—
“I will tax the sound of bells from now on.”
Diabella said arrogantly, lowering her gaze.
“…What?”
The butler responded in a daze. It wasn’t the first time the mistress acted arbitrarily, but this time, he couldn’t believe his ears.
“Isn’t it thanks to the Marquis that the people of the fief live so peacefully and without worry? They should express their gratitude every time they hear the bells instead of just listening idly.”
‘…Peaceful and worry-free, my foot.’
The butler clicked his tongue inwardly. Ever since Diabella became the marchioness, not only the fief’s residents but also the marquis’s servants had been sighing more each day.
“Why aren’t you answering?”
“…Forgive me, but taxing the sound of bells seems a bit excessive… Ouch!”
The fan thrown by Diabella hit the butler’s left eye. His eyelid started to swell red where the fan’s sharp tip pricked, but Diabella didn’t care at all.
“How dare you defy the order of the marquis’s representative? We don’t need a disloyal butler like you, so leave immediately!”
“I’m sorry! I committed a grave sin, ma’am. Please don’t make me leave the marquis’s household. I will follow your every wish.”
For the butler who had devoted his life to the marquis’s household, leaving was unthinkable, as if losing his entire world.
“…Hmm, let’s see. I’ll watch you a bit longer.”
Diabella smiled slyly and motioned with her empty hand. The butler quickly picked up the fan and presented it back to her.
“What’s this? It’s dirty. Do you expect me to use a fan that touched your eye? My hand will rot. Get rid of it immediately!”
The butler nervously handed the fan to a maid. The maid took the fan and headed straight to the incinerator.
“Instead of punishing the butler today…”
Diabella raised an eyebrow.
“Bring the taxes from the bell sound to me. I plan to use that tax to protect the fief’s residents, so there’s no need to inform the Marquis or the Dowager. Do you understand?”
Thus, every time the bell rang, gold coins piled up in front of Diabella. She evicted those who couldn’t pay the tax, whether they were expectant mothers or sick elderly people.
The cries of those with nowhere to go echoed outside the fief like wailing. All this happened in just one month while the Marquis was away.
* * *
“Insane!”
Hana threw her phone onto the pillow. No matter how villainous, wasn’t this too much?
She started reading web novels because her friend recommended them as a good way to change her mood, but this was just absurd.
Hana took a shot of soju. Her small desk in the gosiwon was piled with books and notebooks. And squeezed into one corner were a soju bottle and a soju glass. Her only snack was cup noodles. As she sipped the noodle broth, her phone vibrated.
[How’s the web novel?]
[What is this? It’s just pure absurdity. I can’t believe it.]
[That’s the fun part, lol. Endure the frustrating parts, and there’s a refreshing payoff. It’s ridiculous, but it gets engrossing, and you stop thinking about other things.]
[Not sure, lol. By the way, did you go to the teaching assistant’s office today?]
[Yeah, I did. I also asked about your grades…]
[Why did you have to ask?]
[Because it’s weird you got all A+s but aren’t the top student! Should we just let it go? You’re so intense, Jang Hana. All A+s for three years straight—Korean University’s economics department’s best talent. I respect you.]
[Respect, my foot, lol. I’m not even the top this time.]
[Exactly! Why aren’t you the top student? The TA said she’ll confirm after her seminar. How many credits did you take?]
[18. I took an extra tutoring job, so I was busy.]
[Oh, that’s why; the top student took 22 credits.]
Hana pulled at her hair. She took on extra tutoring because of the boarding fee and textbook costs. She overlooked that when multiple students have the same grade, ranking is determined by the number of credits taken.
[Hey, being second is still great. I’d be thrilled with a B+ average.]
No.
It’s not great.
Hana shook her head. The top student gets a full scholarship, but the second only gets a 50% scholarship. Next semester’s tuition was a problem.
‘…Should I take out a student loan? I already have a lot of debt left by my dad, so I tried to cover it with scholarships.’
Sigh.
Hana took another shot of soju.
They say if soju tastes sweet, life is more bitter than soju, and it was sweet. Too sweet, going down smoothly.
She didn’t care anymore. She didn’t want to think about anything tonight. Hana reopened the web novel page she was reading.
* * *
Diabella’s schemes eventually got exposed by the Marquis.
Even the Marquis, who had turned a blind eye to Diabella’s countless misdeeds, could no longer tolerate her tormenting the fief’s residents and deceiving him. He informed her of his decision to divorce.
Diabella, saying she’d rather die than divorce, staged a fake poison-drinking scene but ended up consuming real poison swapped by someone and died.
