"Milady! Please, calm yourselves..."
"WHY IS HE ALWAYS WITH THAT WOMAN?! I AM THE ONE HE IS GOING TO MARRY! SO WHY?!"
Rage burned inside my chest like a wildfire. I grabbed everything within reach. Vases, books, ornaments and hurled them across the grand bedroom. Porcelain shattered against the marble floor, echoing my fury.
My fiancé… the man who promised to marry me… was always with his childhood friend. Always laughing with her. Always choosing her.
My hands trembled as jealousy and anger swallowed my reason.
Just you wait, Catherine! I will kill you!!!
Blinded by wrath, I stormed out of my chamber, my silk gown swishing violently behind me. I rushed down the long staircase in frantic steps while my terrified maids chased after me, calling my name.
I was about to take another step
but suddenly, my foot slipped.
The world spun.
My body tumbled helplessly down the cold, unforgiving stairs.
Pain shot through me and then…
Darkness consumed everything.
Huh?
Am I… dead?
Confused, I slowly looked at my hands… then my feet. My breath caught in my throat.
I was floating.
Floating in midair like a ghost or am I really a ghost?
HOW ANNOYING!!! I HAVEN'T EVEN KILLED THAT WOMAN YET!!!
Frustrated, I kicked the empty air again and again, but my feet touched nothing.
Eventually, exhaustion settled in, and I stopped struggling.
My gaze wandered around, searching for anything familiar.
I had no idea where I was.
Yet somehow… everything felt strangely recognizable.
Tall buildings towered above me, far taller than anything in the kingdom of Crotarea.
Their surfaces were made of glass and shining metal, reflecting the bright sky.
Massive metal objects soared across the heavens.
I knew what they were called…
But the word slipped through my mind like smoke.
It was strange.
Even though I couldn't remember, this place felt like home.
My attention soon drifted toward a young woman nearby.
She had short, slightly messy black hair and a face dotted with small pimples. Her simple clothes looked ordinary, yet she seemed completely absorbed in what she was holding.
She was smiling brightly at a small rectangular metal box.
I stared at it, puzzled.
I felt like I knew its name…
Ah, never mind.
I'll remember it eventually.
But wait-
what exactly is she looking at so intently?
Curious, I leaned closer and peeked at the object in her hands. Lines and colorful drawings filled the screen.
My eyebrows furrowed as a word suddenly escaped my lips without thinking...
"Webtoon..."
Huh?
Why I know that word?
I was about to take another look when the girl suddenly tripped and fell forward.
Oh my… how clumsy.
"Heeey, Mitch!! Are you okay?!"
Startled, I quickly turned my head. Another girl was running toward her in panic, her footsteps echoing loudly against the pavement.
I turned my gaze toward the girl who had just fallen.
Mitch… is that her name?
She quickly stood up, dusted her clothes, and laughed as if nothing embarrassing had happened.
"Hahahah! The road is just stupid. It didn't see me coming."
Her carefree laughter rang through the air, light and unbothered.
"Really, Mitch! It's your fault for being so focused on that thing in your phone."
Ah! That's right!
Phone… that's what they call that object.
Wait…
Why do I know the name of that thing?
A strange uneasiness curled inside my chest, like a memory trying to wake up from a deep sleep.
"Hehehe... what I read was just so beautiful. It's really exciting. You should read it too, Mitch!"
I shifted my attention to the girl she was talking to.
Mitch as well?
Do you both share the same name?
In this world… do people all have identical names?
I silently observed them, especially the short-haired woman.
It felt as though her life was being quietly projected before my eyes, like scenes from a moving picture.
A single word surfaced in my mind.
Unemployed.
In this world, even women have the right to work…
to earn money…
to own property with their own hands.
Such freedom was unheard of in my former kingdom.
Yet from what I could see in the fragments of her life unfolding before me, she possessed none of those things.
She was already twenty-seven years old, yet she still had no stable job.
She kept searching.
Always searching.
Sometimes she would find opportunities, but somehow they never lasted.
Either the work was not meant for her…
or she was rejected before she could even begin.
I could not tell which.
Still, she continued trying.
She was an aspiring teacher, patiently waiting for a chance to enter a school, holding tightly to a fragile hope that someday her life would finally change.
A quiet kind of hope.
To keep herself from feeling bored and lonely, she read comics and stories all the time.
Because of that, I never felt bored either… since I ended up reading along with her.
It had probably been several days like this already.
I didn't know why I was being shown this woman's life…
why her days and nights played before my eyes like a never-ending show.
"Miya… come eat now."
Her mother's voice called gently from outside the room, warm yet tired.
But Miya didn't respond.
She remained curled up in her spot, her eyes glued to the glowing screen, her fingers scrolling endlessly.
It was a rather pitiful sight.
Her whole world seemed to revolve around that small device in her hands.
Always looking down…
always lost inside it…
As if she were quietly running away from reality.
I let out a soft sigh.
If there had been something like a phone in my world, perhaps…
I would have become just like her.
Still, I was fortunate that I had met Mathias.
My fiancé.
He was the one who brought joy into my life…
the one who filled my lonely days with laughter.
But he was always with that...
I shook my head sharply, cutting the thought in half.
No.
I shouldn't think about that anymore.
I'm already dead.
So it doesn't matter if he has married that witch by now.
Instead, I leaned closer to peek at what this woman was reading.
The title displayed on the screen caught my attention immediately.
"Is It Wrong to Love You?"
The female lead looked strangely familiar.
Her face… her gentle smile…
She resembled Laura.
The story showed scenes from her childhood.
She was the daughter of a maid.
Despite growing up in poverty, her face was always painted with bright happiness, like sunlight that refused to fade.
I rolled my eyes in annoyance.
Tsk.
As if she were truly happy.
