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chapter 01
Who Is Serena?
July 1, 2023
It had been an unremarkable life.
Death came so suddenly that there wasn’t even time to feel fear, swallowing everything into darkness in an instant. And the last thought that surfaced was the bitter realization that it had all been… an ordinary life.
If I’d known I’d die this meaninglessly…
Regret followed immediately.
It had been a painfully average life, yet now that it was ending, the dreams she had never achieved seemed to shine brighter than ever. The life she had spent constantly shrinking herself suddenly felt unbearably pitiful.
Yes. It was all my fault.
The world hadn’t crushed her down. It was her own timidity and fear that had set boundaries and stuffed every possibility into a narrow frame. Only now did she realize it.
If I were given just one more chance… I wouldn’t hide myself again. I wouldn’t let myself be trampled. I’d live with my head held high… Why was I such a fool, always cowering?
Before the regret could fully fade, the darkness around her rippled. She instinctively knew—once even her consciousness was swallowed, that would be true death.
What if… I gave you one chance?
A mysterious voice echoed from the depths of the darkness. Was this just a hallucination before death?
Could I really change?
You could—if you’re given the chance.
Whatever that voice was, she felt that if she didn’t cling to it, everything would truly end.
A human soul doesn’t change so easily.
Maybe this was a dream born from reading too many novels—those clichéd stories where someone dies suddenly and awakens as a beautiful noble lady, grasping happiness with ease.
You could think of it that way. In the end, the only one who can save your soul is yourself.
The voice replied clearly, as if it had read her thoughts.
Fortunately, there’s a place that suits your soul perfectly. And it’s somewhere you already know.
The darkness grew thicker. If this continued, she wouldn’t even be able to answer.
Fine! Anywhere is fine!
The moment she barely managed to respond, all sensation vanished into blackness.
Then do your best. This is my ninety-ninth bet—if you lose, I won’t let it slide.
There was no time to ponder what that meant.
She didn’t know how long she remained buried in darkness. But when she opened her eyes, she realized the voice had spoken the truth—she had been given a chance.
“A place that suits my soul…?”
The unfamiliar sound of her own voice slipped from her dry lips. The thick platinum-blonde hair cascading over her shoulders, the luxurious nightgown she wore—
“…This doesn’t feel right.”
She couldn’t remember her original name, but she was certain she had lived far from anything noble or refined.
“If that voice wasn’t an illusion, then this is a world I know.”
She let out a shallow sigh and sat up—only for strength to drain from her body instantly.
“A fragile, pure-hearted noble lady? Probably sickly too… But there are way too many protagonists like that.”
In her previous life, she’d envied her delicate, slender friends, never knowing how many inconveniences came with such a body.
Only her name was erased; memories from her past life still surfaced hazily.
“Well, at least I’ll get to wear pretty clothes as much as I want. No one will say they don’t suit my build.”
The bitterness of being teased for her rapidly growing limbs and large frame in her past life was still deeply embedded in her heart.
“At least… it’s a romance fantasy.”
Her reading preferences had been unwavering. After enduring harsh physical training day and night, she’d devoured romance fantasy novels with hands hardened by calluses—probably compensation for something she lacked.
The protagonists all lived difficult lives, but she had the grit of an athlete. She was confident she could endure that much.
Then—knock, knock.
The sound she had been waiting for echoed through the room.
“Miss, I’m coming in.”
Her heart raced at the word miss. She would finally learn who she was.
“Miss! You’ve finally awakened!”
Had she been unconscious after suffering from a high fever for days?
“Mm…”
As she replied awkwardly, the bed curtains were swiftly drawn aside. A gentle middle-aged woman with brown hair gazed at her with tearful eyes.
So—what was the name of this sickly, pitiful noble lady?
“How could you overwork yourself to the point of collapsing? Do you have any idea how worried everyone was?”
Usually, when a protagonist faints from illness and wakes up, they’ve lost their memory. In other words—this was a perfectly natural development.
“I’m feeling dizzy… My memory isn’t very clear…”
“Hoo…”
The woman pulled her into a warm embrace, tears falling freely. She felt strangely comforting—despite looking unfamiliar. Was she the classic head maid that appears in every romance fantasy?
“Why would you go on a diet of all things? Honestly!”
…Diet?
