At the place where the door had fallen, two large men and one middle-aged woman stood, glaring at Lukna with menacing eyes.

“You thieving cat!”

“You stole it, didn’t you?”

These suddenly intruding people pointed accusingly at Lukna.

Instantly turned into a thieving cat, Lukna first waved both arms to deny the accusation.

“I don’t know who you are, but it wasn’t me. I don’t know anything.”

“This is really funny. Are you pretending not to remember? Are you trying to act like a real noble, you fake?”

“Grab that one!” As the woman shouted, the two large men each grabbed one of Lukna’s arms.

When they shook Lukna’s arms up and down, the whole body shook as if jumping.

Thud thud.

Then, several pieces of jewelry fell from the loose trouser legs.

Jeweled earrings and rings rolled across the peeling wooden floor.

‘What is this? Was I really a thief?’

Lukna looked down at the jewels with wide eyes. Even in that moment, she quickly tried to recall if there was any original novel with a thief appearing.

‘There was no such thing. What kind of crazy author would set the protagonist as a thief?’

Thief was a profession that rarely appeared even as a supporting character. Then, was the identity of this body she had possessed an insignificant extra?

As Lukna rolled her eyes, the middle-aged woman snorted.

“Now that you’ve been caught, are you trying to figure out how to escape? I should have known when you were entering and leaving the count’s house with your filthy body. Why did the late master take in such trash as an adopted child!”

Just as the woman was about to raise her hand towards Lukna’s cheek.

“Stop it!”

A pitiful cry stopped the woman’s hand.

A girl who was obviously overflowing with nobility entered the hut with tears in her eyes.

Her pretty face and caramel-like eyes were just like a female protagonist from a novel.

“I gave all of that to her, Mrs. Melen!”

“You gave it yourself, Miss Giselle? But aren’t those the late madam’s keepsakes?”

“I wanted to give at least those. Because Lukna is… Lukna is…!”

Sniff. The girl named Giselle dabbed under her eyes with a lace handkerchief and bit her inner lip.

‘Hurry up and say it. This impatient Korean is dying to know.’

Lukna, who was also curious about her own identity, tapped her feet impatiently while waiting for the next words.

“Because she’s a benefactor of the Golden count family!”

Benefactor? At those words, Lukna felt inwardly relieved.

Fortunately, it seemed that this body wasn’t originally a thief.

“Come here, Lukna. Let’s return to the mansion together. Brother Perta is waiting for you.”

Giselle held out her hand to Lukna.

Lukna glanced at the middle-aged woman and the large men, then decided to follow the girl named Giselle for now.

It seemed like she would be able to learn the whole story of this situation that way.

At the same time.

Young men belonging to the student council of Saint Military Academy were standing in the Plaza of Honor.

The young men were all tall and handsome, but there was one who particularly stood out among them.

It was Matian Wigratz.

The legitimate heir of the Wigratz grand duchy, descendant of a hero, and current student council president of the military academy.

A genius excelling in everything from academics to swordsmanship, with sculpture-like looks that captured the hearts of the empire’s women.

“The holy sword that was firmly embedded in the altar has disappeared, huh.”

And he was the one believed without doubt to become the owner of the holy sword.

As a gentle breeze scattered his black hair, his straight forehead was revealed and his long eyes became prominent.

His azure eyes, which seemed like they could bring winter again, swept across the vast plaza.

The plaza, usually bustling with students, was now empty without even an ant in sight.

His gaze lingered on the round altar standing in the center of the plaza.

Originally, the holy sword, symbol of the empire’s hero, should have been embedded on that altar. It was a sword that only the chosen one could pull out.

But that holy sword had disappeared. In just one night.

The professors of the military academy immediately entered an emergency meeting.

They also requested advice from the temple, but they were refused help with the words that it was all “heaven’s will”.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief at the temple’s lukewarm response, thinking it might not be a great calamity, but the cadets’ stance was different.

“What kind of thief took it?”

The student council members exchanged glances and shook their heads.

There was only one reason why they called the person who took the holy sword a “thief” instead of “the chosen one”.

It was because everyone thought that the owner of the holy sword would naturally be Matian, who inherited the hero’s blood.

“Right. Who could it be?”

Matian also couldn’t take his eyes off the empty altar.

It was the first time the student council president, who was always warm and kind to everyone, showed such anger.

Those around him were busy swallowing dry saliva and watching Matian’s mood.

“Is there anyone in our school capable of pulling that out besides Matian? They probably used some underhanded method like black magic to take it.”

“The culprit must be a cadet from the military academy, Matian. Because the barrier that the High Priest set up on the altar only allows entry to current students of the military academy.”

