Chapter 3
A week had passed.
I no longer felt any need to return to my original body. I had completely adapted to Ariel’s life.
There was only one reason.
Being the eldest daughter here was a hundred times better than being the eldest daughter back there.
One father, two younger siblings—the family composition was the same, but the role of the eldest daughter was a world apart.
No one looked for me! No one asked me for help! No one caused trouble!
They didn’t even greet me!
The Ballienor family, befitting the greatest villainous household in the world, prided itself on its bleak atmosphere.
It was so eerie that you wouldn’t be surprised if a vampire popped out under a full moon. On top of that, they had the cold disinterest of twenty-first-century high-rise apartment dwellers who didn’t care about their neighbors.
Ariel’s relationship with her family was about the same as that between apartment neighbors—so long as you didn’t make noise between floors, you’d never have a reason to see each other.
And that wasn’t just a figure of speech; there really was no reason to meet.
Ariel lived in the annex, while the rest of the family stayed in the main building, making even accidental encounters rare.
On top of that, her younger siblings, Jeremiah and Davina, had never set foot in the annex even before.
Her family member had nearly died and come back to life, and they didn’t so much as show their faces.
That might have been upsetting from Ariel’s point of view, but from mine, it was perfect.
Who in their right mind would want to meet the original villain and villainess from the novel? I’d avoid them as much as possible.
So I was actually quite fond of the Ballienor family’s signature “cold family culture.” I had no complaints whatsoever.
“Milady, what would you like for dinner?”
“Veal steak sounds good tonight. Medium rare.”
“Shall we serve it in your room?”
“That sounds nice.”
Tender, juicy steak with perfectly grilled vegetable garnishes. Mashed potatoes rich with the flavor of butter. A flawless meal prepared entirely for me.
I’d thought I’d landed in a survival romance, but living here felt more like a healing story.
Three square meals a day, treatment, walks, baths, reading…
It was almost sad to think that one day I’d have to run away.
Ah, so this is happiness, I thought, basking in bliss—when suddenly, I heard a faint “Waaah” in my ears. My shoulders twitched involuntarily.
“Milady, what’s wrong? Is something the matter?”
“Oh, no, nothing at all. The veal steak was just so good it gave me chills.”
Damn it, I’d almost forgotten, and now the memory had to resurface and ruin my happiness.
Knock, knock, knock—
The sudden knock made my body tense. I had a bad feeling about this.
“Check who it is.”
“Yes, milady.”
I watched the maid out of the corner of my eye. The tension in her posture made my appetite vanish.
“Milady, the Duke’s secretary has come to see you.”
I knew it. Bad premonitions never miss.
I mourned my crushed happiness and quietly set down my fork.
“…What for?”
“The Duke would like to see you in his office immediately.”
Damn it. Life really isn’t easy.
Of course. Hardship and misfortune were passive traits in my life. I should be grateful I got to taste a little luxury at all.
Despite my tangled thoughts, a calm smile spread across my face—the survival skill of a seasoned adult.
“Shall I show him in?”
“Yes.”
A pair of long legs crossed the doorway. The man in a black tailcoat-style suit instantly caught my eye.
When I looked up, his monocle gleamed. The moment my gaze met the crimson irises behind it, a chill ran down my spine.
Monocle. Red eyes. Red hair.
Ah, I know who this is.
The man who had shattered my peace was none other than Mikhail, the butler from the original story.
Mikhail was Jeremiah’s most loyal subordinate, serving the Ballienors faithfully until their destruction. Which meant—he wasn’t sane either.
If it was the will of the Ballienor family, he never questioned it. No matter how inhuman the order, he carried it out perfectly—more devoid of humanity than any AI.
In fact, I’d found Mikhail more chilling than Jeremiah, who would lose his temper and lash out.
He was so inscrutable that fans even theorized he might be the true mastermind behind everything.
‘What if Jeremiah’s just a figurehead, and the real villain is the redhead?’
‘Or maybe the redhead’s taking orders from someone else entirely.’
‘Look at how he’s always expressionless—definitely suspicious.’
Everyone suspected Mikhail’s true nature, but it was never revealed, even at the end. After Jeremiah’s death, his whereabouts were unknown, and readers scolded the author for leaving such a big mystery unresolved.
‘Wait, you’re telling me the redhead was just a normal butler? That’s the real twist.’
‘The author was definitely too lazy to wrap this up.’
‘Author-nim… Could you at least tell us if my favorite redhead is alive or dead?’
Full disclosure: that last comment was mine. Mikhail wasn’t my ultimate favorite, but I liked him enough to call him that, thinking it might coax the author into at least mentioning him in a side story.
