NHVTP 08

Episode 008

Not long after, Ian Crawford sent an invitation.

The content was flawless as before. He wished to personally guide her through the duke’s mansion.

“Three consecutive private dates with the future Duke… anyone would treat me like a fiancée.”

Instead of twisting the original story, their relationship was steadily progressing.

The problem was that now it was no longer just about whether or not to marry.

“Can you swear on your family’s honor that you heard nothing?”

“I wonder if you would give that answer even if the countess’s life depended on it.”

Since hearing those words, Diana’s nights were plagued by restless dreams.

Every time her parents went out, she insisted they only go to safe places, making the coachman give them strange looks.

“This won’t do. I have to settle this somehow.”

Finally, on the day of the appointment,

Just as Diana was about to leave the mansion with her parasol, Helena approached slowly.

“Diana, are you going now?”

“Yes, I’m leaving now.”

“Alright.”

“I’ll be back before dinner. If I’m late, don’t wait up.”

“I’ll do that.”

Helena fixed Diana’s bonnet strings gently.

Diana silently accepted her touch.

“Mother.”

“Yes?”

“What will you do if I say I won’t marry even if I die?”

It was a somewhat impulsive question.

She expected a fuss denying such a thing, but the answer surprised her.

“Well… if that happens, I guess I’ll have to keep persuading you.”

Her mother smiled calmly.

“Diana, you exist within many relationships. Among those, family is the deepest and most precious.”

“…”

“That’s why I can’t immediately agree if you say you want to give up on that relationship.”

Diana expected to be told to leave or not to stay in the house.

But instead—

“If you’re my beloved daughter, I believe you’ll always make wise choices.”

The unexpected warmth made Diana’s eyes misty.

“I’m always sorry for you. If we were old nobility, you wouldn’t have to worry about family status.”

The faint apology made her mother look even smaller.

“If only you had siblings, your burden might be lighter…”

“No. I’m very happy even now. You know that.”

She shook her head.

Just as Diana had her circumstances, her parents had the responsibility to uphold the family name.

So though they often clashed over this topic, it never turned into a fight.

Helena, having fixed Diana’s clothes, gently patted her shoulder.

“Take care. Be careful on the way.”

“Yes. I will, Mother.”

With her mother’s reply, Diana’s resolve solidified.

She left the count’s mansion behind.

Inside the carriage headed to the duke’s mansion, Diana pondered her past life.

In her previous life, she was Park Hee-soo, living until twenty-five.

She loved her parents who did their best despite hardship.

She hated the subtle discrimination against her as the eldest sister, and the expectation to endure just because she was older.

Still, when they ate out together occasionally, she thought their family was happily united.

But when her parents’ restaurant closed, that illusion shattered.

“Hee-soo, since you’re taking a leave, can you take out a loan to help with living expenses?”

Knowing her parents’ situation, she couldn’t refuse.

As eldest daughter, she felt the weight of responsibility keenly.

Her planned half-year leave stretched to two years.

She gained more work experience than certifications, and the debt piled up.

Her friends’ glamorous social media posts only made her feel more miserable.

“What are you doing to spend so much money?”

“Is it my fault I have no money? Is it my fault?”

“Come here! How dare you speak to Mom like that!”

Park Hee-soo’s delayed adolescence came with harsh consequences.

Her parents would not tolerate her outbursts, instead enforcing discipline.

Around then, her younger brother caused trouble.

On the day he confessed a 50 million won debt from a failed coin investment, something inside her snapped.

“Is that even possible? Are we a bank? If you caused it, you fix it!”

“How can you speak so coldly just because you’re older?”

“Cold? Mom, how could you say that! Would you be satisfied if I went to work in a factory?”

Her father, who silently watched the fight, finally slapped her.

Hee-soo left home.

Fortunately, she got a job at an amusement park, easing worries about food and lodging.

But from that day, she realized her life would not be easy.

And that she had to keep living despite knowing this.

She often saw children happily smiling with their parents at the park.

She wanted to be born into such a family too.

One without worries, where love and care were all that mattered.

That unattainable wish stayed in her heart for a long time.

Until she was reborn as Diana Wellington after a tragic accident.

Perhaps because the wish was so specific, Diana’s life as Diana Wellington could be summed up in one phrase:

“Compensation for living as Park Hee-soo.”

A precious only daughter, a wealthy family, a loving and comfortable environment.

Everything she wished for was fulfilled.

Her kind father and gentle mother treated her like a treasure.

Even when Diana, recalling her past life, kept distance awkwardly, her parents remained the same.

The first real conflict was over marriage.

Her parents’ expectations were clear.

They wanted her to marry and have a family to experience happiness like theirs.

That was the common worldview of this world.

The strange one wasn’t her mother—it was herself.

Reminding herself that this alienation was because she became a character in a novel, she consoled herself:

I’m one of them. What I remember is just my past life, and what I went through is over.

It’s all in the past.

But memories became information, and though emotions faded, their influence remained.

Her values changed; though she was still Diana Wellington, she wasn’t the same person.

She lacked confidence in making a happy family.

Especially if her partner was Ian Crawford.

She didn’t want to die, nor did she want to be engaged to the villain.

She feared the kindness of her fiancé was a trap, that even a glass of water from him could be poisoned.

She didn’t want to live the rest of her life in constant vigilance.

Better alone than that.

Though she knew her life had fallen into an unfathomable abyss, she lived on stubbornly.

So for Diana, only one path remained.

“…I hate hypocrisy just as much.”

She murmured to herself.

Crawford’s duke mansion was closer to a castle than a mansion.

The grounds were so vast that it took fifteen minutes of brisk walking from the gate to the house.

One side had lush gardens; on the other, knights trained.

Countless arched windows represented the duke’s power; the white walls and dark blue roof shone beautifully.

As Diana stepped down from the carriage, an elderly butler approached.

“Welcome to Crawford Duke Mansion, Miss Diana Wellington. I am Hermann, the butler.”

“Nice to meet you, Hermann.”

“You must be tired after the journey. The young master is waiting in the study.”

Diana followed the butler.

The mansion interior was much larger than she imagined.

The floor was tiled in diamonds; more than forty central stairs spiraled upward.

From stone railings to statues, everything was spotless; the hallways were lined with ocean-blue carpet.

Most impressive were the ceiling frescoes.

From the hall to the corridors, the high ceilings were painted with creation myths in vivid fresco style.

Compared to these, the displayed armors and tapestries looked like toys.

“Welcome, Miss Diana. Was your journey comfortable?”

So you grew up taking all this for granted.

Seeing Ian Crawford, Diana finally understood why her parents saw him as an opportunity.

The dazzling mansion she glanced around so casually.

But the man who would own all this looked like he was bored to death.