Chapter 0
(Prologue)
@Dime Private Use of Public Funds
From Today, I Am a Countess
#Prologue
Before me was a fire that devoured everything endlessly.
I felt as if I could hear the screams of people who hadn’t managed to escape the flames.
Beyond the fire, I saw a young lady stretching her hand toward me.
“Help me.”
But no matter how far I reached, I couldn’t touch her. The lady was swallowed by the fire. In that instant, I opened my eyes.
“Ugh…”
The same dream again. I had been tormented by this nightmare every day since that day.
Hurriedly, I picked up the pot on the side table and poured water into a cup. My hands trembled so badly that I spilled most of it.
As the water passed down my parched throat, I finally regained even breathing. Then I heard a knock, as if someone inside had heard me, and the door opened.
“Miss, you’re awake? The doctor will be here soon.”
I quietly nodded, but inside, a scream wanted to escape.
‘I… I am not the young lady…’
“Where is the maid?”
I almost answered without thinking when the doctor called for the maid. Fortunately, before I could make a sound, the maid waiting outside the door stepped forward and replied to the doctor.
I let out a small sigh of relief.
‘That was close.’
“You’ve recovered more than I expected. A good sleep will help even more. Once a day, have the bandages removed so the skin can breathe.”
“Yes.”
“Well then, I’ll see you next week, miss.”
After greeting me, the doctor followed the maid out of the room. Left alone, I let out a long sigh this time.
I moved to the dressing table and ran my hands over my face, feeling the rough texture of the bandages.
In the mirror, the girl—me—was completely wrapped in bandages.
The maid returned and looked at the reflection, asking cautiously:
“Miss, you must be tired. Shall I prepare your bed? Will you sleep right away?”
I watched the maid performing the tasks I had done until recently and shook my head.
“Then, if you need anything, please call.”
The maid bowed and left.
Until recently, I had been an ordinary maid. But now, after a tragic incident, I had become the Countess Adeline Beatrice Drayton.
Since I was the only one left from the Drayton household, I was expected to inherit soon. I let my hand fall from the bandages.
Why did this have to happen to me?
The accident happened not long ago, during a trip to the Beaumont villa.
The Drayton household traveled to their Beaumont villa every winter to host a party.
Beaumont was warmer than the Drayton estate, making it perfect for a winter gathering.
This party was the largest since the New Year’s celebration.
Many people had gathered to congratulate the young lady who would soon debut in society and to help with rehearsal practices.
The Draytons had spent a fortune preparing an extravagant party.
The young lady practiced various etiquette lessons repeatedly in preparation for her debut.
Because she practiced with me, I ended up memorizing all the formalities myself.
After tiring of reviewing etiquette, she turned to trying on several newly tailored dresses, enlisting my help.
“Hey, which one do you think suits me best?”
I looked over the dresses laid out on the bed.
From sky-blue chiffon to a pink formal debut dress, and a green dress with abundant pleats, my gaze finally rested on a white dress accented with mint ribbons.
“I think this dress suits you best. It also matches the color of your eyes.”
Pointing to the white lace dress, I spoke, and she clapped lightly.
“You think so too? I like that one best as well. But the godmother insists that debutantes must wear pink. When did that become a rule? She only talks about her own debut days and won’t listen no matter how I explain that times have changed.”
I smiled faintly, soothing her.
“I heard it’s okay if the accessories are pink. The marchioness follows the count’s words, so you could try convincing him.”
Her eyes sparkled as she looked at me.
“Should I?”
The party began, and with nothing to do, I quietly hid in a corner of the second floor, observing the hall.
Ladies in splendid dresses and gentlemen in fine suits were constantly complimenting the young lady, who smiled happily.
That night was the final day of the party, so even the staff were given food and drink.
Although the servants had a small party in the basement, I chose not to join—I disliked noisy gatherings.
After the party ended, I checked on the young lady’s sleeping arrangements, as she seemed too excited to settle down.
“Everyone says the dress suits you, your dancing is perfect. Ah, I can’t wait for the debut!”
“You should sleep. Tomorrow, we return to the mansion.”
“Right… these days, the moonflowers bloom, don’t they?”
“Yes, Miss. Especially the moonflowers on the hill behind the villa—they’re beautiful.”
I understood immediately. The yellow moonflowers were among her favorite flowers.
“I’ll pick some before we leave tomorrow.”
