CH 1

She had a dream. In the dream, Blanche was surrounded by people. But none of them were familiar to her.

They were not Blanche’s family, nor were servants of the mansion, and above all, they were not from Lupinus Kingdom.

In fact, they were people she knew in her previous life. Those who loved and supported Blanche no matter what her personality or appearance was.

First of all, her mother was very fond of her.

“You b*tch! How old are you and why does your room look like a pigsty again? Are you a human or an animal? Uggh, I really can’t live!”

Her mother, nagging her daughter as she slept in on a weekend, slapped her on the back.

And her father, who pretended to act mean.

“Uh-huh. Honey. It’s okay. It’s not like we’re gonna have her for the rest of our lives.”

Also, her boyfriend who was a good match for such a dad.

“Father, you’re so mean in front of someone I’ll take from you for the rest of your life.”

“Mr Lee. In this house, we do not accept returns.”

The former Blanche was awake, with half-closed eyes, and muttered while looking at her father and her boyfriend. She didn’t even know when he got there.

“Oh, Dad, what is this with Mr. Lee… I have no intention of marrying him yet!”

Then Dad replied. To her boyfriend, not his daughter.

“What’s good for lunch today, Mr. Lee?”

“How about Janchi-guksu, Father?”

[T/N: Also known as banquet noodles, a Korean noodle dish consisting of wheat flour noodles in a light broth made from anchovy and sometimes also dasima.]

“Good. Watch me make something good!”

“If it’s okay with you, let me be your assistant, father!”

Seeing the two men getting along so well, her mother smiled. At that warm atmosphere, Blanche from her previous life also laughed.

Suddenly, the view changed.

Friends. After a long time, she met her high school friends at a bar. The three friends talked.

“Hey, don’t you have a mouth? Don’t you have a cell phone? If you’re having a hard time, you can call me and ask me to buy you a drink. Why are you struggling alone again?”

“Leave her be. When did you see her say she’s having a hard time with her own mouth?”

“Every time I see her, I get frustrated! Hey! Why didn’t you call me again on your birthday? Because of you, the birthday present I ordered from the online store a long time ago has been rotting in my studio for a month now!”

“Oh, right. Mine too.”

Even when her friends glared at her, Blanche just laughed.

As such, she had friends in her previous life who were usually grumpy, but if something happened, they would come rushing to her feet.

She died two months after the release of a mobile game she had been developing for four years. Blanche was able to leave work only in the early morning, lest there was an emergency.

‘But now overtime is over.’

In fact, if it’s this late, it’s okay to sleep in the company’s sleeping room. However, as her wedding was not far away, she wanted to spend as much time with her parents as possible.

But she didn’t expect this little reason could lead to a car accident.

She had never felt pain as terrible as this in her life, but fortunately, the pain didn’t last long. She died before the ambulance arrived.

In a place where her beloved parents, boyfriend and friends cannot see.

Sadly.

* * *

It was dusk outside the window, and it was cold by the unlit fireplace. At last, Blanche, who had been sleeping like a corpse on a bed, woke up.

Confused by the overflowing memories of her previous life, she found a text in the upper right corner that read <Blanche’s Bedroom>.

In addition, the familiar HP bar, MP bar, experience bar, and inventory icon at the bottom.

Blanche, who had struggled to wriggle her fingers, muttered with dry lips. Surprisingly, her pronunciation was no longer slurred.

“I died. This is a game world.”

The title of the game is <Heartbeat Anastage>. It is a nurturing dating simulation game that she participated in as a developer for 4 years.

[T/N: The game name is literally Dugeundugeun Anastage which is the sound of a heartbeat but we will just use Heartbeat instead.]

Blanche was the younger sister of Pierre, one of the target male characters!

In the first place, she was just an extra to create Pierre’s story.

“I was reincarnated as an extra. No, wait. Wasn’t the original Blanche’s legs disabled?”

Suddenly, a memory flashed through her mind like a lightning bolt. Yes. I don’t know about her speech impediment, but her legs were damaged due to acquired factors.

Blanche remembered everything now. After gnashing her teeth, she coughed.

“Thirst-…”

Besides, her whole body hurt everywhere, it also felt like her body hadn’t been washed for quite some time. Blanche staggered and lifted her upper body.

There was no one around her.

“No one is standing by the little girl who just tried to commit s*ic*de.”

She clicked her tongue and reached for the bottle of water on the bedside table. She couldn’t reach it so she moved her legs… The legs did not budge. The surprised Blanche lifted the quilt.

