1. A Terrible First Meeting

“Ugh, my head.”

Suyeon frowned at her throbbing head as she struggled to open her eyes.

“The deceased, Han Suhyeon.”

As her vision gradually cleared, she saw an unfamiliar elderly man. His snow-white hair and deep wrinkles etched with the traces of time were so imposing they were almost intimidating.

“Cause of death: overwork.”

Wait, overwork? Ah, this must be a dream.

Though momentarily startled by the unusual appearance of the old man, Suyeon soon let out a hollow laugh.

“Since this is just a dream anyway, I might as well listen to what he’s saying.”

Suyeon watched the old man reading from a scroll with an indifferent expression.

“…Born in 19XX, on the month of X, Xth day, in XX, the youngest of two sons and one daughter…”

However, as the old man’s story grew longer, Suyeon was seized by a strange feeling.

“…Is this really a dream?”

For a dream, the cold sensation of the stone floor and her aching knees from kneeling felt too real.

Everything felt as vivid as reality.

“No way…”

Overcome with fear, Suyeon pinched her cheek as hard as she could. They say you can’t feel pain in dreams.

“Ouch… That hurts.”

Contrary to Suyeon’s hopes, a stinging pain spread across her cheek, and the old man didn’t disappear.

“Excuse me!”

If this wasn’t a dream, something was definitely wrong. Suyeon urgently called out to the old man.

“Married in 20XX, on the month of X, Xth day.”

But he simply continued reading from the scroll in his hand without answering.

“Please listen to me!”

“One daughter and one son.”

Despite Suyeon’s desperate calls, there was no response. With no other option, she had to wait for the old man to finish speaking.

“Now, tell me. What did you want to say?”

After quite some time had passed, the old man finally addressed Suyeon as he organized his scroll.

“I don’t know what misunderstanding you have, but I’m not Han Suhyeon, I’m Han Suyeon!”

After the long wait, Suyeon finally got to say what she wanted, crying out with a trembling voice.

“…What?”

Time seemed to freeze. Looking at the old man whose breathing could barely be heard, Suyeon continued.

“I’m 25 years old, and I’ve never been married—I haven’t even dated anyone.”

“Hmm.”

The old man repeatedly stroked his snow-white hair and let out a troubled sigh. Despite the relentless passage of time, he kept his mouth firmly shut for a long while.

“Ah, it seems there has been a mistake.”

After a lengthy silence, the old man finally spoke with difficulty.

“So you killed me by mistake?”

“…Regrettably, yes.”

“Do you think you can just brush this off as a mistake?”

Killing someone and calling it a mistake.

Suyeon clenched her fists so tightly her hands turned white.

“Shouldn’t you apologize before calling it a mistake?”

“Due to my age, my eyesight is poor…”

“Are you making excuses now?”

When Suyeon shouted with veins popping on her neck, the old man quickly shook his head from side to side.

“I’m… sorry.”

The old man struggled to utter each syllable. His trembling voice was laden with guilt.

“I know this isn’t something easily forgiven. So I’ll give you two choices.”

“Choices?”

“Yes. Either return to your original life or be reborn into a life of your choosing. Choose whichever you want.”

* * *

‘Obviously, I’d choose rebirth into a life of my choosing. I’m tired of being an orphan.’

As memories of her past life briefly surfaced, Eileen brushed back her luxurious golden hair fluttering in the wind and swallowed a bitter smile.

The cherished only daughter of the Ceres ducal family.

Eileen Lia de Ceres.

This was the new life chosen by Han Suyeon, who met her death due to a god’s mistake. When the god acknowledged his error and asked her what life she wanted, she answered:

— Then please let me be born as an extra character who doesn’t even have a name in the novel “Oh, My Beautiful Countess.”

— Is that all you want?

— Also, make me a wealthy noble, preferably the only daughter of a duke, and don’t forget to make sure my life has no thorny paths!

— …You want quite a lot.

The god’s incredulous face came to mind, but she felt no guilt. Compared to the god’s mistake, her request was nothing.

Well, still, the new life she gained thanks to him was quite satisfying.

Having so much money that her only worry was how to spend it for fun today!

“Hehe.”

Eileen smiled lightly.

“Miss, Miss Eileen! Are you listening to me?”

The voice of her maid, Mary, reached Eileen’s ears as she was lost in thought.

“Ah, sorry, Mary. What were we talking about?”

Eileen sent an apologetic look before taking a sip of milk tea to wash away the memories that had become her past.

“It’s alright, Miss. But are you worried about something? I called you several times, but you didn’t answer.”

“I’m really sorry. I’m just feeling a bit sad since we’re returning to Bereut tomorrow.”

“Oh, Miss! Just yesterday you were so happy that these tedious studies were finally over.”

“Mary…”

Eileen chuckled at Mary’s playful remark and gave her a slight glare.

“Come to think of it, I guess we’ll be saying goodbye to this shop’s milk tea for a while.”

Mary shrugged her shoulders and changed the subject, pretending not to notice.

“True, but if I want to drink it, I can come back anytime, so don’t be too disappointed.”

“What? You’d come all the way back to Fresher just for milk tea?”

“Well, why not.”

With money and time to spare.

Eileen didn’t add the latter part, but Mary seemed to hear the unspoken words clearly.

Despite Mary’s shocked expression, Eileen merely shrugged her shoulders and blew on her still-steaming milk tea before taking a sip.

“The weather is nice on our last day.”

