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Chapter 1
Prologue
Reynold Castle was instantly engulfed in flames.
Gasping for breath, Agnes pushed her way through the crowd of screaming, fleeing people.
‘Could I be any more unlucky?’
Her life had always been turbulent.
Agnes, the third daughter of a viscount’s family, had always been unusually unlucky.
Though her family wasn’t wealthy, they had been happy—until her father was swindled by a friend, sending them into a steep decline. It had happened right around the time Agnes was arranging her wedding.
With no means left to marry her off, her engagement was, of course, canceled, and from that day forward, Agnes had to work to make a living.
That was the year she turned 19.
With a letter of introduction from her eldest sister’s mother-in-law, Agnes landed a job as a governess.
To support her bedridden father, still reeling from the shock of bankruptcy, Agnes worked tirelessly. Her sisters, who had once pressured her to marry because she was of age, offered no financial help. Their words were hollow.
At first, Agnes thought she would work just long enough to put out the immediate fires, then look for a new match.
But things didn’t go as planned—and, truthfully, she wasn’t interested in marriage anymore. She didn’t seek it out actively.
And so a year passed, then two, then three…
Time flew by as she worked. By the time she realized it, her chance to marry had long passed.
After losing both her parents, Agnes was left all alone—and she decided she’d rather grow old and die alone. What had started as a necessity turned out to suit her nature.
The most important things were: a comfortable income, a stable job, and a secure place to live.
Right then, she heard that the Marquessate of Reynold was looking for a live-in governess to care for two young siblings. Because they were so young, the governess had to live on-site—but the pay was exceptionally good. Agnes saw it as divine intervention.
The marquessate was located in the countryside, where the air and water were clean. It felt like the perfect place for Agnes to live out her later years, away from the hustle and bustle of the capital.
She planned to work just five years, then buy a small house with her savings and enjoy the rest of her life in peace.
And so, three years passed.
Though life in the marquessate wasn’t exactly what she’d imagined, things were proceeding according to plan.
‘Just two more years and I could’ve retired and lived a peaceful life!’
But then the Marquess of Reynold was accused of treason.
And to Agnes, the charges seemed true.
The young marquess was indulgent, decadent, and lacked even the most basic manners. The real person in need of a governess was him, not the children.
His character was so questionable that Agnes wondered if he’d ever been properly educated—but he paid well, so she endured. She only had to hold out for five years.
But treason?
The marquess was already living a hopeless life. The fact that he had twin illegitimate children at age 21 said it all.
His family had disowned him. He had been essentially exiled and forced to live out his days at the estate.
‘Doesn’t he feel any remorse for his children?’
How could a person be like that?
The twins, shunned from birth, had grown up under constant scrutiny because of their father.
Because they were illegitimate, their names weren’t even included in the family register. If he wasn’t going to give them his name or his love, he should’ve at least created a stable environment for them to grow up in.
Agnes couldn’t bear to see them die. After living with them for three years, she had grown deeply attached.
“She’s the one! Grab her!”
“She helped the traitor’s children escape!”
“Take her alive! We need to know where the kids are hidden!”
Take me alive? Like I’m some kind of prey?
Rage and injustice surged within her. This was all that fool marquess’s fault. She could practically go mad with anger.
In the end, Agnes was caught by the soldiers and forced to her knees. She bit her lip.
But she had helped the children escape safely. She’d warned them again and again to stay put in the underground crypt, where the fire couldn’t reach. The children always listened to her. They would stay there, quietly, until things calmed down.
“When it gets quiet, sneak out carefully. Walk the other way—it leads out of the castle. Got it?”
“Yes, Miss.”
“You’ll come back, right?”
Agnes kissed their foreheads before running off. She could only pray the ancestors entombed in the Reynold crypt would protect them.
‘That idiot marquess probably doesn’t even remember where the crypt entrance is. No one will find them.’
The children would be safe. All she had to do now was lie and say they’d escaped elsewhere.
“Raise your head.”
“…”
“Where did you hide the traitor’s children?”
The voice was cold and sharp. Agnes cautiously looked up.
Dear God!
Behind the armored man stood Reynold Castle, engulfed in fire. On his chest gleamed a symbol Agnes knew well.
The man was the Marquess’s uncle, the Emperor’s knight, and the Empire’s First Sword:
The Duke of Batenberg.
‘You stupid, stupid man! Just how badly did you screw up?’
The marquess had caused such a massive rebellion that his own uncle had to come deal with him personally.
