“Lilith, did you just wake up? I know it’s your nature to be lazy, but try to put in some effort.”
Starting the morning with criticism, the woman glared coldly at Lilith. But soon, she felt something was off.
Normally, Lilith would shrink away from her harsh gaze and wouldn’t even dare to make eye contact. But now, Lilith was staring straight at her with sharp, unflinching eyes.
Feeling something odd, the woman continued, her voice sounding slightly uneasy.
“…Melody has been looking for you since earlier. You’d better go see her. And afterward, go check in with Aria. There’s a party hosted by the royal family today, so you need to get moving quickly.”
“A party hosted by the royal family?”
“Yes. How many times have I told you? There’s an important party today, so you should’ve started getting ready early this morning.”
The woman, her expression displeased, added another comment half-heartedly.
“I already informed the palace that you won’t be attending due to your health. You should be grateful.”
She turned away after stating her business, but muttered loudly enough to be heard:
“I don’t know how she manages to do only the most frustrating and foolish things.”
Despite the barrage of snide remarks, only one thing stuck in Lilith’s mind.
A royal party? But I used to live in an empire with an emperor, not a kingdom.
And the names Melody and Aria sounded strangely familiar. After thinking for a moment, she suddenly remembered where she’d seen them.
They were the names of Lilith’s stepsisters in Calyx’s Mad Love.
It must be a coincidence. There’s no way this could be that story’s world.
She dismissed the thought—but then reconsidered.
…Wait, why not?
Considering her previous life had been recorded in a book of the same name, it didn’t seem so far-fetched. Just to be sure, she decided to follow the middle-aged woman’s instructions and seek out Melody.
“I came because I heard you were looking for me.”
Melody, visibly irritated from waiting, turned around with an icy expression.
If I snap at her, she’ll probably start shaking and apologizing again, right?
But for some reason, the words wouldn’t come out so easily. Leaning casually against the doorframe, Lilith didn’t seem like the same person she knew.
Gone was the nervous, smiling girl. Her expressionless face now carried an ominous air.
Even someone as oblivious as Melody started asking more cautiously.
“Lilith, what’s up with you today? Did you eat something bad?”
“No, I’m perfectly fine. And how would you know what I’m normally like? Are you my sister or something?”
“…What? Did you just talk back to me like that?”
Melody paused for a moment, shocked, then exploded with anger.
“Lilith Delphi! Have you gone mad? How can you not recognize your own sister!”
My God. Lilith couldn’t believe it.
That ridiculous assumption turned out to be correct.
In the past, this had been the fictional world. But now, it was real—and her old life was the fiction.
No matter how illogical it seemed, this was her new reality.
She was now Lilith Delphi, a side character from Calyx’s Mad Love—a girl abused by her stepmother and stepsisters before being married off to a baron infamous for beating several of his wives to death.
No wonder her face in the mirror looked so young that morning. In the story, Lilith was nineteen years old. But even with that knowledge, the whole situation was still unbelievable, so Lilith pinched Melody’s cheek.
“Ow!”
“Wow, it’s real.”
Lilith marveled in genuine awe.
This bizarre reality wasn’t an illusion. She really was Lilith Delphi. Of course, since she’d pinched someone else’s cheek instead of her own, you could say she hadn’t completely lost her old self.
“…W-What the…”
Caught off guard by her formerly meek sister’s sudden change, Melody was speechless. Had she already forgotten the scolding she got that morning? As if by habit, she raised her hand to pinch Lilith in return.
“Aaack!”
But it was Melody who ended up screaming. Lilith had caught her wrist midair and twisted it back.
Earlier, she’d only been caught off guard. Lilith was not the type to fall for the same thing twice.
Besides, she knew a bit of self-defense. As Melody collapsed to the floor, Lilith warned her like a teacher:
“Violence is bad.”
“It hurts… wah…”
“You should be careful too, sis. If you live wickedly, punishment will come.”
Giving life advice from experience—what a noble act.
Though she’d only recently decided to live virtuously, Lilith felt proud of this first step.
Being reborn as Lilith Delphi didn’t seem so bad after all. Lilith Detroit had paid for her sins with death—so living on as a kindhearted Delphi aligned perfectly with her new mission.
“If you understand, get up. I’ll help you get dressed.”
