Chapter 01
“Kuh-kuh! Zzz… snore~!”
The sound of someone snoring so loudly it felt like their breath would choke them made me open my tightly shut eyes. Bright moonlight streamed through the small window that let in only the wind, illuminating the old, filthy little room.
Wrapped in a blanket full of mold, I seized the moment to quietly sit up. At that instant, a sharp pain shot through one side of my ribs.
“Ugh…”
A groan slipped out without my realizing it.
Damn it, I can’t make a sound! I have to hold it in!
I bit my lip hard to suppress the groan that kept wanting to escape. I bit so hard that the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth, but it didn’t matter.
Right now, I can’t make a sound—no matter what.
I tried to stand, but the pain made it impossible to put any strength into my body.
‘What… why does it hurt so much?’
Curious, I groaned and lifted my shirt to see a large, dark bruise covering one side of my ribs.
Ah, right. This morning, the orphanage class president had kicked me viciously.
The class president of the orphanage, twelve years old this year, constantly bullied me whenever he had the chance. He would sneak disgusting bugs like centipedes or cockroaches into my blanket, spit in my meals, and generally make life miserable.
Still, being the class president, he had never laid a hand on my body—until today. For some reason, he was furious and, the moment he saw me, kicked me in the side.
He complained that it made no sense that I was being adopted as a noble family’s ward or something like that.
The twelve-year-old boy shouted horrible things I couldn’t even imagine a child saying and ran at me. In the end, he got caught by the housemaster, was severely punished, and locked in the storage room.
What a brat. Karma’s coming for you.
The memory of that chunky boy cursing and kicking made my body shiver uncontrollably.
‘It was disgusting to deal with him, and I never want to see him again.’
I silently said my final farewell to the class president and retrieved the small bundle of grass roots I had hidden under my pillow. They were common weeds found across the continent, and my only emergency medicine.
Those who knew, knew; those who didn’t, didn’t. But when eaten together, these herbs had surprisingly strong pain-relieving effects.
During my time here, I had been beaten to near death more than once, and no one cared about my suffering. I had to endure it myself. The orphanage didn’t even give proper food or water, so medicine was out of the question. That’s when I discovered these herbs, capable of relieving pain.
No medicine, so I had to make my own painkillers.
What a pathetic life, huh?
I forced a bitter smile and quickly chewed and swallowed the roots. The strong, bitter taste and rough texture made me recoil, but now was not the time to fuss.
Soon, the intense pain that had made me groan uncontrollably began to subside. It still throbbed, but it was no longer unbearable. Time was slipping by, so I had to get up quickly.
I quietly got up and crept toward the door, keeping my movements as silent as possible. Peeking through the keyhole, I saw a large man sprawled across the dark hallway floor.
“Kerrr… zzz… phu~”
He must have eaten well today; the man’s enormous stomach moved up and down like a small mountain.
Now’s my chance.
I retrieved a small, bent metal rod I had hidden in my clothes.
This was my only opportunity.
Taking a deep breath, I inserted the rod into the keyhole and twisted. My palm, bruised from being hit with a thick cane, didn’t always obey my will, and a few attempts failed.
But whose body is this anyway? After a few tries, I finally heard the sound of the lock disengaging.
Click!
The noise was surprisingly loud, and my eyes instinctively squeezed shut.
‘Please don’t wake up because of that sound…’
Luckily, all I heard was the deep snoring.
“Zzz… whew…”
‘Thank goodness.’
Holding my breath, I turned the door handle all the way and opened the door.
Normally, it would have creaked unpleasantly, but today it opened quietly, silently. All thanks to the layer of oil I had preemptively applied in the kitchen.
Stepping into the hallway, the sharp scent of alcohol hit me.
Outside, I could see scattered barrels and people sprawled all over.
Damn them. After selling me for a high price, they all started drinking from the evening, each trying to take their share. Now, drunk, they had all passed out.
“Mmnh… mmnh… smacking…”
I wrinkled my nose at the disgusting sight of them talking in their sleep, smacking their lips.
‘You lot are done now.’
I quickly jumped over them and headed toward the window at the end of the hallway. The moon outside was unusually large and bright tonight. A perfect night to escape.
As I reached for the window, my gaze caught a small mirror placed nearby.
