Chapter 02

 A New Name

“Lady Irene, are you all ready?”

A gentle, low voice came from outside the door. Through the mirror, I looked at Mary, my personal maid.

“Yes, I’m all done.”

“Thank you, Mary.”

“You look absolutely beautiful, my lady.”

As a finishing touch, I put on thin, long gloves to cover the backs of my hands and arms, where the burn scars remained, and called out,

“Brother! You can come in!”

Only after receiving my permission did my brother enter the room. David gave me a warm smile. It was the same smile I had seen ever since I first opened my eyes here.

For some reason, rather than being reborn after dying there, I felt as though I had possessed someone else’s body.

Irene de Cloche.

That was the name of the body I had possessed. And now, it was my name as well.

It seemed that Irene, who had been playing alone in the attic, had fallen asleep without realizing that a candle had toppled over. By the time the fire grew large enough to leave severe burns on the backs of her hands and arms, Irene had probably already died of suffocation.

How did I know that?

Because the place where I opened my eyes was a small wooden coffin.

It would have been frightening for a family to see their daughter, whom they had thought was dead, suddenly open her eyes. Yet this family had clung to me, weeping and rejoicing.

They firmly believed that God had taken pity on them and returned their daughter to them.

At first, it was difficult to adjust. Their affectionate attention was so overwhelming, and I was struggling to escape the remnants of my past.

Yet rather than finding it strange that I could barely remember anything, my parents and brother cared for me with such devotion. It was an unfamiliar feeling, so unfamiliar that I spent the early days doing nothing but keeping my guard up.

And for good reason.

In my previous life, I had been completely alone, an orphan who had never been welcomed by anyone.

It had been the same even with my husband, who was supposed to be my only family.

I had no choice but to slowly become immersed in the affection of people who expected nothing in return. The love of a family, something I had never experienced even once, was incredibly addictive.

David was the ideal older brother.

Perhaps meeting David, who was always kind and cared for me dearly, along with parents who were no less loving than he was, was a gift God had given me.

Surely, it was a reward given to someone like me, who had never received affection from anyone until the very end of my previous life.

“What are you thinking about so deeply? Rin, sometimes you can be rather absentminded.”

My brother spoke to me as we headed toward the city in a small carriage, after I had become lost in my thoughts for a moment.

“Brother, are you really going to buy it for me?”

During the ten years I had spent with them, my gloomy personality had completely changed. They say that flowers given love and those given none grow at different speeds and have different beauty. How much more could a human being like me have changed?

At my question, David chuckled softly and nodded.

“Anyone who heard you would think you were asking me to buy you jewelry, Rin.”

“Books are expensive too. I know that Father’s business has been having a hard time lately.”

“Hmm…”

David could not refute what I said. Because it was true.

The Cloche family was an old noble family that had long held a place in the aristocratic records of the Stern Empire, but we held the lowest noble rank: Baron.

Our territory was not fertile, and because it was located at the very edge of the imperial map, the money spent on maintaining the guards was also a considerable burden.

And recently, I had even heard that our family’s merchant business was struggling, so we couldn’t exactly spend money carelessly on something as simple as a book.

But David was, even in my eyes, an older brother who absolutely adored his little sister.

How on earth had he managed to find it?

It wasn’t even an educational book. It was just a romance novel.

Of course, it was an extremely popular romance novel. I had learned about it from Ellis, who lived in a neighboring territory.

Ellis was usually a girl who was so good at talking that even the most casual remark could make something sound fascinating, but that day, for some reason, her words had particularly caught my attention.

Ever since I heard about that book, I had been seized by a strange urge to read it. I was simply too curious about the story to endure not knowing.

After receiving nothing but love for ten years, perhaps I had become spoiled. Before I even realized what I was doing, I had casually mentioned to my personal maid, Mary, that there was such a book and that I really wanted to have it.

I had never intended for anything to come of it, but my brother overheard me and ordered it from the only bookstore in our territory.

I had heard that it was such a popular book that even people in the capital had difficulty obtaining it, so I hadn’t expected much. But when I heard that he had managed to acquire it, my brother and I hurriedly prepared ourselves and headed toward the city.

After entering the bustling streets and getting down from the carriage, I visited the bookstore with my brother, who firmly supported my hand, and finally received the book I had been longing for. We even bought a few grape-flavored candies before returning to the mansion.

