Chapter 2

“…Nuel.”

A gentle hand shook my shoulder.

“Minuelle.”

“Ugh, let go of my clothes…”

“Look at you, talking in your sleep when you never do. Wake up, Minuelle.”

“Mmm?”

“They said we’re almost there.”

“Already?”

It felt like we had just set off.

I barely managed to lift my reluctant eyelids.  

Ramande chuckled, tapping the head I’d been resting on his shoulder.

“You said you were nervous about seeing your family again, remember? But you slept like a baby.”

“No, I just closed my eyes for a second! When did I even fall asleep?”

“You were snoring the moment you closed your eyes.”

“Lies.”

“If you know it’s a lie, then move it. My shoulder’s about to break.”

‘Such a grumbler. ‘ 

I slowly sat up, still dragging my feet.

“Nervous or not… your shoulder is just the perfect angle. Knocked me right out.”

“So now it’s my shoulder’s fault?”

“Yup.”

As I answered, a long yawn slipped out.

“Seriously… sometimes you act like you were born to be a general.”

Despite the sarcasm, his hand gently brushed the sleep from my eyes.

“And sometimes you act like you were born to be a Ra-Cheomji*.”

[*T/N: Cheomji (첨지) was a low-ranking government official title in old Korea. In stories, the term is often used to refer to a nagging but doting old man or attendant.]

“There you go again, saying weird things.”

“Heehee, Ramandeee.”

I grinned and clung to him again.

Ramande had been my friend ever since shortly after I entered the temple in Plendena.  

We were the same age, and his divine power always resonated well with mine, so we’d been inseparable for eight years now.  

At this point, I couldn’t even imagine life without him.

“What’s with that smile? What mischief are you planning now?”

“Hey! You make it sound like I’m always up to no good!”

“You’re not? Just—please. Be normal at home, okay?”

I couldn’t argue.  

Too many past disasters came to mind.

Like that time I jumped the temple wall on a fasting day just to visit the market and got caught, or the time I let a cat loose in the chicken coop to get out of a scripture exam…

“Still, those are all things of the past.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Tch.”

When I pouted and fell silent, Ramande scolded me in a stern tone.

“Now seriously, get ready. Brush your hair, wash your face.”

But even after telling me to get ready, he’s the one who started moving.

He gently brushed my hair with a large comb, then wiped my face with a cool hand glowing faintly with divine energy—he was skilled at this like a pro.

“See? What did I tell you?”

He really was like an old attendant.  

Always grumbling, but still taking care of me.

“Tell me what?”

“Nothing. Just… things.”

“Are you planning to mumble to yourself the whole way there?”

Ramande threw a jab, but I was already melting into a happy, cotton-candy haze.

To me, Ramande was a friend, a brother, a little sibling, and a guardian all in one.  

Even though he sighed and said he wanted to graduate from the role of attendant…

When my mother asked him to come along this time, I totally heard him say, “You don’t need to ask—I was planning to come anyway.”

I grinned sneakily and stuck out my tongue the moment he turned away.

In front of the carriage, a long line of attendants stood in formation.

‘I mean, it’s not like I’m royalty or anything—this is a bit much.’

The overwhelming feeling lasted only a moment, because the moment I saw my mother standing there with open arms, all other thoughts vanished.

“Welcome home.”

“Mooom!”

I ran straight into her arms.

Unlike me—panting heavily after just that short sprint—my mother caught me with ease, as if I weighed nothing.

“Are you alright, dear?”  Worry flickered in her typically stoic red eyes.  

I giggled and smothered her in kisses.

“Mmm, I missed you so much.”

“What about me, Minuelle? Don’t you miss your dad?”

“I missed you too, Dad!”

As I threw myself into my father’s arms too, I heard someone clear their throat nearby.  

The sound came from my eldest sister, Elga, who had clearly inherited not only our mother’s crimson eyes but also her strict demeanor.

“Sister Elgaaa!”

I hugged her tight, and just then my second sister gave my cheek a playful, gentle pinch.

