The floating scenes shattered like glass at the urgent voice.

“Miss! Miss?”

A woman came into view as her body fluttered like a paper doll before her vision finally cleared.

Judging by her formal suit-style maid uniform, she appeared to be the head maid.

The thought crossed her mind that the new body she had obtained was likely that of a young lady.

Soon, even more shocked women gathered around the already shocked woman.

Amid commands to stop making a fuss and to call for the Duke, they quickly disappeared outside.

Now only she and the presumed head maid remained in the room.

The maid met her eyes and suddenly burst into tears.

“Miss, do you recognize me? I’m Marianne!”

She felt the warmth from the body that abruptly embraced her.

“I thought you were really going to…”

The maid couldn’t even finish her sentence properly.

Judging by how she spoke, it seemed they had been close.

While easily grasping the situation, the maid tried her best to calm her as she sat there blankly.

That she had lost consciousness after collapsing from an unknown illness. That it had been 7 whole years. So of course everything must be confusing now. But that she would be alright.

7 years… That prickly, unsettling period stuck like a thorn on the tip of her tongue.

“What’s my name?”

Shocked that she had forgotten even her name, the head maid named Marianne looked surprised.

“Miss Vivian, what’s wrong!”

Vivian. Vivian…? She repeated that unreal name several times to herself.

Then she lifted a strand of her hair.

Even after confirming the dark blue hair like the night sky, she shook her head.

Though it was a rare name to coincidentally overlap, she believed, or rather wanted to believe, it couldn’t be.

She deliberately ignored the familiar eye-shaped sculpture as well.

Such designs were trendy in the empire, so they could be placed anywhere.

Unless the contractor was a madman, there’s no way he would pull such a prank.

But.

Upon seeing the man who barged into the room moments later, she could be certain.

That the contractor was indeed a madman.

“So you’ve woken up.”

The man who muttered in a low voice was none other than the head of House Snowfel, Diarob Snowfel.

*

Diarob Snowfel.

He was the mortal enemy who had tried to annihilate me and my family.

At the same time, he was a difficult opponent skilled in typical aristocratic politics, cornering his adversaries through thorough scheming and reading the situation.

Born a high nobleman, he had ruthlessly expanded his power without ever conceding anything easily, shaping the current Snowfel.

A man of such burning ambition, they say he didn’t even bat an eye on the day his wife died, attending the grand council meeting.

And then he turned the commercial rights to his own benefit.

Not only that, he tried to kill me in order to make Vivian the Crown Princess, and repeatedly put my family in difficult situations.

How much trouble I went through each time to escape.

The fight of chasing and being chased continued endlessly like a game of tag.

So meeting him could only be terrifying. To be honest, it was even disgusting.

The only problem was that he was now my father.

With his ash-gray hair and dull eyes of the same color, the Duke overwhelmed the space with his mere presence.

If I hadn’t dealt with him several times while acting as an aide, I wouldn’t have been able to even look him in the eye properly, crushed by that aura.

The name Snowfel currently holds that much prestige, and the man at its center stands in a position that anyone would dare to look up to.

The servants lined up around also kept their heads bowed, restlessly watching for any signs.

Regardless, he looked me over like examining an object, without paying any attention to them.

“So you can still be of use.”

“…”

“You woke up just when talks of a royal marriage are in full swing.”

His attitude was so nonchalant, it was hard to believe his daughter who nearly died had come back to life.

Didn’t they say Vivian had been collapsed for 7 whole years?

Moreover, it was an unknown illness.

It seems they just didn’t pronounce her dead, but it was a miracle she hadn’t died.

Even the servants were shocked and caused an uproar upon seeing her wake up, so one could guess what state she had been in.

Yet how could the eyes of a father looking at his daughter who nearly died and woke up after 7 years be like that?

And what nonsense was he spouting?

Of course, I know.

That there are many fathers in this empire who treat their daughters like objects, giving not a speck of affection.

Especially among the nobles, there were quite a number of such people.

After all, if not the heir to continue the family line, daughters were mostly used as assets to raise the family’s prestige.

But…

‘Didn’t Diarob originally dote on Vivian terribly?’

According to what was known, Diarob cherished his only daughter and son tremendously.

They say the reason he works so hard is to accumulate wealth and honor for his children’s future.

At a glance, the seemingly romantic Duke Diarob often kept Vivian by his side.

Even publicly, I had seen it several times.

In our childhood when we were close friends, I frequently witnessed such scenes firsthand, and even afterwards… they were always an affectionate father and daughter at official events.

Whenever there was an event, he would keep Vivian close to an excessive degree.

His supposedly brilliant son never showed his face in public due to a weak constitution, but they say he cherishes him dearly as well.

‘But this current situation… what is it?’

Over the rippling doubt, his voice overlapped.

“What are you dawdling for without starting the examination?”

