Chapter 1

Translator: Rhyme

Editor: SilverAndGold

On the 16th day of the winter season, she regained her memory. Beth left her home because she was pressured to marry an old merchant, which was the equivalent of selling herself. Just before she almost froze to death after she left to become a maid, she remembered her previous life.

I was alone and was not supported by my family, so I held a part-time job to support myself through college. After graduation, I was without a proper job and had to work 3 part-times everyday to repay the student loan. I used to forsake sleep to be able to read the romance, fantasy novel during my brief rest breaks. Even when I drew my last breath, I was reading that book.

If she had the option of rebirth, she wanted to be reborn as a noble –  just like the protagonist of the novel. And till she had regained her memories, she didn’t even know that this place was the novel world she once read.

She couldn’t piece together the clues in the first place since she was born as an ordinary commoner. Secondly, in the novel there was no character named Beth – it was similar to being reborn as an insignificant extra. The one thing that was special about her was that she had memories of her previous life and knew that she had to leave this family.

“From this house there is nothing to expect…”

The current home was not much different from her previous life – only difference there was that there was no one who would pressure their child to marry an old man in her previous life. The house of her current life was likable or any good.

Beth sighed as she weighed the differences between her lives.

“Whether previous one or current one, there is no exception,”

she lamented about the trick of fate as both her lives are filled with hardship and with neither hope nor expectations.

Beth’s fingertips used to smell bitter. In her current life, Beth was born and raised in the isolated countryside, so there were significantly less opportunities to earn money. All she could do daily was to dig up and sell herbs.

The herbs felt warm to eat in the winter and she liked that warmth. Since one of them only brought in 10 copper, it was a routine to dig them from dawn to dusk. And the person who used to buy it was the same old man who was to marry Beth.

It felt revolting to even think of that disgusting old man. So Beth swiftly left that place as soon as possible. In order to leave the village quickly, she grabbed onto the first person she met and begged for help and got a cart as a ride. The atmosphere felt more comfortable and she closed her eyes. Suddenly she heard a rumbling sound.

“Miss, tomorrow…… eeh?”

Beth ran towards an inn even without a word of thanks to the person who gave her a ride.

Just as she arrived, she beseeched for a job, as she was okay with work that didn’t have wages, and only needed some food and a place to sleep. It just so happened that at that time the inn was short on hands and the owner hired her with a wage of one silver per day, included with food and accommodation.

The days wore on. It was difficult to make a living at the inn, so there was no time to ponder about the name of the inn, nor was Beth curious to know it. She only remembered hearing that this place was the institution of the country.

“What was the name?”

She couldn’t remember the explanations of the elderly inn owner, who had suffered from the long journey of his life. But still Beth adapted to the routine of inn better than anyone else who worked there previously.

Spring came as the snow started to melt. Beth could hear the voices of women who chattered opposite the inn. It seemed like they were looking at an advertisement pasted on the wall.

Because she hadn’t learnt to write this world’s language, she couldn’t understand what was written on the paper stuck on the wall. She looked towards the poster that was blocked by the crowd.

“What is going on?” Beth asked the inn owner. “It seems like the Earl mansion is hiring new maids,” the owner replied.

“Hmm–“

Beth, who had finished washing dishes within a breath of time, expressionlessly wiped at the front of her apron.

The inn owner conspicuously looked at Beth and said, “You should think about it.”

“What?”

“Honestly speaking, you helped out a great deal in the inn… yes

*sigh*

it’s because I feel sorry to exploit you with just 1 silver.”

“But you also provide me with food and accommodation.”

“Even if its included…”

“Could you possibly increase the wag-“

“Just take the interview.” This matter was promptly decided by the inn owner. The owner didn’t give any thought about an increase to Beth’s pay. She was already at a limit with 1 silver.

“How’s the job? I mean, being a maid?”

“8 hours of work, provided with accommodation.”

This work seemed more reliable than the inn. “I will go.”

Even though she thought like that, it was just imaginary, as the new job had better benefits compared to her current one. She was ready to take the interview.

For Beth, who was interviewed for many part times in her previous life, the interview was akin to having cold soup. And she was especially noted by the head maid.

“If provided with food and accommodation, I can assure you that I will work to my fullest potential. I am confident in keeping my lips sealed and cope with the situations.” These words seemed to provide a great deal of power in the eyes of the head maid.

Including Beth, there were 8 people who passed the interview.

The head maid said while she looked toward the newly appointed maids, “Being commoners, you guys may lack knowledge. There is no need for complex knowledge for doing physical labor, but it’s important to inform you about the basic rules.”

“Looking down upon commoners while she herself had a commoner background”

, Beth scoffed at the head maid in her mind.

Commoner this, Commoner that

–  it felt degrading to them. It’s the common people who are fundamental to a country. A nation’s foundation was built by commoners, not the nobles. And this truth, nobles didn’t want to acknowledge.

Beth knew that the head maid was hired through recommendation. As Beth heard the way the head maid spoke and the way that she chose the newly hired maids from commoners who didn’t have any backing, this didn’t seem to be a good place to work at.

“It seems whenever there is a problem, these people shifted blame by forsaking those who even don’t know anything,”

Beth chewed and swallowed this thought without the others hearing. In between doing this, the head maid opened her mouth again.

“In the Gordon Earl mansion-“

“Hmm? Gordon? Where have I heard this name……?”

