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Chapter 01
Prologue
Perhaps because it was the first day of the semester, the front gates of Riod Imperial Academy were more crowded than usual.
At the center of all the attention stood a four-wheeled carriage that had come to a halt in the middle of the plaza.
The elegant carriage, drawn by four horses, bore the emblem of a red dragon crossed with two swords.
It was the symbol of the House of Argenta, the ducal family renowned for possessing the greatest military power in the Empire.
And now, the family’s long-lost heir was about to reveal himself.
The moment the carriage door opened, a hush of excitement spread through the crowd.
Soon, a young man stepped onto the carriage’s footboard and slowly emerged.
His smooth silver hair fluttered in the wind, brushing across the bridge of his nose.
And when the pale green eyes beneath it were revealed—
The crowd fell completely silent.
“No way…”
The faces of those who recognized him turned pale.
The title of Duke of Argenta.
The honorable Kistar Knights, who followed him.
The heir destined to inherit all of it was none other than Felix—the very person they had once mocked and looked down upon.
Among them, Kadin, who had led much of the bullying against him, looked especially twisted with disbelief.
“Felix? Why is that guy getting out of that carriage?”
At his dissatisfied tone, Rosia, who was standing nearby, quickly answered,
“Maybe because he’s Duke Argenta’s disciple? They probably just happened to ride in the same carriage.”
Contrary to her desperate hope that Felix could not possibly be the duke’s son, no one else emerged from the carriage no matter how long they waited.
Soon, the knights escorting the carriage approached Felix with disciplined movements.
“Young Master, was your journey comfortable?”
With those words alone, chaos erupted once more at the academy’s front gates.
“Felix… really is Duke Argenta’s son?”
“What in the world is going on?”
As people whispered among themselves, Rosia felt such a tremendous shock that her mind went blank.
Just a short while ago, Felix had been nothing more than an insignificant commoner.
And now, not only had he become the duke’s disciple, but he was also revealed to be the duke’s lost son?
To make matters worse, Felix was dating Ayla, the very girl Rosia hated so much.
Rosia’s friend, Freya, seemed equally stunned by the situation and stood frozen for a long moment.
Then, as if regaining her composure, she spoke in a deliberately calm voice.
“…Isn’t this actually a good thing? If he’s become the heir of a ducal house, he’ll know who he should associate with now. He’ll dump someone like Ayla soon enough.”
But as if denying her words entirely, Felix was scanning the crowd, searching for someone.
Before long, his gaze settled on one particular spot.
At the end of it stood Ayla.
Without hesitation, Felix pushed through the crowd and walked toward her.
As everyone’s attention shifted toward her, an awkward expression briefly crossed Ayla’s face.
But only for a moment.
As Felix stopped before her with eager steps, the corners of her lips slowly lifted, unable to hide her delight at seeing him.
She greeted him and said something, and Felix responded with an equally happy smile.
Then he gently took her hand.
And respectfully pressed a kiss to the back of it.
At that very moment, soft gasps erupted throughout the plaza.
The female students immediately began chattering excitedly.
“Wow, Ayla is seriously lucky. Do you think she knew Felix was Duke Argenta’s son?”
“No way. It was just pure coincidence. Though, now that he took off his glasses, he’s actually pretty handsome.”
“Don’t you think he’s become a lot more dignified since becoming the duke’s heir?”
“Exactly. I’m so jealous. I should’ve been nicer to him from the start. And he doesn’t seem to care at all that Ayla’s a commoner now.”
“To be honest, they look really good together.”
Watching the two of them, Rosia unconsciously clenched her teeth.
Compared to how affectionately they stood together, the distance between herself and Kadin felt unbearably vast.
What was worse, Kadin’s gaze wasn’t directed toward his future fiancée, Rosia.
It was fixed solely on Ayla.
It was the complete opposite of Felix, who couldn’t take his eyes off his beloved for even a second.
Soon, Felix and Ayla linked arms and began walking toward the academy building.
