Chapter 3
The now-young Seraphina clung tightly to my leg and wouldn’t let go.
“Maah!”
She even called me ‘Mom.’
“Um, I’m not…”
“You’re not Mama? Then I don’t have a mama?”
I was trying to correct her, but those big, clear eyes looked up at me filled with tears.
And in that moment, I remembered.
The adult Seraphina always looked on with a faint, wistful smile whenever others spoke about their parents, quietly swallowing her envy.
I remembered that look. So how could I say to her now, “You don’t have parents. You’re an orphan.”
‘Only someone with no soul could say that.’
“…Yes. Let’s go with me being your mom.”
This childlike Seraphina didn’t remember anything.
“Seraphina, do you know where we are?”
“Our house!”
“…This is a temple. A shrine to the goddess Rudina. You were the saint of Rudina. Do you remember what a saint is?”
“Hm?”
“No, huh. I figured.”
Still, there were a few things she did remember.
“So, how old are you, Seraphina?”
“Three!”
‘Oh my god. That’s way too cute.’
Three chubby fingers pressed proudly against her cheek—so confident, so precise.
If I could, I’d gobble her up from sheer cuteness.
‘No wonder we never saw Seraphina’s childhood in the original story.’
How could anyone hand such an adorable child over to the male lead? They’d want to keep her for themselves!
The more I thought about it, the less terrible this whole “mom” thing sounded. When else in life would I ever have a precious baby call me “Mom”?
‘Plus, I get to spy on the female lead’s childhood—this is a rare chance.’
And considering that she became a child to help lift my curse, ignoring her would be morally wrong.
Just then, Seraphina threw her arms wide.
“Hug!”
She was aiming for my lap.
Well, there was no reason to refuse. The moment I picked her up—
Ding-ding! Several messages popped up in sequence.
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You are receiving a divine message from the goddess Rudina.
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In accordance with the contract with Saint Seraphina, the blessing of Rudina now rests upon your path.
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The Demon King Beelzebuth’s curse has been downgraded to the Curse of Forgetting.
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The goddess Rudina promises to ease the curse if you perform virtuous deeds that mark a turning point in history.
-
Depending on the significance of your deeds, the memories of those around you will return.
“…Huh?”
✦ ✦ ✦
The goddess Rudina.
Known as the Goddess of Life, she was the one who allowed Seraphina to use healing power called divine force.
But there’s no way she would send me a message.
‘Is this some kind of smishing scam?’
-
The goddess Rudina rebukes your blasphemy!
At the same time, vines on the wall sprang to life and sealed up cracks in the temple’s outer wall.
‘Wait… So this is actually the real goddess? But why can I hear her? I’m not a saint.’
-
The goddess Rudina replies: your contract with Saint Seraphina enables this communication.
Okay, fine. This is a weird fantasy world—sure.
‘So what exactly do I need to do to lift the curse again?’
-
The goddess Rudina says: perform virtuous deeds…
‘Wow. This goddess is insane.’
-
?!??
Seraphina was the only priest who could hear the voice of Rudina and deliver her prophecies to those in need of divine guidance.
So, naturally, prayer was a big part of Seraphina’s daily life.
What wasn’t natural was how, after every prayer, Seraphina would call Rudina a “shameless old bat.”
‘She really was from the backstreets. Her vocabulary was wild.’
I used to wonder if it was appropriate for a saint to talk that way.
‘So this is the goddess she was cursing.’
Now I understood. Seraphina was sugarcoating it all along.
‘She turns me into a kid and then expects me to do what now?’
-
Th-the goddess Rudi■■■…
Suddenly, the message glitched—letters blurred and vanished with a chime.
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The goddess Rudina explains that purifying the curse requires massive amounts of divine force.
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Saint Seraphina’s attempt failed due to insufficient divine power.
-
However, as you are not a saint, you cannot accumulate divine power.
‘…Of course.’
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The goddess Rudina says it is possible to convert your virtuous deeds into divine force.
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The more good deeds you perform, the more the curse will lift—and the more Seraphina will return to normal.
So basically, if I rack up enough karma, everything will go back to how it was.
‘So… what, should I go pick up some trash?’
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The goddess Rudina states that only historically significant deeds will be counted.
‘And how exactly am I supposed to do that?’
-
The goddess Rudina reminds you that you’ve already altered history once before.
As if I’ve done something amazing.
All I did was twist the plot so Laura wouldn’t die.
‘Wait a second… the “history” Rudina refers to…’
‘She means the original novel, doesn’t she?’
-
Rudina confirms this.
It started to make sense.
‘So I have to twist the original plot again—to survive.’
And help the world along the way too, apparently.
-
The goddess Rudina enthusiastically agrees!
What’s with the enthusiasm? Makes me want to smack her.
So this really meant I’d have to survive again—without the female lead this time.
And somehow, twist the already twisted original plot.
‘This goddess is so useless. Even nitrogen in the air has more presence than her.’
-
Rudina has seen nothing.
Wow.
Ridiculous and absurd… but even so…
“I have to live.”
