“One more drink here, please!”

“Oh my, young lady. Are you sure you’ll be alright drinking like that? You might get sick.”

“It’s fine. I’m drinking to die today anyway!”

Yvette smiled brightly as she held out her empty glass to the tavern owner’s concerned question.

Because she was wearing a pitch-black hood, only half of her face was visible.

“Still, don’t overdo it. It’s not good for a young person to do that.”

“Yes, yes.”

Yvette nodded, barely listening to the owner’s words.

Then, without hesitation, she took the new glass the owner brought and downed it all at once.

Her drinking speed was so fast that the surrounding drunks whistled in admiration.

However, Yvette lightly ignored the noise around her.

The only thing that mattered to her right now was the glass in front of her. Everything else was meaningless.

After all, come tomorrow, she would never see any of this again.

“…Damn this life. Of all the ways to be reborn, why like this.”

Yvette’s face, which had been smiling brightly until just a moment ago, slowly contorted, and soon tears welled up in her eyes.

Noticing the unusual atmosphere, the drunks quietly moved away from her.

Eventually, Yvette buried her face in her arms and wailed loudly.

“I don’t want to die! Waaah!”

***

‘Yvette Blanche’ was an extra character in a novel called [Love Your Destiny].

And not even one with her own scenes, just an extra among extras described in three or four lines.

Even that description was as absurd as the following:

[The victims of Kervel were not few.

Because of the curse he placed on the Blanche Count family, Yvette Blanche also lost her life.

It was a curse that would kill her if she didn’t meet her destined partner by her twentieth birthday.]

That’s right.

Yvette Blanche had been cursed with this ridiculous curse by a person named Kervel.

And as if to prove this, a special tattoo was engraved on her body.

It was a branch-shaped tattoo that started from her waist and reached up to her shoulder.

From the knowledge she had picked up here and there, it was said that magic had been cast so that a flower would bloom on the tattoo when she met her destined partner.

In other words, if the flower didn’t bloom, she would die.

‘Of all things, to be reborn into this body.’

Yvette thought bitterly.

It was a week ago that she had become ‘Yvette Blanche’.

She had an accident on her way home, and when she opened her eyes, she found herself in a body she had never seen before.

When she first woke up in this body, she thought she was dreaming.

But after about two days, she had no choice but to accept reality.

The reality that she had really become ‘Yvette Blanche’.

After accepting reality, she worked hard to adapt to the new world.

She was worried that someone might find out she was a different person, but fortunately, no one in the Baron’s household suspected her.

Rather, they treated her with kindness that seemed almost excessive.

‘Little did I know it was all because I was destined to die in 5 days.’

Yvette thought gloomily.

Who would have known she would possess this body just a week before her twentieth birthday.

It still didn’t feel real that death was right around the corner.

‘…What did I do wrong to have to die twice like this.’

Yvette sniffled again.

Perhaps due to the alcohol, her emotions kept fluctuating.

She would get angry, then find it just funny. Then she would feel unbearably sad and resentful.

Even if she wanted to demand an explanation for how this happened, there was no one to ask.

‘It would only hurt my mouth to speak of it.’

Yvette, still burying her face in her arms, sighed deeply as if the ground might cave in.

Now there was only one day left until her twentieth birthday.

With only a few hours left until midnight, it was nearly impossible to meet her destined partner.

In the end, the only choice left for her was to quietly wait for death.

‘If I’m going to die anyway, I might as well drink until my nose goes crooked.’

Since being sober would only make her sad, she decided to get drunk until she couldn’t think anymore.

Having made up her mind, Yvette raised her glass high.

“One more drink here, please!”

***

Everyone must have had such an experience at least once in their life.

The experience of suddenly waking up with a sense of unease for no apparent reason.

That was why Yvette suddenly opened her eyes around dawn.

“…Ah, my head.”

The first thing Yvette did upon waking was to resolve to quit drinking.

She held her throbbing head as she sat up.

As she did so, the blanket covering her body fell with a ‘rustle’.

‘Hmm, the blanket feels rougher than before. Did it change while I was sleeping?’

Yvette, who had been yawning mindlessly, paused.

It was only after several tens of seconds since waking that she sensed something was amiss.

‘…Wait a minute. My bed isn’t this hard?’

The moment she thought this, Yvette’s complexion visibly paled.

She sprang up from the bed, not caring whether her head was ringing or not.

“Gasp, what is this.”

Only after completely removing the blanket did Yvette realize she was wearing nothing but a thin slip.

This attire wouldn’t have been a problem if this were her bedroom.

But unfortunately, Yvette was standing in an unfamiliar space.

Her mind, which had been slow due to the hangover, suddenly cleared.

Yvette ruffled her snow-white hair as if trying to tear it out.

“Where on earth am I…!”

She looked around, uttering words as if groaning.

Even at a glance, it didn’t seem like a place suitable for a noble to stay.

It seemed she had taken a room at a cheap inn nearby.

That much was fine.

It was a more sensible action than lying drunk on the street, after all.

However, the problem was that she hadn’t taken the room alone.

“Are you awake?”

When a low voice was heard from behind, Yvette jumped on the spot.

It felt as if her mind went blank in an instant.

‘I’m crazy. I’m crazy. I’m crazy!’

Even without turning around, she could tell the other person was a man.

‘Even if I’m supposed to die tomorrow, how could I make such a mistake while drunk!’

Yvette bit her lip hard.

Waking up after drinking heavily, with an unfamiliar man in the same room?

There’s only one conclusion you can reach in that situation, isn’t there?

Having thought that far, Yvette paused once again.

Suddenly, she sensed something strange.

‘…Wait a minute. What time is it now?’

Yvette’s gaze turned towards the window.

She had been drinking late at night.

But now the sun was shining brightly.

Unless someone had turned back time, it meant it was already the next day.

‘Which means today is my birthday…?’

Yvette slowly blinked her eyes while looking down at her hands. The throbbing headache had already disappeared.

‘Why am I still alive?’

The curse placed on her was clear.

If she didn’t meet her destined partner before her twentieth birthday, she would die.

Yet for some reason, she was perfectly alive.

‘I’m not dreaming, am I?’