My Stepfather Was the Villain Episode 1
0. Prologue
In the warm rays of the spring sun, my beloved mother, Rayna Arno, smiled brightly.
‘No, should I call her Rayna Decarean now?’
A man with black hair stood before my mother, who was dressed in a beautiful wedding dress.
Everyone blessed the union of the two, calling them a well-matched pair, but my heart was only filled with complex emotions.
Standing as the flower girl at today’s wedding, I looked at my mother with a heart that didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
The reason I couldn’t celebrate my mother’s marriage was because of that black-haired man.
Klaus Decarean, a man said to have neither blood nor tears.
The successor of the Duke of Decarean, the most prominent family in the empire, and…
‘The villain in the original novel.’
Furthermore, he was a man destined to die at the hands of the male protagonist.
“I, Klaus Decarean, swear before God to love Rayna Arno for the rest of my life.”
Such a formidable man was making his vows before the Archbishop and the most prominent nobles.
Once this moment passed, everything would become irreversible. If I were to stop the marriage of these two, now was the only time.
However, I could only let out deep sighs, unable to do one thing or the other.
Just how did things get so tangled up like this?
1. Looking for a Stepfather
<The Illegitimate Prince Dreams of Revenge>
That was the title of the romance fantasy novel that once swept through South Korea.
And eight years ago, I was reincarnated into the world inside that romance fantasy novel.
It was when I was five years old that I remembered my past life.
‘Actually, at first, I didn’t even realize right away that this was a world inside a book.’
When I recalled the memories of my past life, I simply thought I had been reincarnated. However, the names of families and places I heard for the first time felt familiar.
Then, when I happened to encounter the disappearance of the Young Duke of Decarean, which had caused a stir in the empire, I was able to confirm that this place was inside <The Illegitimate Prince Dreams of Revenge>.
Something about how the successor of the Duke of Decarean, who enjoyed everything as the highest noble of the empire, vanished overnight.
People thought the Young Duke of Decarean would return soon. However, his whereabouts remained unknown even until now.
Anyway, thanks to that, I came to know the identity of the déjà vu I felt from time to time, but the fact that this world was a novel had no impact on my life.
Because I, Valery Arno, was nothing more than a passing Imperial Citizen 1 who was never once mentioned in the original novel!
I was a mere Passerby 1 who couldn’t even become a supporting character, and there was no way I would get involved in the brutal original work.
So, while I didn’t know anything about my future, there was no problem at all with living.
It was three months ago that something sad happened to me.
Three months ago, the ship carrying my uncle, who had left for a kingdom across the sea to personally pursue a new business for the Arno family, ended up sinking.
Since that day, it became impossible to know whether Uncle Dietrich was dead or alive.
If I had been a significant character in the original work, and if my life had been written in the novel, wouldn’t I have been able to find Uncle Dietrich with that knowledge?
‘No, perhaps I could have prevented the misfortune in advance.’
At the thought that my infinitely kind uncle might never return, I spent many days and nights awake with tears.
– It’s okay, Vivi. Your uncle will surely return.
– That’s right. Dietrich is a strong child, so he must have survived safely. Perhaps he will even buy lots of presents for our Vivi and come back.
In that way, Mother, Grandfather, and I lived with the hope that Uncle Dietrich would return.
‘In the end, Uncle did not return.’
And today, I had no choice but to lament once again over the fact that I did not know my future.
“Ugh, Father. If you leave like this, what am I supposed to do?”
I blankly watched my mother crying while hugging my grandfather’s coffin in the rain.
Everything lacked a sense of reality, as if it were a dream.
‘Why did this happen again?’
A few days ago, Grandfather, who had gone out, returned as a cold corpse. He had gone to the outskirts of the territory for an inspection, but he ended up in a carriage accident.
It was said that a fragment of the broken carriage pierced his lungs, and he passed away on the spot before a mage or a priest could be called.
If I had known the future, wouldn’t I have been able to stop this event too?
‘If it’s going to be like this, why did God give me the memories of my past life?’
If I hadn’t known that this place was inside a novel, if I were an innocent eight-year-old child who knew nothing, I wouldn’t resent myself this much…
“Rayna. I know how you feel, but you must let your maternal uncle go now.”
My mother’s cousin and my maternal second cousin, Uncle Pascal, comforted my mother. My mother hugged Uncle Pascal and cried like a child.
In that way, Grandfather left me and my mother’s side forever.
* * *
After the funeral ended, Mother, I, and Uncle Pascal returned to the mansion. However, someone was waiting for us in front of the mansion.
He was a young man with faded wheat-colored hair and green eyes, wearing a dark blue suit. He was someone I was seeing for the first time.
