“Capture Count Mills! Seize all his household members too! Kill them if necessary!”

The count’s mansion was in chaos. Erica ran among the fleeing maids. However, her cumbersome dress caught her foot, causing her to fall forward. As she raised her head with a nosebleed, she saw her maid Murray looking down at her.

“Murray? Help me up quickly!”

But contrary to her expectations, Murray crossed her arms and mocked Erica.

“Why should I?”

“What…?”

When Murray firmly pressed Erica’s leg with her foot, Erica winced in pain. That wasn’t the end of it. Murray even spat on Erica’s clothes. Erica was deeply shocked by this behavior.

“Serves you right! Someone like you deserves to die!”

Murray cackled as she ran off into the distance. Watching her retreat, Erica shouted.

“You…! Ungrateful wretch! After all I’ve done for you! I’ll never let this go!”

Erica finally managed to stand up and grabbed her heavy, long dress to run again. Her meticulously manicured nails and flowing blonde hair were now dirty with sweat and dust, and her delicate wrists, once admired by men, were now of no help at all.

“Huff, huff…!”

All of this was burdensome as she tried to evade the soldiers pursuing her from behind.

‘If only I could take off this dress, throw away these shoes, I might somehow escape!’

But both the dress and shoes were works of a famous designer. Erica loved all precious things: tea, dresses, jewels, shoes.

She had hoped to marry Otis, the heir of Duke Cox, and become the Duchess of Cox. But that expectation was shattered miserably.

She thought becoming a duchess would make her the star of parties and lead a glamorous life, but who would have thought Duke Cox would betray her?

Duke Cox had pinned all the crimes on Erica’s father.

‘Cutting off the tail? Was my father an easy target?’

The same applied to her. After promising marriage with his son Otis, this backstabbing clearly showed he never intended to let the marriage happen in the first place.

“Erica Mills?”

Erica instinctively turned when she heard her name. There stood Duke Felix, the emperor’s loyal servant, holding a sharpened sword while looking at her.

With cursed black hair and blood-red eyes, some people admired his handsome looks, but Erica truly despised him. A duke who enjoyed war and bloodshed seemed like a demon, grim reaper, or monster.

As Duke Felix approached, Erica screamed involuntarily.

“Kyaaaah! Don’t come near me! You monster!”

“…Monster?”

“Yes! Monster. Like the one from mythology…!”

He came closer until his face was right in front of Erica’s. They were close enough that their noses almost touched.

“What kind of monster?”

“Um… well…!”

Ominous black hair and red eyes, yet up close, he was more handsome than anyone. A straight nose, clear eyes, and thick double eyelids made him more beautiful than herself. 

Erica, who loved jewels, found it difficult to ignore beauty, even in someone she considered a monster.

And what about his voice? His deep, resonant tone created a masculine yet subtly sensual atmosphere. Seeing his solid chest, broad shoulders, and thick arms with visible veins, she even felt the urge to cling to him.

‘Gasp. What am I thinking?’

She couldn’t believe her thoughts while standing at the crossroads of life and death. Erica tried to regain her composure.

‘This isn’t the time for such thoughts.’

Duke Felix brushed Erica’s blonde hair with his hand. Looking at her beautiful green eyes, he said with apparent regret:

“I’m the one who finds it unfortunate to kill such a beautiful monster…”

“Monster? How dare you!”

Erica shouted angrily. But after her outburst, she realized Duke Felix had moved so close she could hear his breathing.

‘Have I ever been this close to a man before?’

Erica’s face turned bright red. Duke Felix embraced her slender waist and whispered in her ear.

“Erica Mills. How many maids have you hit or chased away? Your difficult temperament is infamous throughout the capital.”

“So what…! They’re just maids, aren’t they?”

“…That’s exactly why it doesn’t work. That’s why servants betray their masters.”

“Betray their masters? What do you mean?”

“They’ve all turned their backs on the Mills family because of your tyranny.”

“Tyranny? And my father isn’t the rebellion leader! Duke Cox is the mastermind!”

Erica spoke the truth. She looked up at Duke Felix with hopeful eyes, thinking he might somehow help her, but he just smirked.

“I’m sorry, but all evidence of rebellion was found here.”

“That’s…”

“So you too…”

His red eyes gleamed. Terrified, Erica broke free from Duke Felix’s embrace.

“Erica!”

She heard him calling her name from behind, but Erica ignored it. The servants must have fabricated the evidence of rebellion. 

Duke Cox must have bribed the servants to plant evidence of rebellion here without her father’s knowledge. Otherwise, how could all the evidence have been found here?

‘What will happen to me now?’

