KYDC chapter 2

When I jumped up, dizzy, the first thing I saw was a strange, antique-style room.

“Young master?”

As I briefly looked around in disbelief, I saw a middle-aged woman dressed in a maid’s uniform, the hem of her skirt reaching down to her ankles, and an elderly man with a monocle, both looking down at me in shock.

“Quick, call the Viscount! And bring the mistress too!”

At the old man’s authoritative order, the maid hurriedly ran out and returned with a couple dressed in clothes that, at a glance, looked quite expensive.

The design of the clothes was simple, but the quality of the fabric was evident, suggesting they were wealthy but didn’t want to appear ostentatious.

“Is there any chance that something has gone wrong with Jurgen?”

As I stared blankly at the couple, they anxiously asked the old man. Judging by their tone, they seemed to be nobles.

When I glanced at the mirror hanging behind them, I didn’t see the familiar reflection I expected.

Instead, a small child I had seen in that mysterious place was now staring back at me from the mirror.

“……? What is this?”

So, I’m….

As soon as I realized I had transmigrated, memories buried deep in my mind revealed where I was.

“The young master is safe. His fever has completely subsided, and his reflexes are functioning normally. You needn’t worry.”

The old man, who seemed to be a doctor, bowed his head repeatedly as he reassured the Viscount. But the Viscount, still looking unconvinced, asked again.

“Then why isn’t Jurgen saying anything? If there’s even a hint of falsehood in your words, you won’t escape responsibility.”

The doctor looked down at me nervously.

“Y-young master. Please, say something to assure us you’re well….”

Ignoring the doctor, the Viscount asked me directly.

“I need to confirm if your mind is intact. Answer me with your own mouth. Who are you?”

The Viscount, his wife, and the doctor all watched me with trembling hands.

“I am….”

At that moment, as everyone held their breath, I answered as if forced by the information in my mind.

“I am Jurgen Nil Everdeen, the firstborn son destined to inherit the title of Viscount Everdeen, who rules over Nirvan.”

Only then did the man’s face finally relax into a satisfied expression.

His wife, standing next to him, let out a sigh of relief and leaned on him.

This place, where Rococo and antique styles clashed chaotically, was the world of a female-oriented webtoon. (TL: Rococo is those medieval dress but with more frills. Just search in internet for reference)

Not just any webtoon, but one of the all-time hits in the romance fantasy genre on a certain platform.

‘No way… How did I end up here….’

To be honest, I was quite flustered.

I had only read up to chapter 10 of this story. I wasn’t particularly a fan, let alone a dedicated reader.

My knowledge of this work was limited to the first 10 chapters and the ads that popped up everywhere—from portal banners to TV and even YouTube every three days or so.

The story was about the female protagonist, adopted as the foster daughter of the Everdeen family, who was mistreated and despised because she was an “Omega” with a special trait.

She was eventually rescued through an arranged marriage with the male lead, a classic Cinderella plot.

From the prologue, I understood what an Omega was, but I couldn’t quite grasp why it had to be an Omega, thinking, “Women can have children anyway, so why the Omega thing?”

However, I soon stopped questioning it since the original work was a highly explicit R-rated novel aimed at women.

Analyzing it from a business perspective, I realized that my critique, as someone who wasn’t the main target audience, was likely meaningless.

Even though the original was R-rated, the webtoon had been toned down to a 15+ rating, making it one of the most popular works on Korea’s largest webtoon platform.

By the time I checked, over 50 chapters had been serialized, but I had only read the first 10.

Why did I read it?

Well… it wasn’t because I sought it out on purpose.

There was a pop-up saying I would receive 500 cash points if I read the first 10 chapters.

If you skipped pages too quickly, it wouldn’t count as having read them, so I vaguely remember scrolling through the pages with half-closed eyes.

The first 10 chapters mostly detailed the female protagonist’s tragic past as an Omega.

The protagonist, Berta Callis, lost her parents in a carriage accident and was taken in by Viscount Everdeen, who had been a friend of her father.

