I, the Female Lead, Ruined the Original

“

!”

The laughter, initially one of disbelief, soon turned into a fit of roaring laughter.

Her once neatly styled sky-blue hair was now disheveled from numerous battles, and the wicked grin on her face was a far cry from her usual serene demeanor.

“Right! You insignificant creatures have always been like this…! In Orot’s perfect temple, you insignificant pebbles are granted some worth, yet you have so many complaints…!”

With a deeply furrowed brow and a mocking smile, she spat out her words.

“In the past, what was it…? You didn’t want to be the second wife of an old man with a big belly? You regretted being born a woman and not being able to fight for the throne? You didn’t want to be labeled a villainess blinded by jealousy?”

The saintess’s eyes, losing focus, seemed to be exploring a time unknown to them.

“How dare you try to tarnish Orot’s beautiful garden with your petty desires…. Every time your insignificant struggles disrupted the harmony, I had to descend personally to restore it…!”

She recalled the leakers she had forced fate upon multiple times by manifesting in the mortal world as a saintess.

“So, I decided to remain directly in the mortal realm to prevent these wretched creatures from disrupting the harmony again. What’s the problem with that?”

“By making your son the ruler of the continent?”

“Yes. As per the pact with Asmion, I intended to use his bloodline and personally tend to this crude garden…!”

[It seems she stored her power in that son of hers…. He was a part of her all along.]

With Di’s calm explanation, the mortals had nothing more to say.

Pavellian, not understanding the situation, could only look at his stepmother in shock.

Rakrensius slowly moved, swinging Di and shattering the remaining mirrors. The shards of those who had been observing unrelated places from the palace scattered into the air.

“E-Eonel…!”

As the saintess drew upon her divine power, Eonel, who had lost consciousness, began to bleed from his nose again. Pavellian, more concerned for his half-brother than the current shock, quickly ran to the boy. No matter how much he patted his cheek, there was no response from the boy. He coughed up blood occasionally, leaving blood foam around his mouth.

[Every time a mirror breaks, it seems to disrupt his connection with his soul, causing a backlash.]

The mother, however, paid no attention to this and only glared at Rakrensius with a murderous look.

Rakrensius continued to swing Di, shattering most of the mirrors. Only four mirrors remained. They reflected the views of her friends from the Transmigrators Club.

The images within had changed. The nephews of Doloret, whom Selleana had only heard about, the garden of the Gotenfrid’s townhouse shrouded in night, a view blurred by tears, and Eirene Glen’s fake smile…

As Rakrensius glanced at Selleana, who was in front of him,

“The contractor of the reverse scale will perish by fate…!”

Arshilla, who had been silent, pointed her finger at Rakrensius, and the last bit of divine power gathered at her fingertip, glowing white.

Eonel, still unconscious, coughed violently. However,

“How can this be…!”

The divine power dissipated into the air without any effect, and when Rakrensius lightly swung Di, it was completely scattered. The tension had completely disappeared, leaving only silence.

Selleana chuckled. “If you knew that any leaker could contract with the reverse scale, you should have remembered that I, also a leaker, could be their contractor.”

In other words, Arshilla’s command was logically flawed and thus lost its power.

Selleana laughed lightly and took Di from Rakrensius. “Now, I’ll take back my friends.” With a swift motion, she adjusted the sword’s weight to match her own and drew a clean arc. It was the basic technique that had amazed everyone during the treasure hunt at the hunting competition.

* * *

It was in the townhouse of Margrave Gotenfrid. Though the night was deep, the inside and outside of the building were bustling. It was because the owner of that place was scheduled to return to his territory the next day. Having resolved the issues that brought him to the capital, it would be years before he would need to return. Hence, the preparations for departure were grander. Servants hurriedly moved back and forth, stacking moving boxes into the wagons lined up at the entrance.

The Gotenfrid territory was a three-day ride from the capital. Since they had to travel by carriage, they needed to hurry to leave at dawn.

Inside the hall overlooking the bustling scene,

“Milord, are you sure you don’t want to stop by the imperial palace?” The butler, supervising the servants, gently asked his master.

“I already paid my respects to His Majesty yesterday.”

“But there’s a great commotion at the imperial palace right now…”

“That’s a matter for the people of the capital.”

Dismissing the concern, Karl Gotenfrid slowly walked towards the parlor. At the window stood a petite woman looking outside. Her light brown hair, beautifully styled like any noble lady, made his heart swell.

For five years, Karl had frequented the imperial city each social season, seeking a marriage partner. After falling in love with her at the emperor’s summer birthday celebration, he had suffered through months of lovesickness. Finally, circumstances aligned to win her over. Although it took a significant amount of money to arrange the marriage, considering her father’s evil nature and the fact that she ran away at seven years old… He had obtained a written agreement from Baron Merlin to fully cooperate in maintaining the marital relationship, so he was relieved.

His territory was not an ideal match for noble ladies due to its long winters and frequent invasions by other tribes. Thus, he had not secured an arranged marriage in his childhood and even considered marrying his childhood friend, the daughter of a baronet, but she married elsewhere.

Unable to find a marriage partner well past the prime age, Karl felt ashamed before his ancestors. But now, he would marry the one he fell in love with at first sight. He believed her long stay at the temple was a divine intervention for him.

Swallowing his pride, Karl Gotenfrid slowly approached his fiancée. “Since everything is settled, you should rest.”

‘Yes, shall I?’ He expected such a response from his demure and obedient fiancée. But for some reason, there was no reply.

“Lady Agnesia…?”

“…”

“What are you thinking about?”

As his large hand touched Agnesia’s slender shoulder,

, her hand slapped him away.

“Lady Agnesia…?” Taken aback by her unexpected reaction, Karl Gotenfrid’s face showed confusion.

When Agnesia suddenly turned her head to look up at him, her face bore an expression he had never seen before. No, perhaps this was the expression she had when he first saw her at the emperor’s birthday celebration….

Women are emotional creatures by nature, and her mood might be upset for reasons he couldn’t comprehend. As Karl Gotenfrid tried to understand the situation,

“

, damn it. This is f*cking embarrassing…”

“…Pardon?”

“Like a dog, what the hell have I done?”

…? Before Karl Gotenfrid could fully comprehend, Agnesia pressed her temples and continued to mutter angrily.

“Like a crap… Have I gone mad to ruin my own life?”

“La-Lady Agnesia?”

“F*ck, I’m feeling really sh*tty, don’t touch me, got it?”

With a disdainful expression, Agnesia glared at him and stormed out of the parlor. She popped her head back in and said,

“Meeting you was disgusting. Let’s never see each other again, you wife-exploiting sc*mbag.”

“Pardon?”

“Make sure you get back the money you gave my father.”

“La-Lady Agnesia…!”

“F*ck, stop calling my name like that, it’s creepy. I can’t understand a word you’re saying because you’re mumbling to sound dignified.” Still furious, she stomped out of the parlor.

Agnesia Merlin, who had never behaved this way since entering the townhouse, walked out, slamming the door behind her.