“But the examination involves great pain, so right now…”

“There’s no time. Begin immediately.”

Meeting Diarob’s fierce gaze, the healers bowed their heads and tied me up tightly, placing me in a coffin.

After that, various examinations proceeded quickly.

Throughout the painful examination process, his eyes remained surprisingly devoid of emotion.

Finally, the chief physicians who came out beside me sweating profusely finished their report using complex terminology.

The conclusion was that I had recovered perfectly fine without any abnormalities.

As expected of Snowfel’s healers who had risen through rigorous verification, their healing abilities were quite remarkable.

The stamina drained over 7 years had returned in an instant.

Only after confirming that did a smile bloom on the Duke’s lips.

For some reason, now even that smile looks sinister.

Just as I tensed up wondering what useless words he would spout next, the Duke’s gaze met mine.

“Focus solely on recovery.”

With that, the Duke disappeared outside without looking back.

Normally, upon seeing a daughter who woke up after 7 years, wouldn’t one at least embrace her even if not shedding tears?

Is it my antipathy towards him that makes me see him that way?

Or is it simply an ominous premonition?

However, such thoughts quickly evaporated into the air like steam.

Is that even an issue right now?

Now that I’ve become Vivian Snowfel.

I stared at the mirror for a while, trying to accept that still unbelievable fact.

There sat a woman with blue hair and purple eyes, one hand clasping her face.

‘Hah…’

Tears kept bursting out from the overwhelming feeling.

I thought I was prepared for everything, but it seems it was just arrogance.

My Rosemary, my family, my everything… have I now lost it all?

I missed my father and my only brother Tikan so much.

Father probably thinks I’m dead.

Since secrecy is prioritized to perform alchemy, I couldn’t tell anyone.

My brother and father must have given up searching for me by now.

I wanted to run out right now and see my family’s faces.

But in this state, I’ll never be able to approach my family again.

As days passed, the tears gradually dried up.

*

Fortunately, the terrible headaches slowly subsided and showed a magically quick recovery.

With each passing day, cold reason covered over the intensely surging emotions.

“I’ve prepared the bath water. Shall we go?”

Today too, like any other day, the head maid Marianne diligently carried out her duties.

She was the only person in this massive mansion who spoke to me.

The sight of her trying to persuade me to eat the untouched soup by pushing it into my mouth seemed tens of thousands of times better than Duke Diarob.

It seemed this person had quite a good relationship with Vivian.

After calmly finishing the cleanup, she gave a slight bow and entered. Inside, a wooden bathtub emitting fragrant steam was in place.

As I moved my naked body towards it, scars came into view.

The scars weren’t in just one place either.

‘How did this…’

Scars that seemed quite old judging by their appearance were scattered here and there.

How could a noble young lady who spent her whole life doing embroidery inside the house have such scars?

Judging by the traces, they were clearly not simple injuries.

Who could have done such a thing?

With nothing to go on, fear dominated my entire body.

I considered asking the head maid, but decided against it, thinking I’d just be called crazy.

As the rising steam gradually cooled, my mind slowly returned.

The coldly settled reason organized what needed to be done.

First, I need to escape from here and go to the Imperial Palace. Only then can I seduce him or do whatever is necessary.

I’m in a situation where I can’t waste even a single day.

The most hopeful thing right now is that Diarob and I are likely looking in the same direction.

Duke Diarob has always wanted to place Vivian in the position of Crown Princess.

If he had been a father who cherished his daughter dearly, much may have changed over the past 7 years, but he hasn’t changed at all.

You can read a lot from a person’s eyes.

Those eyes, brilliantly mixed with ambition, were clearly filled with desire.

According to Marianne, Casius is still unmarried, and among the nobles, there are many who point to him and try to place their daughters on the throne.

The public opinion that has been led by other dukes, not Diarob, will now dance in Diarob’s palm.

Because I have awakened.

The head maid said the grand council is today, so a conclusion will come soon.

I could understand why Diarob was rushing about so busily and not staying at the mansion.

The problem was Casius.

Would he, who hasn’t let a single young lady into his bedroom for the past 7 years, fall for Diarob’s nonsense and marry me?

To be honest, I was skeptical.

Then the only way is to use Diarob as a pawn to tighten the noose around his neck.

That would be the fastest and easiest way to secure the position beside him.

But somehow it felt uncomfortable. To hand over Casius’s weakness to none other than Diarob.

My thoughts continued at length as I came out of the bathroom and removed the moisture.

The deepening contemplation was interrupted by a bang as the door flew open.

The only one who could dare to barge into this room without knocking was the Duke.

As I raised my head, Duke Diarob was there as expected.

A satisfied smile soon spread across his lips.

Just as an eerie feeling sent chills down my spine, he opened his mouth.

“The wedding will be in two weeks.”