Then, just as the distance between them drew close enough for their shoulders to brush—
Ayla slowly turned to look at Rosia.
Then she quietly spoke.
“So. Are you satisfied with your position now, Rosia?”
Ayla leisurely curled one corner of her lips upward.
“…!”
The moment she heard those words, Rosia’s heart began pounding uncontrollably.
She wanted to say something—anything—but her throat tightened, preventing a single word from coming out.
While Rosia remained rooted to the spot, Ayla turned away and resumed walking.
Yet Rosia couldn’t bring herself to stop her.
Feeling the sidelong glances of those around her, she bit her lip tightly.
A storm of emotions swirled within her—whether anger or helplessness, she couldn’t tell.
The fact that she couldn’t immediately answer “yes” to Ayla’s question was proof enough.
It was strange.
She had finally obtained the position of young lady of the Blanche Ducal House, the status she had long admired.
And yet she wasn’t happy at all.
In fact, Ayla, smiling brightly beside Felix, looked far more radiant than Rosia herself, who stood buried among the crowd.
Rosia’s tightly clenched fists trembled.
“…Ayla.”
But the name she barely managed to whisper was quickly carried away by the wind.
* * *
Ayla stared at the girl in the mirror and buried her face in her hands.
Beautiful pink hair.
Yellow eyes that resembled daffodils.
She forced the corners of her lips upward in an awkward smile.
The girl in the mirror smiled awkwardly back.
I’ve seen this face every day, but…
She found herself admiring it all over again.
She’s ridiculously beautiful. Seriously gorgeous.
But what was the point?
The owner of this body, Ayla Blanche, was the heroine of a regret story.
And from now on, all she was supposed to do with this beautiful face was cry pitifully while tears streamed down her cheeks.
How did this even happen?
Her mind was in complete disarray, filled with both Ayla’s memories and memories from her previous life.
I can’t believe I’ve become the protagonist of a novel I read in my past life.
And not just any protagonist.
One who was pushed around endlessly by the villains and did nothing but suffer.
“What? If it were me, I wouldn’t have let that happen. This heroine is seriously stupid.”
“Wait, what? The truth finally comes out and then she dies?”
She spent the entire story getting hurt, manipulated, and trampled on.
And only after everyone finally learned the truth and began regretting their actions did her body grow too weak, causing her to close her eyes forever.
Ayla still vividly remembered stomping her feet in frustration while calling it the most infuriatingly frustrating novel she had ever read.
And yesterday, the villain really appeared.
Ayla recalled the nightmare she wished she could forget.
A girl with vivid pink hair even brighter than her own.
Rosia.
Accompanied by her uncle, Rosia had appeared before the ducal family and dropped a bombshell.
“I am the one and only daughter of the Blanche Ducal House. When I was young, a nanny who worked for the family switched her daughter with me.”
At first, the duke and duchess refused to believe it.
Who would immediately accept such an outrageous claim?
Even Ayla’s older brothers angrily confronted Rosia.
“If you’re lying, we won’t let you get away with it.”
“Can you bear the consequences of those words?”
However, the moment a magical artifact was used to conduct a bloodline test, everyone’s attitude changed completely.
It revealed that Rosia was the true blood descendant of House Blanche.
And that Ayla was a complete stranger.
The warm gazes her family had always directed toward her became colder than a winter blizzard.
“Ayla, what exactly is the meaning of this?”
“So you were the fake one?”
“To think that nanny would commit such a terrible crime!”
Soon, her second brother Cedric and the duke began pressing her with expressions she had never seen before.
“You aren’t still in contact with that woman, are you?”
“If you knew you weren’t a member of House Blanche’s bloodline and still deceived us, we will never forgive you.”
In the end, the situation became so excessive that Rosia herself stepped forward to defend Ayla.
“Please don’t treat Lady Ayla like that. This is all my fault.”
Shocked by the sharp accusations from her family, Ayla fainted on the spot.
And that was when all my memories returned.