Just then, the Marquess of Reynold was dragged in by soldiers, his arms bound. The Duke’s gaze left Agnes and turned to his nephew. Agnes felt a brief wave of relief, like someone loosening a noose around her neck.
“Uncle! Please save me! I was framed! I’m innocent!”
“Your guilt is undeniable. You’ve gone beyond any hope of mercy.”
“No, no! How can you not believe me? You’re my uncle—my only family…”
“You were always a fatal flaw left behind by my sister. I should’ve seen it sooner.”
“Uncle…”
“I never imagined you’d actually commit treason.”
“U-Uncle, no… please! Don’t kill me!”
The marquess began to thrash wildly.
Agnes watched him, her mouth gagged and her knees in the dirt, feeling only pity and scorn. Even now, he seemed to care only about saving himself.
If she hadn’t helped the twins escape, no one would have.
Not even their father gave them a shred of concern. No one else would risk their life to protect a pair of illegitimate children.
“Spare me! Aaaagh!”
With a dull thud, the marquess’s body was thrown backward. Without a hint of emotion, the duke kicked his nephew and drew his sword.
“My sister is lucky she didn’t live to see this.”
“I-I just…”
“…”
“Uncle… Uncle Ethan…”
“…”
The Duke of Batenberg’s sword stopped just short of the marquess’s chin.
He hesitated, then moved again. Agnes squeezed her eyes shut.
When she opened them again, the duke was turning away, his sword dripping with his nephew’s blood. Through the visor, Agnes saw his eyes—and saw herself reflected in them. She wanted to run, but the soldiers held her tight.
The black-helmeted knight, sword still in hand, approached her.
“You don’t look like you’ll confess quietly.”
“…”
“They’re just children. They couldn’t have gone far. I’ll burn everything. That’ll take care of them.”
His voice, devoid of emotion, chilled her to the bone. Agnes trembled uncontrollably.
“W-Wait…”
No. I don’t want to die.
Why me?
Because of a stupid, reckless marquess… accused of treason I didn’t commit…
To die because she had cared for two forsaken children—it was too cruel a price.
‘If only I’d raised that idiot marquess properly in the first place, none of this would’ve happened.’
Until the age of 21, the marquess had been under the care of his uncle—this very man now preparing to kill her.
The same uncle who had raised his orphaned nephew… and ultimately killed him with his own hands.
‘You should’ve raised him right. Beaten some sense into him if you had to.’
The marquess had clearly grown up an ignorant fool. His uncle’s indifference was partly to blame.
Whether he was here to take responsibility or not, Agnes felt utterly wronged to be caught in the crossfire.
If it had been me…
If I had had the chance to fix that spoiled marquess’s broken character…
If I had only been given the opportunity!
Agnes flinched and shut her eyes tightly.
She knew something.
The marquess, for all his faults, had loved the twins—at least in his own selfish, clumsy way.
She had seen him, late at night, hovering outside their bedroom door after everyone had gone to sleep.
The Marquess of Reynold was dead.
If his treason was real, the twins hiding in the crypt would be killed eventually, too.
Even if they somehow survived, as long as someone who recognized their faces remained alive, they would be hunted.
‘Poor children…’
Agnes glared up at the sword descending toward her head.
If only she’d been given a chance… things might have been different.
The fire consuming Reynold Castle roared into the night sky.
*
The crypt beneath the castle.
Two children sat on the cold stone floor, not a single ray of light in sight. They were the marquess’s children—hidden by Agnes.
The twins clasped their hands together and prayed. They had lived under constant scrutiny their whole lives. They knew—at least somewhat—what was happening.
They knew they would likely never see Agnes again.
Please protect our teacher.
Please save her.
Please forgive our father.
RUMBLE! CRACKLE…
The castle above them began to collapse, and the ground below shook. Even untouched by the flames, the centuries-old stone beneath the castle had weakened with time.
A faint light flickered briefly over the children’s clasped hands—then disappeared.
*
Agnes opened her eyes and found herself back in her 22-year-old body.
“Yes! Finally got it! A letter of introduction to the Batenberg family!”
Agnes clenched her fists and shouted in triumph.
She didn’t know how or why—but this was her chance. A chance to save those poor children. A chance to fix that wretched marquess, even if she had to kick the nonsense out of him.
A chance to keep the duke from killing his own nephew.
The current Marquess of Reynold was now just a seven-year-old boy, newly orphaned and left in the care of his uncle—the Duke of Batenberg!
Agnes gripped the letter tightly and smiled ominously.
“Better wash your neck and brace yourself, young Marquess Reynold…”
Let me show you the power of proper education
