CHAPTER 00
Prologue
They say landlords are above even the gods, but this was just too much.
“What is this?! They copied exactly what my mom made!”
Ashley, a maid of the Duke’s household, had come home on her day off to help her mom—only to be shocked beyond words.
In the place where their bakery used to be, the landlord had opened a knockoff shop that looked exactly the same.
The very bakery known for the “Honey Lemon Cupcakes” that had become famous thanks to the craftsmanship of her mom and older sister.
“They said they were kicking us out to open a clothing store! So this was the plan all along?! You just wanted to steal our recipes because our business was doing well!”
“What do you mean, steal? Did your mom invent honey lemon cupcakes? It’s just honey, lemon, and cupcakes mixed together! Are you going to claim you invented honey, lemon, and cake too?”
The landlord and his son raised their voices, playing the victim.
Ashley, who was considered pretty sharp in the Duke’s estate, trembled with rage and fought back tears as she saw her mother treated so unfairly.
“Stop pretending! Ours was the only shop people lined up for before dawn! Mom spent ten years figuring out how to make lemon juice taste fresh instead of sour. And you just copy it?”
“Well, we also spent ten years on research! Get lost before we call the city guards!”
The landlord and his son forcibly drove Ashley’s family away.
“Please don’t buy from that store! They stole our recipe!”
She pleaded with passersby, but no one cared. People only lined up excitedly, saying, “So this is the cupcake everyone talks about?”
“What do we do now…”
Her mother looked like her soul had left her body.
They had just barely managed to move the shop with a loan after being evicted. Now, they were about to lose everything and end up on the streets.
“This is cruel… Mom and Sis only slept four hours a day to get here…”
Ashley finally broke down and cried.
And just then—
Boom!
A loud explosion rang out from behind.
“What’s going on? Is there a war?!”
Everyone turned and gasped.
Fireworks burst in the middle of the street. As the curtains dropped, a grand three-story building revealed itself—right next to the landlord’s knockoff bakery.
Beneath a dazzling neon sign, dozens of attendants in white suits lined up in perfect symmetry.
Click, clack.
With the crisp sound of heels on stone, a dazzling blonde noblewoman appeared.
She wore a jet-black dress embroidered with lace, so finely stitched it must have been handmade by a master. Radiant diamonds sparkled around her ethereal beauty. Her slightly upturned eyes and rosy irises looked down upon everyone, exuding arrogance and power.
Ashley gasped.
“L-Lady?!”
Yes, the noblewoman was none other than the lady of the Duke’s household—Ashley’s employer.
Everyone stared in awe.
Lady Aristina Bianca Rosen.
So famous that even without her family name, just “Lady Aristina” was enough for everyone to know who she was.
The nation’s most notorious troublemaker. A regular on the newspaper’s society scandal pages. A destroyer of every party she attends. The only person in the Empire to be openly called “villainess.”
But also the only daughter of one of the richest Dukes—wealthy beyond imagination.
Her presence here could only mean one thing…
Is it happening again?
The crowd, which had ignored the family’s pleas earlier, was now watching intently.
Trembling, the landlord shouted:
“Hey, Lady! How can you open the exact same store next door and call it authentic?! Is it okay for nobles to steal other people’s businesses?!”
“Steal?”
Aristina opened her fan and replied coldly.
“Did you invent the honey lemon cupcake? It’s just honey, lemon, and a cupcake combined. Are you saying you invented all three?”
She threw his own words right back at him.
Then, she turned her icy gaze to Ashley—her maid.
Ashley flinched and dropped to her knees.
“I was wrong, my Lady! Please forgive me!”
“Do you even know what you did wrong? You committed a serious offense!”
“Eek! Spare me!”
“…You should’ve told me about this amazing business idea. Your mother is a genius.”
“…Huh?”
“Still clueless? Fine. As punishment for neglecting your maid duties, you’ll have to sign this contract immediately. Butler!”
“Yes, my Lady.”
The Duke’s butler stepped forward and handed over a document.
It wasn’t a slave contract or an organ sale agreement like Ashley feared.
It was a business contract:
I, Aristina Bianca Rosen, will purchase all cupcakes made by Ashley’s family bakery—including inventory—at more than twice the current highest market price and sell them exclusively. All marketing and distribution costs will be borne entirely by my company…
Which basically meant:
“Just keep baking. I’ll buy everything at double the price and handle all sales and promotion. If it becomes popular, I’ll raise the purchase price to 3x, 4x—no limit.”
Ashley’s eyes shook like an earthquake.
“M-My Lady…?”
“What? You have a problem?”
“N-no… It’s just… This contract is a huge benefit for us, but… with how much you’re paying, and operating the store, marketing, and distribution, won’t you be taking a huge loss? Are you really okay with this?”
CRACK!
A diamond-studded fountain pen snapped in her Lady’s hand. The butler signaled frantically.
“Ahem, Ashley! Don’t you know the Lady is just bored of buying luxury goods and jewelry? She’s looking for new ways to waste money!”