No matter what it takes, I have to survive—
‘My riches. My luxury. My comfortable life. I want it back.’
So what should I do?
Two years had passed since my reincarnation, which meant the story was nearing its end.
Thankfully, I had read the side stories too—there was still usable information left.
‘First, I need time.’
Doing nothing is a death sentence. Laura originally died not just because of her own misdeeds, but because she bore the weight of her family’s sins.
‘Luckily, I already abolished the collective punishment law.’
If I can prove I wasn’t involved in the marquis’s demonic rituals, I can survive.
‘And my version of Laura caused much less harm.’
Compared to the real Laura—who committed bribery, human trafficking, and murder—my version only got caught receiving a bribe (which I rejected!) and had one noblewoman kicked out of society.
Seems like the curse affected people’s memories, but left my accomplishments intact.
What I needed most now was people.
‘If I claim I’m innocent alone, it’s just a self-defense. But if enough people believe me, it becomes the truth.’
I’d done it once before—proved that Laura’s villainy stemmed from the marquis.
‘To do that again, I have to prove I’m not the same Laura.’
Show that I’m not a selfish villainess misusing her powers, but a capable ally.
First step: gain allies—just one person at a time.
‘The more influence I gain, the easier it’ll be to rack up virtuous deeds that make it into the history books.’
The main plot focused on Seraphina defeating the corrupt Leways family and dethroning the empress and second prince.
The side stories followed Seraphina’s life as Asel’s fiancée—navigating palace politics, fending off foreign princesses, and foiling a duke’s attempted rebellion during a time of national turmoil.
‘Originally, I planned to retire quietly in the background, giving Seraphina advice while living in peace.’
But the side stories were ridiculously dramatic, and tons of people died in the duke’s rebellion arc.
With Seraphina gone, there’s no avoiding it now.
‘Maybe that rebellion is my job now. If I act early and reduce casualties, it might count as a virtuous deed.’
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Rudina agrees.
‘Gasp. The air talks now?’
-
a(ﾟДﾟ)
Then—
“Sleepy…”
Seraphina rubbed her eyes and tugged on my sleeve with her tiny hand.
“Piggyback, please.”
Oh no. I’m melting.
I couldn’t let her sleep on the cold ground, so I started moving.
I wandered through the ruined temple—which was closer to a wreck than a home—until I found a usable room.
The moment I laid her down, Seraphina fell asleep. She really had been tired.
Her soft little breaths filled the room. My heart calmed.
I finally had time to look around.
‘Wait a minute…’
This layout felt familiar.
This was Seraphina’s room.
‘So this is what it originally looked like.’
As I imagined the familiar furnishings layered over the worn ones, a new thought struck me.
‘There should’ve been someone else here.’
Every time I visited the temple, someone always came to greet me besides Seraphina.
“Marsha?”
She had been abused at the Leways estate because she was my maid—but I’d taken her away and made her a holy knight.
But now, with Seraphina’s timeline erased, the temple itself had vanished—and Marsha with it.
Where was she now?
✦ ✦ ✦
“Um… sir, are you sure this is okay?”
Even though the deed was already done, the servant couldn’t stop glancing nervously at the young master.
What he meant was: they had dragged Marsha—Laura’s personal maid—behind the estate to a storage shed.
“If something goes wrong—”
“If something goes wrong, what?”
Jeppetto glared at the servant.
“This is the perfect time to get away with it. If you don’t snitch, no one will ever know.”
Jeppetto had brought Marsha here for one reason: to take out his frustration.
His father, the Marquis of Leways, was a meritocrat. He treated people differently depending on their abilities.
Even his own children weren’t exceptions.
Jeppetto had always been ignored.
“What do you even do? Living off the family name like a leech. What have you ever accomplished?”
Laura was adopted—but Jeppetto was the real son!
But he couldn’t touch Laura.
Her personality was overwhelming, and the marquis always took her side.
‘But a maid? She’s fair game.’
Even if he beat her for no reason—or worse—no one would care. She was just a servant.
And Laura’s maid was tight-lipped. As long as she didn’t catch them red-handed, it would never leak.
Still, it bothered him.
Why was Laura’s maid so stubborn?
Of course, none of that mattered now.
“You have no right to treat me this way. Even if you’re the young master—”
“Hey.”
Jeppetto sneered.
“Do I need a reason to hurt someone like you?”
You’re just a maid.
“…”
Jeppetto smirked. He loved watching that mouth freeze up after forgetting its place.
While searching her belongings, his men found a handkerchief tucked away in a corner—embroidered, slightly worn, but clearly precious.
“What’s this?”
Marsha’s eyes trembled. Her fist clenched—but she didn’t raise her hand.
That’s right. This is the gap between us.
“What now? Dance for me? Maybe I’ll give it back—”
CRASH.
The shack door burst open.
“I’m here, you bastard.”
The last person he wanted to see stepped inside.
“Sh*t.”
Laura’s face looked exactly the same—playful tone, mischievous smile.
But for some reason…
Something about the cold look in her eyes made a chill crawl down his spine.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to kneel?”
