In the deepest and most secluded room of the imperial palace, the Lianness Council Chamber was full of tension.

This room couldn’t be compared to other conference rooms and banquet halls where countless events were held. It was the most solemn and secret location of the Lohan Empire, where only the four feudal lords of the lands of the four cardinal points could enter.

“Your Majesty, what would you like to do in response to the Lichten Kingdom’s provocation?”

“……”

Limal, the lord of the East, bowed his head to the man standing behind the golden seat in the center of the room.

The man who had been looking out the window, seemingly uninterested in the meeting, slowly turned his head.

“Well, what do you think I should do.”

“……”

At the brief reply, the shoulders of the three feudal lords present stiffened. The blond hair that seemed like a strand cut from the sunlight shook as the man turned to face them. His red eyes glowed, coldly shining, able to frighten anyone who saw them into tears.

An unspeakably handsome man.

People said that it was if someone had nailed the portrait of the nation’s founder, a god who was said to have descended from the heavens, onto the emperor, giving one shivers at the uncanny resemblance. They weren’t saying he actually looked like the god. It was just that when people looked at his chilly, ethereal face, sins they hadn’t committed would slip out of their mouths.

Even if one didn’t take into account that he was the sovereign of a great empire that defeated two continents and ruled over twelve kingdoms, his physical presence was enough to crush people.

“Is this their first provocation?”

“Ye-yes, it is. As a new country, it seems their government doesn’t really know what they’re doing and was incited by the countries surrounding them.”

“…….”

Following Limal’s words, Set, the lord of the western region, spoke up. Despite his old age and many years of experience, he remained as one of the emperor’s most loyal supporters.

“There is no need for Your Majesty to personally lead a war campaign, but why don’t we suppress them properly, so they don’t have any other unnecessary thoughts?”

“Leave it as it is.”

“…… Yes? But then, if the neighboring countries get encouraged and start to provoke us as well… ”

“Then we’ll burn them all down together.”

“…….”

Smirk. The small smile on his face made one shiver as much as his red eyes did.

His beautiful appearance played a firm part in putting pressure on others.

However, those who knew what he was hiding behind that smile wouldn’t be able to smile with him.

“…… It looks like it’s raining.”

Drip.

The man’s smile deepened at the sound of the raindrops knocking on the window.

The two feudal lords looked at each other as they felt the atmosphere gettier chillier, and then tried to find someone to change the mood of the conference, turning to the one person who hadn’t spoken.

“Well, what does the Lord of the North think?”

“…… Yes? Me?”

“Though you aren’t the official ruler, you are still the northern region’s representative, so of course you can’t remain indifferent to national affairs. Since the southern land’s feudal lord isn’t here today, you must say something in their stead as a lord.”

Limal spoke, cornering the woman with a blaming tone.

Limal’s target was a young, beautiful woman seated on the North Lord’s position, shimmering like silver and diamonds. Though it was said she was quite the parties, looking at her somber appearance today, it seemed the rumors weren’t true.

‘Even if she came to her deceased husband’s place.’

All eyes on the woman were filled with mocking laughter. As the lords looked at what she was holding on her lap, they snorted as their lips twisted upwards.

‘…… Well, what can a woman who carries something like that possibly know?’

They did not attempt to hide their inner thoughts from their faces.

Though the northern household was a family that had defended all sides of the empire since its founding period, they still had an eat or be eaten relationship with the other households.

Right as they were about to press the unofficial Northern Lord to speak up, the emperor’s shoes turned to face them.

“I’m tired. All of you leave.”

“…… Ah, yes.”

Even if there was prey in front of them, they couldn’t disobey the emperor’s command.

When the two lords failed to raise a complaint about the North Lord, they politely retreated, and the woman got ready to stand up and sneak away.

“Y-Your Majesty.”

No, well, she tried to get up and leave.

“Is something the matter, Your Majesty.”

“…… You must be curious about what I want.”

The man had blocked her way with natural movements, drumming his fingers on the table. The sound of his fingers mingled with the raindrops pattering on the window.

