Prologue

Prium’s Rhapsody.

It was a very ordinary romance fantasy novel without anything particularly special.

The heroine of the novel, Shastia, who combined a love that transcends status with a spirit-user setting, was a woman who lived while being abused by her husband and suddenly became a widow.

Living in extreme poverty while raising her young daughter, she one day finds a wounded knight collapsed in the forest and brings him home to take care of him.

That knight was the male lead of the story, Roberic Arne Heillian.

Roberic inevitably falls in love with the beautiful and kind woman who saved his life.

However, Roberic was the First Knight of the Imperial Family, a great spirit user revered by the entire world.

He was also the emperor crown prince’s closest aide.

Although only formally, he also had a fiancée, so objectively speaking, the two of them could never be together.

But as in any typical novel, obstacles to love could not stop them.

After many hardships, Roberic and Shastia eventually overcame all status barriers and achieved their love.

Roberic’s original fiancée is accused of jealousy and evil deeds against the innocent Shastia, who is now the Duchess of Heillian, and is stripped of her family title and exiled to a rural border region.

Shastia rises from a commoner widow to the Duchess of Heillian, and the daughter she had with her late husband becomes the young lady of House Heillian.

And so Roberic lives happily ever after with his wife and stepdaughter…

“Then why did I get reincarnated after everything ended?”

I muttered while picking a wildflower by the roadside.

That was right.

When I regained my memories of my past life after being born, the imperial newspaper already had an article titled “A Peaceful Moment of the Heillian Grand Ducal Family.”

Well, even if I had been born earlier, I was just a rural commoner—what right would I have to interfere in the original story anyway?

In this life, my mother died right after giving birth to me. So I was raised by my maternal grandfather.

It was an ordinary, simple rural life, but I genuinely liked it.

My grandfather was not a rich noble or royalty like those in novels.

But he loved me more than anyone else.

“Idis, I’m sorry. It would be nice if I could buy you better clothes, toys, and plenty of snacks.”

“It’s okay, Grandpa. I like living like this with you the most!”

“…I feel the same, my child.”

Honestly, I was fine, but Grandpa was the one who worried a bit too much.

At this level, our lifestyle was clearly above an ordinary middle-class household.

“I finished it!”

I smiled proudly while looking at the roughly made flower crown.

I should give this as a gift to Grandpa.

While thinking that, I arrived near the house.

There, I saw a beautiful white horse I had never seen in my life standing beside the willow tree in front of our home.

“Wow…”

I let out an involuntary exclamation and carefully looked at the white horse.

Whose horse is this?

No matter how I looked at it, it seemed like something a noble would own.

I looked around. There was only the horse—no one else.

Just as I was about to enter the fenced yard because I couldn’t see anyone—

“Ah.”

A strange voice suddenly let out a sigh.

I turned my head. And my eyes widened so much it felt like they would pop out.

The moment I looked at him, a soft spring breeze blew as if it were a lie, and radiant silver hair fluttered lightly in the air.

A pair of red eyes, framed by pure white eyelashes, trembled slightly as they looked at me endlessly.

A delicate beauty, like a single flower covered in morning dew, had suddenly appeared and was staring at me.

Wow…

I gaped.

What is that man who looks exactly like a romance fantasy male lead doing here?

Why is someone like that in the middle of this rural place?

But… doesn’t his design look exactly like that guy?

Roberic.

I closed my mouth and looked down at him, then immediately stiffened.

Because the emblem that always appeared in Prium’s Rhapsody—two white horses with a camellia flower in the center—was proudly hanging on his chest.

What.

My mouth fell open again.

You… don’t tell me you’re the male lead?

No way, why are you suddenly popping up here?

“…You.”

At that moment, he said, his long eyelashes trembling.

“You are Mariette’s daughter.”

Thud.

At that name, I dropped the flower crown I was holding.

…Mariette?

Why is the name of the villainess who met a tragic end in the completed novel coming up here?

…And what? Daughter?

Mariette’s daughter?

Me?

I honestly couldn’t understand what nonsense he was saying.

As I stood there in shock, the male lead wet his dry lips and continued.

“And… also my daughter…”

Huh?

My mouth fell open.

Tearful eyes looked at me.

He stepped closer and whispered.

“I finally get to meet you. I didn’t even know I had a child… Baby, I am actually your father!!”

Bang—!

At that moment, a stone suddenly flew in and struck the back of the male lead’s head.

