Chapter 02
The old, dilapidated orphanage building let the cold wind pierce through everywhere. Bad adults who neither provided proper food nor clothing and indulged in abuse, and orphans who bullied weaker children just to survive.
When I first opened my eyes in this world, I couldn’t tell who among the unfortunate kids I saw was supposed to be the main character.
There were novel characters with unusual white hair and red eyes, with outstanding looks, but judging by appearance alone wasn’t enough. Every character I knew from the novels had been nobles—dukes, duchesses, crown princes, and the like.
I could confidently say that in novels filled only with aristocrats, there had never been a “beautiful orphan girl.”
But novels aside, I had to survive. The constant violence, hunger, and cold were tormenting me.
A small child in the next room starved to death.
If I did nothing, I’d be next.
Worried about how to get a meal, I decided that I needed to at least learn the language of this place. If I could read, I thought, then with the skills I’d honed over years as a salaried worker in South Korea, I could probably outsmart the protagonists in this world somehow.
But since the adults here didn’t feed us, they certainly wouldn’t teach me letters. So I pretended to clean, pretended to run errands, and secretly learned letters by stealing glances at the orphanage staff’s documents.
Strangely, after seeing them just once, I could infer the meaning of words and interpret sentences. Within a week, I had mastered the common language of this continent. Did that even make sense?
At the time, I didn’t think much of it. “Children’s brains are like sponges, I guess. Since it’s their native language, learning letters comes quickly,” I thought casually. I only cared about getting my abilities recognized quickly so I could eat properly.
So I gathered the adults together and announced that I could read and organize documents. The effect was immediate. The expressions of the adults changed. The faces that had looked at me like I was a cockroach now wore smiles.
“I did it. At least I can eat properly here,” I thought.
But then, the smiles of the adults turned into something eerily grinning.
It was too late by the time I realized something was seriously wrong.
The orphanage adults, having realized I was quite intelligent, began pushing me to study more to attract sponsorship from the nobles. There was no choice but to comply. If I didn’t meet the daily quota, harsh punishment would follow.
With continued abuse and no proper meals, I had no choice but to obey.
The only small solace amid endless studying and abuse was the newspapers the adults threw to me, insisting I study.
The newspapers often featured the novel’s heroine.
It seemed she had reincarnated, as articles described her achieving remarkable success at an astonishing pace. Each time, it reminded me that this place wasn’t reality—it was the world of the novel.
But misfortune didn’t end there. When the adults realized that the small girl in front of them had learned the difficult “Krult language” in just a month and even possessed mana, they didn’t just settle for noble sponsorship—they became greedier.
Before I knew it, a lavishly decorated carriage from a duke’s family appeared, with someone claiming they wanted to adopt me as a foster daughter.
When I learned the family name of the carriage was Rosevelier, one thought struck my mind: the villainess in the novel with white hair and red eyes was named Ibeliana Rosevelier.
That’s right. I had possessed the body of the psychopathic villainess in her childhood.
If I was dragged away and became a noble, the reincarnated protagonists would eventually kill me. Then here, the only option was…
“Run.”
If I avoided the protagonists’ attention, maybe they’d eventually forget a mere villainess.
The protagonists were aristocrats of a duke’s family, and I was now an orphan worse off than ordinary commoners. If I ran now, the chances of meeting them would be close to zero.
So, under the cover of dawn while everyone slept, I escaped the orphanage.
Tap, tap, tap!
Deep in the scarcely inhabited forest, I ran like mad after successfully escaping.
Sweat poured down my forehead like rain.
“Huff… huff…”
My muscles screamed in agony, my bones creaked, begging me to stop, but some inexplicable fear drove me onward.
My already worn-out shoes had long since lost shape.
My feet were scratched and battered by gravel and branches, swollen and bloodied.
“Ah!”
I tripped over a rock and fell while running recklessly.
“Ugh!”
Struggling to stand, I saw blood trickling from my scraped knees. As I tried to rise again, immense pain made breathing difficult.