She had run too much, and her shoe heel broke. Left with no choice, she took off her shoes and continued running barefoot, but was soon caught by an unknown soldier. The soldier revealed his dirty teeth in a grin, like he’d discovered gold.

“Duke Cox ordered us to kill you for certain! Hehehe.”

“What?”

In that moment, the soldier’s sharp sword pierced Erica’s heart. Blood gushed out like a fountain, and her vision gradually blurred.

As her body collapsed forward, her dimming eyes captured the people watching her. The soldier snickering about receiving money from Duke Cox, and the beautiful man who arrived too late, Duke Kai Felix.

‘I haven’t even married yet…!’

Erica Mills was merely 23 years old, and had a dream to marry Viscount Otis and become a duchess. However, she died bearing the crime of treason without ever experiencing the glamorous life of a duchess.

‘Was I really that greedy?’

What exactly went wrong? She only wanted to love and be loved… Was it a sin to desire something beyond her station?

She vowed that if given another chance, she would live a different life.

“Gasp…!”

Erica bolted upright in bed and looked around. It seemed to be dawn, before sunrise. Though not clearly visible, everything remained the same: the luxurious bed, curtains, and her beloved vanity table. She felt her heart where the sword had pierced it, but there was no pain or blood. 

Erica removed her nightgown. After lighting a candelabra, she examined her body in the large mirror.

She inspected carefully, but her chest was clean without any scars.

“…A dream?”

But it felt too vivid to be just a dream. The memory of being stabbed by the sword was too real. Moreover, her reflection in the mirror looked somewhat unfamiliar.

‘How old am I?’

She was certainly 23, but her face now looked younger. Finding this strange, she was about to pull the bell cord when someone came to mind.

[Serves you right! Someone like you deserves to die!]

Murray.

She had stepped on Erica’s leg and even spat on her clothes. Was that her true feelings despite all her flattery?

‘No. It was just a dream.’

Erica shook her head. Murray wouldn’t do such a thing; she was the maid who cared for her the most.

When Erica pulled the bell cord, Murray came running after a while.

“I’m sorry, Lady Erica! My child kept fussing, so I was delayed!”

Murray lied nonchalantly, thinking Erica wouldn’t know better. As an unwed mother, she often used her child as an excuse. However, Erica already knew that Murray was using the quarters assigned to her in the mansion, and her child was being raised by her grandparents.

Erica frowned and called to another maid standing behind Murray.

“Ella.”

“Yes, Lady Erica…”

Normally, Erica disliked Ella for being honest and tactless. She would wield a whip when in a bad mood, so Ella looked at Erica with a frightened expression. Erica waved her hand dismissively at Murray.

“Murray, you may go, but Ella stays.”

“Oh! Understood!”

As Murray left, she whispered loud enough for Ella to hear.

“Idiot.”

She probably thought Erica would find fault with Ella again and beat her. Murray’s footsteps were light. After the door closed, Erica opened it again to check if anyone was outside.

“Phew…”

After confirming no one was there, Erica sat on the sofa.

Erica looked at the hunched Ella and smiled brightly.

“Please bring me some tea, Ella.”

“Yes, yes, Lady Erica!”

Worried about being whipped, Ella tilted her head in confusion at the pleasantly smiling Erica.

As far as Ella knew, Murray was the only maid who could please Erica. Murray would gossip about others to keep Erica in good spirits, which often made other maids scapegoats.

Moreover, Erica loved Murray’s tea and conversation skills. Since Erica entrusted everything to Murray, even the head maid couldn’t treat Murray carelessly, and rumors circulated that Murray was a strong candidate to become the next head maid.

Everyone disliked Murray, but they couldn’t say anything since she was the mistress’s favorite. Ella had bravely tried to tell the truth about Murray several times, but Erica had become angry and punished her instead. After repeated incidents, no one spoke negatively about Murray anymore.

After Ella placed the tea on the table, Erica slowly sipped it.

The silence was heavy. Erica didn’t like the stiff Ella who couldn’t flatter, but now it seemed there was no one more trustworthy than Ella. At least Ella didn’t know how to lie or sugarcoat things to please others.

‘Does tea resemble its maker?’

Ella’s tea also maintained a consistent ratio without variation. Back then, Erica had found it boring…

“Ella.”

“Yes, Lady Erica.”

Hearing Erica’s kind voice, strength returned to Ella’s usually intimidated voice. Erica rested her chin on her hand and asked seriously.

“How old am I?”

“…Pardon?”

Ella thought she had misheard. Waking someone in the middle of the night to ask how old she was—something seemed off about the young lady.

Erica asked again.

“I asked, how old am I?”