I couldn't do anything.
No matter how hard I tried, my body refused to obey me. I could only blink, slowly and helplessly, and move my fingers just a little. That alone told me something was very wrong.
After what felt like a long time, the woman in the maid's outfit returned. Without warning, she gently lifted me up.
…Wait.
Why am I being picked up like this?
Panic exploded in my mind.
How could I be held so easily—like a baby?
No.
No way.
Have I… become a baby?
My thoughts raced, one more terrifying than the last. What happened to me? I clearly remembered dying. There was no doubt about that. So why was I here? Why was I alive?
A terrifying possibility surfaced.
Have I been reincarnated?
It couldn't be time travel. I wasn't born into a wealthy family in my previous life, and this place definitely wasn't a hospital. Even if—even if—something unbelievable had happened, who in this era would dress in a maid's uniform like that?
The answer became painfully clear.
I wasn't in my world anymore.
I had been reincarnated.
"Lilian, give the child to me."
A deep male voice spoke calmly from nearby. The maid stiffened slightly before responding.
"Yes, Your Grace."
…Your Grace?
My mind froze.
The man took me into his arms, and that was when I finally saw him clearly. He had pale hair, white with a faint hint of blue, catching the sunlight as it streamed through the window. His eyes were a deep blue—so dark they reminded me of the night sky. When he looked at me, it felt as if I were being observed by something vast and unreadable.
I had never seen anyone like him in my past life.
So this confirms it…
I wasn't just reincarnated.
I was born into nobility.
No—more than that.
A duke.
Then, in a voice steady and unquestionable, he spoke words that would define my entire existence from this moment on.
"Her name shall be Ariya De Delgado."
A name unfamiliar to me.
A name that wasn't mine.
And just like that, Yeon-su ceased to exist.