Chapter 1
Prologue.
They say a gentle breeze brings good news.
Though the sun was shining after a light sunshower, the air remained damp. The scent of wet soil and grass was unexpectedly pleasant, likely because of the raindrops that had soaked the ground.
My hair fluttered with the breeze. It was the perfect weather for tea.
“Layla, I have something to tell you.”
The person sitting across from me was my older sister.
Her name was Sibel Aviere. She was officially registered as a member of the Aviere Count’s family.
After our mother passed away, our father brought her in. Judging by the timeline, she had been born while our mother was still alive—clearly the result of an affair.
“What is it?”
After our mother died, Father brought both her and her mother into the household.
“Why do you look so upset?”
Sibel’s expression was grim. Her lips parted as if she wanted to speak but couldn’t, repeating this hesitation several times before finally giving up.
“Layla, you said you’d forgive me no matter what I did, right?”
That wasn’t something I had said. It was something the naive, original Layla Aviere had promised.
“Of course. What is it? You’re starting to scare me.”
But since I was now Layla Aviere, I had to act as meek and pitiful as she was.
“I’m sorry, Layla.”
“Sis, what’s going on?”
I reached out and placed my hand over hers on the table. She flipped her hand and gripped mine tightly. I nearly pulled away, but I forced myself to hold on and met her eyes.
My sister was a graceful beauty, with jet-black hair and deep ocean-blue eyes.
“I’m pregnant.”
“What?”
“It’s Sonet’s child.”
At that moment, it felt like a bell rang in my head.
What kind of bell?
A bell of joy!
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m sorry, Layla.”
“My wedding is in a month…”
“I’m so sorry…”
Sonet was my fiancé. We were set to marry next month. All the preparations had already been completed.
“You’ll understand, won’t you?”
Of course I could understand.
My sister had stolen so many men from me that I’d stopped counting after the tenth. By now, I was used to it.
“Sonet feels really sorry for you.”
“Sis…”
How could someone be this stupid?
Thank you so much.
I’d been so worried about actually marrying him next month, but of course…
You never disappoint.
“Ugh… This is too much…”
“I’m sorry, Layla.”
I couldn’t cry, so I forced a trembling voice and lowered my head, letting my hair fall over my face.
“But we’ll still be like before, right?”
Her lips were trembling—shamelessly.
“How far along are you?”
“Two months.”
Two months ago, Sonet was still looking for a house for us.
“I see.”
“I really am sorry, Layla… But Sonet said he prefers me over you. I tried to refuse, thinking of you at first…”
I made my shoulders shake as if I were sobbing. She sighed before continuing.
“Sonet and I are meant to be, Layla.”
“Sis.”
“If you hold on to someone who doesn’t want you, it’ll only make you miserable. So please, okay?”
She spoke in a rush, as if anxious.
“Please give him up, for the child’s sake.”
“That’s cruel, Sis.”
“But you don’t have long to live. What did Sonet do wrong? Don’t you feel sorry for him?”
For a second, I almost looked up in rage.
Through my disheveled hair, I peeked at her face.
She looked sad—disgustingly so.
“Okay. I understand.”
“Thank you, Layla. I hope we can still be like before.”
I wiped my eyes as if crying, rubbing them hard enough to sting. I wanted them to look swollen, like I had been crying. Then I lifted my head.
“Of course, Sis. Congratulations.”
See you in hell.
This was my third life.
In my first, I died from overwork. In my second, I possessed Layla Aviere’s body and died from an illness. Now, in my third, I had regressed back to being Layla once more.
The first time I possessed her, she was five years old. Layla was a lovely, delicate, and sickly girl—nothing more than a shadow behind her radiant sister, the protagonist.
Her illness was hereditary, and she gradually weakened and died for unknown reasons.
But after I died once, I realized—it hadn’t been a natural illness.
There was something wrong with the medicine I had been given daily for over fifteen years.
By the time I realized that, I couldn’t even leave my bedroom anymore.
“Damn it.”
