Episode 1

[Returning]

Smack!

A sharp, clear sound rang out as my eyes flew open. My cheek was stinging.

As I opened my eyes, I found myself lying on my bed in my room, just as expected. The familiar texture of the blanket and sheets was unmistakable.

I swallowed the sigh that was about to escape.

‘It’s starting again.’

“You wretched girl, it was you, wasn’t it?”

A voice sounded. Without moving, I quietly rolled my eyes to look at the person who had slapped me awake.

Silvery hair with a slight dullness, green eyes, upturned corners of the eyes, and a face that looked bad-tempered.

“…Seth.”

“What have you been saying outside for Lady Angie to avoid me like the plague?!”

‘…Again, he’s picking on me for something I didn’t do.’

Even without my help, Seth’s reputation among the ladies is already in the gutter. He can’t even control his violent tendencies in public.

The only reason there are still marriage talks involving Seth is because he’s the second son of the influential Duke of Reinhardt, a prominent and powerful family.

And I…

“It’s a great mercy that a girl who wandered the streets was taken in as a noblewoman, and this is how you repay that kindness?”

…am the filth and the outcast of this household.

Not even a true daughter, but a troublesome, villainous woman of the powerful and prestigious Duke of Reinhardt family, honored as an ally of the empire.

Even after being formally adopted into the family, I don’t know my place and cause trouble, wreaking havoc in the social circles and causing chaos wherever I go.

That’s me, Mindia Reinhardt.

‘A very obvious setup.’

“Know your place…”

“Seth, Mindia.”

A calm voice interrupted Seth’s angry tirade.

A man with brighter silver hair and green eyes, yet far more composed, stood at the doorway.

“Brother Servi.”

It was Servi, the eldest son of the Duke’s family.

“Calm down, there’s no need for such a commotion.”

“But my honor…”

“Does that justify raising your hand first?”

It seemed like a gentle brother scolding his younger sibling for hitting and yelling at me, but…

“But Mindia, still in bed?”

“…”

“Your behavior is a problem. This isn’t the filthy street you used to roll around in. Behave yourself properly.”

In terms of verbal abuse, that man is just as bad.

I quietly bowed my head instead of retorting. There was no point in engaging in conversation with them anyway.

“Filthy thing.”

Seth spat on the floor next to my bed before leaving with Servi.

I was finally left alone.

“Ha…”

How do I always come back to this moment?

‘As if to remind me never to forget and to etch this humiliation into my bones.’

This was the fourth time I had woken up like this.

If I count my life back in Korea, which is now a fading memory, it would be the fifth time.

—

‘Your Grace! Please, spare me!’

‘Beg Aria, whom you nearly killed!’

—

The first time, I was driven by jealousy and tried to harm Aria, the Duke’s biological daughter, only to be killed by the Duke. The moment the sharp blade touched my neck, memories flashed by like a passing scene.

That’s when I realized this was the world of the novel ‘I Became the Obsessed Duke’s Daughter’ that I had read in my past life in Korea.

‘I Became the Obsessed Duke’s Daughter’ is a novel about Aria, who was once a street urchin and was adopted by a baron’s family.

‘It begins with the revelation that she is actually the lost daughter of the powerful Reinhardt family.’

When Aria returned to the Duke’s household, I, driven by jealousy, tried to harm her and died early in the story as a minor villain.

Mindia Reinhardt was a character who played such a role in the novel.

So obvious it was almost refreshingly straightforward.

“These people in this household are ridiculous.”

When they picked up Mindia, it was to find a girl who could receive the love that had been meant for Aria. They missed Aria terribly and couldn’t forget her.

So, they formally adopted me and gave me the title of princess, but…

The moment a girl who resembled Aria began walking around the duke’s mansion, the members of the Reinhardt family realized something crucial.

No one could replace Aria.

A substitute like me could never fill Aria’s place.

Eventually, I became the worst possible reminder of Aria’s absence for them.

Years passed.

Now, they have a deep-seated resentment towards me, believing that I usurped Aria’s place.

‘It was my appearance that changed as I grew up which was the decisive factor.’

When I first arrived, my hair was bright silver, similar to the members of the duke’s family. However, as it grew, it turned into a dull, dark grey. My eyes, once a pale green, shifted to a light yellow.

In the beginning, there was still some hope. Occasionally, the duke’s family showed me kindness.

—

‘Is there something you want?’

‘Mindia, drink this. It’s a new tea we received.’

—

During those rare moments when they could forget about Aria for a bit, they acted as if we were truly family.

They bought me whatever I desired, shared delicious meals, and sometimes overlooked my slight breaches of etiquette or my irritability.