Should I rest for a bit?
If I ran again now, I might faint without realizing it.
I ran until my feet were swollen, collapsed from exhaustion, then got up and ran again, only to collapse repeatedly. Day turned to night and back again before I even noticed.
Now, I couldn’t afford to collapse. A search party from the duke’s family was after me.
I peeked around and hid in nearby bushes. Curling up quietly, I noticed wild raspberries growing beneath the bushes.
I need to eat while I can.
I quickly grabbed the berries and stuffed them into my mouth. The sweet juice relieved some of my fatigue.
Then—
“There’s a blood trail here!”
“Hmph, she’s close.”
The sound of horse hooves and the conversation of knights reached me from afar. The Rosevelier family’s search party had come.
Damn, they’re close again.
I thought I’d shaken them off earlier, but they had traced me once more. Unlike the foolish orphanage adults, this search party of knights and mages pursued relentlessly.
“Miss, come out! We’re not scary!”
“Aren’t you hungry? We brought delicious food.”
They whispered from afar, trying to lure me.
The smell of food filled the forest, tempting the starved me.
“Miss, don’t be afraid!”
“If you come with us, you can have as many pretty dresses and delicious cakes as you want.”
A gentle-voiced mage shouted loudly.
An ordinary ten-year-old girl might have been swayed by such kindness. But I wasn’t ordinary, and I knew they weren’t really that kind.
Clutching my stomach to quiet its growls, I curled up low to the forest floor.
After a long while hiding, the knights and mages, unable to contain their anger, revealed their true selves.
“Damn brat! Why aren’t you coming out?”
The previously soft-spoken mage spat and yelled.
“If you don’t come out now, I’ll break your limbs! Can’t you come out?”
A knight shouted with terrifying intensity.
There was a palpable malice in his words.
If I showed myself, he would probably break my limbs for real.
Insane. These guys were crazy. They threatened a mere ten-year-old… Even if I were polite, would I come out?
Determined never to be caught, I picked up a nearby stone and threw it far in the opposite direction of the knights and myself.
The stone arced through the air and landed in the bushes.
Rustle.
The stone hit with a loud thud.
“There!”
“Damn! Catch this brat! I’ll leave her half dead!”
The knights yelled and ran toward the stone I had thrown.
Once they were far enough away, I quickly slipped from the bushes and scrambled up a nearby tall tree.
“She’s not here, Captain!”
“No matter how hard we look, she’s nowhere.”
I heard sighs mixed with curses from the knights and mages.
“Where the hell did she go?”
“Let’s check over there.”
Muttering among themselves, the search party moved on. Once they disappeared, the forest fell silent again.
After waiting until the search party’s presence completely faded, I finally descended from the tree.
Phew… I survived.
Perhaps it was because I was the final mastermind villain who had destroyed the world?
At ten years old, with a tiny body and weak stamina, I had successfully evaded fully grown knights and mages.
Whew… That’s impressive, I told myself, taking a short, deep breath, and then continued running south.
The sky darkened as night approached.
Just a little further…
If I crossed the valley with the waterfall ahead, I’d reach the empire’s border.
Once out of the empire where this novel took place, I could live without fear of encountering the protagonists.
I forced my trembling legs forward, step by step.
How long had I run? The dim forest turned completely dark. With no map or compass, I relied solely on the stars and moon to guide me toward the border.
Ugh…
My legs, pushed to their limits, cramped and buckled. I could barely move.
Plopping down, I massaged my legs and tried to move when I heard the roar of rushing water nearby.
Whoosh…
…A waterfall!
I was almost at the border. My mind fogged, my bones ached, but I shook my head.
I couldn’t collapse now. Just a little more strength.
As I tried to get up and move toward the waterfall, a strange sound occurred.
Ziiiiiing!
A small, round magical circle flashed beneath my feet.
“Got you! You little rat!”
Rustling sounds came from the bushes far away as two men appeared.
