Chapter 01
It had only been a few days since I possessed Rieli Robert.
I had lost consciousness after being hit by a truck while crossing the street. When I opened my eyes, I felt a sharp headache and nausea.
Once my body settled, I realized that I had entered someone else’s body.
At first, I couldn’t believe it, but soon I faced reality.
I was probably dead.
But what could I do? Since I was already dead, there was nothing to do but live in this new body. I didn’t want to die again.
Life here wasn’t as bad as I expected.
At first, I was a little flustered, but humans are adaptable, and soon I got used to it.
Rieli Robert was the eldest daughter of the Robert Duke family, loved by her father, Duke Rufus Robert.
At first, when I sat alone in the spacious dining room eating by myself for the first few days after possession, I thought this household lacked familial warmth. But at this moment, I decided to retract that thought.
Even now, as I returned from my first dinner with my new biological father, Duke Robert, the memory of that meal spun around in my head.
When I stepped into the dining room, a man I didn’t know greeted me warmly and started talking, but honestly, I was so flustered that I couldn’t understand a word he said.
By the time I came to my senses, I was seated at the table with that man.
As we ate, he called me affectionately, “Our Riri,” and I almost choked on my food.
“Our Riri”….
Somehow, it felt like my throat was tightening.
Looking at the duke’s smiling face and hearing him call me “Our Riri” brought back long-forgotten memories.
The duke resembled my real father in some ways, which only made me more uncomfortable.
I forced myself to finish the meal, pushing the familiar face out of my mind as best as I could.
It seemed that getting used to the duke’s way of treating me would take a long time.
Clutching my queasy stomach, I headed to my room and noticed a face I had never seen before.
Dark brown hair like chocolate and large violet eyes.
A boy who looked no older than a kindergartener.
When he saw me, his already-large eyes widened even more, but he quickly composed himself and greeted me politely:
“Good day, sister.”
The greeting was surprisingly elegant and flawless for a child.
I was utterly flustered.
“…Sister? Did I have a younger brother?”
Out of sheer surprise, the words just slipped out.
A voice behind me answered: it was Rieli’s personal maid, Karen.
“Yes, miss. Regardless, Prince Amon is, in any case, your younger brother.”
Karen’s tone was dripping with sarcasm, and the other maid, Amy, snickered openly beside her.
I remained silent, trying to process the situation.
But Amon just smiled slightly and offered me an apology.
“…I’m sorry, sister. I will strive to ensure that there is no shame in your calling me your younger brother. Please have a peaceful night.”
Once more, he bowed gracefully and left without a sound.
Even then, I still hadn’t fully grasped the situation. I was just continuously bewildered.
‘What the heck…?’
Something seemed familiar, but I couldn’t quite remember.
It wasn’t until I lay down in bed that I remembered who Amon Robert was.
Amon Robert. Amon was the male lead in the romance fantasy novel “Bluebird in a Cage” that I had read before I died.
The important point here is that Amon Robert was a hopeless, broken male lead.
Back then, bored with typical sweet romance novels, I sought something different. That led me to this novel — a painfully slow, bitter story.
That boy, who now seemed polite and normal, would grow up obsessed with the female lead, Rumiell, scheming to ruin her family and trap her in his mansion. That was the early plot.
Although I didn’t get to read the rest before dying, I had read the reviews and knew roughly what would happen.
‘A completely joyless, bitter male lead, starting and ending in bitterness…’
At first, I was speechless, then utterly frustrated.
“Damn it! I only remembered this novel right before I died! How stupid can I be?”
Ah! I buried my face in my pillow and screamed.
No wonder the surname Robert felt familiar — it was the male lead’s surname!
Honestly, until I heard the name Amon, I didn’t realize this place was inside the novel.
After all, Rieli was originally a minor extra villain. She appeared only in brief flashbacks of Amon’s miserable past, neglectful father, and indifferent sister.
Moreover, Rieli’s sister in the original story married abroad before the story even started, and her father died young.
These characters were never even named in the novel.
Being a minor supporting character, how was I supposed to know if this was the novel’s world or not?
‘But I’ve possessed this body for several days and didn’t even know I had a younger brother?’
Even though we live in the same house?
This was utterly shocking.
And the maids, who had been so kind and polite to me, suddenly mocking Amon, also shocked me deeply.
Recalling it now made my skin crawl.
Lying in bed, I eventually fell asleep, lost in thought.
I woke up late, groggy, washed my face, and continued reflecting.
In fact, Amon was a “bad boy” toward the female lead, but looking into his past, he wasn’t entirely villainous — a so-called tragic antihero.
Amon was born into the Robert family, known for the couple’s closeness.
However, the duchess was naturally weak, and she died giving birth to Amon, shattering the family’s harmony.
The duke, who had loved his wife like his entire world, fell into despair.
In his drunken grief, he neglected everything, even his beloved daughter.
The duke resented the child born in exchange for his wife and ultimately ignored him.
When sober, he did nothing but stare blankly at time passing; when drunk, he displayed violent tendencies, breaking things around him.
Eventually, he intended to kill Amon but couldn’t when he met the child’s violet eyes — the same as his late wife’s.
Amon remembered everything from birth: his mother’s death, his father trying to kill him — everything.
After that, Amon was left alone in a corner of the Robert estate, appearing normal on the outside but rotten inside.
‘When I read the novel, it was just a fictional past with no significance…’
Seeing this past of my now-younger brother unfold as reality was overwhelming.
Amon’s twisted nature, I realized, stemmed from the parents’ neglect.
“Ugh!”
I clicked my tongue, displeased.
The maid brushing my hair, Amy, jumped and apologized.
“I- I’m sorry, miss… did it hurt?”
Seeing such anxiety after only a tongue-click from me revealed the extreme shift in behavior depending on my presence.
Clearly, even in this society of rigid hierarchy, the power dynamics were serious.
I didn’t answer, waving her away. Amy smiled and left, though a flicker of unease remained on her face.
Honestly, I wasn’t fond of children, had little experience with them, and found them difficult to interact with.
But Amon’s demeanor was far from ordinary for a child.
‘…Is this even appropriate for a child under ten?’
The way he quickly hid his surprise when seeing me was far from normal.
And the way the maids disregarded him made me realize I needed to understand the level of treatment he received.
The novel didn’t detail Amon’s past in such depth.
Since it was still morning, I thought having lunch with him and trying to talk might be worthwhile.
I paused before calling Amy. Based on their behavior yesterday, I didn’t trust either of the maids for errands.
‘Better I go myself and talk directly.’