Before I realized this world was a novel, I held onto those moments with false hope.

I believed that one day, they would truly accept me as family. Therefore, I was willing to do whatever they wanted.

But I was young and naïve. Whenever they treated me well, I grew arrogant, causing trouble and earning their disdain. When their moods soured, I reverted to being an outcast.

This vicious cycle continued…

Until the year I turned twenty. The real princess, Aria, returned to the duke’s household.

—

‘Hello, Mindia.’

‘…….’

‘I’m Aria. The name Reinhardt still feels unfamiliar…’

—

She was a kind and gentle girl, as sweet and soft as spun cotton candy.

‘Even that was true to the novel.’

What was ironic, though, was that despite Aria returning with her hair changed from its original silver to pink, the duke’s family still adored her.

My hair color had also changed, but the difference in treatment was blatant.

—

‘How can this be… How can it be!’

—

Because of this, I completely lost my mind. I concocted a ridiculous scheme to harm Aria, was caught, and subsequently killed.

Immediately after, I woke up to the sensation of a slap. At that moment, I realized this was a life within a novel and that I had been reincarnated.

‘I thought my second life would be different.’

I resolved to live differently.

I begged and pleaded with the duke, arranged an engagement with a suitable nobleman, and succeeded in a strategic marriage. I believed that becoming part of another family would allow me to leave this place.

Indeed, my lifespan was extended.

…While being abused by my husband.

—

‘I saw you smiling at another man at the party earlier! Do you think I wouldn’t notice?!’

—

The husband, who appeared so kind and gentle to the outside world, transformed the moment we were alone at home.

—

‘Do you think you can correct your behavior with just this beating?’

—

A while later, Seth joined my husband. Even after becoming an adult, Seth started using me as a punching bag again.

So, I…

—

‘Aah!’

‘Ah, ahaha! Ahaha!’

—

One day, during a particularly brutal beating, I impulsively stabbed Seth with the knife he had brought. My survival instinct kicked in, thinking that if I didn’t, I would die first.

—

‘P-Please, spare me!’

—

Seeing Seth grovel for his life, I no longer feared him. I felt free.

But that freedom ended when my husband returned.

—

‘You insane woman!’

—

I was overpowered and fell. Seth survived. My last memory of that life was being dragged to the courthouse and executed.

Then, I woke up again to the feeling of a slap.

This time, I decided to cut ties with the duke’s family and run away. For a while, I was happy. I moved around, did menial jobs, and lived a peaceful life.

But that life didn’t end well either. One day, the imperial soldiers stormed into my hut.

—

‘Rebel Mindia Reinhardt, come out!’

—

They accused me of plotting rebellion.

That’s when I vaguely remembered a similar event in the original novel. An episode where the Duke’s family was falsely accused of treason, putting Aria in danger.

But when I was dragged back and faced the Duke’s family…

—

‘That girl plotted it all on her own!’

‘We are not involved!’

—

Seeing the fear in Servi’s eyes, I realized immediately. In the novel, it was portrayed as a false accusation, but in reality, it wasn’t.

The conspiracy orchestrated by the duke’s family was pinned solely on me.

My room, which I had abandoned in my escape, was filled with letters plotting rebellion and diaries detailing my jealousy of Aria and my plans to ruin the duke’s family.

—

‘Mindia, how could you…’

—

I was taken to the execution ground, seeing Aria’s horrified face. I didn’t even cry when my neck was once again severed.

And then, once more, I found myself here.

“…Why do I keep coming back?”

What on earth is the problem? I didn’t even interfere with the original story. If anything, I died exactly as the story wanted me to, again and again.

By now, this world should have let me go.

There must be a reason why I can’t escape, as if trapped by some cursed spell.

“I’m tired.”

I felt too exhausted to even be angry, yet the anger still lingered.

“…I’m so incredibly tired.”

The cold, consuming anger and fatigue settled in my chest like a burning frost.

Before this fire consumes me, before it shatters my very soul. I needed to burn others before I was destroyed.

‘If I continue being the minor villain in the original story, I’ll die anyway.’

No matter how I try to avoid it—marrying anyone, running away—it ends the same.

“…Then, let’s destroy everything in this life.”

As long as the duke’s family exists, I will never be free.

I felt a certainty that if they were ruined, if they fell, maybe I could finally end this wretched cycle.

‘I’ll use the duke’s family’s false treason incident.’

The incident that wasn’t actually false. There must be evidence somewhere.

‘If there isn’t, I’ll make it.’

Just like they did to me.

“To do that, first…”

I needed someone who could be used for this purpose.

Only one person came to mind.

Thinking of him, a sharp pain spread through my chest.

“…Chris.”