YHBMF CH 01

Chapter 1

No way. This can’t be happening. There’s no way.

I glared at the letter in my hand.

“I hereby leave all my assets to you. From now on, do your best to lead the Dante Marquisate. Also, your mother, Bar, Bari, and I will be traveling around neighboring countries, so don’t bother looking for us.”

It was a letter left by my father, the Marquis. Next to it sat a thick stack of documents.
Though calling them a “welcome gift” would be a stretch.

“Debt. All of it is debt! Debt, debt, debt! In the beginning there was not light, but debt! Damn it!”

I crumpled the letter in frustration. The pile of contracts beside me seemed to glare back.
All of them were related to moneylenders — promissory notes and repayment schedules.

And so, I realized the situation.

My father ran away.
No — my whole family ran away.
Leaving only me… and their debts.

“I’m all alone… they left me all alone…”

“Please calm down, my lady.”

“You…”

Everyone else in the house — the servants, the maids — all ran away sensing trouble.
Everyone except one person: a young butler.
He looked at me and shook his head.

“My lady, your proud servant is still here. And so is this debt! So technically, you’re not completely alone.”

“You call that comfort? Are you crazy? The problem is that only the debt’s left! You too—if you’re going to talk like that, get lost!”

“Oh dear. Please don’t be too upset. If my lady is sad, I’ll be so sad I won’t even be able to sleep—oh? My lady? You don’t look well—”

“Just… shut… up…”

Not only did I inherit a mountain of debt, I also had a butler who’d probably float face-down in a river if I threw him in.
How heartwarming. I was so moved, tears came to my eyes.

Ugh, my head…

I couldn’t take it anymore and collapsed foaming at the mouth.

***

When I came to, I looked into the mirror.
A woman with pale skin and silvery-gray hair looked back at me.
She seemed delicate and frail, but her eyes were bright and alive.
I still wasn’t used to it—but I had to be.
This was my face now.

I had a secret I couldn’t tell anyone.
A while ago, I possessed this body—the body of the marquis’ daughter who drowned.

At first, I thought it was great.

A historic marquis family? With multiple estates? Amazing! I hit the jackpot! This isn’t a golden spoon—it’s a diamond one!

So what if there were no smartphones or fried chicken delivery?
The owner of this body belonged to an insanely wealthy family.
After spending years in Korea earning minimum wage and paying off piles of debt, how could I not be thrilled?

“My lady, it’s time to sleep.”
“My lady, may I massage your shoulders?”
“My lady…!”

“Yes, that’s right. I’m the lady now.”

I didn’t know which novel I’d landed in, but I was a noblewoman.
I firmly believed this was “hard work over, happy life begins.”

But I was betrayed.
My father took all the remaining wealth—and the entire family—and ran away.
Leaving only me behind.

A life turnaround?
No. Just the same old life.

My luck hadn’t changed at all.

***

“I should’ve realized nothing good ever comes easy…”

Looking back, I sighed deeply.
If I’d gone out to inspect the family’s business and noticed how doomed it was, I’d have run too.

“This is driving me crazy…”

“I understand it’s hard, my lady, but please don’t go insane.”

“Didn’t I tell you to be quiet?”

“It’s too quiet here. Silence drives people insane. You should be thanking me for talking.”

“Oh, thank you so much I could cry.”

The butler was really testing my patience.
It was tragic that he was the only one who stayed.

If this is how it’s going to be, can’t I just go back to Korea?
At least there I’d finished paying off my debts…

I tried to deny reality, but eventually, I accepted it—with tears in my eyes.
I was destined to live my whole life paying off debt.

The butler handed me a lukewarm cup of tea.

“I’m so relieved you woke up, my lady. I was worried sick you wouldn’t. I couldn’t sleep a wink last night.”

For someone who “hadn’t slept,” his skin looked suspiciously fresh and bouncy.
Still, the words were nice to hear.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but what was your name again?”

“My goodness! You must’ve been terribly shocked to forget even my name. I’m Scar. Scar Millioné. Please remember it this time.”