She closed her eyes tightly and put on a thin smile, speaking with a trembling voice.

“Ah, perhaps about the youngest princess…”

“Oh. Well, that’s.”

A small disappointed sigh escaped out of his mouth. No one knew what he had been expecting.

“Haniel probably followed after Loam. She’s a child who was never able to adapt to the Imperial Palace, so she’s probably randomly following him around.”

“……”

It was a bit indifferent for an attitude of a big brother. But as if the woman had received some sort of reassurance, she seemed to hold what was in her lap more dearly.

“I-I see.”

“The communication line was broken, but I have nothing to worry about since she’s with the sorcerer Loam. If anything happened to him, the color of his pulse tone would have changed, but there is no sign of that. “

“…… Of course. The princess must be safe…….”

“She should be safe. But if anyone does lay a hand on Haniel,”

“I-if they do?”

“I’ll kill them.”

With the softest tone he could use, he spoke slowly, as if whispering, and lowered his head.

“I’ll break their bones and rip their flesh into pieces. I’ll personally lift their head for them and show them their ruined body. For anyone who dares to kidnap the imperial princess, that much should be an appropriate punishment.”

“…… Hahaha.”

“But why are your hands shaking so much?”

The red eyes seemed puzzled as they looked down.

The surprised woman shook her head, saying it was nothing.

“No, it’s just a little chilly. Then I will excuse myself and return to my fief, Your Majesty. “

“Where are you going.”

“……. Yes?”

“It’s raining.”

He pointed his chin to the window. As he watched the rain falling down on the black marble window frame, his cruel smile became more satisfied.

“Catherine, didn’t you say you hate the rain.”

“…… Yes, b-but.”

“Then stay here.”

His words were coercive but also not, confusing her of his intentions.

But one thing was clear; he seemed to have no intention to let her leave.

Catherine, who had no choice but to give up, forcibly bit her mouth and kept her back straight.

“……”

“It’s so cold your hands are trembling. Since it’s unlikely that the rain will cease, I’ll have a room prepared for you to stay in.”

“I, I am greatly honored.”

The golden cloak disappeared, and, as if seeking comfort, the woman lowered her hand to stroke the head of the white baby swan sitting on her legs.

The baby swan acted cutely, childishly rubbing its head against her hand, as if it had been waiting for this moment of attention.

“…… Did you hear that, sweetheart?”

Catherine swallowed a scream down her throat and lifted the white baby swan she had been holding.

As she gazed at the baby swan that seemed immensely happy to be looking at Catherine face to face, her purple eyes shook violently.

“Sigh.”

Hey you……. Your older brother said he’s going to kill me.

◇ ◆ ◇

I love fantasy novels, especially transmigration novels.

I mean, how great is it!

One day the heroine just opens their eyes and becomes a princess, or a queen!

As someone with an ordinary life, there was nothing better than that kind of life reversal.

But something like a life reversal that could happen to me in this world was winning the lottery, if it did happen, and I’d just end up buying a house in Seoul. The world might seem to fly for a few days, but in the end, I’d still have to go out and work everyday.

Whether it was using up all my money to pay for a one-room studio to live in, or living in a better apartment, my life itself wouldn’t change.

“Sigh, I guess this is my one life.”

Crunch crunch, I stuffed popcorn into my mouth, holding a smartphone that had 35 months of contract use remaining.

This was the only luxury I could afford without parents or siblings, working at a small zoo on a trial contract.

Of course, though I received a minimum wage, I did my best because I really did love animals.

In South Korea, however, there was a big difference between liking and being recognized.

No matter how hard I worked, devoting myself to the animals, I wasn’t sure if my contract was going to be renewed for the next year.

“Chief, it ’s not good to release all the animals at once! It’ll be like a hierarchy fight for them-”

“Ugh, seriously, who do you think you are to speak to me like that? Are you looking down on me?”

“…… Huh?”

I think you’re the one who looks down on me.

I swallowed my words. The talk of next year’s contract was still coming up.

