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Chapter 02
“My Beloved Saint” was a ruined harem novel where the heroine, Leila, kept getting tossed around and trampled.
It was partly because of her naturally weak personality, but the main reason was Tian Elropez—because of my death.
The main male lead decided to shake Leila emotionally and kidnapped people around her as hostages. The unlucky one who ended up in this situation was Tian.
Tian Elropez, the princess closest to Leila and the one she relied on the most.
In fact, Tian was said to be the strongest mage in the entire world.
She rose to the rank of Archmage at a young age and even held the position of Master of the Mage Tower.
In the novel, Tian cared deeply for Leila.
But she was naïvely tricked by the main male lead, Lionel, who promised that if she went to war, he wouldn’t harm Leila anymore. She immediately joined the battle, which already says it all.
During the war, due to a scheme by one of the male leads, Tian lost all her magical powers.
Without magic, Tian became extremely weak and fell into the perfect vulnerability for manipulating Leila.
Of course, unlike the original Tian, I wouldn’t foolishly fall for such a trick, go to war, or lose my magic.
Anyway, after losing her abilities, Tian ended her own life.
She wanted Leila to be spared the pain of being manipulated because of her.
Naturally, Tian’s death was never communicated to Leila.
Believing Tian was still alive, Leila sacrificed herself to save her friend.
By the time Leila had been trapped in the mansion for a month, she accidentally discovered a suspicious basement. There, she found a symbol that seemed like it was used to make a contract with a demon.
Thinking that breaking it would strip the man of his power and save Tian, Leila began attempting to destroy it with her holy power.
But her attempt was soon discovered and failed miserably.
On that day, Leila learned of Tian’s death.
A sword in the basement held something purple, embedded like a jewel. It was a human eyeball.
In the Persent Empire, only the Elropez dukedom had a family with purple eyes.
And among them, only one person could have ended up like this.
Engulfed in despair, Leila lost the will to live.
From then on, she was repeatedly trampled—not only by the male lead, but also by the villain Sharviel and mere extras… in a series of meaningless, ruined situations until the story ended.
“Even thinking about it now makes me so annoyed.”
Although I had the compulsion to read until the end, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy recalling the story.
In terms of this world’s timeline, it had been twenty years since I read the original novel.
Fearing I might forget, I slammed shut the parchment notebook where I had written down the plot.
Two years remained.
Two years until the events of the original story began.
I had worried that fourteen years of early education would go to waste… but it seemed I would at least get some small reward for all the tears and effort I had put in.
…Just two days ago, I had lamented, wondering if changing Leila’s personality was hopeless.
“Tian… sob… the daughter of the marquis again…”
Being a countess’s daughter, it wasn’t unusual to cry bitterly after being bested by a mere marquis’s daughter.
“Sharviel stepped on my dress by accident and tore it. I-I’m fine, Tian! I’ve already gotten an apology…!”
Even when it was obvious that the other party’s intentions were ill, receiving a half-hearted apology and smiling sheepishly was a daily occurrence.
But what in the world was happening now?
‘She actually poured wine on Sharviel.’
Recalling yesterday, I looked out the window.
The rough rain pelted the glass.
The sky was dark, unusual for a morning that should have been sunny.
“Ah, what lovely weather.”
Anna, my personal maid, came in to straighten the bedding and alternated her gaze between me and the window.
Her expression clearly revealed her inner thought: “What happened to her hair?” I awkwardly cleared my throat.
After finishing the bedding, Anna helped me change clothes.
Even for a noble, one couldn’t go down for breakfast in pajamas.
Especially since I was the daughter of the only ducal family in the Persent Empire.
Having lived in this world since a very young age, I didn’t find it awkward, but…
Isn’t this a bit much?
“Anna, isn’t this too thick…?”
Though it felt humid due to the rain, the outside temperature wasn’t particularly low.
It was March, and once the rain stopped, sunny spring days would follow.
Yet the outfit Anna dressed me in looked like midwinter gear.
When I removed the heavy winter coat layered on top, Anna silently put it back on.
“It’s almost spring. Why are you bundled up so much? Look, how many layers is this already?”
Ignoring my complaints, she tightened the strings to prevent me from loosening them and spoke matter-of-factly:
“Milady, your mother is waiting for you downstairs.”
My body shivered momentarily.
I tied the strings Anna had fastened once more.
“Shall I wear one more layer?”
I knew that as soon as I went down, sharp hands would strike my back.
I put on one more cape and prepared for the worst.
As expected, my fears were justified.
As soon as I reached the first floor, my mother, Silvia Elropez, co-owner of the mansion and my mother, glared at me with wide eyes and waved her hand.
“You dared! You’ve influenced that good Leila!”
“O-ow! Mother, it hurts!”
“It hurts because you deserve it! Who told you to do something to get hit?!”
Unable to deny it, I turned my back a few times, giving her hand a few swats before skillfully dodging.
“Father! Save me!”
Just then, my father, Abelian Elropez, appeared, and I hid behind him.
“Darling, wife. At this rate, our daughter’s back won’t survive.”
“Will you step aside immediately?!”
At some point, my mother held an indoor slipper from the mansion in her hand.
Caught between my mother and me, my father seemed unsure what to do but then turned to face me.
My body lurched forward.
I barely regained balance, only to see green eyes filling my view.
I realized that my mother had grabbed me while my father had pushed me.
Abelian Elropez—known as a doting father, but like all dukes in romance novels, completely a “wife’s fool.”
“Sorry, Tian.”
I had been living as Tian Elropez for twenty years now.
I was long more accustomed to this life than my past life.
In other words, I had fully anticipated situations like this.
“Brother…!”
“Tian? What’s wrong… Mother, why are you holding a slipper…?”
Ruenthe, the eldest of the Elropez family, who had just come down from the second floor, looked around in confusion and whispered to me, hiding behind him.
I didn’t answer but tugged on his collar, signaling him to do something.
His purple eyes trembled as he looked down at me.
“M-Mother… what did Tian do wrong this time…?”
“I didn’t do anything wrong, brother!”
Assured that I must have done something, Ruenthe spoke firmly. I screeched in protest.
“Can’t you stay quiet, Tian Elropez? How dare you raise your voice at your brother!”
My mother, who had grown up as a viscountess’s daughter and became a duchess, had the noble blood of an aristocrat flowing through her.
If one were to name the most prestigious lady in the Persent Empire, everyone would say Silvia Elropez without hesitation.
“Don’t hide behind Ruenthe. Come out here immediately!”
Of course.
This side of her only appeared in front of family.
“I can’t just stand by and watch! You know how much Sharviel torments Leila!”
“Who said anything about that?”
Huh?
Wasn’t this because Leila poured wine on Sharviel’s dress yesterday?
If not, I hadn’t done anything wrong.
“Then why are you doing this?!”
Even though I was confident I hadn’t done anything wrong, my mother glared at me with cold eyes, gritting her teeth.
I shivered involuntarily.
“Leila said she wants to call off the engagement!”
“……?”
What did you just say?
Leila… wants to do what?
I doubted my ears and opened my mouth wide.
Blinking a few times in disbelief, I asked again.
“W-What did you just say, Mother…?”
“Leila requested a break-off of her engagement with His Royal Highness, the Second Prince!”
Th-This is insane.
Ruenthe’s eyes followed me, surprised at the curse that had slipped out of my mouth.