When the mysterious man spotted us, he took off the hat he was wearing and greeted us.
“Lord Chepelt. I have been waiting for you.”
Chepelt was Uncle Pascal’s surname.
‘Who on earth is that?’
I observed the man while only poking my head out from behind my mother. When our eyes met, the man curved his eyes and smiled. Unintentionally, I tilted my head and greeted him back.
On the other hand, Mother, who seemed to have no presence of mind, entered the mansion without noticing the man. I, Uncle Pascal, and the wheat-haired man followed behind her.
The man, who was no different from an uninvited guest, followed us even to the living room used only by our family.
“Bring some warm tea and hot chocolate. Vivi must be very cold since she was in the rain for a long time.”
“Yes. But Miss, should I bring four teacups?”
“Four?”
Only then did Mother’s gaze turn toward the wheat-haired man standing by the door. A small gasp escaped Mother’s mouth.
“It seems a guest has arrived. Pascal, is he your guest?”
“That’s right. Greet her. This is Simon Weaver. You should greet her too. As you already know, this is my cousin, Rayna Arno.”
When Uncle Pascal gestured with his eyes, the wheat-haired man standing behind him came forward. The man had his hair neatly slicked back with pomade and was wearing glasses; he had a quite fastidious impression.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Arno. First, I offer my condolences to the deceased.”
“Thank you for coming such a long way. Were you at the funeral hall earlier? I was out of my mind and failed to greet you.”
“No. Regrettably, I have just arrived at the Arno territory, so I was unable to attend the funeral.”
If he is wearing a deep blue formal suit instead of black funeral attire, didn’t he have no intention of attending the funeral in the first place?
I narrowed my eyes and looked at Simon Weaver. Receiving my suspicious gaze, Simon Weaver raised and lowered his eyebrows as he smiled.
Somehow, he was a man I didn’t like.
“I see. Anyway, if he is Pascal’s guest, he is as good as my guest. I will tell them to prepare a guest room, so please rest as comfortably as you wish before you leave.”
Mother gave a polite request for him to leave. I also hoped that Mother and I would be alone quickly after Uncle Pascal and Simon Weaver left.
However, far from leaving, Simon Weaver actually approached Mother.
“Actually, I came here because I have something to say to the Lady.”
“To me?”
“To be precise, you could say I have come as Pascal Chepelt’s legal representative.”
“Legal representative?”
At the unusual word, a look of wariness appeared in Mother’s eyes.
“Yes.”
With a significant face, Simon Weaver lifted the bottom of his glasses frame with his index and middle fingers. Mother asked the relaxed Uncle Pascal in a slightly sharp voice.
“Pascal, you explain. Calling a legal representative all of a sudden, what is going on?”
“Rayna. I don’t want to talk about this on the day of my maternal uncle’s funeral, but I think I need to inform you of the realistic problems.”
“Realistic problems?”
“I’m talking about the inheritance issue of the Arno family.”
“That’s…!”
Both Mother and I were surprised. Unlike me, who could say nothing with wide eyes, Mother spoke quite firmly.
“Why the inheritance issue all of a sudden? Dietrich will naturally succeed the Arno family. It was decided that Dietrich would inherit the title and the business. He has even received successor training since he was young.”
“Hmm, is that so?”
“Yes. You know that well too. Pascal, I appreciate your concern, but this is not for you to get involved in.”
Mother drew a line with a soft but clear voice.
Certainly, Uncle Pascal had no right to be involved in Arno’s inheritance issue.
At that moment, Simon Weaver, who had been listening quietly, cut in with his eyes shining sharply.
“Regrettably, Lady Arno. Is Lord Dietrich Arno not currently in a missing state?”
“He will return! There’s no way that boy is dead. We have all been waiting for Dietrich. Of course, it might take a long time. But he will return someday and lead the family, and until then, I will temporarily look after the family.”
“Lady Arno, I understand your feelings well, but according to the Imperial Inheritance Law, the inheritance of titles and property must take place within three months of the deceased’s death.”
“I know that too.”
“Even though you know that, are you saying that it has absolutely nothing to do with Lord Pascal?”
“…What are you trying to say?”
Simon Weaver cleared his throat as if he had been waiting for that very question.
“Since the death of Lord Dietrich Arno has not been officially confirmed, it is true that Lord Arno is still the first in line for inheritance. However, if Lord Arno does not undergo the formal inheritance procedures within three months from today, the inheritance will pass to the second in line.”
Simon Weaver pointed his eyes toward Uncle Pascal, who was still smiling.
“To Lord Pascal Chepelt here.”
☆▪︎▪︎▪︎☆
