* * *

“I’m asking you—did you do this to my hand?”

Cedrick’s fierce expression as he interrogated the maid caught my eye. It was a far cry from the face he made when he picked a fight with me earlier.

“C-Cedrick, sir… we didn’t do anything like that…”

The maids’ voices trembled with fear. My hand instinctively moved to my forehead; it was burning hot, not just from a fever. I was in shock.

The situation just now made me think of the original Jeanne.

With his fiery temper, he would have whipped those maids or thrown them out without a second thought, regardless of Duke Carlotte’s presence.

That’s why I made a different choice from the real Jeanne—I knew doing otherwise would bring me closer to a bad ending.

But even if Jeanne is different from the original, Cedrick should still be the same as in the story.

The same man who was eager to send Jeanne to an asylum is now suddenly on her side?

The idea that Cedrick might have some ulterior motive I don’t know about seemed more plausible.

‘Jeanne and Cedrick were mere supporting characters in the original story, just pieces in the larger puzzle for the main characters. No one ever wondered why Cedrick hated Jeanne so much, so I never bothered to describe it.’

There was only one way I could survive in this novel—by fully understanding the original plot and preparing for the misfortunes to come.

But the existence of gaps in the story that even I, the author, didn’t know about was clearly dangerous. With so little information on Cedrick, it was hard to figure out how to deal with him.

As I quietly panicked, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.

‘Could it be that Cedrick secretly likes Jeanne? Like a forbidden love blocked by his family… something like that.’

If he had grown to like Jeanne against his better judgment and acted cold to hide it, then all the horrible things he’d done to me suddenly made sense.

The idea struck a chord with me, even though it was just a fleeting thought.

As I was lost in this morning drama I’d written in my head, Cedrick brushed past me. I quickly stretched out my arm to block his path.

“Cedrick.”

“……”

“If this is because of me, you don’t have to…”

“What are you talking about? Get out of my way.”

Cedrick shoved me aside with an irritated look. I fell to the side, but I smiled softly to myself.

You really are a madman. I should have known.

Just as I was starting to burn with a desire for revenge, one of the maids suddenly dropped to her knees.

Cedrick crossed his arms and looked down at her with his usual arrogant expression.

“Why so tight-lipped now? You were running your mouth earlier about the stables, weren’t you? I’m curious—what else have you been saying behind my back?”

“Sob…”

“My father decided to bring her here. If you knew that and still spread such nonsense, then there’s no reason for you to stay in this mansion. So, what should you do? I suppose you’ll have to pack your things by sunrise, won’t you?”

The maid, her face soaked with tears, nodded.

What can I say? It felt a bit like watching that annoying team lead in the office flip out and blame another department.

I considered joining in now that I had a strong ally, but I decided against it. The maid was just a girl who looked no older than seventeen.

Even in a society with a rigid class system, I didn’t want to play the noble game. Besides, who knows if she might stab me in the back later, blaming Jeanne for losing her job.

I figured I’d better step in before things got any worse, so I grabbed Cedrick’s arm and pulled him back.

“Don’t pick on the wrong person. Like she said, I hurt my hand while venting my own anger.”

The kneeling maid flinched and trembled. I shot her a cold glare as she looked at me in confusion.

“How long are you going to sit there like an idiot?”

I made sure not to drop the villain act entirely, tossing out a harsh comment for good measure.

The maid kept bowing her head before scurrying away with her friends. Cedrick, who had roughly shaken off my hand, scoffed.

“Venting, huh? What, did you try to kill yourself again like last time?”

Did Jeanne ever do something like that? I squinted, trying to remember.

Come to think of it, he did throw a few suicidal tantrums when things didn’t go his way. I hesitated before shyly responding.

“I’m going through a rebellious phase…”

Cedrick snorted at my response and then suddenly grabbed my shoulders, slamming me against the wall. His closeness made my eyes widen.

“Are you trying to get pity from me?”

The atmosphere in the hallway changed instantly. I could feel the murderous intent in the hand that gripped my face.

It was almost embarrassing that I had even entertained the idea that Cedrick might like Jeanne. His eyes were filled with nothing but hatred.

Overwhelmed by a primal fear, I lowered my gaze.

“Don’t even think about it. There’s no chance my father or I will ever accept you as family. And even if there was, I would stop it. The thought of a fraud like you becoming my sibling makes my skin crawl.”

Cedrick’s face, as I saw it in Marie’s pendant, came to mind. The man in the painting, who smiled so gently, was the same person standing before me now.

Suddenly, a phrase I’d read somewhere popped into my head: The more frightened a dog is, the louder it barks.

What if the reason Cedrick hates Jeanne isn’t because se’s a fake saintess, but…

“There’s no need to accept me as family…”

Because he’s so terrified that someone might take Marie’s place.

The dead are easily forgotten.

As time passes, you forget even their faces, and by the time you fully realize their absence, you’ve already come to terms with their complete loss.

I knew better than anyone the fear of loss. An old memory, buried deep within me, pierced my heart.

I forced myself to look at Cedrick with a calm expression.

“You must hate me pretending to be Marie. It must seem like I’m trying to take her place. But we’re not even related by blood. We can try being family, but we’ll never be real family.”

Cedrick’s lips parted slightly. I felt the grip on my face loosen. Undeterred by his cold gaze, I continued.

“Even so, thanks for standing up for me.”

In the original story, Cedrick hated Jeanne’s violet eyes.

Ironically, both Marie and Jeanne shared the same eye color.

Cedrick stared into my eyes for a moment before speaking.

“You seem to be under some kind of delusion—I didn’t intervene for your sake. It just bothered me that a mere maid was spreading gossip about the duke’s family.”

