Chapter 2
“Haa…”
I let out a sigh as the sudden headache pounded harder.
Alright, first… let’s recall what I know.
The title of the novel I ended up in is “I Became the Shunned Duke’s Daughter.”
The heroine of this novel, Kanis Escliff, lived a truly tragic life.
Born the eldest daughter of a ducal house rivaling the imperial family, she possessed no magical power at all.
In a family that had produced only powerful mages for generations, she was nothing but disgrace.
“To think a failure like you is my daughter.”
Even her own father, the duke, said that much—so within the household her status was as low as it could be.
To make matters worse, the duke secretly kept a mistress named Helena. When his wife, Kanis’s mother, died from complications after childbirth, he brazenly married that mistress as his new wife.
From that union came the duke’s second child, Claude.
“Claude, you are the future of House Escliff.”
Of course. He resembled Helena, whom the duke doted on, and was blessed with outstanding magical talent.
So Kanis was inevitably treated like an outcast.
The duke adored Claude despite him being illegitimate, because he was gifted in magic. Helena, naturally, cherished her own son.
After her mother—the only one who truly loved her—passed away, Kanis grew up isolated, barely acknowledged within her family.
Proper education? Of course she received none.
And yet, because her maternal family was also a prestigious house and Kanis was the eldest, by right she was the true heir.
But the duke desperately wished to pass succession to Claude, his beloved son.
If possible, even by killing Kanis.
‘Yeah… a textbook tragedy.’
For heroines with such a setup, there are usually two routes:
Either the family regrets everything and clings to her, or she enters a contract marriage and takes revenge.
This novel, annoyingly, chose the first.
And to make it worse…
‘This novel is a reincarnation story.’
As expected, the heroine who possessed Kanis “redeems” her scumbag father and brother, and turns the whole thing into some saccharine fluff.
Helena alone shoulders all the blame and falls into ruin. To me, they were all equally rotten.
“Hm…”
I walked along the path quietly, lost in thought.
The original story began in the fourth year of the Academy.
From that point, the possessed Kanis started scheming, winning over people one by one.
But judging from her terrible reputation at this moment, that girl hasn’t possessed Kanis yet.
‘Instead… I’m the one who came in.’
The realization chilled me.
Earlier I tried to rationalize it as some kind of “side dungeon.”
‘But I have to admit it now.’
Chae Ji-woo, F-rank Hunter… is dead.
I must have really died back then.
‘Damn it, what a useless death.’
After struggling so desperately to survive…
Well, my consciousness is still intact, so maybe I didn’t die? Even if it’s not my body anymore.
‘Anyway, I need to figure out what to do from here.’
I rubbed my cheek as I thought.
I had already been through enough shock when fantasy dungeons popped into reality back in my world.
At this point, suddenly getting reincarnated into a romance novel wasn’t all that surprising.
‘At least I’m not doomed to be some villainess or a disposable side character.’
The path laid out for heroine Kanis was, in the end, a fairly smooth happy ending.
“Should I just follow it?”
I vaguely remembered how the possessed Kanis acted.
Win her family’s favor, reform her wild behavior, take top place at the Academy.
Use modern knowledge to start a successful business, then snag the handsome crown prince and marry him.
‘And the starting point of all that was the special divine power she received.’
That power—known as “holy power” or “healing magic”—was extremely rare in this world.
So when she first displayed it, people’s reactions toward her completely changed.
I stared down at my palm.
‘I could probably pull it off too.’
If I awakened as an S-rank mage, I should at least have one or two healing skills.
Pretending to be a healer wouldn’t be hard.
But…
[Kanis Escliff (S-rank Mage)]
[Magic Power: SSS-rank]
With this…
Do I really need to follow the original?
Fawning over a family that wants me dead?
‘…I’ll think about it more.’
It wasn’t something I could decide right away.
I needed to test this unbelievable new power first.
‘Still, one thing’s certain…’
My heart pounded.
I’d lived as an F-rank for five years after the Gate incident, always longing for the strength of high-rank hunters.
And though I had technically died… the status window in front of me was real.
I was still caught up in the excitement when a sharp voice pierced my ears.