“And these animals? Are they your buddies? What a perfect match you guys all are!”

And so as always, I worked diligently and met with a difficult day.

I understood that a person like my boss who didn’t have a speck of interest in animals wouldn’t do well in this line of work, but that didn’t give him an excuse to take his anger out on me.

Those kinds of people didn’t care how much I love animals and how friendly I was with them.

Though I had started working as a part time zookeeper during high school, thus amassing the most work experience than any other worker around, my image couldn’t go beyond, “the kid who couldn’t go to college and is stuck working at a small zoo.”

“……Ah, how nice it’d be to just live comfortably with you guys.”

Since after work, there wasn’t another place I had to go next or someone I could wait for.

With a can of beer in my hand, I staggered to the lake in the middle of the zoo.

T/N: do not do this at home. Do not drink a beer by yourself next to things that could harm u. Like a knife. Or a lake. Plushies are okay.

“Guys, Mom’s here!”

The only children who really welcomed me were the zoo animals I took care of myself.

I forced a smile on my face as I stroked the shell of an elderly turtle.

So, you think you know everything!

At the time I laughed as if those words had been spoken as a joke, but now I only felt overwhelming sorrow.

“Aww, can you tell just by looking at me? Ah no……do you know, sir?”

“……” (old sir turtle)

The person who came up with the phrase that turtles’ eyes were like those of deer had probably never actually seen the eyes of a turtle.

As I kept gazing at the beautiful black eyes, I became enchanted with them, and my heart melted away.

Looking at them was enough for the words piled up in my heart to spill out.

“I want to live the rest of my life without having to think about job contracts and such. I just want to look at you pretty ones……”

I wanted to throw all my worries away, and have a happy life raising animals.

Head filled with dreams, I sat down and hugged my knees to my chest, blinking away tears.

“I’d be so happy if I could just jump into a novel.”

I wanted to try living leisurely, like that swan floating in the lake over there.

Well then, there was only one decision I could make to try to make this happen in reality.

“……Let’s buy a lottery ticket.”

Hahhhh!

I put my hands on my knees and got up to leave, but stumbled as I felt the world spin.

What’s going on. I didn’t even drink that much……

I suddenly felt sick in the stomach and my steps staggered.

And so one step, two steps, and so on, continued in the direction of the deep blue lake, until.

Splash!

And that’s how my life ended.

I’d said I wanted to fall into a novel, but who knew I’d fall into a lake!

T/N: ok but why is there a lake like that in the middle of a small zoo in the first place…

All the animals on the shore of the lake flocked toward me, but I couldn’t even let out a scream from my mouth.

Their black eyes watched the sight of me struggling to breathe as I drowned.

“Glub, gl-glub!”

In the novels I’d read, it was a given to pay back kindness with a good deed, but there was no such thing for these guys.

For over ten years, I’d fed them and brushed their fur, but they just sat there with blank expressions as if they were looking at a stranger.

Maybe it was just an illusion, but I thought I saw a few of them smirk.

T/N: no, it was just you. Leave the poor animals alone. U didnt train them to save u from drowning. So stop it. Train the animals better in ur next life.

……You guys.

The last memory of my life ended there, and I made a final decision.

If this older sister of yours survives this……

You’re all dead meat.

◇ ◆ ◇

And with that, I opened my eyes again.

I might have had an insignificant life, but does it make sense to die in an artificial lake at a zoo!

As soon as I managed to hold onto a thought in my hazy mind, a breath burst out of my originally blocked throat.

“Hua!”

But the me who had been reborn was no longer a temporary zoo worker in South Korea.

I’d won the very lottery I’d so badly wished for.

“……Holy shit.”

Is this what they call transmigration, that “famous” transmigration experience?

Black hair that glowed with a dark bluish hue and a pair of mysterious purple eyes.

Cheeks white like snow and full, crimson lips.

There wasn’t really a way to describe this body’s jaw-dropping beauty.

After I saw my looks in the mirror, I kept staring for so long that bruises could’ve appeared on my face.

