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Chapter 5
Count Lang was still drinking when she arrived at the estate.
Vanessa immediately regretted coming home early. In her previous life, she had returned late after spending time with Conrad, and by then the Count had already been too drunk to cause trouble.
“Oh! My precious Vanessa is back! Come here, tell your father everything!”
“Miss…”
Agnes hesitated and grabbed Vanessa’s hand.
“It’s fine, Agnes. Go home. Your granddaughter is waiting for you.”
With no other choice, Vanessa sat down across from Count Lang—and felt her suppressed anger begin to rise again.
When Vanessa had become Crown Princess in her previous life, Count Lang had demanded a large sum from the Imperial Palace under the excuse of maintaining “proper dignity.”
Of course, he had squandered it all in bars and gambling dens, and he had not contributed a single coin as dowry.
‘Because of him, my life in the Imperial Palace was ruined from the very beginning…’
Conrad had been a naturally idle man, and even the Emperor never expected much from him. But unlike Conrad, Vanessa was always held to far harsher standards.
A Crown Princess without backing suffered greatly in the Imperial Palace. No matter what happened, she was the one blamed.
Even after years of marriage, she had never once become pregnant.
That only made things worse—malicious rumors, childish bullying, relentless harassment.
‘And that man kept causing trouble even on the day I died… I must have been an eyesore to the Emperor as well.’
“Why are you silent? How many suitors did you have? They must all have been wealthy families, yes?”
“I had none.”
“What?”
“I said none. Not a single suitor. I didn’t even get one dance. Who would dance with a woman wearing mourning clothes at a ball?”
She was immediately slapped.
‘Ha… so even my face is no exception.’
“You useless girl! Do you know how much I suffered to send you to the Imperial Palace?!”
Count Lang grabbed her arm and yanked her up. Normally, she would have stayed quiet here—but Vanessa no longer wanted to endure it.
“What did you suffer?! You did nothing but ruin my life! If it weren’t for you… if it weren’t for you…”
I wouldn’t have died like that.
Another slap struck her.
“You insolent brat! How dare you talk back?! So you think your father is a joke?!”
Yes. Everything was Count Lang’s fault.
Lying on the floor, Vanessa thought it clearly.
Every desperate effort she made to prove herself… the marriage she was forced into and ridiculed for… even dying while being cursed at until the very end…
All of it—was because of him.
She resisted, but that only made the Count more violent. Plates and glasses shattered. A cabinet collapsed.
When she saw him approach with a broken chair leg, Vanessa felt real danger for the first time.
But she wasn’t afraid.
It wasn’t fear—it was rage shaking her entire body.
“You’re the useless one, not me! Trash like you will only spread poison until you die!”
She dodged the swing, but he grabbed her ankle. The Count truly intended to kill her.
‘Yes. If there’s only one thing I must change by returning to this life…’
Vanessa grabbed a sharp shard of glass with her bare hand and swung it.
“What the—are you insane?!”
He dodged and stepped back—but she ran toward the door, only for him to grab her hair.
She struggled desperately, but it was useless. He had once been a soldier.
And then he began strangling her.
“Your mother looked at me the same way… I should have killed her myself!”
‘I need air… I need air…’
Barely a day after returning to life, she was going to die again in such a meaningless way.
Even as she gasped for breath, Vanessa felt a strange, absurd urge to laugh.
So I die like this again—
“Miss!”
Agnes’s voice rang out.
Before Vanessa could turn, Agnes rushed in and struck the Count with the chair leg.
A loud crack echoed as fragments flew.
The Count, enraged, threw Vanessa aside.
“You insects…!”
He staggered toward Agnes—but Vanessa couldn’t move.
Then Agnes pushed him.
The drunken Count lost balance and crashed into the cabinet.
It happened in an instant.
Crash.
A bronze angel statue from the top of the cabinet fell directly onto his head.
The Count froze… sat down in confusion… and then collapsed.
Thud.
The chair leg rolled across the floor.
Agnes gasped, trembling violently.
“M-Master…! What do we do?! I didn’t mean to… I just… I was trying to save you…”
Vanessa stared at the blood slowly spreading across the carpet.
The mansion was silent except for Agnes’s quiet sobbing.
The Count was dead.
Legally, the law would not side with a maid. If she were arrested, Agnes would likely be executed immediately.
“Listen carefully, Agnes. You went home right after I arrived. You know nothing about what happened here. Do you understand?”
“B-But, Miss…”
“Think about your granddaughter. Go. I’ll handle everything.”
After sending Agnes away, Vanessa gathered the remaining valuables and hid them beneath the hay in the stable. At dawn, she planned to dump them into the river.
‘If they think a thief broke in and killed him… and stole the valuables… maybe it will pass.’
The Count had many enemies. Perhaps no one would question it.
Then came the next problem.
Debt.
In her previous life, creditors had appeared the moment her engagement to Conrad was announced.
It had always been unclear how a drunken Count managed to borrow so much money. Most of the lenders didn’t even have proper contracts.
But back then, she had been desperate to avoid scandal.
Eventually, she had taken on most of the debt herself.
Thankfully, after becoming Crown Princess, she had gained access to private assets.
She sold her mother’s inherited rural estate, earned a large sum, and multiplied it five times in half a year. More than enough to repay everything.
‘That was luck… and I already know what happens this time. The problem is liquidity…’
The easiest solution was selling the estate that would eventually be inherited in her name.
But that property was frozen until marriage.
‘So in the end… marriage again.’
She felt a brief unease at thinking this while her father’s corpse was still nearby.
But perhaps this was the correct path—for both of them. Even if he had lived, the Count would have destroyed her eventually.
‘I’ll arrange your funeral, Father. I don’t know if anyone will truly come to mourn you…’
The next morning, the city guard captain arrived with an investigator.
They were already familiar with Count Lang. He frequently caused disturbances while drunk.
“The messenger told me this morning… he said he always thought something like this would happen someday. Forgive me, young lady, but honestly, I thought so too.”
The captain shook his head.
“It’s alright. I… might have thought the same. I don’t even feel like crying.”
After formal questions, the investigator left.
The case was concluded simply: Vanessa Lang had gone to sleep after seeing her father drinking, heard fighting during the night, and found him dead in the morning.
“The authorities may visit again, but it will be routine. Don’t worry.”
Agnes handled the funeral preparations. She remained surprisingly composed.
“Please take care of yourself first, Miss. You must be more shaken than you realize.”
‘If she knew I’m already thinking about money… she’d be horrified.’
But survival mattered most.
The funeral was quiet.
That evening, Mason arrived, pale-faced and worried.
“Vanessa! Are you alright? Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine. Thank you for coming.”
“A robbery in the Lang estate… who would’ve expected that? It’s tragic, but I’m glad you’re safe. The Count… well… he was… uh…”
Mason struggled to find kind words.
“It’s fine. We all knew this would happen eventually.”
Vanessa said calmly.
“Really? That’s… unfortunate. I came all the way thinking I could comfort you.”
At a new voice, she turned around.
A tall man with pale silver hair was looking down at her.
