IDLA 01

Chapter 1

The carriage raced along a narrow hill road.

Inside, the faces of the young women dressed in black were filled with gloom.

“Please don’t be too upset. Right now, surviving is what matters most.”

The maid tried to comfort her mistress.

“Sob… Rather than being driven off to a convent, I’d rather die. My life is over now, Stella.”

“But the Duke has become Emperor now. You can make a fresh start too, my lady. Once your parents arrive, they’ll surely find some good solution.”

“It’s meaningless now. I don’t even want to live anymore. Sob…”

Despite the maid Stella’s attempts at comfort, Keila cried bitterly and leaned her face against her shoulder.

“It’ll be alright. Everything will be alright.”

“Stella… What did I do so wrong? I only loved him. Sob…”

Keila seemed utterly unable to accept the reality of being cast aside by her husband. Holding her trembling mistress, Stella gently patted her shoulder. They looked less like a noblewoman and servant and more like a childish younger sister being soothed by her older sibling.

What exactly did I do so wrong?

Stella replayed Keila’s words in her mind.

The biggest mistake you made was falling head over heels for that heartless bastard. That’s why you couldn’t see reality for what it was.

Keila had been deeply in love with a husband who never loved her back, a mere figurehead Duchess. Even now, after being despised by everyone and ultimately discarded so miserably, she still didn’t understand why.

Even after being treated that way, Keila seemed unable to let go of her lingering feelings for him. Watching everything from the sidelines, Stella felt nothing but frustration.

“Hide yourself away in a convent where I’ll never have to see you again. I don’t want to look at that disgusting face for the rest of my life. I’d kill you this instant if I wished, but leaving you alive is my final mercy.”

The Duke had spat those cruel words at his wife as she clung desperately to his feet, begging. Then he shoved her away and coldly turned his back on her.

That had been the final conversation between husband and wife.

And it was the reason the two women were now being exiled to a convent.

Stella remembered the Duke’s eyes as he passed by her that last moment. His icy blue gaze was filled with hatred, disgust, and utter exhaustion.

There had also been another woman there.

Not the Duchess in title alone, but the Duke’s true woman. The real mistress of the estate acknowledged by everyone.

Yelena.

Yelena was the only daughter of Marquis Guineiro, a family celebrated for generations as loyal contributors to the Akanis Empire. Her father currently served as the Imperial Minister of Finance.

With sorrowful eyes, Yelena had watched the pitiful Duchess being driven away. Then, as if resigning herself to the fact that there was nothing she could do, she quietly followed after him.

That was Stella’s final memory of the ducal estate.

As Stella reflected on that day, a desperate scream suddenly rang out from outside the carriage.

“Argh!”

The carriage lurched violently. Something had clearly happened to the coachman.

Keila, who had been sobbing moments ago, looked at Stella with fearful eyes.

“Just a moment.”

Stella carefully eased Keila off her shoulder and opened the carriage window to assess the situation.

At that very instant—

“Ah!”

What she thought was wind brushing past her cheek was actually a sharp arrowhead. A stinging heat spread across her skin, and tiny drops of blood began to trickle down.

“Stella!”

At the sight of blood, terror filled Keila’s eyes.

But something even worse began after that.

The coachman, a sword lodged in his body, collapsed onto the ground. Then masked men dressed in black rode alongside the carriage on horseback.

Blades suddenly thrust wildly through the carriage walls.

The two women shrank back, clutching each other tightly.

“They’re going to kill us!”

Keila screamed, and for that moment, Stella’s own mind went blank with fear.

Without a driver, the carriage sped out of control before crashing into a tree. The women were dragged outside by the bandits.

Before they could even understand what was happening, someone issued a chilling command.

“Kill them.”

“Please spare us! P-Please save me, Ricardo!”

Even while trembling in terror, Keila called out her husband’s name.

Moments later, a blade pierced deeply into her body. Blood spilled from her lips as she collapsed sideways.

As Stella watched Keila dying, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her own back.

Ah… So this is how I die. It’s so unfair. I can’t accept this.

The instant the sword pierced through her body, Stella instinctively knew she was dying.

Above her, she could see the blue sky and drifting white clouds. As her vision slowly blurred, someone’s face briefly appeared before her eyes, as if checking whether she was truly dead.

