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Chapter 01
“Is it really not okay?”
I’m asking you this earnestly. Is it really not okay? You’re really going to refuse?
I looked up at Kiel with sparkling eyes.
“No. It’s not okay.”
Unfortunately, Kiel rejected me without hesitation.
As expected of the heroine’s older brother. To be so indifferent even after I swallowed my pride and acted cute like that. I hadn’t wanted to use this method, but… I pulled out my final weapon.
“If you give me permission… I can give you all of this!”
I opened my bag and showed him the sweets inside—candy, chocolate, and even apple jelly, his favorite. Just as I expected, he seemed tempted; his eyes rolled back and forth as he fell into deep contemplation.
You want it, right? Of course you do. There’s this much!
If you’d just let me call you “Oppa,” you could eat all of it!
“…Fine. But it’s not like I’m allowing it because I want the snacks.”
He spoke stiffly, but maybe because he was still a kid, he couldn’t hide the slight lift of his lips or the anticipation gleaming in his eyes.
“Then would you allow it even if I didn’t give them to you?”
I widened my eyes and asked playfully. His face instantly scrunched up into a scowl.
Gah—sorry! I went too far. Okay, okay, I won’t joke about food!
I hurriedly pushed the bag of snacks into his arms. As if he’d never scowled in the first place, his expression returned to its usual stoic blankness.
“I don’t need the bag.”
“Um, but there’s quite a lot. Wouldn’t it be hard to carry by hand? And if the Duke finds out, you might get scolded!”
I spoke in the gentlest, most concerned tone I could manage.
Of course, I wasn’t giving it to him out of pure kindness. If I wanted Kiel on my side, I needed to see him at least one more time.
I desperately prayed inside that he’d take the bag, while outwardly projecting harmless innocence.
“…Alright.”
He gave off strong I-know-you’re-up-to-something-but-I’ll-overlook-it-for-the-food vibes.
Ugh, he’s sharp.
I laughed awkwardly and waved until he disappeared from sight. Only when his figure was completely gone did I bury my face in my palms and groan.
How did I end up like this…?
Tears welled up in my eyes. To explain how things came to this, we’d need to rewind about two weeks.
I was a student preparing for exams, heading home after three hours of cram school. Up until then, my life had been completely normal.
Then I got a nosebleed—but I didn’t think much of it. I’d always been weak, and nosebleeds were common when I was tired.
I shouldn’t have ignored it.
That day, the bleeding wouldn’t stop, and to make things worse, I got dizzy. After losing too much blood, I blacked out.
When I opened my eyes again, I was a child—and inside a novel I’d written in middle school: 〈I’ll Never Give You My Little Sister!〉.
Sob… Why did I ever write something like that…
I should’ve just gone through a cringe phase instead.
No—actually, that would’ve been even more embarrassing.
Wait, that’s not the point!
Anyway, not realizing I was inside a novel, I got up and rummaged around the room. That’s when I found a familiar book: The Imperial Records of the Perolos Empire.
A chill ran down my spine. With a bad feeling, I looked in the mirror—wavy silver-white hair, jewel-like purple eyes, and slightly upturned eye corners.
It was a perfect match for the appearance of Shurer Clamback, the first villain to die in the story.
I didn’t even have time to process the shock before I grasped the situation.
I couldn’t remember all the details since I’d written it so long ago, but I remembered the worldbuilding vividly.
Of course I did. It was based on the world from my first life.
Anyway—moving on.
Fortunately—or unfortunately—the original Shurer Clamback had already caused a major incident before I possessed her. Because of that, I was currently under house arrest for two days.
That’s when I made a plan.
Options
-
Forget the heroine and stay quietly locked in my room.
-
I die around age fifteen—save money until then and run away.
-
Win over the heroine’s older brother.
Option 1 was impossible after causing a huge incident.
Option 2 was too risky—how much allowance could an eight-year-old possibly save?
So that left Option 3.
Winning over the heroine’s older brother.
Aaaagh—why did I do that?!
It was the ultimate humiliation.
Acting cute when it didn’t suit me. Bribing him with food.
And he always responded with “No,” “Why would I?” or “Go away.”
I guess I should be grateful he didn’t completely ignore me…
Why target the brother?
Because the final boss of this story was the heroine’s older brother—Kiel.
As the title suggests, he’s a sister-obsessed maniac beyond the word “siscon.” You can’t get close to his sister, can’t do bad things, can’t even try to flirt—everything is forbidden under Kiel’s watch.
The heroine eventually marries the male lead, who becomes crown prince…
But the journey there is extremely rough.
“Miss? What are you doing here? The Duke and Duchess are leaving, and so is Lady Richard. Aren’t you going to see them off?”
“Huh? Oh—really? Thanks, Sera! Hehe.”
I snapped out of my thoughts and headed over with a bright smile.
You think I could just avoid the heroine?
“Back when Shurer spilled tea on my daughter, I never imagined the children would grow this close.”
That’s exactly the problem.
The ducal family and our count family had an exclusive trade contract—far from distant, they visited each other often. Ignoring them was impossible.
On top of that, before I possessed her, Shurer Clamback had already spilled tea on the heroine. So much for staying unnoticed.
Sir Duke… You really didn’t have to bring that up…
Kiel’s indifferent gaze sharpened. Looks like the memory resurfaced. My nose stung with unfairness.
I didn’t do that!
“Lotte! Kiel Oppa! See you next time!”
Of course, I couldn’t say what I really felt. I ignored Kiel’s glare and smiled as brightly as I could. I smiled so hard my cheeks started twitching.
