Chapter 3
After crying on the floor for a while, Mavis climbed back onto the bed with her eyes all puffy.
Lying down somewhere soft while thinking things through didn’t seem like a bad idea. If your heart is heavy, at least your body should be comfortable.
‘What if… I just start being really nice to Vanessa from now on?’
That was the conclusion she came to—after all that crying.
In the original story, Mavis never gave up bullying Vanessa, and in the end, she got executed by the emperor.
So maybe—if she stopped bullying her now—she could survive?
Just as a tiny seed of “hope” began to grow in her heart—
[Was Vanessa secretly a goddess of luck?
After she left the Arsen household, everything fell apart.
All the family’s hidden crimes came to light.
It happened because the Duke had no interest in power and let the elders run things.]
Suddenly, scenes from the novel popped into her head—like the universe was telling her to quit dreaming and get real.
Mavis’s hopeful heart turned cold, like a winter where nothing could grow.
‘I’m screwed…’
Now that she thought about it, in the second timeline of the original novel, Mavis bullied Vanessa because she thought Vanessa was the reason their family collapsed.
Mavis’s tiny hands trembled as she gripped the blanket… though she was so weak, the blanket didn’t even wrinkle.
[“Mavis fell from the tree… and didn’t wake up… I was so worried.
Last time, she didn’t sleep for this long…”]
Wait, Mavis had fallen from a tree before?
No matter how hard she searched her memories, this was definitely the first time she’d ever fallen.
So how had Vanessa experienced this twice?
‘That means… this is already the second timeline…’
By now, Vanessa had likely made up her mind to divorce.
Back when Mavis was still reading the novel, she had cheered when Vanessa finally decided to leave that trashy family.
Watching Vanessa blossom after leaving the Arsen household had brought a small sense of hope to Mavis’s own life, back when she lived in a tiny semi-basement.
So, in other words…
If Vanessa did leave now, Mavis and the entire household would fall apart too.
“I haven’t even done anything yet! Why am I the one getting punished? The first Mavis was the one who was horrible and lived comfortably!”
Mavis burst into tears again.
Now, her only two options were:
- Bully Vanessa and die by the emperor’s sword.
- Don’t bully Vanessa, but the house collapses, and she starves on the street.
“Waaah… I don’t want this…!”
Mavis threw everything she could reach off the bed. Thankfully, they were just soft stuffed animals, so no damage was done.
* * *
Later, Mavis sat on the bed, looking bored while eating bread.
It wasn’t that the food was bad.
On the small tray on her bed was a steaming bowl of soup—so well-cooked the meat inside melted under her spoon—and soft white bread with a perfectly golden top.
It looked like something from a luxury hotel.
Sure, there wasn’t a lot, but for a kid who’d just woken up, it was plenty.
Still, Mavis couldn’t enjoy it. The taste didn’t even register.
Why?
Because of the two people sitting nearby, staring at her with concern.
“Mavis… are you feeling okay? No appetite?”
“Looks like she’s still tired. Tricia, tell the chef to make something even softer next time.”
Sitting beside her were the Count and Countess Arsen—Mavis’s grandparents.
They were also the main villains who made Vanessa’s life miserable.
Mavis hadn’t expected to run into the people who ruined her future this quickly, so she was super tense.
Wait, why were they Counts when this was a Duke’s household?
“I’m full…”
“Oh dear… Mavis, even if you don’t feel hungry, you should eat a little. You’ll be seeing Dr. Libane soon—just a few more bites, okay?”
“…”
Sigh “Fine. We’ll come back later. Get some rest, sweetheart.”
“Mm…”
As the maid cleared away the tray, Mavis immediately burrowed under the covers—clearly done with this conversation.
The count and countess finally left the room.
Mavis peeked her round head out from under the blanket.
‘Did they go? Are they really gone…?’
She carefully pushed the blanket aside and pulled out a hidden sketchbook and a box of 60 crayons from under her pillow.
It felt weird for someone who had graduated college to now be using crayons—but with her tiny kid hands, it was hard to hold anything else.
“Hm…”
The crayon fit perfectly in her small fist, and that hit her all over again—how different her body was now.
