Chapter 1.2

“Miss, the flowers in the garden have bloomed beautifully… Would you like to visit the Ducal estate for a bit?”  

“…”  

“You were going to go before, but the accident… prevented you.”  

Ruby, her maid of the same age, spoke in a worried tone that reached her ears.  

Normally, she would have responded with something like, “Sure,” or “Of course. Bring me a new dress right away!”  

But instead, she replied,  

“No, it’s fine.”  

“Miss…!”  

She wasn’t the same person she used to be.  

Ruby seemed to think her firm refusal was because she was still unwell, as she looked at her with slightly teary eyes.  

Seeing Ruby’s exaggerated reaction, she quickly added,  

“I just have something to think about.”  

Ruby had suggested visiting the Ducal estate yesterday as well.  

But,  

“I don’t want to go.”  

She rested her chin on her hand, recalling yesterday.  

Her outright rejection had not been intentional.  

‘It was just instinct.’  

The kind of instinct that anyone reincarnated as a character in a book would have to twist the original story.  

Indeed, she had experienced events that seemed straight out of a novel.  

A few days ago, memories of her past life had resurfaced. Specifically, when she and her older brother, Yurien, were riding a carriage to the Ducal estate and got into an accident.  

On that day, using the excuse of the garden’s blooming flowers, she had boarded the carriage bound for the Ducal estate, where Dietrian—her unrequited love—resided.  

While traveling with her brother, the coachman suddenly stopped the carriage in the middle of the forest.  

“What’s going on all of a sudden?”  

Feeling suspicious, her brother opened the carriage door to step outside.  

But before he could, the dazed coachman beat him to it, opening the door and…  

‘Throwing something crimson-colored…’  

She couldn’t remember anything after that.  

When she woke up again, the culprit had already taken their own life.  

With the perpetrator gone, the case fell into mystery. But one thing was certain.  

It matched the methods of the organization targeting “rogue ability users” that had been causing trouble across the Empire.  

‘They use brainwashed, random individuals to throw bomb artifacts, triggering ability users to go rogue.’  

And then they kill the brainwashed individual.  

That was their method, and she had heard that eight out of ten people caught in it died due to the rogue abilities.  

‘I was lucky.’  

In any case, the incident had led her to discover that she had reincarnated into the body of a character from a book she had read in her past life.  

It wasn’t entirely a bad thing.  

Except for the fact that she had reincarnated as a character who unrequitedly loved the male lead, only to suddenly disappear from the story and end with a funeral scene.  

Yes, in the original story, she was supposed to die six months after the plot began.  

There wasn’t even a grand reason for her death.  

The male lead had simply been seen guarding her funeral in the original story.  

‘If I knew how I died, I could at least try to prevent it.’  

But no book ever detailed the death of a mere extra.  

So despite the advantage of being a reincarnator, she couldn’t prepare for her own demise.  

Her future felt bleak.  

She had less than a year left to live—no, not even a full year.  

Remembering her limited lifespan, her hands clenched tightly on her lap.  

The hem of her dress wrinkled unattractively, but her face remained calm and serious.  

‘Still, nothing changes.’  

She organized her thoughts and murmured softly,  

“…Even if I only have a year left in the original story.”  

Then, she resolved to twist the plot.  

…Admittedly, it was a vague plan.  

At this point in the story, she had already become a laughingstock for chasing after the male lead, Dietrian.  

But she was determined to find a way to survive.  

As she nodded slightly, her gaze shifted to the now-cold teacup.  

Reflected on the small teaspoon was her unfamiliar face.  

‘I hadn’t realized until my past life memories returned…’  

Her long, dark blue hair and plain light brown eyes.  

Her exotic appearance made her realize that she was truly living inside the romantic fantasy novel she had once enjoyed reading.  

In that moment, she couldn’t help but wonder if she could do well.  

But,  

It was fine. After experiencing various events, she had learned that as long as she struggled to survive, she would eventually reach somewhere.  

Even if it differed slightly from her expectations, surviving was all that mattered.  

Yes. That’s what she thought.  

Until things began to deviate too far from her expectations.  

“Alright, let’s do that.”

“W-what?”  

“Let’s date.”  

Yes, this was entirely unexpected.  

Reuniting with her rival after three years and entering into a contract relationship was something she hadn’t foreseen.

***

“Is it really too reckless to run away right now?”  

The muttering voice lingered in the quiet room.  

