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Chapter 02
Inside a carriage where some wooden crates and hay bales tumbled together.
I woke from a brief nap, rubbed my eyes, and flopped down on the hay.
Was the sun setting, or were we heading into a colder region?
Or perhaps both?
I instinctively wrapped my arms around myself against the creeping chill, and my silver hair tickled my arms as it cascaded down.
I idly played with the fine strands, recalling the moment before boarding the carriage when I had changed clothes.
“I was so shocked when I looked in the mirror after changing the dress.”
Silver-white hair flowing from my shoulders to my waist,
And those strikingly crimson eyes.
I looked like a white rabbit on a snowy field.
A young girl, too slender and delicate to be considered an adult, stared back at me in the mirror with wide, round eyes.
“My goodness… is this… me?”
Hehe. To think I’d say a line like that someday!
Since I anticipated being possessed, accepting it wasn’t as difficult as I expected.
What was harder was figuring out how to deal with those beneath me.
They say only someone who has eaten meat knows how to savor it.
As a graduate student who used to grovel daily before my thesis advisor… hmm, I mean, a former minion of sorts, I couldn’t just scold the maid who looked troubled when telling her that I had to ride the carriage.
Not that I wanted to, or that it was necessary.
“Your Highness, the Grand Duchess is riding with the servants in their carriage…”
“It must be uncomfortable, right? I’m fine just riding in the carriage.”
In any case, the Grand Duchess would be like the highest-ranking boss in modern society to the maids.
Even if it took a while to reach the Grand Duchy, I had to be trapped alongside a noble I’d never met before?
I absolutely refused that.
I was uncomfortable and awkward too! And above all…
“Please speak comfortably, Your Highness.”
“Hmm, yes. Anyway, I’m extremely tired right now, I don’t care about anything, I just want to lie down. There’s plenty of hay there—it looks soft. Right?”
I wanted to lie down desperately, without worrying about anyone’s eyes.
“Yes, that’s right. So I got on the carriage and fell asleep as if fainting.”
Had we not yet reached the Grand Duchy?
All around was quiet, with only the rattling of the wheels on the road breaking the silence.
Amid the white noise, I carefully retraced my memories.
Wait, now that I think of it!
“What happened to my original world?”
It was only now that I remembered that crucial matter!
As soon as I realized it, the last memory from my original world, which I had wanted to forget, flashed vividly in my mind.
It felt like it had happened just yesterday.
If here is reality and the original world was a dream, then it would be a nightmare.
“…”
The doctoral thesis I thought would be the pinnacle of my suffering was ultimately halted.
The reason was absurd.
My advisor had gone to prison for embezzlement.
Was there any other unfortunate graduate student besides me whose graduation was postponed over something so ridiculous?
“So yesterday, um…”
Yesterday, after a long time, I went back to my studio apartment, thinking I might as well die, drank alone without anyone stopping me, and fell asleep in my five-pyeong (roughly 16.5 m²) room, which had turned into a dump from months of living in the lab…
What happened after that?
I vaguely remembered shivering from the cold before losing consciousness.
I had been so busy for months I didn’t even notice the change of seasons, and even though I went home for the first time in a long while…
…Did I die?
No way I froze to death in 21st-century Seoul after drinking.
“Your Highness, the Grand Duchess.”
“Eek!”
“Kya!”
I was so deep in thought that the sudden call startled me, making me scream without realizing it and turn around.
Behind the lifted carriage canopy stood a maid, looking twice as surprised as I was.
Was her name Betty?
She had chubby cheeks matching her cute name and, after gathering her composure, spoke again.
“…Ahem. Your Highness, we have arrived at the Grand Duchy.”
Betty stepped aside as if to signal me to get down.
Beyond, the massive Grand Duchy revealed its grandeur.
As I dismounted, the servants from the castle began arranging the carriage.
“We will take you to your residence.”
Betty, having finished speaking, hurried ahead.
Passing the ornate gates that seemed to mark the entrance to the Grand Duchy, she led the way along a forest path beside it.
Had it snowed recently?
The snow, piled thickly, crunched pleasantly underfoot.
It seemed no one often walked this path, judging by the absence of footprints before ours.