“Yeah! Shuri! Tell me an even more fun story next time!”
Look at that smile! So pretty!
The heroine smiling back at me was unbearably cute, beautiful, adorable—she had everything. I screamed internally before snapping back to reality.
“Yeah, yeah! You have to come again!”
I felt Kiel’s displeased stare at my side—but I was already used to it. Maintaining my smile, I turned toward him and whispered softly.
“Please come again next time! Let’s eat cake together!”
“I don’t want to.”
“It’s really delicious though. You still won’t come?”
“…I’ll think about it.”
He’ll come anyway. Just to eat cake, of course.
I waved enthusiastically until the carriage disappeared. Through the wide rear window, Lotte waved back with both hands.
How can waving goodbye be this cute? Seriously—
“Wah!”
What—what?!
My vision suddenly rose, and a strange sound escaped my mouth.
Dad had lifted me up, supporting my bottom with one hand and patting my head with the other. For some reason, being patted on the head felt really nice.
Still, picking me up without warning wasn’t okay. I considered pretending to sulk—but decided to let it slide this time.
“My daughter’s been so well-behaved lately. I’m always grateful. By the way, what were you talking about? Can’t you tell Daddy too? Hmm?”
He stopped patting and rubbed his cheek against mine.
Scratchy…
His stubble hurt my soft cheek a bit, but he looked so happy I couldn’t complain.
“It’s a secret, Dad. And books say men who ask too many questions aren’t popular!”
At my teasing words, Dad blinked in confusion before bursting into laughter. Mom, who’d been listening, laughed too.
“She’s right. Our daughter’s absolutely right.”
Then she kissed my cheek.
I suddenly felt like a child…
No—I am a child. I’d almost forgotten!
After enduring Mom’s kisses and Dad’s beard, I went back inside.
* * *
“Lotte, do you like Shuri that much?”
“Yeah! I like her so, so much!”
Charlotte beamed with happiness. The Duchess’s face softened at the sight.
“We’ll come again next time!”
“Alright. We’ll visit again.”
Laughter filled the carriage.
“I played dolls with Shuri earlier, and—”
Lotte continued praising Shurer nonstop. The Duke and Duchess watched her fondly.
Only Kiel sat silently, eyes sharp.
She spilled tea on my sister. She’s definitely plotting something.
Yet even as he thought that, he loved his sister just as much as his parents did. In a voice too quiet for his smiling family to hear, he muttered,
“I won’t be fooled.”
A vow that might shatter at any moment.
* * *
“Miss! Your tutor is here!”
“Mm… already?”
“Yes! Please hurry!”
Since my body was that of an eight-year-old, I slept a lot. I got sleepy after barely moving—and even after meals. It felt like severe food coma.
Well, babies are like that!
Sera brushed my messy hair as she woke me. The tutor was already waiting, lesson materials prepared.
“Good afternoon, Teacher.”
Holding my skirt, stepping one foot back, and bending slightly at the knees, I curtsied. The tutor smiled warmly.
“How adorable.”
Then maybe you could go easy on me…?
Sadly, cuteness didn’t work on lessons.
“Today, we’ll be learning about Alena Clamback of your family.”
Oh. Then I don’t need this class—I was her.
I swallowed the thought and smiled instead.
“She was so outstanding that no one would object to calling her the greatest knight in history.”
That’s a bit much… but thank you?
Before I knew it, I was listening to a detailed lecture on my past life.
“She entered as a low-ranking knight and defeated the knight commander to become the new one—at just nineteen! Then, to gain trust—”
Aaaah! Please stop!
I didn’t want to hear what I did to gain trust!
I did insane things!
Stuff like yelling, ‘You! Join my squad!’ then healing people’s families, bribing loyalty with favors—absolute nonsense.
Hearing it described with such admiration was mortifying.
What was wrong with me back then?!
I covered my face with both hands.
Talking about someone’s cringe past to their face should be illegal. Even demons would cry at this cruelty.
“And there are even accounts of her subduing a dragon with her bare hands, taming it, and pressing foreheads with it to communicate. Witnesses claim they were on the same expedition. Isn’t that incredible? That’s why she’s also called a Dragon Tamer.”
Is today the day I die of embarrassment?
And I didn’t do it bare-handed! Holden, you bastard! This is your fault!
I wanted to faint. We were exhausted from fighting and negotiated—that’s all. I offered gold, staked my life, and signed a contract. No legendary nonsense!
“Furthermore, she received lands and honors from His Majesty the Emperor. As the first woman to do so, it was truly remarkable. Though she died young on the battlefield… her funeral was grand. It was a day of deep mourning for all.”
At those words, my inner turmoil quieted.
I didn’t want to die—but knowing my death affected people was both comforting and sad.
“And that concludes today’s lesson.”
“Thank you! Hehe.”
“I hear you’ll be attending your first tea party the week after next. I hope you make many friends.”
No, thank you. I don’t have time—I need to win over the heroine’s brother.
That man’s iron wall is tougher than imagination… though food does crack it a little.
Sob… seriously.
“Yes.”
The history tutor left, satisfied. Without even washing up, I flopped onto my bed.
Seven years remained until my death at fifteen.
That meant I had seven years to break through Kiel’s defenses.
He hated everyone except his sister and parents—if he didn’t open his heart to me, I was doomed.
No matter what, I was currently positioned as the heroine’s friend.
What should I do at the tea party? He likes sweets—maybe I’ll bake cookies?
As I worried, time flew by, and the next week arrived.
Once again, Lotte and Kiel visited our house.
