Chapter 1

I should thank you for pushing me down the stairs.

I was lost in thought, rubbing the bump in my forehead. A while ago, my stepsister, Sharon, pushed me off the stairs and the shock brought back memories of my past life.

Memories of the past life! It’s funny! Cheats!

You may want to doubt me, but I swear to God … this is real.

In my previous life, I was an ordinary villager living in the outskirt of a small kingdom. I died in an accident before I even reached adulthood and now I was reborn as a noble of the Great Empire. The Duke of Crescente, one of the oldest family of the Great Empire Khalin. And the eldest daughter of Crescente, Adriana, that’s what I am now.

I was a commoner and now I’m a princess?

“Wow, it’s a gold spoon!”
I’m not even sure if I’m going to cheer. It wasn’t worth it.

It was because the content of a novel I read in my previous life as a country girl.

One day, a bookstore was built in the village. It quickly became a popular spot.

In the countryside where there was limited things to do, bookstores were a facility that provided abundant entertainment for all ages. The bookstore, which rents book for 3 coppers per book, is not as big as the city’s library and there were not many kind of books but the books there were still very popular.

Since it was a small bookstore in the countryside, there was no such things as a liberal arts books that the nobility usually read, but there were a lot of novels of all genre. Among them, I and the other girls enjoyed reading romance novel the most.

“The Story of Ramona” is so interesting that I borrowed it a few more times after reading it for the first time. It’s a romantic story but the exciting adventure of the heroine as a warrior is fascinating and cathartic so not only women, but also men read it.

The protagonist, Ramona Alta, is the daughter of a poor knight who enters the Academy after losing her parents in early age and has no other way of living. At the academy, she meets the first prince of the Empire, Claudio Luminus de Khalin and the eldest son of Duke Crescente, Theodore Crescente.

The three go through a series of twist and turns together and becoming friends, then Ramona and Theodore develop a feeling beyond friendship with each other.

When the Emperor of Khalin Empire announced that he will make a competition for the princes to select the crown prince, Claudio left the Academy and returned to the empire. Ramona and Theodore decide to help him and come to the empire together.

Despite the persistent interferences of the second prince, Claudio finally get the crown. At the end of the story, Theodore is marrying Ramona, taking back the position of the Duke who was almost taken away by his stepmother’s son.

Ramona originally was from the Kingdom of Zarku where I lived in my previous life. It was so romantic and exciting for me and my friends that a woman from our kingdom, a small country, became a Duchess of the Khalin Empire, which dominates the continent. That’s why I especially liked this novel.

Well … that’s about Ramona, so what’s about me, Adriana?

Theodore’s sister, Adriana was killed by her stepmother while Theodore was leaving the empire to study at the Academy.

After knowing the death of his beloved sister, Theodore is furious and vows to take revenge. That’s the end of Adriana’s role. In other word, Adriana is nothing more than a role that stirs up the male lead’s wrath while showing the viciousness of the stepmother. And I am that Adriana. I was reborn as a gold spoon but destined to die again! God, why was I born as Adriana?

✴️✴️✴️

My mother passed away when I was a child and when I was 10 years old, I got a stepmother.

My stepmother was a woman named Marianne Ivar, a former baroness who divorced her husband. She remarried to my father and became Marianne Crescente, sat down in the Duchess’s seat.

“Theo, Riana, she’s going to be your new mother. Greet her.”

“That’s nice of you, kids. Let’s get along well. Wal, the kids are so lovely.”

Looking at me and my brother with a sweet smile, the image of Marianne was simply a loving mother who was full of maternal love. I greeted her shyly, not knowing that I had been fooled by her mask. I don’t realize that she will ruin my life in the future.

Marianne also brought the daughter that she had with her ex-husband. She was a child with crimson hair and blue eyes that resembled her mother. My father introduced her to me right away.

“This is Sharon. Now she is your sister. It will be hard for her to adapt in a new environment, so please treat her well.”

Sharon was the same age as me but her birthday was a few months later after mine so I decided to be her older sister. She smiled friendly and called me ‘my sister‘ but only later I realized that her laugh was fake.

Marianne showed her ambition little by little in unnoticed way. She knew my father gave her special attention so she won’t suffer in a new environment. She took advantage of it. She says that some of the servants ignored her and crying, “I can’t stand it anymore. Please give all the power in the house to me.” she said she would be less ignored if she has power.

My father fell for Marianne who was wistfully shaking her shoulder and crying. He quickly did what she requested, but I swear to God, I never seen any of Crescente’s employees ignored her.

