PVSS 2

chapter 2

“…or so I thought.”

Unlike my excitement, the maid firmly blocked the door.

“M-Miss! I-I’m not exactly sure what that is, but…! It’s a new business idea, right?”

Standing in front of her, I calmly searched through Meldenique’s memories.

‘Is there no such thing as a stationery shop for children in this world?’

Now that I thought about it, there was nothing like the kind of stationery stores in Korea that specifically targeted kids.

Places that sold actual stationery were simply categorized as “general stores.”

‘So there are no stationery shops. Just general stores at best. Isn’t that a blue ocean?’

It seemed I was presenting quite an unfamiliar business idea.

Of course, the old me—Meldenique before I possessed this body—had proposed many strange and unique business ideas in the past, and every single one had failed.

Given that, it was understandable that the maid was startled by yet another unheard-of idea.

After all, I’d been ruining business after business—she probably thought I’d finally get kicked out of the family.

“I-if you leave the family and fail again… you might not even be able to wear the silk dresses you love anymore, Miss!”

Rosaline cried out desperately, trying to stop me.

But uncomfortable silk dresses weren’t something I needed anymore.

“It doesn’t matter.”

I shook my head.

“Then you won’t be able to eat the luxurious meals prepared by the head chef from the imperial palace! What if you have to survive on commoner food like oatmeal and rye bread?!”

The original Meldenique may have been a spoiled noble lady, but I was just an ordinary person from Korea. I used to live on rice, kimchi, and instant ramen.

I smiled faintly and walked past Rosaline.

“I like oatmeal and rye bread. They’re healthy.”

Meldenique was twenty-five this year. It was about time to start taking care of her health anyway.

Maybe because I said that much, Rosaline didn’t try to physically stop me. Instead, she stood behind me and called out as if shouting.

That was probably her real concern.

“What if Lady Hildegarde mistreats you! Without the family’s protection, you could really die…!”

Rosaline wasn’t wrong. In the original novel The Enchanted Lover, Duchess Hildegarde Babeloa eventually killed Meldenique.

Looking at Rosaline, who was on the verge of tears, I reviewed the original story in my mind.

Let’s be clear about the situation.

Aside from my current status, I was at rock bottom.

The woman I had possessed was Meldenique Babeloa—the villainess and fiancée of the male lead in the romance fantasy novel The Enchanted Lover.

Her biological mother was the last direct descendant of the Marquis Kinnoua family, rumored to have lost all magical abilities due to a dragon’s curse.

Because of that, most direct descendants of the Kinnoua line died young—and Meldenique’s mother was no exception.

‘And that’s when Meldenique started being pushed into a corner.’

After her mother’s death, a stepmother and younger half-sister immediately entered the Babeloa household.

From that point on, Meldenique’s bad behavior—and the rumors about her—began in earnest.

‘There were rumors about her cursed blood, and she kept failing at business ventures… it’s not surprising people called her a villainess, but still…’

The important thing was that, in The Enchanted Lover, Lennox and Meldenique had been engaged since before they were even born.

And yet Lennox and her half-sister Sheria ignored that fact and fell passionately in love.

When Meldenique tried to break them apart, acting out in desperation, people pointed fingers at her.

Absurdly enough.

‘In the novel, even though those two were the ones having an affair, it was always portrayed as if Meldenique was the one interfering.’

In the end, Meldenique was killed by Duchess Hildegarde—Sheria’s mother—and with her death, the two lovers got their happy ending without any obstacles.

What kind of ridiculous, infuriating ending was that?

I let out a quiet laugh as I looked at the maid.

She seemed to want me to stay here and at least remain under the family’s protection.

But that was only because she didn’t know how Meldenique would fall—and die—in the original story.

‘Even if I stay here, if I get on Hildegarde’s bad side, I’ll die anyway.’

…But if I said that out loud, the innocent maid would probably burst into tears.

So instead, I muttered softly,

“If they come after me, do you think I’ll just sit still?”

For now, I was leaving.

I had no interest in being a nuisance in some adulterous couple’s love story, nor did I feel like dying for it.

‘If we don’t get entangled any further, we can just go our separate ways.’

Of course, if they tried to cling to me, I wouldn’t just take it quietly.

Despite my serious tone, the maid still looked like she was about to cry, sweating nervously.

She was probably recalling all the humiliating things Meldenique had gone through until now.

“Y-you’ve always been the one getting hurt…! I’m worried. Please, restrain yourself.”

I walked over to her and gently stroked her neatly braided hair.

“Don’t worry. I’ve got it all planned out.”

Hildegarde Babeloa.

Meldenique’s stepmother—and the duchess.

If she thought I was still the same Meldenique as before, she was mistaken. I already had a rough idea of how she would act.

Thinking of the thick, reassuring bundle of money in my luggage, I looked at the maid.

“This might turn out to be interesting.”

“Miss…”

“If things go well, I’ll call for you too.”

After checking my outfit one last time, I stepped outside the mansion. Instead of using the Babeloa family carriage, I called for a rental carriage.

Just as I was about to get in—dressed plainly, unlike usual—it seemed news of my conversation with the duke had already spread.

People began gathering around the carriage, whispering among themselves.

Of course, insults about oneself are always easy to hear—I caught every single word.

“Is she finally getting kicked out?”

“Well, that’s the fate of a villainess.”

“…Figures. Cursed blood doesn’t go anywhere.”

Oh, even bringing my family into it.

“Nothing like Lady Hildegarde and the lovely Lady Sheria.”

I shot a glance at the servants speaking out of turn.

In a rigid class society, the only reason they dared insult a duke’s daughter was because my mother was the last descendant of the “cursed” Kinnoua line.

My stepmother hated me, and my father offered no protection.

With no allies and no power, the pitiful villainess Meldenique had naturally become isolated within the family.

“Just like the ‘ugly duckling’ of the ducal house.”

“I don’t know why Lady Sheria bothers defending her.”

Sheria—the heroine, praised as angelically kind—had even forgiven Meldenique for trying to harm her before my possession.

‘That’s why people hated me even more.’

Ignoring them all, I turned to the coachman.

“Where to, miss?”

Since there was no servant to speak on my behalf, I answered directly.

“To the slums.”

With that, I boarded the carriage without any escort.

Whispers about my lack of etiquette followed, but I didn’t care.

I wasn’t going to see these people again anyway.

The duke might not consider this a complete severance, but for me, it was different.

I would never return to this house.

Leaning back against the stiff seat, I flung open the carriage window.

The mercenaries and servants who had been gossiping nearby froze in shock.

“Everyone.”

In full view of them all, I raised my middle finger.

They probably didn’t understand the exact meaning—but they’d know it was an insult.

In a grand, elegant, almost sermon-like voice, I declared,

“Go to hell.”

Like I said—I had no intention of coming back.

Blocking out the noise as if with my own personal noise-canceling, I shut the curtain and began humming.

Let them all fall apart on their own.

I’ll be the one living well and enjoying life.