But when I woke up and noticed my different appearance, I reacted differently than most novel characters in the transmigration stories I’d read about. I didn’t scream or slap a maid in shock or confusion.

I mean, why would I?

I’d always dreamed of this, so now I only wanted to enjoy the time I had in the novel as much as possible.

Would I marry a cold-hearted duke and end up melting his heart, or would I be running away from a crown prince who was obsessed with me? Or if not that then maybe I’d become the disciple of an archmagician and overthrow the world.

A list of exhilarating options from storylines flowed through my head.

“Ok, let’s do this.”

Wondering what I should do for my first step as a transmigrator, I clapped my hands in glee, full of anticipation.

I was motivated, but there was one problem left. I didn’t know which novel I woke up in.

◇ ◆ ◇

An hour after transmigrating,

“……Hahh.”

What was I expecting?

If I had good luck in the first place, I wouldn’t have died so ridiculously in an artificial pool.

But no matter how bad my luck is, this was still a little too much.

Others read a lot of books and become judges and doctors, but I read too many books and was still in a situation where I didn’t know who I was.

‘’What character could it be. A princess? Villainess? “

They said even a dog could recite a poem if it spent three years in school, and I’d read at least a thousand transmigration novels. Eventually, as long as I read the first couple pages of the book, it was easy to predict how the protagonist’s life was going to turn out.

T/N: 서당 개 3년이면 풍월을 읊는다: a dog could recite a poem if it spent three years in school. It’s similar to the lesson that experience is the best teacher.

Like who the protagonist would meet, what kind of hidden power they had, etc, they would all pour out like fortune telling.

But I still couldn’t recognize the story I was in.

“Ugh! I didn’t even have that much money but I bought all those books!”

It was obvious that i felt like I could do anything with this body’s stellar beauty, but the characters that were most commonly used as stepping stones in romance-fantasy novels were the good looking ones.

So with this sort of unfamiliar character setting, I continued to find out more about my situation.

Wait a second.

I flipped over my hands and looked at them, and checked every inch of my entire body for a possible unique body characteristic.

But no matter how diligently I looked over my body and face, there was nothing I could find in the mirror’s reflection.

“Hahh…how is it possible to be this pretty.”

I removed the black dress I had been wearing, revealing a pale-skinned figure that stood out even more.

I’d have liked to wear a slightly more elegant and brightly colored dress than the fine quality, yet modest, one I had on.

Or it sort of seemed like a mourning attire, if it was okay to say that……

“……Haha.”

No, probably not.

No matter how unlucky I am, I can’t possibly be unlucky enough to be a widow.

Though there were tales of evil spirits that brought misfortune with them wherever they went, I wasn’t in South Korea any longer, so my luck wouldn’t be too horrible.

‘Right. Let’s treat this as an escape room and look for clues! I can even play it for free!’

With the most positive attitude I could muster, I looked around the majestic room I had woken up in. There was a chandelier, bed, and wardrobe, all three of them large and imposing.

I wondered if I could get any hints by the clothes I owned, but when I opened the wardrobe, my hopes turned into dismay.

“Wh-what. Why are they all like this?”

The inside of the magnificent wardrobe was only filled with a number black clothes.

Black dresses, black bonnets, black veils and black shoes. No matter how much this person liked black, this had to be a serious obsession.

But if it wasn’t that, then……

“Al-alright, let’s first go meet other people.”

Thud!

Erasing the ominous thoughts from my head, I firmly closed the closet door and changed into one of the black dresses.

Well anyway, this escape room isn’t a good one because it’s for free, they should only be played if they have a fee like the usual. These days, they’re all scams if they’re free, you can’t do anything properly if you don’t use money first.

If this were a scene in the novel, there’d probably be someone next to me who’d say something like ‘Oooh, Miss Isabelle! As the Duke of Eden’s one and only precious daughter and the fiancee of the Crown Prince, you have to protect your reputation and standing!’, thus explaining my situation like an npc, and then waiting for me to reply. But no matter how long I waited after waking up, such an npc didn’t appear and I was still alone.

