Chapter 2

1. Estella Margaret Montiel

Estella Margaret Montiel entered the House of Berta exactly one month ago.

And it was also on that exact same day that she remembered her previous life as an elementary school teacher from South Korea with no particular dreams or ambitions.

There had been no warning signs before her memories returned.

The moment she woke up at the inn where she had stayed before arriving in the capital, completely different values and memories had already filled her mind.

At first, she thought she had simply had a strange dream.

After all, the memories she saw were unbelievably absurd.

In that world, even the level of civilization, the people around her, and her own appearance were completely different.

A country where everyone had black hair and black eyes.

It felt like a story from some distant eastern land.

Perhaps because she had been on her way to become a governess, her dream-self had also been a teacher, responsible for more than thirty children.

For a mere fantasy, the details had been far too realistic.

While chewing on bread during breakfast, Estella spent a long time thinking deeply about the meals from her dream-life that were completely different from this world.

Rice, stew, and several kinds of preserved side dishes.

As soon as she remembered their taste, she finally admitted the truth.

Those were memories from her previous life.

If it had only been a dream, there was no way she would miss fermented traditional food this much.

Her stomach suddenly felt uncomfortable, and she even put down the bread she had been eating.

She had spent over thirty years hearing people say, “Koreans need to eat rice.”

Yet somehow she had survived twenty-two years eating nothing but bread without realizing anything.

It was ridiculous.

If she had been able to live without knowing, why did she suddenly remember her past life only after growing up this much?

Apparently, people did not go to heaven or hell after death.

They were simply born again.

Even after discovering one of humanity’s greatest mysteries, she did not feel happy at all.

If someone woke up one morning and suddenly understood the truth about life and death, they would probably think the same thing:

“This is seriously insane…”

Her memory of dying lasted only a moment.

On her way to work at school, traffic had suddenly stopped, and she quickly hit the brakes.

But the truck behind her failed to stop in time and crashed directly into her car.

When she saw the trunk of the car ahead rushing toward her face, she instinctively knew she would not survive.

And she had been right.

When she opened her eyes again, she was in a completely different country from Korea.

No—not just a different country.

A completely different world.

In this life, Estella was a poor countryside noblewoman whose finances did not match her status.

At the same time, she lived in a city where nobody openly spoke about social rank.

Before now, Estella had never seriously thought about death.

Then she died once and woke up again.

Her entire perspective on life changed overnight, yet her circumstances remained exactly the same.

And unfortunately, she had no time to quietly reflect on it all.

At the time, she had been on her way to a job interview for the governess position at the House of Berta.

A governess: a live-in private tutor for children.

Because her noble family had become poorer with every generation, she had no choice but to look for work despite being an aristocrat.

It was the common fate of daughters from weak provincial noble families.

Recently, the House of Berta had dismissed its former governess, leaving the position vacant.

The moment Estella heard the news, she immediately sent a letter to the capital.

To her surprise, they quickly sent back a reply with an interview date.

Instead of worrying about her newly remembered past life, Estella focused more seriously on the interview waiting ahead of her.

Because if things went wrong, she might experience starvation right after dying in an accident.

“Miss, we’ve arrived!”

The carriage stopped with a loud shake.

Trying to calm her nerves, Estella stepped outside.

A truly enormous mansion greeted her.

Tall walls surrounded the estate, and a massive iron gate stood proudly at the center.

The sheer scale of it intimidated her slightly.

Carefully, she asked the coachman who was preparing to leave,

“Um… where should I go now?”

“How should I know that?”

The coachman answered bluntly as if her question was ridiculous, then quickly left.

Since she had only paid him for transportation, he had no reason to care what happened after she got off.

“……”

After hesitating briefly, Estella approached the guard by the gate.

His fierce expression made her reluctant to speak to him, but there seemed to be no other way inside.

Clearing her throat, she spoke.

“Um, I came because I heard you were looking for a governess.”

As she said this, she admired the guard’s uniform.

Thankfully, the man recognized her immediately.

“Ah, would you happen to be Miss Estella Margaret Montiel?”

“Yes.”

“The butler informed us about you. Please come inside.”

The guard was far more polite than she expected.

Despite the intimidating walls, entering the estate itself was surprisingly easy.

Following behind him, Estella looked around curiously.

Every elegant decoration she saw caught her attention.

The grand mansion and perfectly maintained gardens reminded her of Versailles Palace.

Even after entering the mansion itself, she was too distracted by the magnificent interior to focus properly.

Perhaps mistaking her behavior for that of a country girl amazed by the capital, the guard casually asked,

“Is this your first time in the capital?”

“Yes, it is.”

Estella answered honestly.

“The capital really does feel like another world,” the guard said cheerfully. “Though honestly, aside from the Imperial Palace, it’s hard to find a building as impressive as this one. I’m from another region too, so when I first started working here, I was terrified myself… Ah, we’ve arrived.”

The guard suddenly stepped back half a step and gestured for her to stand in front of the large door.

After giving her a brief salute, he wished her luck.

“I hope your interview goes well.”

Once he left, Estella took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

Just hearing the word “interview” was enough to make people nervous.

Unfortunately, the person inside gave her no time to calm herself.

“Come in.”

Estella carefully opened the door and stepped inside.

An elderly man sat within the room.

His neatly combed white hair, monocle, and perfectly trimmed beard immediately reminded her of a certain profession.

‘A butler?’

“Welcome, Miss Montiel. I am Javier, the head butler managing the House of Berta.”

After speaking, the butler offered his hand.

Estella shook it and introduced herself as well.

“Hello, I’m Estella Margaret Montiel. Please call me Miss Margaret.”

A strange light appeared briefly in Javier’s eyes.

But it lasted only a moment before he nodded in understanding.

Nobles did not work.

Even if she had grown up far from political power, it was still shameful for a noblewoman like Estella to seek employment.

Although the Montiel family was not well known, she clearly did not want to be treated using her family name.

As expected, she awkwardly added,

“It feels embarrassing to go around using my family name.”

“I understand, Miss Margaret.”

Javier placed a hand on his chest and nodded respectfully.

Then he picked up the résumé lying on the desk.

It was the document Estella had sent to the mansion a week earlier.

For a while, Javier carefully read through what she had written.

Even her neat handwriting showed she had received a proper education.

“As mentioned in the job notice, there are two children you will be teaching. Young Master Cedric and Young Lady Cecilia.”

The names sounded strangely familiar.

Although confused, Estella nodded politely.

Javier glanced at her over the paper.

“You appear healthy enough.”

“I can at least handle teaching two children.”

“You are twenty-two years old, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Very good. Please follow me. Since this is a live-in governess position, we will prepare a room for you inside the mansion. I will explain the dining hall location and other important rules while we walk.”

The butler stood up from his seat.

Estella’s eyes widened in shock.

Had even five minutes passed since she sat down?

The sudden hiring decision completely stunned her.

Standing quickly, she asked hesitantly,

“Um… is that all?”

“Yes. Is there a problem?”

“Well… I mean… you haven’t even checked whether I’m actually qualified to teach children.”

“Ah.”

Javier turned back toward her from the doorway.

Then he asked gently,

“Is there anything false written on your résumé?”