Her legs looked fine on the outside, but they didn’t move at all.

She squinted her eyes at the inside of her wrist, which had been tattered like a ragged mop from years of self-harm. They had been neatly healed.

“Seeing that all the traumatic scars have disappeared, it seems to have been treated with divine power, but the fact that only the legs were left like this was either deliberately not treated or they could not.”

Is it because I am aware of my past life? She was no longer sad to think of her family. She no longer wanted to be loved by her family.

Unlike before, she knew for sure what ‘family love’ was and what it was like to be loved.

Would her parents in her previous life love her less if Blanche had limped and stuttered?

The answer is no. She was sure she would have received more love than she had at the time she was raised as a non-disabled. Unlike the Marquette family who was afraid to show her to other people!

Blanche finally accepted the truth that she was not loved by her family. Now, she knows better than anyone that there can be bullying even within her family.

The only thing she can trust is herself. So she had to figure out what she had first.

Blanche clicked on the inventory. There was one item in the inventory. 5.x5. It was a [Tutorial Box] that occupied one space in the basic inventory.

“I’m not the main character, but there is a [Tutorial Box]?”

The tutorial box is an item given to beginners who start the game. <Heartbeat Anastage> provides four items to help beginners adapt to the game.

“I don’t care why this came into my hands. The important thing is that with this, I can run away from home.”

Without hesitation, Blanche pulled out the box into reality. At that moment, the bedroom door swung open. It was the maid Fleur, Blanche’s personal maid.

She is two years older than Blanche, and although she pretended not to, she looked down on her lady. In this world, this is a natural behavior towards disabled people. The maid made fun of Blanche, who cowered at every word she said.

She didn’t even know that Blanche’s actions were in consideration of her.

Fleur came closer, her eyes opened wide.

“Oh, my lady! Are you awake?”

Ring. The text came up from the bottom of the field of view along with the sound effect.

[system/ Fleur regrets your recovery.]

Unlike Fleur’s expression, the text showed her true intentions. Only then could Blanche guess why she was left alone and in pain.

Fleur smiled softly, showing interest in the box she was holding, as if she couldn’t see the cold expression on the face of her lady.

“Oh my God, what gift box is this? Did the great Master just send you a present?”

The only person in the family who cared about Blanche was her brother Pierre, so Fleur’s guess was quite plausible.

Blanche slapped the back of Fleur’s hand that was sweeping the ribbon tying the tutorial box. Fleur rubbed the back of her hand, which was burning red.

“Ouch! Lady, it hurts!”

“That’s all you have to say to me?”

Fleur blinked st*pidly.

It was strange. She can’t believe that the uncared for lady who would normally be embarrassed and apologize to her at this point is looking straight at her.

Fleur, who had a bewildered expression, opened her mouth and noticed something.

“My lady. What’s wrong with you all of a sudden? No, what you just said, you said it properly!”

Unlike the surprised Fleur, Blanche had an expressionless face.

“It seems that the priest who treated me is excellent. But why hasn’t my leg been healed properly?”

Suddenly, the blue eyes of the maid Fleur flashed a sharp malice.

“It’s not that you haven’t been treated, it’s that she couldn’t. The priest said, you will not be able to walk any more!”

She looked excited as she looked forward to the look of despair on her maiden’s face. But Blanche already knew that her own legs would get better.

She thought, ‘Using [Nightingale’s Ointment] in the tutorial box I can heal my legs.’

“Really? Could you give me some water then?”

“What?”

“Yes, get me some water. I’m thirsty.”

“Yes…….I’ll bring you water.”

Looking strangely at the hostess, Fleur stood in front of the narrow table with a grumpy expression.

She checked the empty water bottle and shrugged lightly.

“My lady, the water bottle is empty. Hold on a minute, please. I’ll be right back.”

She turned her back and tried to leave the bedroom without the lady’s permission. She was annoyed, and thought she’ll spit in the water bottle once she brings it to her.

Then, Blanche ordered.

“When you come back, bring the butler with you. I have something to say.”

Fleur turned back a second later and shook her head.

* * *

After a while, Fleur returned with the butler. Also with two sturdy servants.

Apparently, the butler was worried that Blanche would try to commit s*ic*de again.

The white-haired old man in his seventies did not hide his joy.

“Lady Blanche! You are finally awake!”

At the butler’s greeting, Blanche calmly asked.

“Grandpa. Does my father still intend to wed me to Count Juan instead of my sister?”

**********