The warmth spreading throughout her body naturally brought a smile to her face.

“Ah, Mary. Let’s stop by the tart shop before we go back.”

Eileen said as she put back on her gloves that she had neatly placed on the table after quickly emptying her teacup.

“What? A tart? Not a souvenir?”

“Yes, hurry up. We can buy souvenirs at the port tomorrow.”

A playful laugh reached Mary’s ears. Can’t be helped. Mary followed Eileen with quick steps.

Soon after, Eileen was holding the last limited-edition lemon tart that happened to be left in the store.

“Miss, let me carry that.”

“It’s fine. I can handle this much.”

Refusing Mary’s assistance, Eileen moved with light, dance-like steps.

“Do we have tea left at home?”

Thinking of the tart with its tangy lemon cream that bursts in your mouth and the delicious buttery aroma, a bright smile spread across Eileen’s face.

“Huh?”

“Get out of the way!”

But her happiness was short-lived. Suddenly, a man rushed toward Eileen at high speed, and before she could avoid him, she collided with his body.

“Ouch!”

“Miss!”

With a loud thud, a cloud of white dust rose. As the dust that covered the square gradually settled, human figures slowly emerged.

“Miss! Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?”

The man had already disappeared, and only Eileen remained, staring at the ground with vacant eyes. Mary rushed over and extended her hand to Eileen.

“Yes… I’m fine…”

“Oh, thank goodness. I can’t believe someone would do that!”

Mary straightened Eileen’s disheveled clothes while shouting loudly at the surroundings.

“My limited-edition tart…”

Despite Mary’s concerned touch, Eileen just mumbled quietly, looking around with a dazed expression.

“What?”

Come to think of it, the tart box that Eileen had been holding just moments ago had vanished. Oh no. Mary bit the inside of her cheek.

She needed to find it quickly before her mistress became disappointed.

Mary shifted her gaze here and there, praying for the tart’s safety. Fortunately, after searching for a while, she spotted the familiar box waiting for its owner with only a slightly dented corner.

“Miss! It’s over there! The tart is safe!”

“Really?”

A smile spread across Eileen’s face once again. She quickly brushed off the dust, stood up, and hurried over.

“Ah.”

However, before Eileen could reach for the box, a black shoe stomped on her precious package.

“What’s this?”

Aaron, who had been walking in a hurry, felt an unusually soft sensation through the sole of his shoe that shouldn’t be felt on hard ground.

“My, my precious lemon tart…!”

Simultaneously, a scream that bordered on wailing erupted right beside him.

His hope that it wasn’t what he thought was shattered the moment he rolled his eyes to look at his shoe.

Lemon cream covering his newly purchased shoes.

It was a complete disaster.

“Sigh…”

In ten minutes, he had lunch with Count Hyron, followed by a meeting with the bank president of Fresher.

Aaron’s face contorted as numerous appointments rapidly flashed through his mind.

“How do you plan to take responsibility?”

“Pardon?”

At the voice dripping with coldness, Eileen slowly shifted her gaze from the lemon tart.

‘Wow…’

Silver hair that seemed to have absorbed moonlight, violet eyes as enchanting as if they held an armful of lavender—they captured her gaze.

‘He’s really handsome.’

Not to mention, his sharp jawline and straight nose, glittering with the sunlight as a halo, were so harmonious it was breathtaking.

Eileen managed to close her gaping mouth and met Aaron’s eyes.

“My time and money that are about to go to waste because of you.”

Unlike her who couldn’t help but be amazed, Aaron was looking at her with an icy stare that was almost murderous.

“I’m asking how you’re going to take responsibility.”

Despite his handsome appearance, every word he uttered detracted from his looks.

“I didn’t do it intentionally, but I’m sorry for causing you trouble.”

Eileen clicked her tongue briefly and bowed her head slightly.

“But I’m not the only one at fault here. You weren’t watching where you were going either when you stepped on a perfectly fine box, weren’t you?”

“What?”

“Since we’re both equally at fault, shouldn’t you apologize for stepping on it before demanding I take responsibility?”

Despite her calm, settled voice, her green eyes flickered with anger.

“Ha. So you’re saying you can’t take responsibility?”

“When did I say I couldn’t take responsibility? I just said you should apologize too.”

Though warm sunlight shone down on the plaza, only a chilly atmosphere lingered between the two.

“Master, what’s happening?”

“Miss, what’s wrong?”

The two who had been arguing stopped their fight momentarily when they heard familiar voices from behind them.

“Master. What issue could possibly lead you to argue with a lady?”

“This woman carelessly dropped a tart, and now my time and money are flying away.”

“What?”

Liam, Aaron’s attendant, slowly looked down in disbelief.

The cream covering his master’s shoes and the two angry people.

He could clearly picture what had happened.

“I apologize. I will compensate for the tart. Please forgive my master’s rude behavior.”

“……Liam?”

It was clear from any perspective that his master had started the dispute first.

Liam sighed deeply and bowed his head.

“No! Since Miss’s tart dirtied his shoes, I’ll apologize on her behalf. Of course, I’ll pay for the shoes too.”

“……Mary?”

However, Mary, who had roughly assessed the situation, also waved her hands and bowed to them.

“Miss, let’s stop by the hospital first, just in case.”

“Let’s go, Master.”

Leaving behind the two people who stood frozen in speechlessness, Mary and Liam, who had resolved the entire situation, took their respective masters and left the chaotic space.

* * *