Chapter 02
“Stein Marquis family…?”
At Rubelia’s words, the man looked at her with a surprised expression.
It made sense—he also knew well about Rubelia, the only daughter of the Stein Marquis family. Though he was usually indifferent to rumors, some things were impossible not to hear.
And the rumors were mostly bad.
They said the noble young lady followed men around like a puppy.
They said she had a terrible personality.
They said she hated the duchess’s daughter and tormented her relentlessly.
In short, there was nothing good to say about Rubelia. Even the noble ladies didn’t welcome her at their balls or tea parties. Yet no one could openly refuse her—her social position was too important.
She was the only cherished daughter of a marquis trusted by the emperor.
For all other matters, the marquis was cold and strict. But when it came to his daughter, he became completely indulgent.
Still, none of the rumors seemed to match the Rubelia standing before him now.
If only the rumor had been that she was a strange woman—it would have made more sense.
“What’s your name? I’ll make sure to repay you for helping me today.”
Rubelia hadn’t planned to exchange names on their first meeting, but since he helped her, it was proper to at least share names.
“And now that I know your name, please don’t ignore me next time and help me again.”
“…Zerden.”
The man answered reluctantly, as if he hadn’t expected her to ask.
“Zerden? That name sounds familiar.”
Rubelia tilted her head. Something about it… Yes, it was exactly the same as someone she knew.
In the original story, Rubelia poisoned the heroine’s carriage, nearly killing the duchess’s daughter, and was sent to prison for attempted murder. Eventually, she was sentenced to death after strong protests from two dukes.
At that time, a man approached Rubelia’s father with a deal: he would save Rubelia if her father helped him in his rebellion.
That man was Duke Zerden Heshirkan, the empire’s only grand duke. He was the current emperor’s nephew and heir to the throne, constantly under the emperor’s scrutiny.
Even with his daughter’s life at stake, Rubelia’s father, loyal to the emperor, could not make the deal. After losing his daughter, he lived in guilt, never leaving his estate.
But his misfortune didn’t end there.
Before attempting his rebellion, the grand duke destroyed the Stein family to take revenge for the rejected deal. Later, the grand duke also failed in his rebellion and died.
“Wow, that’s amazing. It’s exactly the same as His Excellency the Grand Duke’s name.”
Rubelia looked fascinated. Her eyes stayed on Zerden for a moment longer.
‘No way… could it really be him?’
She tried to deny it, though she noticed something unusual.
“There’s quite an interesting story here.”
“—N-no, that can’t be. Surely it’s not His Excellency the Grand Duke. Black hair and black eyes aren’t common, but not impossible.”
Rubelia forced herself to reject the reality.
‘…But there’s really no one else like him.’
At least in the capital, there couldn’t be another black-haired, black-eyed man named Zerden.
“Did you approach me knowing this?”
“…No. Not at all. Never.”
Rubelia strongly denied it. If she had known, she would never have clung to him.
‘What a ridiculous coincidence.’
She had asked for help to escape the original hero and male lead, only to end up clinging to the grand duke himself. Surely, someone must be plotting against her.
At that moment, Rubelia heard footsteps echoing in the quiet alley.
She tensed, worried it might be Aria or Hasedian, but relaxed when she saw that the people were knights in uniform.
“Your Excellency the Grand Duke, we’ve captured the criminal.”
“Good, not entirely useless. Otherwise, I might have replaced that eye with an ornament.”
Zerden spoke to the knights with a chilling tone. His presence alone made them uneasy.
“And this young lady…”
The knights looked at Rubelia, puzzled. Could this noble lady really dare approach Zerden? The nobles who had been captivated by Zerden’s looks never ended well—their social lives were always destroyed.
“She is a young lady of the Stein family.”
Zerden glanced at Rubelia indifferently. The knights were even more confused. Why was she with him? Everyone in the capital knew she followed Duke Carsiel, one of the three great ducal families.
“Now that your business is done, take her back to her house.”
Usually, Zerden would have ignored her, but today he decided to show some consideration.
He felt an inexplicable closeness and interest in her. Somewhere deep down, he felt he shouldn’t let her go.
Still, he ignored that inner voice. Helping her now was already unusual kindness.
“Then I’ll take my leave. Thank you for today.”
Though she had been a villain in the original story, Rubelia thanked him out of courtesy.
As she passed by with the knights escorting her, Rubelia saw something strange.
It was a divine mark, visible only to her, faintly etched on Zerden’s neck.
That “divine mark” represented everything that had ruined her comfortable life.
Three months had passed since she possessed this body.
Rubelia Stein was a villainess in a story she couldn’t fully remember. She liked the male lead, a duke, and harassed the heroine, ultimately plotting to kill her—very common villainess material.
The situation was manageable. As long as she didn’t bother the heroine or chase the male lead, she’d be fine.
But fate never went as planned.
The attitudes of the original heroine and male lead had changed—because of the “god’s intervention.”
The god’s plan was originally to make them slightly favorable toward Rubelia, so they could become her allies.
However, divine interference distorted this, turning their feelings into a fanatical, almost psychotic obsession.
Whenever they met her, they acted like unstoppable lunatics.
Thanks to this, the original heroine and male lead became ticking time bombs instead of helpful allies.
They also bore the same “divine mark.”
They stalked her constantly and caused all kinds of trouble.
For example, they stole a royal tiara thinking it suited her. Or Aria clung to her dress demanding torment, nearly tearing it. One slip could have sent her to prison.
The list was endless. Rubelia shook her head.
“Help? It’s useless help.”
Even avoiding the villainous acts of the original Rubelia, she would still be falsely accused and punished by the hero and heroine.
“The real problem… isn’t that.”
The god, who hadn’t appeared since she first possessed this body, appeared in her dream last night.
“Child of fate, find him. He is your destined partner. You are connected. I cannot tell you everything, but you are the only one who discovered this book from your original life. Find the twisted parts and restore your original life. I have given you special abilities—you will realize them when you meet him.”
At the time, Rubelia ignored it, thinking it worthless.
In reality, it was just another setup for a bigger challenge.
