Chapter 1. The Duchess Does Not Hide Her Temper

I opened my eyes and found myself on the floor.

“People say expensive alcohol doesn’t give you a hangover, but that’s a lie.”

Under my cheek, I felt the texture of an expensive carpet.

A luxury like this was something a poor low-ranking official like me could never even dream of. I must have gotten ridiculously drunk, complained about my miserable life, and passed out somewhere.

Scratching my chin at that thought, something dark and red like dried blood smeared on my fingertips.

“What is this… blood?”

But there was no way it was actually blood. I must have thrown up everything I drank and fainted from drinking too much.

My stomach burned painfully.

Swaying as I stood up, I blinked through my blurry vision and looked around. First, I had to figure out where I was.

‘Could this be a guestroom for high-ranking officials or something like that.’

But the view before me was very different from what I imagined.

A spotless bed with not a single wrinkle. Scattered over it were white orange blossoms, red roses, medicinal herbs, and dried leaves.

And on the headboard, a neatly folded sheet of pure white linen.

They were all objects used to symbolize a wedding night.

“Why is this here?”

While I stared in confusion, my gaze caught on a dressing table.

Far in the mirror stood a woman so beautiful and radiant that even a rose in full bloom would bow its head beside her.

Hair smooth like it held moonlight, eyes as clear and blue as a winter lake.

Features so defined that someone could call her a doll and be believed, with lips tinted a bright crimson.

Anyone who saw her would be left speechless.

“This is… me?”

This was not the face I remembered.

Panicked, I stepped closer to the dressing table.

And the moment my gaze met the eyes of the me in the mirror, a pain sharp enough to split my skull surged through me.

Memories I could not possibly endure crashed over me like a tidal wave.

‘Do not give her a single drop of water until the prisoner starts talking. If you disobey out of pity I will rip out all your fingernails and toenails just like I did to that other girl. Is that clear?’

Moldy, damp stone walls. A dark place where not a shred of sunlight reached.

I lay collapsed in an underground prison.

I had no idea how much time had passed since I had been dragged there.

With no sense of day or night, my concept of time shattered. All I could do was pray for this painful life to end as soon as possible.

‘Ah, right.’

I had originally been an ordinary government official.

Well… ordinary was a stretch. My low birth meant a life full of hardships. But I had a dream.

I wanted to become a respectable official like my parents who had passed when I was young. I worked myself to death to achieve that dream.

‘But then…’

Confidential information from Lombard was leaking to the outside.

I discovered this and secretly investigated the leak. But the culprit realized I was onto them. In the end, I died a gruesome death in the underground dungeon.

Even as my breath stopped, the culprit tortured me mercilessly.

‘Want to hear a secret? Do not blame me. Blame the one who sent you to me. The one who threw you into my hands was―’

In the last moments of my life, the face of the culprit holding a heated iron brand and curling those crimson lips burned into my memory.

“Right. I definitely died…”

I stared blankly into the mirror.

Facing me was the one and only niece of the emperor who ruled the great Valdin Empire, the wife of the northern grand lord and Duke of Lombard, and above all, the very woman I saw at the final moment of my life.

Elicia.

Beautiful like a pure white lily on the outside, but carrying a cruel demon within.

A curse slipped out of me even though I tried not to swear.

“You have got to be kidding me.”

Was I lacking in good deeds during my life?

Not that I remembered doing anything terrible either. So how was this not an awful curse.

Blinking blankly, I suddenly rushed over to a calendar.

“Empire year 874…”

It was about four years before the year I died.

I could hardly believe it, yet once I organized the situation, the conclusion remained the same.

The me who died in the underground dungeon had been revived as the Duchess of Lombard. And not just at any time but on the morning after the wedding ceremony and the consummation night.

“Madam is still not awake. Please return later.”

“I am here under the lord’s orders. It is urgent so move aside.”

“That is not possible.”

Suddenly, a commotion broke out in the hallway.

It sounded like the steward of Lombard Castle was trying to see me and the maids were blocking him.

Frozen in confusion, I suddenly realized the problem.

‘If people come in here what will happen to me?’

A cold shiver ran down my spine.

A dead person returning to the past and possessing someone else’s body.

Anyone would call that demonic or heretical. If I slipped up, I would definitely be dragged to the Inquisition.

‘I will die again… maybe even worse than before.’

I had seen an inquisitor from the Dominican order when I was a child.

Only once. Yet the terror remained unforgettable for life.

“Madam, it is Berthold. I will enter for a moment.”

“How dare you. I told you Madam is sleeping.”

The argument grew louder.

The door was not locked. If Berthold forced it open I would be caught standing stupidly in the middle of the room.

Panicking, I ran to the mirror and checked my appearance.

I scrubbed away the dried red residue at my lips and covered my stained negligee with a fur shawl.

Then I dove into the bed.

“What is all this noise so early in the morning?”

At the sound of my voice, the noise outside halted.

