VFAI 01

Chapter 01

 It Begins with a Broken Engagement

(July 3, 2022)

“Say that again.”

“M-My lady……”

“You were flapping your mouth just fine before. But now that I’m asking you to say it to my face, you’re suddenly silent? What’s your intention? Are you looking down on me?”

“N-No, of course not!”

On a dazzling, radiant summer day,

a line of maids stood before me, trembling as if it were the dead of winter.

Their crime? They had been gossiping about me behind my back, not realizing I was passing by.

If you’re going to talk, at least do it where I can’t hear you.

I already knew the servants of the mansion looked down on me, but there was a difference between suspecting it and hearing it with my own ears.

If I let this slide, next time they’d openly mock me.

I narrowed my eyes sharply and glared at them.

“I’ll give you a chance. Repeat what you just said.”

“W-Well, that is……”

“Can’t say it? You said that for a bastard, I sure act high and mighty. Oh, or was it that I might not even be the real daughter?”

I had just recovered from being bedridden for a week, and perhaps because of that, I was especially irritable.

The maids kept their mouths shut, exchanging uneasy glances among themselves. My patience finally snapped.

“Kneel.”

“We’re sorry, my lady!”

“Didn’t you hear me? Kneel.”

“It won’t happen again!”

“I said kneel!”

Just as I was about to shove them down by force—

they dared to resist, twisting their bodies to avoid my touch.

And in the process, it was me who got pushed instead.

And then—

—Huh?

My body tilted backward.

The shocked faces of the maids retreating from me moved in slow motion, and the pendant I always wore slipped from my neck.

Crack.

It shattered—the only keepsake from my mother.

At that instant, unfamiliar memories surged in like a tidal wave.

“Yoon Gaeul.”

“You may regret this someday.”

“Take my hand!”

“You’ll die if you keep this up—!”

Crash! …Rustle.

“……El—Elody! Yoon Gaeul!”

Amid the overwhelming flood of memories, I couldn’t regain my senses.

Scenes flashed by without pause, voices from different people overlapping.

What… is this?

Yoon Gaeul.

With that strange yet familiar name, a scene replayed vividly—someone reaching out to me desperately.

It felt like the moment just before death.

A world completely different from the one I was living in now.

After a brief confusion, the fragments settled into place.

Only then did I realize—

these were memories from a previous life.

I, Yoon Gaeul, who had lived in South Korea, died at the young age of 21… and was reborn as Elody Ferdia.

Even after realizing that, I sat there blankly in shock. The maids, cautiously watching me, approached hesitantly.

“My lady! A-Are you alright?”

“We didn’t mean it… please spare us from punishment!”

“Please, you must get up…”

They couldn’t even dare to touch me, fidgeting anxiously.

As I stared at them, the color slowly drained from my face.

Because one crucial fact suddenly came to mind.

“…I’m screwed.”

“Pardon? O-Our lives, you mean?”

“I’m screwed. Completely screwed…!”

“Please spare us, my lady! We were wrong!”

“Aaaagh!”

Regardless of the maids around me, I clutched my hair in agony.

That’s right.

This place… was the world of a novel.

And my future was doomed to darkness.

*

Elody Ferdia.

The only daughter of the Duke of Ferdia—and an illegitimate child.

Backed by the power of her family, she was infamous for her terrible personality—a thoroughly unpleasant character.

No matter what outrageous behavior she displayed, her family paid her no attention, and so her temperament only worsened over time.

At least one saving grace was her weak health, which kept her from going out much—so her cruelty was mostly directed at the household servants.

The novel I had read was titled:
<How the Adopted Daughter of a Villainous Family Is Loved>.

Am I the adopted daughter in the title?

Nope.

Unfortunately, the protagonist was someone else.

Estelle Ferdia.

She was adopted into the family for political reasons, but with her bright, lovable personality, she charmed her brother, father, and mother alike, leading to a happy ending—a classic healing romance fantasy.

And me?

Elody, in the story, was exposed while tormenting her “sister” and ended up dead.

Not even a proper villain—just a minor antagonist.

But that wasn’t the only shocking part.

I’m not even the real daughter…

An illegitimate child should at least share half the blood, right?

But Elody wasn’t even the duke’s biological daughter.

Her mother had lied.

Sigh.

Resting my chin on my hand at the table, I let out a deep sigh.

…Mother.

Before regaining my past-life memories, I had resented my mother.

After all, how could I not, when she had sold her child to the father for money?

Talking about my mother was taboo in the Ferdia household.

The duke hated it.

So I grew up knowing nothing about her, except for bits of gossip I overheard as a child.

“Arcelia? That woman sure was lucky. Got pregnant from a one-night stand and made a fortune.”

“Right? But do you know where she went?”

“How would I know? Some say she fled abroad.”

“Either way, she’s probably living comfortably.”

From that, I learned only two things:

My mother sold me and left.
Her name was Arcelia.

Even in the original story, she was barely mentioned.

Well, I’m not the protagonist after all.

However, my real father was revealed.

Because part of the reason I die… is that I’m not the duke’s daughter.

“Of all the novels, why did I have to end up in this one?”

Though technically, this was more reincarnation than possession.

It had been a few days since I regained my memories.

Understanding everything wasn’t easy.

I even tried to deny it, thinking it was a dream.

But the memories were too vivid.

If I did nothing, my fate would inevitably be death.

I have to survive.

But no matter what, my past actions couldn’t be undone.

I knew exactly why Elody behaved the way she did.

Her family was indifferent.
The servants looked down on her.

To maintain her pride as the duke’s daughter, she lashed out.

It was self-defense.

But it wasn’t an excuse.

I can’t live like that anymore.

To survive, I had to change.

I looked down at the shattered pendant.

The only thing my mother had left me.

And now even that was gone.

I had no money.

Everything I used belonged to the household.

I owned nothing.

If I want independence, I need money.

I didn’t ask for much.

A small house in the suburbs of Somnia.

Enough money to live comfortably for life.

That’s all.

…Is that too much to ask?

Anyway.

According to the novel, the truth about my identity would be revealed after Estelle was adopted.

I was 19 now.

Three years until that happened.

My plan:
Lay low, save money, and leave before everything falls apart.

If I leave first, I can avoid the death ending.

First step…

Just then, my personal maid, Martha, entered.

“My lady, a letter has arrived.”

“From whom?”

She smiled brightly.

“From His Highness the Crown Prince.”

The First Prince, Adenmir Presil Willent.

My current fiancé—and the very reason Estelle would later be adopted.

Perfect.

I smiled.

I knew exactly what to do.

Step one: break off the engagement.

*

In the capital Somnia,

the First Prince Adenmir frowned at the documents before him.

“Rodrigo Angelos again…”

But even more troublesome than that family was another:

The Ferdia family.

A dark power controlling the empire’s underworld.

Naturally, his thoughts drifted to his fiancée.

Elody Ferdia.

Beautiful like an angel—

but infamous for her awful personality.

Even he, a prince, wasn’t spared her sharp tongue.

Still, he fulfilled his duty.

But as a future emperor…

Could she really be empress?

He had sent her a letter asking to meet.

Right on cue—

“My lord, a letter has arrived.”

From Elody.

He opened it, expecting a response about scheduling.

Instead—

[Unfortunately, I cannot spare time for Your Highness.]

“…What?”

[Please sign the enclosed document and submit it on my behalf.]

“A document?”

He unfolded it.

And froze.

A breakup agreement.

Already signed by Elody.

He let out a hollow laugh.

“…What kind of trick is this?”