HSDTVM| Chapter 1

Epiosde 1

Ilya Avery.

She’s the villainess who abandoned her terminally ill husband and ran away with all her wealth.

That’s the role of “Yeon Minji.”

In reality, after her younger sister died of leukemia, she didn’t care much about life anymore. She was constantly harassed by debt collectors, falling asleep like a wreck and only managing to get 3 hours of sleep before waking up to work multiple part-time jobs. Even then, the mountain of debt kept growing, suffocating her.

Her misfortune seemed endless, and on the day of her sister’s funeral, she died in a car accident.

She thought that maybe it would have been better to be inside a novel instead of her real life.

That is, if she wasn’t Ilya Avery.

Ilya Avery was the illegitimate child of the emperor. From the moment she was born, she had been out of favor with the empress. The empress had tried to make Ilya miscarry when her mother was pregnant, but Ilya’s mother had managed to protect her.

Ilya, being unwanted by the empress, was a royal who could die at any time, with no one caring.

Ilya had never been invited to a royal family dinner. Her movements were restricted to her palace, and no one ever visited. She was alone, except for an old head maid and a very kind junior maid.

Ilya lived a life of royalty, but not really as one.

The royal family had given her some education, but they never showed her off at social events. The nobles, fearing the royal family’s displeasure, never spoke about Ilya. She was alive, but it was as though she were dead.

And then, Ilya was married to the heir of the Duke’s family…

It all started because of a major scandal within the Duke’s family.

The Duke and Duchess were killed by rebels while defending their house, leaving only their young children behind. The eldest child was only about 10 years old.

Moreover, both children were ill, so the Duke’s family was as good as a sinking ship.

However, the royal family could not ignore the Duke’s sacrifice and sent the unwanted Ilya to marry the heir of the Duke’s family to save face.

Ilya, understanding her position, ran away with all her wealth.

She was eventually caught and killed.

Fortunately, when Yeon Minji became Ilya, none of this tragedy had yet happened.

Ilya hadn’t even married the male lead yet!

Ilya was still too naive to understand her situation, but the one who made her realize it was the kind female lead who came to visit her.

“Ilya. Are you okay?”

Lijeen asked. Lijeen, always kind and warm-hearted, was the type of person who always cared for those in need. This had been true even when they were young, as she was very considerate toward Ilya, her cousin.

Perhaps out of curiosity?

“Yeah, I’m fine…”

Ilya mumbled. She had just realized what kind of person she had become, but there was no way she could say she was fine. She just said it like that.

Lijeen smiled warmly.

“You’re getting married. Although you’re young, you’ll be fine. If you need help, I’ll be here for you.”

She whispered in a soft voice.

“Ilya, you haven’t forgotten what I told you before, right?”

Ilya blinked. It seemed like Lijeen and she had exchanged some important words before, something she had to remember.

But Ilya couldn’t recall any of it.

When Ilya looked back on the novel, the relationship between Ilya and Lijeen hadn’t been a major focus.

‘Does that mean it wasn’t very important?’

Ilya cleared her throat. She needed to verify things.

“I don’t really remember…”

“Ilya.”

Lijeen cut her off.

“Pretending to forget again? It wasn’t such a difficult request, you know. It’s something that’s for your benefit too.”

Lijeen shrugged and shook her head, as if saying she couldn’t understand why Ilya wasn’t getting it. Lijeen’s smiling face suddenly seemed a bit off to Ilya.

‘What exactly did she ask for?’

Lijeen pouted.

“It’s not something to talk about in such a public place. Anyway, Ilya, I’ll leave it to you. Your wedding is soon.”

Lijeen smiled brightly.

“This is your wedding gift.”

She handed over a large box, and inside it was a huge necklace. Ilya had never owned anything like that, but Lijeen, of course, could.

‘It looks a bit tacky.’

The necklace had large pearls arranged on it, and at the end, there was a huge heart-shaped ruby. It looked like something a fairy from a Korean TV show would wear. Still, Ilya couldn’t ignore Lijeen’s gesture.

This was a sign of good intentions from the female lead. Ilya needed to maintain a good relationship with Lijeen.

Ilya cleared her throat and said, “Thanks, Lijeen.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Lijeen left, and Ilya was left alone. Ilya slumped in a chair and blinked. She felt like she was caught in an unexpected storm, landing in a place she never expected.

Lijeen’s request hadn’t been mentioned in the novel, so Ilya couldn’t guess what it was.

Tomorrow, Ilya was…

She was about to get married, something she never did in her past life!

The only good thing was that she hadn’t yet become estranged from the male lead.

‘Is this really a good thing…?’

At least, when Ilya realized she had entered the novel, it all became clear when she heard the male lead’s name. When Lijeen pronounced the name “Rihil,” everything suddenly made sense.

But with Rihil, Ilya, and Lijeen, this world clearly resembled The Blade of Revenge. The author had said it was a mix of slow burn and romance, but she couldn’t help but feel this was just pure tragedy.

Rihil’s backstory was heartbreaking.

He lost his parents at a young age and then lost his younger sibling because of Ilya. The child, alone, fought to survive.

Once healthy, he was sent to the battlefield.

‘It’s a miracle he didn’t turn bitter…’

Had Ilya been in Rihil’s shoes, she wouldn’t have turned out so well. Rihil, after returning from the war, sought Ilya to kill her and live happily ever after with the female lead. But he couldn’t rest easy and ended up becoming a tool of the royal family, rolling around until he dreamed of rebellion.

In the end, Rihil took the throne. That was all Ilya knew about the story.

‘But what’s the point?’ Ilya thought. She just wanted to meet her younger sister again. She had no interest in running away with the Duke’s wealth.

So what was she supposed to do now?

Ilya’s confusion ended the next day.

“Hah…”

Ilya could see her dead younger sister comforting the child, who was crying and gasping for breath.

Ilya immediately realized she couldn’t do anything to harm the Duke’s family.

“Mom…?”

The child had a high fever and couldn’t distinguish anything properly.

Today was Ilya and Rihil’s wedding day, but the child was on the verge of death from the fever. Rihil’s illness was caused by exposure to magic. The accident that killed the Duke and Duchess also involved the children. The Duke and Duchess died instantly, and in the process, the children were exposed to magic, which caused them to fall ill.

The reason they didn’t die on the spot was because the Duke and Duchess protected them with magic.

At that moment, Rihil blinked and reached out his hand towards Ilya.

“Mom… I missed you.”

Rihil whispered, his lips trembling. This was something Ilya hadn’t seen in the novel. In the story, Ilya had just been briefly mentioned as a villain who fled with Rihil’s money, causing the death of Rihil’s younger brother, Luel, and turning Rihil dark. She was the reason Rihil eventually rebelled against the royal family.

But now, Rihil seemed to feel something different from Ilya.

It was as though he was seeking protection and seeing the image of his deceased parents in Ilya. When Do-yoon had a high fever, he would also look for his sister with the same expression. Ilya ran her tongue over her dry lips.

Ilya couldn’t ignore Rihil.

She gently placed her cool palm over his eyes.

“Hmm, you should sleep now, okay?”

Ilya whispered in the softest voice she could manage, trying to sound like an adult woman. She wanted Rihil to sleep peacefully for tonight.

“Mm… Don’t go, Mom.”

Instead of answering, Ilya brushed his hair.

“Don’t worry.”

She continued to soothe him, gently stroking his hair until he fell asleep.