“O-oh, of course!”
“Then flatter her properly!”
The butler turned away with a sigh.
“Now then, everyone! We’ll celebrate the signing of this contract with a performance by the Royal Opera! And everyone who buys the Authentic Honey Lemon Cupcake Set today will receive a lottery ticket! First prize: 50 million! Second prize: 10 million each for two winners! Third prize…”
The onlookers were stunned.
“Are they insane? What kind of bakery gives out lottery tickets like that?! Give me all the cupcakes!”
“Me too! Take my wallet!”
Ashley’s family stood in a daze.
No matter how the thief tried, they couldn’t compete with the original flavor perfected over ten years.
Add in a luxurious marketing campaign, and the landlord’s knockoff bakery was quickly abandoned.
They closed the shop almost immediately with massive losses.
Watching the shocked expressions of the landlord and his son, Ashley’s family felt an immensely satisfying relief.
But then…
Ashley’s mother quickly did some mental math—and turned pale.
“Honey, how much did your Lady spend? Buying the building, interior, event costs… That must be billions. Ashley, what is going on?”
“Well, um…”
Ashley didn’t know how to explain.
Her mom and sister were too busy baking to notice, but lately, the Lady had been acting strangely. Spending her fortune in bizarre ways—almost like she enjoyed it.
She’d rescued multiple people from unfair treatment using her vast wealth and even gained a nickname:
“The Millionaire Problem-Solver.”
“She wasn’t always like this. Did she suddenly decide to live righteously or something?”
“No! Not at all! She’s still violent and ruthless!”
Aristina’s side profile as she inspected the new store was dazzling, but the air around her was sharp, like a cat ready to strike at any moment.
Even so, Ashley couldn’t hold back her curiosity and cautiously approached.
“Um, my Lady… You didn’t help us out because you felt sorry for us… right?”
Aristina’s eyes glinted coldly.
“Are you accusing me of doing a good deed?”
Ashley’s knees gave out.
“I’m sorry! How dare I suggest such a thing! Please forgive me! I was just wondering… Why would you invest so much in our family?”
“Hmph. Asking now is pointless. You’re already tied to me in an unbreakable, cruel financial contract…”
Behind her fan, Aristina smiled like a true villain.
“…So you won’t be able to kill me now.”
“…Huh?”
Ashley blinked in confusion.
“…What?”
“K-Kill you?! Hahaha, my Lady, what a morbid joke…”
“Yeah. Just a joke.”
I fluttered my fan and smiled.
But it was no joke. The reason I went through all this trouble… was truly to avoid being killed.
You think I’m paranoid? Not at all. When I opened my eyes, this body had already been murdered.
“Couldn’t I have just reincarnated as a normal villainess? Why a dead one?”
There was no use in self-pity. I had to survive.
There were no clues to the murderer, and danger flags were everywhere. The only weapon I had… was money.
So I used that money to disarm every trap I could find.
Thankfully, the strategy seemed to be working.
“Th-thank you again!”
Ashley bowed repeatedly, her face bright red.
Heh heh… It was hard figuring out who to trust, but it turns out she was in trouble. Now we’re tied in business. If she kills me, she loses out.
Ashley’s hooked.
I mentally crossed off “Suspect No. 71: Ashley Bales” from my blacklist.
“One step closer to staying alive today!”
Surrounded by curious stares and admiration, I made a grand return.
The person who murdered Aristina is surely watching from somewhere.
I can’t relax—not yet.
But even in a battlefield, one needs a moment to breathe.
After today’s victory, it was time for a break. The deadly game would resume tomorrow.
Back at the Duke’s estate, I flung off my coat.
“Rose bath, today.”
“Yes, my Lady.”
At the end of the hallway, massive doors swung open.
A view among the Empire’s eight great wonders unfolded before me.
One of the seven bathhouses owned by Lady Aristina. At the center, a marble bath the size of a swimming pool, surrounded by paintings and sculptures.
The rose-scented water was perfectly warm. As I dipped my toes, the tension in my body melted away.
“Here you are, my Lady.”
A harp melody filled the room—said to contain holy power that smoothens your skin just by listening.
As I flipped through a catalog the maid handed me, I pointed:
“This one. And this. One in every color.”
“Yes, my Lady.”
It looked like luxury shopping, but really, I was hunting essential survival tools.
Retail therapy helped relieve some stress.
“Oh my, your fingers must be stiff from shopping.”
My maid, the Empire’s best masseuse, gently massaged my hands.
As I sipped golden fruit wine from a dewy glass, a thought struck me:
“This wine costs more than my old monthly income. The roses in this bath? Worth a small car. That luxury bathrobe? Equal to my apartment deposit…”
Yeah, I used to be just a normal working girl.
Then I suddenly became a four-time jackpot winner: Noble status, vast wealth, celestial beauty—and the worst personality imaginable.
“Life really is unpredictable.”
Leaning back in the bath, I closed my eyes.
Here’s how my life turned out like this…
