Chapter 1 –
Life is something you live alone.
Friendship? Love? Throw all that away.
I couldn’t believe that because I trusted love and friendship, my life ended like this.
“Do you admit your crime?”
My blurry eyes slowly focused.
I saw the round courtroom and many people watching the trial.
Among them were the people I trusted the most.
Those terrible people. Are you happy now?
“Violeta Sycline.”
“Why?”
People started whispering and shouting around me.
But I didn’t care.
I didn’t do anything wrong.
I looked straight at the judge and said again, “Why are you calling me?”
“Violeta Sycline!”
“Why!”
The judge’s face turned red. He looked angry. His mustache was shaking with rage.
“Do you not feel sorry for your crimes?”
I touched my left wrist out of habit, but I was wearing only a rough prison outfit now.
The feeling of my empty wrist made me feel worse.
I dropped my hand and said, “I told you, I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“You made potions. People who drank them coughed up blood and almost died. Even the Crown Prince. Because of you, the dragon hunt almost failed. Do you still say it’s not your fault?”
“How many times do I have to say it? It wasn’t because of my potion!”
The judge clicked his tongue and turned his head away to continue the trial.
I snorted and looked around the courtroom.
Far away, sitting proudly, were the people who betrayed me.
I once called them friends. I even thought I could die for them.
Leonhart pulled Banetta close and held her. He didn’t even blink while staring at me.
‘Ugh, how dramatic.’
Banetta, Leonhart, Calix, and…
“Witness, please come forward.”
…Rigreto. Even you?
His silver hair and blue eyes were beautiful. I always thought those were his best features.
He wore my favorite clothes and walked to the witness stand, looking perfect, and then… he told the court every one of my ‘bad actions.’
“Violeta—no, the criminal—has done evil things for a long time.”
Those lips once said they loved me. Now they stabbed me with lies.
He didn’t even look at me once.
That’s when I knew—it was really over.
Our ending was sad and pathetic.
“Criminal, do you have any last words?”
I had so many things to say.
But what was the point?
They already chose to throw me away.
Now I only had one thing left to protect—my pride.
I smiled. My dry lips cracked and hurt.
“My potion was perfect, you idiots.”
Bang, bang, bang.
The judge hit the gavel and gave the final judgment.
“Ugh, damn it. It’s raining hard.”
What a terrible day.
The sky had been cloudy all day, and now heavy rain poured down.
It had been 2 years since I was locked in this horrible cabin.
Two years ago, the judge with that ugly wig said,
“I take away the name of Violeta Sycline! She will be locked away for 500 years!”
“How did I end up like this…?”
Well, my whole life was a mess from the start.
I was born as a noble and lived like a brat. Then, one day, I fell off a horse and remembered my past life.
Why did I remember such a thing?
Because of that, I was a little smarter as a child. I gained some good things.
But maybe… I should’ve stayed dumb. Maybe life would’ve been better that way.
“Miss! You’re awake?”
‘…Huh? What’s going on?’
“You’ve been asleep for a week. Are you hurting?”
‘Yeah… my heart hurts a lot. I kind of want to die.’
“Ma’am! She’s really sick!”
That was the day I found out I was in a story.
And I wasn’t the hero—I was the villain girl who bullied the heroine and was kicked out.
But I didn’t give up. I tried hard to live.
I stopped acting like a spoiled noble.
I lived a good, honest life.
I even said sorry to the people I bullied. That was not easy.
“Lady Sycline has gotten quiet lately.”
“I heard she even said sorry to Banetta. Prince Stella is smiling a lot now.”
“But the big thing is she awakened a special talent!”
I did it.
I even got stronger powers than in the original story.
It should’ve been a successful life.
So why did I end up broke and locked away like in the original ending?
What did I do wrong?
“I should’ve just stayed a villain and disappeared quietly…”
Trying to fix everything was too hard. I wanted to cry.
Rattle! Rattle! The window shook from the wind and rain.
This old cabin might fall apart soon.
I still had 498 years left to live here.
But I’m human, so I’ll die before that.
I frowned and picked up a hammer and nails.
Bang! Bang! I hit the nails hard, filled with anger.
The window frame finally stayed in place.
“I wish I had someone to trust… even just one person.”
That was what someone once said to me in my past life.
We weren’t exactly friends, but not strangers either.
She was sick, and one rainy day like this, she died.
Her funeral was quiet. No parents, no family.
I stayed at the funeral alone, not because we were close, but because we were similar.
I was lonely.
That’s why I wanted someone like she described.
Bang! Bang! I hammered more nails.
“Vi… Violeta…”
“Leon… What… Did you—Did you really—?”
BANG!
Those terrible people.
“They lied to us?”
“This was about life or death. And you still…?”
So stupid.
The people I thought were my friends or lovers all betrayed me.
Anger filled me. I stomped toward the door and opened it wide.
“AHHH!”
I kicked a rock hard.
“AAARGH! YOU JERKS!”
The loud wind and rain swallowed my screams.
I stood there, watching the storm.
Somehow, the strong rain made me feel a little better.
Feeling calmer, I shut the door again. The rain now sounded soft and peaceful.
Actually, I liked it.
Silence in the forest without animal sounds can drive people crazy.
It was amazing I hadn’t gone mad yet.
“…Alright. On a day like this, I should just work.”
I wiped the rain off my clothes and walked to my little workshop.
There was an old desk, a pot, and papers everywhere. This was my space.
I gathered the papers and brought out a special material I’d been studying.
A dark, hook-shaped item came out of my inventory.
At the same time, a light-blue screen appeared in front of me.
[Claw of the Light Dragon]
Effect: ???
Description: The cursed claw of a dragon who was once the king of dragons.
A status window.
This was a special ability I got when I remembered my past life.
It was the result of my hard work, blood, and tears as a poor graduate student—student #17.