……Umm.

To be left alone like this, it’s a little too much.

If it’s a room and furniture of this size and quality, I must be a noble, so how could it be quiet enough to hear the sound of a pin drop?

Was I maybe the boss villainess of the story?

I guessed that perhaps my family members had all moved away, or, on second thought, had completely abandoned, but with the kind of beauty I had, I was sure people would be approaching, and not running away from me.

I’m saying that I was so pretty, my family members who supposedly sold me off for money, they’d feel it a pity to sell such a beautiful daughter.

Whatever the case, this situation was strange.

Finally, I carefully opened the room’s door, albeit with a distracted mind on what I’d find outside.

But the only thing I heard in the grand hallway was the sound of my breath.

“Hello! Excuse me? Is there anyone there!?”

I loudly yelled again and again, but my voice only echoed off the walls.

A horror house.

Or something like that, maybe.

I rubbed my arms that, at some point, had become covered in goosebumps.

I ran down the stairs and stumbled out of the building, but then couldn’t help but exclaim with pleasant surprise.

“…….Oh my!”

How could such a wonderful place exist.

I’d run out, frightened, but when I saw the spectacle in front of my eyes, my breath stopped for a few moments.

Though no one had explained anything to me, this place reassured and comforted me of where I was.

“So this really is inside the world of a fantasy novel!”

I gazed in awe at the beautiful scenery and repeatedly rubbed my eyes because it looked too good to be true.

I felt like my heart was being squeezed as I saw the small hills and lush bushes surrounding the area, and best of all, a blue lake that shined like a gem.

This was the real deal transmigration, a real deal harmonious nature scene!

The huge lake that had just turned red at the end of the sunset was a picture-like scene.

A beautiful lake surrounded by reeds, harmoniously living animals, and colorful flower bushes made me think of the heaven I’d never been to.

“……”

Well, after seeing this, could there be any other heaven?

I approached the lake, step by step, but then halted my footsteps.

For the first time since I’d transmigrated, I felt another person’s presence. I was surprised, but my expectations subtly rose as well.

Seeing her outfit, she definitely looked like a servant of this place, but what would she call me by when she saw me?

Lady? Princess? If not that, then……

“Eeeeeeeeeeeeek!” (the servant)

「…… 」 (female lead)

T/N 「 」 : it’s used for the female lead’s thoughts.

Her surprised reaction is just like how the characters act shocked in novels.

She’d shattered my expectations of talking to a servant character, but I watched with slight interest as the woman backed away with a pale face.

But anyway, is there something weird stuck on my face?

I rubbed my cheeks but didn’t feel anything odd.

「……Ah, seriously. Why is she like that.」

The woman had dropped her basket and was running on the path she’d taken to get here. Perhaps, if I followed her, I’d be able to find out more about my situation.

T/N 아마 저쪽 편으로 가면 또 다른 곳이 나오는 모양이었다: Perhaps if I went that way I’d be able to go to another place.

I was feeling a little frustrated at her terrified reaction to my appearance, but she was only one person.

I needed to find out about my situation before I started to make life plans.

Other than being a transmigrator, I didn’t possess any buff or abilities, so I had no choice but to be self-sufficient.

I didn’t even know my name. Feeling anxious, I sped up as I chased after the woman in fear of losing sight of her. My ankle had gotten caught in my dress, which I’d worn for the first time, but I couldn’t stop here.

「Excuse me! Hey, wait a second…」

No matter how much I called out to her, the woman continued running until she quickly disappeared. When I lifted my head, I saw that the sunset had passed and the glowing moon had appeared.

What do I do now?

Did I have to go inside that house and be alone again? I suddenly felt chills up my spine and then shook my head.

Though I couldn’t catch up to the woman, there would surely be others in the direction she had run towards.

Now in the middle of a barren stretch of land without any lampposts, I had to hurry before the night fully descended.

「Pant. Pant!」

……But why was it so hard to move? Though I was only running in a straight direction, my body felt strangely heavy.

No, to be precise, it didn’t exactly feel heavier.

