Prologue

A gasp caught in her throat at the sight of those wide, staring eyes.

They were translucent, vivid light-green eyes that let the light pass through.

She was—Sylphy.

The moment those eyes flashed with light, forgotten memories came rushing back, bursting into her mind.

"Wait!"

Reaching out, Aurelia instinctively grabbed Sylphy’s arm just as she was about to fall.

Brushing aside Sylphy’s fluttering pale blonde hair, Aurelia pulled her in with all her might, even as she was dragged down by the other girl’s momentum.

Was this what they called hysterical strength?

Using centrifugal force, Aurelia swapped places with her.

Then, in exchange for Sylphy, who had been pulled back up to the landing, Aurelia’s body floated into the air.

...It’s over.

Her vision flipped upside down.

At the exact moment she remembered her past life, Aurelia’s present life was about to end.

In Sylphy’s place, Aurelia was about to tumble headfirst backward down the stairs.

Even though she had gone through the trouble of being reincarnated as a duke’s daughter...

It seemed this life was drawing to a close before she could even savor her good fortune.

With nothing to grab onto, Aurelia accepted her fate as she stared at her own hands outstretched in the air.

Pulled by gravity, the hem of her dress billowed up, blocking her view.

In the end, she was just a villainess.

Jealous of the heroine, Sylphy, for growing close to her fiancé, Prince Felix, Aurelia was destined to push her down the stairs and face condemnation later. There was no other path left for her but ruin.

It’s a dead-end future anyway...

Anticipating the hard stone steps looming behind her, Aurelia closed her eyes and braced herself for the impact, accepting her short-lived fate.

* * *

She had fallen from the very top of the stairs without even being able to break her fall.

Although she had prepared herself for her life to end then and there, Aurelia had survived.

She hadn’t escaped completely unscathed, but she had gotten off with only a sprained right ankle and a scar on her left arm.

It was Dylan, Felix’s guard, who had saved the unconscious Aurelia at that moment.

Thanks to his quick reflexes, her life was spared.

In the process, however, the metal fitting on the scabbard hanging at his waist had deeply slashed Aurelia’s left arm.

Though it was currently wrapped in white bandages, hiding the state of the wound, it seemed highly unlikely that the scar would ever completely fade.

"The wound itself will heal. However, it may not restore completely to the way it was."

Seeing her primary doctor avert his eyes as he spoke in a trembling voice, and looking at her mother’s tear-swollen face, Aurelia realized she would be left with a prominent scar.

Aurelia would likely never be able to wear dresses that showed off her arms like she used to.

The old Aurelia would never have been able to accept such an unbearable reality and would have fallen into despair.

"You’re a doctor, so do something about it!"

She surely would have screamed, thrown a tantrum, and taken her anger out on her maids.

But now that she had remembered her past life, Aurelia’s mind was completely at peace.

What did a scar on her arm matter?

Aurelia was a duke’s daughter.

If she couldn’t show her arms, she could just have dresses tailored to cover them.

To begin with, even the high-quality, comfortable loungewear she was wearing right now felt as glamorous as a dress by the standards of her past life.

And that was just loungewear.

She couldn’t bring herself to lament over merely having to wear dresses that covered her arms.

And above all—by saving Sylphy, Aurelia’s future of condemnation had vanished.

The remaining scar was proof that she had changed her fate. If anything, she was proud of it.

Furthermore, it was Dylan who had saved her life.

She heard that Dylan, who had caught her as she fell down the stairs, had even sent a polite letter of apology.

But as far as Aurelia was concerned, she had nothing but gratitude for Dylan.

Thanks to him, she still had a future left to change her destiny.

An idea suddenly struck her.

That’s it. Maybe I can use this permanent scar as an excuse to step down as Felix-sama’s fiancée.

This world was the setting of The Ice Crown Prince and the Jade Maiden, a story where Felix and Sylphy end up together. Nothing but misery awaited her if she clung to a man who would only condemn her in the end.

"Nina. Please call Father and Mother."

Aurelia called out to Nina, her lady-in-waiting who was standing by in the room.

Her parents absolutely doted on their daughter.

Even if this engagement carried political significance, they would surely arrange to annul it immediately if it was "what Aurelia wanted."

Thanks to this scar, I might even have a perfect excuse to break off the engagement.

As the prince’s fiancée, she would often have to appear before the public in social circles. If she used her prominent scar as a reason, claiming she was no longer fit to stand by the prince’s side, they would surely accept it.

Watching her maid Nina leave the room, Aurelia leaned her back against the fluffy pillows.

Perhaps because the medicine was working, neither her sprained ankle nor her deeply wounded arm caused her any pain.

Why couldn’t I have remembered this sooner...?

If she had remembered earlier, she wouldn’t have been so obsessed with Felix.

She wouldn’t have spent her days consumed by jealousy and hatred over his feelings for Sylphy.

Aurelia’s consciousness drifted into her memories of The Ice Crown Prince and the Jade Maiden, the story she had read in her past life.