A small and pretty male student with gnome blood appeared among the men as tall as pine trees.

Unlike his fairy-like appearance, he had an eccentric personality and was Eren, the student council treasurer.

“Do you want to see the data on the entire school’s whereabouts that I investigated last night?”

Eren handed Matian a stack of papers with the dormitory entry and exit times of the cadets written on them, his face expressionless.

“Thank you, Eren.”

Even in his anger, Matian’s lips held a mechanically gentle smile.

In contrast, his azure eyes emanated a chilly coldness as they scanned down the data, stopping at one point.

“Lukna Golden.”

Matian narrowed his eyes as he saw the familiar name.

‘So this guy is the only one who left the dormitory yesterday and didn’t return, is that it?’

The worst student in the school, the weakest in the military academy, and a student registered as “of concern” due to exposure to school violence.

He was the opposite of Matian, who excelled in everything.

“Lukna Golden? Are you suspecting that blockhead sent by the Golden count family instead of their eldest son?”

Bolton, the burly student council secretary, burst out laughing.

The military academy was a school in name, but it was similar to a knightly order.

It was a place where dispatch to battlefields was frequent, and dangerous and experimental classes were conducted.

In return, if one graduated safely, wealth and honor followed, and one received the recognition of all people.

So, heirs of high-ranking families often enrolled in the military academy before becoming adults to gain merits in advance.

It was a way to enhance the family’s honor while practicing noblesse oblige.

As a result, young nobles who wanted to build connections with them naturally flocked to the military academy, and befitting the multi-racial Greyten Empire, elven and gnome students with titles were occasionally seen in addition to humans.

Thus, the military academy became an essential course for nobles and a social gathering place, and the diploma was no different from a medal.

In this situation, some families with sickly heirs even adopted capable commoners and had them enroll as proxies for the sake of honor.

‘Lukna Golden was such a case.’

An adopted son of the Golden count family who enrolled instead of the sickly Perta Golden. But for such a case, Lukna’s abilities were terrible.

“How could a blockhead who only brings shame to the school’s name pull out the holy sword.”

Bolton also dismissed the possibility while kicking small stones.

“Bolton’s right. Lukna Golden might be suitable as a sacrifice somewhere, but he’s not the kind of talent who could pull out the holy sword.”

Chad, the vice president who was always drowsy, also wore a quite serious expression.

His languidly drooping eyes overflowed with decadent charm.

Despite the student council’s opinion, Matian did not remove his suspicion.

He stared at Lukna’s name on the list for a long time, then glared at the altar where the holy sword had disappeared.

“Well, it doesn’t matter who it is.”

Matian crumpled the list in his hand and smiled crookedly.

“Whoever dared to lay hands on what’s mine will surely pay the price.”

‘Ugh, suddenly I’m getting chills.’

Sitting alone in the reception room, Lukna shuddered.

This was the mansion of the Golden count family.

She thought all nobles lived in splendid houses, but this place was just spacious and very shabby.

‘I guess not all nobles are rich.’

The inside of the mansion was even colder than outside, so Lukna had to rub her arms with both hands.

‘I’ve followed this far, but what should I do now?’

Kim Ha Yun, who had become Lukna, anxiously clenched and unclenched her hands.

The more she realized the reality of being possessed in a strange world, the more her jaw tightened. A cold confusion spread throughout her body.

‘It feels similar to when I was abandoned in front of the orphanage.’

She should have been grateful just for obtaining a new life, yet the anxiety of being left alone in an unfamiliar space and having to be wary of death that could come at any time rose up below her knees.

Ha Yun pulled her legs up onto the sofa and hugged her knees.

‘Sister Agnes, I miss you.’

When Ha Yun first entered the orphanage and couldn’t adapt, floating like a foreign substance, only the nun always showed her warmth.

Whenever the feeling of defeat that she couldn’t fully belong anywhere stirred inside her, she would recall the nun’s words and work hard at whatever role she was given, be it studying or working.

If she did so, she thought she might be able to realize the reason why she was left alone on this Earth said to have a population of 8 billion.

Although she was afraid to dream of a distant future due to the fear that another big accident might occur at any time, it was quite rewarding to achieve small accomplishments day by day.

‘I couldn’t live carelessly.’

As the only survivor of her family, she felt like she had to live in their place.

‘But I guess I lived too diligently. Who would have thought I’d die from overwork?’

So being given another chance to live was the greatest fortune.

Ha Yun tried to shake off her fears by reminding herself of this fact.

‘Right, so what if I don’t know the original story? It’s not like I knew the future when I was Kim Ha Yun either.’

She decided not to be anxious and to think calmly about what she could do first.