“Anabelle, why aren’t you up now?”

A loud voice hit my eardrums.

“Is it time for you to do this? You have to wake up early in the morning and train!”

Reid screamed while flinging the door open.

“This is our last chance! If you don’t win first place in the swordsmanship competition again, you’re nothing but an illegitimate child abandoned forever!”

I sighed and turned my head in bed.

My light purple hair moved.

“Why the hell are you lying around without going to the training ground for a few days? Are you out of your mind?”

‘Of all things, I can’t believe I was born with this role…’

A few days ago, a big change occurred in my life, which I had lived to the fullest.

I suddenly remembered my previous life.

I even realized that the world I live in is in a book I’ve read.

Frustrated by the fact that I was born as a character in a book and the future that had already been set, I locked myself in my room for several days.

At first, I refused to admit it, but my memories gradually became clearer and my former self became completely fused.

If I had been born as a villainess who had a crush on a man, it would not have been this difficult, for I can just quit my unrequited love and live a different life.

Besides, if I had known that I was reincarnated, what would suddenly come to mind in the spring of 22 years old?

I have been faithful to the original work for twenty-two years and worked hard to build up all the karma.

“Are you going to lose to Ian Wade again?”

My reborn role, Annabelle Nadit, was Ian’s rival.

No, only Annabelle saw Ian as her rival. He didn’t care about her.

Because Ian is in the first place and Annabel is in second place.

The Imperial Swords Competition was a huge event held every four years.

A title was awarded to the person who wins first place.

But the problem was that the prize was only given to the first place.

‘The dirty world only remembers the first place and it’s the same here and there.’

There was even an age limit of under 24.

‘It’s the same. If you’re older, you don’t even have a chance later on.’

I’m now 22, so this swordsmanship tournament in a few minutes will be my last chance.

“You deserve a title at all costs!”

Reid screamed once again.

I’m an illegitimate child of Marquis Abedes, one of the highest nobles in the empire.

In order for illegitimate children to be recognized as part of the noble families, they had to earn their own titles.

With my mother’s death, my guardian became Reid, my brother from another father.

Ever since I showed a gift for swordsmanship since I was a child, Reid’s goal is to win the title and proudly become a member of the family.

“How long are you going to live like this?”

What mattered to Reid was the wealth of Marquis Abedes.

If I become a member of the Marquis, I’ll have the right to inherit, so I’ll get at least a few mines and a lot of lands.

Although my mother gave birth to me and was paid quite a lot by Marquis Abedes, Reid was not satisfied.

“If you call this pathetic, most people will kill you.”

Now I know the end of the swordsmanship competition anyways.

Ian Wade will be the man to win.

Literally, he’s the strongest in the worldview, and he’s a human being who can subdue 10 people like me at once.

I didn’t want to admit it, but I’ve been wasting my breath.

Even though I was confused, I have to accept it and live a different life.

‘From the beginning, I could never compare to him.’

Ian Wade, the heir to the Duke of Wade, the noblest family in the Empire, was just a perfect human being.

To think about the future, I have to have a plan.

‘Of course, if I earnestly desire it, the universe will grant my wish, and if I work hard with a bone-cutting heart, the possibility is as big as an ant’s claw…

I ignored what Reid was talking about next to me, and looked in the mirror and quietly fell into my thoughts.

‘Honestly, I can’t risk my life on that possibility. Besides, it’s not that I haven’t put in any effort until now.’

Knowing all about the future, I have completely given up on living in awe as the heir of a high-ranking nobleman.

Even if I do receive property, I would be able to play and eat for the rest of my life.

And with my knowledge from my previous life, it became clearer.

The desire to be recognized as a member of the nobility was not mine, but of my family’s.

What I really wanted wasn’t the envy of others or the first place itself, but the truth is…

“I’m sure you can win this time. You’ve been working hard behind the scenes, but if you fall into a slump like this…”

Without a moment of deep thought, Reid continued to speak vigorously.

The future is that we all perish because of the work behind the scenes…

My head started pounding at the thought of the future.

“Reid, would you please shut up? It’s noisy.”

“What? Did you just say that I am noisy, who only wants you to do well?”

“Yes, exactly. So get out now.”

It was already noisy inside, but it was worse when Reid was screaming.

“How dare you!”

“Do you want to get your hair cut?”

I spoke grimly and pretended to hold my sword.

“Again, I don’t know. I’m afraid I’ll cut off your hair by mistake because I don’t train as you said.”

