Chapter 1

The Life of a Noble's Daughter (1) Chapter 1 (1/177)

#1.

After dying, I possessed the body of my favorite character's ex-wife in a life-changing novel.

I thought it was a dream come true, but then I realized that this ex-wife was about to die.

Unfortunately, the timing of my possession was just after one year of marriage, when the couple's relationship had become extremely cold.

But giving up was not an option!

This was an opportunity given by the gods.

‘Oh, well, what’s the harm? Since I’m living an extra life, I might as well enjoy seeing my favorite character’s face until I die.’

The life of a successful otaku isn’t easy to achieve.

Perhaps because I had no lingering attachment to life, I felt more like I had gained a bonus life than being afraid of death.

Since I was going to be an otaku anyway, I decided to be a happy one.

That was my goal for this life.

* * *

A loud noise came from Akido’s study room.

Feeling anxious, I inserted the master key I had copied in advance and burst into the classroom.

And what I saw was a heart-wrenching scene.

“Lady.”

Akido had a troubled look on his face.

He was pressing a handkerchief to his forehead, and it seemed to be stained red.

A fountain pen and an ink bottle lay on the floor.

I immediately understood the cause of the noise.

‘How dare you touch my Akido’s face? This guy is even worse than the one in the book.’

I tried to suppress my boiling anger and glared at Lord Rourke, who was standing with his arms crossed.

He seemed somewhat taken aback by my sudden appearance but quickly hid his surprise.

“Lady Akido, the lesson isn’t over yet.”

It was clear he didn’t like my intrusion.

Ignoring his words, I fixed my gaze on Akido and replied.

“I heard strange noises from inside.”

‘His face can’t get scarred… It’s a national treasure.’

I wanted to apply antiseptic and ointment to his white face as soon as possible.

“There was a minor accident. It’s nothing serious, so please leave.”

Lord Rourke smiled calmly and tried to reassure me, but his words only made me angrier.

‘A minor accident?’

I forgot my concern for my man’s torn forehead and glared at Lord Rourke.

“How can you call a wound on the heir’s face a minor accident?”

“Oh, you misunderstood. It was a simple accident during punishment.”

“A simple accident during punishment?”

“Yes. The heir refused the punishment in a disgraceful manner and fell, cutting his face on the fountain pen.”

“Do you really think that’s a plausible explanation, Lord Rourke?”

“You think I’m lying. Well, let the heir speak. Is what I said wrong?”

Lord Rourke looked at Akido with a sinister smile.

Akido bit his lower lip and didn’t answer.

To Akido, who had endured all kinds of verbal and physical abuse from the lord, he was a terrifying figure. He would surely try to hide it, as he always had.

‘That won’t do. Do you think I’ll let this continue?’

I quickly spoke up.

“This isn’t punishment; it’s abuse!”

“What did you say?”

Lord Rourke adjusted his glasses, revealing his displeasure.

He was clearly angry that I, a mere woman, had intruded on the sacred classroom and raised my voice at him.

“Do you really think you won’t regret those words?”

He tapped his cane on the floor, acting like a judge.

It was obvious he was trying to intimidate me.

His ability to treat me and Akido however he pleased was due to his sister being the lover of Duke Hadelus, Akido’s father.

The duke was very lenient with his lover and treated her brother generously.

But he didn’t know that this would all disappear like a mirage.

‘Ha, anyway, my father-in-law is quite free-spirited, so you’ll be out of here in a month.’

I recalled the original story and sneered, lifting one corner of my mouth.

Lord Rourke saw this and his face hardened.

He probably thought I was openly ignoring him. I lifted my chin defiantly, not intimidated in the least.

“Are you threatening me now?”

The face of the twelve-year-old girl turned red with anger at my high-handed attitude.

He was clearly upset that the reclusive Lady Akido had suddenly interfered in his lesson and was now ignoring him.

“This is advice, not a threat.”

Lord Rourke ground his teeth and growled, his arrogance fueled by the duke’s favor.

Originally, a fox on a tiger’s back thinks people are afraid of it and acts arrogantly.

At the same time, it foolishly believes it is more important than the tiger.

It overlooks the fact that the tiger can claw its neck at any time.

But what can be done?

Duke Hadelus is a man whose moods change like boiling porridge.

Right now, he dotes on Lady Rourke, but once he loses interest, it’s over.

Lord Rourke didn’t seem to realize the severity of the situation.

Duke Hadelus was merciless to those who disrespected his authority.

Even if it was a lover he cherished, he could have her beheaded.