Afterward, the Marquis remarried a kind-hearted baron’s daughter who had secretly been helping the evicted residents. She was Diabella’s only friend.
[Good riddance, lol. Diabella? More like Diablo. The residents nailed it with that nickname. What a XXXX villain.
No, calling her a villain is too generous. XXXX suits her better.
If I had your wealth, I wouldn’t live like that, you XXXX!]
In her over-immersed state, Hana’s eyes glazed over, and her head drooped. The moonlight fell gently on Hana’s back as she slumped over her desk.
For someone without privilege, it was a tiring night.
* * *
“…Hmn… What time is it?”
Hana, tossing in bed, opened her eyes.
“Ma’am! You’re awake!”
Ma’am? What’s this nonsense? Am I still dreaming?
“Hurry, bring the Marquis! The Ma’am has woken up.”
Sure, Ma’am or whatever, you’ve woken up? Big deal.
But am I in a dream? A lucid dream?
Hana had experienced lucid dreams before, where she realized she was dreaming. So, she thought this was another dream.
“The Marquis is here!”
Suddenly, the surroundings became busy. Footsteps approached, and someone embraced Hana tightly. He whispered low, almost inaudibly.
“…I’m glad you’re alive.”
Huh? Suddenly?
‘No matter how dreamlike, what’s with this development?’
Hana was confused. Who was this person holding her so desperately? She felt his solid body above her and his tears soaking her face…
‘I need to see the face of someone who wants me so much before I wake up!’
She was about to get up when…
“The documents you requested are here, Marquis.”
A new voice was heard almost simultaneously.
“Ah, those documents.”
The man’s voice turned cold as he suddenly let go of Hana. A piece of paper fluttered down onto Hana’s face as she tried to sit up. It stuck to her wet face.
“Seeing you regain consciousness like this proves it was all an act. This time, don’t try to escape with petty tricks and accept the divorce papers.”
“…What?”
Was the desperate voice from earlier just an illusion? The sudden change to a cold, harsh tone made her body tremble.
‘And suddenly, divorce? When did I get married? This is ridiculous.’
Was this absurd situation happening because it was a dream? But the sensation of the paper stuck to her face was too vivid, so Hana sat up abruptly in bed.
Soft.
“Wow, this is so soft. What is this? Not the broken spring bed in the gosiwon… W-wait…!”
Bouncing on the soft bed in wonder, Hana belatedly peeled the paper from her face. As she looked around, she screamed in shock.
At least ten people were surrounding her bed, all with their mouths agape, watching her bounce.
“W-what’s going on!”
“…Ma’am.”
The man closest to the bed frowned and touched Hana’s forehead. Despite his cold expression, his hand was warm.
His eyes were deep green, his silver hair falling gently, and his high nose…
“A-a handsome guy!”
Hana covered her mouth and pointed at the man’s face.
What’s going on? This is a dream, right? This guy is unbelievably handsome.
Everyone, did you see this man’s face?
Hana, her eyes wide, looked around. Everyone’s attire was strange.
Like something from a European period drama, maid uniforms, butler uniforms. And the lavishly dressed man beside her was a prince?
“Uh, is this a shoot? A drama? Or a candid camera prank? Did you move me while I was sleeping? Can you do this without my consent? Isn’t this lawsuit-worthy?”
Hana got up cautiously and started looking for cameras, but there were none. Was it a hidden candid camera so thorough it was invisible? She checked under the bed, behind the curtains.
“Ma’am! What bizarre
act is this again? Don’t try to avoid it with nonsense and sign the divorce papers!”
She heard the voice again, so she turned around, crumpling the paper.
“No, who are you to tell me to sign divorce papers when I’m not even married? I mean, I’d love to get married to a guy like you, but…”
“You still pretend to be Diabella, I see.”
The man held his forehead and sighed.
“…Diabella?”
Hana’s eyes widened.
Diabella?
Wait, is this…?
Like in those web novels where you get transported into another world after falling asleep? I only read a few web novels, but this cliché…
Did I possess someone’s body while sleeping?
“But why Diabella…?”
Diabella, the villain, met a miserable end…
Hana, who had cursed Diabella while reading the novel, quickly looked at the man standing near her bed.
His eyes were cold, full of disdain, clearly seeing her as a loathsome enemy. She never saw such an expression before.
But she recognized those eyes.
“Marquis… Michael?”
Hana muttered softly, recalling Diabella’s husband from the web novel.
It was him, for sure.
Her husband, who used to be in love with her, was now desperately trying to divorce her.
Why did this happen?
‘Wait, so I’m Diabella?’
Hana’s pupils shook.
What kind of ridiculous situation is this?
–
