Chaper 2
In her past life, Catherine’s favorite novel was The Duke’s Daughter Refuses to Regret, also known as Duke’s Regret.
She loved it because the main character was a “cold-hearted heroine,” a type she liked the most among all romance fantasy heroines.
But what exactly is a cold-hearted heroine?
Romance fantasy novels have all kinds of female leads:
From the “#OurHeroineIsAdorable” and “#PureSunshine” types to the “#SelfishAndProud” and “#VillainousQueen” types. There are countless variations.
But the best of them all, in Catherine’s opinion, was the cold-hearted heroine.
These heroines declare, “I will no longer beg for love,” only to unintentionally attract everyone around them.
And in most cases, novels featuring a cold-hearted heroine also include the “family regret” or “surrounding regret” trope.
In other words, once she gives up on everything, love starts pouring in from all directions.
That must be so frustrating for the heroine…
But for the readers? It’s the best thing ever!
A cold and indifferent heroine who has been through it all.
Men desperately trying to earn even a shred of her affection, regretting their past actions, and suffering in the process.
This kind of reverse harem dynamic has always been a surefire way to captivate readers and stir emotions.
And if you add a touch of obsession and angst? Readers will empty their wallets in no time.
As someone who once lived for these kinds of novels, Catherine loved this type of heroine.
But now…
“Possessing a character? Fine. But why, of all people, did I have to end up as the villain who torments the heroine? Damn it!”
Catherine kicked her legs wildly in frustration as she rolled around in bed.
After exhausting herself, she lay still, trying to recall her memories.
She couldn’t remember much about her past life, but she clearly remembered the moment she was reborn in this world.
It was when she was just a newborn baby.
“Eh… uhh?”
“Wait, was that baby talk? Huh? Why… am I a baby?”
From the moment she opened her eyes as an infant, Catherine retained all her past-life memories.
At first, she was shocked, but as a dedicated reader of romance fantasy novels, she quickly grasped the situation.
“Alright! I’ve been reborn in another world. Time to live a life of luxury!”
But that resolve didn’t last long.
Like a goldfish with a short memory, she forgot all about being a reincarnated soul after turning three years old.
“Other people remember their past lives just fine and thrive! Why am I like this?!”
She silently wept over her stupidity.
She had wasted three golden opportunities:
Living a cute baby life, getting pampered, and changing the original story’s plot.
Then she remembered what had happened earlier at the dining hall—when she saw Eleanor.
“Wait, why is she here?”
The moment their eyes met as Eleanor walked through the door, it was like a lightning bolt struck Catherine’s mind.
Her memories came rushing back all at once.
At the same time, she instinctively understood Eleanor’s life story and the world of this novel, as if she were reading it like a book.
For a split second, Catherine shut her eyes tightly.
When she reopened them, she realized everyone was staring at her.
She had been mid-sentence, about to snap at Eleanor, before abruptly stopping.
But she couldn’t say anything now.
Terror gripped her body, cold sweat dripping down her back.
When she looked at Eleanor again, the image of Eleanor Valentine—as she had seen her in the novel—overlapped with the real person before her.
“Oh dear. No matter how much you beg, nothing will change.”
“Damn it… Eleanor! Aaah!”
“What’s wrong? I’m only doing what you did to me, Catherine.”
Specifically, it was Eleanor from when she was twenty years old—the one who came to kill her.
Catherine violently shook her head, trying to dispel the horrifying vision.
She shuddered again, the memory making her break into another cold sweat.
Someone once said, “You are the protagonist of your own life.”
“That’s complete nonsense.”
At least for her, it was.
She was not the protagonist of this world.
The real protagonist here was Eleanor Valentine.
The very girl Catherine had been tormented, belittled, and treated like trash.
From now on, everything would revolve around Eleanor.
As expected of a family regret story, the entire family would soon be on their knees, begging for her forgiveness.
Love, influence, power, and fame—everything would be laid at her feet.
And Catherine?
As the villain who had tormented Eleanor for years, she was doomed to a gruesome and pathetic end.
Catherine despaired.
“I’m doomed! Completely doomed! F**!”*
Normally, when someone possesses a villainous character, they struggle to change the story’s course.
But Catherine?
She had no chance.
Just yesterday, she scalded Eleanor with hot tea.
“Hahaha, stay still, little rat. Unless you want to get burned?”
“Hic… please stop, Catherine… I’m scared…!”
She had already crossed the point of no return.
No, not just a river—she was stranded in the middle of an ocean, sinking fast, with a hungry shark waiting below.
She silently buried her face in her pillow, crying.
“I’m worse than an animal. No, even animals don’t deserve that comparison…”
Instead of living a beautiful and elegant life as a duke’s daughter, she was now headed toward a blood-soaked, tragic future.
One where she would pay for every single one of her sins.
Just like in the novel, she would suffer terribly before dying at Eleanor’s hands.
If anything, death might be the merciful outcome.
“No way! I want to live!”
Catherine agonized over what to do.
Finally, she reached a decision.
“I don’t have to become friends with Eleanor… I just need to make myself so harmless that she won’t even bother killing me!”
At fifteen years old, Catherine set her first goal:
Survival.
