“Since Elizabeth ended up like that, you shall m-marry Baron Jeremy Harion i-in her place, ahem… be engaged to him.”

Even though it wasn’t a long sentence, he stuttered several times.

To marry her sister’s fiancé who had died for the sake of the family.

She thought he was a good father, but perhaps he wasn’t.

As she looked at the marquis who avoided her gaze, Geneve thought about what to say and suddenly realized something.

She knew this story.

No wonder she had been feeling a constant sense of déjà vu.

There was a reason the names and titles of those around her felt familiar.

Only after a month of living in this body did she realize she had entered a novel.

She had just been an ordinary office worker.

But after dying and waking up, she was in a completely different world, being treated as a noble lady.

At first, everything was unfamiliar, uncomfortable, and unpleasant. But thanks to the people around her whom she could now call family, she had been able to adapt well.

Of course, it was also true that Geneve’s memories helped.

But that wasn’t all—there was more to it.

She let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.

It was hard to believe this had really happened, but in the novel, after dying and regaining consciousness, three tropes are generally mentioned.

First, regression.

Second, possession.

Third, reincarnation.

In this case, it was the second.

And among the various types, this fell under ‘entering the book.’

Why hadn’t she realized it?

Did many brain cells get destroyed during the soul transfer?

Or was there another reason?

In any case, questions and concerns would have to wait.

Right now, she had to respond to the marquis who was waiting.

Even if she refused, it wouldn’t be accepted.

Because she knew the reason why he wanted to marry off his younger daughter to a man of no standing after the eldest had died.

In that case, she had to set conditions and buy time.

In the novel, ‘I’ was said to have been killed by the enraged female lead after the engagement news was published in a gossip paper.

“Yes, I understand.”

“What?”

He must have been surprised that his daughter, who he thought would say no, answered so obediently.

Marquis Tanesia’s eyes, which couldn’t meet hers earlier, widened.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

The marquis’s love for his children was well-known.

Especially for his youngest daughter, who was said to be weak and not expected to live long, his affection was exceptional.

So she had to use that.

Geneve, her eyes welling with tears, pleaded with the marquis.

“Instead, I’d like you to keep this a secret until the wedding.”

“Keep it a secret? Why… Ah!”

The more noble the family, the more grand and extravagant the wedding.

It was a union of families and wealth, a political alliance, so it was natural to flaunt it.

But marriage to Baron Harion didn’t fall under any of that.

And marrying someone who had been engaged to her sister would be ripe for gossip.

Realizing why his daughter made such a request, the marquis’s face turned somber.

If not for that letter from 25 years ago, he never would have considered such a marriage.

Suppressing the twisting in his gut, the marquis nodded. “I won’t make any announcement. If you wish, we’ll hold the ceremony quietly with only family present.”

“Thank you. May I go up now? I have a headache.”

“Yes, yes. Go on up and rest. You’ll be busy with wedding preparations, so take care not to wear yourself out.”

The marquis sighed as he watched his daughter’s back as she climbed to the second floor.

Everything had changed after Elizabeth’s death.

His son, once foolishly cheerful, had become prematurely old, and his tomboyish, spoiled youngest daughter had collapsed in shock and, upon waking, felt like a stranger.

It was all due to the accident a month ago.

The hunting tournament held by House Adellio.

There, Elizabeth died in a riding accident, and the newly titled Duke of Adellio went missing.

House Adellio announced it had been caused by a gun misfire, but with no witnesses, only wild rumors spread.

With a headache settling in, the marquis stopped thinking and began writing a letter to Baron Jeremy Harion to inform him of the daughter’s consent.

***

“What are you doing?”

When she entered the bedroom, the room was full of clothes strewn everywhere.

Betty turned around with a stern face and replied, “I’m packing.”

“Packing what?”

“You should go somewhere else for a while until the marquis gives up on this absurd marriage. You absolutely cannot marry that Harion bastard.”

Betty was the nanny who had raised the three Tanesia siblings.

