, and why she would die.
“Isn’t it about time I possessed someone with a normal life? Damn it! To hell with gods and fate!”
And I had every reason to be angry.
This wasn’t my first time being stuck with a doomed body.
This is already the fourth time I’ve possessed someone who’s going to die…
My first life ended with me dying as a miserable civil service exam student—studying nonstop, staying up every night, and burning myself out until I dropped dead.
My second life was as a fallen princess in a drama script.
The country collapsed out of nowhere, and before I could do anything, everything was already over.
My third life was the worst.
I became a background character in a horror game I’d never even played before.
I stuck close to a fragile-looking pretty boy because he seemed the safest—Turns out, he was the final boss.
A sociopathic serial killer.
I died horribly.
“Well… at least this time, it’s a novel I’ve actually read.”
Unlike before, this time I knew the plot.
That meant I could find a way to survive.
No—
I had to.
Dying again like this would be way too unfair.
I crossed my arms and stared into the mirror, thinking about who I was now.
This world was from a romance fantasy novel I’d read in my first life.
And I wasn’t even important.
I was just a side character who died young.
“Erpin Quineardel. The only daughter of Count Quineardel.”
That’s how her story began.
When Erpin was ten years old, her parents died in an accident.
Her uncle Joseph—who’d been eyeing the title all along—took over, claiming he’d only hold it until she grew up.
Naturally, that was a lie.
Erpin was basically kicked out of the estate.
The ones who took her in were the Duke of Haven and his family—especially their eldest son, Eden, who also happened to be the male lead of the novel.
Eden was kind and upright, and he took care of Erpin devotedly.
At least… until he met the female lead.
“Well, obviously.”
With no one else to rely on, Erpin used her tragic situation to wedge herself between the male and female leads.
That was her biggest mistake.
She was eventually abandoned by Eden too, left with nowhere to go.
She wandered the streets until she couldn’t control her overflowing magic anymore—
And died.
“Alright. I remember everything now!”
I bounced in place, excited.
Then my vision spun, and nausea hit me all at once.
“Ugh—what kind of body is this? I barely moved!”
Erpin had always been sickly.
She needed painkillers multiple times a day and fainted often.
The Duke and Duchess of Haven brought in the best doctors in the empire, but no one could find the cause.
But I knew the truth.
Her body was too weak to contain the massive amount of magic she possessed.
“Magic or not, I need to lie down before I throw up.”
I lay still on the bed, staring at the ornate ceiling.
“This time… I’m going to live. I will survive.”
The ending was clear.
That meant I could change it.
I refused to die the way fate wanted me to.
“I’ll meet him, fix my magic problem, and get away from the male lead.”
“Miss, you should really go back inside now. The wind is strong today—you’ll catch a cold.”
“Just a little longer. Just wait a bit more.”
It was early spring, but the air was still cold enough to sting my nose.
Despite that, I insisted on having tea in the garden.
The cup that had been steaming just moments ago was now completely cold.
“Miss! If you catch a cold, you’ll be stuck in bed for a whole week this time! I’m so worried I can barely breathe!”
“I know, I know. Just wait a bit more. He should be coming soon.”
“No matter how long you wait, what you want isn’t going to come!”
Lize—my personal maid—was overly protective of my health.
That made her especially naggy.
But even while she scolded me, my eyes never left the iron gate.
“There’s no way he won’t come. I’m exactly the kind of person he’s looking for. Just a little more, …He’s here.”
He came.
I jumped up and hurried toward the gate.
A man wearing a checkered shirt, brown suspenders, and a baker-style cap appeared beyond the bars.
Yes.
The person I’d been waiting for all this time—
Was the mailman.
I ran up to him and greeted him with a racing heart.
“Good morning! What a lovely day!”
“Ah—yes. Good morning…”
Avoiding my gaze, the mailman awkwardly rummaged through his bag full of letters.
I stared at him expectantly.
“Do you have any letters for me?”
Every time I asked, he made the same troubled face.
It had already been over ten days.
And just like every other morning—
“I’m sorry…”
Nothing.
“Did you know there’s a rumor going around that you’re having an affair with the mailman?”
The moment we returned to my room and Lize started cleaning, the scolding resumed.
“You rush out the moment you even see the edge of his hat.”
She dusted the window frame briskly.
“You really need to be more careful. This isn’t the Quineardel estate—it’s the Haven Ducal residence! What if the young duke hears about it?”
I didn’t hear a word she said.
“Haaah…”
A deep sigh escaped me.
“Fuuu…”
Once I started, I couldn’t stop.
Lize glanced at me sprawled on the bed.
“Miss, you didn’t hear a single thing I said, did you?”
I sat up suddenly.
“Lize… why do you think he hasn’t replied?”
“You actually thought he would? You’re still so naïve, Miss.”
She shrugged and went back to dusting.
“Yeah…”
I knew I was exactly who he was looking for.
I really believed he’d welcome my letter.
“This is so annoying.”
I flopped back onto the bed.
Lize glanced at me and spoke flatly.
“Don’t take it too hard. He’s famous for never meeting anyone.”
She continued tidying up.
“They say he never even appears when the Emperor summons him. Apparently, even mages from the Mage Tower rarely see him.”
“I know, but still…”
“And that’s why the rumors exist.”
“Rumors? What rumors?”
I blinked.
Lize dropped the duster in shock and slowly turned toward me.
“Wait—you didn’t know?”
“What rumors?”
“The man you’ve been waiting for so desperately!”
She rushed to explain.
“They say he’s never left the Mage Tower basement because he’s gloomy and creepy. And his face is supposedly so ugly you can’t even stand to look at it!”
She picked up the duster and pointed at it.
“They say his body’s weak and flimsy—like this duster! Oh, and anyone who meets him has bad luck for the rest of the day!”
I didn’t care.
Even if all of that was true.
I had to meet him.
“They also say he hides in the basement doing weird experiments every single day!”
Five letters.
No replies.
“Miss? Are you listening? Miss?”
There was only one choice left.
“I’ll go find him myself.”
Heh.
Watching the leaves sway outside the window, I smiled in satisfaction.
“You didn’t hear a single word I said, did you, Miss Erpin…”
I thought I heard Lize sigh, but maybe it was just my imagination.
I craned my neck back until it felt like it would snap, staring up at the massive Mage Tower.
Even deep in the mountains, it radiated overwhelming presence.
As if it could scare me off.
I clenched my fist and raised it.
“If you don’t come out, I’m coming in.”
In the original story, it was only briefly mentioned—but I remembered clearly.
The man I was looking for—
Was Dante.
A once-in-a-generation genius mage and the future youngest master of the Mage Tower.
