USML 02

Chapter 02

The supporting character I possessed ten years ago was the villain of the romance novel “A Lovable Person,” and also the greatest womanizer in the empire.

The novel’s main setting, the Kyros Empire, generally enjoys a mild climate and abundant crops. Thanks to this, it boasts many local specialties and is also famous as a tourist destination. It is said to be beautiful enough to rank among the finest, earning it the title “Empire of Spectacular Scenery.”

Within this empire, there was a family that possessed a knight order rivaling even the Imperial Palace’s Knights.

That family was the House of Duke Dustin.

The Dustin family was a founding contributor to the empire, renowned for producing exceptional swordsmen generation after generation.

Evan Dustin, resembling his father—the Duke of Dustin and the greatest swordsman of his era—displayed extraordinary talent in swordsmanship. In principle, one could only become a knight at the age of fifteen, but Evan demonstrated unprecedented ability and was officially recognized as a swordsman at the age of twelve.

Traditionally, the head of the Dustin family also served as the Grand Commander of the Imperial Palace Knights. The only person to ever refuse that position was Evan Dustin. His reason for refusing was simple.

“I don’t want to.”

“And why is that?”

“It’s bothersome.”

“…Had you not been the son of my friend, I would have punished you severely.”

That was Evan’s answer to the emperor.

It wasn’t simply because it was bothersome; rather, he wished to leave no trace of himself in the world. Evan always behaved as though he would have no regrets even if he were to lose his life at any moment.

Evan had not always been like this. It began when he was around thirteen, after a plague broke out in the region the ducal couple had visited, claiming both of their lives.

His emotions dried up, becoming so parched that no matter how much others tried to water them, there was no opening. He had never been particularly cheerful, but even the rare smiles he once showed had long since disappeared.

That year, when war broke out due to a rebellion in a vassal state, Evan volunteered to join. The emperor and all his retainers tried to stop him, but he refused to yield. Evan longed for death.

He could not tarnish his family’s honor through suicide, so he chose instead to die honorably on the battlefield. However, contrary to his wishes, there was no one on the battlefield capable of killing him. In the end, he lived a strange and contradictory life—yearning for death, yet unable to sever his own lifeline by his own hand.

When Evan returned after leading the war to victory, many things had changed.

The uncle he had trusted had stained the family’s name, and the fearful gazes of others bound him wherever he went.

Evan despaired as his hands were stained with his uncle’s blood. It felt as though everyone in the world had turned their backs on him, pushing him toward a cliff and begging him to die.

It was during this period of despair and wandering that Evan met Sherry Feard at an imperial palace banquet.

“I am Sherry Feard of the House of Count Feard. It is an honor to meet you, Your Grace the Duke of Dustin.”

Lovely Sherry. She changed everything about Evan. She breathed life into him and colored his monochrome world with vibrant hues.

Evan fell in love at first sight with the cheerful and lively Sherry, and soon felt as though he could do anything as long as he was with her.

Lovely Sherry, as expected, was showered with her family’s affection. Even Evan, whose own experience with familial warmth was distant, could tell just how doting her family was.

“Stay away. Get away from my sister right now!”

Especially Sherry’s younger sister, Vanessa.

Vanessa had her own reasons for becoming obsessed with Sherry.

On the way back to the estate after the countess had given birth, the Feard family’s carriage overturned in an accident, and they lost Vanessa.

Vanessa, whom everyone believed to be dead, miraculously survived thanks to a hunter and was entrusted to an orphanage.

With deep violet hair and pale lavender eyes, Vanessa was adept at using her looks and, despite her young age, was quite clever.

In order to be loved in the crowded orphanage, Vanessa clenched her teeth and worked desperately hard.

Then one day, a knight of the Feard family who was patrolling the territory happened to discover her, and only then—at the age of ten—did she cross the threshold of the mansion.

“Welcome home, my child.”

“…A sister?”

Having grown up in an orphanage, Vanessa was keenly sensitive to others’ emotions and could tell clearly.

Her father tormented himself with regret and guilt over her existence, while Dave felt uneasy about the sudden appearance of an uninvited guest. With their master unsettled, the servants felt the same.

However, there was one person who alone welcomed Vanessa—Sherry, the female lead of the story and Vanessa’s older sister.

“Vanessa, don’t worry. I’m here.”

Sherry showed her unconditional love, saying she would be both an older sister and a mother to Vanessa.

“Vanessa, are you okay?”

If Vanessa pretended to be sick, Sherry stayed by her side all night.

“I won’t leave until you fall asleep.”

On nights when Vanessa couldn’t sleep, Sherry sang lullabies until she did.

“Sister, if you love me, stay with me.”

