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Chapter 01
This is the story before I joined my new in-laws.
I was originally the third-generation daughter-in-law of a prestigious K-family.
“Mother, the soup is too salty for the ancestors to eat. Did they come all the way from America to taste this?”
“I’m sorry. I’ll adjust the seasoning.”
“Not just the soup! The vegetables are too salty, the meat is bland! The seasoning is all wrong!”
There were fourteen ancestral rites in a year, and even with three large tables, there was never enough space. Everything served was handmade. And as the daughter-in-law, I had to prepare it all.
“Why are there only this many meat pancakes? What happened to all the ones you bought?”
“I bought plenty, but…”
All of that was eaten by Mother-in-law’s son.
“Did you waste the money Father gave you again? Were you reading some web novel again?”
“…No.”
“No? You live off the money Father earned with his blood and sweat, and you can’t even prepare a single ancestral meal properly? After ten years of doing this, what have you learned?”
Her eyes scanned me from head to toe, full of disdain.
Yes, this is my tenth year living in this household.
Ten years of giving up what I loved, studying, and working as a servant in someone else’s house.
And I still had to spend the rest of my life being treated like this?
“There’s nothing to learn in a house that treats its daughter-in-law like dirt!”
It was the first time I had rebelled against the brutal life of a daughter-in-law in a prestigious family.
I overturned all twelve kinds of pancakes I had painstakingly prepared on the day of the ancestral rite.
Little did I know, that day would become my funeral.
I got into a car and had an accident, and I ended up possessing the body of a human in this world.
A young, firm body that showed no sign of suffering—not even a hint of eczema!
After the possession, I realized I was lucky: I had possessed the body of a character from a novel I had read.
A traditional fantasy growth novel titled “The Return of the Rogue of the Swordsmanship Family”.
It was a long novel of over a thousand chapters.
I had remembered it because I never got to see the ending—always too busy preparing for ancestral rites.
The protagonist, Dochep, was the second son of a prestigious swordsmanship family, but he was a pathetic swordsman, even lacking natural strength.
His family treated him like an ugly duckling, and he gradually started living like a rogue.
When he turned twenty-four, a mysterious woman appeared at the house.
“I am carrying this family’s second son’s child.”
A woman claiming to be carrying Dochep’s child.
Dochep naturally protested that it wasn’t true, but the woman didn’t back down.
“Don’t lie! You spent the night with me on the night of the last full moon!”
It was true that he had stayed out that night, and the housekeeper’s testimony confirmed it.
Moreover, it was the rogue son who had always disappointed everyone, so everyone believed her.
“…Lock Dochep in the tower.”
The duke couldn’t kill or disown his son, so he locked him in a tower.
Soon after, the Bloody Mary dukes were attacked by a mysterious force.
Their long-standing mansion was burned down, all the family members and servants killed, and the dukedom destroyed.
Thanks to the only remaining tower, Dochep survived and awakened.
From that point on, he set out to find and take revenge on those who had destroyed his family.
That was the starting point of the original story.
And the starting point of this chain of events was the “common woman carrying Dochep’s child.”
A bold woman from the village, pretty and confident, who claimed she didn’t need a husband or child but demanded money from the Bloody Mary dukes.
That was Halara Sehebev, the character I had possessed.
It was already funny enough that I had possessed such an obnoxious extra… but then I opened my eyes to face a noblewoman radiating authority.
“What did you just say?”
“Eh?”
It was Francesca Bloody Mary, the mother of Dochep and lady of the swordsmanship family’s house.
She could easily be considered Halara’s mother-in-law in relation to the story.
“…Excuse me? Did I say something like that?”
“Yes, you. Who else is here besides you?”
Now I realized this was the exact starting point of the original story.
The moment Halara came to claim she was carrying Dochep’s child.
‘Even in possession, there should be some morals.’
But I had been possessed in the worst possible moment.
“Answer me.”
Her voice was stern and commanding. Her dark eyes looked stricter than my mother-in-law ever had.
‘What should I do?’
In the original story, Halara dies.
She was killed along with the family when the dukes were destroyed.
I had to get out of this situation before the Bloody Marys got more involved.
‘But… is she really pregnant?’
The problem was, even I didn’t know if Halara was really pregnant.
The original story only mentioned her body; it never clarified whether she was actually carrying a child.
I had to think fast.
‘Honestly, Halara is just a tool to make Dochep get expelled from the family.’
Even if it were real, would she have survived when the dukes were destroyed? Probably not.
Even if they had spent a night together, a child wouldn’t appear so easily.
I knew the answer.
“It’s a lie.”
Pregnancy? No. She was clearly trying to swindle the dukes.
Calling a lie a lie was no crime.
“…A lie?”
A chill emanated from Francesca. I could be killed at any moment.
“I actually admired Dochep, but since I am a lowly commoner, I could only admire from afar… I didn’t mean to make this mistake. I apologize!”
The cheat code in life: admit quickly and apologize.
‘My mother would forgive anything if someone praised her son.’
Moreover, the rogue son was the family’s only disgrace.
“He’s so handsome. I just… admired him and made a mistake!”
This flattery worked better than anything.
“…Well, our sons are all quite good-looking.”
See? Her face started to soften a little.
“But I think I misjudged. No matter what, a lowly commoner like me shouldn’t dare have such feelings.”
I quickly expressed my humility.
“That’s enough…”
“No. I’m truly sorry for taking your precious time with my petty feelings. If you, with your pacific heart, forgive me just once, I’ll never step near this house again.”
“Pa—pacific… what?”
I quickly kneeled before her.
In this society, surviving as a commoner is already hard mode.
So Halara risked her life by lying.
There’s a limit to what looks can get you; a big score ensures an easier life.
“May I disappear quickly now?”
I knew the original story. I just had to stay away from this family and live quietly.
Shining solo!
The scene then shifts back to Francesca in the Bloody Mary reception room after Halara leaves.
She’s baffled:
“What just happened?”
The person she had been speaking to suddenly changed attitude.
When Halara first arrived, she had brazenly threatened the house steward, acting entirely unlike a commoner.
“…You claim to be carrying Dochep’s child? And you’re a commoner?”
“Yes. If you or the master don’t see me immediately, I’ll tell Madame Sheila.”
Madame Sheila was a major socialite; if she heard, this scandal would hit the gossip columns by tonight.
Francesca, furious, initially believed it was true and even sharpened her nails, intending to slap her.
But when she saw Halara, she realized how strikingly beautiful she was.
A typical commoner’s dress and cheap accessories couldn’t hide her flawless skin and doll-like eyes.
If Halara had been a man, Francesca might have fallen in love at first sight.