She was probably already thinking about how to climb her way into wealth.
Then the story revealed the man who would become her partner.
I froze.
Wait…
No…
My breath caught.
M-Mathias?
That was him.
I knew it.
I quickly read the name of the male lead, my heart pounding like a drum in my chest.
Mathias Montfort, the son of a Marquis.
At first, Mathias paid no attention to Laura.
But because of her persistence, her relentless effort to become his friend, he eventually accepted her, and they grew close.
Mathias was kind and caring.
Warm-hearted.
It was only natural that Laura would fall deeply in love with him.
But she was never meant to marry him.
Because of Mathias's noble blood…
his destiny had already been decided.
He was to marry the daughter of a Duke.
Valeria von Evercrest.
The story inside that comic was far from simple.
The journey of the two of them was filled with trials and suffering.
Especially Laura…
her life as a commoner made everything harder.
The distance between them was like heaven and earth.
So close in heart, yet impossibly far in status.
And because of the villainess...
because of me...
Laura was placed in danger again and again.
Assassination attempts.
Schemes in the shadows.
Poisoned tea.
Sabotaged carriages.
Each time, she stood on the edge of disaster…
and each time, Mathias was there to save her.
Ironically, it was my own actions that pushed them closer together.
Because of me, their bond deepened.
Because of me, their love grew stronger.
And then her ending came.
The fate of the villainess.
She was killed by Mathias.
He personally took responsibility…
and cut off her head.
NO!!!!
My scream tore through the silence like glass shattering.
B-But…
I'm already dead…
For days, I remained frozen in place, staring blankly into nothingness while replaying the webcomic Miya had been reading.
Day after day, I cried.
Again and again.
I couldn't accept it.
I couldn't believe it.
Who wrote that story…
and why?
Why was my life reduced to a cruel script?
I still couldn't believe that I was nothing more than a villainess destined to stand in the way of those shameless lovers.
Waaahhhhh!!!
Why did I even fall in love with that idiot in the first place?!
Honestly…
even the villain in the story is more handsome than him!
Haaah…
I let out a long, exhausted sigh.
I glanced at Miya, who was still busy scrolling through her phone, completely absorbed in her own little world.
She seemed to be walking somewhere…
perhaps heading to apply for another job.
Her steps were slow but determined, like someone pushing forward through thick mud.
"Hey, Miya, watch where you're going. You might get hit by a car…"
I spoke to her out of habit, even though I knew perfectly well she couldn't hear me.
My voice passed through the air like smoke.
But then...
Something felt wrong.
From the corner of my eye, I saw a vehicle speeding straight toward her, roaring like a beast that had lost its leash.
My heart lurched.
I shouted.
Again and again.
Move aside!
Get out of the way!
But she didn't listen.
She couldn't hear me.
No…
"MIYA!!!"
The impact came in a single, brutal instant.
A sickening crash.
A body thrown into the air.
Silence swallowing everything afterward.
That was where her life ended...
the life I once lived.
M-My breath hitched.
My thoughts shattered into pieces.
A truth, cold and merciless, finally rose to the surface.
I am Miya.
I realized everything.
I was Miya…
in my previous life.
Tears streamed down my face once more, unstoppable, burning hot against my skin.
WHY WAS MY LIFE SO SHORT?!
Why did it end so suddenly?
Why did everything disappear before I could even begin?
Wait…
Why am I suddenly feeling sleepy?
My eyelids grew heavy.
My vision blurred at the edges.
Little by little…
The world faded into darkness once again.
.....
My eyes slowly fluttered open, heavy as if weighed down by stones.
Above me, a familiar ceiling came into view.
The elegant carvings.
The soft cream color.
The faint scent of lavender lingering in the air.
I knew this place.
Too well.
"M-My Lady?"
A trembling voice reached my ears.
I turned my head weakly toward the sound.
"Martha?"
The name slipped from my lips in a dry whisper.
Why is my throat so parched?
It felt like sand had settled inside it.
I tried to sit up, forcing my body to move.
But the moment I lifted myself, a sharp pain exploded in my head, pounding like war drums.
My vision spun.
I collapsed back onto the bed.
"Please do not get up yet, My Lady… I will call the Healer immediately."
Martha's voice trembled with worry as she hurried out of the room.
I frowned, confusion knotting inside my chest.
Wasn't I supposed to be dead?
Then why…
Why am I here in my own home?
The door burst open once more.
A Healer rushed inside, robes swaying, followed closely by my father and mother.
Their faces were pale.
Their eyes swollen and red from endless crying.
"My child… you're awake…"
Before I could react, they wrapped their arms around me, holding me as if I might disappear again.
The Healer gently pulled them aside and began examining me, checking my pulse, my breathing, my eyes.
His expression slowly softened with relief.
I soon learned the truth.
I had been unconscious for five months.
Five long months trapped between life and death.
That was why my body felt so weak.
Why even lifting a finger felt like moving a mountain.
After giving instructions, the Healer left the room, guiding my parents out with him.
The door closed quietly behind them.
And just like that…
I was alone.
Silence filled the chamber.
My thoughts drifted back to everything I had seen.
The strange world.
The girl named Miya.
The webcomic.
My execution.
All of it.
Was it…
just a dream?
A long, ridiculous dream born from a dying mind?
Suddenly, laughter bubbled out of my throat.
Soft at first.
Then louder.
Then uncontrollable.
A laugh that trembled somewhere between madness and clarity.
Dream or not…
There was only one thing on my mind.
To screw those two over.
If they want a grand romance story so badly...
then let them have it.
But this time…
I will not be the pitiful villainess who quietly waits for her tragic ending.
No.
I will rewrite the script with my own hands.
I will become the kind of villainess who brings both of those shining leads crashing down from their perfect pedestal.
And when the curtain falls…
I will be the one still standing.