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Chapter 2
Screw Reincarnation, Possession, and Regression
After a long commotion, everyone eventually concluded that the madam simply hadn’t fully recovered yet. Telling Hajin she needed rest, they left her alone in a quiet room and all went outside.
The madam…
The Marquis…
So then… my wife, Diabella…?
The names she overheard them whispering among themselves before leaving weren’t unfamiliar.
‘Madam, Marchioness, Diabella. And me. A = B = C = D. So that means… I’m Diabella?’
[Before getting into web novels, memorize this first. The three essentials of romance fantasy: reincarnation, possession, regression.]
[“Raw smelt sashimi” I’ve heard of, but what’s reincarnation-possession-regression?]
[Smelt sashimiㅋㅋㅋㅋ Not that! It means regression, possession into a book, and reincarnationㅋㅋ Apparently book possession is the trend these days.]
Hajin remembered the KakaoTalk messages she’d exchanged with her friend before reading web novels.
Ah, so this is book possession!
…Yeah, right.
And I’m just supposed to accept this ridiculous situation that easily?
[When someone gets possessed into a novel, the heroine always wakes up to a maid calling for herㅋㅋ It always starts like that.]
“Madam! You’re awake?”
That was definitely the first thing she’d heard after opening her eyes.
[And then once she regains consciousness, she looks in the mirror. And boom—she’s become an absolutely breathtaking beauty.]
Feeling increasingly uneasy, Hajin walked toward the mirror.
Why was this room so huge? By the time she reached the mirror from the bed, her legs were practically sore.
“Gah!”
Hajin clamped a hand over her mouth as she stared at her reflection.
“An unbelievably gorgeous beauty…”
Skin pale and flawless like porcelain.
Long wine-colored hair contrasted against it beautifully, cascading down in elegant waves—the kind of hairstyle people called “goddess hair.”
And then there were the eyes: impossibly large, taking up nearly a third of her face, sparkling like rubies.
A tall, sculpted nose.
Full red lips like ripe cherries.
Hajin turned her face from angle to angle, admiring every detail.
She was proud, elegant, intelligent-looking, and dazzlingly beautiful.
Especially when she slightly lifted her chin and lowered her gaze—the harmony of her long thick lashes and high nose bridge was breathtaking.
“Diabella.”
Unable to tear her eyes away from the mirror, Hajin repeated the name of the owner of this face.
“Dia,” like diamond.
“Bella,” meaning beauty.
A name combining the finest jewel and beauty itself suited this radiant face perfectly.
She felt like she might fall in love with the reflection staring back at her.
‘So this is the face I’ll be living with now.’
…Not bad.
Actually, this is amazing.
When else would she ever get to live with a face like this?
And wait—they called me a Marchioness, right?
Then that means I’m insanely rich!
Jackpot.
Just look at the size of this room. If the room alone is this huge, how enormous is the house?
Even the bed she’d woken up in was several times bigger than the tiny goshiwon bed she used to sleep on.
And this mansion wasn’t even the main residence.
According to the original novel, this was merely the townhouse in the capital that the servants called the “small residence.”
The real home of the Marquis family was the enormous castle located in the Marquisate.
But Diabella loved glamorous city life and shopping, so she preferred staying in the capital instead of the castle. The Marquis split his time between the estate and the townhouse.
And this capital residence was exactly where Diabella had collapsed after drinking poison.
‘If this is just the “small” residence, then how huge is the actual castle?’
Hajin’s eyes sparkled as she gazed out the window.
Even the portion of the mansion visible from here was enormous.
‘Wait a second… isn’t there something deeply suspicious about happily enjoying this situation?’
Only then did Hajin remember the web novel she’d read before falling asleep—and the hateful comments she’d posted afterward.
[Diabella? More like Diablo. The villagers really nailed that nickname.
What a crazy evil woman.
Seriously, if I had your silver-spoon life and that kind of money, I’d never live like that, you rotten XXXX!]
Diabella.
Diablo.
That was the nickname people in the novel used when cursing her.
A villainess more vicious than the devil himself.
And despite this beautiful face and immense wealth, she was fated to die.
But unexpectedly, Hajin had entered the world of the novel, bringing the already-dead Diabella back to life.