Resentment toward the Duke—who had promised to spare them only to have them killed in the end—mixed with deep regret.

Faces of the few people who had treated her warmly despite her status as a maid floated through her mind.

Among them was one particular man who had always treated her especially kindly.

If only I had listened to him back then… would I have avoided such a miserable death?

Does he still remember me?

.

.

.

And just like that, Stella’s world faded completely into darkness and silence.

Sniff.

It was the first time I had ever cried in my sleep.

Wiping away the dampness soaking my pillow, I slowly opened my eyes, only to find the room pitch black.

What a bizarre dream.

I had actually possessed a character from the novel I’d been reading before bed and even felt her emotions.

And not Yelena, the Duke’s lover, or Keila, the Duchess—

but Stella, the maid.

Even though I’d woken up, my chest still felt heavy and suffocating, as if a massive stone were pressing down on it.

The web novel I had been reading before falling asleep was a medieval fantasy romance called The Unbreakable Sword. It was set in an imperial court overflowing with schemes and conspiracies, where bloody political struggles and battles for power unfolded.

There was romance mixed in too, I guess.

War stories and political dramas weren’t usually my preferred genre. What had first caught my attention was the cover art.

The male lead was completely my type.

His appearance was absolutely stunning.

Let’s see… Was this rated 19+?

With suspiciously high expectations, I checked—and sure enough, it was rated mature.

Not because it fulfilled my dirty fantasies, unfortunately, but because of all the brutal bloodshed and profanity.

Like everyone else, I started reading while secretly anticipating some steamy scenes eventually appearing.

At first it was simple curiosity, but before long, I became completely immersed in the story.

I didn’t know I liked this kind of plot.

The story featured many characters: the male lead and his loyal retainers, the arrogant imperial family, greedy nobles, and of course the kind and beautiful heroine.

But strangely enough, I found myself emotionally invested in a character with barely any importance at all.

Stella, the Duchess’s maid.

Even though she was only a servant, she was smart, quick-witted, and kindhearted. If she existed in real life, she’d be the kind of person I’d want as a friend.

The Duchess, meanwhile, was frustrating to me—a foolish woman ignored by her husband and everyone around her, constantly trying to torment the heroine only to end up humiliating herself instead.

And yet Stella took care of that childish Duchess like a younger sister.

Honestly, I’d even thought Stella would make a far better Duchess herself. Then maybe the Duke wouldn’t have hated her so much.

At one point in the story, Stella had the chance to leave the estate.

I had practically screamed at her in my head to go.

But Stella gave up the opportunity and stayed beside Keila until the very end.

That part frustrated me more than anything, but maybe that was exactly why I liked Stella’s character so much.

Still, before falling asleep last night, I eventually threw the book aside.

“Ugh, this is so annoying! What even is this?!”

The scene I’d just dreamed about—that was the exact part I had been reading.

The moment where the two women met their miserable deaths.

The original story still continued after that, but Stella’s death completely killed my interest.

I must’ve projected myself onto Stella far more than I realized. It felt like my protagonist had died, so I didn’t even care about the ending anymore.

Anyway, Ricardo Zenkis—the male lead—would obviously become Emperor, marry the beautiful heroine Yelena Guineiro, and live happily ever after.

Maybe because I fell asleep in that state, Stella’s emotions while dying had transferred so vividly into my dream that I ended up crying without even realizing it.

As I tossed around in bed thinking about the dream again, the room gradually became visible in the dim light.

But something felt strange.

My eyes widened at the unfamiliar surroundings.

What? I’m still dreaming?

Under the faint moonlight, I looked around the room in confusion.

An unfamiliar room.

Unfamiliar curtains.

Unfamiliar furniture.

“Where am I?!”

Startled, I shot upright in bed.

At that moment, a heavy thud sounded from the room next door.

Creeeak— clatter clatter.

It sounded like someone was forcing open a window.

“What is this?! Seriously, what is going on?!”

I slapped my cheeks and pinched my arms, but this wasn’t a dream.

First, I needed to figure out the situation.

I hurried toward the next room, not even having time to do the usual reincarnation-fantasy routine of staring into a mirror in shock or excitement.

Click.

The moment I cautiously opened the door—

I gasped and covered my mouth with both hands in horror.