“Stepping on fresh snow for the first time!”
It’s always fun to leave fresh footprints on white snow!
I quietly chuckled as I followed Betty.
But my enjoyment was short-lived; the gusting cold wind stung my cheeks, freezing my smile.
I wrapped the shawl around my shoulders as tightly as I could, but it wasn’t enough.
“We should have dressed you in something warmer, shouldn’t we?”
Before boarding the carriage, the Marquise Blanche had taken me aside, ostensibly to help me change, away from prying eyes.
She stuffed my wedding dress, shoes, and accessories into her bag.
She left me with a worn dress and a pilled wool shawl.
At the time, I didn’t know where the Grand Duchy was, so I didn’t think much of it…
“Ugh.”
It’s freezing here!
Seriously, just giving me a shawl in the middle of winter is cruel!
Surely they knew we were heading somewhere cold!
“Still, it’s lucky I got away from my parents who’d hate me as soon as I got possessed.”
In other novels, people suffer all sorts of hardships because of their families.
By that standard, I was lucky.
It was as if I had been handed a “free pass” from persecution.
“Watch out for twigs underfoot.”
Though blunt in tone, the maid seemed considerate.
The cozy forest path was naturally beautiful.
Nothing to complain about!
After walking for a few minutes,
“This will be your residence, Your Highness.”
At the end stood a pretty log cabin.
Serene and idyllic, it lay quietly under the soft moonlight.
“Amazing.”
Right after being possessed, I get to live in the countryside?
The modest dream of a grad student buried in the lab, pounding at the keyboard, had come true!
And it was a cabin straight out of a fairy tale.
I wanted to jump for joy but held back, looking at Betty.
However, she looked troubled.
“We’ve done some basic cleaning, but this annex has been empty for a long time, so it may not be sufficient for Your Highness, who was formerly the Marquise’s daughter…”
“What do you mean? It’s really a beautiful house.”
“…Yes?”
“Is there a bed?”
“Most furniture is here, but…”
“Perfect.”
I was a simple person at heart, someone who could find great joy in small things.
In fact, I was quite pleased with the situation.
When I smiled at Betty while looking between the cabin and her, her expression became ambiguous, as if trying to figure out whether I was sincere or mocking.
Bah, I’m not that twisted!
I was just about to fling open the cabin door happily.
“Betty! Betty! The young lady has arrived! Riding a ridiculously luxurious carriage, she just passed through the Grand Duchy gates, and everyone…!”
“Dora, shh!”
Another voice rang out behind us.
I turned to see a maid around Betty’s age.
Perhaps she hadn’t noticed me and jumped back in surprise.
“Ah! Your Highness is also here… My apologies!”
“That young lady?”
Could she be talking about me?
I asked, a little puzzled, and the maid’s face turned red and pale in quick succession.
Betty stepped forward, her tone firm despite her nervous expression.
“Your Highness need not worry about her.”
“So that young lady isn’t me?”
“Of course not!”
Betty’s eyes went wide, asserting my innocence.
Hmm, okay!
I nodded confidently and continued opening the door.
After all, according to the other maid, someone had arrived in a ridiculously lavish carriage, so it clearly wasn’t me.
“But would another young lady come here? There’s no banquet, after all.”
The thought passed briefly.
“Whatever, not my concern. I’ll just lie down first.”
Though I had been lying on hay the whole way here, what could be better than a real bed?
I was about to step inside, admiring the quaint cabin, when
“…”
The two maids still stood rooted in the yard with dazed expressions.
I asked, curious,
“Was there something urgent? Go ahead inside.”
“Your Highness… are you angry with us…?”
“What do you mean?”
They had been saying strange things for a while.
I glanced into the cabin; the fireplace crackled as if lit in advance!
I wanted to dive into this picturesque, peaceful scene immediately, but…
“Hmm, I should probably send these frightened little lambs away first.”
They probably saw me as the highest-ranking “boss,” so even small things intimidated them.
No need to be, though.
I tried my best to smile harmlessly and spoke again:
“I’m not angry. It looked urgent, so go ahead. And send my regards to that young lady you mentioned earlier.”
But strangely, their faces became even paler.
