**Oh, God!**
If you’re real and can hear my prayers, please strike down that wicked man with divine punishment!
Right before she died, *Irenea* prayed with all her heart.
She would have even sold her soul to make it happen—even to a demon.
Then something unbelievable happened. She woke up.
She should have been dead, but now she was alive again, on the day she turned 20.
If she had come back just a few days earlier, she could have saved her parents. But when she opened her eyes, their funeral had already passed.
Still dazed, Irenea looked around the study. She was holding her two younger sisters tightly in her arms.
Everything felt distant—like a dream.
But the warmth from the fireplace and the heat from her sisters reminded her: this was real.
If she was 20, then *Elizabeth* would be 16, and *Charlotte* just 5.
Her sisters looked just like she remembered—small and young.
She couldn’t let them go, afraid they’d vanish like a mirage.
Suddenly, the study door creaked open. It was the old family butler.
> “Oh, there you are, young lady.”
With a warm smile, he reached out to take the girls.
> “I’ll look after the little ones. You should rest in your room…”
> “I didn’t tell you to come in,” Irenea cut him off coldly.
> “I’m keeping my sisters with me. I want to feel Father’s warmth here. Please leave.”
The butler hesitated.
> “But, miss…”
> “Did I not make myself clear? Should I call the knights to drag you out?”
Shocked by her sharp tone, he lowered his gaze.
Irenea bit her lip and softened a bit.
> “Sorry. I’m just… on edge after everything.”
> “No need to apologize,” he said, bowing out.
But Irenea silently watched him go, suspicious of his lingering glances.
> *This isn’t a dream.*
> The heat, the sounds, the sensations—everything told her this was reality.
And if that’s true… then what about all the terrible things that happened “after” this in her old life?
Like the butler stealing her father’s seal, handing it to her uncle…
Her uncle forging a will, using that fake will to steal her title and land…
And her being kicked out onto the streets, forced to work as a maid, then sold off as a nobleman’s second wife.
> *It could all happen again.*
The butler had already come in without permission.
Whether her memories were a dream or a past life didn’t matter right now.
What mattered was this: *she had to protect her sisters and their family’s future.*
She gently laid the sleeping girls on the carpet and kissed their cheeks.
Then, just as her father had taught her, she opened the secret compartment in his desk drawer—and found the real family seal, the head’s ring, and… the real will.
> *I never saw this before… So the butler destroyed even this?*
> *That’s how the fake will looked so perfect.*
Anger burned inside her. She clenched her teeth.
> *No matter what… I won’t let them take anything from me again.*
She hid the will in her clothes, slipped the head’s ring onto her finger, and took the seal in her hand.
She would get revenge.
On the uncle who not only stole everything, but also killed her and the man she loved.
Until morning came, she sat by the fireplace, protecting her sisters from the cold.
—
As soon as it was daylight, she sent a trusted servant to summon a royal-backed lawyer and executed her father’s real will.
Outwardly, she stayed in the study, pretending to be in mourning, turning her uncle away every day.
Within a week, she officially inherited the title.
Not long after, her uncle *Viscount Calleo* challenged her.
He claimed he had the “real” will and even had the family seal and ring.
But those were fakes.
Fakes *Irenea* had made and planted, knowing her uncle would try to steal them.
She turned over the *real* items and her father’s *actual* will to investigators. She even submitted a report claiming the fakes were stolen a few days earlier.
The craftsman who made the fakes testified that the items Calleo had were his work. Royal inspectors confirmed *Irenea’s* were real.
She tried to have both the butler and her uncle arrested.
But the uncle had bribed the judge long ago. The butler took the blame, had his hand cut off, and died.
Then her uncle came to her with fake concern:
> “Oh my dear niece! That wicked butler tricked me too! I thought the will he brought me was real. I only wanted to help you and your sisters by finding good husbands!”
> *What a liar.* The moment he knew he couldn’t steal the title, he tried to marry her off to someone under his control.
> “I know what you mean, Uncle. But I’ll protect my sisters. As the new Marchioness of Blair, I’ll take care of everything.”
> “Still, you’re very young. Surely you need guidance…”
> “Not that young. I just turned 20. That’s why I could inherit the title.”
*Thank goodness she had been of age.* If not, her uncle would’ve taken control of the estate as her guardian.
> “Well, your father and I had an agreement. If one of us died, the other would look after the girls’ marriages…”
> *As if anyone would believe a will-forging crook like you.*
But she stayed polite.
> “Of course, Uncle. I trust you completely.”
> *I’d trust a pig over you.*
And just as expected, her uncle acted fast.
—
A month later, he brought her a man.
She didn’t need to look to know: he was one of her uncle’s pawns.
So she burst into tears in front of them both.
> “My parents only passed away a month ago! How could I even smile at a man right now?”
> “But surely they’d want you to be happy…”
> “Father! Mother! Why did you leave me?!”
Her wailing overwhelmed even her uncle. He asked when she *would* be ready.
> “At least… three years. I want to mourn them properly.”
Amazingly, exactly three years later, her uncle returned—with the same man.
This time, Irenea met him… and rejected him in 10 minutes.
> “He’s ugly. I like handsome men.”
So next, her uncle brought a very handsome man.
She kicked him out in 5 minutes.
> “Too skinny. I prefer strong men.”
Then he brought a handsome knight. She dismissed him in 3 minutes.
> “He smells. A man should be clean.”
Next came a clean, handsome, strong man.
She didn’t even let him speak.
> “I want a golden-haired knight. Like in fairy tales.”
Finally, her uncle exploded.
> “You’ve gone too far! Do you think a man like that even exists?!”
> “Of course he does. Why wouldn’t he?”
Looking like a dreamy girl in love, she smiled sweetly.
> “If you can find him, I’ll gladly marry.”
> “Hmph! Fine! Show me this dream man, and I’ll stop bothering you!”
> “Okay, Uncle. I’ll introduce him soon.”
The very next day, Irenea summoned her chief steward and declared she’d hold a grand ball in two months at the capital townhouse.
> “Make it as luxurious as possible.”
> “Who should we invite?”
> “Everyone important—friends, business partners, nobles… even send one to the Imperial Palace. I’ll announce my engagement at the ball. Oh, and start planning the wedding. I want it done soon.”
The steward, usually calm, broke into a cold sweat.
> “But… my lady… you don’t have a fiancé yet…”
> “That’s why I’m throwing the ball in two months.”
With a bright smile, Irenea said:
> “Starting now, I’m going to find my husband.”
I can’t wait to see that uncle get what he deserves