But so what?
She was still destined to get divorced soon and leave behind this massive mansion and castle!
Damn it.
After rolling around the enormous bed clutching her head for quite some time, Hajin reluctantly decided to accept reality.
Actually, Hajin adapted to situations fairly quickly.
And she was resilient.
That was how she’d managed to survive such a difficult life—paying tuition, rent, and living expenses all on her own without any help from her parents.
The worries she’d had while lying on a cramped squeaky goshiwon bed—one where simply turning over risked falling off—were on a completely different level from the worries she now had while sprawling across this gigantic luxurious bed.
‘I want to throw a Chanel bag on the floor and cry my eyes out. I want to slam my fists against a Maserati steering wheel and scream.’
Just like that old internet joke—
These were the luxurious worries of the rich.
First things first.
If she really had been possessed into this strange world, she needed to assess her situation.
Unlike the hateful comment she’d drunkenly posted, Hajin was certain that if she really had this kind of wealth, she would never live like the Diabella from the novel.
Inside her head, Hajin began prioritizing what she needed to survive here.
Naturally, first place was:
Figuring out her assets.
Divorce?
Fine, if divorce was inevitable, then okay.
But first she needed to know exactly how much money she could take with her.
Then she could start planning the rest of her life.
While looking around the room, Hajin noticed a cord hanging beside the bed and cautiously tugged on it.
‘In European period dramas, they pull these to call servants, right? So it’s basically like the bell at a Korean barbecue restaurant table? Like, “Excuse me, can we change the grill?”’
Chuckling to herself, Hajin smiled in satisfaction when a maid soon appeared.
“Who manages my finances? Please call them for me.”
The maid’s eyes widened at Hajin’s polite speech and smiling tone—completely unlike before.
After bowing repeatedly in shock, she hurried out of the room.
“You mean… Your Ladyship’s assets?”
The butler with the deep scar around his eye cautiously asked while watching her expression.
“That’s right. If I get divorced, how much money can I take with me?”
The madam is speaking politely to me!
The maid had rushed over pale-faced saying the madam was acting strangely, but this was truly alarming.
“…F-First of all, it may be difficult for you to take the taxes collected from the bell sounds. The Marquis became furious after learning about them…”
The butler spoke while sweating profusely.
Even as he talked, he kept nervously glancing at her, worried another fan or water bottle might suddenly come flying at him.
“Haa… the bell taxes. Pfft, seriously.”
Watching Hajin shake with laughter made the butler turn pale.
This time she’s going to throw something even bigger!
“Wasn’t she completely insane? Who in their right mind taxes bell sounds?”
“…?”
The butler looked utterly miserable, unable to figure out how he was supposed to react.
Should he just beg for a painless death?
“…Ah, I guess reality still doesn’t feel real to me yet. You know how in dreams you just say whatever comes to mind without hesitation? I think I’m in that state right now. My words keep skipping my brain entirely. Sorry.”
Looking at the butler, whose face still looked filled with a million question marks, Hajin carefully chose her words.
“Um… so… I think the old me wasn’t exactly sane. I mean that taxing bell sounds was obviously ridiculous.”
Hajin flashed an easygoing smile.
The butler nearly got goosebumps from seeing the Marchioness speak so kindly for the first time ever.
‘Is she trying to torment me in a new way? Or is she being kind one last time before killing or dismissing me?’
Either way, this was a danger sign.
“Maybe nearly dying knocked some sense back into me. So don’t look so terrified. Anyway, forget the bell taxes. What’s my net worth?”
“P-Please wait a moment! I must bring the ledgers to avoid making any mistakes.”
The butler, who’d been waiting for a chance to throw himself down and beg forgiveness for whatever offense he’d committed, realized he’d survived for now and immediately dashed out to retrieve the account books.
“According to the records… Your Ladyship brought a dowry of 20 million marks when you married.”
“20 million marks?… Two billion won?”
As a top economics student who had always been good with money and calculations, Jang Hajin remembered the currency system from the novel clearly despite only half-reading it while complaining.
In the story, one mark was equivalent to 100 Korean won.
“Yes. And the Marquis added another 20 million marks on top of your dowry. Altogether, Your Ladyship’s net assets amount to 40 million marks.”
