Chapter 02 …
The Villainous Heir’s Daughter?!
“Pardon? You’re going to reform the Marquis?”
Ebot looked as if he had just heard something utterly absurd.
I let out a deep sigh and spoke with my small, rounded lips.
“At this rate, my father is going to get kicked out by Grandfather. I don’t want to be kicked out……”
“But, Miss, you’re speaking incredibly well all of a sudden! Your pronunciation is so fluent now! Your subjects and predicates are perfect too. It’s like you’ve become a genius!”
“……My fatha, at this rate, is gonna get kicked out by Grandfatha (우리 아버지 지금 이대로면 할아버지한테 쫓겨나).”
“That’s right! Everyone is hoping the Marquis gets kicked out. Sigh.”
“…….”
What is this?
I rolled my eyes slightly from side to side.
Just how had Erusha been speaking all this time?
Even at five years old, shouldn’t a child be able to express themselves clearly?
In the original story, there was a separate protagonist, and information about Erusha was only given in narration, not dialogue.
It seemed that if I was going to live as Erusha, I would need some time to adjust.
‘Come to think of it, Erusha was a bit slow.’
She had been neglected without even a private tutor, and only played around with the maids. Rather than a clever noble child, she was closer to a primitive human.
Because her father was such a mess, the fact that she had been born into one of the most prestigious noble families was meaningless.
In that sense, she was a little like my past self.
Before becoming Erusha, I had been the kind of illegitimate child you’d see in melodramas or novels about chaebol families.
To be more precise, I was born because my second-generation chaebol father irresponsibly had children without permission or restraint.
My paternal grandfather did not acknowledge me, as I was born between parents who weren’t even married. My mother, too, was rejected for not being of suitable status to become a daughter-in-law of a chaebol family.
My biological father abandoned my mother and me, tossing us 300 million won as “compensation.”
But to my mother, that amount, which was nothing more than pocket change to a chaebol, seemed like a blessing. She happily went on a European trip and spent it on luxury bags.
‘Yulhee, do you know what it feels like to have endless money no matter how much you spend? I hope you experience it someday. You carry the blood of a chaebol, so you’ll definitely become rich.’
‘……I don’t care about being rich. I just want to get a job.’
Because my mother quickly spent the money, I had no choice but to grow up in poverty.
There was no point expecting contact or help from my father. He coldly ignored us.
Not long after I entered one of the top universities, my mother passed away from stomach cancer.
Even while feeling empty and lost, I worked part-time at LS Convenience Store, part of LS Corporation where my father served as an affiliate CEO, and studied late into the night every day.
Because I wanted to show up in front of the father who had abandoned me from birth and never contacted me even once until I turned twenty-four, and prove that I had grown up well.
‘Reading romance fantasy novels in my spare time was my only hobby…….’
And now, I had died and become Erusha.
Who would have thought I’d die in a sudden fire without ever getting the chance to be happy?
At least one small consolation was that I had gotten a job at LS Corporation and carried out something like revenge against my father before dying.
‘The father here and the father there are both trash…….’
Shin Yulhee may be dead, but I will never let Erusha die.
I clenched my resolve once more.
With a pitiful expression, I moved my tiny lips.
“At this rate, I’ll get abandoned too.”
“Miss……”
Ebot looked at me with sympathy and spoke again.
“That’s true. It’s really sad, but the Duke doesn’t even want to see you. He hates even hearing the Marquis’s name— ah.”
Ebot quickly covered her mouth with both hands, as if realizing she had just delivered a blunt truth.
I glanced at her expression, then lowered my head gloomily.
“I see. I don’t want to be abandoned…… If that’s the case, my fatha has to stop acting like a villain.”
“Do you think that’s possible?”
“I’ll make a plan.”
“Oh my, where did you learn a word like that?”
“Hm?”
Was Erusha really that foolish?
“But I never imagined you’d notice what I was doing, Miss. You’re usually so timid and gentle that I must have gone crazy for a moment. I’m sorry. Of course, you’re still only five years old…… but other children your age are so cunning— I mean, clever.”
“I wanna become smart too.”
“……Really? I hope you do.”
Ebot gave me a slightly awkward smile. There was a faint trace of doubt and distrust in her eyes.
If even Ebot, the person closest to Erusha, reacted like that, it was easy to imagine just how slow Erusha had been.
Duke Shurman Shablin was a perfectionist, a man as sharp and flawless as a jaguar. If a descendant was lacking in any way, he treated them as if they didn’t exist. There was no reason for someone like him to take interest in a neglected, dim-witted granddaughter.
And considering that her father was that kind of person, it was only natural that no one cared how a five-year-old granddaughter lived…… or was it?
“Ebot.”
I clasped her hand with my tiny fingers, looking earnest.
“Yes?”
“I want a teacher too.”
“A teacher?”
“Mm!”
I nodded vigorously.
If Duke Shurman learned that I was studying day and night with a private tutor, he might start to take care of me.
After all, he favored intelligent and wise descendants above all else.
Reforming my villainous father was urgent, but it was also important to make a good impression on my grandfather that I was a useful member of the family.
“But for that, we would need the Marquis’s permission……”
Ebot trailed off with a troubled expression.
As expected, it seemed I needed the Marquis’s approval to hire a private tutor.
‘So now it’s time to go see Father?’
“Miss Erusha?”
“W-What brings you here……?”
The servants turned pale as if they had seen a ghost.
As expected, my sudden appearance at my father’s residence caused quite a stir. Erusha was someone who would never come here.
A daughter visits her father’s house, and this is the reaction?
‘This feels just like when it was revealed in my previous life that I was my father’s real daughter.’
The atmosphere was freezing.
Back then too, the grand mansion of LS Corporation’s chairman had turned as cold as a winter kingdom.
Soon, I spoke in the real Erusha’s tone that I had learned from my conversation with Ebot.
“Where’s my fatha?”
At my question, Helen, the head maid in charge of the Marquis’s residence, approached.
“For what reason are you looking for the Marquis?”
“I have somethin’ to say.”
“If you tell me, I will deliver the message on your behalf. It’s late today, so please return now.”
As she finished speaking, Helen shot a stern glance at Ebot.
It was a signal to take me back immediately.
At that moment, a loud, bold, and somewhat provocative laughter echoed from outside the door.
“Hahaha! Hahahahaha!”