As she scribbled in the sketchbook, Mavis began sorting out her situation.
These weren’t your average crayons either—they were clearly the best money could buy. Much better than the cheap 12-color set she used to have.
[Mavis Arsen]
• Current body’s owner
• A third-rate villain who shows how awful Vanessa’s in-laws were
• Killed by the emperor ☠️
Mavis froze mid-scribble.
Sigh…
A heavy sigh escaped her lips—way too heavy for a little kid.
In the past, she’d been happy when Mavis died in the novel—after all, she was just the villain.
But now that it was her, the weight hit different.
[Why does she die?]
• Had zero morals, but plenty of persistence—kept harassing Vanessa even after the family went bankrupt.
[So what if she stops bullying Vanessa?]
• Vanessa leaves.
• Her “main character power” disappears.
• All the family’s crimes get exposed.
• Everyone crashes and burns.
“Mavis… maybe you could’ve tried not being awful…”
She felt like she was sinking into the floor.
She still didn’t know why or how she had possessed Mavis’s body, but one thing was certain:
She could die here. For real.
And dying didn’t mean she’d just wake up somewhere else again.
Death would be the end.
Sure, she got lucky and reincarnated this time—but who says that’ll happen again?
So no—laying down and accepting death wasn’t an option.
The problem was… it already felt like her fate was sealed.
She was just six years old. What could she possibly do?
Sure, she knew about the elders’ corruption. They’d been secretly pouring the family’s wealth into all kinds of shady businesses.
Duke Hiram, the head of the house, was basically just a figurehead.
But even if she knew all that—what could she do about it with her tiny, chubby hands?
Mavis stared at them.
Pudgy and soft—like freshly baked mochi.
Hands that could barely hold a crayon, let alone take down a corrupt council.
“…”
She hated it—but there was only one way to survive.
She really didn’t want to do it, and she felt bad, but…
The only way out was to stop Vanessa from divorcing.
“Sorry, Vanessa…”
But I want to live too!
She’d still do her best to make Vanessa happy.
The original Mavis had no conscience—but she did.
She would use her conscience to help Vanessa find happiness, drive away these terrible in-laws, and maybe even get her awful dad to shape up.
If she did that, she could gain strength and eventually expose the council’s corruption too.
Of course, changing the heroine’s life might mess with the entire story’s plot.
That could bring a lot of unexpected consequences.
But then again—doesn’t every reincarnation novel do that?
One small change can shift everything.
And usually, the moment the reincarnated villainess changes things, all the main guys suddenly start falling in love with her.
She really didn’t want that to happen.
Even if the male lead wasn’t the one who kills her in the future, he was still way older. A romance like that? No thanks.
If she was going to mess with the future, she’d need to be responsible enough to clean up after it too.
[Goals]
• Survive
• Exorcise evil in-laws
• Reform trashy dad
• Make Vanessa happy
• Fix any problems caused by the changed future
“Yup. Perfect.”
Mavis smiled to herself.
Now she could survive—without feeling guilty.
‘Okay, next step…’
She hid her carefully written “life plan” under her pillow, rolled off the bed, and tiptoed over to the window.
Standing on her toes, she peeked outside—and spotted Vanessa, pale-faced, sitting in a gazebo.
The maids nearby were all grinning smugly.
Ah, this must be one of those scenes from the novel—the ones where the maids, with the count’s approval, bullied Vanessa as much as they wanted.
Readers used to get so mad watching her go through this.
But that’s what made Vanessa’s later freedom and divorce feel so satisfying.
“Mom!”
“…?”
“Over here! It’s me!”
Vanessa looked around, startled—and Mavis thought she looked just like a scared little animal.
Once she found where the voice was coming from, she looked up.
Mavis smiled brightly and waved.
Vanessa awkwardly smiled and waved back.
“Hehe.”
Still watching the maids out of the corner of her eye, Mavis made sure her smile was extra cheerful.
Because the first step to her master plan… was becoming close with Vanessa.
‘…Yeah… this is gonna take some work…’
Judging by Vanessa’s stiff expression, this wasn’t going to be easy.
