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Chapter 1
0. Beginning
I was an ordinary middle-class citizen of South Korea—at least, if you ignore the fact that I was abandoned. Wait, doesn’t that already make it far from ordinary?
My parents never felt anything like “love” even as I grew up, and in the end, I was left at an orphanage when I turned five.
After that, I basically grew up taking care of other children in the orphanage, barely managing to get a job later on.
That day, I was on my way home after being harshly scolded by my boss, and it was almost 11 p.m.
“You don’t have hands? You don’t have feet?”
Maybe he had a fight with his wife in the morning, because he was extra sensitive today.
He dumped all kinds of work on me—documents, errands, even picking up his son from academy—so my workload piled up and overtime was unavoidable.
“Fine, eat dirt!”
I threw a rude gesture at the night sky, something that would never reach my boss, when it happened.
Beep—BEEEEP!
A horn sounded in a narrow alley where it absolutely should not have been heard.
When I turned my head, I saw a motorcycle with no visible rider.
“Huh? Huh?!”
The motorcycle rushed toward me at full speed and did not slow down at all.
My body was thrown into the air.
At that moment, I thought:
“My life really sucks…”
That was my last thought.
1. What it means to become Roxina Tanzerik
“Ughhh…”
I shivered violently from a cold I shouldn’t have felt if I were dead.
Even though my whole body was wrapped in soft fabric, cold air slipped through tiny gaps and finally forced my eyes open.
And I was stunned by the luxurious scenery in front of me.
“W-where… is this?”
Huh!
A strange, childish voice came out of my mouth, and I quickly covered it.
‘Is this some kind of after-effect from the accident?’
I tried to speak again after making the most reasonable guess—but my pronunciation was still wrong.
“What… is this… seriously…”
At that moment—
Knock knock.
“Miss, may I come in?”
A young woman’s voice came from outside the door.
I instinctively shrank back at the unfamiliar voice, but the woman, unaware of my silence, knocked again.
“Miss, are you still sleeping?”
‘What should I do?’
I didn’t even know if I was truly alive, so meeting a stranger felt dangerous.
‘If I don’t answer, maybe she’ll leave.’
Thinking that, I pulled the blanket over my head.
But then I heard the door open.
“H-Huh…”
The woman’s voice came closer.
Even then, I stayed hidden inside the blanket, trembling.
“Today is not a day you should oversleep. It’s the day you’ve been waiting for.”
‘Waiting for…?’
I had no such day. I never celebrated birthdays, thinking they marked the beginning of misfortune, and Christmas without Santa meant nothing to me.
But a day I was “waiting for”?
Curiosity slowly grew, and I carefully peeked out of the blanket.
“Miss, you’re awake!”
When I lifted my head, I saw a foreign woman with neatly braided brown hair.
Her appearance and fluent Korean startled me.
“W-who… are you…”
“Miss, there’s no time for jokes. The Duke will arrive soon!”
‘Miss…? Duke…?’
She spoke incomprehensible things and pulled me up.
“Please hurry. We’re already running late.”
She smiled lightly and pulled a cord beside the bed.
Immediately, three women in identical outfits entered the room.
“We don’t have much time. Move quickly!”
At the leader’s command, they began dressing me.
I was so confused I could only stare blankly with my mouth open.
“Done!”
The maids stepped back with satisfied expressions.
“You look like a doll, Miss!”
One of the younger maids held up a mirror.
I looked into it—and froze.
‘…Is this me?’
Inside the mirror was a child.
Pale round cheeks, deep black hair, and bright blue eyes that didn’t seem human.
She looked more perfect than any doll I had ever seen.
‘What is going on…? I was definitely hit by a motorcycle and died…’
Still confused, I touched my face.
The maid seemed to think I was still half-asleep and lowered the mirror.
“Ah…!”
“You must not stay in your room today. The Duke has just entered the estate!”
Hearing her urgent voice, I didn’t get a chance to admire my appearance further.
“Wow…”
I followed the anxious maid out of the room.
A massive hallway stretched before me—high ceilings, crystal chandeliers, burgundy-colored walls.
Golden sparkles shimmered along the stairs connecting the floors, and classical paintings blended into the walls as if they belonged there.
While I was distracted, the maid signaled me.
“Miss, this way.”
A large hall was filled with people wearing the same uniform as the maids.
Some looked nervous, biting their lips. Others forced polite smiles and bowed.
The scene felt like a grand ceremony from a drama.
“A-ah, Miss… what brings you here…”
A man nearby widened his eyes in shock—
And then the massive doors opened.
Light poured in from behind the doors, and everyone bowed their heads.
“We greet the Duke of House Tanzerik, Lord Hainox Tanzerik.”
‘What?’
The name Hainox Tanzerik sent a chill through me.
I recognized it immediately.
It was the villain from the novel I read right before I died—
Don’t Break That Flower.
A powerful man who rivaled the imperial family, constantly interfering with the succession of the First Prince.
‘So… this is that world? This is a novel?’
While I tried to process everything, the maid whispered urgently:
“Miss, you must lower your head!”
A hand pushed me down, and I awkwardly bumped my forehead against her leg.
A massive shadow approached.
When I strained my eyes upward, I saw a cold, imposing gaze.
“What is that?”
…What?
“What did you just say to me?”
The atmosphere instantly turned freezing.
“Did you say I was rude?”
The maid trembled and quickly tried to defend me.
“The young lady is still very young… I’m sorry!”
What did I even do wrong?!
But I had already lived through death. Fear was gone.
Instead, I felt irritation rise—like my old boss overlapped with the man in front of me.
I stepped forward.
“I’m not very young!”
Even though my pronunciation was still broken.
“Not young…?”
The Duke’s lips slowly curled.
“Yes! I’m not young! My appearance is fine, but you’re being extremely rude!”
“Rude… you say?”
His cold smile deepened.
“Then who exactly is being rude here?”
My heart dropped.
Am I going to die again?
I closed my eyes tightly.
Then a voice came from above.
“It’s been a while, speaking to your father like that.”
“…Father?”
I opened my eyes wide.
The Duke looked down at me.
Blue eyes. Black hair.
Features strangely similar to mine.
And the maid’s earlier words echoed again:
Miss.
“Huh?!”
I instinctively stepped back.
The Duke’s expression relaxed slightly.
“So you finally remember.”
“No way…”
“My daughter.”
“…Am I really Roxina Tanzerik?”
