2. Escape Number One from the Afterlife — That’s Me
At first, I really thought I was being favored by the Absolute Being.
【SYSTEM: You are beginning your second life.】
[The talent ‘Memory’ has been granted to Rosellia Serteia.]
【TIP! Use ‘Memory’ to reach a Happy Ending♥】
‘What is this?’
At 26 years old, I was just an ordinary job-seeking graduate when I died in a car accident.
Then I woke up in a strange world… and was suddenly greeted by a floating system window.
‘Second life? Memory talent?’
The system window lured me in, saying I’d been given a special ability for my second life and that I should use it to find a happy ending.
‘A foreign body, a strange world, and now a random system window…’
At first, I was completely stunned.
If I’d been a typical transmigrator, I probably would’ve needed months just to adapt.
But—
‘Wait a minute. Rosellia Serteia? Isn’t that the name of the villainess from that romance fantasy game?’
Apparently, that “memory” talent wasn’t a lie after all.
Even in my confusion, my brain kicked into high gear.
I pieced together the situation through the system window and conversations with those around me.
[Lady Rosellia has finally awakened!]
[His Highness the Crown Prince has sent word that he’ll visit soon.]
[Young Master Icart has written a letter…]
Cross-referencing all the clues with my memories from my previous life, I came to a shocking realization.
This world was clearly the setting of my favorite romance fantasy game from my previous life, “The Lady’s Dangerous Love Affairs.”
‘No way… I was right.’
Yes, the game “The Lady’s Dangerous Love Affairs”—just the name screams melodrama.
It was a game where a delicate, innocent heroine juggled a whole harem of male leads.
At first glance, it might seem like your typical romance sim, but this one was different.
‘It was the pinnacle of toxic drama.’
A parade of trashy male leads you couldn’t help but be drawn to despite how awful they were!
An ultra-flaky heroine with a face like first love, switching men like outfits!
Plot twists so outrageous, you had to leave half your brain behind to accept them!
It was a spicy romance game, soaked in scandal and shameless indulgence.
Some called it a trashy, third-rate game created purely for profit.
‘But hey, as long as it’s fun, who cares?’
I’d been absolutely obsessed with it in my past life, spending tons of money and time on it.
People might scoff and say it was a waste of life.
‘But who would’ve thought the afterlife would land me inside the world of that game?’
I was secretly overjoyed.
‘Cheers to me, the over-immersed otaku!’
I had always lived like a bed-bound hermit, so I thought I was surely bound for sloth hell when I died.
But instead of hell, I ended up in a romance fantasy world? Sign me up!
Even better, it wasn’t some unknown story—I knew every single route by heart!
‘Since I know the whole plot, getting a happy ending should be a piece of cake.’
Well, except for one thing: I was reincarnated as the villainess, Rosellia.
Rosellia Serteia, daughter of the infamous villainous House Serteia, and fiancée to the crown prince.
‘The Empire’s only duchess, spoiled rotten, entitled, and feared by all.’
At first glance, not a bad setup.
But the problem lay in the game’s unhinged plot.
For example…
‘The heroine has an affair with my fiancé.’
The Crown Prince loathes Rosellia.
“She’s jealous, violent, and utterly insufferable,” he says.
He falls madly in love with the kind, innocent heroine—the complete opposite of Rosellia.
Naturally, Rosellia becomes a raging obstacle, tormenting the heroine at every turn.
But the more she lashes out, the stronger their love grows.
They deepen their bond through the trials and tribulations Rosellia throws their way.
Eventually, Rosellia gets dumped by the Crown Prince.
Her villainous family, House Serteia, falls into ruin, and she is executed alongside them.
‘It’s a villainess’s tragic ending, through and through.’
But once I actually became Rosellia, I couldn’t stomach rooting for the original couple.
Not only do I lose the man I loved, but I’m executed at the end?
‘I have to avoid the bad ending at all costs.’
I wasn’t going to get crushed like a shrimp caught between whales.
‘Luckily, I remember all the game’s choices.’
I’d avoid the villainess route, win over the male leads, and find a happy ending in a completely different way from the original Rosellia.
At the time, I was brimming with confidence.