At the time, the Viscount had just lost his two-year-old daughter to a fever, and the Everdeen estate, located in the warm southern region, was quite wealthy thanks to the abundant tourist income from Nirvan.

However, Berta became a troublemaker less than a year after being adopted.

Traumatized by the loss of her parents, she lost her ability to speak and became so sensitive to human touch that she refused even to bathe.

Soon, the maids assigned to her began to flee one after another, unable to endure the stress, and Viscount Everdeen eventually withdrew his attention from her.

As soon as the Viscount lost interest, the servants began to treat Berta as an easy target for venting their frustrations.

Well… the rest of the story is about how Berta is sold off in an arranged marriage to a shunned northern noble with a cold demeanor, leading to her eventual rescue.

Jurgen Nil Everdeen, the firstborn son of the Everdeen family with light ash-colored hair and bright green eyes, was… a sub-male lead, at least for now.

The reason for the “for now” is that he didn’t seem to harbor any particularly deep feelings for Berta.

Jurgen’s role in the early part of the story was to cause a misunderstanding, making the actual male lead, Hernan, believe that Berta had someone she secretly loved.

He was just a supporting character meant to highlight the passionate honeymoon phase between the two leads.

After Berta fell in love with the real male lead, what happened to Jurgen, her non-blood-related brother?

As far as I remember, he didn’t face any downfall or punishment.

That’s all the information I had about this story, and how I ended up as Jurgen was beyond me.

‘This is absurd…. Should I just assume I’ve been reincarnated?’

Having died after working myself to death as the heir to a family business, and now, becoming Jurgen, a young noble who didn’t want to be an heir and had begged me to take his place before disappearing.

I had never been a medieval noble before, so this was a new and bewildering experience, but it wasn’t something I felt unprepared for.

“Strictly speaking, it seems like I ended up in the right place…”

Let’s think positively—it’s better to live a second life than to have my life end suddenly!

This time, I’ll make sure not to work myself to death!

As soon as I made that decision, the person who appeared before me was none other than Berta Callis Everdeen, the heroine hated by everyone.

At that time when I woke up here, Berta was six years old, and Jurgen was ten.

From the perspective of a modern 21st-century person, I took care of Berta as her older brother and responsibly handled the burdens placed on me as the heir without overexerting myself.

Perhaps it was because I was a ten-year-old with the mental maturity of a 23-year-old that I managed to become a perfect heir with little effort, even more so than when I was actually ten.

Berta was no longer abused, and I thrived as the heir.

When she was old enough, Berta entered Rosenpierre Girls’ School on my recommendation and became a confident Scholar.

It was all thanks to me, the heir who became exceptionally wise after recovering from an illness, gaining the trust of the lord.

Now all that’s left is for the heroine and the male lead to meet and fall in love.

Although the plot has deviated a bit from the original story, nothing major has changed.

Thinking that, I waited for a marriage proposal from the Yudenet family.

And finally, the problem arose 17 years after I became Jurgen.

“Berta! Where has she gone again? I’m so embarrassed to face the lady of the house!”

The maid searching the mansion with a frustrated sigh was Elise.

She had been loyal to the Everdeen family since she joined at the age of sixteen and had served them even after giving birth to two sons and a daughter.

The fact that she was running around like this meant that Berta had caused some kind of trouble.

“Don’t be too harsh. I’m sure Berta didn’t do it on purpose.”

If she gets caught again, the house will be filled with scolding.

I tried to calm Elise down to avoid further conflict, but it only made things worse.

“This is all because you spoil her too much, sir! Next month she’s getting married, and instead of attending bridal lessons, she’s running around aimlessly. What could she possibly be thinking?”

It was natural for marriage proposals to come in now that both Berta and I had reached adulthood.

In fact, the one most urgently in need of marriage in this household was me, the heir, but perhaps because they had raised me until adulthood, the Viscount Everdeen seemed eager to marry off Berta first.

The time had come for the story to follow the original plot, albeit with some changes.