He smiled brightly as he introduced himself.
His reddish hair and pink eyes were strikingly beautiful—completely out of place in this ruined house.

“Nice name.”

“Please, remember it this time.”

He smiled again. Despite his good looks and gentle manner, I didn’t feel like getting close to him.
Not when my whole world was falling apart.

“Alright then, Scar. Why are you still here?”

“Well, where else could I go? I was happiest serving the master of this house. Now that you’re the only one left, I’ve decided to serve you instead. Please let me stay by your side until the end.”

“…At least I have you, then.”

“To be honest, I thought you already knew everything.”

He whispered, looking around even though there was no one else to overhear.

“You remember the day you nearly drowned, right?”

Yeah. That’s when I possessed this body.

“I heard that day, your father put your name down as guarantor in front of the creditors.”

“You mean… as a surety?”

“Yes. Exactly. They say you were so shocked you jumped into the river. It’s lucky you were rescued. Since you didn’t seem to remember what happened, everyone kept quiet about it…”

As Scar spoke, my head throbbed.

So that’s why no one’s touched me or questioned anything—they’re afraid I might try again.

I closed my eyes.

“My lady?”

“Hold on. I need to think about what to do next.”

After more than ten years dealing with debt collectors in Korea, I’d learned one thing:
When it comes to money, stay cold-headed. Don’t drown in despair.

I haven’t lost everything yet.

If you sit down crying in a pit, you’ll only sink deeper.
Right now, I’d just fallen in—it wasn’t too late to climb out.

“The debt collectors are here, right?”

“If you mean the loan sharks, yes. They’ve been waiting in the parlor for over an hour. But how did you know?”

“Because people like them always have good instincts.”

I hadn’t checked, but I was sure.

No matter the world, people are the same. Especially loan sharks.

They were probably scheming to squeeze out one more coin from me right now.
But I didn’t have a single coin left—and I wasn’t about to give them one.

“My lady, please don’t do anything reckless. These people don’t just take money—they take lives.”

“Money’s involved. What’s more important than that?”

“Your life, my lady. Your life is more important.”

“No, no. Money is what’s most important. You’re so naïve.”

“…”

Scar looked at me with a flat expression.

What?

“Anyway, take me to them.”

“It’s not too late to run, you know. I’m very fast. I could carry you on my back, and we could come back tomorrow morning—”

“I said take me to them.”

“…Yes, my lady.”

He reluctantly led the way.

***

The Marquisate of Dante’s Parlor

Once, the room would’ve been filled with the gentle hum of a phonograph.
But now, there wasn’t a single luxury left to play music. Everything valuable had been sold off.

Inside that silent room, one person bustled about—Scar, the butler.

“I’ve got something to check. Go in first and entertain the guests.”

As ordered, Scar went in first.

Click.

“Here’s your tea.”

The pair sitting on the sofa frowned.

“You expect us to drink this? What if it’s poisoned?”

The woman sneered and shoved the teacup away, planting her mud-covered boots right on the table.
Manners? Nonexistent.

As expected.

They were from Flower of the Desert, the wealthiest merchant group on the continent.
They came from the barren desert and built an empire of gold in the Seratina Kingdom.

Most members were just merchants, but these two? They were from the Moonlight Beauty branch—the moneylending division.
They weren’t businessmen. They were thugs.

I hope my lady hasn’t run away.

Apparently, they were thinking the same thing.

“That girl—she’s been making us wait ten minutes. She didn’t run off, did she?”

“Oh, I’m sure she wouldn’t. I have complete faith in my lady.”

“How can you be so sure? If she did run, then at least you—”

“Sorry to keep you waiting!”

The poorly maintained door creaked open.
Despite the pitiful sound, the only remaining bearer of the Dante name strode in with confidence.

She was small in stature, but her presence was fierce.
Aileen looked at the two of them and spoke boldly:

“I hear you’re here about money.
It must’ve been quite a trip for such distinguished guests to come all the way to this shabby place.”