Chapter 01:
“Damn it!”
I was standing absentmindedly in the center of the largest ballroom in the palace when I felt an ominous sense from the piercing gazes of the noble ladies around me.
While I had zoned out just moments ago, I must have said something ridiculous again.
One noblewoman grabbed my arm and asked in an exaggerated tone,
“Your Highness, did you really mean what you just said?”
Right. What did I even say?!
“Uh, well…”
Please don’t tell me I said something strange again.
Ever since I came here, whenever my consciousness briefly faded, nonsense would slip out of my mouth.
“Are you truly certain that Sir Pedro will marry Lady Esther? The two haven’t even met yet.”
Ah… so that’s what I said.
So I went around claiming that a man named Pedro, who has been at war for months, would marry Lady Esther, a frail girl he has never even met?
“Are you insane?”
I gritted my teeth inwardly. Why do I keep blurting out nonsense these days?
Was it because my mind didn’t fully sync with this body when I entered it?
Why do I keep drawing attention by saying ridiculous things?
I could just live quietly, enjoying the life of a princess…
At that moment, another noblewoman chimed in,
“Exactly. They’ve never met, their personalities are completely different, and there’s a huge gap between their families. There’s no way that marriage will happen.”
I didn’t want to chat about such matters with them, but I had to at least patch up what I had said.
Otherwise, my parents would suffer from rumors of having a crazy, eccentric princess.
At least in this life, I have a father—and a kind one at that, who is the king. I couldn’t disgrace him.
So even knowing it was a poor excuse, I mumbled,
“I just heard from a friend of a friend that their ideal types match perfectly. So I thought… what if? Just a thought! Haha.”
The noblewoman in the gray dress folded her fan and shook her head.
“Your Highness, you clearly said earlier that you were certain. You even said you’d bet your wrist on it!”
Gasp—
“What?”
Was it the corset? I felt my chest tightening.
Why do I keep betting my wrist on things?
Just three days ago, I nearly got into serious trouble for betting my wrist that a maid in the queen’s palace was pregnant.
Thankfully, she actually was…
“Haha, I guess I have a habit of exaggerating.”
I forced a smile and took a sip of my wine.
Since I just smiled foolishly, the noblewomen nodded again.
“I see. You sounded so confident, it surprised me. Still, considering Sir Pedro’s wealth and status, he would suit a duke’s daughter or a princess like you. Lady Esther’s family is far beneath that—there’s no way.”
It’s the same everywhere. Whether East or West, people judge others by status and wealth.
That unnecessary meddling feeling started rising in me again.
I tried to speak as gently as possible.
“Well… let’s wait and see. Lady Esther has something more valuable than wealth. The one who ends up with her might actually be the lucky one.”
I downed the rest of my wine in one go.
In my previous life, my first love’s older sister used to look down on me for being the daughter of a shaman, always saying I wasn’t good enough for her brother. I hated hearing that.
Looking at Lady Esther, who stood alone against the wall with a gloomy expression, I sincerely hoped I was right.
At least compared to those high-ranking noble ladies who excluded me and acted superior, Lady Esther seemed much better.
I walked straight toward her, intending to strike up a conversation.
I heard she had been sickly as a child and was sent to the countryside, which delayed her debut in high society.
Still, they said she was smart and kind.
A pure, introverted beauty who struggled to make friends.
In this era, she actually seemed more suited to being a princess than I was.
Something was definitely wrong.
Unfortunately, someone like me—a rough and unruly person—became a princess, and I wasn’t particularly good at anything.
Well… not entirely nothing.
Before I possessed this body, I followed my mother, whose spiritual power had weakened, and pretended to be a possessed shaman child, putting on fairly convincing performances.
But that was it. I wasn’t a real shaman.
I had good intuition, but that alone didn’t make me one.
What I could do was observe, deduce, and act.
People didn’t pay attention to an ordinary girl like me, so they would casually talk about their problems, and I simply picked up on them.
Then I would infer their situation and give reasonably wise advice.
For example, when a couple about to marry came to ask if they would live well together, I would observe their expressions and also the expression of the future mother-in-law standing behind them.
I had already secretly listened to their conversation in the waiting room.
If they were already determined to marry, there was no need to break them apart. If my words helped them live well, that was good enough.
But if the atmosphere was bad and they were arguing over money, I would tell them to yield more to the weaker side.
“This woman may not have much, but she will extend your short lifespan. So don’t stress her over money. Either marry her peacefully or end things here. She’ll quickly meet someone better anyway.”
Then the mother-in-law’s expression would soften, and she would change her mind.
Honestly, if she could change so easily from just one sentence of mine, why not treat her son’s beloved well from the beginning?
Strangely, speaking harshly worked in that kind of environment.
Afterward, some couples even came back to thank me after getting married.
But really, it’s laughable.
If I were a real shaman, wouldn’t I have foreseen my absurd death and being summoned as a princess in this strange world?
I was the eldest daughter in a poor family with many younger siblings, forced to act as a shaman’s disciple in place of my weakening mother.
And then, of all things, I was hit by a car driven by my mother’s long-time shaman friend—and rival—whom I used to call aunt.
Was she jealous of our increasing income?
After waking up in this world, I struggled to adapt and stayed locked in my room in anger for weeks.
Eventually, I accepted it as my fate.
But then, absurdly enough, I suddenly started developing real spiritual power here.
If this were Korea, I could’ve just brushed off whatever I said earlier as something a shaman said…
“Hey!”
“Ah! You scared me!”
I jumped when my older sister Rosa suddenly shoved her face close to mine. Dressed in a red gown with elaborate makeup, she was the most beautiful woman I had seen in this world.
Though her personality was sharp.
“You said something weird again and ran off, didn’t you?”
“Huh? What did I do?”
“Be honest. What nonsense did you say this time?”
“I didn’t say anything. Just talked about the weather…”
“Yeah, right.”
“….”
“Do those ladies ever talk about the weather? They only gossip about who’s getting with whom or who’s being cast aside.”
“…That’s true.”
“….”
She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms.
“Did you hear? Adrian is returning in a few days.”
“Adrian? Who’s… I mean, why is he coming back?”
“What are you saying? The war is over, of course he’s coming back. And as promised to Father, he’ll soon marry you.”
“What? Marriage? Me? With that Adrian guy?”
What is she talking about? I even have someone I’m supposed to marry?
Rosa frowned and placed her hands on her hips.
“You’re acting strange. You used to follow him around saying you liked him, and now you act like you don’t even remember his name?”
I even chased after him?
I lowered my gaze with a pitiful expression.
“Unni, you know why! Ever since I fell from the horse, my memory has been hazy!”
Rosa gave me a strange look. Of course she knew. I had fallen badly, broken my leg, shut myself in, and started saying strange things—as if I had hit my head too.
“I know. But to forget even Adrian? He’s your brother’s closest friend and your great unrequited love!”
“Oh… right… I guess…”
“Don’t act like that.”
“I didn’t even thank you.”
“You should! If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have even confessed!”
What?
“Wait, I confessed?!”
Rosa widened her eyes in disbelief.
“How much have you forgotten exactly?”
She shook her head quickly, fanning herself.
Then she snapped her fan shut, grabbed my arm, and whispered,
“Don’t tell me that’s why you’ve been spouting nonsense all this time? Do you really not remember anything? I thought you were just acting out because Adrian rejected you!”
“I—I even got rejected?”
Oh my God. I really did everything, didn’t I?
I know absolutely nothing… can someone please explain who this Giselle even is?
