I was very young when I first remembered my previous life. I was probably around two years old.

The nanny, who seemed busy that day, only gave me a rattle as a present, and left. For your information, I was two years & 24 months old. I was too mature to play with a rattle, but I had nothing else to do, so I listened to the rattle shake in my hand. As I was shaking it, I felt dizzy. I shook the rattle so hard that it shook me altogether. I had a sudden headache.

It was too much pain to bear at a young age. I couldn’t scream. I held my head and turned to the floor. The next moment, I regained my previous life’s memories. It was ridiculous, but I really did. That was the first time I remembered my past life. The memory contained so little pleasure. In my previous life, I was a college student who lived in Seoul, Korea. The reason why I mentioned that I was a college student among many other identities, was because I died at a young age.

I died at twenty-one. It was a flower-like age. The cause of death was a traffic accident. To put it this far, my luck seems normal even if it was like that. But the problem was the cause of the traffic accident. I had a car accident trying to avoid a stalker. The stalker was a senior in my class.

When we first met, I was a freshman, I greeted them because I was a first-timer, answered their questions thoroughly because they were a senior, and laughed a lot while talking when the atmosphere became awkward. But who knew it would be the start of a fire?

‘Hey, why did you laugh with me then? Huh? Why, why did you do that?’

I thought he was crazy. It was a day when I told him to stop his one-sided contact of kindness and gifts that lasted a year.

The stalker, who was wearing a mask called “senior,” found me in front of my house that night, with a knife and said exactly that. Wow, coming here the only day my web novel updates. Of course, being scared, I turned and ran. My opponent followed me and the longest chase in my life took place.

I was unlucky. I was so concerned about my pursuer that I couldn’t even see around the corner that led me to the main road, where…

“Faang!”

Well. That’s how it turned out.

‘Oh, the rattle’s coming off. ’

That’s how I felt when I remembered it. It wasn’t a good memory.

Though I missed the family members and friends I had in my previous life, I felt so much more unpleasant that I died, that I covered my mouth. Ugh, it’s awful. If only I could rule out all the stalkers in the world. It was a painful memory to recall, but it wasn’t a bad thing that I had remembered my previous life. It also had its strong points. One thing is that I was able to realize just how rich and luxurious my life here, started out as. This place was different in many ways from my old world.

There was magic instead of civilization, swords and carriages instead of guns and cars. There was a royal family and there was a hierarchy, just like the world in a common fantasy novel. And I was a noble here, not just any noble, but the eldest daughter of a high ranking family who was the highest rank among the families. What does that mean? It means I was born with a diamond spoon in my hand, not a gold spoon.

I wasn’t envious of anyone’s power. From the moment my umbilical cord was cut to when I was born, there was a red carpet laid out for me on every road. I just had to walk on that red carpet and live happily ever after.

God gave me this gift because I died miserably in my previous life.

Oh, come on. That’s right! God thought it was fair. A year later, however, that belief brought the first crisis.

“……She’ll be hurt if she finds out. ”

“Madame. ”

I knew the secret of my birth. It turned out I wasn’t a child born in this house. I was adopted. Somehow, my mother, the Duchess, who thought she would be a mother, was diagnosed with infertility before marriage, and she adopted me believing in that. But, that was a lie, and the doctor who diagnosed her was a quack. Mom, no, the Duchess… Oh, I don’t know. Anyway, my mother sobbed in a wet voice, saying she would put the doctor on trial.

At that time, my younger brother was in my mom’s stomach. I was done with this world. Really. How could you do this to me? God gave me a spoon. Why’s he taking everything away now? Furthermore, it wasn’t just because of the spoon, but because my mom and dad were good people. I thought it would be a warm and harmonious family.

I thought I was going to cry. I wish I didn’t know. Then I would have been happier. Why did I have to wake up at this hour and get thirsty? Why did I have to go past their bedroom? How come the bedroom wasn’t soundproof? There was no use in complaining. Since then, I often cried in my pillowcases secretly. I thought about my future and what would happen if I got kicked out.

But over time, I still didn’t get rid of my burdens .

‘Hmm?’

