TDRDH :01

CHAPTER : 01

Recently, there was a piece of news that took the entire capital by storm.

And that was…

“I heard the real lady of House Lucert has returned, is that true?”

The young lady of House Lucert, who was said to have been lost a very long time ago.

They had finally found her!

At this wonderful news, the Lucert Ducal Residence was in full festive spirit.

Although the people of the capital genuinely celebrated this happy occasion,

a few gossips secretly whispered about the “fake lady of House Lucert.”

“Then what will happen to Lady Cecilia?”

“Well, dissolving the adoption would hurt the family’s reputation, so…”

“Won’t they marry her off quickly or something to get her out of the house?”

Behind the wide-spread fans of the noble ladies,

and amid the acrid smoke of the cigars in the gentlemen’s mouths,

low whispers and mockery were exchanged.

“A ‘fake lady.’ What a pitiful situation she’s in… Pfft.”

“Oh my, calling her a fake lady.”

“Oh, come on. That’s what everyone’s calling her behind closed doors anyway.”

“In any case, the Ducal house must have quite a headache.”

Meanwhile, at that very moment, at the Lucert Ducal Residence.

The family’s townhouse looked like it was hosting a grand banquet.

To celebrate the return of their lost daughter, the family dinner had been decorated like an imperial feast.

Amidst all kinds of rare and expensive foods filling the table,

the Duchess turned to look at her daughter sitting beside her with a beaming face.

As if awkward in her dress, the young girl kept adjusting her collar.

Her bright blonde hair, looking as if made of melted gold, was a spitting image of the Duchess’s,

and her green eyes, a trait inherited by the direct descendants of Lucert, shone intelligently.

“Milena, try some of this. It’s apple pie.”

The Duchess pushed the plate of apple pie closer to her daughter to make it easier for her to eat.

A sweet aroma wafted from the pie, which was filled with stewed, high-quality apples.

“When you were a baby, you used to love eating pureed apples so much.”

The Duchess reminisced about the memories in a wistful voice.

“My sweet daughter. When did you grow up so wonderfully like this… Even though your mother couldn’t be there to look after you, you grew up so well.”

As the Duchess, unable to speak further, welled up with tears, the Duke patted his wife’s shoulder and spoke tenderly.

“My dear, Milena is back with us now. We can make up for everything we couldn’t do for her from now on.”

“You can relax now, Milena. From now on, we will protect you.”

The young duke, Elias, chimed in gently as well.

Everyone sitting at the table looked happy.

Except for just one person.

Cecilia von Lucert.

The fake lady, who had been adopted to fill the spot of the real lady.

She was staring down silently at her plate with a gloomy expression.

An expression as if she would burst into tears at the slightest touch.

But no one paid any attention to Cecilia.

Although they were in the same space, the contrast in temperature was so stark they didn’t feel like family at all.

‘Wait, am I the only one who’s paying attention to her?!’

At that exact moment, as Milena was screaming internally,

as if she felt her gaze, Cecilia slowly lifted her head.

Their eyes met directly.

‘Gasp.’

Milena swallowed a gasp.

At the same time, Cecilia stiffened her shoulders with a flinch, pursed her lips, and glared sharply at her.

As if she absolutely refused to lose to Milena, the “real daughter.”

‘…This is so miserable.’

Milena simply found the situation before her incredibly awkward.

It was unfair to be hated by Cecilia when it wasn’t even her fault, and she hated this household for blatantly treating Cecilia like an invisible ghost just because they found her.

“Um, I’m sorry, but I don’t really want to play the lady. I just want to go back to my own home.”

…How wonderful would it be if only she could say that?!

But she couldn’t, of course.

‘Because this is a contract with my mother’s life on the line!’

Letting out a deep sigh inwardly, Milena gave Cecilia the most harmless smile she could muster.

Uh, female lead?

I’ll lay low so I don’t get in your way, and then I’ll leave as fast as I can.

So please, don’t glare at me like that. Please!

The only problem was, whatever way Cecilia had interpreted the customer service smile Milena had desperately put on,

her expression had become even more savage…

‘Hey, I’m the victim here, too!’

Milena wept tears of blood inwardly.

‘I never wanted to come back to this Ducal house in the first place!’

…All of this began with a strange dream on a perfectly ordinary day.

* * *

Chirp, chirp-chirp.

The lively chirping of birds announcing the morning echoed through the air.

As the bright sunlight streamed into the room,

‘This has to be a lie, right?’

Having just woken up, I blinked blankly.

My name is Milena.

Since I am a commoner, I have no last name.

I am eighteen years old this year.

I live alone with my mother in the western town of Transie Barony, famous for its hot springs.

Usually, my biggest worry was something as small as, “What should we have for dinner tomorrow?”

‘But this… this can’t be happening!’

According to the dream I just had, this world is actually inside a book.

And not just any book, but a romance fantasy novel I read in my past life.

To summarize the plot, it goes something like this.

The female protagonist, Cecilia, is the only daughter of the empire’s greatest family, the Lucert Ducal House.

But Cecilia was not actually the Duke’s biological daughter.

Having lost her real daughter and unable to bear the loneliness, the Duchess had adopted her as a substitute.

Since then, Cecilia went to great lengths to be loved by her family.

Even so, her family cold-heartedly turned away from her.

“In her stead, you must always strive not to bring shame upon the name of Lucert.”

The Duke, who was always icy cold.

“Where is she now, and what is she doing…”

The Duchess, who shed tears for her lost daughter every time she looked at Cecilia.

“Ha, do you still not get it? How could someone like you ever be my real sister!”

Even the young duke, Elias, who would lose his temper and yell at her at the slightest provocation.

But Cecilia couldn’t let go of her faint hope and tried desperately.

‘No, they will accept me as their real daughter one day.’

Having grown up in an orphanage, Cecilia had always dreamed of a family.

But.

“Oh my goodness, my daughter!!”

One day, the “real daughter” returns to the Duke’s house.

The family dotes entirely on the returned real daughter, and even the man who once showed interest in Cecilia completely flips and confesses his love to the real daughter…

…Everyone’s probably figured it out by now, right?

The sworn enemy who takes everything away from Cecilia.

The villainess who charms everyone with her sunny charm.

That’s me.

I’m that annoying real daughter!!

‘T-this makes no sense!’

I clutched my head and screamed silently.

Of all the characters, why did it have to be *that* real daughter!

You wouldn’t believe how obnoxious Milena was in the original story.

Smiling brightly while getting under people’s skin, she was truly…

“Oh, Brother didn’t return your greeting? That’s strange, he always greets me with a smile.”

“Maybe you misunderstood something? It’s weird that such a sweet brother would be cold only to you.”

“I think you’re just being a bit too sensitive!”

Milena’s infamous remarks flashed through my mind, and finally, the top comment of the novel popped up as if mocking me.

I don’t care if Milena suddenly trips over a rock and gets written out of the story, just get rid of her quickly, please…

…I had definitely strongly agreed with that comment and even upvoted it.

Little did I know I would end up living as *that* Milena!

‘This has to be a lie, right?!’

Just as I threw myself face down on the bed in despair,

*Slam!*

The bedroom door flung open.

And a familiar face peeked inside.