Chapter 2

Nila was the only daughter of the Duchess of Evant.

Rodi, on the other hand, was the illegitimate child the Duke had brought home from outside the family.

Because of this, Rodi had been treated differently and discriminated against ever since she was young.

The only jewelry Nila could give Rodi was jewelry she had grown tired of wearing, and the only dresses Rodi could have were ones that had gone out of fashion.

How dare a lowly bastard like you act so spoiled thanks to me!

Even so, Nila always acted superior to her younger sister Rodi and bullied her.

When they were young, she would abuse her physically by dragging her around by the hair or throwing her into the lake. As they grew older, she would order servants to feed Rodi spoiled food or meals mixed with mild poison.

Not only that, in high society, Nila played the part of a loving older sister who cherished her wicked and evil younger sister, earning everyone’s sympathy.

Perhaps half the reason the “original Rodi” had grown into such a twisted villainess could be attributed to Nila.

She was a character I really couldn’t stand even when I played the game.

Whether this was a dream or reality, hitting Nila once made her feel much better.

Nila continued to sob.

“You… This time, I’m really not going to let you off… Sniff…”

Normally, there was no way Rodi could treat Nila so carelessly, considering how much the Duke of Evant cherished her.

But Rodi was destined to be expelled from this household in five minutes.

Why should she care about someone like Nila now?

“It’s time for you to leave.”

At that moment, two knights entered the room.

“…”

They looked momentarily bewildered by the scene before them, but soon adopted a firm attitude and dragged Rodi away.

She was immediately put into an old, narrow carriage that reeked of horse manure.

…Even though this was the Duke’s last chance to see his daughter, the Duke of Evant did not show his face.

The coachman immediately set the carriage in motion.

The carriage seat was hard, and every part of it rattled as though it might fall apart at any moment.

It was exactly the kind of carriage befitting a villainess who had been banished to the frontier for daring to bully the heroine.

The carriage continued onward without stopping.

By the time the sun was beginning to set, they arrived at a small rural village.

“You have been expelled from the Evant family. From now on, you may no longer use the surname ‘Evant’ anywhere.”

The coachman handed her a thick sheet of paper rolled up tightly and continued.

“However, by His Grace the Duke’s mercy, this villa has been placed under your ownership. This is where you will live from now on.”

After delivering what he needed to say, the coachman promptly drove away.

Rodi hugged her one and only bag tightly as she watched the carriage disappear into the distance, then turned her gaze away.

Before her stood an old-looking mansion made of red brick.

Rodi knew very well why this mansion had ended up in her possession.

After all, Rodi had been the daughter of a ducal family. Expelling her with absolutely nothing would have been undignified for a noble family and could have invited gossip.

For that reason, in order to maintain at least a semblance of propriety, the Duke had handed her the oldest and most dilapidated villa among the Evant family’s properties, practically dumping it on her like unwanted inventory.

The original Rodi couldn’t do anything at all.

Even though she was the illegitimate daughter of a duke, she had nevertheless lived a wealthy life.

Naturally, she didn’t know how to clean or cook.

In the game, Rodi barely managed to survive in this old mansion by taking on odd jobs.

Even those jobs had only been available to her thanks to the embroidery and sewing skills she had learned as part of her basic education.

I don’t want to live like that.

What was she supposed to do from now on?

Rodi stared blankly at the quiet mansion before slowly stepping inside.

✦ ✦ ✦

After entering the mansion, Rodi organized her thoughts about her current situation.

The fact that I’ve been banished to a village on the frontier means the story must currently be following the True Ending route.

She looked around.

As befitted a mansion once owned by the Duke of Evant, the interior was spacious.

However, it had not been maintained, and a thick layer of dust covered everything.

The joists and beams supporting the upper floor were exposed across the ceiling, while elaborate protruding decorations that had once been fashionable stuck out awkwardly.

There were also latticed windows designed to conserve expensive glass as much as possible, as well as a huge, completely empty fireplace.

These days, the only people who preferred such outdated architecture were those of a fairly advanced age.

First, Rodi simply sat down on the dusty floor and carefully emptied the contents of her bag.

Necklaces, earrings, rings, jewel-encrusted brooches…

She could probably get quite a substantial amount of money by selling these.

At least she wouldn’t have to worry about going hungry for a while.

But even so, it isn’t enough to live on for the rest of my life.

That was the problem.

Once the money from the jewelry ran out, she would eventually have to find work.

What can I do in this world?

All the qualifications and educational achievements she had accumulated to get a job at a major corporation were now completely meaningless.

Rodi’s body wasn’t blessed with a talent for magic or swordsmanship like some amazing protagonist in a novel, either.

In other words, once her money ran out, she would have no choice but to scrape by doing piecework sewing or miscellaneous errands.

Rodi didn’t want to live that kind of life.

My parents aren’t here.

Until now, the only reason she had worked so hard was to earn her parents’ recognition.

But the moment she possessed Rodi’s body, that reason had vanished.

Now…

Rodi’s eyes sparkled like stars.

I can do anything I want on my own!

She clenched both hands into fists.

Her heart felt light and exhilarated.

It was the first time in her life she had ever experienced true freedom.

Isn’t there some way I can enjoy a happy life in this world without working myself to the bone?

Rodi fell into a pleasant dilemma.

The joy of escaping her parents’ control was far greater than the sadness of being thrown into an unfamiliar world.

I have enough capital in my hands right now to get a lump sum of money.

Rather than simply spending it to survive, if she invested it somewhere, she could turn it into an even greater fortune.

What would be a good investment in the world of Utopia?

After pondering for a long while, a single word flashed through her mind.

Real estate…?

