Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Translator: nevermoorian
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 .
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“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 . ”
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“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 .
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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?
T/N: this is my first time translating something on my own so I’m sorry if there is any typo/s and grammar mistakes (I’m too lazy to edit this on my own)
The translation is not 100% accurate so please ask me first before re-translate this .