Rather than simply lacking strength or being wrapped around by the hem of the dress, I was completely unable to walk.

Instead, I felt like I was enveloped by something very fluffy.

My body felt like it was buried in a blanket filled with something like feathers…….Yes, feathers! That ticklish and fluffy feeli–……

「AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!」

For your information, I tried my best to alter the scream above so you could comprehend it quickly.

But actually, the scream I made wasn’t that “human-like.”

“Honk, Honnnnkkkkk!”

I sat down in shock as I heard the animal scream that rang out from my throat.

I could only sit down.

I needed legs to be able to run, but I couldn’t see my own legs.

And then what about my hand?

Even my white hands that had been gripping onto the sides of my dress had disappeared. Left, right, up, down! No matter how many places I looked, I could only see black and more black feathers covering my entire body.

“HONKKKKKK!”

What is this! What is all this!

After running in a circle in the dirt, the reality of this situation sank in.

A black swan shivered under the dark blue moon.

T/N black-blue moonlight (changed to moon). it’s what the raws said. -shrugs-

If anyone saw this from afar, they might say it’s a pleasing sight to see next to a beautiful lake……but that’s me they’re talking about!

Oh my God! I’ve turned into a black bird!

“Hmm, I was wondering what the fuss was about.”

A black shadow suddenly fell over my head just when I was about to faint.

She was gorgeous, with blue eyes and silver-white hair, a woman who seemed like she would thrive in any sort of novel setting.

If it was her beauty, I was sure she could be the heroine of a fairy tale.

“That’s why I told you to just stay inside……Mother.”

If it wasn’t for that cold smile that chilled me all the way down to my feathers.

◇ ◆ ◇

After that, three months passed.

Of course, they didn’t just pass like that. During that time, I learned about my identity and the situation I was in.

During the time other transmigrators, who knew of events in advance, had married and started businesses, I had only figured out my name and circumstances.

And on top of that, I now had this fluffy body.

“Honk!”

That’s right, honk. Read this at littleajummas on wordpress, honkity honk honk bishes.

I still couldn’t get used to this voice of mine, but it’s not like I could live with my mouth shut all the time.

First off, my name is Catherine.

Just by that name I could tell I’m not a main character, since “Catherine” wasn’t a name you found in a novel. Even in the outside world, at best, it was a name you’d see maybe two to three people using at the neighborhood language cram school.

T/N ehem, in my humble opinion, catherine is an excellent name for a heroine.

Anyway, the story’s like this. Originally, I was the daughter of a baron situated at the frontier……well, you could probably tell what kind of household I was from based on the fact I had been sold off to a man as old as my father.

Had I only read a novel or two? I could guess what happened.

My father had passed away early on, and my stepmother, who had used all the family funds on luxury goods, had eventually sold me.

And as to what kind of family bought this beautiful woman…unexpectedly, it wasn’t a gambler, sex maniac, or nutcase.

And not just a count, or a marquis, but a duke!

In addition, Duke Evendell was the lord of the northern region of the empire.

「……Wow.」

My god! I’m a duchess!?

But the reason I couldn’t be overwhelmed with happiness about this is that my husband, the duke, had passed away. He actually died the night I’d arrived, so I probably didn’t even have the chance to hold his hand.

Since the expression of the person who’d told me this story didn’t have a speck of sympathy, I guessed that I probably wasn’t registered as married to the duke before he died.

Alright. If you’ve heard up to this part, you’ve probably noticed that this marriage was never normal in the first place.

I hadn’t been bought just for the charity of it, and if a woman was being forced to be a duke’s wife, there had to be some underlying reason to be brought into this extraordinary household.

The former duke, who had collapsed due to an injury from the empire’s continental conquest, was without a wife, and only had two daughters. And so the eldest daughter, Lady Rania, had ruled the northern lands for many years in her father’s stead.