After Elizabeth’s death, she had refused to eat or drink for a while.

From the beginning, she had blamed the marquis for arranging an unsuitable marriage, and now that she had heard about Geneve, she was taking action.

“You think I’ll let that wretched man devour my lady again?”

If she didn’t know the situation, Geneve might have laughed at Betty’s words.

What do you mean devour, he’s not a monster. She would have dismissed it as nonsense.

But now she knew.

While he didn’t literally devour her, it was because of him that the incident occurred.

How much must you love someone to kill two people just to marry your lover?

In any case, since she knew the future, running away as Betty said was the wisest option.

In the novel, the female lead, Leonie, was executed for killing the Tanesia sisters. Then the story began with her regression.

Feeling remorse, she broke up with Harion to live a completely different life and went up to the capital.

There, she fell in love with the owner of the house where she worked as a maid, the Grand Duke Dumar, and the story unfolded as she fought against bullying nobles and rose to success in high society.

Everyone thought the grand duke was the real male lead, but after he died, she ended up marrying the scumbag Harion, which led to heavy criticism.

In any case, that was the story, but the problem was Geneve’s role.

Since the Tanesia family didn’t appear in the story after Leonie’s regression and her new life, if she died now, there might not be a next life.

Was it possible that she, as one of the people who made up the world of the novel, also regressed with Leonie?

She wasn’t bold enough to gamble on such an uncertain possibility.

“Betty, not that one. Pack that dress instead. I won’t be going to any parties while in hiding. By the way, where am I going?”

If Betty was packing, that meant she had somewhere in mind.

“My cousin lives on Terrace House Street. The previous owner died a few years ago, and the new owner is still in the military. You can stay there until he returns. In the meantime, I’ll persuade the marquis.”

“What will you say?”

“That I’d rather die than let you marry that Baron Harion. If he doesn’t cancel it, I’ll say you’ll never come back.”

In the novel, the marquis was portrayed as completely helpless before the nanny who had raised his children. Would it be the same this time?

Whatever the case, escaping was necessary.

Even if the engagement wasn’t publicly announced, it was uncertain how long it could be kept secret.

She needed to disappear before the news spread.

Bang.

“Miss, Miss!”

While she was packing with Betty, the door flew open violently, and the maid Maggie rushed in.

“What is it? Did something bigger happen than my engagement?”

Geneve asked dryly, and Maggie, panting, held something out.

“The newspaper published the news of your engagement.”

“What?”

Since becoming Geneve, she had experienced many things but remained emotionally detached.

Living in someone else’s body in a strange time and place felt bizarre.

It was like dreaming, lacking any sense of reality, and she had gone through it all numb, without joy or sorrow.

But once she realized this was the world of a novel and that her death was imminent, her mind snapped into focus.

No longer drifting aimlessly, she started to make plans for the future.

And just when she had finally come to terms with reality, she was about to die.

It hadn’t even been 30 minutes since hearing about the engagement, so how could it already be in the papers?

It couldn’t have been the marquis.

He had agreed not to announce it at her request.

Even if he had no intention of honoring her wish, this wasn’t the internet era.

There was no way they could print and distribute it that quickly.

There was only one suspect.

The one who benefited from this marriage.

Baron Harion.

Maybe, afraid she’d reject it, he announced it to trap her.

No, she couldn’t rule out the possibility that the marquis had contacted the newspaper beforehand.

With all those thoughts swirling, Geneve accepted the newspaper and saw the front-page headline, instantly changing her mind.

“It wasn’t him.”

“What wasn’t? Wasn’t the engagement news printed?” Becky asked with a worried face, peeking at the paper.

“It wasn’t Father who published it.”

“How can you be sure the marquis didn’t?”

“Because there’s no way he’d use such words to announce it.”

Geneve held up the newspaper for the puzzled Becky and Maggie to see.

There, in bold and massive letters, was the headline: ‘The Deranged Marquis of Tanesia.’