Reid stopped and walked out.

I was left alone so I fell back on the bed.

The first place in the swordsmanship competition, which can never happen for me, is quickly abandoned. I know the future, but it was foolish to continue.

But the problem remained.

At the tournament four years ago, I realized that I couldn’t compete fairly.

That’s why I’ve already conspired with Reid to beat Ian somehow.

‘At the end of the day, everyone gets caught, and I’m crazy!’

I sighed and buried my face in my hands.

The conspiracy that Reid had set up to harm Ian was eventually discovered.

When I read it in the book, I liked it because it was relentless, but I was reborn with that role!

‘Even if you have property, you must protect it.’

With shame, both of us were sued while receiving a true education through trial and ended up in prison.

‘No, the property isn’t the problem, and I should avoid going to jail first.’

However, it was unreasonable to overturn all the traps that had already been dug, because Reid had taken care of everything.

‘There is absolutely no way that Reid will stop.’

So there’s only one way.

I have to make sure that Ian didn’t get hurt before he was ruined.

I sighed deeply while opening the closet to go out.

Two worn-out gray training suits…

After I stopped growing, I wasn’t given any more clothes. Other than that, there were only old leather hair ties and rough cotton indoor clothes.

I can’t believe these are the only clothes I have in such a nice mansion. I knew it, but anger rose in me again.

I originally accepted without much thought.

“You can’t focus on the sword if you’re obsessed with dressing up.”

Now that she has passed away, she is not in this mansion, but my mother, Caitlyn used to say that.

In the meantime, of course, I thought she was right.

Ian had also believed that he should not ask for anything other than a sword without winning.

However, when I remembered my previous life, I objectively realized how pitiful my situation was.

“Have a meal, lady.”

The meal brought by the maid was more irritating.

It was just a bunch of dry, tasteless meat and a few veggie leaves that were about to wither.

“Diet control is essential for the body.”

Reid and Caitlyn always ate upscale meals, and I ate only a few meals by myself in a room.

Very occasionally, they would give me part of the leftovers.

Up until now, food has been thought of only as fuel for the body to perform swordsmanship.

But, I know that this is not the only life I can live. So, I shouldn’t go by eating this kind of garbage.

“Is there anything else? I get tired of eating like this every day.”

As I grumbled, the maid responded kindly.

“But until the swordsmanship competition… Mr. Reid told me to take special care of you.”

Even after the swordsmanship contest was over, he still gave me meals like this with the words: ‘unfortunately, you finished second, so you should prepare for the next swordsmanship contest from today’.

But now, I don’t even have the strength to make a fuss, so I quietly picked up the fork.

‘Ugh, it doesn’t taste good.’

As far as I know, this is low-grade meat, and it was the worst meat in all of my memories from my previous life.

‘It’s really bad that the meat doesn’t taste good.’

However, since I was going to use my body today, I had no choice but to swallow it up and eat it all.

I picked up the best condition of the training clothes in the closet and brought my sword.

On the way out of the mansion, Reid was enjoying an afternoon tea set with some pretty girls who he had invited.

‘That scum…’

In the meantime, I wanted to get just one sandwich, but I didn’t have time.

I looked and went out to the side of the road. Even though it was the world I saw every day, the air felt somehow different.

Just remembering my past life made me realize that it was a world in a book.

Above all else, I looked around the street and saw a lot of handsome men.

Even the store clerk showed off the beauty of the world.

So, after I remembered my past life, my standards of appearance lowered significantly.

As a result, everyone looked like models as if they were on a movie set…

‘I can’t do anything about it, so I’m going to be the greatest flirt here. That’ll be my new strand of life.’

Even if I was born as a supporting role who didn’t get involved romantically in any way, it was something I could do if I were in a romance film.

What is this, people passing by on the street look like movie stars?

Well, even the people on the street look like movie stars.

‘Let’s live a life that has nothing to do with him.’

~*~

Ian Wade was a man with distinct features. Thanks to his small face and well-balanced body, he was an attractive man that stood out even from a distance.

As the only heir to the Duke of Wade, he was extremely aristocratic in his ascetic appearance, restrained attitude, and neat gestures.

Now, he was indifferently checking the escort procession for an upcoming mission.

It was a great honor to escort the High Priest. Therefore, even the knights of Wade led by him selected were only the elites.

Among them was his lieutenant, Aaron, who was talkative but his skills were acknowledged.

“Isn’t she quiet these days?”

Aaron followed Ian and said.

“Who?”