But then—
“You foolish girl! How dare you speak so boldly at the banquet?! Have you lost your mind?!”
“Aaack! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Auntie!”
After returning from the banquet, I was beaten brutally by my aunt.
‘I never imagined the villainess Rosellia was abused at home!’
Turns out the game left out a lot of backstory.
Details like Rosellia’s tragic birth and pitiful home life.
Her mother, the Duchess, died giving birth to her.
They said she was a cursed child who killed her own mother just to be born.
Everyone whispered behind her back.
Her household wasn’t any kinder.
The grief of losing their beloved duchess turned into resentment directed at Rosellia.
Her father, the Duke, and her older brother acted like she didn’t exist.
The Duke even dumped all responsibility for raising Rosellia onto her aunt and neglected her entirely.
Her aunt used this as an excuse to “educate” her through harsh abuse, isolating Rosellia completely so she couldn’t speak out.
That’s where all the tragedy began.
‘This is a scam! The game never said anything about this!’
I realized something was very wrong.
But by then, I was already bleeding out from a whipping-induced infection.
【SYSTEM: You are beginning your third life.】
[The talent ‘Combat Ability’ has been granted to Rosellia Serteia.]
【TIP! Use ‘Combat Ability’ to reach a Happy Ending♥】
“Ugh…”
When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the start of my first reincarnation.
There was no time to grieve my second death.
‘Combat ability, huh?’
I checked the system window.
To die so miserably without ever getting close to a happy ending…
‘I can’t let that happen again.’
Determined, I squeezed every detail about Rosellia’s situation out of those around me.
Her past behavior, current relationships, reputation, and living conditions—I gathered it all.
Using that intel, I devised a bold survival plan.
‘Combat ability… I can really make use of this.’
Operation: Make My Tyrant Father Notice Me began.
The Serteia family is famous for their swordsmanship.
My father, the Duke, is the head of the most renowned martial family in the Empire.
But Rosellia? She was born talentless in swordplay.
‘As if he didn’t hate me enough already.’
The Duke ignored Rosellia completely, disgusted by her incompetence.
‘But now that I have talent, I might finally catch his eye.’
Even that cold-blooded man known as the Iron Duke would see me differently if I showed promise.
There was even an original ending in the game like that—I could use it as a blueprint.
Unfortunately, Father was away at war for now…
‘Until he returns, I’ll train like mad!’
But one day, after coming back from sword practice—
All my equipment had vanished.
“What the…?”
I stood in disbelief, only for my aunt to sneer at me.
“So, I hear you’ve taken up sword training? What, think you’re something now that people are humoring you?”
“……”
“You? What can you possibly accomplish? You should stay locked up in this house and know your place!”
“Ah!”
“Die! Trash like you should just die!”
My aunt grabbed me by the hair, clawing and beating me with her nails.
“Please, stop! Auntie, stop!”
But I couldn’t just take it anymore.
The moment I pushed her away with all my strength—
“Kyaaaaah!”
She flew backward and struck her head on a metal shelf.
Servants came running at the sound of her screams.
My aunt lay unconscious, bleeding from the back of her head.
“N-no! I didn’t mean—!”
I tried to explain, but the evidence was damning.
And just like that, I was executed for the crime of murdering a family member.
【SYSTEM: You are beginning your fourth life.】
[The talent ‘Escape’ has been granted to Rosellia Serteia.]
【TIP! Use ‘Escape’ to reach a Happy Ending♥】
‘I’ve looped again.’
I slowly blinked my eyes open.
I stared at the system window.
‘So I die if I take the abuse. And I die if I fight back. Is that it?’
Only one option remained.
‘I have to run away.’
Fittingly, my new talent was “Escape.”
Rather than resist my aunt, fleeing would be smarter.
I packed what valuables I could and escaped the duchy in the dead of night.
‘I’ll head to the southern port. I can seek asylum abroad.’
I used my escape ability to evade detection and made it to the port safely…
Or so I thought.
“Terrorists!”
“Rebels have taken over the south and are marching on the capital!”
“What now?!”
It wasn’t enough that fate kept killing me—now even the port was in chaos thanks to a rebellion.
As if someone was deliberately blocking every path I took.
