Chapter 47 – The Youngest Daughter of the Count’s Family (10)
[Chapter 3 – Verse 5] I Feel the Same Way!
Kang Moon-soo and Seo Hye-ju were wrong about one thing.
It wasn’t that the patient who became the protagonist ‘Angelina Chimac’ made mistakes because she only skimmed the original novel.
Quite the opposite—she read it so much she memorized every line.
And with that confidence, she rushed the plot, ignoring the original pacing. That was the mistake.
“It’s unfair…”
Angelina pouted, flipping through the notebook where she’d written down everything she knew from the original.
“It’s so unfair…”
She kept repeating the same words.
The dialogue had been almost identical to the novel—yet the outcome was completely different.
That’s why she felt so wronged.
“Where did I go wrong?”
She bit the perfectly manicured nails her maid (and childhood friend) had just trimmed, racking her brain over the past.
And her conclusion?
‘It’s unfair!’
If she thought it was her own mistake, she wouldn’t feel wronged—so to her, it was the most natural judgment.
‘So frustrating!’
She wanted to vent to someone, to be comforted—but it was a secret that ‘absolutely could not be revealed’.
Not to any of the handsome men she’d collected with the novel’s help—not to anyone!
Knock, knock.
“Lady Angelina.”
Startled by the knock on her bedroom door, she quickly hid the notebook.
“…What is it?”
Since possession, she’d inherited the protagonist’s memories—including childhood with the maid.
But that was it.
With two lives merged, her appearance remained the same, but her speech and behavior were no longer ‘Angelina Chimac’.
For example?
The real protagonist regularly visited orphanages in the slums with only her guard knight, volunteering.
But she quit in disgust after the dirty children clung to her, demanding playtime.
Oh—of course, she didn’t forget to recruit the “protagonist’s man” from the orphanage before quitting…
“The boy you brought has left.”
“What?! When?!”
“Not long ago.”
“Catch him at once! Don’t let him leave the estate until I—”
“Lady.”
The maid’s stern voice from outside made Angelina swallow her words.
“Another lecture?”
“I’ve given up on that, so rest easy.”
“…”
“Lord Broccolin is waiting in the drawing room.”
“How rude! Coming unannounced…!”
“Then I’ll send him away. Politely say you’re unavailable due to your tea party with young Lord Pimaang this afternoon—”
“Wait! That’ll just add to the misunderstandings…!”
Angelina’s irritation flared.
The maid was supposed to be a ‘trustworthy childhood friend’ in the novel—why was she so unhelpful?
“Lady, your voice is loud.”
“…Tell him I’m tired today and can’t meet.”
“What about the boy?”
“Don’t worry about him. I’ll handle it later.”
Her head was starting to hurt.
“Then what about the message he left as he departed?”
“Why are you telling me this now?! What did he say? That he was going to a friend’s birthday?”
“…I hesitated because I was afraid you’d be hurt.”
“What did he say?”
“Tell that lying big sister: ‘I’ll never forget how you looked down on my precious little siblings like trash.’”
“…”
‘Unfair.’
I’m not an actress—how am I supposed to control my facial expressions?
The orphanage kids touched her clothes with filthy hands, kissed her cheeks with smelly breath, wiped their faces with her dress instead of a towel…
Even now, just thinking about it made her shudder.
“Lady.”
“What now?”
“His Highness the Prince has requested that you refrain from ‘unnecessary meetings’.”
“Unnecessary…?”
What was that supposed to mean?
“The incident with the guard knight will be treated as accidental, but until the wedding, please avoid any behavior that could raise suspicion.”
“Wedding?! Are you insane?! I never agreed to that!”
“It was the condition for mediating the war. Have you already forgotten?”
“Tell him to stop joking! He mediated on his own because he wanted to!”
“Lady…”
“Prepare my clothes right now. I’ll tell His Highness myself—”
Click!
The bedroom door suddenly opened, startling Angelina mid-rant.
“Anmilina unnie?”
“You’re being loud first thing in the morning.”
The brilliant silver curls and similar facial structure made their sisterhood obvious, but Anmilina’s slightly upturned fox-like eyes gave her a completely different aura.
Anmilina Chimac.
In the original novel, no matter how annoying her third sister was, the protagonist brushed it off with a breezy laugh.
But she, as a ‘reader’ who disliked the sister tormenting the protagonist, couldn’t do that.
Hence, conflict!
Their relationship had been terrible ever since.
“Here to pick another fight?”
“Oh my! A lady shouldn’t use such crude language.”
“But it’s fine for a lady to barge into someone’s bedroom?”
“That, I apologize for.”
“What?”
Angelina thought she misheard.
“I’m sorry. Your maid was about to cry, so I got worried and came in.”
“…”
She hadn’t misheard.
‘This woman is apologizing to me?’
In her memory, Anmilina had never apologized.
Yet here she was, admitting fault so easily?
Unbelievable.
“Who are you?”
“Oh! Your sister, of course. What else would I look like?”
The usually gloomy third sister was beaming.
Something good must’ve happened.
But asking would only ruin her mood, so she didn’t.
“Oh! Right, Angelina. Listen and rate it for me.”
“Rate what?”
