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Chapter 14
“I picked out only the important requests. You said the more money we earn, the better.”
“Right. That island is going up for auction.”
Winning the auction depended on bringing more money than anyone else.
The expected auction price was 2,500 gold, so Riana was saving toward that goal—but the more she saved, the better.
That meant it was time to take on small jobs she could do alongside her maid duties.
“Let’s see…”
Riana opened the first envelope and gasped at the number written inside.
“Wow, they’re hiring a secretary and offering 500 gold just as a referral fee.”
It was tempting, but she wasn’t about to leave her current job for lower pay. Pass.
The next request was for a head chef. Riana sighed and crumpled the paper.
“No way I can do something like that unless I have two bodies.”
“More like, because you can’t cook.”
“……”
As soon as her cooking skills were mentioned, Riana was reminded of Deborah and that awful blueberry pie. Her face turned solemn.
Now it was the last envelope.
She pulled out the letter and, after reading the sender’s name, her eyes went wide.
“This is…”
She stared at the cat. He avoided her gaze.
“This request is from the Duke of Veloci.”
He was the male lead of the webtoon Riana was from—and the man who poisoned her in the original story.
That webtoon’s title was Looking for the Real Duchess.
The plot? The male lead, under a family curse, marries the heroine in a contract marriage to break it, and they fall in love afterward.
Then why was the title Looking for the Real Duchess?
“Because there was a fake one.”
That fake was Riana Epindor—a pink-haired orphan and con artist who lied about being the one who could break his curse, all because she loved him.
That crush ended in a brutal death. Riana had never forgotten that, not even for a day.
“You should read it at least,” the cat said.
Riana snapped out of it and slowly lifted the request letter. She read the title out loud.
“…Looking for the Woman of the Prophecy.”
She continued in a whisper:
“I’m sure you’ve already heard of the Veloci family’s ancient curse.”
Riana nodded.
She knew from the webtoon, of course—but even anyone in the kingdom would know the story.
It was said the curse activated right after the Duke inherited his title at a young age. Since then, he’d stayed hidden and never shown his face.
“There’s also a prophecy passed down in the family. If the woman mentioned in the prophecy enters the family, the curse can be broken.”
As she read that part, Riana began to feel anxious.
Her heart pounded and her palms got sweaty.
“…Her name is Riana Epindor.”
The last sentence—“We will reward anyone who helps us find her”—never even made it past her lips.
Thud.
The paper slipped from Riana’s hands. A small picture tucked behind it fell too.
It was a tiny portrait. A young girl with pink hair gave a shy smile in the image.
That was Riana Epindor at age seven.
After that, someone else’s soul had entered and lived in that body.
“What will you do, Riana?”
The cat asked, pushing her for an answer. Riana closed her eyes tightly.
“This is insane.”
“They’re looking for you.”
“……”
Well… yes and no.
Technically, Riana Epindor was her legal name. The director of the Epindor orphanage had given all the children his last name.
Also, Riana did meet some of the prophecy’s conditions.
That’s why the Duke mistook her for the real one in the original story. And that’s why the original Riana Epindor was able to lie.
But the truth was: she wasn’t the real one. And she was killed for it.
By the very Duke she had loved.
“I’ve been running all this time just to avoid that ending…”
And now fate was catching up to her. It was relentless.
Riana took a deep breath and spoke.
“I’ll accept the request.”
“You’re really going to meet the Duke of Veloci?”
Of course the cat was shocked.
Even though she’d never explained the details, he knew she was terrified of him.
“No way. Do you think I’m crazy?”
She had no plans to help the Duke find Riana Epindor. After all she went through to escape? No chance.
“But if I reject it, the request might go to a professional agency instead.”
Riana grabbed a pen and started writing a reply.
“I’ll accept the job and stall for time. I’ll make sure the Duke wastes two months.”
After that, she’d hide away on a deserted island.
Even better—if the Duke met the real heroine in the meantime, he might give up.
Riana calmed her pounding heart.
She could do this. She’d live a transmigrator’s life, free from the original story.
“Here. Deliver this reply.”
The cat grabbed the letter in his mouth and left the room, clearly a little annoyed.
Only after the cat left did Riana remember something.
“Oh no—the Forthsb Information Paper!”
She had meant to ask the cat to investigate it. But she’d been so distracted by the Duke’s request that she totally forgot.
She waited a few days, hoping the cat would return, but he didn’t show up.
So she decided to do it herself.
“Mrs. Baker!”
“Riana? What now?!”
She headed to the kitchen in the maid quarters.
Even though Riana had basically bribed her, Mrs. Baker was the closest thing she had to a friend in the mansion.
When Riana asked about the Forthsb Paper, Mrs. Baker scoffed and said,
“Know it? I own it,” and sold her the newest edition—for three times the regular price.
“What a scam artist.”
Riana had no choice but to buy it. She had money, but no other options.
She checked the hallway outside—no one was there—then opened the paper right there in the corridor.
“Forthsb’s Pick: Best Dessert Shop on 11th Street…”
Should I go?
Wait, no. That’s not what I’m looking for.
There was no publisher name. No address. Not even a writer’s name.
She checked every large and small letter, every font style—serif and sans serif—but couldn’t find where the paper came from.
But she did find something else.
“Duke of Veloci announces appearance at Droche’s banquet…”
It was like a second death sentence.
Riana went pale, like she’d seen a ghost.
She ran straight to her room and locked the door.
Even after crawling under her blankets, the goosebumps wouldn’t go away.
“This can’t be real. How is this even possible?”
Society was in shock because the reclusive Duke of Veloci had declared he’d show up in public.
But Riana was panicking for a different reason.
“A male lead from one webtoon is visiting the male lead of another?!”
If this were an American superhero crossover movie, fine.
But this was a romance fantasy world!
It was like the main guy from About Time visiting the guy from The Time Traveler’s Wife!
Totally absurd.
Riana imagined how her sister Rachel would react—and that’s exactly how she felt right now.
But unlike Rachel, Riana wasn’t the heroine. She was the villainess.
So this wasn’t just shocking—it was terrifying.
“What if I run into him there…?”
It would all be over. Goodbye, Spes Island. Goodbye, peaceful life.
The fear gave her strong motivation.
So Riana hid herself as best she could after that.
From the Isolation Tower to the main mansion, back and forth.
She avoided being seen by anyone except Killian.
But time marched on, and the day of the dreaded banquet finally arrived.
“Mr. Secretary insisted I wake you and bring you down myself!”
It was Sophia, the maid who worked on the same floor.
Her chirpy, sparrow-like voice echoed through the 4th floor of the main mansion.
“Riana! It’s already ten o’clock!”
Riana didn’t move an inch. She was wrapped head-to-toe in her thick blanket, like part of the bed itself.
She clenched her teeth and tried her best to ignore Sophia’s chatter.
“I know you’re tired, but you have to get up now. The lunch banquet is starting soon!”
“Uuuugh…”
“What was that?”
Riana muttered something about the ‘damn Duke’.
If he hadn’t forced her into being his partner, she wouldn’t be dealing with this stupid banquet.
“Look! The sun is already high in the sky!”
Whoosh!
Sophia yanked open the curtains, letting the sunlight pour in.
Riana burrowed deeper into her blanket and shouted,
“Sorry, but that’s not true. The sun won’t be at its peak for at least two more hours!”
“Oh my! So you are awake! Now just get your body up too!”
Sophia was a pro at this. Clearly, it wasn’t her first time.