I had possessed a book I barely read. It was a generic story titled At the End of Waiting.
The heroine, Sibel Aviere, overcame a tragic childhood, joined the Aviere Count’s family, rose in high society with her dazzling beauty, and eventually became Empress.
I hadn’t read the whole thing. I skipped the middle and only read the ending. So I had no idea what happened in between.
I skipped it because the main male lead was boring and the sub male lead was even more frustrating.
After personally living through that middle part and then regressing, I was ready to curse.
“There’s no next life, is there?”
Because this was it.
I looked in the mirror and saw the same face I had before I died. The calendar hanging above the mirror showed the exact date I had first possessed her.
August 1st. A little heart was drawn on it.
Fortunately, I hadn’t regressed to age five. I was back at twenty, one year before I died.
“I wish I could go back to my original life.”
It didn’t feel good to be stuck with such a miserable path again. If I had to die, couldn’t I have possessed someone in another book?
Maybe the beloved youngest princess of an emperor, doted on by ten older brothers?
I felt dizzy from the sheer frustration.
Layla Aviere’s reflection looked the same. Though she was a supporting character, she was breathtakingly beautiful—her light pink hair like cotton candy, her sky-blue eyes radiant.
The problem was that she was so weak she couldn’t participate in high society and was confined to her room until she died.
I had been healthy as a child. But once they said I had a disease, I dutifully took my medicine and grew weaker by the day.
Then one day, just in case, I secretly stopped taking the medicine—and got better. But when I was caught, they made me take even more, and eventually, I died.
“Sigh.”
Who would’ve guessed? That the angelic heroine of the original story was actually the final boss villainess.
“Well, at least now I can get revenge.”
That thought suddenly struck me.
Maybe this second chance was an opportunity.
“Let’s think positively.”
Muttering to myself, I let go of the mirror.
Knock knock.
‘I’m coming in.’
The voice of the rude maid hadn’t changed. She always brought and made sure I took my medicine.
“Oh, you’re already up?”
Her name was Ella.
“I need to clean, so please move over. Or stay in bed, either way.”
There was no one on my side in this house. When I was young, the hostility wasn’t obvious, but by the time I turned fifteen, the difference was stark.
Ever since Sibel’s mother made her debut in society, she had treated me coldly.
With the real power of the household snubbing me, how could any servant show me respect?
“I’ll step out.”
“Thank you. That helps.”
As I responded, I looked toward Sibel’s door across the hallway. No servants were in the corridor, and I had shut my own door behind me. No one was watching.
So I quietly slipped into Sibel’s room.
Her room mirrored mine, so I had a good sense of where everything was.
I went straight for the display cabinet. Today was August 1st—Sibel’s birthday. She wouldn’t be back soon.
She was probably out shopping extravagantly with her close lady friends, all dressed up.
Inside the cabinet, I saw luxurious ornaments I could never dream of owning. Beneath them was a jewelry box.
I opened it and took out Sibel’s most prized possession—a garnet necklace. Then I returned the jewelry box to its place.
I closed the cabinet carefully, even adjusting the glass ornaments I might have touched. When everything was back in place, I tiptoed to the door and listened.
No one seemed to be around.
I cracked the door open slightly to check the hallway. As expected, it was empty—except for the voices of two maids cleaning my room and Ella directing them.
Feeling relieved, I stepped into the hall and gently closed Sibel’s door behind me.
Click.
The sound was barely audible, but my heart pounded like it had echoed through the entire house.
I forced myself to stay calm as I waited in the hallway. About thirty minutes later, my bedroom door opened.
“Done cleaning?”
“Yes, miss. Your room was so filthy, we couldn’t even finish tidying it all.”
“Thanks for your hard work.”
Ella sneered and waved the maids out. As she walked past, I slipped the garnet necklace into her back pocket.
“I’ll count on you again, Ella.”
“…Excuse me? Uh, sure.”
She left with a sour expression.
That night, chaos broke loose.
Because Sibel had come home and discovered her necklace was missing.
