I absolutely didn't expect my childish tantrum to explode into a mess of this magnitude.
The morning was still dim, but my room was already packed with a line of doctors and servants like a royal palace under siege.
They stared at me with faces as exhausted as laundry left sitting in the hamper for three days. And honestly, I could translate their expressions perfectly.
"What idiotic thing did this Spoiled Lady do now to disrupt our morning?"
Yes, yes, I know. I'm truly annoying. But for the record—I didn't want any of you here either!
"Your Grace, I assure you for the umpteenth time—Lady Liliane is truly fine," said one of the doctors, his voice starting to lose patience.
But my father—oh, my "Duke Father." Handsome, commanding, with a much younger appearance than he should have, and absolutely zero genes passed on to me.
His golden eyes scrutinized the doctors like a hawk ready to snatch its prey.
I could read his face as clearly as a billboard: "Check her again, you fools!"
Ugh, I couldn't stay silent anymore.
"Um... actually, I think I'm alright," I mumbled, glancing at my father, who was giving me the creeps. "Truly, Father. I'm completely fine."
"Ha!" he exclaimed, his deep voice shaking oddly. "My daughter must be genuinely ill... she's even calling me 'Father' now. Check her again!"
Wait. WHAT?
The Duke, my father, had just dropped an information bomb right in the middle of my panic.
She, the original Liliane, never called him "Father"?
Great.
Their relationship was apparently worse than I'd imagined.
Should I maintain that status quo? No! Absolutely not!
That was the Fundamental Law of Villainesses: Distancing yourself from the Duke Father means courting a miserable death.
No, I refuse!
"Father, I genuinely am fine," I repeated, flashing my sweetest, safest smile.
He narrowed his eyes. Suspicion and pressure filled the room. My brain screamed: Think fast! Quick!
"I... I think I have amnesia!" I suddenly cried out. "I fell yesterday and hit my head. When I opened my eyes this morning, everything was blank!"
And with that, I immediately burrowed under the blanket like a frightened turtle.
The room instantly froze. Every pair of eyes stared at me with disbelief.
"Examine her head," the Duke Father commanded in a flat but authoritative voice.
A doctor hesitated, then carefully examined me.
Oh God. What if he finds nothing?
What if this ruse fails?
That damned chicken from yesterday... making me hit my head on the table! This is all your fault, you feathered demon!
"...Your Grace, it is true. There is a wound here. But, strangely..."
No. Don't continue! I don't want to hear your "but"!
"Hahaha, see, Father? I really was hurt. So let them go now!"
"Can this injury cause memory loss?" asked the Duke, his voice heavy.
"Yes, it's possible. Trauma to the head can affect the part of the brain that stores memory. Such things have happened before."
"When will her memory recover?"
The doctor trembled like a leaf in the wind. "No one can be sure, Your Grace. It could be soon... or never."
Well, with the look of my father's golden eyes, capable of devastating any foe, who wouldn't tremble?
"Besides her memory, are there any other issues?"
"No, Your Grace."
The Duke paused for a moment, then looked at me again, long, deep, making me completely unsettled.
I forced another smile. "See? I'm fine, Father. You don't need to worry."
And that's when the change happened. The look in his eyes softened. His lips trembled slightly, as if suppressing a deep surge of emotion.
Wait. Was he... sad? Missing his daughter? Or perhaps he actually hated this drastic change in me?
Before I could drown in my own thoughts, a warm hand suddenly patted my head gently. I froze.
"Rest, Lili," he whispered, in a soft voice I never expected him to possess. Then, almost shyly, he left the room.
...Leaving me paralyzed and confused.
Later, when the atmosphere had settled down, I asked the maid who had first cried, "Did I make a mistake? Does Father hate my change?"
"No, My Lady," she replied quickly, shaking her head. "The Duke has actually been anticipating this moment for a long time... the moment when you finally called him 'Father'."
"...Really?"
"Yes. That one word is worth more than anything to him."
***
So. This is what it feels like to be a Duke's daughter.
Glamorous?
Not at all.
Just boring.
I've been confined to bed all day, surrounded by servants like a fragile porcelain doll.
No walks, no entertainment. If I were still in the modern era, I'd at least have my phone, to devour novels, dramas, or play gacha games until I lose myself. But here?
Nothing.
Empty.
I'd asked to go for a walk around the mansion, but I was stopped.
They said I needed rest after my amnesia incident.
"Hey, you," I called out to a maid with two pigtails.
"Y-y-yes, My Lady?" she squeaked, her body shaking like a wet kitten.
"Don't be scared. I won't eat you. Come here, I'm bored."
She approached with hesitant steps... then suddenly lifted her skirt.
I gasped. "Um. Why are you showing me this?"
That's when I saw it. The marks of red lines on her thigh. Fresh-looking whip marks.
"...Excuse me, WHAT?"
Before I could react, another maid nervously handed me... a whip.
My jaw dropped. "What is this for?!"
"B-b-because, My Lady usually... when bored... My Lady chooses one of us... and... whips us."
I.
Was silent.
Paralyzed.
The Villainess did WHAT?!
No wonder she was eventually executed. This woman was truly a demonic henchman!
No. I will not follow this bloody script. First step to survival: fix my image in the eyes of the servants.
"...Listen. Forget all that. From now on, I am a good Lady. Kind, gentle, generous, like an angel! Understood?"
They stared at me as if I had just grown three heads. Disbelief.
So, in a panic, I snapped, "Stand in line!"
They flinched in unison. Fear struck them like a bolt of lightning. Damn. Wrong tone!
Nevertheless, they obeyed. Skirts were lifted, a line of injured and bruised legs trembled before me.
I examined them one by one carefully. Bluish-green bruises. Open wounds that were still reddish. My stomach churned imagining their suffering. These girls endured torture for a bite of food? For me?
"...Call the head butler," I finally said, my voice trying to be firm despite the tremble. "Tell him I request the best doctor. Every single one of you will be treated until completely healed."
They froze instantly. Then... one by one, tears began to stream down their cheeks.
"My Lady...! Thank you, My Lady!"
And before I could stop them, they simultaneously knelt, sobbing like small children.
"Stop! Don't kneel! I'm not a goddess!"
"To us, right now, My Lady is a goddess," whispered one of the maids, her voice hoarse. "A goddess of salvation has possessed our Lady's body."
Oh, for heaven's sake.
"Go before I change my mind!"
Like lightning, they dispersed. Only one maid remained, the one who hadn't been whipped yet.
Perfect. I need someone intact.
"Just you. What's your name?" I asked.
"Please don't call me 'sister,' My Lady. My name is Mary."
"Alright, Mary. Get me a book. A novel. The most popular one in the entire empire."
She bowed and hurried away.
Leaning back, I clenched my hands.
Mission One: transform myself into a kind Lady for the servants, and an affectionate daughter for the Duke. If I can erase the villainess image, maybe I can survive.
...Wait. Oh my God.
I almost forgot the most important thing.
My Tristan.