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This isn’t my body.

The blonde hair swaying before my eyes, the hands and arms, and legs that seemed to have never known hardship, all felt unfamiliar.

And this person sleeping in front of me with an insanely attractive appearance… No, though he looks about my age, I somehow feel the need to use honorifics. Who in the world is he?

That wasn’t the only thing I couldn’t understand.

When I open my eyes, I should see the white ceiling of a hospital or the faded one of the place I lived. But what is this luxurious patterned ceiling? Sadly, I’ve never lived in a house this fancy for even a single day. It doesn’t even seem modern.

Above all, given the feeling I had when I was hit by that truck, there was a 99% chance I died. I shouldn’t be opening my eyes in a place like this.

So where am I? This place looks like it’s straight out of the Middle Ages.

This looks just like a scene from a novel.

The fantasy novels I used to read as my only hobby flashed through my mind.

Could it be that I died and ended up possessing someone?

***

I was an ordinary student preparing for the college entrance exam in the 21st century. All I ever did was study hard all my life, just to secure my future pension life.

Not long ago, I was hit by a truck while crossing the street. Despite being a law-abiding citizen, I never jaywalked.

In short, I was incredibly unlucky.

If there was one thing that set me apart from others, it was the fact that I was an orphan. In hindsight, that seemed fortunate because there wouldn’t be any family grieving my death.

Ah, friends. I didn’t have parents, but I did have friends. Though I didn’t socialize much because I was always studying to escape my orphan life. Still, thinking I would never see them again made me feel a bit melancholic.

I was born a poor orphan, but thankfully I wasn’t naturally gloomy, so I didn’t live my life in despair.

I had always accepted my life with the motto that life is inherently unfair and had really tried to change it. But in the end, it all ended in a traffic accident before the college entrance exam.

Death was surprisingly easy. I never imagined my life would end so abruptly.

“…”

I felt a gaze from somewhere. I turned my head toward it.

The handsome person had opened his eyes at some point and was staring at me expressionlessly.

It was then that I noticed his eyes were a striking blue. I couldn’t have predicted the color of his eyes when they were closed. His hair was a dark black, without a hint of another color.

Even when he was sleeping, he looked angelic, but now that his eyes were open, it seemed like there was a halo behind him. How can someone look like that?

I tried to voice my amazed and confused thoughts.

“…What?”

“…?”

Maybe it was because I was too shocked. An inexplicable, strange sound came out of my mouth.

His expressionless face changed subtly upon hearing my incomprehensible utterance.

Just as I tried to calm myself and speak again, his sculpture-like face turned away.

He pulled a cord next to the bed.

-Knock, knock.

“Come in.”

The sculpture spoke. This wasn’t Korean, but I understood it perfectly. Was this a possession buff? Did I become Wonder Woman or something?

Then I realized that his voice also perfectly suited my taste, not just his face. How can a voice be attractive? You’d have to hear it to understand.

After hearing a knock, a maid with brown hair, wearing a white apron with lace, entered the room.

For some reason, her appearance reminded me of a cute raccoon.

“Would both of you like to wash up immediately?”

He nodded once and got out of bed. Without even looking back at me, he left the room immediately, with an almost cold demeanor.

I felt a chilly sensation.

I asked the maid, who was standing in front of me and resembled a raccoon.

“What’s your name?”

As expected, I wasn’t speaking in Korean, but it came out naturally, surprising me quite a bit. However, the maid’s reaction was a bit odd.

“Excuse me… are you speaking to me?”

“Yes.”

Her reaction was as if she was looking at someone who might drop her from the top of a tall building.

“M-my name is Mary.”

Why does it always feel like maids are named Mary? Hmm.

“Mary, what’s my name?”

“Pardon?”

“I mean, what’s my name?”

“Y-your ladyship’s name is ‘Delis Bannister.'”

…What? What did you say?

I doubted my ears.

‘Delis Bannister.’

I didn’t want to believe it, but that name was the name of the villainess from a romance fantasy novel I was recently obsessed with.

Did I really possess a character in a novel?

Then could the person who was just next to me be…?

Oh my God. Of all people, I had to possess the villainess who tormented Roan so badly!

The title of the novel I read was “A Flower Blooms in the Imperial Palace,” where the heroine, who is like a flower, pairs up with the crown prince in the imperial palace, and my Roan is just one of the many fish in her pond. It was a cliché story.

And Delis, who becomes his wife, treats Roan with severe contempt and abuse. Why? Because Roan is an illegitimate child.

Roan’s full name is Roan von Bannister.

Roan was the child of the former Duke Bannister and a maid he spent a night with. Roan was despised in the ducal family.

His biological father, the Duke, not only ignored him but considered him a disgrace because he was illegitimate. His mother passed away when Roan was three because she became very weak after giving birth to him. The Duke’s wife, who had no children of her own, was no better. Thus, Roan learned to close his heart before he could open it.