Why did I like a background character more than the male lead, female lead, or main villain? Simply because, unlike the rest of the household, he actually did what he was told.
I boldly stared up into Mikhail’s face. I couldn’t look away from his trademark expressionlessness.
“Wow…”
Rather than scary, he just looked like a sculpture.
Even from my unflattering low angle, his features were inhumanly perfect—like the ultimate product of scientists and artists working together in pursuit of the golden ratio.
I found myself dazed until a strand of vivid red hair fell across his flawless forehead like a drop of blood, snapping me back to my senses.
Ariel, get a grip. This man might be even more dangerous than the villainous younger brother.
Realizing who I was dealing with, my neck stiffened. My mouth felt dry as I swallowed.
“Good evening, milady. I am Mikhail, the Duke’s secretary.”
“Yes. It was a good evening.”
Even if I only ate half my veal steak, I’d let it count.
His cold eyes scanned me like an observer studying a specimen. For all their red color, his gaze was icy.
“I heard you’ve made a full recovery. Are you well?”
“Yes, I am.”
“That’s a relief. I will take you to the Duke at once.”
“Alright. I’ll walk, so don’t prepare a carriage.”
The maid jumped in, startled.
“Milady, are you sure? The annex and main building may be connected, but it’s still a long walk for you…”
“It’s fine. I took a walk for over thirty minutes earlier.”
I couldn’t help but smile at her overprotectiveness. Even though I was healthy now, the household staff still treated me as fragile.
And no wonder—Ariel’s body had been frail from long illness.
When I first saw it, I was shocked. It was like the difference between seeing a thin idol on TV and seeing them in person—only worse.
She was basically walking bones. I’d thought, one kick to the leg and it would definitely break.
Mikhail’s monocle glinted sharply. In a voice devoid of emotion, he questioned me.
“Thirty minutes? Didn’t your arms and legs feel weak?”
“The doctor said I’m perfectly healthy. Just need to put on a little weight.”
“And you’re not taking your medicine?”
As he asked, he glanced at the maid, who nodded frantically, looking pale.
“Both the blue pills and the red ones?”
“Y-yes, sir. By the Duke’s orders.”
“Oh, those made me nauseous, so I stopped…”
Couldn’t even eat meat after that.
I trailed off, gauging his reaction. His eyes lit briefly, as if spotting an unidentified creature, then quickly cooled again.
“I see. Shall we go, then?”
His tone was plain, but his escorting gesture was graceful as a swan—straight out of a high-society etiquette manual.
I was almost hypnotized into placing my hand in his.
“But why does the Duke want to see me?”
“He said he has something important to discuss with you.”
“This is the first time he’s called for me, isn’t it?”
“That’s correct. It’s rare.”
Right. Life is full of rare events. Like the time my younger brother in my past life crashed into a convenience store on his motorcycle and I had to cough up thirty million won in settlement.
I steadied my pounding heart by channeling that old rage. Anger was the best cure for nerves.
“Careful, milady. The passage ahead is a bit dark.”
“Okay, I’ll keep my eyes wide open.”
As we left the annex for the main building, the light dimmed abruptly, just as Mikhail had said.
Even in early evening, the Ballienor main house was as dark as a moonless night, thanks to heavy blackout curtains.
A few candles flickered here and there, but it was like throwing eggs at a rock. If anything, the sparse light made the place feel even more desolate.
“…Good grief.”
In a world with electricity, why the candles? It’s not like they’re short on money. Is “haunted mansion” the theme?
I sighed with every step. I didn’t remember it being this bad before—seemed they’d neglected upkeep after the Duchess died.
“It’s been a while since I was in the main house.”
“Yes. At last, roses are blooming in Ballienor again.”
…? Roses? Did I hear that right?
I shot him a disbelieving look.
An AI-like man joking about Ariel’s nickname? That was hard to believe.
Ariel Ballienor—known as “The Rose of Ballienor.” A girl with hair as bright and lovely as a pink rose.
In the novel, Ariel was already dead, so she was barely mentioned.
‘I heard the Ballienors were all trash, but Lady Ariel wasn’t. If she hadn’t died young, maybe her siblings wouldn’t have gone so mad.’
People spoke fondly of Ariel, the family’s only sane member. But ironically, no one had any actual memories of her.
“Roses? You mean me?”
“Of course. What other roses are there in Ballienor?”
Just then, the candlelight illuminated his face. He was calling me a rose with the faintest trace of a smile on his lips.
“…Are you smiling?”
Did I imagine it? Or were my eyes deceiving me?
Why would the man whose trademark was expressionlessness smile at me?
