Chapter 1
My lifelong dream was to become a world-renowned fashion designer.
After going through countless challenges and finally making my way up as a designer, I was standing right on the brink of launching my own brand.
That day was the long-awaited moment when I would hold a fashion show under my own name for the very first time.
But just before I could present the results of countless sleepless nights to the world… I died of overwork.
The moment I was reborn, my newborn wail wasn’t from confusion — it was from sheer frustration.
Still, it didn’t take me long to adapt to my new life.
Perhaps God took pity on me, because this time, I was born into an enviable environment.
“My mother is Luciana, the only daughter of the prestigious merchant family ‘Eustis’.”
“And my father is Gerard, the youngest golden son of the Empire’s greatest martial family, ‘Brentio’…!”
In short, my family had both immense wealth and unmatched military power.
When Luciana and Gerard first got together, the imperial newspapers were in an uproar.
And no wonder — my mother was such an extraordinary beauty that she practically ruled the entire social scene of the Empire.
There had been countless men who tried to win her heart —
The First Prince, the Second Prince, sons of noble houses, and even princes from foreign kingdoms.
Yet, among all these outstanding men, the one my mother chose… was my father, Gerard.
My father, having fallen for her at first sight, wooed her with the earnestness of a straightforward muscle-head.
A thousand paper flowers, a scarf woven from a fabric that could only be obtained once in a century, an absurdly long love letter that seemed to go on forever…
My father didn’t just make his mark on the battlefield — he was rewriting history in the art of proposing.
Of course, to the outside world, my mother’s choice seemed baffling.
A man who had spent his entire life with a sword in hand — though respected — was hardly the type women usually swooned over.
What’s more, since he hadn’t appeared in high society since childhood, very few women even knew what he looked like.
Amidst the rumors, he had become a mysterious “War Demon” — a man with a terrifying scar across his face who relished the sight of blood.
When my mother chose him, the countless men who’d been rejected were stunned.
“I lost… to that guy?”
There were even news articles — practically thesis-length — speculating on how my father had won her over.
At the time, my mother brushed away all such questions with a single sentence:
“His smile is beautiful. You could call it a killer smile.”
Some skeptics wondered if this meant Sir Gerard had threatened to kill her unless she accepted his proposal. But that rumor died quickly —
Because my father took my mother’s hand and appeared at a ball.
A man who normally had no interest in high society had attended the Imperial Masquerade Ball just for her.
Naturally, all eyes were on my father, the man at the center of the latest scandal.
And the moment he removed his mask, everyone understood my mother’s choice.
Because… just as she’d said, my father was a born beauty with a smile so dazzling it could kill.
I still remember the first time I saw that smile — I was so shocked I nearly spat out the milk I was drinking.
“So this is what it means when they say a person ‘shines’…”
When I first saw my father, I assumed he must be the male lead.
Finding out he wasn’t left me deeply shaken.
“Then just how ridiculously handsome is the male lead supposed to be?”
Well, not that I actually wanted to know.
After all, I wasn’t going to meet him — I didn’t even have a single line in the original story.
Sure, I was a little curious, but…
There was no point getting involved with the poor male lead, who was destined for obsession, ruin, and captivity.
I already had more than enough in my life — wealth, power, doting parents…
And, thanks to superior genetics, I was a beauty without question.
In the mirror, I saw my mother’s sharp, well-defined features and my father’s black hair paired with golden eyes. I was so thrilled I danced.
“This life, I’m a beauty!” I’d thought.
But happiness… didn’t last long.
