IPBPBD 01

Chapter 01

It was a sudden accident.

On her way home after an interview at a famous restaurant, she was hit by a dump truck and killed instantly.

And then—she was reborn.

This time, she carried the memories of her previous life, reincarnated as Emilina Klein.

At first, she didn’t even realize she was a character from a book.

She only learned the truth when she turned twelve.

“The Duke and Duchess of Ditrio die in an unexplained accident. Their heir, Kirzen Ditrio, inherits the dukedom.”

Emilina happened to see the headline in a newspaper her father brought home. That was the moment she realized—this world was the setting of a novel.

Kirzen, mentioned in the article, was none other than the male lead of a romance-fantasy novel she had once read in her previous life.

It was the story of Kirzen, who, after a tragic childhood, lost the ability to feel emotions—until he met the heroine and learned love through her.

She couldn’t remember the plot in great detail—it had been far too long since she read it.

But one thing, at least, was certain.

“Emilina dies at Kirzen’s hands.”

The reason? She would end up mingling with Serica Chase—the infamous villainess who tormented the heroine.

With a bitter sigh, Emilina rubbed her temples.

“If I had to be reborn inside a novel, couldn’t I at least have been the heroine?”

But no—she had become a petty villainess-extra, a character so minor she barely counted. It felt unfair.

Still, what could she do? It wasn’t something she had any control over.

That didn’t mean she intended to meekly follow the original story and die, either.

In her past life, she hadn’t truly been able to live. This time, she wanted to survive.

Luckily, there was a silver lining—she had been reincarnated years before the original story even began.

And even better, she was from a minor, destitute noble family with almost no ties to the main cast.

The Klein barony was so poor they lived on the outskirts of the capital—far away enough that, if she avoided them on purpose, the protagonists might never even know she existed.

Of course, she could try to befriend the heroine or curry favor with Kirzen… but honestly?

Unless she had some extraordinary talent, she had no desire to tangle herself with them and risk her life.

“It’s not like the story will fall apart just because I’m not there.”

Her plan was simple: avoid the main characters, and live quietly in obscurity.

After all, Emilina Klein was just a worthless side character.

To make that work, however, there was one thing she had to be very careful about—her social debut.

In the original story, her connection with Serica began on the very day of her debutante ball.

“Three more years until my debut…”

If she could just get through that one day safely, she wouldn’t have to worry about dying.

Her path was clear.

Two years later. Emilina Klein, age fourteen.

Next year, she would have to debut in society… but, well, that was a problem for later.

For now, she was busy preparing for an outing.

Today, she was planning to sneak out to the northern forest without her parents knowing.

Just as she was tiptoeing toward the front door, holding her breath—

“Now, where might my daughter be sneaking off to so early in the morning, without a word to anyone?”

Flinching, Emilina froze at the sound of a gentle voice behind her.

Turning her head, she saw a refined-looking middle-aged woman with a graceful smile, arms folded.

Her mother—Lady Katie.

“Haha, good morning, Mother.”

“Good morning, Millie. Now, where were you planning to go?”

Ugh. So much for sneaking out.

“…Um, I was going to the northern forest.” Emilina’s eyes darted around as she answered.

Katie sighed, pressing her fingers to her forehead.

“Millie, I told you the forest is dangerous. You shouldn’t go there.”

“But Father already gave me permission!”

“And why on earth would he do that…” Katie muttered, frowning at the thought of her absent husband.

Of course, she knew. He had been permitting their daughter to visit the forest since last year.

She simply disapproved.

“Only to the entrance, like I promised Father, okay?” Emilina pleaded.

Katie hesitated, caught between worry and her daughter’s persistence.

Noticing her mother’s wavering, Emilina quickly added, “Rosie’s coming with me, too!”

A lie.

Rosie was a commoner boy around her age, someone she often hung around with—convenient enough to use as an excuse.

Katie, reassured at least a little, reluctantly nodded.

“Very well. A promise is a promise. But you must return before it gets late, understood?”

