Realizing he had gone over time, Patrick turned pale the moment he checked the clock. He seemed to recall the disastrous incident where a highly respected professor once ended up dangling upside down from a window.
"L-Lady Deborah, of course, there's no homework! Thank you for enduring my humble lecture. I was deeply moved by your passionate academic spirit, so noble and beautiful..."
He bowed deeply as he babbled incoherently.
"Get out."
"Y-Yes, ma'am!"
The moment I dismissed him, Patrick vanished with an impressively quick backstep.
'No homework? Nice.'
I stretched my arms with a vacant thought. After finishing the theory class on magic circle creation, I'd be done for the day. Surprisingly, Deborah had even grumbled and skipped out on just these four hours of morning classes.
'So her character's supposed to be stupid and lazy too, huh...'
Shaking my head, I walked toward the annex where a mage tower researcher was waiting.
"You've arrived, Lady Deborah."
As I entered the separate training chamber prepared within the annex, a woman with ash-gray hair bowed at a 90-degree angle to greet me. Her hands, neatly clasped in front of her, were trembling slightly in fear.
Understandable. Deborah had gone through so many magic tutors that it was impossible to count.
"I'm not unable to sense mana because of some innate condition! It's you, the teacher, who's pathetic and incompetent! I'm a direct descendant of the Seymour family!"
Deborah refused to admit she had absolutely no talent for magic. She always blamed her teachers instead and hurled whatever she could grab. The fact that all throwable objects had been cleared from the room said a lot about just how awful Deborah's behavior had been.
The Seymour bloodline was known for its strong affinity with mana. So why was Deborah so utterly talentless in magic? In most possession-type novels, the protagonist could at least cast basic spells, wield a sword, or even summon spirits.
'Damn villainess debuff…'
I sighed over Deborah's rock-bottom stats, then quickly corrected my thoughts.
Deborah had overwhelming beauty, wealth, and powerful connections.
That's basically everything. And if I looked at it differently, protagonists in novels usually get harassed and envied because of their abilities.
But Deborah was the one doing the harassing—driven by her own inferiority complex. As long as I stayed quiet and didn't stir anything up, my days could pass by without a single problem.
"Not bad at all."
After classes ended, I happily mumbled while munching on a macaron—one of the only 77 made per day by the capital's most famous artisan.
I lazed around all day, and by evening, the servants attentively helped me bathe.
"My lady, is the water temperature alright?"
"It's fine."
As I sank into the huge bathtub scattered with flower petals, I let out a pleased sigh.
The attendants gently massaged even my completely relaxed muscles with fragrant, all-natural oils. They shampooed my hair with painstaking care and attention.
At first, I found their extreme attentiveness a bit awkward. But human nature was funny—comfort quickly became a habit.
'This is nice.'
Draped in a silky nightgown that clung softly to my skin, I collapsed onto the bed and thought:
Another peaceful day has passed.
I wished tomorrow could be just like today. But for that to happen, I'd have to change Deborah's villainous fate from the original story.
After lounging on the bed for a while, I finally stepped into the side room made to look like a library. I activated the mana stone for lighting and began organizing everything I remembered about the novel's plot.
Deborah was the textbook one-dimensional villainess. She ruthlessly bullied the heroine, Miya Vinosh. Hair pulling, slapping—those were just the basics. She even put a corrosive drug in Miya's drink that could melt a person's throat.
The most notorious act was when she crafted a doll that looked just like Miya and placed a curse on it.
And the one who revealed all of Deborah's crimes was none other than one of Miya's many love interests—the crown prince.
'That was the only satisfying chapter.'
The crown prince accused Deborah of blasphemy for making the cursed doll.
'It was a clever move.'
In the empire, there was only one thing above the emperor and high-ranking nobles: the status of a saintess.
Saint Nyaila was the most beloved figure in the empire. She had sacrificed herself to drive out evil and save the people. Splitting her body into six parts to form a powerful barrier, she was worshipped as a goddess.
'Even their saintess lore is hardcore here.'
Miya Vinosh possessed such pure divine power that people hailed her as the reincarnation of Saint Nyaila. And because Deborah had accumulated so much evil karma, the crown prince's accusation of blasphemy gained real momentum.
Even as a daughter of a founding noble house, insulting the saintess was a grave offense. Deborah was brought to trial, with the jury secretly bribed by Miya's harem members. After losing the case, she was sent to a monastery near a barrier—a place as good as prison.
She did all sorts of crazy, despicable things, and yet her punishment was just monastery exile? The author was heavily criticized at the time. What did the author say again?
"She's the daughter of the Seymour family. As part of a founding house, execution just isn't an option."
Many readers dropped the novel at that point due to the author's obsessive commitment to the world-building.
'To avoid being sent to the monastery, the key is not to mess with the heroine.'
The reason Deborah, who had the overwhelming backing of House Seymour, ended up ruined was simple. She laid a hand on the novel's female lead.
'But I have absolutely no intention of bullying Miya.'
Fortunately, this is right at the beginning of the story, so Deborah hasn't even met the heroine yet. Thanks to the mention of the pink diamond necklace by Duke Seymour, I was able to confirm that the current timeline matched episode one of the novel.
Near the holy barrier, a mysterious rift appeared, releasing a powerful demonic beast. In that attack, one of Miya's "harem candidates," Pilaf Montes, was severely wounded. And it was Miya Vinosh—the female lead—who healed his injuries using her divine power.