A year, or two years later, I couldn’t wait to walk and run. Not long ago, I saw a toy knife and smashed a wooden post with it. How long can I stay in this house? Wondering about it, I suddenly caught the attention of a passerby and asked.

“Bessie. ”

“Yes, miss. ”

“When am I getting out of this house?”

“What?”

I was seven years old at the time. I replied by turning around and saying that I knew the secret of my birth. I could see Bessie, the maid, more flustered than ever before.

“What are you talking about, miss? Don’t mention that. No matter what anyone else says, you’re my master. You are the daughter of the Duke. Don’t tell me anything like that!”

Bessie was so frightened and I was left blank. Huh, yeah? But I don’t think I heard wrong in the past. Maybe she decided to keep it hidden. It was a good thing for me. To be honest, it was a relief. That day, I wet my pillowcase with tears of relief and joy, not sorrow. I welcomed the choice of mother and father with both arms.

‘Thank you! I’ll do my best!’

So the first crisis passed. Like I mentioned above, I was lucky because of my previous life. The second crisis appeared about four years later.

“Sister. ”

“Hmm?”

“Here . It’s a birthday present. ”

“Wow, when did you prepare all this? Thank you… Whoa…”

On my 11th birthday. My brother put something out for me as a birthday present. I laughed and tried to answer, but I couldn’t help but break.

“Eup, Eup, Eup!”

‘What’s this?’

It was a person.

Moreover, I knew their face. Melissa, a maid in this house who was in charge of cleaning my room.

I looked in bewilderment at her, dressed in a pretty dress and wearing a ribbon on her head, while her whole body was taped and her mouth was gagged.

“What, what, is this?”

When I finally asked, my younger brother answered me without batting an eyelash.

“A doll! What do you think? I was trying to get the same doll as the one sister had. But it was imported from a foreign country long ago, so it doesn’t sell it anymore. I’m a little off the mark, but I’ve prepared this one. Do you like it?”

Now, I’ll explain to you that this is all very confusing.

My brother thought Melissa was like my broken doll. It was just a simple toy on the shelf in my room. And Melissa, who was then clothed like the doll, by my brother, is of course not a doll, but a human. This madman called a human being who was alive, a doll. At the time, I freaked out and put my fist to my brother’s head.

“Ouch!”

I was dumbfounded . I was amazed how a seven-year-old could confuse a human with a doll . For the first time, I doubted my brother’s intelligence .

“You don’t like it?”

“You don’t seem to know the essence of the problem . Go over there and look at the wall with your arms up . Don’t put your arms down unless I tell you to . ”

First, I explained to my brother what was wrong with his actions . My brother gave me an incomprehensible look – No, Why? – but at the end of the lecture, he nodded . Well, I guess it’s not serious . But I should have suspected the other possibility, not my brother’s intelligence .

“Sister, sister . ”

“What’s wrong?”

“Do you like this doll?”

It was not long after that incident . This time, there was a butler, not a maid, who appeared before me, with their whole body tied and gagged . He looked at me with terrified eyes and struggled . Wait, hold on . What’s going on here? I was slow on catching on . But I finally realized the situation .

‘Last time you scolded me because you really didn’t like the doll, right? So I changed the gender this time . ’

I was speechless . What can I do to explain my feelings this time? My younger brother, who calls people dolls, pushed the tightly bound servant to me, and checked my reaction . He was pure, innocent and his eyes were clear .

“Why aren’t you talking, Sister?”

“…”

“Do you not like it again?”

I finally realized the seriousness of the situation .

I threw away everything I was doing, and only focused on observing my brother . Before long, I was able to reach a conclusion .

I think he’s a psychopath .

Or something like that . My brother’s problem was simple . He couldn’t tell the difference between people, things and animals at all . For this younger brother, except for his family, a person was no different from a toy or an ant in the yard .

“Sister, look at this!”

“What else?”

“Twin Puppets! What do you think?”

“Ha……twins this time, so let’s hit you with both hands this time . ”

I got through the secret of my birth, and now my brother is a psychopath . But I didn’t take the issue seriously at the time . I got a few goosebumps, but that was all .

