Chapter 1

Finally Meeting the Right Genre

“N-No way… My genre was no-romance, a depressing wasteland, and a heroine-in-suffering story?!”

I had transmigrated into the long-awaited romance-fantasy novel, so why was I standing at death’s door in the prime of my youth?

Heroines in other novels always met happy endings after transmigrating. They would effortlessly pop out children with the male lead and live happily ever after.

I had been eagerly anticipating that ultimate staple of romance-fantasy: sweet, fluttering chemistry with the male lead. But instead of that sweet chemistry, I didn’t even get a single drop of broth—just a headlong dash toward death.

“Today, we mourn with heavy hearts the death of the greatest hero in this world. Yet, through this single sacrifice, we have finally saved all of our lives!”

The Pope’s memorial declaration echoed grandly through the vast temple.

Every single person mourning my death was an absolute heavyweight in this world. The Emperor, the Empress, the Crown Prince, the Magic Tower Master, the Saintess, the Holy Knight Commander, and the Sage.

All of them shed heavy tears of sorrow.

“Th-This is a scam! A total transmigration scam!”

I felt aggrieved.

By rights, even while the female protagonist was busy becoming the world’s absolute strongest Swordmaster, romantic subplots should have been piling up. That was just common sense.

“So why didn’t I get a male lead even though I transmigrated into a romance-fantasy?!”

As a hardcore reader of romance-fantasies, I had rejoiced at finally entering the genre, striving to become the strongest Swordmaster in the world. I had wiped out every single force of evil.

All for the sake of a happy ending with the male lead!

‘Though the price for it was a fatal illness that brought me right to the brink of death…’

I’ll see you in the afterlife, my male leads. I’m looking forward to my post-mortem reverse harem….

My vision grew hazy and closed.

The crowds gathered in the temple wailed aloud, weeping bitter tears.

“Knight Serapiel Marcel de Sione, we ask for your final words. We shall carve them upon your tombstone.”

Final words. A tombstone.

At the very end….

“I… want to live again.”

Finally, I closed my eyes.

…O Goddess of the Sword who saved the nation, rest in peace now.

Serapiel, the transmigrator who saved the world—or rather, Kim Si-eun.

At the ripe age of twenty-one, she brought her long romance-fantasy transmigration life to a close and slipped into eternal slumber…

…And woke up.

As if it were a lie, my eyes flickered open once more.

I blinked blankly.

As it turned out, I hadn’t died. Instead, I had transmigrated into yet another romance-fantasy character: ‘Eshaphe Andover.’

‘A second transmigration? I did want to live again, but what is this pathetic setup?!’

“Young Mistress!”

I raised an eyebrow at the maid.

The maid was a girl named ‘Maya,’ who had always taken the lead in tormenting Eshaphe more than anyone else.

“What?”

“Young Master Kallen is calling for you!”

“Ah.”

Kallen was the eldest son of the Duke and Duchess, and Eshaphe’s older brother.

Scenes of Kallen heaping insults and abuse upon Eshaphe flashed through her memories.

‘Eshaphe is the daughter of the Andover Ducal House. The Duke and Duchess, desperately wanting a daughter, adopted her from an orphanage, but four years later, the Duchess gave birth to her own biological daughter.’

Once a real daughter was born, the Duke and Duchess reluctantly kept Eshaphe around while hating, ignoring, and treating her like a nuisance.

The rest of the family and the servants treated her just as poorly. Her tiny, shabby room spanning barely a few pyeong and her threadbare clothes were all the proof she needed.

“Why does he keep ordering people around anyway? If he has business, he should come to—”

“Pardon?”

The original Eshaphe would never have dared to talk back. She would have stood there trembling, unable to say a word to the maid’s rudeness, and scurried off to find Kallen.

But the old Eshaphe no longer existed.

Bang!

I kicked the door open with all my might. The door panel slammed mercilessly right into Maya’s face as she stood waiting on the other side.

“Aack!”

Letting out a scream, blood spurted straight out of Maya’s nose.

I looked at Maya with a falsely worried expression and feigned absolute innocence.

“Oh my, what’s this? You weren’t gone yet?”

The maid puffed out her breath, storming off with a look that promised revenge, but I merely let out a scoff. Kallen might have called for me, but I couldn’t care less.

I began to recall the memories that had just rushed over me out of nowhere. It was information regarding the world I had transmigrated into.

Eshaphe’s memories, down to the very last detail, had synchronized with mine.

‘Just why on earth did I transmigrate into a romance-fantasy again?’

Was this some kind of compensation for my first transmigration, which had ended as a no-romance, sad-ending, depressing wasteland? But if so, the romance-fantasy I had landed in this time looked equally ominous.

‘This is an original romance-fantasy too, but all I can remember are the keywords and a few basic settings.’

[Ducal Daughter, Romance, Arranged Marriage, Obsession, Depressing, Tragedy, Flight, Secret of Birth, Death, Regret]

Depressing, tragedy, death, and regret!

‘Even worse, I, ‘Eshaphe Andover,’ am a villainess duchess who gets caught acting as a spy on the orders of the imperial family, only to meet her end at the hands of her husband, the male lead.’

Does this make any sense?

She was far too pathetic to be called a villainess. She died after spending her entire life abused and used.

The male lead she was slated to have an arranged marriage with wasn’t an ordinary fellow either.

‘His name is ‘Arkas Blackwood Gravenholt Bexborn,’ and his keywords are Northern Duke, strongest character, cold handsome man, polite speaker, ruthless, and insatiable.’

The peak of depressing stories combined with a freezing handsome lead.

Amidst this parade of keywords that offered zero hope, there was one thing that caught my eye.

“If it’s an arranged marriage, that’s the absolute prerequisite for marrying first and loving later! Plus, ‘romance’ is right there plain as day in the keywords.”

In my previous life, I didn’t even have a male lead. True, there had been a few supposedly perfect almost-lovers, but they all ended up dying not long after meeting me.

Could I finally achieve my dream of romance this time?

‘She might be a villainess duchess killed by the male lead, but this is the exact cliché I love anyway.’

As a hardcore romance-fantasy veteran, I can tell you definitively that transmigrating into a villainess means you never actually die—you always end up on the main heroine’s route.

‘And this time, I’m starting right off as a noble daughter!’

My heart thumped excitedly.

In my past life, I was born the daughter of a commoner mercenary and raised roughly.

I joined the knight order and became a Swordmaster.

Having yearned for the life of a noble young lady, I simply wanted to wear gorgeous gowns and exchange dopamine-fueled flirts with male leads.

‘Other girls get to become ducal daughters the moment they transmigrate, so why did I have to start as a commoner, sob. But finally, I’m a ducal daughter…?’

I stood before the mirror once more.

My eyes, deep and clear like an abyss, shimmered with light, and my pink hair, carrying the essence of a sweet fragrance, tumbled down in soft waves.

Though Serapiel had always been hailed for her striking looks, Eshaphe was far more lovely and soft.

A slight thrill ran through me at the realization that I had truly become a noble young lady.

‘I’ve finally met the right genre….’

In my past life, I lived a harsh life just to survive, but at heart, I wanted to live as a lovely noble lady who found the mere thought of a sword terrifying.

It felt as though I had finally, truly transmigrated into a proper romance-fantasy.

‘From now on, I am Eshaphe, a pretty, lovely, and frail ducal daughter. This time around, I’m going to experience love and do everything I’ve ever wanted to do!’