I, Yoon Ha-neul, was an ordinary citizen living in the 21st century.
I mean, I was… just a day ago.
‘Wow…’
I couldn’t help but sigh foolishly in admiration.
I looked around with a pale face, completely failing to control my facial expression.
Bright chandeliers, fancy clothes, elegant gestures, the graceful melody flowing through everyone’s ears, and people dancing accordingly to it.
‘What a surprise for an ordinary morning…’
I was an introvert who disliked crowded and complex spaces and had no social skills.
So why am I in such a crowded place when I’m the kind of person who would have to be dragged and forced to socialize with others?
Feeling a psychological repulsion, I stepped back and stuck myself to the wall.
People in colorful clothes gathered in groups of three and five, and made loud noises. Some laughed loudly while others gossiped about an innocent person as their victim.
For example, someone like me.
“What a coincidence.”
“Oh, it’s only after this comparison.”
“Even when wearing the same clothes, they give off a different feeling. Although fine feathers make fine birds, it still can’t completely hide a person’s personality.”
“Poor thing…”
Those who were gathered around me openly laughed at me sarcastically.
I looked down at my clothes hastily, listening to the giggles and laughter. Seeing my appearance, I saw no reason for me to be ridiculed and laughed at.
A cream-colored dress with silk lace and pearls. It was in the form of Robe à la Française* representing the Rococo Era. A dress with a stomacher, an inflated skirt, and a square neckline with ribbons of different sizes that stood out.
*(Robe à la Française– The sack-back gown or robe à la française was a women’s fashion of 18th century Europe.)
I’m not sure but a dress that would have been popular in the 18th century, emphasizing the chest and waist, must have been a trend in the social circles here today as everyone else was wearing it as well.
‘But the reason why these people are gossiping is probably…’
Glancing.
I looked up and caught the sight of a man and a woman that looked angelic as if they descended straight from heaven itself. The light shone brightly behind their head, making them look as sacred as a masterpiece.
‘The Crown Prince Werner, and…… Charlotte.’
And now I’m watching them as ‘Ayla Mertensia’, the incredible* villainess of ‘this novel’.
*(희대의- very rare, extraordinary or uncommon in a negative way.)
No, to be more precise, I was the writer who wrote the novel <Lady Lily>, “Yoon Ha-neul” and was currently possessing the body of the villainess in the novel.
“How can a dream be so vivid?”
No, how long can I deny it? The reason it was so vivid was that this wasn’t a dream.
While I was lamenting about my situation, the nobles were dying to bite and chew Ayla up like the snack for their wines.
“Lady Mertensia is famous for being obsessed with his highness, the Crown Prince, that she would do anything just to get his attention. I’m sure everyone here knows that, right?”
“Oh, I’m sure she gathered information and deliberately wore similar-colored clothes.”
“But how could she think that she could subdue the other young lady’s beauty?”
“Oh my God, it’s embarrassing. I’m sure she’s very embarrassed, that’s why she can’t even raise her head.”
Their reasoning was right. In this scene, Ayla was dressed to match and to look like the Crown Prince’s partner.
But it was unfair for me to be dressed up as someone else as soon as I opened my eyes.
“So who the hell is that young lady?”
“It looks like this is her social debut but she sure stands out. She’s like a lily.”
‘Crazy, Lily…..’
I grasped my skirt in shame when I heard Charlotte’s upcoming socialite nickname.
No one actually said, ‘She looks like the flower, lily’ but it’s still the line I wrote.
Oh, come on.
“It must be Viscount Angelo’s daughter.”
“Oh, I see.”
The young man who asked about Charlotte’s identity felt regretful about her status but soon looked at her again and blushed. He was completely fascinated by Charlotte’s unique aura which was strangely distinctive.
Someone then whispered in secret.
“If she’s the young lady from the Viscount of Angelo, I heard they’re on the verge of bankruptcy— Oh no, I think I’ve said something rude.”
“So she’s looking for a husband? With that appearance and elegance, she will definitely stand out in the wedding market.”
“I don’t know if it’s because His Majesty’s and her dress complement each other, but standing side by side makes them look like a good match, unlike someone else.”
Their sunlit hair seemed to melt when touched by their hands, and their clear blue eyes seemed to reflect the sky.
On the other hand, I was humiliated by wearing the same cream-colored dress as Charlotte. I was like a sack of borrowed barley*.
*(Sack of borrowed barley= A person who does not talk or get along with others and sits in the corner at a gathering. But can also represent a cheap looking person as a person will only have a sack of borrowed barley if they are poor)
This cream color didn’t suit Ayla. She was a rare beauty with dark green eyes and glossy hair that flowed down to her waist. Dark and seductive colors would suit her better than these bright colors.
Of course, I think anything would suit this great appearance but it was a different story when compared to Charlotte.
Charlotte did not have a striking beauty like Ayla, which could captivate a person at one glance, but as the main character in the novel, she had a pure and simple charm that was increasingly breathtaking.
Her cream-colored dress which had lovely flowers, embroidery, lace, and pure-looking pearl ornaments fit her perfectly with her raised hair as if it was created only for her.
Well, another objective evaluation was that because she was the main character of this novel, the whole universe would step forward to help her stand out no matter what— perks of having the protagonist buff.
