BCHA CH 03

Chapter 3 

“I’m not sure what you mean, my lady,” Reina said smoothly. “As your nanny, I’m only trying to educate you properly.”

“Educate me, huh.”

“Yes. You seem quite sensitive today,” she added with a fake smile.

Always like this—she’d twist things around and make it seem like I was the one overreacting. I was grinding my teeth at her when the mansion’s front door suddenly opened.

“Amannet?”

The moment I heard that familiar voice, I turned away from the nanny.

“Dad!”

“There you are, my little girl! What are you doing out here?”

Father’s face lit up with the brightest smile.

But to an outsider, we probably didn’t look like father and daughter at all.

The Marquis of Reize—my father—had fiery red hair and eyes the color of molten rubies.

Meanwhile, I had dark navy-blue hair, like the night sky, and purple eyes.

It was no wonder Grandmother always doubted my parentage.

Still, Father never cared about that. He looked at me with the same gentle expression as always.

Normally, he would’ve run straight over to scoop me up, but this time he hesitated—his hand resting instead on the shoulders of two small boys behind him.

“Ah… Amannet,” he said with an awkward chuckle. “I was going to introduce them later, but, well…”

I tilted my head, pretending to be clueless, as if this was all new to me.

He really brought them.

I had hoped that things might change in this new life—but no. Nothing had changed. Father had brought those twins again.

The only difference was the setting.

In the past, we met in the dining room. Father had taken them straight there where I was waiting, and when the hungry twins’ stomachs growled at the sight of all the food, I had—ashamedly—thrown my fork in disgust.

I didn’t throw it at them, but still. Looking back, I’d acted horribly.

That first meeting ruined everything. The twins had avoided me after that, and their shy, awkward behavior only made me angrier.

I’d promised myself that if I ever got a second chance, I’d make sure our first meeting went differently.

I just didn’t think I’d actually get that chance.

And yet here we were again. Same moment, same people.

Father stood there smiling, looking between me and the boys.

Ha… Father. Even in this life, you brought them again.

He had no idea what was to come—the nightmares those boys would grow into. I could only sigh deeply.

Those two boys standing there would one day become the mad twins who would kill me.

This… really wasn’t fair.

In my previous life, my soft-hearted father had one day brought home twin boys—no one knew from where. Maybe he adopted them. Maybe he kidnapped them. Who knew?

Either way, I despised them from the start.

Who could possibly welcome complete strangers into their home? Especially when the father who used to smile only at you suddenly started smiling at them too.

If I’m being honest, I’d been jealous. I’d been petty. I’d bullied them a little, out of spite.

I’d gone from being a poor, ordinary girl in my first life to the pampered daughter of a marquis—and I’d wanted to keep all that attention for myself.

But those twins? They’d taken some of it away.

They were like stones on the path of my perfect life—small, but always getting in my way.

And after Father died, they showed their true colors.

That’s when I realized—too late—that I was living inside a novel.
Right before I died.

Honestly, who remembers the real names of side characters? You only ever remember the main ones. And those two? They were minor villains—the hidden twin antagonists.

So yes, I had excuses. Sort of.

While I was lost in thought, Father gently pushed the boys toward me.

“Amannet,” he said softly, “these two will be your brothers. Don’t fight with them, all right?”

I blinked in mock surprise, then grabbed the hem of my skirt and gave a deep, polite bow toward the twins—my face plastered with the most innocent smile I could fake.

“Welcome home, brothers.”

Father looked even more shocked than the twins did.

“Eh? Amannet, you’re… not angry?”

If you knew I’d be angry, maybe you shouldn’t have brought them, Father.
You’ve already done it—so what’s the point of asking now?

“Of course not!” I chirped.

After all, those two are the villains who’ll grow up to destroy everything.
And I—I’m planning to survive this time.

“Ah… that’s a relief,” Father said, scratching his head awkwardly. “I thought you’d hate them. They’ll be staying with us because of… certain unavoidable circumstances.”

Oh, I know. You said that last time too.

Something about a promise you couldn’t break, something secret and important.
Still infuriating, even remembering it now.

“Then I understand,” I said sweetly. “If that’s the case, I’ll do my best.”

“O-Oh… that’s… very mature of you,” he stammered.

He clearly hadn’t expected this reaction.

I glanced at the twins again. In the past, they’d arrived looking like beggars.

Their hair—once a clear, sky-blue—had turned a dull gray, and their sea-colored eyes were filled with unease. Their clothes were torn and threadbare, barely hanging onto them.

They looked exactly the same now.

Even so, I stepped forward and extended my hand.

“It’s nice to meet you, brothers. My name is Amannet.”

I smiled brightly—too brightly. If my fate was already tied to theirs, I might as well start buttering them up early.

“…”

Of course, neither of them took my hand.

They didn’t even pretend to. They just stared.

In the past, their constant coldness had driven me crazy—and I’d lashed out because of it.

But not this time. Not anymore.

“I really hope we can get along,” I said softly.

The truth was, these boys weren’t just random orphans. They were the illegitimate sons of one of the most powerful families in the Empire—the Aporta Duchy, known as the Empire’s “Sword.”

Their family was so influential that even the Emperor tread carefully around them.

I glanced at the twins again, biting my lip.

Why would they end up here? And how did my gentle, timid father have the nerve to bring them into our home?

I looked back at Father, silently asking for an explanation, but he was too busy beaming at how “well” we were getting along to notice.

So frustrating.

I never found out why he brought them, not even before I died. Maybe he had a reason, maybe he didn’t. If there was a plan, it never came to light.

What I did know was that the twins themselves didn’t even know who they were.

According to rumors, they’d been kidnapped at birth and kept hidden for over ten years—until Father “rescued” them and brought them to our mansion.

And it was here, under our roof, that they discovered their true identity.

For a while, I’d thought they were just awkward boys trying to adjust.

But the moment they learned they were of noble blood, they turned on us—accusing our family of kidnapping and imprisoning them.

They destroyed everything.

Even remembering it made my jaw tighten.
After all Father did for them…

Still, I couldn’t seek revenge.
From their point of view, Father had been their captor, not their savior.

If things went on as before, history would repeat itself—and I would die again.

And this time, I wasn’t going to let that happen.