As with most reverse harem novels, Pilaf fell for Miya at first sight, touched by the woman who had saved his life. Sympathizing with her situation as the daughter of a fallen noble family, he wanted to do anything he could for her.
"Lady Miya, I truly want to repay the debt of you saving my life."
The Montes family, like the Seymours, was one of the empire's founding noble houses, so the words of its heir carried real weight. As Pilaf looked ready to give her his liver and lungs, Miya just smiled sweetly and shook her head.
"I was only doing what anyone should."
"Lady Miya…"
"I just hope you recover quickly, Sir Pilaf."
Moved by Miya's pure heart, Pilaf happened to learn that her birthday was approaching, and he wanted to give her a grand gift.
After searching high and low, he discovered the existence of the pink diamond.
It was the first colored diamond ever mined, and since Miya Vinosh had pink hair, Pilaf thought a pink diamond necklace would be the perfect gift.
Unfortunately, Deborah—who was obsessed with flaunting her wealth—was also eyeing the only pink diamond in the empire. Once word spread that both House Seymour and House Montes were vying for it, other nobles took interest, and the price of the gem skyrocketed.
In the end, in the original novel, it was Pilaf Montes who obtained the pink diamond necklace. The price had soared so high that even a noblewoman couldn't afford it with her own money. And Duke Seymour, fed up with Deborah's constant mischief, had no intention of getting it for her.
Unaware of the gem's true value, the innocent Miya Vinosh wore the pink diamond necklace gifted by Pilaf and made a dazzling appearance at the academy.
'And then Deborah grabbed her by her pink hair…'
The necklace was ripped off so roughly it left a mark on her delicate neck.
To make matters worse, the person Deborah had admired since childhood was none other than Pilaf. So, her bullying of Miya only intensified.
'First rule: don't touch her hair. If I see the pink diamond, I'll pretend I didn't.'
I chuckled dryly as I scribbled down all the things to avoid in order to survive in this damned novel. Honestly, avoiding a bad ending as villainess Deborah seemed easier than surviving as pushover Yoon Dohee in competitive, real-life Korea.
Deborah had money, influence, and beauty. I had none of that. I needed to get a job just to survive, but my resume was pathetic. I'd wasted so much time being used by others that I'd never really taken care of my own life.
Even if I'd somehow managed to get a job, it would've been hell, since my major didn't suit me at all.
'I actually wanted to retake the entrance exam…'
"Dohee, you know we can't afford to let you do that again, right?"
Right before the college entrance exam, the pressure from my father's last-minute words caused my score to drop significantly compared to my practice tests. I desperately wanted to retake the exam, but knowing our financial situation, I couldn't even bring it up.
Or maybe, I couldn't speak up because of all the unspoken pressure. I naively believed that if I just kept pushing through, I'd eventually get used to my major.
Sighing as I recalled the past that was already behind me, I set down my quill and shot up from my seat.
'From now on, I need to get my act together.'
I couldn't just spend my days idly like this. No—in order to keep living this easy life, I needed to improve my situation.
'The most important thing is mending my relationship with Duke Seymour.'
It was a huge problem that my strongest supporter looked at me with such disdain. Realistically speaking, all the wealth and benefits Deborah enjoyed came from Duke Seymour. If I lost his support, I'd lose everything.
I had to maintain a good relationship with him. And luckily, I had one potential advantage: among all his children, Deborah was the only one who resembled his late wife.
I pushed aside the curtains and looked down at the Seymour townhouse, now shrouded in the darkness of night.
'Time to take action.'
Near the main building, where the duke's office was located, there was a mystical garden. Thanks to a powerful preservation spell, the flowers there never withered, blooming all year round.
Duke Seymour, who had deeply loved his wife, had preserved the rose garden exactly as she had kept it when she was alive.
Incidentally, in the novel, that very garden was the scene of a disturbing, explicit 19+ moment—between Miya, who had been kidnapped, and the duke's eldest son, Rozard. It was burned into my memory thanks to how intently I'd read it, practically memorizing every word.
'Back then, I had no idea that scene would ever come in handy.'
Thinking this might be my lucky break, I slid the parchment back into the drawer and locked it tightly with a key.
***
'Deborah's been too quiet lately.'
Duke Seymour had that thought as he looked over the ledger recording his daughter's spending.
She was someone who loved luxury more than anyone. Yet aside from a payment made at the dressmaker's last month, there were barely any other expenses.
Why? Could it be because she's under disciplinary restriction?
A flicker of suspicion crossed his cold eyes.
Being grounded didn't mean she couldn't spend money. Deborah was the type to summon boutique and jewelry staff to the house every day. So what was she scheming?
The daughter who usually indulged in every desire was now being suspiciously quiet—and that was what raised the biggest red flag. She was the kind of girl who once went on a hunger strike and even hurt herself just to get a piece of jewelry. There was no way someone like Deborah would just give up on the pink diamond—currently the hottest item in the entire empire's high society.
Of course, Duke Seymour, having grown utterly disgusted with Deborah's behavior, had no intention of getting her that inflated, overpriced jewel.
'The more I think about it, the more infuriating it is. She dares to use my affection to manipulate me?'
He clenched his teeth, vowing never to give her what she wanted.
"D-Duke! The young lady… she's in the garden—"
It was at that moment that an aide rushed in with a report.
"What?!"
At the absurd report, the duke's face twisted in shock and he shot up from his seat.