My brother was still young and could be disciplined . When my brother brought me a doll, I would tie him up, feed him honey chestnuts(?) and release him afterwards . The cycle of doing such a thing became increasingly dull, and doing it was hard . Yeah, not all psychopaths become killers anyway . My younger brother may get better as he gets older, and learn some common sense . But what an optimistic misjudgment that was .

I woke up to the real gravity of the situation in summer, at an old library .

“…Nonsense . ”

The shock covered my whole body and I dropped the book .

“Is this a lie?”

Spring of Agrita, The New Girl . It was a book with that title . The book’s setting was in this world, many people appeared in it, including me . Each had a role . The main character, villain, supporting actor, extra, etc . My brother was a villain and I was a supporting actor .

‘How is this…?’

I couldn’t determine if it was a coincidence or if it was real . The events described in the book were the same as reality . There was another reason why the book could not be ignored .

“Bessie, do you see what this book is about?”

“Well, isn’t it just blank?”

The contents of the book were only visible to my eyes . Even the title .

There were only two possibilities: I was crazy, or I could only see this book because only people who’ve remembered their past life have the privilege to see it . As time went by, the conclusion fell to the latter . I’ve never heard of people going crazy and having visions . After all, this place was really a novel . But the real problem here was .

“I’m going to die again?”

My ending in the novel was terrible .

“And it’s miserable again?”

In the second half of the book, I die at the hands of my brother . There was no particular reason . I got caught being adopted . My grown-up brother kills me as soon as he finds out . He was mad that I dared to act superior to him, even though I was not his sister . Why didn’t my parents stop him? Sadly, they were scheduled to die of incurable diseases, side by side, before that .

“Oh, my God…”

Jesus Christ! How could you do this to me? The brother in the book was much more psychotic than he is now . The adult psychopathic brother was scary . Having a big brain, big body, and having the whole family in his hands, I changed my view of the little brother before my eyes . Dolls? Huh, that was cute .

I didn’t realize it was the greatest act of charm he could ever show . I wasn’t the only one to die at the hands of my adult brother, though . In short, he fell in love with the heroine at first sight, grew obsessed with her, and killed the people around her . My killing was also there . I can’t help but think that my death was coming . It was an act of madness .

‘If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have punished him . ’

I should have done better . No punishments, no curses, no throwing a fit when I got his dolls . I regretted everything I did . The reason for my death was the secret of my birth .

My end won’t be changed unless the fact that I was adopted changed . ‘I have to live . ’ My adult younger brother in the book killed me when I was twenty-two . In my previous life, I died at twenty-one, but I will not let myself die miserably here .

I flipped through the book at night, looking for a way to survive . I reached a conclusion at dawn .

‘Let’s run away . ’

That’s all .

However, it was dangerous to run away at any time . My younger brother still thinks that I‘m his sister and if I tried to get away, I might not get off without a scratch . Right after my brother meets the heroine, is the best time . As soon as my younger brother meets the heroine, he will start to cling to her . Then all the attention will be directed towards her . I will take advantage of that time and take all my wealth and run away to a leisurely life .

‘If I cross the border, I’ll be safe . ’

I wonder if he’ll come to other countries to kill? There must have been a lot of other people to kill besides me .

‘That’s the way I‘ll live, but before that…’

I concluded that it was a good idea to run away, but I decided to try one more thing before planning to run away in earnest . To prevent the death of my parents .

My parents in the book, had an incurable disease, but that’s still two years away . From now on, I don’t know where the road to will lead . Why, the old saying goes, “If the heart is strong, the sky is moved too . ” Heavens, Please grant my wish .

“… . . On the way to the dead, please be full of rest . ”

It’s touching, but it didn’t change the future . The funeral director buried my parents’ coffin and the priest wrote the surname on it .

My two years of hard work became nothing, just like this .

“Sister . ”

My little brother, who had fallen over my height, stood beside me and held my hand .

“Now it’s just the two of us . ”

Yes, there are only two left . Only two more supporting actors to be killed by a future villain and his supporter .

‘I’m doomed . ’

Now I was just running away . I’ve spent time in a pretty hectic way ever since .