“Oppa~♪”
“…”
Was this really Anmilina Chimac, the third daughter of the Chimac Count who constantly nitpicked the protagonist?
A setting collapse.
“How is it?”
“Huh? What?”
“Do you think men will like it? This is your specialty, after all.”
“…Gave me chills.”
“Really? Guess I need more practice. Thanks for the advice.”
“…”
The third sister smiled even at her prickly little sister’s harsh words.
This wasn’t right.
‘What the—?! What the hell is going on?!’
She fell into greater confusion than ever.
***
Looking at founding myths, establishing a nation seems incredibly difficult.
Descendant of a god, acknowledged by a god, commanded by a god, or ruled directly by a god…
But these are just fantasy tales to legitimize rule and tradition.
In reality?
Powerful clans—modernly speaking, real estate tycoons.
They formed pacts to “help each other if attacked!” to solidify power, and these alliances, strengthened by blood ties, became the foundation of “nations.”
In short,
‘It’s no big deal.’
Like-minded lords band together to form a “kingdom,” and the strongest among them becomes “king.”
“You say it so simply again.”
“It depends on how well Your Grace woos the guests.”
“Tell me. Who should I do what to at the banquet?”
The duke’s eyes were full of trust as he looked at me.
Because every noble I named had accepted the invitation without fail.
“Everyone is important, but Count Pimaang, guardian of the empire’s seas, is the most crucial.”
“Why him?”
“Because he’s loyal to the empire, not the emperor.”
In the original novel, he’s portrayed as a warmonger opposing the emperor’s will, but is it wrong for a thriving empire to invade neighbors?
War isn’t right, but is an emperor who abandons national growth because the protagonist dislikes war normal?
‘Yet his son, whom he raised, betrays him for love, strengthening the emperor’s power.’
‘Absurd.’
In the novel, this unfilial son is packaged as a “handsome man of conviction” and placed beside the protagonist, but to me, he’s just a love-struck fool.
Is rebelling against parents conviction?
If he hated their decisions, he should’ve opposed them from the start. That’s conviction.
Rebelling only after listening to a woman who’s not even his partner?
Just an idiot.
“We need to paint the emperor as incompetent.”
“A tall order. He’s considered the greatest emperor in history.”
“He has talent, but we’ll frame him as clouded by a woman, unable to see the bigger picture.”
“I see…”
Even with great talent, if he can’t use it, he’s no different from an incompetent.
“This is where it really begins.”
“I’m listening.”
“Keep provoking Count Pimaang’s loyalty: ‘What if the emperor sacrifices national interest for one woman?’”
“No way…”
“I guarantee it. The emperor will never give up Angelina Chimac. It’s written in the book.”
The emperor.
The most implausible of the protagonist’s admirers.
His obsession stems from a setting where, struggling in succession wars as a child, he gained strength from meeting the young protagonist.
“Are you certain?”
“Absolutely.”
“Poor Count Pimaang. The greater the faith, the greater the disappointment.”
The duke clucked his tongue in pity—but he was smiling.
“The others are important too, so please handle them well.”
“Hm. The guests should be arriving soon. I’ll go.”
“I’ll head out too.”
“Hm? You’re attending the banquet, Baron Amolang?”
“No. I’m infiltrating the Chimac Count’s territory now.”
“…If anyone else said that, I’d let them go, but you make me nervous.”
“Really?”
Did I mess up?
“Treasures are safest kept close, Baron.”
“You flatter me.”
“If I had an unmarried daughter, I’d have introduced her to you… Never thought I’d regret not having one! Haha!”
“I’ll be off.”
I turned to hide a wry smile, preparing to leave.
“Wait. I’ll assign an escort.”
It sounded like a watcher to me. But refusing would mean he’d never let me go.
It wasn’t a mission secret enough to hide from allies, so I agreed readily.
Instead,
“Please make it someone skilled in swordsmanship to double as a guard. I want to learn on the way.”
“So that’s why the picky Knight Commander acknowledged you so quickly.”
“Did he?”
“He’s shy despite appearances. He praised your effort, saying your talent is average but your diligence is exceptional.”
“He kept calling me slow to my face…”
He was praising me behind my back?
My heart swelled.
“Tell me your purpose in the Chimac territory. I can assign a better escort that way.”
The duke was very interested in me. I had shown unusual things, after all.
“Internal division.”
“Hm?”
“I’ll help the prince, who wants to tie the Chimac family to check you, rush the marriage.”
“…Baron, isn’t that bad for our family?”
“Only if the empire doesn’t interfere.”
“Even so, would the emperor really, for one woman…”
“Trust me.”
If the emperor stays true to the novel’s setting, he’ll do anything to stop the protagonist’s marriage.
Assassination, war, kidnapping, betrayal…
‘The author wanted a cold emperor who turns into a tame lamb only before the protagonist.’
That’s a serious mental disorder.
There’s an episode where the emperor loses his mind upon hearing false news of Angelina’s kidnapping.
He threatened to hold the responsible nation accountable, even down to their infants.
That emperor.
Hearing of her marriage will surely drive him mad.
“I’ll trust and prepare.”
“Thank you.”
Two nations will fall because of the protagonist.