I glanced down at the dress I was wearing again. The color wasn’t the only thing identical to Charlotte’s dress, even the design was similar. Maybe because it was made at the same dress shop.
“Crazy, it’s like a saint and a witch.”
At that person’s words, laughter came from all over the place as if it was an accurate metaphor.
***
“It was so cringe-worthy.”
I prayed eagerly for the banquet to end, and as soon as the atmosphere of the repercussions died out, I immediately rode a carriage to the mansion.
As soon as I got to my room, I threw the evening bag I had in my hand onto the bed and shuddered.
“Ugh. I can’t believe my dark past* just played out right in front of my eyes.”
*(A term used to describe those times in one’s life which one is ashamed of, regrets and would rather forget.)
Wow, that was really excruciating.
Fortunately, I was able to get out of there quickly. If I had heard one more line which I wrote, I would have definitely broken a window and jumped off.
I sighed then looked around hopelessly.
It was very tiresome to see this old-fashioned room, which was comparable to a room in a five-star hotel, again. It was the size of dozens of the studio apartment in which I used to live, put together, and all the furniture glistened in gold.
I looked up for a moment. Michelangelo’s〈Creation of the Heavens and Earth〉was spread out over the ceiling.
‘I thought I went crazy when I saw it in the morning, first thing, as I woke up.’
At that time, I looked around and screamed, I looked in the mirror then screamed, and I screamed again when I saw the servants running in surprise.
I was only able to figure it all out after hearing the name the servants were using to call me.
Ten years ago, when internet novels were very popular, I wrote a romantic fantasy novel after getting addicted to reading novels.
The title was <Lady Lily>.
It was the first and last novel I wrote, which perfectly embodied the fresh sensibility of a high school student, so it was cringey in so many ways. It was also my dark past that I wanted to forget.
I already forgot about it as it was a novel which I wrote ten years ago.
However, I was now possessing the body of the only daughter of Duke Mertensia, Ayla Mertensia, who was also the villainess of this novel.
Isn’t it too much to throw me into my own dark past from 10 years ago? I don’t know who it was, but do you even have a conscience? I sighed.
‘By the way, that’s not the important thing right now…’
[“You’ll have no choice but to love me…”]
[She mumbled like this until the moment she stopped breathing.]
In the novel <Lady Lily>, Ayla, the villainess, loved Werner, the Crown Prince.
She always harassed Charlotte, who she saw as a thorn in her life. And by the end of the story, she was consumed by jealousy and reached the point where she secretly sought a forbidden book just to curse Charlotte.
But of course, that was soon discovered, and she failed to place the curse. She was tortured, pierced by Werner’s sword, and finally faced a lonely death in a cold prison.
Like most romance novels, Ayla also faced a miserable and painful end, befitting a wicked woman like her.
‘What is this? It’s either I’ll die in shame or die in the hands of the male lead, just like in the novel.’
Without even thinking about removing my make-up, I sent the maids who were constantly looking at me away and fell down on my bed.
‘Why the ‘villainess’, Ayla?’
It didn’t suit me at all.
I was timid. Because of that, I couldn’t think of hurting others even if they hurt me first, and I couldn’t help but listen to unreasonable requests.
That was me, Yoon Ha-neul.
Looking back on all my memories, I’ve never really hoped for or wanted anything for myself.
Except for once, ten years ago, when I first wrote <Lady Lily> despite my parents’ abuse.
‘Right, I don’t care if it’s cringey now, but I used to have pure fun and enjoyed writing this in those days.’
Suddenly I jumped out of bed as if I was struck by lightning.
Yes, this world was a meaningful place with precious memories that I made by my own will for the first time.
I can’t die here.
I couldn’t die like this.
I spent my whole life like *pouring water into a sieve because of my school expenses, rent, and tuition for my younger siblings. But I’m finally free from that hell-like life where I have to work hard every day.
(*means her efforts on making a living were in vain; her hard works resulted in nothing)
So why should I let myself die?
Ayla faces a miserable end as a villain in the novel because she tormented and cursed Charlotte.
“So it would be fine as long as I don’t become a villainess, right?”
If I don’t act like the evil Ayla, I won’t die and Werner will not trample on the Mertensia family.
“Why don’t I just live my whole life enjoying what Ayla has been given…?”
Money, power, honor, beauty, and everything else.
She was not a *golden spoon but a diamond one.
(*golden spoon– meaning someone was born with privilege and wealth. They didn’t have to work for it, and it was given unconditionally. Diamond spoon is a higher version of it; richer.)
‘Ah, I’m so stupid. I’m really foolish for worrying needlessly.’
It was such a simple matter. As long as I avoided Charlotte and Werner, I would save my life and I wouldn’t have to struggle in pain while watching my dark past materialize in real time.
‘I don’t need to meet anyone in the first place. I don’t have to do anything. I can just fool around, right?’
A ray of light seemed to shine from the sky. This must be a gift I gave myself 10 years ago.
Money is the best.
In the past ten years, I became a rotten adult who believed in money rather than love. So I could still be happy and blessed even if I was currently possessing the villainess’s body.
I decided to live the life of a rich unemployed person as I had been dreaming of all my life.