It was scheduled, but my parents’ death was still sad, and my miserable future, which comes to mind from time to time, contributed greatly to the rise in my blood pressure, and planning to flee was not as easy to do . It was a day when I couldn’t sense how time was flowing . And then I realized…

“Have the invitations been sent properly?”

“Check again if we’re missing any . ”

“Alex, go downstairs and check the list for any missing items . ”

“Tomorrow’s food…”

The day of fate was just around the corner .

***

The mansion was noisy all day . The rush that began in the morning showed no sign of diminishing, even though the evening was over . It was only one day before the coming-of-age ceremony for the 18th birthday banquet of Duke Widgreen, my brother and the owner of this house .

I sat in the living room and watched the busy scene . The only leisurely scene here was me, taking a sip of steaming tea .

“Hwoo . ”

Even though I looked relaxed from the outside, my mind was bustling .

‘Don’t be afraid . Just stop being nervous already . ’

Finally, tomorrow . It’s tomorrow . I was going to leave here tomorrow evening .

‘As soon as the banquet begins, I’ll run away . ’

Tomorrow was the perfect day for me to carry out my long dreamt of escape . It hurts to state the reason . It will be my brother’s first meeting with the heroine . The heroine, Agrita was one of the guests that will attend my brother’s birthday banquet tomorrow . Her family wasn’t high ranking and would never have been invited, but there was an exception this time .

Because it‘s customary to invite as many people as possible to a birthday banquet held at the same time as a coming of age ceremony . The invitations were literally sprinkled around . I checked my plans . The fateful encounter between the heroine and the villain will be taking place in the banquet hall . A villain who is attracted to her at first sight and sees nothing but her . The success of me, a supporting actor, running away is:

Romantic, blind, run away, successful .

‘Perfect . ’

It was a result that took a longer time to think about than it seems . In particular, the timing was perfect . Looking for a way to live, I read the book several times, and it was on the first day of the banquet that my brother’s attention focused most on Agrita . Since then, he will have a choice to either stay behind her at all times, which is the specialty of a villain, or remove the people around her .

The more nervous I am, the higher the risk . So I have to observe a lot . My purpose is to sneak away from my brother . If I get caught before I get out of there completely… I can’t be sure what will happen after that . Therefore, it was naturally the first day of the banquet, or tomorrow, that was the best time to run away .

‘Will it work?’

It has to go well .

‘Please . ’

The contents of the teacup splashed around when I shook my hand . I gulped it down as I stared at the surface of the tea, like it was my heart . Oh, it’s hot . While I was doing that, my brother came down the stairs and found me.

 "Sister"

I answered his call with a smile. I smiled when I saw my brother. It was a conditional reflex that came from my instinct to live.

Essie Widgreen.

Three years ago, my younger brother, who became the Duke of Widgreen when our parents died, already looked mature, even when he hadn’t reached adulthood yet. He was only 14 years old at that time, and he already passed my shoulder height, plus he was always in good shape since he practiced the sword.

He had a natural skeleton and his entire body muscles developed evenly, so he was solid wherever you looked. I don’t punish him anymore.

I swear, I don’t even know anymore.

How can someone be so perfect?

Even so, I had a dream that my hand was cut off by my brother. But I went back to reality.

“Oh, My Duke. ”

My brother strode in with his long legs and sat opposite of me. Even in the midst of a busy time, the maid Bessie saw that and quickly brought him a cup of tea.

She then smiled softly.

“It’s always nice to see them together. ”

“I know right! It’s like the perfect picture. ”

Alex, a servant, who was passing through the living room carrying a vase, chimed in. My brother, who was handed his tea, said nothing back. Neither did I. Well, those statements were actually like greetings in this house.

‘I hear that so often. ’

It wasn’t just here.

People that would pass by us would always say, “You two look great”. At first, I wondered why, but as I kept listening to their conversations, I could see why.

‘It’s because of my brother. ’

My younger brother is handsome. I’ve been around him since he was young, and even I was surprised by his looks. He had deep, clear golden eyes, comparable to a jewel, and white hair similar to fallen snow.

His detailed, straight features gave off a mythical feeling. To put it simply, he didn’t feel like a real person. It must feel good to be handsome. Of course, I’m not saying that I was lagging behind in appearance. There was praise for my lively amber eyes being charming & attractive. But, my brother goes far beyond a human being and can’t even be compared to me.

