CH 1

Bright sunlight penetrates the white fabric surrounding the bed in layers.

The white light that signaled the morning was permeated with the song of birds. 

I slowly blinked my eyes to push the sleep that hung on my eyelashes away.

Then I got up from the bed and stretched my arms.

“Ugh…” 

Ah, this relaxing morning.

Knock knock

“Come in.”

After I yawned for a long time, I got up from the bed and brushed my wavy light pink hair with my hand.

Normally, I braid it loosely when I sleep, but yesterday I just slept and the hair that came down to my waist was tangled and it was a mess.

I finally gave up because I thought it was not a way that could be recovered with a hand comb, but Amy, a lady’s maid who was often busy outside, pulled up the canopy.

“Did you sleep well, madam? I brought water for washing…”

“Yeah, thank you Amy.”

“The chef told me that he prepared pancakes with bacon, mashed potatoes and tomato salad for breakfast, and custard pudding for dessert. Is there anything else you need?”

“It’s okay, that’s enough.”

What a life, sleeping on such a big bed and waking up to eat breakfast prepared by others!

Compared to the morning in my previous life, I woke up in a hurry when my alarm rang, washed and put on makeup, and rushed to work. 

There was no heaven.

No, maybe it’s really heaven.‘Cause I’ve already died once.’

“Oh, what about Noah?”

“He is washing up.”

“Already? Then I should prepare quickly.”

I can’t be lazier than my five-year-old son!

I hurriedly washed my face with the water Amy had brought and sat down in front of the dressing table.

Amy came behind me and started brushing my hair.

Amy skilfully combed the hair that I had given up and began to braid it loosely.

The touch was so gentle that I wondered if this is the feeling of a pet falling asleep outright under the affectionate touch of its owner.

If that were the case, even if I was reincarnated as a dog raised by Marquis instead of a human, I would have a good life.

Of course, there are no pets in this house.

But There are hunting dogs instead.

A house that raises hunting dogs instead of pet dogs.

‘Can you guess?’

‘At first, I thought I’d never get used to it…’

The Marquis of Ajas, who protects the northern border of the Estroa Empire from barbarians and monsters threatening the border.

He left the castle for the gateway to the north three hours after bringing me as his wife here.

What a pity! 

I came to a place where there was no family and friends, only trusting my husband, but in three hours, he left me.

The problem was, that wife is me.

It’s only been a month since I got married but as soon as I came to this castle I was left alone. 

‘That’s why Raenel died in the book.’

But that’s as far as I understand. His behavior since then has been unacceptable.

Knock knock–

“Noah, are you awake?”

“Yes, mother. I woke up.”

When I carefully opened the door to Noah’s bedroom on the 3rd floor, I saw a boy standing in front of the mirror with impressive black hair like the night sky.

The child, who had been adjusting his clothes with the help of the maid, only slightly turned his head and smiled at me.

“Did you sleep well, mother?”

“Sure, I slept well.”

Is it because he is still young? Or is he born with it?

The child’s clear amber eyes were clean as if they hadn’t been mixed with any blemishes or impurities. 

To the extent that my face is reflected like a mirror when we face each other up close.

Children are mirrors of their parents. Why does that word come to mind at this moment?

In the typeface I read, that ‘my’ face reflected in these eyes was just distorted, but it was very fortunate that the reality was not.

I thought I was very fortunate to be born as ‘Raenel’. 

I gently patted Noah’s head after he had finished dressing.

“Noah, did you sleep well?”

“Yes.”

I watched Noah nod and I wiped the droplets of water still hanging from his chin with my fingertips.

Then Noah, who dyed his cheeks red, said,  ‘I can wipe it all off…’ 

He muttered, rubbing his face with his hand-like maple.

I just giggled because it was so cute.

“Then shall we go to breakfast now? Are you hungry?”

“Yes.”

Noah nodded, bowed to me, and reached out his hand.

The appearance of a gentleman with his arms outstretched was definitely perfect in terms of etiquette, But he was still short and his arms were short, so it was a bit difficult to escort me.

But instead of making it obvious, I bowed on my knees and took Noah’s hand. 

In the meantime, I struggled to hold back the laughter behind Noah, who straightened his back and led me.

Would it be rude to Noah if he just added a serious but I said it was cute?

‘Aww, it’s cute.’

Really, no matter how many times I thought about it, I couldn’t understand it. 

No matter how much her husband doesn’t love her.

How did Raenel come up with the idea of abusing such a cute little child?

* * *

I realized that I had been reincarnated as one of the characters in the book world half a year ago, it was exactly in winter at the age of 19.

That is, when I kept putting off my debutante because being a socialite was annoying, but I couldn’t put it off anymore, so I participated in a banquet at Duke Khalid’s mansion.

I thought I was reincarnated in a fantasy world.

If I had been in a bad situation, I would have brainwashed desperately to survive, but I was so satisfied with my new life that I didn’t even think about anything else.

My older brother, who inherited the county three years ago, cared for me like my parents.

My younger brother, who had joined the knights two years ago, gave me a handkerchief, saying that he didn’t know what to do when I cried, even though he spoke a little hatefully.

And my older sister, Lily.

She really liked to dress me up beautifully. 

To the point where I grew up listening to ‘Pretty, Cute’ all my life, half of the words came from Lily.

It was also Lily who chose a dress for me to wear on the debutante and braided the beautiful white rose that she had enchanted that morning between my hair. 

“How can you be so pretty! Among the young ladies debuting today, my sister will be the prettiest.”

“Well, the flowers are pretty.”

“Hey, we have to go quickly or you will be late.”

“Yeah! Let’s go!”

I stepped with low heels, I climbed into the carriage and headed for the Duke’s mansion where the banquet was to be held.

