Chapter 1
Goodbye, you idiots.
Boom—!
A massive explosion rang out behind me, followed by a chorus of horrified screams.
“What—what is the meaning of this! My mansion! Who would dare do this to our family?!”
Even before my mother’s funeral had ended, my father brought out his hidden mistress and their child.
Count Tekins.
“Kyaa! My dress, my shoes! My jewels!”
My stepmother, who cleverly framed me as the perpetrator and painted herself as the victim to drive me out of the family.
Countess Tekins.
“Go inside and get it! That document in there is worth more than your life!”
Loans, blackmail, smuggling—
All kinds of filth and crime pinned on me by my illegitimate half-brother.
“No! No! The ball is next week! If the mansion’s gone, where are we supposed to hold it?!”
And even my half-sister, who ridiculed me and had an affair with my fiancé.
Was this some sort of trash collection?
No wonder I was used and tossed aside until I died, thinking they were family.
Tch. I clicked my tongue.
They really shouldn’t be that shocked over just half the mansion collapsing.
“Because there’s still one more blast left…”
Boom!
As I smirked, a pillar of fire shot into the sky, and what was left of the mansion came crashing down with a roar.
Perfect timing!
This time, I couldn’t hear the screams of the trash heap. They were probably buried under the rubble or passed out cold.
I hope it’s the former.
‘And they’re still not looking for me or Veloa, huh.’
Everyone knew I was locked in the highest room, and Veloa in the lowest basement.
Count Tekins himself had put the locks on those doors.
But while they screamed for their dresses, their jewels, important documents, and gold…
They didn’t once call out my name, or Veloa’s.
As if we’d never existed in the first place.
‘Well, whatever.’
It’s going to be a total, complete ruin anyway.
I grinned and glanced down at the bag in my left hand.
It looked like an ordinary leather bag on the outside—but not on the inside.
Before blowing up the mansion, I thoroughly looted the Tekins estate.
Not only did I rob the count’s secret vault, I also snatched up every last jewel.
“And that’s not all.”
I compiled all the crimes committed by Count Tekins and that bastard half-brother of mine.
Then I gathered the evidence from his room, study, and secret vault and sent it straight to the Imperial Knights.
Also, I returned the high-interest loan contracts to the victims they were taken from.
“Once the fire goes out, the real storm begins.”
By now, those outrageous loan contracts should have reached their rightful owners.
And they’d be furious—charging in like madmen.
The rest, well… the Imperial Knights would handle it.
“You had fun ruining people’s lives using debt as leverage. Now it’s time to pay the price.”
Isn’t that right, you bastard?
Raging flames. A collapsed mansion. An empty vault. A sudden rush of people and the Imperial Knights.
It was chaos—the kind where a few people could go missing and no one would notice.
Good, good.
Then I’ll just vanish and live the rest of my life as a carefree slacker.
“Ah.”
Someone tightly grabbed my hand.
Right. There was one last thing I needed to do.
I looked down and saw a small child clutching my hand like it was her only lifeline.
Hair the color of roses just blooming at dawn, eyes like molten gold.
Pale skin, flushed cheeks, tiny, delicate hands.
She was heartbreakingly adorable.
Though she was a little thin from malnutrition, that didn’t take away from her charm.
She was the kind of child that made you think, If “adorable” were a person, this would be it.
She was none other than the main character of “The Real Princess Walks Only Flower Paths,” Veloa Leandro.
And I?
I was just the extra of extras—dead in the opening scenes.
‘…Used by my so-called family and killed in their place. What a chump.’
How is it that my life before and after transmigrating turned out exactly the same?
“Veloa.”
Swallowing my tears, I knelt to meet her eyes. As I reached out to fix her tattered clothes—
“Eek!”
Her reaction wasn’t what I expected.
Veloa cowered, wrapping her arms around her head. Her small body trembled violently.
The bruises on her arms, clearly the work of Count Tekins and that illegitimate son.
“Those bastards.”
I gritted my teeth. How could they hit such a small child? There was barely even space on her to hit.
She was at the age where she should be chattering nonstop, but she could barely even speak.
I should’ve buried them alive.
She should’ve been able to make them feel even a fraction of the pain she’d suffered.
“Ah.”
My boiling rage must have shown on my face, because Veloa turned pale.
“Ah, ah…”
She clung tighter to my hand and shook her head violently. Her big eyes welled up with tears.
A desperate plea not to lose the only person on her side.
“Veloa.”
I forced down my fury and smiled brightly.
“It’s okay. I’m not mad.”
“Aah?”
“Really. See? Why would I be angry at you?”
If anything, my anger should be reserved for the flaming trash heap behind us.
“I’m sorry I woke you up so suddenly, though.”
I lifted Veloa into my arms and hugged her tightly. Her small, warm body made me smile.
As I smiled and held her close, she finally seemed to relax.
“Hehe…”
She beamed through her tears and held my hand with her tiny fingers.
So precious.
I pulled out a handkerchief from my pocket and gently wiped her tear-streaked face.
I also fixed her messy clothes.
“We have someone important to meet, after all.”
We needed to look our best.
“Veloa, we’re going to our real home now.”
“…?”
She tilted her head, confused.
She looked just like a little puppy—so I let out a small laugh.
“You see, that place wasn’t your real home.”
Veloa had stayed at the Tekins mansion as the count’s illegitimate daughter.
And with me already there, the daughter of his former wife, she was never welcome.
The Countess treated her worse than vermin.
Skipping meals was just the start—she wasn’t even allowed to step outside the basement.
Even the staff were forbidden from talking to her or acknowledging her presence.
“It was all intentional.”
She took pleasure in watching Veloa slowly waste away.
It was hell—until fate intervened.
The story of “The Real Princess Walks Only Flower Paths” began when it was revealed that Veloa was actually the only niece of Duke Leandro.
Duke Leandro, who had searched so desperately for his niece, came rushing over the moment he found out.
“You’re… my niece, my only remaining family…”
He immediately recognized her, and she recognized him too.
Their reunion was so heartfelt and moving.
I nearly became “that crying lady” on the bus home after reading it.
Meanwhile, the Tekins family tried to save themselves by offering up Ermia as a scapegoat.
Poor real Ermia Tekins.
To believe in and follow that awful family until the bitter end…
And now, I am Ermia.
Tears…
I wiped the tears from my eyes.
“Anyway, Veloa. We’re going to our real home, to our real family.”
This time, she tilted her head the other way.
So cute.
The neighbor’s Pomeranian looked just like this.
“When we get there, you’ll be able to eat lots of cookies and delicious food!”
Cookies. Yummy food.
At last, Veloa’s eyes sparkled.
There we go. That’s the spirit.
At her age, food is everything.
“Alright.”
This reunion came three years earlier than in the original story, but that’s fine.
This is Veloa we’re talking about—the beloved main character of a child-raising story—and Duke Leandro, her only family.
I hugged the drooling Veloa tightly again and declared:
“Let’s go.”
You, to your flower path—
And me, to a life worth living!