“Our baby sister just keeps getting cuter by the day—what a problem.”

“Hehe, I missed you a whole lot too, Juela.”

I am twenty now. Almost old enough for my coming-of-age ceremony.  

But the way I acted was still full of childlike affection.

Then again, there was a ten-year age gap with Elga and eight with Juela.  

Add to that my frail health growing up, which kept me living at the temple, and my family never did anything but shower me with love, no matter what I did.

“It’s good to see you again. I’m Ramande of Plende.”

While I was basking in affection from my sisters, Ramande was greeting my parents.

“Thank you for taking such good care of Minuelle all this time. From now on, our entire family will be relying on your help.”

“We look forward to your guidance, Priest Ramande.”

Those who serve at the Plende Temple can choose between two paths:  

One is to spend a set number of years at the temple while remaining affiliated with a noble house, like I did.  

The other is to fully devote oneself to the divine, becoming a priest in the name of the god of Plende.

A few months ago, Ramande chose the path of priesthood, officially receiving the name of the Plende deity.

‘What?’

Suddenly our eyes met, and Ramande gave me a bright smile while mouthing the question.

I shook my head gently.

A life surrounded by loving family and friends—this was the pinnacle of happiness.

‘It’s like a world made just for me.’

I did feel a little sorry for the original owner of this body…

But there was no way I could ever give this up.

* * *

When I opened my eyes, I was a ten-year-old child.

‘It’s hot…’

I truly believed I was still trapped in the flames. The searing heat made it nearly impossible to breathe.

‘I’m tired… Just let me die already.’

I didn’t want to feel the agony of fire eating away at my flesh. After a life filled with thorns and suffering, I just wanted to let go and finally rest.

“Child, open your eyes.”

But then, a cool and desperate voice pierced through the haze, anchoring my faint consciousness.

“Mm…?”

“Child, you mustn’t sleep. Just hold on a little longer—we’re almost at the temple.”

Who… was this?

A woman with crimson eyes was holding me in her arms. I’d never seen her before. Her red eyes were the least of it. I opened my mouth, but all that came out was a breath of heat.

“Stay awake. Please…”

The more she spoke to me, the clearer my thoughts became.

A woman with red eyes who had carried my fever-ridden body through the night, riding without rest to bring me to the temple.

I would learn later that she was the mother of the body I had awoken in.  

Yugatis Karnian, the Grand Duchess who ruled over the northern lands of the Preseria Empire.

The identity of this body—her youngest daughter, Minuelle Karnian.

Once my fever had fully broken and I came to understand the truth, I looked in the mirror in disbelief—then promptly screamed and fainted.

“KYAAAH! I’m possessed?!”

It was only natural that the temple was thrown into chaos all over again—after all, the precious youngest daughter of a ducal house, who had just barely been saved, had suddenly collapsed.

* * *

“What are you doing? That game again?

While I sat blankly in front of the mirror, lost in thoughts of the past, Ramande came up behind me and placed a hand on my shoulder.

“What game?”

“You know, that thing you used to do sometimes. Asking the mirror who the prettiest person in the world was?”

“Oh come on, how long ago was that?”

I used to stare at the mirror every day, completely smitten with the beauty of the body I’d possessed. Now, even after all these years, Ramande still teased me about it.

I tugged at my cheek in the mirror. The reflection copied me exactly.

‘Yeah. This is me.’

Minuelle Karnian—originally the villainess in a novel called Blessing of Plende.

A beauty with cherry blossom-colored hair and eyes like the pale dawn sky.

With her looks and her powerful family backing, the reason she ended up walking the villain’s path was all because of the male lead, Theodore Tregosnan.  

She fell for him at first sight and married him—only for the female lead to show up later…

Well, you get the idea.  

She sacrifices her family’s power, even her own life, trying to tear the two apart—but fails in everything.  

In the end, she meets a tragic death.

‘Seriously? If it were me, I’d have divorced him on the spot.’

Why obsess over a man who already turned away from you?  

Revenge is for after you’ve cut ties.