It had already been four days since waking up from the accident.  

Early in the morning, she began organizing the contents of the book while recalling her past life memories, which were now synchronized at about 90%.  

‘It’s still lacking, but it seems like I’ve remembered most of it.’  

She put down the fountain pen she was holding and stretched her arms upward.  

At that moment, her gaze caught a small box on the second shelf attached to the desk.  

“That was there.”  

She was immediately drawn to it and stood up from her seat.  

It was a jewelry box she had received as a birthday present two years ago.  

When she opened the jewelry box, it was filled with various jewels and accessories.  

“This should be enough……”  

Honestly, with this much, she could run away immediately, just like the protagonists in some novels.  

However, she was still debating what action to take.  

Of course, she didn’t want to get entangled with the original plot—it was only natural.  

Thus, she desperately wanted to use studying as an excuse to go abroad, move to the Ronenfeld estate, or even elope in the dead of night. But she couldn’t.  

The reason was simple……  

“I don’t know why I die.”  

She slumped into the chair, letting her body go limp.  

Although she was an extra, she wasn’t without money, nor would she have nowhere to go even if she fled from the capital, which was the main stage of the original story.  

Still, she hesitated because she didn’t know the exact reason for her death.  

‘Is this the sorrow of being an extra?’  

Because of this, even though she had decided to twist the original plot, she couldn’t act recklessly.  

She sighed heavily, filled with worry, and continued spinning the fountain pen in her hand as she mulled over her predicament.  

‘It’s better to stay in the capital where the original story unfolds until I find a clue about my death.’  

That didn’t mean she planned to follow the original settings exactly.  

‘For example, the setting where I’m supposed to have an unrequited love for the original male lead.’  

She frowned slightly, her thoughts interrupted by the sound of knocking. It must be Ruby, bringing her morning wash water.  

“Miss, you should wake up now…… Oh, you’re already awake?”  

Ruby flinched slightly, still not used to seeing her wake up early since the accident, but quickly composed herself.  

It might seem rude, but it was understandable.  

In the past, she had been someone who woke up quite late.  

No, correction—she had been very lazy before regaining her past life memories.  

Waking up around lunchtime was standard for her.  

Recalling those days, she nodded slightly when she saw her mother behind Ruby.  

“……Cielie?”  

Her mother blinked in surprise, wearing a thin indoor dress with a shawl draped over her shoulders.  

‘Mother must have heard about me waking up early but is seeing it for the first time herself.’  

Still……  

Is it really that surprising that I woke up early?  

Feeling a bit awkward, she opened her mouth slightly.  

Her mother looked at her with overwhelming emotion and hugged her tightly.  

“……Cielie, you’ve finally matured!”  

Her voice, filled with gratitude, didn’t stop and continued endlessly.  

“Ruby told me, but it’s been days since you’ve even visited the Duke’s household, hasn’t it?”  

Of course…… She couldn’t honestly say she had realized this was the world inside a book and changed because she wanted to alter her fate of dying in a year.  

So she exaggerated her response.  

“……That’s right! Almost dying made me change my mindset!!”  

She even gazed wistfully into the air for added effect.  

After some time, her mother released her from her embrace and smiled warmly.  

“Just in time, we’re expecting a guest today. It’s fortunate you woke up early.”  

“……A guest?”  

She replaced her wistful expression with curiosity and asked.  

It had only been four days since the carriage accident.  

‘A guest in this situation……?’  

Until yesterday, the Ronenfeld Marquisate had been walking on thin ice.  

Although she had woken up after just a day, her brother was still unconscious.  

“……Has brother woken up?”  

She asked with a glimmer of hope, but her mother’s face darkened immediately.  

‘So, he hasn’t woken up yet. Then who could this guest be?’  

She couldn’t think of anyone, so she pondered deeply.  

At that moment, her mother’s voice, trying hard to sound cheerful, reached her ears.  

“The Rampage Control Association will be visiting us.”  

“……I thought they usually handle things on the day of the incident?”  

“That’s true, but the person who was supposed to come was in a distant region, so someone else handled it that day.”  

“……Ah.”  

“So they’re coming now.”  

Her mother seemed relieved by this fact, letting out a sigh of relief.  

“At least now we can ask when Yurien will wake up. That alone is a relief. By the way, the person coming this time, the head of the department……”  

Her mother’s voice grew faint, and the term ‘Rampage Control Association’ floated in her mind.