Thud—

The male lead collapsed face-first onto the ground.

Huh?

“Where do you think you’re putting your hands, you bastard!”

Grandpa?!

The one who just smashed the male lead’s head with a stone was my grandfather!

“You ungrateful beast, how dare you come here after making my daughter suffer so much and leaving her to die?!”

Grandpa shouted loudly, his face red with anger.

“…Huh?”

I stared blankly at the male lead lying face-down on the ground, and my grandfather who had come back now holding an even bigger stone, breathing heavily.

That was the moment the secret of my birth—something I had never even dreamed of—was revealed.

Chapter 1

1. The Villainess’s Daughter

The villainess of Prium’s Rhapsody.

Mariette Iddin Bastavan, the duke’s daughter.

She was born as the only precious daughter of Duke Bastavan.

Lavender curly hair, sharp golden eyes, an intelligent appearance.

Mariette was an outstanding beauty that anyone who saw her would admire.

Except for Shastia, the heroine whose unrealistic, fragile beauty was exaggerated by heroine bias.

The male lead, Roberic, was born as the only son of Grand Duke Heillian.

The former emperor envied Roberic’s father and framed him for treason. Because of that, Roberic lost his parents and his title, becoming the son of a criminal.

Fearing the mad emperor, no one would take in the orphan left as the only heir of such a noble family. The one who took him in was Duke Bastavan, a friend of the former grand duke.

Yes. The villainess’s father.

Because of that connection, Mariette and Roberic grew up together since childhood.

Their relationship was neither quite friends nor quite siblings.

To be exact, Mariette saw Roberic not as a friend, but as a man.

While Roberic saw Mariette only as a close and precious friend—and the daughter of his benefactor.

The villainess’s father, Duke Bastavan, noticed his daughter’s feelings early and took care of Roberic with great devotion.

The reason Roberic, the son of a criminal, was able to become the Imperial First Knight and a hero admired throughout the empire was entirely because Duke Bastavan supported him from behind.

Thus, Roberic received an unrepayable debt of gratitude from the Bastavan family.

However.

“I’m sorry, Mariette…”

It seemed love mattered more than gratitude to Roberic.

“I love her. She can’t live without me. And I can’t live without her either… I’m sorry, truly sorry. …Let’s break off the engagement.”

Roberic betrayed his benefactors and his friend and chose Shastia.

Mariette was furious down to her bones at his betrayal.

After everything she and her father had done for Roberic, what they received in return was betrayal and ridicule from the world.

The noble Bastavan family suddenly gained the disgraceful label of “a dog chasing a chicken it lost.”

Nobles mocked Mariette behind her back, saying she lost her fiancé to a commoner widow because she couldn’t hold onto a man.

Mariette, proud and noble, decided on revenge.

She did everything she could to interfere with Shastia and Roberic’s relationship.

She spread malicious rumors about Shastia among the people and used her social connections to openly exclude her.

She even put Shastia and her daughter’s lives in danger multiple times, and used the power of the Bastavan family to threaten Roberic’s position.

But as all stories go, Mariette was eventually defeated.

Roberic maintained his power and honor.

And openly married Shastia.

Mariette, along with her father, was expelled from the stage called “happy ending.”

It was a bitter ending.

To be honest, I seemed to like Mariette more than Shastia, who couldn’t do anything without Roberic.

Even if she used her intelligence for wrongdoing.

Yes. That was how it was, but—

“Where did you hear this nonsense and come here?! Even if you knew, you should never have come! If you have even a shred of conscience left, you bastard!”

That didn’t mean I wanted to be born as the daughter of the villainess!

No, how did Mariette even have a child with Roberic?

I was so stunned I couldn’t even speak and just watched the situation unfold.

At that moment, Grandpa finally lifted an even bigger stone over the unconscious Roberic.

It looked like he was seriously planning to finish the male lead off.

Wait a second! I understand Grandpa’s feelings, but this is too much!

I urgently stretched out both hands.

“Stop!”

At that moment, a man’s loud voice rang out.

A knight in white uniform with golden embroidery stepped between Grandpa and the unconscious Roberic.

“No matter how much you are a former Duke, further disrespect cannot be tolerated.”

Long light green hair, neatly braided, swayed in front of me.

The man who blocked Grandpa turned his head and looked down at me coldly.

A subordinate knight of Roberic, with light green hair and red eyes… then there was only one person.

