Chapter 0 - Prologue

After finishing the book, the girl had but one thing to say: ‘She missed out on a good thing.’

The main character of the novel she read was the illegitimate daughter of a marquis who worked as a maid.

One day, a royal decree was sent to the marquis, stating that he must marry off his daughter to a soldier. Despite being of common birth, the soldier had accomplished many feats in battle and was waiting to be bestowed a formal title.

The emperor sought to bring this talented and renowned soldier into his political faction, and so he searched for a suitable noble household to marry him into. Before long, he decided on the family of the marquis, who’d long been one of his loyal supporters.

However, the daughter of the marquis refused to marry a commoner and fled from home. With no other options left and the royal decree sitting heavy on his shoulders, the marquis accepted his illegitimate daughter—the maid—as his child, and married her off to the soldier.

The soldier owned a silo with grain so plentiful he would never have to worry about money a day in his life. Not only that, he was rumored throughout the nation to be an exceedingly handsome man. Thanks to his wartime achievements, he received a pension from the royal government as well. He had a good personality and was in excellent health.

Of course, the soldier later came to know the truth about his bride, but he did not care about her past. He treated her so well that no one would ever suspect that she had once been a mere maid. Together, they began a loving relationship and lived happily ever after.

The runaway daughter, on the other hand, had met a terrible man in the streets and suffered terrible physical and emotional distress. One day, she happened to meet the man who she had been meant to marry and fell in love with his good looks. Although she attempted to win the soldier back by insisting that she was the true bride, he saw through her act and kicked her out of his estate.

Most people would favor the main character, but the girl sympathized with the runaway daughter instead. She felt sorry for her.

‘See, you shouldn’t have rejected him.’

With that final thought, the girl shut the book gently and fell asleep. 

* * *

When the girl woke up, she found herself in unfamiliar surroundings. Wrapped around her was a soft, fluffy blanket, and from her bed, she could see an ornate coat of arms. 

She had never seen any of this before.

“What on earth..?”

It was undeniably bizarre. Suddenly, memories and thoughts that were not her own began filling her mind—she was becoming one with someone else.

“Aaaah!!” she screamed.

Everything hurt and her head felt like it would split in half. Startled by the girl’s screams, maids came rushing in from the hall.

“My lady!”

“Are you alright?”

The girl clutched her head and looked at the maids and their black, Western-style dresses with white frills. As she recognized these dresses as maid uniforms, she laughed in disbelief. 

“Excuse me…”

“Yes, my lady?”

“I’m the only daughter of Marquis Ian Horissen, right?”

The maids glanced at each other in confusion before nodding. “That is correct.”

“My God!” she exclaimed. She had become the misfortunate Lady Aris Horissen, the character she pitied the most.

She got out of bed and examined her small, pretty hands, then ran towards the nearest mirror. There, in her reflection, stood a girl who couldn’t have been more than 10. 

“I’m younger now,” she muttered.

Not only had she gotten younger, but she’d gotten prettier as well. This was to be expected, as Aris Horissen would later try to charm and seduce the male lead with her beauty. 

The girl clenched her fist tightly.

She wouldn’t let her fate be decided by the plot of a novel.

She would live a new life.

“What are the accomplishments of Emperor Goji?”

“In order to stabilize the lives of the people, he ordered the nobles to purchase manure fertilizer in large quantities. This allowed citizens to obtain fertilizer at a lower cost and thus they were able to prolong the harvest season.”

“That is correct.”