Aaron chuckled in response at Ian’s blunt question.

“Who else? The 2nd place in the last swordsmanship contest where she came to Ian every day to swear and get kicked out.”

Ian didn’t even respond, but Aaron kept talking.

“The only person who dared to criticize Ian was Annabelle, but I feel a bit sorry for her.”

“Don’t be silly and get ready to go.”

Without even giving Aaron a glance, Ian jumped on his black horse.

He responded bluntly to Aaron’s words, but he was also conscious that Anabelle had been very quiet these days.

Annabelle Nadit. An illegitimate child in her family who had been officially defeated by him twice, and unofficially defeated over 2,000 times.

Now, if he defeated her one more time in the upcoming swordsmanship contest, he would officially win three times.

Him and Annabelle were both 22 years old, but after this tournament, they won’t compete again, so it will be over.

It can be said that she’s quite beautiful when she rushes with her sword, but he was really fed up with her.

When she came to visit him from time to time and applied for a match and accepted it, she used all kinds of mean tricks.

She used very absurd acts, such as hitting him in the head when greeting him, or attacking his back when he turned around.

After getting defeated even more, she poured out all kinds of mean words and curses.

“XX, XX you XX XXX and XX, XX you XX it!”

The level of profanity and curses were absolutely vulgar.

No matter how much Annabelle has half of the blood of the marquis, she’s still a commoner.

However, there was no basic dignity in treating Ian so harshly since he was the only heir to the duke and commander of the Knights.

Ian simply ignored it because he thought she would be the same person if he sincerely refuted the ridiculous curses.

“She was, of course, very stubborn. It was ridiculous that she hated people so much after losing to them with her skills.”

“Then don’t wait.”

“Still, it was quite a spectacle in this desolate training ground. Watching the fight is the funniest thing ever. Haha. That’s not too far away.”

Everyone was now familiar with Annabelle, who always flew in while leaving the gatekeepers out of the way, shouting and raiding behind Ian’s back.

The knights who first ran wildly while saying it was rude had already adapted to it.

But anyways, if he completely beats her in this final swordsmanship competition, it would eventually be quiet.

Because she will no longer have a reason to beat Ian.

He knew she wanted to win the first prize in the swordsmanship competition and get a title to be recognized as a member of the Marquis.

Clearly, her desire for first place made her even more desperate, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t lose to an opponent she could easily win.

“In that sense, I haven’t seen her face for a few days, aren’t you feeling empty? It’s the first time we haven’t seen each other for so long since I was probably 14.”

“Not at all.”

He was far from being empty.

He couldn’t like Annabelle, who often insults him, as she’s not good enough for Ian, who believes in himself to be fair and virtuous.

He, who prides himself on being a very common-sense and normal person, could never understand Annabelle, who constantly causes trouble to others.

“I will never give up on beating you. Because swordsmanship is everything in my life. So accept me as your opponent! Don’t look at me with such disrespectful eyes!”

Perhaps if it wasn’t for what she said one day, Ian would have already put her in jail for insults.

There was only one thing, the attitude that swordsmanship was everything in life was pitiful and she was letting go.

No chivalry was found from her, but the earnestness of the sword touched somewhere in Ian.

It’s been like that since they first met, when they were 14 years old.

“I hope she’s not working on more strategies with the contest coming up. Or to poison Ian.”

When Aaron spoke up, Ian replied coldly.

“All I do is bear the sword. If she crosses the line without a sword, she’ll pay for it.”

Aaron immediately shut up at his gruesome words.

Annabelle, who had not been seen for several days, appeared when he entered the main road leading to the Imperial Palace while escorting the high priest.

As he watched the high priest’s procession, he saw her pale purple hair tied high among the hustle and bustle of the crowd.

“Oh.”

Aaron, who found Annabelle, murmured.

“It’s not like she’s rushing to fight here right now. Her eyes are already ready to catch someone.”

Ian, who never had a good time being entangled with her, sighed once in vain and didn’t respond.

Even Annabelle, who is a nobody, would not hurl curses in front of so many people.

However, it was because she had always kept the very basic line of breaking into Wade’s residence and requesting a fight.

That was then.

Annabelle, who was in the crowd, jumped.

Naturally, Ian was the first to notice the movement.

‘You’ve come a long way, Annabelle Nadit.’

She must have been crazy to try and attack him in front of so many people.

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Ian reflexively drew out his sword towards her.

No matter how incomparable she is to him, she was second in the swordsmanship contest. No one in his knighthood was stronger than her, so he had to deal with her himself.