Melody stared blankly, so Lilith helped her up and started preparing her, just as her stepmother Carmen had instructed.
“I’m going to tighten your waist sash now—let me know if you can’t breathe.”
“Mm.”
Melody answered faintly and began watching Lilith with wary eyes.
Is this really my sister? She looks the same, but she doesn’t feel the same. The girl who used to freeze up at every word now seemed completely different.
But whether Melody watched her or not, Lilith focused on her task.
She’d always liked grooming and styling. In the book she’d read that morning, Lilith was portrayed as a villainess who focused on outward appearance rather than inner character—dressing in extravagant, flashy ways.
Still, she wasn’t about to give up something she enjoyed.
It’s not like taking care of your appearance is evil.
She carefully braided Melody’s bright yellow hair and adorned it with real flowers from the vase nearby. Even though it wasn’t her own hair, it was so pretty she felt happy.
Melody, too, seemed to brighten up a bit. Lilith asked cheerfully:
“Do you like your hair now?”
“No!”
Melody yelled reflexively—and immediately flinched.
Was she about to get thrown on the floor again?
But to her surprise, Lilith only flinched slightly and showed no other reaction.
“Really? Then I’ll just pull it all out.”
She calmly removed the flowers woven into Melody’s hair. Melody, who actually liked the hairstyle, could do nothing but watch helplessly.
After all, she’d said she didn’t like it herself. Grumbling in a gloomy voice, Melody muttered:
“You ruined my hair.”
“I’ll braid it again.”
Melody had spoken in a whisper, worried Lilith might snap again, but somehow Lilith heard and began fixing her hair once more.
Phew, I almost ripped out my stepsister’s scalp.
It really did look good. But Melody’s petty attitude had made her hand twitch toward violence. Thankfully, she had recently vowed to live virtuously and barely held herself back.
Screaming, though—that’s still tolerable for someone living virtuously.
Lilith was inventing her own standards of good behavior. Not surprising, since a born villainess wouldn’t know what counted as truly virtuous.
“There. All neat again, right?”
Melody looked at her reflection in the mirror, but her thoughts were elsewhere.
When she pinched me earlier, I was really shocked. But now, everything’s back to normal?
She’s not saying anything even when I yell… yup, this is the same old Lilith.
Feeling confident again, Melody barked an order as usual:
“Now clean my whole room and get out.”
Without complaint, Lilith began cleaning. After all, listening to others was a virtue.
But she didn’t forget to trip Melody with her foot as she passed by.
Interrupting good deeds? That couldn’t be forgiven.
As Melody wept, Lilith grabbed her by the collar and tossed her out of the room. Only then did she focus on scrubbing the floor.
Doing chores for the first time was exhausting. Lilith Delphi’s life was clearly grueling. No wonder her body ached every morning. But if she was going to live as the kind Lilith, she had to endure it.
No matter how much her stepsisters bullied her or her stepmother mistreated her, Lilith bore it all with a good heart. She even did “good deeds” for them now and then—according to her own definition, of course.
But this new life would come crashing down just a month later.
“Pleasure to meet you, Lady Lilith.”
“Come on now, give your greetings. This is Baron Schurz.”
A month of patience earned her an introduction to Baron Schurz by her stepmother Carmen. He was a man notorious for having beaten multiple wives to death.
Originally a commoner who’d built a large fortune through trade, Baron Schurz had a domineering personality. He bought his noble title—and young, beautiful wives.
Those who sold their daughters to him never reported him, even when their daughters ended up dead. They were too ashamed of having sold them, and too afraid he’d demand his money back.
“I’ve only seen you in your portrait, but you’re even lovelier in person.”
The baron chuckled, his double chin jiggling. He looked like a textbook sleazy villain—greedy eyes, a bulging belly, a balding head.
“My daughter is just shy. What are you doing, not greeting the baron?”
“…Hello.”
Lilith greeted him coolly.
To think all that patience led to this—to being introduced to Baron Schurz. Truly the worst.
Worse still, this happened a year earlier than in the original plot.
In the novel, Lilith was supposed to meet and marry the baron at twenty. Now, it was happening at nineteen.
A year might not sound like much—but in this case, it was everything. Because of it, Lilith might now be forced to marry the baron without a way out.
