PVSS 1

chapter 1

“Meldenik! Someone as useless as you has no place in this family.”

I agree.

The woman I’ve recently transmigrated into—Meldenik Babeloa—has already squandered over 10 billion Bekrel with these very hands.

Ten billion Bekrel.

In a world where 30 million Bekrel is the average annual income for a family of four commoners, it’s only natural for a duke to be furious.

Meldenik had absolutely no talent for business.

Of course, part of the reason she couldn’t properly show any ability was because of this mess of a family. Her stepmother, Lady Hildegard, interfered with everything she tried to do.

But there was no way the Duke of Babeloa—my father in this body—would take that into account.

‘He hates me, after all.’

I stared straight at the Duke sitting across from me in the drawing room. As expected, his face was so red it looked riper than a fully ripened tomato.

Judging by that venomous glare, I could easily guess what he’d say next.

“Take this money and get out at once. I never want to see you again!”

He threw a thick bundle of cash at me.

He probably meant to hit my face—but luckily, this body had pretty good reflexes.

With a triumphant smile inside, I quickly snatched the bundle out of the air.

Nice catch!

“Alright. I’d prefer never seeing you again either.”

As I spoke, I carefully stuffed the thick wad of money into a bag I had already prepared.

‘I knew he’d try to throw me out with money.’

I’ve been waiting for this moment ever since I transmigrated!

After staring at me blankly for a few moments while I pocketed the money, the Duke stammered:

“Y-you… where did that bag come from…? No—more importantly, how dare you challenge my authority?”

Was it anger? His green eyes trembled violently, and even his thinning blond hair quivered like petals in the wind.

“Someone like you?”

I shrugged and shook my head.

“Nope.”

He must be confused. Normally, his daughter would be crying her eyes out, begging for forgiveness—but now she was calmly accepting being cast out.

“I’m just doing exactly what Your Grace wants.”

The original Meldenik would have thrown a tantrum or pretended to cry to avoid being expelled.

But I had been waiting for this chance to be kicked out.

I could feel the satisfying weight of the money in my arms.

“And I do feel guilty for failing to run my business properly…”

Well, not really.

I’d say about 90% of the blame belongs to Lady Hildegard, who sabotaged everything.

“Anyway, you told me to leave, so I’ll get going now!”

I turned my back on his glare and walked out.

I had blown through 10 billion Bekrel, the money he valued more than blood itself—so it was best to stay out of his sight until his anger cooled down.

Besides, I’d been planning to leave this household completely anyway.

I didn’t want to waste my life fighting over succession in this dysfunctional family.

And more importantly—

I had something I truly wanted to do.

‘Goodbye, ducal house.’

After standing there stunned for a while, the Duke seemed to come to his senses and shouted at my back:

“Don’t be ridiculous. Even if you come back begging for money, I won’t accept you!”

I turned and looked straight at him.

Begging? As if.

With the brightest smile he had probably ever seen, I gave him a final farewell.

“Yep! Goodbye!”

I had no intention of begging in the first place. Smiling brightly, I slipped out through the open door.

Now I was completely cut off from this family!

Humming to myself, I was certain the Duke—who hated me—would soon send a formal letter disowning me.

* * *

Even though I had received money from the Duke, I needed to leave as soon as possible.

He might suddenly change his mind and say, “On second thought, even that money is too much for you!” Or my stepmother Hildegard might chase after me, snatch the money, and throw me out herself.

Back in my room, I quickly changed into a light outing dress.

Dresses in this world were usually so elaborate that you needed a maid to help you wear them. But a simple, airy dress without a petticoat was manageable on my own.

I slipped into a sky-blue long-sleeved muslin dress and fastened the neckline, then glanced at the mirror.

A beautiful woman stood there, looking slightly tense.

Glossy blonde waves falling past the waist, porcelain skin, large unreadable eyes with light green irises.

Even after months, I still couldn’t get used to this face.

After lightly touching my face a few times, I focused on packing.

The bag contained:

• The money from the Duke (about 200 million Bekrel),
• The deed to a small building left by my biological mother,
• A few pieces of jewelry,
• Several dresses.

All tightly packed into a magically enchanted luggage bag.

It was enough to live on for a while.

‘Time to go for real!’

But just as I was about to leave—

“L-Lady! Where are you going in this cold weather?!”

My maid Rosaline gasped in shock at the sight of me loaded with luggage.

Rosaline, who had been with me since childhood, was the only person in this household who genuinely liked me.

Looking down at her gray hair, I replied casually:

“It’s not cold. It’s March—spring.”

“Th-then… where are you going?”

“To achieve my dream.”

Her expression quickly turned to shock.

Why does she look like that just because I said I’m following my dream?

She hesitantly grabbed my dress.

A maid daring to grab her mistress’s dress—normally unthinkable.

But without letting go, she whispered timidly:

“A-are you going to the Duke of Hesman’s estate? To… propose marriage?”

Ah, right.

People thought my dream was to marry the Duke of Hesman.

I recalled my fiancé, Duke Lennox Hesman, indifferently.

“He stopped replying to your letters recently, so I thought… you had given up…”

Looking at the teary Rosaline, I wondered how to explain.

It’s understandable. Meldenik was obsessed with Lennox.

The original Meldenik, despite her reputation as a villainess, had sincerely loved her fiancé.

But not me.

Cold, aloof northern duke types weren’t my style.

I prefer cute younger boys. You could give me a truckload of cold male leads and I still wouldn’t take them.

“Propose? No way. I’m not interested in the Duke of Hesman anymore.”

Rosaline looked confused.

“Th-then?”

I glanced at her.

For the first time, my calm expression wavered with excitement.

This was what I truly wanted.

The romance fantasy novel, “The Enchanted Lover.”

No one really knew why it was called that—it barely matched the story.

It was a typical romance fantasy: the cold, perfect male lead—the Duke of Hesman—falls into a forbidden love with the beautiful and beloved noble lady, Sheria.

It would’ve been nice if I’d transmigrated as the heroine… or even an extra.

But instead, I became Meldenik—the villainess. The heroine’s half-sister and the male lead’s fiancée from birth. The one who gets her head cut off after trying to kill Sheria out of jealousy.

Being a villainess sucks, but it can’t be helped.

Taking a shaky breath, I looked at Rosaline.

I’d been living in this body for months now.

I tried everything—denial, banging my head against a desk, even summoning spirits—but nothing worked.

I couldn’t go back.

So what did I do?

After struggling for a while, I gave up on returning to my old life.

Instead, I organized the timeline of the original story and thought long and hard about what I wanted in this second life.

Forget the original plot—I’ll do whatever I want.

There was someone I used to envy as a child.

The owner of the stationery shop near my elementary school.

Beer-flavored candy, chewy snacks, sweet treats—

Those magical items fascinated me endlessly.

With my bag slung over my shoulder, I leaned in and whispered my biggest secret into Rosaline’s ear.

She gulped nervously—it was kind of cute.

“My dream is to become a stationery shop owner.”

I’d sell school supplies, notebooks, dalgona, beer candy—everything!

So that children across this continent could use the things I make and create happy memories with the sweet treats I sell.

‘Just wait, adorable kids!’