Anyway, even if she did some morally questionable things toward the end, Minuelle was still a victim in all of it.

But the author’s powerful writing and the novel’s overwhelming tone of tragedy somehow made readers empathize with the protagonists instead of her—it was that kind of strange book.

“What are you doing, with such a pretty face?”

Ramande removed my hand and gently rubbed my now-reddened cheek.

“Ramande, do you think I’m pretty?”

In my past life, I could’ve never asked a question like that.  

But now, knowing how beautiful this body was, it came out easily.

‘Except for one part.’

My palm stung, faintly.  

Even indoors, I hadn’t taken off my gloves. I quietly closed my hand into a fist.

Ramande, silently watching me, then smiled and traced the sign of the cross in mock reverence.

“Every child of Plende is beautiful.”

I grinned too.

“That’s right.”

Looking back into the mirror, I made a silent vow:

‘Even if that’s how it went in the original story, I’ll never get involved with the male lead.’

I wasn’t going to take even one step outside this peaceful life.

But… wasn’t there a saying that life never goes according to plan?

Only a few days had passed since I made that vow—and yet I was already being hit with a shocking revelation.

“Ack—! Cough, cough, kuhhek…”

“Minuelle!”

I had choked badly. Ramande, who was sitting beside me, quickly patted my back.

“My nose… hurts…”

Some of the tea had gone up my nose, and it stung. With a sigh, Ramande used his divine power to calm my body.

“Child, were you that surprised?”

Mother quietly set down her teacup.  

But Father, who was seated with us, gave her a slightly reproachful look, his fine brows creasing.

“It’s only natural that Minuelle would be startled by such sudden news.”

Clearly, Father wasn’t pleased. And who could blame him?

“I’m engaged… to the Third Prince?”

“That’s right.”

The Third Prince… that would be Esadien Roquate, the second male lead in the original novel.

‘An engagement I didn’t even know about? You’ve got to be kidding.’

I’d returned home for my coming-of-age ceremony—and also for my second sister’s wedding.

Since my health had improved significantly, my family had suggested I move back home.  

The Plende Temple was a peaceful place, but communal life still came with rules and restrictions. Naturally, I jumped at the chance to return to the comfort of home.

“When exactly was this engagement arranged?”

I fidgeted with my fingers and looked at my mother. Her red eyes softened slightly, as if apologetic.

“It was discussed shortly before you entered the temple.”

Apparently, the Emperor had strongly pushed for the engagement between Esadien and me.

But the timing had been poor—my health had taken a turn for the worse, and I ended up in the temple, so everyone had assumed the engagement was off.

“But now that His Majesty has heard you’ve returned, he’s expressed a desire for the engaged pair to finally meet.”

“It may be surprising, Minuelle, but now that you’re of age, we didn’t think it was right to make the decision for you,” Father said gently. “You and the prince may very well get along.”

Urgh.

“And if we don’t?”

“Then we’ll annul the engagement. With our family’s standing, it wouldn’t even count as a stain on your record. Just meet him once.”

Father smiled warmly, and Mother wasn’t forcing me, either.

“……”

To be honest, I really didn’t want to meet him.  

Why? Because Esadien Roquate was the closest friend of the male lead, Theodore.

‘But…’

My fingers clenched into the soft fabric of my skirt, wrinkling it badly.  

Even if I was the proud daughter of a powerful duke, I was still a subject of the Emperor.

‘If I refuse, it’ll make things difficult for Mother.’

That was something I hated even more than the awkwardness of meeting Esadien.

“…Alright. I’ll meet him once, at least.”

“Will you be alright?”

“I’ll treat it like a trip to the capital.”

I smiled sweetly as if it were nothing—but under the table, my hand was trembling.

When I fumbled my hand sideways, Ramande, who had been silently listening the whole time, gently took it in his and gave it a firm squeeze.  

That steady warmth flowed into me, and finally, the shaking began to subside.

Hah.

As long as I don’t fall for Theodore, everything will be fine.  

I’m sure of it.