IVWL 01

There were times I wished the company would just collapse. Not every day—maybe four times a week?

“Please let the company go under. It’d be even better if it vanished without a trace over the weekend…”

I prayed whenever I had a spare moment. Every day.

But even so—

“…Still, come on.”

I stared blankly into the mirror, completely dazed.

“Who actually makes it collapse?!”

And of all times—when I’m the only one in the building!

I remember it clearly.

I finally finished the report my supervisor demanded by 8 a.m. the next day. That was at 11:15 p.m.

I cracked my aching back, packed my things, and threw on my coat. That was around 11:17.

I glanced around the empty office, turned off the lights, and pressed the elevator button.

Then, yawning widely, I checked the time for the last subway.

“Arriving in 3 minutes,” it said on my phone. For a split second, I foolishly thought, “Guess I’m lucky today.”

But just as I opened the web novel I’d been reading lately, humming a tune—

That’s when it happened.

The entire office building literally collapsed.

A deafening roar pierced my ears, the ground shook violently, and it felt like I was falling straight down. That sensation is still so vivid.

Between clouds of choking dust and chunks of falling concrete, I screamed—and thought:

This is insane. This can’t be real.

Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that a perfectly fine building collapsing out of nowhere is somehow possible.

But if someone had to be left inside, to die such a senseless death…

Why did it have to be me—the one working 15-hour days?

When my supervisor dumped their tasks on me and then walked off with all the credit—

When they suddenly demanded I work over the weekend—

When that creep of a department head groped my arm at the office dinner—

…I endured it all.

“Sorry, but this falls outside my job responsibilities.”

“You want me to work on the weekend? Isn’t that a breach of contract?”

“What do you think you’re doing?! That’s sexual harassment!”

The righteous, satisfying ending where you confront your boss and call out the offender? That doesn’t exist in real life.

Why not? Because once you’ve said your piece and vented your anger, what comes next?

It’s obvious. Your already hellish job gets even worse.

I wasn’t the brightest, but I knew one thing for sure:

My life wasn’t some novel or movie—it was 100% reality with no plot twists.

For someone like me—no connections, no money, just another Average Jane—asserting my rights was a luxury I couldn’t afford.

…And really, why did I cling to that miserable job paying me barely 1.8 million won after taxes?

Because I absolutely refused to return to the hell that is job hunting.

Anyone who’s ever gone through it would understand.

The way your self-esteem crumbles every time you get auto-rejected from an application.

And that’s not all.

If you got a rare call from a classmate, it was always one of two things:

“Hey, I opened a café! Can you post some cute pics and tag us?”

Or—

“Sebin! We’re doing a staycation this weekend. I just landed a job at S Corp. Let’s celebrate!”

Anyone who hasn’t lived it won’t get it.

When your old friends are living picture-perfect lives, you find it hard—even impossible—to smile.

“…So unfair.”

I stared at the unfamiliar woman in the mirror, gritting my teeth.

“So unfair I could scream!!!”

It wasn’t that I hated my successful friends.

What I hated was this cursed fate that killed me—Lee Sebin, who tried her best to live strong in this unforgiving world.

And all because of a building collapse?

But even more ridiculous was what came next—

“Where am I? And who the hell am I?!”

I stared, half-out-of-it, at the woman standing in front of me.

“Oh my, miss! Are you feeling unwell?”

A woman in a maid outfit entered my room like she belonged there, calling me “miss.”

My mind reeled. I muttered blankly, not really expecting a response.

“…Anna?”

“Yes, miss? Why do you ask?”

She replied calmly. My mouth slowly fell shut.

I just said it on a whim…

But she really was Anna?

Anna was a minor character from the web novel I’d been reading right before I died.

She had such a memorable line, it stuck with me.

She tried to do something terrible to the female lead—but failed.

She managed to escape the scene, but was quickly captured. Unable to withstand torture, she confessed everything:

“I-I’m sorry! Please spare me! I had no choice, I couldn’t defy Lady Selenea’s orders…!”

But she never finished that sentence—because the male lead’s sword slashed her throat before she could.

I felt so bad for her, I even left a comment on that chapter for the first time:

Username: 로판처돌이
Am I the only one who felt bad for Anna? What was a mere servant supposed to do…ㅠ
— [The Saintess Who Saved the Empire, Ep. 83] ♥ 4

And now—Anna from that very novel was standing right in front of me.

“…Miss?”

Her voice snapped me back to reality. I instinctively backed away as if I’d seen a ghost.

A pounding headache settled in my temples.

Of course. Of course! I’ve transmigrated into the novel I was reading before I died!

How else could I explain what was happening?

I trembled as I opened my mouth, but Anna just tilted her head and said,

“Miss, you’re acting quite strange today.”

I started sweating cold bullets.

“You even woke up earlier than usual.”

I glanced at the window.

“Also, you were yelling at the top of your lungs since morning.”

I couldn’t help that! Who wouldn’t scream seeing a stranger in the mirror?

Anna rubbed her chin, her seemingly innocent green eyes flashing momentarily.

“Could it be…?”

“…”

“You’re nervous about Lady Estelline’s birthday banquet tonight?”

My lips slowly parted.

Birthday banquet? Wait—whose birthday?

Anna sighed and walked toward me.

Then suddenly, she leaned in close.

Startled, I flinched. She whispered softly into my ear,

“Don’t worry, miss. I gave ‘that’ to the kitchen maid in charge of the banquet hall, just like you asked.”

I instinctively pulled back and stared at her.

“Th-that? What are you talking about…?”

Anna didn’t respond. She just stared at me with wide eyes.

Then, glancing around to make sure no one was watching, she whispered again,

“Why, the medicine bottle you gave me, of course.”

…Medicine bottle?

A gasp escaped me as I clamped my hand over my mouth.

A chill ran down my spine.

A vivid scene from the novel flashed through my mind:

She clutched her chest, eyes wide, as the wine glass slipped from her fingers. Crimson liquid soaked the carpet.

“P-Poison in the wine!”

“Fetch a healer, now!!”

Blood gushed from her lips as she collapsed.

Oh no. I knew this scene.

Anna hesitated, stepping forward.

“Miss, are you okay? Wait… that medicine—wasn’t it just a laxative?”

Laxative, my ass.

I stumbled to the bed, barely catching myself.

What the hell is happening…?

My temples throbbed. A deep sigh rose from my gut.

But—if there was one silver lining—

At least now I was certain of one thing.

The body I now inhabited belonged to none other than the villainess of the original novel—

The woman who was supposed to attempt poisoning the heroine today—

Selenea Tiggeris.

“Miss! Your coat—wait!”

I leapt from the carriage and sprinted through the massive garden.

“You can’t run like that, miss!!”

Anna’s frantic voice echoed behind me, but I didn’t stop.

Every stomp of my shoes drove my heels deeper into my flesh.

But pain didn’t matter right now.

I have to stop it, no matter what.

More accurately, I had to stop Estelline’s younger sister—Eria—from drinking it.

In the novel, it wasn’t Estelline who drank the poisoned wine.

It was her twelve-year-old sister, Eria.

I bit my lip.

Now that I knew the truth, I couldn’t just sit back and let a child die.

And more importantly—

Selenea is executed when this is discovered.

This was the start of her villainous acts—the most horrifying one.

If I couldn’t fix this, I’d never survive here.

And if I fail, I’m headed straight for the executioner’s block…

Which was way worse than getting crushed by a building.

Panting hard, I finally saw it—the grand mansion’s massive front doors.