Prologue
“It’s not here.”
Flap, flap—
I sat down amidst the mountain of papers, muttering “not here” over and over again without rest.
Stacks of thick documents, overflowing in my tiny hands, flipped with a whoosh.
“Not here!”
Flap, flap, flap—
As I flipped through the documents in a frenzy, my face twisted in frustration, and I shouted.
“This doesn’t make any sense…”
In denial, I grabbed another pile of documents nearby and examined them.
“Gone. It’s all gone!”
Nothing! Nothing is left!
Even the River Mine, where magic stones were once abundant—gone!
“Where the hell did everything go?!”
The Obel Mine, where the rare material ‘Control Stone’ was first discovered—gone!
“No way… This can’t be happening.”
The Libel Plateau, a barren land that suddenly became a hot tourist spot thanks to its hot springs—also gone!
“Why the hell is the only thing left just debt?!”
Staring at the countless negative balances written in the ledger, I tried to rub the back of my neck with my short arms.
Well… I tried.
But with arms as short as mine, I couldn’t even reach the back of my neck properly.
Short pink hair bobbed back and forth in front of my eyes.
When I turned my head, I saw the reflection of a scrawny child in the window.
I forced myself to look away and dropped my gaze again.
Deficit.
Deficit…
Deficit!!
A parade of minus signs and numbers, written neatly in red ink on white paper, made me laugh helplessly through gritted teeth.
“Is… is this really the great noble house I worked so hard to build up?”
My past 22 years of toil flashed before my eyes like a revolving lantern.
“What the hell happened…?”
I staggered in place, then my knees buckled and I collapsed to the floor.
Rustle, rustle.
A bug crawled proudly in front of me through a pile of dust.
Squeak—!
A mouse carried off a half-eaten document on its head and scurried into a hole.
“……”
This… is my noble house?
Chapter 1
The Grand Duchy of Altard.
The family that once raised a hero said to be second only to the emperor in influence.
The heroic house that stopped the monster rush.
A business giant said to control half the Empire’s economy.
A name that left a mark in both politics and commerce.
The number one employer that every top graduate from the Academy dreamed of joining.
Just getting associated with it guaranteed a rise in fortune.
That was the Altard Grand Duchy I knew.
Was it always this great from the beginning?
Of course not!
It used to be a house with only honor and no money.
And I—I—was the one who built that poor house into a fortune empire!
Even people from faraway island nations knew the name Altard!
You’re wondering what I’m talking about?
Fine. No point in hiding it now.
The world I’m in is from a 3-part fantasy novel—and I reincarnated into Part 1.
What kind of protagonist was in Part 1?
The kind that goes through all sorts of hardships and trials, becomes a hero, and ends up living like a beggar after giving everything away!
And what happens to that protagonist later?
When the story transitions to Part 2, the author kills off the protagonist and their entire family. Including the youngest, most beloved daughter.
…That’s the role I was playing.
“Haa…”
So, I tried my best to twist fate.
And thankfully, I survived until the beginning of Part 2!
…Or so I thought—until I died.
Betrayed by my idiot older brother.
After our father named me the heir, his inferiority complex exploded and he finally acted on his resentment.
Well, no point rambling about something that’s already over.
To sum it up…
Yeah. I died as a traitor.
And when I opened my eyes, I was 30 years in the future—inside the body of a child who’s presumably one of my descendants.
All that’s left of the family is debt.
The mansion is crawling with insects and leeches.
The businesses and fortune I built in my past life?
Gone. All of it. Poof.
F***.
I cursed under my breath and recalled the day I first woke up here.
✦✦✦
“Evelyn Altard, ringleader of treason, is hereby sentenced to death!”
The pain lasted only a moment.
Ah… it was finally time to enjoy the sweet rewards…
It was unfair.
But the world doesn’t care about unfairness. Darkness quickly swallowed me.
So this is what death feels like… so still.
“Oh, give me a break. Get up already! How long are you planning to sleep?!”
—Just as I thought that, my ears suddenly popped, and a voice pierced through.
SPLASH—!
“Ack!”
Cold water poured over my body, making me jerk upright in shock.
I barely managed to sit up straight and lift my heavy eyelids.
“Ugh, you’re so lazy. How long were you planning to sleep? And you call yourself the head of a noble house? Tsk tsk.”
A stout maid holding an empty bucket looked down at me with disgust, clicking her tongue. Then she grabbed my arm and started dragging me.
“I hope you’ve done some reflecting. Where’s your repentance letter?”
“…Repentance letter?”
What repentance letter?
Did that greedy, snake-like emperor suddenly decide to let my treason slide with just an apology?
And who the hell was this woman who just splashed water on me like we were old enemies?
“Don’t tell me you didn’t write it?”
“……”
“Unbelievable. Is there anything you can do? How are you so useless?”
“…?”
Oh my god. This chick has a death wish.
“I told you, sinners of House Altard should be grateful just to be breathing! You should be reflecting every moment of the day!”
Sinner of House Altard?
Wait… did I actually survive?
But that can’t be right. The feeling of my neck being cut was way too real…
A chill ran down my spine.
The woman who had been shouting sneered and waved a piece of paper in front of me.
“Tsk. A noble who’s useless and dumb. You’re the reason the Duke died! We’re all suffering because of you, Miss Eve! How can you not feel sorry at all? You should be ashamed!”
BANG!
She stormed out, slamming the door behind her.
“…What the hell is going on?”
I slowly turned my head to look at the filthy mirror.
And then I saw it.
Or rather, I saw something.
“…Huh?”
It wasn’t me.
There was someone else staring back from the mirror.
Messy, dark pink hair.
Shocked blue eyes.
A scrawny face that looked like it hadn’t eaten in days…
A grimy little kid I’d never seen before was mimicking my every movement.
“…Who are you?”
It was a very strange first meeting.
