Chapter 2:
The Fake Daughter’s Counterattack
In the novel, Eila despairs the moment she opens her eyes.
Her family is no longer by her side.
“They always stayed with me whenever I was sick…”
Eila has no choice but to accept her changed circumstances.
Now Rosia is the true daughter of House Blanche, and she is not.
But now that she remembers the novel’s plot, she knows the whole truth.
‘Rosia is a fake. She’s a mage sent by the story’s shadow faction to manipulate House Blanche.’
She is a fraud.
A fraud skilled enough in magic to manipulate even the paternity test artifact.
Eila recalls what Rosia said to her at the story’s conclusion:
“Actually, you really are the family’s true daughter. I’ve just been acting all this time to steal your place.”
“What?”
“It took you this long to realize? How stupid can you be?”
It was a terribly clichéd, trashy plot.
But the current Eila is both Eila and a 29-year-old Korean woman who has devoured countless regret-themed novels.
The current her can stop Rosia’s schemes from unfolding as intended.
‘To do that, I absolutely must not act like the original.’
In the original, she reacted sharply to Rosia’s fake kindness, crying and lashing out.
As a result, her relationship with her family became irreparably damaged.
‘But that was all part of Rosia’s plan.’
Rosia was extremely skilled at acting kind to win people’s favor.
The angrier Eila became at Rosia’s schemes, the worse her own reputation grew.
‘What’s worse is that Rosia’s emotion-manipulation magic grows stronger the more people grow attached to her.’
Her magic is both cunning and powerful.
At first, it just makes Rosia seem more pitiable, but as bonds form over time, she can practically control people’s wills.
So Eila resolves to act smarter this time.
If Rosia acts pitiful, she’ll act even more pitiful.
If Rosia tries to frame her unfairly, she’ll play the innocent victim in return.
‘That kind of thing… I’m completely confident in.’
Hiding her true feelings and pretending to be someone else—
That was all too familiar to her.
‘In my past life, I worked as a reenactment actor.’
She had appeared in various roles in one-act plays and reenactment programs.
Though they were only minor roles with little importance, she was confident in her ability to immerse herself and express emotions in short bursts.
If she can steal away the attention Rosia would receive, she might be able to expose her true nature sooner.
Eila smiles coldly at the thought of Rosia.
‘I’ll show you how a tragic heroine really acts.’
The Morning After
Fortunately, Eila hasn’t been kicked out of the mansion yet.
She even receives word that she may join them for breakfast as usual.
When she calls a maid to bring wash water as usual, the maid scowls.
“Miss Eila… no, here you are.”
Eila frowns at the maid’s cold attitude.
‘Ah, right.’
Lilah, her personal maid, had been an extremely unpleasant character in the novel.
‘She secretly gloated when my status fell.’
Perhaps because of that, Lilah is now the most blatant in her changed attitude.
Though it hasn’t been long since Eila was exposed as a “fake,” the servants are already whispering:
“What was the Duke thinking? Inviting her to eat with the new lady?”
“Her Grace must feel sorry for her.”
“Still, after all these years…”
“How are we supposed to treat her now? She’s basically one of us.”
In the original, Eila would have exploded in anger:
“How dare you speak of me like that? Know your place!”
And rightfully so—it was presumptuous for servants to comment before the family head had even finalized her status.
But in the original, her outburst only earned her brothers’ contempt.
‘That just made my reputation worse.’
This time, she ignores them, walking calmly to the dining room.
The moment she enters, sharp gazes pierce her.
Her two brothers stare at her as if she’s a stranger—not the sister they once adored.
Eila suppresses a sigh.
‘Fools. Completely fooled.’
But outwardly, she lowers her head, playing the role of a heartbroken girl struggling to accept reality.
From the head seat, Duke Callios speaks coldly:
“Sit.”
Eila carefully takes her usual seat—the left side of the Duke, reserved for the eldest daughter of House Blanche.
Callios had once doted on her.
Blanche daughters were born with immense magical potential—but Eila had none.
When he realized she was talentless, his affection vanished.
He didn’t mistreat her, but the love was gone.
Then, Eila feels Rosia’s gaze.
She knows what’s coming.
Sure enough, Rosia tilts her head innocently:
“Did… did I make a mistake?”
The room tenses.
The Duke frowns. “A mistake?”
“I don’t know noble etiquette well, but… should the daughter sit across from you instead?”
Her cheeks flush with false embarrassment.
“My brothers told me to sit here, but if the eldest daughter’s place is opposite—”
All eyes turn to Eila’s seat.
The left side of the Duke—the honored position she’d held for years.
Callios’s voice is firm.
“Move, Eila.”
Even the Duchess flinches.
“Husband! That’s been her seat for years!”
“But Rosia is right. This seat belongs to the true eldest daughter of House Blanche.”