Up till this moment, Beth never held any curiosity, nor did she question the workings of the outside world, as she was busy making a living. So for the first time, she decided to ask.

“By any chance, is the name of the country we are living in called Inomore?”

“….. Of course, why are you asking something so obvious? The countrymen not knowing the name of the country

tsk

…… If His Majesty knew about it, he would be heartbroken.”

Even though she felt like she should be sorry, she truly wasn’t. There was no need to concern herself about the name of a country whose countrymen didn’t even have money to buy their bread.

“The name of our current king is Thomas Basil Inomore.”

Strangely the name felt very delicious. Beth thought about pasta.

“And the name of the current crown prince is-

“Arthur Brick Inomore,”

Beth finished in her head.

” -Arthur Brick Inomore”

And then to Beth, the situation became clear. This world was the same as the novel world.

The Villainess Changes Her Destiny

It was the novel Beth had read before right before she met an untimely end. The protagonist possessed the body of the antagonist, Cecil, in the novel.

It was premature to think that the Earl is weaker than the Duke. The nobility are more intertwined than one could possibly think of.

“Earl Gordon had a lot of mines….”

Cecil was the only daughter of Duke Ferrite. According to the original setting, she attempted to kill the female protagonist and failed. As a result, she, along with her entire family, would be punished with death penalty. Claire was the original female protagonist of the story. The protagonist was a reader of the original work and after she got reincarnated as Cecil, she seduced the male protagonist and broke Claire’s heart in the process. The story had such a vivid plot.

“This means I am right now at the Villainess’ estate. I was hired as the maid for Claire, who was characterized as the antagonist in the story.”

The Claire currently residing at the estate was the younger version of the villain Claire.

Claire was the polar opposite of Cecil. Claire was not loved by her family, fell in love with the Crown Prince, and hated those who ill-treated her in her hard life. When her past was mentioned, it was sympathetic, though it doesn’t justify all her evil deeds.

Of course, Beth also thought like that.

More importantly, after securing her seat in the novel, Claire started her evil deeds with her family’s money. It was important to confirm the time period. If Claire and Cecil were 16 at the moment, Beth needed to leave after working here for a year.

It had been a week since Beth started to work in the Earl mansion, but there was nothing that gave away her presence in the Estate.

While she washed clothes or at meal time, or when she cleaned the bedrooms or arranged other rooms in the estate, there was no clue about the presence of the girl, Claire.

Beth paused during her work as she had a sudden thought.

“If Claire was killed, then the Earl would be sentenced to death too. Does this mean that the child hasn’t even been born yet?”

She started to work again as she chewed on this idea.

A maid who worked at the Estate longer than Beth asked for her to stop. In her arms there was a small, old basket.

“There, you.”

“Yes?”

“Newcomer?”

“Yes.”

She threw the basket in her hands towards Beth.

“What is it?”

“I am busy right now so you help me deliver these to the top floor of the old tower over there.”

“What is in it?”

“It’s something for the Young Miss.”

“The Young Miss?” Beth suddenly looked up. Why was the Young Miss in such a place?

“Didn’t you listen to what was explained on your first day?”

Beth was miffed. At that time her mind was preoccupied after realizing the truth that she was currently in the novel world that she read in her previous life.

“Claire Gordon, the only daughter of the Earl mansion. But Master and Madam don’t even mention her name”

“Yes.”

She already knew this from reading the novel, so she wasn’t curious about why this was so.

Claire was not the real daughter of the current Earl. Originally, the Earl at that time,the brother of current Earl, suddenly left the house, and left behind a newborn child and a letter. He never returned. The child was left in the care of the current Earl. Since the original Earl was not married, the current Earl Gordon knew that the child was born from a commoner, so he treated Claire akin to trash.

“This was not the only reason,”

thought Beth. Because Claire was the heir apparent of the previous Earl, the title ought to be succeeded by her. But the only ones who knew the truth were the current Earl and his wife. The others only thought of Claire as an illegitimate child.

Even though Claire was not his real daughter, she still had noble blood, even though it was half. She was allowed to live with the thought that one day, perhaps, she might be of some use. Yes, ‘just to let her live’.

As she recalled these details, she reached the top floor of the tower.

Since she remembered the novel to an extent, she was confident that she wouldn’t be surprised.

“Miss, I am coming in – ,” Beth said as she opened the door. The creaking sound made by the door sent shivers up Beth’s spine. She was about to say “with food”, but she quickly trailed off. Beth was not able to utter these words.

Just as she opened the door, dust flew all over the place. The floor was covered in a thick layer of dust – so much so, that footprints were clearly visible on the floor. The place was filled to the brim with debris and in the middle of it all, there was a small girl.

Her beautiful, blond hair, which was so dirty that one couldn’t say how long it had been since it was last washed, looked faded. She was extremely skinny. Who would have thought a noble spirit would be seen in such a state?

Beth had thought that she would be fine since she had already read the novel. She was confident that she wouldn’t be shaken with surprise, but after she saw the child, she understood.

This place was not just a novel world – rather, a reality.

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In front of her wasn’t the future villainess. Just a child who was thoroughly neglected by her family.

“…Miss, Hello,” Beth barely got these words out between her closed lips.

The girl watched her with guarded eyes.

“I….” Beth was born poor, but, she said with confidence, “…I will be on your side, Miss.”

“1 is better than 0,”

Beth mused.