“Lady Kanis!”
“Hm?”
“What are you doing just standing there? Young Master Claude has been waiting in the carriage for you all this time!”
A shrill voice scolded me as a maid grabbed my arm roughly and yanked me forward hard enough to hurt.
“Honestly, to think the young master was gracious enough to invite you to ride with him, and you dawdle like this… No wonder His Grace scolds you all the time!”
I narrowed my eyes.
‘Oh?’
I could guess the situation.
Between Kanis and Claude, their positions in this house were worlds apart.
Servants would never respect a disfavored child like Kanis.
But still…
‘There’s no reason I have to put up with this.’
I stopped dead in my tracks. The maid, who was tugging at me, froze when I refused to budge.
“What are you—”
“The one who should be asking questions is me.”
I shot her a cold look. I knew this type well.
“You should be grateful we even let trash like you into the dungeon, got it?”
The scorn and ridicule I endured as an F-rank Hunter.
“Your brother’s always first place… How can you still be this useless even as his older sister?”
My parents’ blatant favoritism.
I had put up with all that because of money and family ties.
But with a stranger?
I flicked her hand off as if brushing away a fly. My S-rank body brimmed with strength.
“Ugh!”
The maid gave a short gasp. Just as she opened her mouth to complain, our eyes met—
[Intimidation (A-rank) activated]
“Hhhhk…!”
Her face turned pale.
‘Oh, nice.’
I knew all too well what Intimidation did. When a high-rank Hunter flared up, weaklings like me could barely breathe.
‘Back then, I hated it so much.’
But life changes.
Using the very skill I’d always suffered under felt amazing.
I took one step closer and the maid trembled violently before collapsing to the ground.
Thud.
“I-I-I was wrong! Please, forgive me…!”
She broke into tears. Well, an unawakened person couldn’t possibly withstand an S-rank’s killing intent.
‘Maybe I should let her off now.’
I reached out a hand to help her up—
“Kanis Escliff.”
A voice like icy steel rang out.
I turned and saw a beautiful boy glaring at me as he shook dust from his hair.
“What did you just do to my maid?”
Black hair, black eyes. Eighteen years old, with sculpted features.
And that arrogant tone, calling her “my maid.”
‘Claude Escliff.’
The obsessive younger brother who was popular in the original story.
Apparently readers found the little beauty mark under his eye “sexy.”
Of course, he only became a siscon stalker after the heroine possessed Kanis.
Right now, he was just an arrogant brat.
“I know you’re stupid and bad-tempered, but does that mean you can abuse servants?”
Claude sneered, curling his lips.
With a flick of his hand, the maid lifted into the air and landed gently on her feet.
“M-My lord!”
“Don’t worry, Rika. My sister behaves in front of me.”
He tilted his head mockingly.
“What can a magicless failure like her possibly do to me?”
“Heh.”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
‘Seriously? The heroine actually tamed this brat?’
Reading “he used to be like this” on a page was one thing, but being insulted to my face was another.
Sorry, but I’m not the type to endure this.
“Don’t just stand there gaping—ahhh!”
“Lord Claude!”
With just a flick of my eyes, the smug Claude suddenly tumbled over.
On flat ground, with nothing there.
[Telekinesis (B-rank)]
‘Oh, it worked?’
I had only thought “I want him to fall”—and the skill activated by itself.
So this is what life as a high-rank feels like!
After years of being stuck as F-rank, it almost felt unfair.
“Wh-what?! No one pushed me!”
“Seems like you’re the idiot here, Claude.”
I mimicked his earlier smirk, the exact same obnoxious grin.
Claude’s face flushed crimson.
“Y-you—!”
“Instead of sitting there like a fool, shouldn’t you hurry to the carriage?”
“Kh…”
He clenched his teeth. But clearly he didn’t suspect me.
After all, among the three of us here, the only mage was him.
‘Or so he thinks.’
At least, that’s what he believes.
“Fine. You can trail behind. I’ll go ahead.”
“…If Father hears of this, do you think he’ll let you off?”
Claude glared at me viciously.
‘Pfft.’
As if that kind of threat would work.
