WMCT 02

Chapter 2

Looking at the blazing, fiery eyes of his daughter, she looked like she would leap out and run off the moment she learned where it was.

Of course, Duke Carlin was certain that his daughter—who had only just woken up—would not actually go running off anywhere.

With that confidence, he decided to quickly brush it off and spoke to her.

“Dungeon g—…”

But before the Duke could even finish his sentence, Iblea kicked off the blanket, climbed down from the bed, and ran out of the room without giving anyone a chance to stop her. She moved so fast she looked like a flying squirrel. Anyone watching would have thought she hadn’t just woken up after five years, but someone who had jumped up after only five seconds of lying down. Once again, the family members’ eyes went wide.

“Eimi that $^$%&$&^. If I ever meet her, I’ll never let her !$^$%&^&^.”

And this time, their eyes widened for a completely different reason. They were so shocked that they could hardly remember her earlier sprinting out of the room like a runner. They had thought they misheard Iblea’s first words upon waking up—but now it could no longer be denied. They were still faintly echoing from afar.

“Haha… my daughter swearing. And such filthy swearing at that.”

Duke Carlin was completely dazed by his daughter’s vivid profanity.

“My daughter! Ahh! My daughter!”

The Duchess of Carlin clutched her head and collapsed on the spot. Naturally, the two sons rushed to her, shouting, “Mother!” and “Mom!”

Iblea Carlin, the precious daughter of the Carlin Ducal family, had finally opened her eyes after five whole years.

And in that moment, she realized three things—at the age of twenty.

First, she had recovered memories of her past life.

Second, she had been reincarnated into a novel.

And lastly, she was an extra in that story.

Honestly, her past life wasn’t anything special. She had simply lived in South Korea, worked herself to death from overwork, and died of exhaustion. It was a little sad, of course—but having been reborn with wealth, power, and beauty all rolled into one, she felt like she had come out ahead overall.

‘And I ended up as an extra?’

An extra who was basically background scenery during the heroine’s awakening scene.

‘Honestly, with this kind of status, I should be main-character level.’

So there really was another heroine. Iblea recalled the girl named Fayzley, who had once sobbed in a prison cell five years ago.

‘Seriously. I thought she was just another unlucky captive.’

Who would have thought she was actually just going through the usual hardships meant for a protagonist? And as always, the protagonist overcame them.

While Iblea had been unconscious, Fayzley—whether from fear upon seeing Iblea collapse, or from righteous anger toward whoever had harmed her—had unleashed a powerful sacred force that had been dormant within her.

The sacred power formed a massive pillar of light that pierced through the ceiling and shot into the sky. It was clearly visible even in broad daylight, brilliant and divine. Those who witnessed it were either stunned into silence, trembling in fear, or filled with reverence. Naturally, the high priest and the holy knight order rushed there like mad.

And what they found upon arrival were the dead, the unconscious Duke’s daughter Iblea, and Fayzley standing in the middle. The high priest swallowed hard and asked her:

“Was it you who did this?”

It couldn’t be helped—because sacred energy was still flowing from Fayzley’s clenched right fist.

Fayzley responded by nodding slowly.

It was the moment a saint was born.

But separate from this extraordinary event, Iblea Carlin did not wake up. She remained asleep.

Because of that, Fayzley—whether out of guilt or something else—would sometimes visit and hold Iblea’s hand while praying.

That was the entirety of Iblea Carlin’s role in the story.

Just lying in bed.

So Iblea found it ridiculous beyond words that her role in the novel was basically that of a background prop.

But that feeling didn’t last long.

‘I don’t care whether I’m an extra or a background prop.’

Unlike the original story, she was awake, conscious, and perfectly fine. On top of that, she was still—and always would be—the cherished daughter of a powerful noble family.

‘If that were all, I wouldn’t even bother thinking about it.’

Iblea Carlin was extremely beautiful. Soft light-pink hair and shining golden eyes. Her features were so perfectly balanced that she looked like a fairy.

‘At this level, even if I’m not the heroine of the story, I’m at least heroine-level in this empire.’

Thinking that made Iblea, who had always been confident in herself, feel much better.

However, the incident that had caused her to sleep for five years—or faint, or whatever it was—was a completely separate matter. From Iblea’s perspective, she could never forgive those responsible for putting her through such a dangerous experience.

Of course, she understood that the event was necessary for the heroine’s awakening in the story… but that didn’t matter to her.

‘Did I really have to be there?’

To her, it was nothing more than the reason “Iblea Carlin” had nearly been ruined and had wasted five years of her life.

So Iblea directed her anger purely and personally at the culprit—especially at the one she could clearly identify. She knew there were others involved besides Amy, but that didn’t matter to her right now.

‘I’ll make sure none of them get away with it.’

Grinding her teeth, Iblea confidently strode out of her room.

But life rarely goes the way one wants.

To cut to the point: Iblea never even stepped on a single stair leading down to the dungeon.

The butler, maids, head maid, and servants waiting outside the door all stopped her. The Duke, who had finally regained his senses, rushed after her and grabbed her as well. In the end, she was forced back into bed.

“Father, I’m perfectly fine.”

At her claim, Duke Carlin was dumbfounded.

‘Perfectly fine? After waking up after five years, she jumped out of bed the moment she opened her eyes?’

In a way, she was not fine at all. It was obvious she had overexerted herself in a sudden burst of anger. If anything, she might collapse again or need even longer recovery.

Realizing this, the Duke’s expression darkened.

At that moment, the Duchess—who had previously fainted—suddenly regained consciousness and rushed back to the bedside.

“Iblea! You—!”

Her eyes were sharp and fiery.

Iblea immediately thought, ‘Uh oh.’

That expression meant a long lecture was coming.

“You! Where did you learn such vulgar—!”

As expected, the Duchess tried to scold her for the obscene words Iblea had shouted earlier. But seeing her daughter’s eyes—eyes she hadn’t seen in five years—softened her heart.

‘She must have been so angry to say something like that…’

She could understand the feeling. Just thinking about the incident made her blood boil as well.

However, there was something Iblea did not yet know that would have infuriated her even more if she did.

Amy the maid and the boutique were merely pawns. There was someone else behind the incident.

‘And Amy…’

The Duchess couldn’t finish her thought.

“Ahem.”

A cough interrupted her, and her gaze turned briefly to her husband. He subtly shook his head, signaling her not to say anything yet. The priority was the child’s stability.

She agreed.

The Duchess sighed quietly.

“For now, let’s have Felix examine you.”

After five years of sleep, the first priority was a medical checkup.

Iblea was examined by Felix, the Carlin family physician, with the entire family watching.

Felix carefully examined her, then widened his eyes in disbelief and quickly checked again. But the results did not change.

He was stunned.

“T-This can’t be…”

The Duke, already anxious about his daughter’s condition, couldn’t hold back.

“What? What is it? Is something wrong? Did she overexert herself earlier?”

“No, that’s not it…”

“Then what is it? Just tell me clearly.”