CHAPTER 03
The Duchess of Ferdi quickly spoke up.
“Rose, what are you talking about? That place is abandoned land—no one even lives there. It’s said that boiling water from hell melts people alive. The Empire has strictly forbidden entry.”
“A terrifying place that melts people…? Even better!”
“My goodness, dear… just how much did she suffer in the palace for our Rose to end up like this?”
“Rosennelly, come to your senses, please. You’re not planning to go to that cursed land to place a curse on the Crown Prince, are you?”
The Duke and Duchess looked at her as if they were seriously considering performing an exorcism.
But when they saw the way Rosennelly gazed at the Voltamir region—as if it were her last hope—they were left speechless.
Was she… serious?
“…If our beloved daughter truly wants it, we should buy it for her, but… what exactly are you planning to do with such useless land?”
“Like I said, I’m going to build a hot spring.”
“A hot spring? What is that?”
The duke looked at his daughter with concern. Had something gone wrong with her mind? Could excessive bathing have somehow let germs into her brain? Didn’t she say she washed her face morning and night?
Buying Voltamir… building a ‘hot spring’… what on earth was that?
Rosennelly smiled brightly and explained.
“If it’s a volcanic area, there must be hot springs. A hot spring is groundwater heated by geothermal energy that rises above the region’s average temperature. Unlike ordinary water, it contains special minerals, so it’s widely used for beauty and therapeutic purposes.”
And thus began Rosennelly’s passionate praise of hot springs.
Her words flowed effortlessly, as if she had memorized a script.
The reason was simple—
Before transmigrating, she had been the daughter of a bathhouse owner.
Not just any bathhouse, but a famous hot spring bathhouse in a rural area that still attracted steady customers.
She knew everything—types of hot springs, their names, their effects.
Her praise went on and on, and the duke, who couldn’t understand a word, could only nod blankly.
“—So that’s why we need to buy the Voltamir region.”
After she finished speaking, the duke said awkwardly,
“To purchase Voltamir, you would need His Highness’s permission. But you’re already divorced…”
“You don’t need to worry about that—or buy it for me. I actually received it as alimony.”
“…What?”
In truth, Rosennelly had everything planned out.
“Why did I suddenly transmigrate here?”
There had to be a reason.
Everything had cause and effect.
Was it to change the original story, since she knew it?
No. She wasn’t that invested in romance.
Was it to turn her cold husband into a regretful male lead?
He was very handsome, yes—but maybe too handsome. She didn’t feel any urge to fix him or create romance.
Flipping the book, she found a map of the Lobea Empire—a large island nation.
“Hm… so that’s what it looks like. Oh? There’s a volcano?”
A note explained:
The volcano had gone dormant 100 years ago, but no vegetation grew there. It was considered cursed land. Scalding water flowed from beneath the earth, so entry was strictly forbidden. No one bought the land—it was a burden to the empire.
“Hot water? Isn’t that just a hot spring? What do they mean ‘water from hell’? That’s natural healing water. If you soak in it, all the grime—”
Suddenly, something clicked.
What if I was sent here to improve hygiene?
It actually made sense.
She was the daughter of a bathhouse owner. Even though she had left home to live in the city, she loved hot springs.
Maybe this was a mission.
Maybe the “romance fantasy god” sent her here to bring missing civilization—hygiene—into this world.
After all, hygiene was directly tied to survival.
And more importantly, if she wanted to live here, things had to change.
“…Oh right. I remember now. Rosennelly Ferdi’s ending.”
In the original story, her fate was barely mentioned.
After Leonhardt became emperor, they had one child.
But the next year, a plague spread.
Leonhardt died young.
Her family also died from the plague.
Grief-stricken, Rosennelly fell ill—not physically, but emotionally—and died at the age of 26.
The emperor, having lost both wife and child, died the following year.
And then a distant royal relative took the throne.
—
“Please look forward to Season 2!”
—
“Season 2 my foot!”
This was how romance fantasy worlds worked.
All importance was concentrated on the main characters—extras like her could just die off for plot convenience.
Then it made sense.
If she had become Rosennelly, there had to be a reason.
At the very least, she wasn’t going to live a miserable life.
“If no one bathes and there’s no sanitation, of course plagues happen!”
Whether or not it was the real reason, she decided:
She was here to fix hygiene.
Romance could wait.
First, she’d clean up this filthy world.
Her eyes sparkled with determination.
Leonhardt didn’t resist the divorce much either.
In fact, he agreed almost immediately—as if he had been waiting for it.
Well, considering he didn’t even try to stop her, he clearly wasn’t the “regretful male lead” type.
After all, in the original, he only appeared briefly as someone who regretted things before dying.
The day after declaring her ambition to build a hot spring, Rosennelly got to work.
Heartbreak? Gossip? She didn’t care.
“First, we need to summon the best architect in the empire. Design the overall structure. Gather workers so construction can begin immediately. How long does it usually take to build something like this?”
“If we focus all manpower on it, it could be done within a year. But building a massive castle would be difficult.”
“That’s fine. It’ll be single-story.”
Her parents still didn’t understand her—but they decided to support her anyway.
Because for the first time since her return, her eyes were alive.
“What is she doing?”
Leonhardt asked again, as if he couldn’t believe what he’d heard.
His cousin and secretary, Dalton, replied awkwardly,
“…She’s… building something called a hot spring.”
“A hot spring? What’s that?”
“Think of it as a large bathhouse, Your Highness.”
“A bathhouse? Why is she so obsessed with that?”
“It’s already become a rumor among the nobles. They say she’s building a massive bathhouse village in Voltamir… Most believe she’s gone mad from the shock of the divorce. Some even pity her.”
In truth, most nobles probably thought that.
Everyone knew their marriage had been one-sided and strained.
They likely criticized Leonhardt—
Married at fourteen, no child after five years…
Rumors spread:
That she had been rejected on their wedding night.
That they had never shared a bed.
That no one had ever seen them smile at each other.
So naturally, people assumed the divorce had been his doing.
“That aside, Her Highness’s behavior has been very strange lately. She’s been washing herself multiple times a day, as if possessed. Could it be mental illness?”
“…It’s not like that.”
“…Isn’t it? You regret it, don’t you? You should have treated her better.”
“I’m the one who got divorced. She was the one who asked first.”
