Chapter 1. Of All Things, Why Did it Have to be About Revenge?

The dense darkness settled outside the opaque window.

The moon rose above my head, as I heard the sporadic cry of a small owl in the distance.

Underneath the flickering light of my lamp, I wrung the washcloth with all my might.

*drip, drip, drip*

The sound of water splashing into the washbasin seemed to be unusually loud.

I placed the damp washcloth on my young nephew Luca’s forehead.

His fever was so high that I could almost see the water from the washcloth evaporating in front of my eyes.

Never in his life had Luca received such proper care, so this situation seemed quite awkward to him.

Luca was so uneasy that he was at a loss for what to do.

I forced him to lay down and then tried to calm him down by patting his shoulder for hours.

Luca was breathing lightly, his chest barely rising.

His throat swelled up to the point that he could barely speak.

He struggled to open his eyes and when he looked towards me with those frail eyes, my heart ached for him.

If it were up to me, I would have already carried him to the 24-hour emergency room, but there was nothing even close to a hospital around here.

I tried my best to keep his fever down by continuously changing out his washcloth.

Even though I was frustrated at this situation, I gave my best effort to soothe his nerves.

“Luca, hang in there. As soon as the sun comes up, I’ll get you some medicine.”

*cough, cough* “I’m alright. What medicine… We have no money.”

“There’s some money I stashed away. Besides, no kid should have to worry about money.”

A small child like that worrying about our finances didn’t sit well with me.

What’s more unsettling is Luca’s concern about the lack of money around the house.

I didn’t have enough money to pay for the medicine, so as soon as the sun rises, I’ll head into the forest to gather some medicinal herbs and somehow barter with the village doctor to take the herbs as partial payment.

While I was calculating how it would all pan out, he must have read my mind, as his face turned dark.

“You can go have fun at the May Day Festival. You said that you’ve been really looking forward to it.”

Even after saying that, he rolled his eyes at me as he sensed my facial expression.

If I actually went to the May Day Festival, he really would have been disappointed.

Why is he beating around the bush like that?

I simply grinned as I replied how silly that was.

“Pah, what about the May Day Festival? Stop saying such nonsense and focus on getting better faster instead.”

He kept on insisting that he was alright, which was hard to believe.

I wonder how much time has passed. I’m not sure when he fell asleep, but his breathing became more steady.

Nodding on and off, a small sigh escaped from Luca’s lips as he muttered in his sleep.

“……Mama.”

It would make sense that he would miss his mama.

Out of empathy, I gently patted his small hand that was rested on top of the blanket.

Luca’s fingers slightly twitched then swiftly latched onto my fingers.

As if his life depended on it, he refused to let go.

I have to change his washcloth though…

I let out a small laugh of bewilderment, but I didn’t want to let go of his hand.

That’s fine, I guess I’ll just let it be then for a little bit. 

And so, I stayed by his side to take care of him, dozing on and off throughout the night.

I can’t say that I really got any sleep last night, but before I knew it, the early rays of the sun began to shine through the windows. Without a sound, I managed to slip away from him.

My eyes were sunken and my mind was cloudy from the lack of sleep, but I shook my head in an attempt to come back to my senses.

“Boy, I really could go for some coffee right now.”

I’m pretty sure this body never had coffee (not that it really mattered or anything), but as soon as morning arrived, my thirst for coffee glowed brightly in my eyes.

As I left the house, this unsatisfied coffee craving continued to linger.

Before the apothecary opened, I rushed into the forest, quickening my pace.

It was such a relief that this body more or less remembered how to identify medicinal plants.

If this body had no such recollection, then there would have been nothing for me to do in this world.

About now, everyone should have gotten an idea that I am not myself; I have entered the body of a woman named Judith Maybaum.

Like a typical character from a story, I had too much to drink and got into a car accident. Next thing I knew, I suddenly woke up in a different world.

But the most unfair part of this story was that the car that hit me was slowing down while turning into the alleyway I was passing by!

I don’t have much memory of how I died, let alone the fact I somehow entered a stranger’s body. Boy, was I confused…

At first, I thought it was only a dream.

Sun-faded blonde hair flowed down a slender body, complemented with light lavender eyes.

A seemingly-cold beauty I have become!

She appeared to be difficult at first glance. Still, I was elated with the fact that I became the beauty of my dreams, but…

Who would’ve thought that I would have to live like this?

I became so infuriated that as I bawled my eyes out, I ripped out my long fair hair.

“It would have been better if I entered the body of an aristocrat’s daughter. Instead, I’m without a servant.”

And on top of that, I have another mouth to feed…

The owner of this body, Judith, lives in a rural village with her nephew Luca by themselves.

Other family members either died from accidents or plagues.

Luca and I didn’t have that good of an aunt-nephew relationship.

To be more specific, Judith simply hated Luca for no reason and abused him relentlessly.

Why in the world did I hate my young nephew like that so much?

As I reminisced about my body’s memories, I suddenly realized why.

This world that I fell right into, the world of this novel…

It was about revenge.

Have you ever heard of revenge overflowing with hopes and dreams?

For me at least, I haven’t.

The first (and most ideal) scenario involving revenge:

Horrific events happened to the protagonist but they manage to succeed in exacting revenge and therefore living happily ever after.

And the second scenario involving revenge:

The protagonist succeeds in exacting revenge but because of that, their life is ruined, or even worse, they become the target for another’s revenge.

As I was written in this enchanting novel, it seems to be more like the first scenario.

At least I have hopes and dreams that seem to have promising outcomes.

But within this novel, when you think about Judith Maybaum’s situation, there’s no way that any of this can end well.

Therefore I, as the protagonist, will seek revenge against the villain, as one of my ulterior motives.

To keep it simple, yes, I will die.