I remembered sobbing uncontrollably when this was revealed in Roan’s side story. What could the child have done wrong?

The empire was lenient with remarriage and divorce, but there was a lot of stigma and gossip about illegitimate children born during marriage or while single.

The Bannister duchy, being at the center of imperial power, wasn’t openly criticized, but there were rumors.

Roan’s position changed when it was revealed that the Duchess was infertile.

At that time, the Duke was ill and needed to establish an heir quickly. He didn’t want to adopt someone not of his blood and had no suitable relatives. Suddenly, he showed interest in Roan’s outstanding potential and eventually made him his heir. He also married him off to Delis Caesar, the daughter of Marquis Caesar.

Roan’s misfortune didn’t end there. Delis, having lost her mother at birth and raised indulgently by the Marquis, had a terrible personality. She was abusive to her servants and constantly picked fights with Roan, calling him names because he was illegitimate.

Delis aimed to become the Empress, so marrying Roan, an illegitimate child, did not sit well with her.

As if he wanted it either.

Eventually, Delis divorced Roan and kept causing trouble for the heroine, constantly getting rejected by the male lead. In the end, like a typical villainess, she tried to poison the heroine but got caught by the male lead and was exiled from the empire.

“My lady?”

“Yes?”

“Why… why are you speaking formally?”

Oh, right. This was the Middle Ages or something, not the 21st century where equality was pursued.

“…….”

When I read the novel, I focused on the parts with Roan. I didn’t pay much attention to Delis, so my memory of her was mostly limited to her interactions with Roan.

Since the original story took place after Roan and Delis divorced, they rarely interacted. I never properly read the parts where Delis appeared.

I had no idea how she usually spoke or behaved.

Of course, it was clear that she was incredibly rude, even if I couldn’t remember her exact words.

But at this rate, they would soon realize something was off about me.

What should I do? After a brief consideration, I decided to use the easiest method at hand.

“Who… am I?”

I woke up with amnesia. Saying it made me feel slightly embarrassed, but it was manageable.

“What?”

Mary’s eyes widened as if they would pop out.

“Where is this place?”

“My lady, do you not remember anything?”

“No, not at all.”

Mary looked flustered and dazed for a moment, then hurriedly said she would call the doctor and left.

“You woke up and suddenly couldn’t remember anything?”

The middle-aged man Mary brought asked me with a serious expression.

“Yes.”

***

“You don’t remember anything about yourself?”

“No.”

“What about the people you knew?”

“I don’t remember anyone.”

“Do you remember your childhood?”

“I don’t think I remember it well.”

He handed me a quill pen.

“Can you try holding this?”

I held it like I would hold a mechanical pencil. The doctor then asked me to write something with the pen and pointed to a vase, asking me what it was.

“You seem to remember factual information. It appears you’ve only forgotten memories related to yourself. I can’t be sure when your memory will return. It could come back today or…”

The doctor hesitated.

“Or it might never come back, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“That’s… quite troubling.”

Unlike me, who was relatively calm—naturally—Mary seemed shocked.

“My lady, I should inform the Duke immediately.”

“Yes, you should.”

He bowed and left the room. He was probably going to Roan now.

Once the doctor left, Mary spoke to me.

“My lady, you usually take a bath as soon as you wake up. Shall I prepare it now?”

“Alright.”

“My lady, you didn’t usually speak formally to us. Please drop the formalities.”

It was hard for me to switch to informal speech due to my past life’s habits. But when in Rome, do as the Romans do, right?

“Ah, alright.”

It was my first time being attended to for a bath, and I felt very embarrassed and awkward. The maids seemed very nervous around me, making it even more uncomfortable.

They treated me as if I would break or disappear with the slightest touch. It was clear how Delis must have treated them.

A slight mistake likely resulted in a huge commotion. I soon realized just how true my assumption was.

After the bath, the maids were applying scented oils to my body.

One maid accidentally scratched my arm with her nail. It was just a tiny scratch, so small that I barely felt it.

The maid’s face turned as white as flour. The other maids around her also paled and looked at me with fear.

“My lady, I have committed a grave sin!”

“No, it’s alright—”

“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry!”

“It’s rea—”

“My lady, please forgive me just this once. I have four younger siblings to take care—”

“…….”

Can I get a word in? She started reciting her family situation without being asked.

“I said it’s okay?!”

Frustrated, I reverted to my original formal speech. The maid looked momentarily confused.

“What…?”

“I mean, it’s really nothing, it’s fine.”

The maid seemed on the verge of tears. Some of the other maids looked like they might cry as well, while others seemed to express a silent, incredulous “you?” without saying a word.

This is driving me crazy. Delis, what kind of life did you live?