“Ah, Miss Annabelle!”

Then Aaron, Ian’s lieutenant, was astonished and called out her name.

It is also because the poisonous stinger that flew from somewhere went right in Annabelle’s back countless times, which blocked Ian’s right arm.

“Hey, it’s an attack! What the hell is this?!”

The High Priest jumped and screamed.

His face was tinged with astonishment as he saw the poison dart on my back.

“Who dares to hurt me! Servant of the highest god!”

I stretched my back and sighed.

The darts weren’t aimed at the High Priest, but at Ian Wade, but he seemed to get it wrong.

Actually, his reasoning was reasonable, since there were more enemies of the High Priest than of Ian.

“It’s certainly the work of the atheists!”

Atheist terrorism was also so common that it seemed possible.

Because of that, Ian led the knights and even escorted them.

“God will not forgive you!”

I didn’t expect such a misunderstanding, but it was a very ‘oh right’ moment.

The more people thought of it as a terrorist attack on the High Priest, the better.

The more that happens, the more Reid and I would move away from the line of suspicion.

I quickly scanned Ian’s body as the High Priest poured out his anger.

Fortunately, not a single dart passed through Ian.

“Annabelle Nadit? What is this?”

Ian’s red eyes looking at me were filled with astonishment.

“Well, it would have been a big deal if the High Priest got hit, but for a swordsman who handles swordsmanship, it’s no big deal.”

I said coldly without looking at him properly.

“There was nothing wrong with my movement.”

It was only natural that I had already eaten a lot of the antidote.

“Then goodbye.”

Now that no one was hurt, I had hoped that they would bury this incident.

“Aren’t you Annabelle Nadit?”

As I was about to leave, the High Priest suddenly grabbed my hand.

“I understand you were second in the last two swordsmanship competitions. God bless you for saving me.”

The High Priest’s eyes were shining brightly.

I answered bluntly with a bunch of poison darts in my back.

“I just did what I had to do.”

“No, but this kind of favor…”

The High Priest, who was about to retire due to his age, was so moved that he could not speak.

“I even asked the Knights of Duke Wade to escort me, but you, without any responsibility, came forward and made a sacrifice like that…”

Since I’ve started lying, I might as well end it beautifully.

“I respect the High Priest so much that I couldn’t just sit still and watch.”

The High Priest, even more impressed by those words, grabbed my hand.

“The temple will surely repay you no matter what!”

“Thank you.”

I thought it would be nice if I could be given some money, so I answered quickly.

Still, I had to try my best to pretend that I didn’t notice Ian’s hot gaze on my face.

“Then I’ll get going now…”

I was about to disappear into the crowd again, but Ian jumped off the black horse and caught me urgently.

“Something’s strange.”

A cold sweat ran down my back at the sound of his voice.

But I asked with my eyes wide open.

“What?”

“You, who had been silent for a few days, suddenly appeared now.”

After reminiscing about my past life, I stopped visiting him.

“Let me go!”

I didn’t have anything to say, so I got angry and shook off his arm.

“And you did something that helped me.”

In fact, it wasn’t something I would normally do at all.

“Hey, don’t get me wrong! I didn’t really help you!”

But his eerie words continued.

“More than anything, the strangest thing is…”

His red eyes flashed.

“You always said harsh things when you looked at me. There’s no way you’re backing down so quietly. What the hell are you up to? Tell me right now.”

Ah! I forgot the most important thing.

In the original story, I would have already poured out all sorts of curses.

I couldn’t just show my sudden change!

It would have been disgraceful to have been trampled on by the tail for no reason.

“Ha, I tried to be patient in front of people…”

But my mindset toward him had already changed.

Ian didn’t do anything wrong to me, and my desire to win disappeared.

I had a guilty conscience from swearing before for no reason.

Along with the memory of my past life, I decided not to swear vulgarly again so I wouldn’t add more shame and hopefully regain some dignity.

So, I threw an appropriate level of bad words in his face.

“I hope you find half of a cockroach while eating a sandwich! And you better avoid pigeons that fly around your head or else it will give you parasites!”

Ian’s face distorted miserably.

Aaron, the pink-haired lieutenant who was standing next to him, blew air into his cheeks to hold back his laughter.

Anyways, Ian had to keep escorting the High Priest’s procession, so he couldn’t hold onto me for too long.

‘Now, we have passed the first obstacle like this.’

I turned back proudly and mingled among the people.