In the old mirror stood a tiny girl, no more than ten, looking tense. No matter how many times I looked, it was a stranger’s face.
The girl with sparkling white hair and red eyes shimmering in the moonlight was stunningly beautiful. Apart from the dark bruises on her neck and her severely swollen lips, she looked like a walking porcelain doll.
‘She’s really beautiful.’
Even though it was my reflection, the face was so beautiful that I could never get used to it.
Snapping out of my thoughts, I shook my head.
‘Not the time for this!’
Time was running out.
I cautiously opened the window. A strong gust of wind hit my face.
Worried it might wake the housemaster, I glanced back, but he was still snoring peacefully with the others.
I carefully stepped onto the roof outside. The building was quite tall. The wind whipped my hair into a mess, partially blocking my vision, but I wasn’t afraid at all.
This is nothing.
If I don’t make it, it’ll be like a novel heroine dying unnecessarily, right?
Climbing onto the roof, I saw a carriage unlike anything that should belong to an orphanage.
A luxurious white carriage adorned with elegant red rose designs.
And that carriage was waiting for me. From this morning until now, it had been eagerly waiting to take me away.
I looked at the carriage and sneered.
‘Adios, carriage. This villainess of the novel is disappearing now.’
I was just an ordinary office worker in South Korea.
A person who dragged herself through work every day, thinking only about leaving the office as soon as I arrived.
My hobby? Lying in bed after work, reading web novels on my phone… maybe.
Once, I had various hobbies: exercising, painting, exploring restaurants with friends. But during COVID and the endless overtime, the only thing left that brought me joy was reading.
Think about it: work until 10 PM, back at 9 AM, what kind of hobby can you even pursue?
The only comfort was lying under a warm blanket, diving into the world of a novel on my phone.
And on that fateful day, after a tiring day at work, I lay in bed reading a web novel.
As soon as I lay down, an alert popped up: my favorite novel’s side story had just updated.
“What? A new side story?!”
Excited, I opened Cocoa Page. “Author, go ahead and stick a straw in my bank account!” I thought.
I should’ve been suspicious. It was past 11 PM. A sudden alert for a new upload. A side story for a novel that had ended over a year ago, with the author having left postscript notes, now suddenly releasing a new episode. And the story already had a webtoon adaptation.
But I didn’t think about that. I was too excited for a new episode of my favorite romance fantasy novel and was busy buying it.
“The Contract Marriage of the Reincarnated Noblewoman”
Any romance fantasy fan could roughly guess the plot from the title.
A noblewoman protagonist is falsely accused and killed by a villainess, reincarnates, enters into a contract marriage with the male lead, seeks revenge, and finds love.
A typical reincarnation story.
With each chapter, the protagonist grew stronger, eventually becoming overpowered, delivering a thrilling revenge.
The male lead was slightly psycho but kind only to the heroine, and her family’s banter added fun. I had purchased collectible versions, hardcopies, and reread the story multiple times.
Not only that, but I had also purchased limited edition books for collection and reading, character cards, postcards, stands, decorating my room beautifully. I even bought all the official merchandise to support the author, emptying my bank account.
A new episode for such a novel? Naturally, I had to buy it.
Heart pounding, I clicked the icon—and suddenly, I was transmigrated into my favorite novel.
Who did I become?
Reincarnation, revenge, contract marriage, family love, book transmigration… what’s left?
The villainess.
Yes. I became the villainess in my favorite novel.
If the villainess had just been the type to scold the heroine or interfere with the male lead out of jealousy, I could’ve handled it. Apologize when leaving, stay out of their way. Simple.
But the character I became… wasn’t a cute, minor villain.
A sadistic psychopath who enjoyed torturing and killing people, summoned demons, and turned the continent into a sea of blood. The ultimate final villain. The embodiment of evil.
The novel’s world had already been destroyed by this villainess.
And that was my huge problem.
The destroyed world had been rolled back ten years by the hero’s power—and I was now inhabiting the villainess’s childhood.
‘Why this time?’
If I had transmigrated before the reset, I could’ve reformed and lived happily with the protagonist.
The only ending left for me?
Tragically, I would die a horrific death, burned alive by the reincarnated, overpowered protagonists.