Growing up as a flower in the greenhouse, I was foolish enough to only watch it without raising an objection. Now I think it’s natural for Marianne and Sharon to look down on me.

Still, if Marianne had stopped here, she would have ended up as a sensitive lady who was just qualified to be a wife.

Soon after she gave a birth to a son, she began to make a scheme that would make her son to be the Crescente’s heir. To do this, she need to remove the oldest son, Theodore.

For that reason, Marianne accused my brother trying to rape Sharon. It was horrible and outrageous slander. It’s possible to happen because Marianne held the real power of the mansion. She coaxed some of the servants who followed her to lie.

My father was furious. Even so, my father who was trying to be wary of giving more affection to his own children, used to treat us gently. After seeing Marianne who was crying all day without even drinking a sip of water, he finally exploded and ordered my brother to leave the Empire and go to a foreign academy.

It was as Marianne intended. It would have been perfect if my brother had to be removed from the family register, but she didn’t want to go that far. The main purpose was to get rid of the father-son relationship.

And not so long after that, my father dies in an unexpected accident. It was the year I turned 12.

Feeling nervous because my father died before his son, Rudolph, grew up, Marianne hired an assassin to try assassinate my brother in all methods. But every time they come, he survived the danger with help of his talented friends, Ramona and Claudio.

Since my brother is the male lead, there is no need for me to worry about him now. It’s my own life that I need to worry about.

The assassins can’t touch me because I was protected at Crescente’s mansion, but I couldn’t relax under Marianne’s shadow.

Marianne, who was a low-class aristocrat before becoming the Duchess, had a bad reputation from the start and she had to work hard to get rid of that reputation. That’s why she was busy pretending to look beautiful on the outside so she didn’t mistreat me very much.

Instead of physical violence, the mental violence gradually consumed me and eventually I confined myself in my room. In the novel, Adriana who grew up under constant oppression, reached her limit and trying to poison her stepmother. The plan failed and she ended up drinking the poison.

What should I do to stay alive until my brother returns?

I sat down at my desk and ask Leah, my personal maid, to bring me some paper and a pen. Surprised by the order of her lady who usually didn’t talk very often, Leah quickly put the paper and pen in front of me.

“I’d like to think about something, leave me alone.”

“Then, I will be waiting at the front door. If you have something that you want, call me right away.”

At Marianne’s will, my personal maid was changed in a short-cycle. Perhaps so the maid and I would not have a chance to be attached. It would be easier for my mind to be unstable in order to rub the Duke at my disposal, and if I relied on a maid’s affection, I might recover quickly.

In fact, I started to close my heart as I watched my maids change. Leah too has not been my personal maid for very long. Moreover, she showed a lot of clumsiness, whether she was a rookie or not. Marianne seemed to be attaching this kind of maid for the reason that she would suffer me, but I like her because I was sick and tired of the experienced maids who recognized the realities of the house and bullied me in order to gain Marianne’s favor.

No matter what, I had to survive in this house that was so full of Marianne’s influence. I have no intention of trying to avenge myself on a evil mother and daughter. There is nothing I can do, and they will be destroyed in the future even if I’m not doing anything. So I’ll only do my best to ensure my safety. When my brother returns and Claudio safely becomes the Empire’s successor, and all the worries disappear, I will enjoy a comfortable life to the fullest as a gold spoon.

I grabbed the pen and write down every thought on the paper.

First, let’s be obedient to Marianne and Sharon. This could be almost seen as a necessity. Adriana’s death in The Story of Ramona was triggered by Adriana’s sudden change to her stepmother and Sharon. In the end, Marianne who thinks Adriana cannot be left alone, poisoned her and disguises her death as a suicide.

Second, I need to become close to the children of influential families in the society.

The second plan was a means of defense mechanism. If I live my life as if I were dead, I might be saved, but if I do so, my mind will fall to depression again. If I want to live a little longer, I need to get close to famous person and raise my reputation. The more famous I become, the more Marianne will likely not harm me. Of course, I’ll get more hated, but I’m already hated enough.

Third, is

—Getting married?

If I marry and become a married woman, I will be able to escape from the Duchess of Crescente. But Marianne won’t help me to get a proper husband, so I will have to find my own spouse. Is it possible?

For that thing to happen, I need to be engaged in social activities so there is a connection to my second plan.

Let’s put this on hold.

In addition to that, after organizing all the useful things that will help me in the future, I opened my jewelry box. It has a lock on it, but in case something happens, I put the paper under the board-round velvet base on the bottom of the box.

So… what should I do right now?