I actually liked our mansion’s cozy, quaint atmosphere, even though it was so modest that it hardly seemed fitting for a noble family.

“Where have you two been?”

It seemed our parents had also just returned from an outing, because they greeted us warmly.

“Mom, Dad!”

Even though I was about to have my coming-of-age ceremony, my parents naturally accepted me running over and throwing myself into their arms, so I still behaved just as I had when I was little. Honestly, it was still a little awkward, but there were far more good things about it.

“Hehe, why is our daughter in such a good mood? What did David buy you?”

“Brother bought me the book I’ve been wanting to read so badly.”

“I see. Well done, Day.”

At Mom’s words, David still wore his gentle expression as he winked at me. I smiled brightly and headed straight to the dining room, surrounded by my parents.

“I hear the stew was prepared particularly well today. Hans said so himself, with a satisfied look on his face for once.”

“Uncle Hans?”

“Yes. It’s the stew that even that picky chef approved of.”

Our family entered the small, worn dining room. It was old, but because it had been consistently maintained, its age seemed to give it a sense of history. We ate together while chatting comfortably.

It had already been ten years since I had become immersed in this peaceful daily life. The awkward girl I had once been now lived a life perfectly integrated with this family.

My second life was so ordinary and happy.

In this world, it was customary for noblewomen to marry soon after their coming-of-age ceremony, but I wanted to stay with my family for as long as possible.

And eventually, rather than entering a political marriage, I wanted to date normally and marry a man I truly loved.

To be honest, even the word marriage still frightened me a little. But I was no longer tormented by the husband from my previous life.

That was probably all because my family had been by my side.

“Good night, Mary.”

“Yes, my lady. Have sweet dreams.”

After Mary left my room once she had prepared my bed, I lit a small lamp, brought over the book I had bought earlier, and lay down on my stomach.

I had been so curious about it that I couldn’t stand it any longer.

This romance novel that had swept across the Stern Empire strangely had no title on its cover. I didn’t know who had written it or for what purpose, but after becoming enormously popular in the capital, it had spread throughout the entire empire.

I turned over the smooth leather cover and began slowly reading from the first page.

One page, then another.

With every page I turned, my brows gradually drew together.

The story was something I had seen somewhere before…

Without realizing it, I had gone from lying on my stomach to kneeling on the bed.

Staring blankly down at the book, I murmured,

“I Crossed Dimensions and Became the Protagonist…”

It was the title of a book I had seen in my previous life.

“How can something like this happen?”

Ever since I had opened my eyes here, I had consciously tried to live without recalling the memories of my previous life. Yet simply seeing the same book had caused those memories from the past to suddenly come rushing back with astonishing clarity.

《I Crossed Dimensions and Became the Protagonist》 was a romance novel about a heroine who crossed dimensions one day, introduced a different appearance and the civilization of Earth, and captivated the hearts of the male leads.

The appeal of the novel was that, in this other world where only Espers remained, the heroine was the only Guide. She Guided them, causing jealousy and obsession to arise, while passionate feelings of love became tangled between them.

In fact, not only did the name of the novel’s sub-male lead happen to be the same as my husband from my previous life, but his appearance was also described exactly like him.

That was why this book had remained so memorable to me.

Why was I thinking about someone I could never see again?

The lingering attachment I had thought was gone seemed to slowly raise its head again.

I stopped reading and closed the book.

My desire to read it was still intense, but I opened the drawer of my desk and pushed the book deep inside.

For a moment, I thought of the name of a man I could no longer meet, then casually erased the thought.

I still remembered him, but that memory no longer caused me pain.

While lying on the bed, I noticed the lamp still burning brightly. I picked up a pin from beside my bed and threw it.

The pin accurately blocked the burning wick and extinguished the flame.

The remnants of my past were not limited to my husband’s name.

Having undergone training in a special forces unit that was almost like brainwashing, I still hadn’t been able to shake those habits.

I had been trained to protect myself when I had been completely alone in the past, so there was no way I could easily forget it.

I had extinguished the lamp as usual, but tonight, the tips of my fingers trembled slightly.

Suddenly, as if I had been caught in a sudden shower, I was once again dragged into a moment from my past against my will.

The face of my husband, the last face I had seen before closing my eyes, shimmered before me.

A powerful desire welled up inside me.

I wanted to finally escape properly from the remnants of the past that continued to torment me even after possessing this body.

I didn’t want to remember anymore.