“Skipping just one meal already makes you dizzy, yet you only drank water and ate herbs for three days! Then you ran around exercising and hit your head on a pillar!”
“Why…?”
“Exactly! You’re already beautiful—no, magnificent!”
She definitely hesitated mid-sentence. And magnificent? Had there ever been a noble lady described like that?
“No matter how stressed you were about the engagement, you must never skip meals again.”
“Engagement…? I’m engaged?”
The woman’s expression finally turned serious.
“You really don’t remember?”
She could only nod.
“My goodness… Even though the plaster decoration on the pillar shattered, you used to manage worse when you were younger…”
A noble lady who shattered plaster ornaments with her head since childhood? She would have remembered such a unique protagonist.
“To lose consciousness over something like that… It was just a small bump. Oh—this isn’t the time. I’ll fetch the physician.”
Murmuring in shock, the woman hurried out.
“What kind of woman was I…?”
Before the shock of death had even faded, dizziness washed over her again.
* * *
Three days later, the quiet commotion within the Duke of Astell’s residence finally settled.
It was only then that she accepted the fact that stories didn’t revolve solely around the protagonist.
“I’m so relieved that some of your memories have returned. We were terrified when you collapsed…”
Head Maid Anna was the gentle woman who had raised Serena in place of the late Duchess. And as expected, her name in this world was Serena Astell.
“But I’ve forgotten everything I learned. I don’t think the engagement is possible. Have you heard from Father?”
“We sent a carrier pigeon, but there’s been no reply yet.”
Whether fortunate or not, Duke Astell—Serena’s father—was a wandering adventurer. And her fiancé seemed to have no interest in her whatsoever.
“The engagement won’t work. I don’t know anything, and my memories are still a mess.”
The true protagonist of this story existed elsewhere. Serena—now and in the future—was someone who wouldn’t even be treated as a proper woman, let alone a bride.
“Don’t worry. You were relearning etiquette anyway. You can simply start again.”
That was new information.
Then again, who would ever expect the woman destined to become the empire’s empress to collapse after dieting and smashing her head into a pillar alone?
“One month will be enough. If we start fitting the dresses now, it won’t be too late.”
After three days and nights of nonstop contemplation, Serena finally realized who Serena Astell was.
And at the same time, she understood why that voice had said this place suited her soul.
“I can’t wear those kinds of clothes…”
She glanced at the mirror beside the bed. A beautiful woman with platinum-blonde hair flowing to her waist stared back—just a little tall and sturdy.
“You have no idea how beautiful the imperial engagement attire is. You admired it before you lost your memory.”
“I did?”
“Of course.”
The blue-eyed woman in the mirror was eighteen—young, fresh, and undeniably beautiful. Her long limbs and tall frame resembled a runway model.
“That’s why you overexerted yourself and skipped meals…”
Anna stopped abruptly.
If Serena had one flaw, it was the slightly hunched curve of her back and neck, which gave her a gloomy impression. The reason was obvious—she’d lived the same way in her past life.
“The outfit didn’t fit me.”
At some point, light and delicate clothes stopped fitting her body—or suiting her. As a child, she’d worn ill-fitting garments and hunched herself smaller, desperate to look slimmer.
Serena must have felt the same.
“You remember? Don’t worry. The previous owner of the attire was the Dowager Empress, and she was very petite.”
Even in different worlds, worries remained the same. Cruelly enough, the pain that had plagued her past life clung to her even after fate changed.
“It was never my outfit to begin with.”
“Exactly. The attire will be tailored perfectly to your body. It will be stunning.”
Anna replied, not understanding Serena’s quiet words. After all, imperial attire was always refitted for each wearer.
“Tailored to my body?”
To Serena, who had come from another world, those words struck her deeply.
“Of course.”
She remembered the intense regret she’d felt at the moment of death.
“Without lowering my head… without hunching my back…”
Murmuring to herself, Serena rose from the bed and stood straight before the mirror. When she straightened her back and neck, a tall, elegant beauty stared back.
If she were given another chance…
That wish had already come true.
Now it was her turn to change.
The harsh boundaries she had imposed on herself meant nothing anymore. When she cast everything aside and truly faced herself, the answer became clear.
Smiling confidently, the tall Serena in the mirror met her gaze.
She could never be called delicate or fragile—but she was beautiful, radiant, and full of life.