Escorted by my older brother, I entered the banquet hall of the Duke’s mansion, I was immersed in dreams.

‘There must be many handsome men, right?’

To be honest, both my older brother and my younger brother were handsome.

if I evaluated them objectively, excluding family affection.

Two men living in the same house are so handsome! 

Doesn’t that mean the proportion of handsome men in this world is very high?

‘Yes, wasn’t it.’

I looked around the banquet hall pretending not to be so.

The only difference from Korea is that unlike the neighborhood where there was only black hair, here there are a variety of hair colors.

Red, green, gold, brown, navy….

After finishing the tour with just that much appreciation, I gave up everything and only enjoyed the desserts that were prepared.

“The banquet hasn’t even started yet, so why are you eating so much?”

“What if your stomach pops out?! When you talk to others!”

“What? These are all muscles in my stomach!”

“Oh my God, What kind of family is this man who shouted uncultured?”

“Someone shouted…”

Covering my mouth with a fan, I talked like someone else, and my younger brother protested with an astonished face, then I glanced around.

Then, as if I met the eyes of the young ladies looking at me, I covered my mouth and cleared my throat.

Seeing the embarrassed face, I think she misunderstood that my brother was shouting at me, but I knew it.

Behind the pillar, in front of the table. Next to the person.

The reason why young ladies of the same height as me secretly occupied good seats and glanced over here was to appreciate that face.

‘Right…there are only a few handsome men.’

I know it very well.

I left my seat so that people could enjoy it comfortably without getting involved.

“Nell! Where are you going?”

“There is something delicious over there. Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon.”

“Are you okay by yourself? shall we go together?”

“Yeah, I am, brother should stay here. I’ll be back soon.”

A handsome man with brown hair and green eyes. 

A handsome man with platinum hair and green eyes.

Wow, both of them are really good.

I nodded and walked over to a table piled with tarts over there.

The young ladies whisper.

“Oh, is that Count Howard? Then the person next to him…”

“Yes, that Sir Howard who joined the Knights of the Red Lion two years ago.”

Hmm, shall I eat lemon tart or grapefruit tart?

“Oh my god. From what I’ve heard, both of them are really tall and handsome. They don’t have a fiancée yet, do they?”

“Yes. After Count Howard broke off his relationship due to ‘the accident’, I know that he was only focused on rebuilding the county.”

“But now that the Count family is stable, the time has come for them to get married. They must have come today to find a fiancée, right?”

“No, from what I heard…”

“Oh, my sister? If it’s Lady Brilliana, she has a fiancé, right?”

“There is one more person besides her.”

“One more person…? But that person, Oh my god.”

I saw the young lady whose eyes met mine turned her head in surprise. 

The same goes for the other young ladies next to her.

I twitched my lips as I watched them stare at each other while covering their faces with a fan and quickly switch to another topic.

Why are you talking about someone else when that person is here?

‘Yes, I’m an adopted child!’

My parents also have green eyes. 

Both my brothers and my sister Lily also have green eyes. 

But my eyes were pink. 

Unlike my family, who even have dark brown or platinum blonde hair, I have baby pink hair that reminds me of cherry blossoms.

When I look in the mirror, I feel happy without realizing it because it is so pretty, but honestly, when I am with my family, I sometimes feel like a black swan in a white swan.

But what do you want me to do?

‘Because my family loves me. That’s enough.’

I came to my socialite debut in order to find a husband, but honestly I was skeptical about engagement or marriage.

How can aristocracy who value blood more than gold bring an adopted woman into their home and give birth to an heir?

‘I don’t know if it’s a remarriage situation where there is already a successor.’

There was a similar case in a book I read before I died. 

Maybe it was the father of the sub male lead?

‘This isn’t a remarriage, and the child isn’t the real one either.’

He was the Marquis of Ajas, the commander who guarded the Northern border, which included Ajas Castle, an iron-walled fortress located on the northern border.

Since monsters are so rampant, he doesn’t have many days attached to his castle, so he decides to marry to make a mother for his adopted child. I didn’t even know it could be poisonous.

‘Didn’t he marry the Count’s daughter, who was adopted as well as his own child? Since she was the same adopted child, she knows how to raise her own child well.’

The lady, who had an inferiority complex for being an adopted child, accepted the marriage proposal of the father of the sub-male lead because she fell in love with him.

But what’s the point of getting married? 

Her husband didn’t stay in the castle because he had to beat monsters and barbarians.

When she thinks she has barely seen him in a month or two, the first word her husband says is ‘What about the child?’ 

It was a mistake that she thinks her husband was in love with her and because of that he proposed to her.

She despair when she finds out that she was chosen because she was an adopted child.

And release that anger on the child.

In the way of abuse, The father of the sub-male doesn’t know the fact because he’s not attached to the castle. 

It was not until a long time later that he found out and kicked his wife out, but the sub male lead had already turned into darkness.

In the end, she dies at the hands of the sub-male lead.

‘So why is she abusing an innocent child?’ 

Didn’t the family who adopted her love her? because she refused her parents, her two brothers and her sister…

‘What?!’

‘I’ve heard this before.’

‘Wait. Marquis Ajas?’

That’s where it actually is in the north.

‘Wait, wait, wait,’

The name of the sub male lead…

Noah, Noah Ajas.

What’s his dad’s name? What was his stepmother’s name?!

‘I don’t remember! Their names were shortened in flashbacks!’

Keep calm, stay calm.

So obviously… The scene where the sub male lead mentioned the stepmother…

“But Marquis… She’s innocent.”

“Then? Did I have to be abused like that because I was guilty?”

“……”

“Didn’t I tell you to forget it? I will do that. Removing Count Howard, who adopted that woman and made her a noblewoman, from this land.”

I remembered!

A stepmother who abuses her sub-male lead and gets murdered by him who turned dark.

It was me!