And so, only after pinky-swearing with her mother, Emilina finally managed to leave the house.

“Phew—”

Outside at last, Emilina exhaled heavily.

So she’d had to use Rosie’s name just to get out. And this was why she’d tried to sneak away in the first place.

“They’re way too overprotective.”

Being treated like a little child all the time was exhausting.

Shaking her head, she set off toward her destination—the northern forest.

“I hope the sun stays clear today…” she murmured, glancing up at the bright blue sky.

That was important, because she was after the Faya fruit.

The fruit only bloomed early in the morning, on clear days.

And it was picky—if even a shadow fell across it, the fruit would vanish.

Because it was a type of phantom fruit.

That meant no tools could be used—she would have to climb the tree herself and pick it by hand.

But the reward was worth it. The fruit’s taste was beyond words.

She still remembered the first time, two years ago, when Rosie had brought her one. After that, she had decided—she had to gather them herself.

Competition, however, was fierce. Especially among the poor commoners on the outskirts of the capital.

For them, it was a precious delicacy they could obtain with a little effort, so the forest was always crowded during this season.

Of course, Emilina was a noble, but… well, best not to dwell on that.

At any rate, that was why she was going.

Fortunately, the forest wasn’t far. Living on the outskirts, all she had to do was cross the city’s outer wall.

The only catch was that the northern forest technically belonged to the Ditrio dukedom.

Normally, she avoided anything related to the main characters, but surely they wouldn’t come all the way out to a remote forest like this.

Hurrying along, she soon reached the entrance.

The moment she stepped inside, she saw that the competition had already begun. The forest was noisy, full of people quarreling over fruit trees.

“When I came with Rosie last year, it wasn’t this bad…”

For the first time, she regretted coming alone.

Unwilling to get caught up in their squabbles, she decided to head deeper inside.

She couldn’t go too far, but she kept some distance and searched the trees.

“…Huh?”

Something was wrong.

All she saw were empty branches.

Frowning, she walked further in.

“Why aren’t there any…?”

Still nothing.

Her disappointment grew heavier.

“No, not yet. Let’s keep looking.”

Determined, she pressed on.

“…Ha.”

Nothing here, either.

Annoyance bubbled inside her.

She had gone so far, even using Rosie as an excuse—how could she return home empty-handed?

By now, she didn’t even notice how far she’d wandered from the entrance.

Then, at last—

Off in the distance, she spotted them. Pale-white fruits dangling from a tree.

Finally!

Face lighting up, Emilina hurried over.

“One, two, three—wow!”

There were three of them.

“Near the entrance, there are never more than two… what luck!”

Elated, she prepared to climb. She spread a cushion at the base of the tree, tied up her hair, and began to climb.

Fortunately, the trunk had many splits, making it easy.

Carefully, she reached out and plucked the fruits—one, two, three.

She climbed down, cradling them in her hands.

All three were in perfect condition.

Three fruits. One for her, one for Mother, one for Father. Perfect.

She smiled proudly.

And then—

Rustle.

The silent forest stirred.

Emilina froze, her hands halting mid-movement.

A chill ran down her spine.

“…Come to think of it,” she thought nervously.

Wasn’t there a rumor… that monsters lived deep in the northern forest?

“Ah! I completely forgot!”

It was a tale used to scare disobedient children, famous throughout the region.

Her body trembled. If a monster was really here, she had to get out—fast.

The rustling came again. Closer this time.

Something’s off.

It didn’t feel like a monster.

Looking around cautiously, she noticed a strange pile of leaves, heaped neatly by the tree.

“Was that always there…?”

She must have been too distracted by the fruit earlier to notice.

Curiosity tugged at her. She crept closer and poked at the pile.

Rustle.

Rustle.

…Something soft shifted beneath her hand.

“…Soft?”

“Eek!”

Jerking back, she stared at her fingers.

They were sticky, warm… smeared with a vivid red liquid.

“Blood!”

Panicking, Emilina shoved aside the leaves.

And there, curled up and barely breathing, was—

—a tiny kitten.