I covered my mouth with both hands and thought.

The second male lead of the original story.

Perion Mihail Haldebart, son of the Haldebart Count family.

In the original story, he was someone who struggled between his feelings for Shastia and his loyalty to Roberic.

In the end, he never confessed his feelings to Shastia and remained someone who watched from behind—a rather pitiful character.

However.

“This is Grand Duke Heillian. Even you, who has lost your title, cannot touch him.”

At Perion’s words, I frowned.

“And even if this child is only suspected to be the daughter of the Grand Duke, you will gain nothing from her. If you do not wish to be charged with insulting nobility, stop your rude behavior here.”

It seemed I wasn’t the only one who was uncomfortable.

Grandpa ground his teeth in anger at Perion’s disrespect.

“Power? So the Haldebart family has fallen so low now? Are you saying I raised my granddaughter just to steal power from this beast worse than an animal?”

“Is that not true? It suits well with your late daughter, who was also obsessed with power.”

Perion replied arrogantly.

At his shameless insult toward the dead, Grandpa’s fist trembled violently.

“You dare insult even my dead child now?! Do you feel no shame at all?!”

Perion continued without caring.

“You should reflect on your own actions first.”

Then he turned and looked down at me.

His eyes, full of hostility and disgust, scanned me from head to toe.

I frowned deeply.

“…While you do resemble the Grand Duke, your mother’s nature must not have disappeared.”

It was a gaze as if looking at an insect.

“I hope this child is never recognized as a Grand Duchess. There is already a small camellia blooming in Heillian.”

Small camellia.

A term used to refer to the Heillian Grand Duchess.

It must be referring to Shastia’s daughter, Alea.

“Don’t speak nonsense. Do you think I would let my granddaughter die?! I would die before I ever send her to you people! Let’s go, Idis! Don’t even remember anything that man said!”

Grandpa firmly grabbed my hand and pulled me away.

Bang—

The door slammed shut.

Grandpa knelt down to meet my eyes.

Unlike when he had shouted at Perion, his eyes were gentle as he looked at me.

“Idis.”

“…Grandpa, what is going on?”

I had to ask.

What exactly was happening?

“…I’m sorry for hiding it until now. Before your mother passed away, she asked me to hide the truth about your father until you grew up a bit.”

Grandpa had always told me.

My mother was smarter than any man, fearless in everything, and loved me more than anyone.

But now that I knew she was actually the villainess Mariette, it was hard to believe Grandpa’s words.

A villainess.

No matter how intelligent and bold she was, that didn’t erase the fact that she committed wrongdoing.

“That man… the one you knocked out… is he really my father?”

And how did she even have me with Roberic?

Could it be that Roberic, while claiming to love Shastia, never fully cut ties with Mariette?

Did the male lead cheat between the heroine and the villainess?

“…Yes. He is your father. Your mother confirmed it. I even went to the Fire Temple to perform a paternity test, and they confirmed it as well. Your father is that damned Roberic Arne Heillian.”

I opened my mouth in shock.

I had never even imagined such a situation, so I didn’t know what to do.

So I was actually the hidden daughter of the male lead and the villainess?

…What kind of messy, trashy setting is this?

“But, Idis.”

Grandpa held both my hands tightly.

“Nothing will change even if you know this. You are still young, but your father already has a wife and child. And your mother would not have wanted you to go to him.”

Of course, I had no intention of going.

Why would I go to a grand duchy where the heroine and her daughter already exist?

Even the second male lead Perion showed hostility toward a child like me.

Would the servants of the grand duchy be any different?

No. Definitely not.

Being labeled as the daughter of the villainess would follow me forever.

Do I want to become the protagonist who survives hatred and hostility and earns dazzling honor and love?

No, I don’t want that even if it’s free.

My goal is a quiet, ordinary life.

“So forget about today. I want to live just long enough to see you grow up into a kind and hardworking person, happy with someone good. Your father will not help that future at all.”

Grandpa was right.

I had lived fine without a father until now, so what did it matter?

“I’ll do as you say, Grandpa.”

“You’re a good girl.”

Grandpa hugged me. I closed my eyes in his warm embrace.

Even if the male lead suddenly showed up claiming to be my father, my daily life wouldn’t change.

However.

Creak—

“Idis!”

…Why is the male lead standing in front of my house at noon?

Roberic smiled brightly, regardless of how shocked I looked.

Ugh.

I shuddered and closed the door again.