‘That’s a genetic triumph. ’

He was like a masterpiece. If our parents were alive, they might’ve been proud of his face. Anyway, half of the reason people see us in a good light is because of our looks, and the other half…

‘Is also because of my brother. ’

It was because we looked very close. He was also nice to me. He used to follow me around all the time, and started taking care of me after our parents passed away.

A younger brother who takes care of his sister. I don’t deny it either . Essie was really good to me. My brother in my past life cared for me as well. He would always buy chicken for me. Essie was like an ideal younger brother, who all the older sisters in the world wanted to have.

The only problem is…

‘He treats me nicely only because he doesn’t know I’m not his real sister yet. ’

Or maybe I was mistaken.

I was beginning to wonder, if my brother is this good to me, would he really be killing me? Like Really? That’s how the story goes in the book, but reality may be different. Aside from the main story, there were some differences . There was nothing stated that it would turn out that way . I’ve heard about my life from the book, so wouldn’t he let me go if he never learns the secret of my birth?

I remembered an event in the midst of my thoughts .

–

“Come on, I’m sorry . I’m sorry!”

My brother knew him for a long time . They met at a meeting . He was a bastard in some family, and was with him since childhood . Such a period began a ten years’ sentence .

“You shouldn’t have done that if you knew it was wrong . ”

“Please, please I’ll never do it again…”

“How great would it be if we could turn back time?”

“Uh, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

They were partners in a business unknown to others . The problem was that the other person was blinded by the moment and lied to my brother .

He found out, cut off their limbs and killed them .

“Ah . ”

“……”

“Don’t kill me, why don’t you just make me a doll?”

“……”

“No, she doesn’t like dolls . ”

–

I thought he was like my brother’s best friend .

Until he became a mutilated body overnight in exchange for telling a lie . The day after he was killed, my brother maintained an air as if nothing had happened . His voice was as calm and languid as usual, as if he had only just kicked an ant to death .

That was when I realized .

‘I’m doomed . ’

My last death was merciful compared to that one . For I was able to preserve my heart and limbs .

For my brother, if someone wasn’t family, he didn’t give a shit about them . I’ll become a stranger to my brother as soon as he finds out I’m adopted . I felt like a fool for even thinking that he would spare me, even though I knew that .

I’m glad I realized this early .

What would have happened if I still wasn’t aware of that reality and harbored false hope?

I would have been happy right before the day of my death, but uh . When I recalled those memories, my appetite went down . The tea tasted so bad that I was wondering if I could get some sugar, but then my brother spoke .

“Tomorrow . ”

“ . . ?”

“I’m thinking of going to see the clock tower . How about it?”

He widened his eyes gleefully, causing me to leave the box full of sugar cubes alone . What’s up with the clock tower? And why so suddenly?

“You mean the one in the town square? You want me to come with you?”

“Yes!”

“Why is that?”

“Because you said you wanted to see it before . ”

Did I? I quickly retraced my memory, but nothing came to mind . If I had said that, I would have done it mindlessly . I often do that, but my brother had a good memory for a minor .

“Tomorrow, I’ll be free before evening . ”

My younger brother became busy all the time since becoming the Duke of Widgreen .

Well, thanks for paying attention to me when you’re busy, but… absolutely not .

By tomorrow noon, I’d be packing up my room, and I’d rather avoid loitering around the town square at that time . It’s because I might encounter the heroine if I do .

Before attending my brother’s birthday party, the heroine, Agrita, was scheduled to help with a charity event . It would be foolish to go to a situation like that, where they would meet in advance .

I shook my head and quickly made up an excuse .

“No, I’m sure you’re busy, so you don’t have to . I past by it before, and I noticed that, well, it was pretty old . ”

“Really?”

“Yeah . I thought it would be better to just tear it down and rebuild it . Anyway, it wasn’t good . ”

Whether the clock tower is actually old is none of my business . In order to make it seem like it wasn’t worth visiting anyway, I talked smack about the clock tower that I had never seen before .