As I tucked her in, she turned her eyes toward me, thinking.
“They say moonflowers are freshest at dawn. I want to bring them to the mansion at their prettiest.”
“You mean I should pick them at dawn?”
“Yes. It’s right behind the mansion, so it won’t take long. Put them straight in a vase so they don’t wilt.”
“Yes, Miss. Sleep well.”
‘No chance of sleeping tonight…’
She was the type to get exactly what she wanted.
Knowing my thin coat wouldn’t protect me from the early-morning chill, I carefully took her thick coat and gloves and went out into the hall.
‘She’s asleep, so she won’t notice if I return them quickly.’
The villa was quiet. Everyone seemed to have succumbed to the aftereffects of the party.
Even thunder and lightning couldn’t have woken them.
I closed the door and stepped outside, my ears stinging from the cold.
‘Even in Beaumont, it’s cold at night…’
Since moonflowers only bloom at dawn on the hill, I walked slowly toward the hill behind the villa.
The moonlit flowers shone dazzlingly. I selected only the most beautiful blooms and gathered them.
By the time my arms were full of flowers, I saw someone approaching from the path.
It was the gardener—my father. Like me, he had apparently skipped the servants’ basement party.
Where a drunken man would skip the party to go was obvious: likely the gambling hall he visited whenever in Beaumont.
Today, he seemed furious, perhaps from losing heavily. He didn’t enter the villa but sat on a haystack beside the storage shed and lit a cigarette.
I quietly hid among the flowers, not wanting him to see me.
He grew angrier, throwing the cigarette to the ground before it was fully out. I was startled.
‘Crazy man. Throwing a cigarette there…’
Of course, the hay and cut grass caught fire. The flames spread quickly to the storage shed, escalating uncontrollably.
Panicking, he tried to put out the fire with his coat, but the wooden villa devoured the flames, showing no signs of dying down.
I was terrified. I dropped all the flowers and tumbled down the hill, shouting:
“Father! We need to wake everyone! This is a disaster!”
“Wait! Hold on!”
My shout was blocked by his thick hand.
The villa was already half consumed, and the entrance near the shed was engulfed. Anyone inside had no way out.
If anyone got up now, my father would be blamed as the fire starter and face certain death.
Looking into his gleaming eyes, I saw he only thought about covering up his guilt.
“I have no choice… This… isn’t my fault…”
With a blank expression, he kept repeating helplessness. Then, as if remembering something, his eyes flashed, searching for something.
He grabbed my arm and ran toward the burning shed, picking up a charred plank. Gripping my shoulder, he said:
“This way, both you and I can survive.”
I alternated my gaze between the plank and him, anticipating what would come.
He intended to make me into the young lady.
If only the gardener and the maid-daughter had escaped the fire, they wouldn’t survive.
But if the young lady alone were saved, things would be different.
My resemblance to the young lady had likely given him this idea.
I cursed the fate that had dragged me into this unwanted situation.
And then, I felt my strength leave me.
“Are you finally awake?”
I came to, having fainted from pain, my face wrapped in bandages, lying in a hospital in Beaumont.
Seeing the doctor use polite speech, I realized that, wearing the young lady’s fine coat, everyone believed I was her. My father’s false testimony surely helped too.
“Ugh…”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to speak. Your voice might not come out well. You likely took a lot of trauma.”
I glanced anxiously at my father over the doctor’s shoulder. The doctor continued:
“Fortunately, the burns aren’t severe. There will be some scars, but with bandages on your face, you’ll heal quickly. It will be uncomfortable, but please endure it. Once you return to the mansion, daily disinfection is necessary.”
My father listened as if it were nothing.
With my face wrapped, people’s eyes would be drawn to the bandages and not notice I wasn’t the real young lady.
Everything was unfolding exactly as my father wanted.
In this fire, the count and his wife, their only daughter’s maid—actually the young lady herself—many guests, the young lady’s godparents, and most staff lost their lives.
The villa burned beyond recognition.
The fire had mercilessly consumed everything. Since the party was large, only a minimal number of staff had stayed behind at the estate, leading to this disaster.
Honestly, I had no confidence in living as the young lady. How could I, a commoner who had lived an ordinary life, survive as a countess? Maybe I would run away once my face healed…
I glanced at my father. Seeing him watching me like a guard, despair washed over me—escaping was impossible.