A strangely long silence followed. Then the steward Berthold spoke hesitantly.

“Uh… Madam?”

For some reason the steward sounded extremely flustered.

Just moments ago he had tried to barge in under the duke’s orders. Now he instantly became polite after one word from me.

‘Was I that imposing just now?’

I briefly admired my own unexpected acting talent.

Berthold stammered.

“A, alive… no, that is not…”

His lips must have stiffened from the cold rather than awe.

Winter in Lombard, the northernmost region of the empire, was so brutal even beasts froze to death.

“I apologize for disturbing your rest. I will return later.”

I remembered that the elderly steward suffered terribly from knee arthritis. Climbing the stairs several times in this weather must have been torture.

Feeling sympathetic, I offered a suggestion.

“Does that mean you plan to disturb me again later. Just state your business and get out.”

“I apologize.”

Of course I could not risk getting dragged to an inquisition so I adjusted my tone to match Elicia’s original personality.

The door opened carefully and Berthold peeked inside even more cautiously.

When his eyes met mine sitting on the bed he turned pale as if seeing a ghost.

“How are you…”

“What nonsense have you been spouting.”

“N, nothing. G, good morning Madam.”

He stepped inside with hesitation. In his hand he held a stack of documents.

So it was easy to guess why he came.

There was no mistress of the castle at present.

The previous duchess had died early so Berthold had been managing the household. Now that a new mistress had arrived, he was supposed to hand authority over to Elicia.

However considering her reputation…

‘No way he would want to hand it over.’

She was famous in the capital’s social circles. Not in a good way.

‘Shockingly foolish, wasted the imperial treasury without restraint, and infamous for her temper.’

Elicia was the only legitimate daughter of the late crown prince who had died without inheriting the throne. After that, her uncle became emperor and spoiled her endlessly.

Even when she chopped off a maid’s hand because she combed her hair wrong, shoved a noblewoman off a balcony for speaking honestly, or placed a collar on a renowned knight and made him crawl like a dog in the banquet hall, the emperor covered up every incident.

‘If someone like that manages the household…’

Berthold likely had the same thought. After steeling himself he held out the papers.

“These are matters Madam will need to handle from now on.”

“You want me to work right now?”

“You may be unfamiliar with such duties since you grew up so preciously in the palace. However as the new mistress of Lombard you must personally oversee affairs of the territory.”

I did know Berthold to some degree.

He was the duke’s closest aide. Quiet and serious in everything, impossible to read.

Which was why I did not understand why he had trembled so much earlier like he had seen someone risen from the dead. But now he finally looked like the Berthold I knew.

Ah, Lombard’s harsh winter was enough to freeze even a tiger steward’s tongue.

“Please read it yourself.”

Lost in thought, I looked up in surprise.

Among nobles there were many who could not read. Even high nobles and royalty were no exception. Elicia had also been unable to read.

There was no way the steward did not know this.

‘And yet he suddenly tells me to read it. Is he trying to crush my dignity from the start?’

Or perhaps he wanted me to give up on administrative work entirely.

Either way his attempt to intimidate me felt pointless. I had no intention of doing anything anyway.

Did he think someone who died for Lombard would work for Lombard again.

‘Still, being dismissed too easily would be troublesome.’

Since I had become Elicia I planned to enjoy a life of leisure forever. But for that I first needed to warn him not to treat me lightly.

I slowly ran a finger across the cover of the document.

“This has nothing to do with the duties of the mistress.”

“What do you mean…”

“The population census report of the Lombard territory.”

The moment I murmured the title the steward’s shoulders stiffened.

“It is interesting but I do not see how this concerns me. Berthold, if you are confused by such a simple document perhaps it is time for you to step down.”

“T, that is…”

His face grew pale.

I stared silently at him then let out a soft chuckle.

“No need to be so tense.”

“Y, yes?”

“I have no interest in Lombard’s internal affairs. You do not need to play childish tricks like this. Continue doing things as you always have.”

As long as he did not bother me.

He seemed to understand the hidden warning. A steward of a great noble house should have keen instincts after all.

At my words, his expression darkened further.

“I am tired so leave.”

“Thank you for your generosity Madam.”

With permission granted Berthold hurried out so quickly he even forgot the stack of documents.

After I dismissed the maids as well, I looked down at the papers on the side table.

Contrary to my memory, the report was a complete mess.

“Who handled this that it turned out like this.”

The population census report of the Lombard territory.

It was the very report I had once spent an entire year gathering by personally traveling the region.

But the one before me differed even in thickness.

The inner wall population was only roughly estimated. Many areas of the outer wall were recorded incorrectly.

‘This will cause problems with tax collection.’

I clicked my tongue at whoever submitted this childish thing as a report.

Yet at the same time, I let out a cold laugh.

Without me this was the quality they had to work with.

“How amusing.”

I did not need any household reports anyway.

Everything was already inside my head.