“If sister says so . ”

My brother seemed to accept it easily . What a surprise . I thought he’d be stubborn, but he wasn’t . I was inwardly proud of myself for overcoming that crisis .

. . But I shouldn’t have been .

I should have realized at that time how crazy my words sounded .

“……What?”

On the morning of that day, my hand froze in the middle of reaching for another cookie on the table, and I asked stupidly . My brother repeated the same thing in a friendly tone .

“I’m giving you a clock tower . ”

His eyebrows curled smoothly and a pretty smile followed .

I was nervous so I woke up later than usual . I also couldn’t sleep the previous day . When I woke up, I was hungry, so I came down to the kitchen .

When my brother, who was sitting down and drinking coffee, found me, he said those words to me . I doubted my hearing for a second .

‘What the hell?’

My thinking was blocked for a while when my brother gave me that news with a cheerful face . It was too much for me in the morning . I opened my mouth to speak again .

“So… well, that clock tower in the town square… You broke it?”

“Yes . ”

“Right…”

If anyone heard his tone of voice right now, they would’ve thought that the clock tower was just a toy or a sand castle . No, are you crazy?

“Why’d you do that?”

“I teared it down . It’s good to start early . ”

‘Oh my god . Was it because of me?’

There was something that I said that came into mind . Did I tell him that yesterday? Did he think that I told him to tear it down and rebuild it? Really?

Oh, my God!

I hung my mouth open . I was confident I knew enough about psychopaths, but maybe I was being arrogant . Does being a psychopath destroy all common sense too? Are you kidding me?

‘If it were someone else, they would have thought it was a joke……’

I rubbed my face as if I were wiping something . My brother doesn’t joke around . I didn’t have to interrogate him any further . The clock tower must have actually collapsed . I was feeling a little bit guilty on the inside .

‘It’s my fault . ’

I’ll say something else .

‘I’m sorry, I hope everyone evacuated to a safe place . ’

I don’t think that my villainous brother, who considered a person’s life like a fly, would’ve payed attention to the lives lost while destroying the tower .

I wish that only the clock tower collapsed and for no one to be hurt, but the odds of that seem slim . I prayed with all my heart . I hope that maybe they’ll be reborn in a peaceful world where there’s no psychopathic villain .

Wait a minute .

“Essie . ”

“Yes . ”

“When did you give me the clock tower?”

“This morning . ”

He answered back .

Morning? As in today?

…This morning?

Clatter!

“Sister?”

As soon as I heard when the accident took place, I rushed out of the kitchen .

I didn’t care about my dress getting caught in the chair, or the worried voice of my brother calling to me .

I saw a servant nearby and made them run an errand . I ran out of the mansion in a hurry . I stood by as I looked at the back of the young servant getting farther away .

“What’s wrong?”

My brother, who chased after me, talked to me . I didn’t answer . To be exact, my mind was all over the place so I couldn’t answer .

‘Is it not…’

I don’t think so . No, of course not .

This morning, the heroine Agrita will climb the city’s clock tower . It was so she could hear the bell at the top and pray .

Please make sure that today’s charity event is over .

It was written in the book that after she makes a long and sincere prayer, she will come down from the clock tower and participate in the planned charity event .

‘It’ll be okay . ’

I was surprised to hear that my brother broke the clock tower this morning . But I must have been worrying for nothing . I sent for an errand to be ran, but hey, that can’t possibly be true . Agrita was the heroine . Even if an unexpected accident happens, nothing could happen to her .

‘I’m nervous, though . ’

I’ve been worrying unnecessarily for a long time, but this moment seemed to be the climax .

I don’t even know if it’s true, maybe she’ll be hurt so that she can’t attend the banquet tomorrow, or something like that .

How long has it been?

The servant who I had sent to run the errand, finally came back . Panting, they handed out a piece of paper to me .

“Here’s the… you said…”

I took it as soon as I saw it .

It was a list of casualties from today’s clock tower collapse . There were not as many names as I thought . Soon I found a familiar name amongst them .

“…Lies . ”

It can’t be .

I thought I saw wrong, so I checked it again, and several times more, but it didn’t change .

The piece of paper fell to my feet .

-Agrita Grace . Dead .

The heroine is dead .