Ah, I see. That’s how it is. I almost misunderstood you.

It was a bit annoying, but he wasn’t wrong.

After all, it was Duke Carlotte who brought Jeanne here, so anyone talking about me was basically saying the duke made the wrong choice.

But for now, I didn’t feel like snapping back. Regardless of his intentions, the result was in my favor, and that was good enough.

Cedrick, who seemed puzzled by my lack of reaction, added another comment.

“But seriously, don’t you realize you’re being ignored right to your face? Maybe there’s something wrong with your brain. I guess I really should throw you in the asylum as soon as possible.”

Cedrick muttered to himself with a serious expression before roughly releasing my face. My neck cracked as my head turned to the side.

Expressionless, I pulled the strands of hair out of my mouth and thought.

Yeah, but I’m taking you with me.

We can get a couples discount at the mental hospital.

✽ ✽ ✽

Thanks to Cedrick’s outburst, the bedroom was now more than just warm—it was practically hot. Dragging my aching body, I finally collapsed onto the bed.

I dozed off, tossing and turning with a fever, but when I woke up, I was drenched in sweat. I moved my arms around in the air, mumbling to myself.

“I feel refreshed.”

In fact, I felt better than before. I jumped out of bed and stood in front of the mirror, running a hand through my messy hair. My reflection showed a face that didn’t match someone who had just woken up.

“The beauty set by the official story… is terrifying.”

People praised Jeanne as the most beautiful woman in the empire, but the truth was, Jeanne didn’t really like his own face.

The men of Sacre were a much more warlike people than the men of the empire.

Jeanne grew up watching men ride horses and shoot arrows, but because of his beauty, he ended up becoming a noble lady—something completely outside his fate. No wonder he was so discontent.

But now wasn’t the time to grumble. If he could use even this beauty to my advantage, I would make the most of it. I clenched the hand resting on my chest.

‘Yes, now is not the time to complain. I have to use everything I can, even if it’s not really mine.’

Having regained composure, it was time to start moving. My gaze fell on the dress room in Jeanne’s quarters. The fact that there was a separate dress room attached to the bedroom made me once again realize the wealth of the ducal family.

“Excuse me, I’ll just step in for a moment…”

As I carefully opened the door to the dress room, the scene inside came into view at once—rows of dresses and jewelry in every color.

My jaw dropped when I saw a teddy bear covered entirely in jewels. If there was a visual definition of the word “luxury,” this would be it.

I looked through the dazzling dresses and picked out one that felt a bit different from the others.

“This one will do.”

After changing into an appropriate outfit, I left the bedroom. Maybe because of what happened yesterday, there wasn’t a single ant near her room.

Since I couldn’t search the entire vast estate, I stopped a maid who was just coming up the stairs.

“You there.”

The maid flinched as our eyes met. She looked me up and down, then asked with a puzzled expression.

“Lady, why are you suddenly wearing riding clothes…? Did you tie your hair yourself?”

“The dress was too heavy to move around in. My hair is too long, so I just tied it up. Why? Does it look weird?”

“No, it’s just… it makes my heart race a little for some reason.”

Jeanne, this guy, really has a beauty that captivates everyone, regardless of gender. I crossed my arms and laughed triumphantly.

“Right? I’m more handsome than most men, aren’t I?”

“Pardon? Rather than handsome, you’re beautiful. I think you’ll soon become the most beautiful person in the empire.”

For some reason, her words made me feel uneasy. It seemed more likely that I’d die before that happened. I asked the nervous maid in a nonchalant tone.

“Do you have anything to do right now? There’s something I want to find in the glass greenhouse, but I don’t want to go alone.”

The maid, who had been staring blankly for a moment, nodded vigorously. Her fluffy hair shook like a puppy’s ears.

“I’ll prepare the parasol right away!”

The glass greenhouse wasn’t as far as I thought. The maid holding the parasol over my head spoke in an excited voice.

“I think I misunderstood you, Lady. I heard you were really scary. But you’re even showing me around a greenhouse that servants aren’t allowed to enter…”

“Servants aren’t allowed in here?”

“Yes, this is Miss Marie’s personal greenhouse. Other than the gardener who comes during the day, no one else is allowed in.”

So this was Marie’s greenhouse… I quickly skimmed through the original story in my mind. Lost in thought, I wandered around the greenhouse until I stopped.

“But why haven’t the flowers in this bed bloomed?”

“Ah, these are flowers that Miss Marie planted herself. She was skilled in flower-blooming magic, but since she’s not here now…”

So the flowers haven’t bloomed because Marie is dead. But if that’s the case, why are the other flowers blooming just fine?

‘Marie, who was skilled in flower-blooming magic, and flowers that won’t bloom after her death.’

I lightly touched an unnamed flower with my fingertips. Just as the maid said, it remained tightly closed, showing no sign of opening.

“Lady Jeanne.”

I turned my head at the sound of someone calling my name. The head maid, who had arrived unnoticed, was bowing her head.

“Duke Carlotte has summoned you.”

The maid, who had been smiling, quickly wiped the smile off her face and followed the head maid in bowing. I looked back and forth between them with a blank expression, then started to move.

‘The stage is set. Now…’

Duke Carlotte was the Minister of Finance in the Kaisar Empire. In Korea, it would be like being the Minister of Economy and Finance.

Since all imperial projects had to be approved by the Ministry of Finance, people often said that Duke Carlotte had more power than the emperor.

But even that powerful Duke Carlotte didn’t know one thing.

‘It’s time to prove that Jeanne is a saint.’

And that was, I had created this world.

* * *