After the High Priest’s escort was over, Ian returned to the residence of Duke Wade, and he sat still while deep in thought.

Aaron, who came to report the knights’ affairs, said with a smile.

“Ian.”

“What.”

“Are you thinking of Miss Annabelle?”

“Shut up.”

“I think it’s true.”

Aaron’s dark blue eyes shone roundly, and Ian chose not to respond.

In fact, Aaron was right. He only thought of Annabelle during the escort.

There was actually one more atheist terror attack on the way back from the imperial palace to the temple, so the poison darts incident was just buried away.

However, Ian could not let that slide as it was.

It was very weird. Recalling the angle and direction from which the poison darts flew, it was reasonable to assume that it was aimed at him, not the High Priest.

That was even more bizarre.

But then why the hell would Annabelle take the dart for him?

Even though there were a lot of darts stuck in her back, she didn’t mind, so it was not a big deal, but…

“There are two possibilities that we can think about here.”

Aaron snuck in front of him and opened his mouth in a serious tone.

“First, the big picture to steal your credit, who escorted the High Priest, and shine.”

“No.”

Before he knew it, Ian, who focused on Aaron’s words, immediately answered.

“The old High Priest was moved, but it didn’t really increase Annabelle’s reputation.”

“Second.”

Aaron raised his eyebrows and said.

“I’m afraid she thought that it might not be fair on the day of the competition if Ian were injured!”

“No way.”

Ian shook his head.

“Anabelle and fair play don’t go together at all.”

“Anyway, don’t you appreciate it? Maybe you should thank her or something.”

“If it weren’t for Annabelle, I still would’ve avoided it.”

Perhaps, no matter how unlucky she was, she only skimmed one.

It didn’t seem to be very poisonous, so there was no need to thank her.

“But she hasn’t come at all for the past few days. It may have been a change of heart.”

There was silence for a moment at Aaron’s words, and finally Ian waved his hand in anger.

“Whatever. As always, just turn off your attention and live your life.”

“I am very curious.”

Aaron chuckled and laughed.

“The last insults were different from usual, it was too cute and even specific… You have to avoid pigeons and be careful of sandwiches.”

“Get out.”

“Such harsh words…”

“Won’t you get out now?”

After driving Aaron out, he went to bed later than usual.

Suddenly, Ian realized that the time he had been thinking of Annabelle for the past 22 years combined was less than how much he thought of her today.

‘It’s probably just a temporary whim.’

He tossed and turned and thought that as he went to bed.

When he closed his eyes, why did he get reminded of Annabelle with the poison darts on her back? The visual effect was too great to ignore.

The back with countless darts on it… and disappeared into the crowd.

Eventually, Ian jumped up and called a servant.

“What happened in the middle of the night…?”

“I need to know if Anabelle Nadit’s body is okay. Especially her back.”

“What? Now?”

“As soon as possible.”

He sat up completely, crossed his arms, and thought while sending the servant out.

‘It’s just a strange incident that just happened. There won’t be anything like this again, so let’s just make sure she’s safe and sound and not worry about it.’

~*~

“Are you really crazy? Why would you do that…”

“You have to thank me.”

Reid came to me after hearing the rumors, but I answered bluntly.

I drank the antidote beforehand and had already been secretly treated by a doctor, so I was completely fine.

“They were all ready to dodge with great reflexes. So, I got hit instead of being caught without any injuries.”

“How do you know that?”

“I’m in second place. I fought with Ian countless times. You don’t know, but I know.”

Being second in swordsmanship in the Empire was quite comfortable because it was too easy to bluff to someone other than Ian.

Reid, with his brown hair and brown eyes, was nothing like me.

He didn’t even have an ounce of talent in swordsmanship, so he couldn’t even handle them.

“Well, you can’t always succeed on the first try. Next time it will work.”

Reid didn’t seem to have any doubts about me because of the exhilarating discussion of what I thought would injure Ian.

“This is our last chance to lead a decent aristocracy. We must destroy Ian Wade at all costs.”

Yes, we were the only ones who were broken, but it was frustrating.

It was Reid who planned the whole thing and somehow, I needed to coax him to tell me the details so I could screw it up.

“So, what’s next?”

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Reid answered triumphantly when I asked a subtle question.

“The day after tomorrow, the Hibiscus explosion we discussed, let’s blow it all up!”

I sighed inwardly.

If one of Ian’s nails were to fly away, we’d be in jail instantly.

In the end, I was the only one who could step up.