It was an idea the original Rodi would never have come up with.

She had never had the slightest interest in the concept of “investment.”

But Yoonseo, who had now possessed Rodi’s body, was different.

She had meticulously played through every route in Utopia.

She had a rough idea of which properties would increase in value and which ones would crash.

There was just one problem.

She still didn’t have enough money to buy land.

Rodi looked around the mansion that now belonged to her.

It was extremely dilapidated from having been neglected for so long, but it wasn’t completely worthless.

If she cleaned it up, renovated the interior, and sold it at a high price, she could get enough money to invest in other land.

Besides, I already know who I should sell this mansion to in order to get the highest possible price.

Her plan was more or less decided.

Rodi opened several rooms one by one until she found a blanket lying on the floor.

When she picked it up, white dust floated into the air, and a musty smell stung her nose.

For now, even this was better than nothing.

She roughly dusted off the blanket and wrapped herself up in it like a pupa.

“…”

The faint sound of insects chirping could be heard outside.

Rodi curled herself into a ball and slowly fell asleep.

And so, the first day after possessing her new body came to an end.

Late that night.

A small voice echoed beside Rodi’s ear as she slept peacefully.

[Synchronization complete.]

Without noticing, Rodi continued sleeping deeply.

✦ ✦ ✦

The second day dawned.

After waking up, Rodi roughly combed her smooth purple hair with her fingers before heading outside.

As she closed the front door, she suddenly stopped.

—Wicked witch, get lost!

The words had been written crookedly in bright red paint.

Looks like the rumors about me have already spread throughout the village.

At present, a rumor was circulating in high society that Rodi was an evil witch who used curse magic.

The reason was simple.

The daughter of Count Gretia, Simone Gretia, whom Rodi had relentlessly bullied, had been unable to recover from her illness for a long time.

Her father, Count Gretia, had brought in all sorts of renowned physicians to treat her, but none of them were successful.

Because of this, a rumor had spread throughout high society.

That Rodi Evant had used curse magic on the angelic Lady Simone.

In fact, that rumor was also the entire reason Rodi had been expelled from the Duke of Evant’s household.

Upon hearing the rumor that his daughter had used curse magic on a young lady favored by the Crown Prince, the Duke became afraid that it might have a negative impact on the family and expelled her preemptively.

Well, it was all a misunderstanding.

Rodi had certainly cultivated an image like an evil witch in high society, but in reality, she had absolutely no talent for magic.

Simone eventually recovered after receiving devoted care from everyone around her, too.

Rodi remembered it clearly because the event CGs had been quite beautiful.

Lost in these little thoughts, Rodi walked until she reached the entrance to the village’s shopping district.

Everyone’s attention instantly turned toward her.

“Isn’t that the noble lady who was banished from the capital for using curse magic?”

“Shh, don’t make eye contact with her. You might get cursed!”

Rodi’s eyes met those of the whispering villagers.

Huh…?

Suddenly, a white window appeared beside each person.

She hurriedly rubbed her eyes.

What is this?

No matter how much she rubbed them, the opaque system windows did not disappear.

Confused, she stared at the text displayed in one man’s system window.

[Weakness: Drinks alcohol secretly every night without his wife knowing, ??, ??, ??]

There was nothing there until yesterday!

Rodi was bewildered.

Each system window beside the villagers contained their name, age, and weaknesses.

This is the system window from the game.

It was a window that appeared when a player spent cash, providing hints for progressing through the game.

Have I gained access to part of the game’s system…?

Rodi tilted her head and thought about it for a long time.

There’s no point in just worrying about it right now.

First, she needed to confirm whether the information displayed in the system windows was actually true.

Is there anyone suitable nearby?

As she looked around, she spotted a middle-aged man sitting inside a jewelry shop through the glass window.

[Weakness: Coward, ??, ??, ??]

He’ll do.

An excellent plan had just occurred to her.

She also needed to sell the jewelry she had brought from home.

Rodi entered the shop with as expressionless a face as possible.

Jingle…

She opened the shop door, which had a small bell hanging from it.

The shopkeeper greeted her without even looking up, only raising his head a moment later.

“Gasp…!”

At his startled reaction, Rodi narrowed her eyes, trying to make herself look even more frightening.

Looks like the weakness is accurate.

The shopkeeper, Denvers, stared at the woman before him with an overwhelming urge to cry.

He had definitely started the day like any other ordinary day.

But of all people, his very first customer had to be the evil witch who had been exiled from the capital…!

To make matters worse, she had an appearance that perfectly suited the adjective “evil.”

She wore a dark crimson dress that resembled blood, along with high heels. Her dark purple hair hung loosely around her, while her cold eyes, framed by long eyelashes, were heavily coated with black mascara.

Denvers silently despaired.

She’s scary…!

He wanted nothing more than to get this terrifying customer out of his shop as quickly as possible.

“W-We… today…”

Click.

Denvers spoke in a trembling voice.

“W-We… are…”

Click.

The closer the expressionless Rodi came, the more violently the shopkeeper’s eyes trembled.

“N-Not open…”

Click.

With a voice as tiny as a baby mosquito, Denvers barely managed to finish his sentence.

“Hmm.”

The woman raised one corner of her lips into a sinister smile.

As if she were about to whisper a curse at any moment.

“You really aren’t open for business—”

“…”

“…Eek.”

Had she somehow realized that he had just lied about the shop being closed?

Denvers lowered his head and immediately confessed.

“N-No, no! I’m sorry! We actually are open!”

“…”

Meanwhile, Rodi was beginning to feel slightly awkward at the shopkeeper’s terrified reaction.

She had genuinely just been asking whether the shop was open today.