T/N 공녀 – lady; it’s different from 공주, and in this case, it’s referring to Rania as the duke’s daughter. A duke’s daughter is 공녀 (gong-nyeo) because a duke is 공작 (gong-jahk)In the same way, a count’s daughter is 후녀 (hoo-nyeo) because count is 후작 (hoo-jahk).

However, her crisis began when her father showed signs of passing away.

In accordance with the imperial law, a son was to inherit the titles and properties Rania had used and enjoyed until then……to put it in plain terms, she’d only return to square one after working like a dog.

But of course the smart lady wasn’t going to quietly let this happen.

Before her hard work went to someone else, she found a loophole in the system.

In the case that a duke left behind a widow, all processes of inheritance would be suspended for a year, so as a temporary measure, she quickly found someone to fill up the spot as a stepmother.

The year of suspension was originally for the widow to give birth in case she was pregnant with the duke’s child after her husband’s death.

But Rania used this instead to make preparations. And if she found a proper husband and married him during the one year, she’d succeed, game over.

Whether it was the titles or wealth, she’d be able to keep them all.

Of course, she wouldn’t automatically inherit this, she would have to formally inherit everything from the stepmother, who would at that point, have the rights and authority. So in other words, the stepmother had to be chosen carefully.

A nobody, someone who didn’t have support from their family and would naively hand over the position without a shred of greed……

“That’s me.”

I’d won the lottery.

I rapidly shook my head and laughed at myself.

That is, it would have been if I could laugh that way, except I had a beak.

「Ugh, that bitch.」

That’s right, bish. Read this at littleajummas on wordpress, bishy bishy bishes.

Perhaps there had been something that made her suspicious, as the clever Rania had put a curse on the stepmother she’d chosen with great care.

Maybe she was worried I’d run away and make trouble, or find a lover and have a child secretly, because as soon as the duke passed away, I was brought to this place and had been turned into this mess.

“As you know, Duchess Evendell, no, my stepmother, is struggling with shock over my father’s death, making it difficult for her to take the position. It looks like I have no choice but to serve you as her proxy.”

How was she able to concoct such poor lies about me as explanation?

Even if Rania’s words were questionable, no one would dare to question her. Since she had been ruling the northern lands for many years, her words had become law.

And it looked like rumours that I had done something to do with the duke’s death were circulating, which only gave Rania more of an advantage over me. The stepmother who’d gotten rid of her husband in just a day and the sensible daughter of the legal wife.

Which of the two do you think will capture the people’s hearts?

Rania was really someone who’d do anything to achieve her purpose, as she’d even go to the extent of using dark magic to make me like this.

The maid who was frightened to see me on the first day of my transmigration must have believed whatever malicious rumors that Rania had spread about me.

「……Sigh.」

What kind of bad luck is this, seriously.

I smashed my red beak into the ground.

I really needed to have a long talk with the god or author of this novel.

What other novel world has a better transmigrator than me?

Overnight transmigration? Okay. That’s a given.

An unprecedented marriage? Well, it’s a little rattling, but it’s something I can deal with.

But the fact that my husband died on my first night in the household, and that my stepdaughter had placed a curse on me? This completely broke away from any sense of business ethics, author.

「…… 」

I could spend time as the beautiful Catherine when the sun was up, but I changed back into a black swan during the night.

However, after a while, I realized that nighttime wasn’t the trigger for my transformation.

Instead, I turned into a black swan when I was directly hit by moonlight.

Which still meant that I couldn’t easily run away from here.

Because if I ran away and turned into a black swan, it could get extremely dangerous.

Honestly, even if I was a beauty among black swans, where would I go?

I wasn’t being delusional just because these were my feathers, but seriously, if you went out and searched every inch of this lake for feathers that shined like mine, you’d probably return empty-handed.

「Ah…..」

I don’t want to rate animals by their looks, but I was leagues ahead in appearance compared to the elephants and giraffes in the zoo I’d worked at in my previous life.

I think it’d be easier to describe me as the BTS of birds.

I was sure that there’d be a countless number of people who would come to see me as much as I was sure of my chubby body’s noble and dignified appearance.

But that didn’t mean I wanted to be a spectacle.