“Sister, if you love me, jump into the pond.”

Even when Vanessa demanded harsh trials to test her love, Sherry never refused and willingly complied.

“Sister, you’re all I have.”

Vanessa loved Sherry, who would willingly plunge into an icy winter pond just for her sake.

“Sherry, stop it. Don’t indulge her whims at the cost of your own health!”

“That’s enough, Vanessa!”

As Vanessa’s unreasonable demands continued, the count and Dave came to believe she was cunningly tormenting Sherry and began to distance themselves from her.

However, this only backfired. The more those around her tried to restrain Vanessa, the stronger her obsession with Sherry grew.

Vanessa was famous for her beauty, but even more famous as “Vanessa the Flirt.”

The men Vanessa chose were unable to resist her seduction, yet none of those relationships lasted even a month.

She did not behave this way without reason. Vanessa was often seized by the fear that someone new might steal Sherry away from her.

“No, my sister is mine!”

Vanessa made a habit of seducing men who approached Sherry and discarding them once she judged that their interest in Sherry had completely faded.

“Evan Dustin!”

Naturally, she could not be pleased with Evan, who suddenly proposed to Sherry. Vanessa disliked Evan, and Evan knew it very well. He had been the same, after all.

As usual, Vanessa devised a plan: she would seduce Evan, drive a wedge between him and Sherry, and tear them apart.

“I love you! Please, look at me instead of my sister!”

Contrary to her plan, Evan consistently ignored her, as though he could see straight through her intentions. When Vanessa spread contrived scandals throughout high society to interfere with Evan and Sherry’s relationship, Sherry fell into confusion.

She had come to realize that her own existence was causing her younger sister to fall apart.

As Sherry began to waver, Evan grew increasingly anxious. Unfortunately, Evan already knew whom Sherry would ultimately choose.

“I’m sorry, Evan. Vanessa is more important to me.”

In the end, Sherry broke up with Evan and left the capital, and while chasing after the vanished Sherry, Vanessa was suddenly murdered by an unknown assailant.

“Vanessa died because of me. Because of me.”

Sherry wandered for a long time, even resorting to self-harm over Vanessa’s death. Yet after a long passage of time and Evan’s continued devotion, she eventually opened her heart again.

And so, like any ordinary romance novel, the story ended with they lived happily ever after.

“Poor Vanessa.”

Though Vanessa’s actions were certainly worthy of resentment, what lay beneath them was not malice but fear—that no one would look at her unless she acted that way—and a deep lack of affection.

Rather than condemning her actions, I empathized with her. Her life, constantly yearning for love, resembled my own.

“Am I Vanessa?”

I suddenly realized around the age of ten that I had entered Vanessa’s body. It happened while I was dozing off in a carriage bound for the Feard estate, clutching a knight’s hand. At first I was flustered, but before long, joy overwhelmed me.

“Bring me alcohol!”

An alcoholic father who committed domestic violence.

“Wait. I’ll come get you soon.”

A mother who fled, leaving behind empty promises because she couldn’t endure that violence.

I was simply happy at the thought that, by becoming Vanessa, I could discard that miserable life and paint a new one.

“If I’m here, then where is the real Vanessa?”

The question crossed my mind, but I soon dismissed it. After all, this was a fictional world.

“Let’s think only about myself.”

Not wanting to die a meaningless death like Vanessa, I first narrowed down the possible culprit who killed her. Judging by the circumstances, it had to be either the male lead, Evan, or a noble who couldn’t tolerate her brazen behavior.

“Then I should absolutely stay out of the spotlight and live a long, quiet life.”

In order to avoid drawing attention from those around me, I frequently pretended to be sick whenever I had the chance from the age of ten onward.

I shut myself away in my room, enjoying my seclusion by reading books, or took walks in the garden while everyone else was out. I was able to enjoy a leisurely and affluent life I could never have had in my previous life, and that alone satisfied me.

However, unfortunately, my plan did not go as smoothly as I had hoped.

“Vanessa! Shall we eat some cake?”

“Vanessa! Want your sister to read you a fairy tale?”

“Vanessa! It’s your birthday—anything you want?”

Sherry knocked on my tightly shut door countless times. And so, at the age of twenty—just before the novel’s story truly began—I made plans to leave the family under the pretense of recuperation.

When I thought about the future, disappearing seemed like the best thing—for both myself and Vanessa’s family.

I believed that inheriting a family-owned villa in the remote borderlands would allow me to live without much worry.

“Hmm, a perfect plan.”

And so, in the long-awaited year I turned twenty, when I said I would go to the remote region of Centra to recover my frail health, Sherry, Dave, and even the count all froze, their faces stiff and blank like stone.