And Akido is the only heir to the dukedom.

Despite the stigma of being a bastard, he is still the one who will succeed the duke.

Just because the duke and duchess ignore Akido doesn’t mean he can be ignored, but he was foolish.

‘I’ve endured enough. How dare you mar my Akido’s face?’

I wasn’t going to let this slide.

Lord Rourke had made a mistake.

I am a very smart and ruthless villain who knows the future and is a huge fan of Akido!

How dare you touch the favorite character of a villain? Your gall is showing, isn’t it?

I swallowed my anger and pointed at Akido’s forehead.

“Which tutor breaks the heir’s head as a form of punishment?”

Akido’s eyes were full of confusion at my outburst.

After all, it was surprising for his usually disdainful wife to suddenly defend him.

‘Don’t worry, Akido. I’ll protect you.’

I winked at Akido, and he flinched.

“Breaking his head? Your words are very harsh, Lady Akido.”

Lord Rourke smirked, thinking I was just excited.

He was confident that he could easily subdue someone like me. He spoke confidently.

“I admit today’s punishment was a bit harsh, but it’s because the heir didn’t do his pre-study….”

He was going to use the pre-study as an excuse again.

“Pre-study? You mean this?”

I cut him off and gestured to the maid, Hannah.

There was no need to listen to a tutor who didn’t even treat me as a lady.

As the saying goes, if the words coming in are gentle, the words going out will be gentle too.

Conversely, if the words coming in are harsh, the words going out will be harsh as well.

Hannah pushed a portable bookshelf in front of Lord Rourke.

It was a daunting amount of work to be done in a day. Akido was only able to skim through it because he was smart.

The problem was that Lord Rourke demanded he memorize it word for word. I asked, leaning on one leg.

“Do you think this can be done in a day?”

“Most noble children study this much. Perhaps Lady Akido, being a lady, doesn’t know….”

“Why wouldn’t I know? I have an older brother.”

I cut him off again, and his expression hardened.

I already knew he was very displeased when his words were interrupted. I was deliberately provoking him to make him angry and make a mistake.

“Oh, right. You have Sub-Viscount April, so you must know.”

Lord Rourke pressed his twitching eyebrows and sneered. He seemed to be tolerating it for now.

Well, I didn’t think he could endure my hellish mouth for long.

I grinned wickedly. Seeing this, the villain in the original story didn’t seem so bad. After all, I thought it was just her usual behavior.

“Right. Now we’re getting somewhere. I was considering whether to buy you a hearing aid because you kept misunderstanding me.”

“Hearing… aid…?”

“I saw my brother’s lessons before I got married. He struggled with a fraction of this amount.”

“What a pity. Most do this much….”

Lord Rourke stubbornly insisted. But that was the reaction I wanted. I dramatically covered my mouth and exclaimed.

“Wow! Did you just call my brother a moron?”

“What? No, I never….”

“You just did. You said most can do this, but Sub-Viscount April struggles, so he must be a moron!”

“No! That’s not what I meant… Sub-Viscount April is still young! He can….”

“Right. My brother is only fifteen, so he’s young. But Lord Rourke, doesn’t that apply to my husband too?”

“What?”

“Are you pretending to be stupid, or are you really stupid?”

“What…!”

“You must be pretending. Let me kindly inform you. How old is my husband this year?”

“Fourteen… Oh.”

Lord Rourke finally remembered Akido’s age and shut his mouth.

My outburst about hearing aids and morons had exposed his weakness.

I grinned, confident of my victory.

“Again, the moron you called my brother is fifteen this year.”

“…”

“According to you, shouldn’t we praise the young heir for reading all these books?”

“But the heir is the future duke. To make up for thirteen years of missed education, one day is not enough….”

“Wow! Are you saying my husband, a bastard, has no brains?”

“Lady Akido! I never said that!”

Lord Rourke jumped up to defend himself, but I quickly continued.

“I’m disappointed, Lord Rourke. I thought you were quite intelligent….”

Then I sighed deeply, looking him up and down.

“Now I see you’re just a moron who blames the student for your own shortcomings.”

I finished with an exaggerated gesture and a tut.

Lord Rourke’s face turned red and he approached me.

“Have you finished speaking?!”

He looked ready to strike me with his cane.

‘Wow, things are going better than I thought.’

I waited for him to grab my shoulder, my eyes gleaming.

Just touch me. I’ll show you what real evil is.

At that moment, Akido, who had been in a daze, spoke up to defend me.

“Step away from my wife.”