In the illusion, Lobelia was standing in the midst of a gigantic camp. When she lived in the countryside, she sometimes saw Julia perform magic, so Lobelia knew that this camp belonged to gypsies. There was a huge golden pedestal in the center of the camp, and on top of it was a dazzling book she had never seen before. As if possessed, Lobelia approached and picked up the book. Her instincts were screaming at her to read it.

“Original?” Lobelia muttered as she read the title, whose meaning she could not grasp. Lobelia opened the book with her trembling hands.

It was a story of the world. There, Lobelia was a villain and the heroine was Aina, Marlon’s daughter and Lobelia’s cousin.

In the Original, Lobelia seeks vengeance on Marlon and Josephine for destroying her life. Their only daughter and Lobelia’s cousin, Aina, is not spared from her wrath. Lobelia marries a rich old man to acquire fortune, and then she harasses Aina with all sorts of dirty tricks. At the climax of the story, she curses Aina with the blood of a gypsy.

Bullied by Lobelia, Aina lives a miserable life until she meets the male protagonist. Aina and the male protagonist defeat Lobelia and live happily ever after, inheriting the fortune left by her father, Marlon.

The fact that Lobelia was actually Evelentia’s blood and that she was merely a poor woman victimized by Marlon’s conspiracies were only briefly divulged in the side story, its purpose only to intensify Aina’s character in the scene where she forgives the cruelty of Evelentia with tears, having discovered her circumstances.

As Lobelia flipped through the pages, the energy of the book resonated with the gypsy blood flowing through her veins. Instinctively, she knew that this book held some kind of truth.

Lobelia felt wretched. Was this the reason her mother had to die? She couldn’t care less if she was the villain—she was only one because this book seemed to be told from the perspective of a child. If she herself inked the pages, there would be an entirely different story.

Lobelia felt herself burning in rage. All this time, she was made to believe that she was not her father’s daughter, whom she loved dearly. So many scorned her, hurling spiteful accusations against her. She now only realized how unjust her life had been, and she could no longer tolerate it.

Marlon was the beginning of it all. So brazenly he asked for Julia’s hand, only to covet her fortune and deprive her of legitimacy.

My mother died because of my uncle’s stupid greed.

When Lobelia closed her eyes, she could hear Julia’s weak voice, apologizing just before her death. Lobelia couldn’t stand it. She suffered a pain she shouldn’t have gone through and what was rightfully hers was easily stolen from her.

When Lobelia returned to her senses, the people of Evelentia stormed her house and took Julia’s body. Lobelia begged Marlon for a proper burial for Julia, but Marlon refused to listen. He only said, “Your mother will be cremated. She has committed infidelity, and she cannot be buried in Evelentia’s family tomb.”

That day, Lobelia was left alone in the outhouse, curled up in the cold all night.

How could those people be so shameless? It felt as if her heart was being squeezed. Her body felt heavy and her feet refused to stand. Even moving was difficult for her.

How can I continue to live?

Lobelia was losing all her reasons to live, about to be overcome in misery.

Suddenly, a voice echoed in her head. “Let’s take revenge,” it said. Perhaps it was her own subconscious.

Lobelia opened her eyes. Warmth returned to her fingers and her legs gained strength. Lobelia slowly lifted herself. Moving her body wasn’t as difficult as before. Voices echoed inside her head again.

“Let’s take revenge.”

“Never let anyone bother you again.”

“Never lose anything again.”

Her grief at the loss of her mother became the oil that burned her will. If she could take all that Marlon had and cause him the same pain she had suffered, perhaps her raging thirst for justice would be quenched a little.

She wasn’t interested in Aina; she didn’t even care about her partner. Had she not known the truth, she might have turned the arrow of hatred to an easy target, Aina. In the Original, she awakens as the villain at twenty-two. But she knew exactly what she had to do now.

What Marlon took away was the glory of the House of Evelentia which her father had toiled to earn and the legitimacy of Lobelia. If Lobelia regained Evelentia, it would be revenge for Marlon.

At that moment, a milestone was set on the path Lobelia decided.