3 : I Became the Female Lead?
I couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle.
“Oh?”
I met eyes with the women peeking in curiously, and without thinking, the corners of my mouth lifted into a wide smile.
At the same time, something warm trickled down my cheek.
It was drool. Ah, the shame.
“She’s awake? Didn’t even notice. What baby’s this quiet? Must take after the master.”
“Right? She wasn’t even startled by what happened yesterday.”
“Hm, are you hungry, young miss?”
“As if she’d answer if you ask like that. Just bring the formula.”
Should I nod, or start wailing like a baby?
I stared at them with a bit of inner turmoil, then my stomach let out a loud grumble and I opened my mouth.
I’d been starving before I fell asleep…
Just then, a baby bottle filled with what looked like formula appeared right in front of my eyes.
‘Ugh!’
“Hm? Why isn’t she drinking? Babies are supposed to be fed regularly.”
Excuse me, lady. Sure, I’m a baby now, but my modern adult brain is screaming in protest at the thought of sucking on a bottle!
I tried pushing it away with my lips, but I couldn’t fight the strength of an adult woman.
Caught off guard, the bottle’s nipple ended up fully in my mouth.
“Don’t resist. You must be hungry, young miss. You’ve been asleep all this time.”
The instant the milk went down my throat and filled my stomach, I was overwhelmed by despair.
“Drink up. Babies are supposed to eat like this.”
Gulp. Gulp.
The woman looked down at me with surprisingly gentle expressions, unaware of the turmoil inside me.
But despite her words, her face remained eerily expressionless.
It was almost discouraging, even while I sucked on the bottle.
‘Does she not like me?’
Isn’t it normal to smile when you see a baby?
The more our eyes met, the more her stiff expressions seemed to harden, like she was annoyed. I could almost feel indigestion from the tension.
At that time, I had no idea that the familiar name “Hillington” would turn out to be the very one from that novel.
Right after I was fed, burped, humiliated with a wet diaper, and woke up from a nap.I became certain I had been reborn as Rosé from that novel I’d read before I died—
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It had been bright earlier, but now the room was dim.
“Uww.”
I stretched sluggishly, barely managed to sit up, babbled a bit, and shook a nearby rattle—yet time didn’t flow like water.
‘Wow. This is frustrating. Being a baby, I can barely move.’
Sure, going from terminally ill to a healthy baby body was a miracle…
‘But I’m bored to death.’
I was staring gloomily at the glittering gems on the ceiling, ones that wouldn’t be out of place in a royal palace, when—
‘Huh? What’s that sound?’
From the slightly open door, I could clearly hear the careless chatter of the attendants in the hallway.
“There’s been a lot of talk about His Majesty’s birthday banquet. The family head was invited but refused. Of course, given the situation, it’s understandable. But the reason for the invitation is well-known among the capital’s nobles.”
“Oh, you mean that engagement arrangement?”
“Yeah. The promise made between the late family head and the former emperor. That if Hillington and Belkius had a daughter and a son respectively, they’d be engaged.”
“The current emperor lacks legitimacy and hates any remnant of the former emperor. That engagement is one of the most offensive topics to him.”
“And now, a boy’s been born into House Belkius, and a girl into House Hillington.”
“What if we fall out of favor with the imperial palace because of this?”
My mind was in chaos.
Belkius. Hillington. An imperial engagement.
‘Why does this sound so familiar?’
I perked up my ears. Hey, attendants! Talk more! I can’t hear well!
I wanted to shout, but all that came out was a pitiful “Abububu.”
If only this oversized baby head weren’t so heavy, I’d flip over, crawl across the bed, and interrogate them.
Did they just say a girl born into Hillington and a boy into Belkius?
‘That’s the plot of The Young Lady is Sweet!’
Yes! That story about the lovable heroine Rosé and the cold-hearted but warm-inside male lead Gabriel!
‘N-No way…!’
I shakily grabbed the bedpost and sat up.
My chubby, sausage-like fingers came into view.
My soft skin, well-fed appearance, and the overly luxurious room glittering even without the need for firelight—all pointed to one thing.
‘I’m rich. Filthy rich.’
If I’m in Hillington…
And if I’m Hillington’s baby girl from The Young Lady is Sweet, then this scene makes sense.
‘Am I the female lead?’
I burst into a giddy smile, but my awkward lips only twitched and settled again.
Just like before.
‘Even after reincarnating, I still can’t smile properly?’
Even with a new body, my inability to smile had followed me. A frustrated sigh slipped out.
Worry crept in. If I don’t smile—if I’m expressionless—people won’t like me.
‘Rosé was an only child. If I’m the baby of House Hillington, I must be her.’
And Rosé—Rosé was the adored female lead of that heartwarming story.
Everyone loved her, and the entire world seemed to bend in her favor.
‘Wait a minute?’
My joy lasted only a moment.
As I recalled the plot—one I’d memorized by heart—real concern began to set in like a thundercloud.
Rosé.
Even as a baby, she was so adorable that her plump cheeks melted the cold hearts of a family scarred by tragedy.
And Rosé’s father…
I trembled.
‘Wait. That wasn’t my brother?! He’s my dad?!’
The terrifying man who held me and issued chilling orders wasn’t my big brother—he was my father.
‘If I really am the female lead…’
If I’ve become sweet-as-honey, soft-as-blossoms Rosé… then I’ll have to thaw the hearts of that ice-cold father and the still-unmet male lead Gabriel…
That thought was both thrilling and terrifying.
‘I have to melt them? Me? The girl who couldn’t even smile without being called creepy? How the heck am I supposed to do that?’
But in that moment of excitement and anxious joy over becoming Rosé, I had no idea—
That life wouldn’t be as sweet as honey.
That I was making a grave mistake that would make my current worries laughable in hindsight.
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The baby was fast asleep.
Like a weary adult, she softly exhaled, a tear clinging to the corner of her eye.
“Why is she crying?”
“I don’t know. Sometimes, it’s like she’s having a nightmare. She cries without making a sound.”
Lyra stood at attention like a trained knight.
Sears glanced at her, his brow furrowing.
Crying was how babies communicated, but this silent kind of weeping felt off.
Watching her like this even made his chest ache.
“She’s not ill, is she?”
“The physician said there’s nothing wrong. Apparently babies dream, too.”
“Nightmares at that age?”
“But the young miss is exceptionally quiet, calm, and clever. If she were in pain, I’m sure she’d show it.”
He didn’t love Lyra’s cold tone and expression.
Surely even babies feel reassured by warm voices and affectionate gazes.
‘Still.’
She was someone he could trust more than anyone.
Even if Lyra couldn’t be kind, she could protect. That was her value.
She would protect the child against all odds—against the temple where they had barely retrieved her from, and against those lurking in the shadows.
Even if it cost Lyra her life.
That’s why he’d hidden both her and the baby away here, changing out the other maids regularly.
“Anything else?”
Sears brushed away the baby’s tear and noticed her tiny foot peeking from the blanket.
So small.
“She’s getting better at walking.”
“And?”
“She can move along walls, hasn’t spoken yet, but her babble is getting clearer. Compared to a typical 12-month-old, she’s quite advanced.”
He was used to this routine.
“She hasn’t asked for her mother?”
That word caught in his throat.
He’d barely gotten the child back from the temple, and now his wife was in no condition to even see her.
Sears blinked. Lyra replied without emotion.
“She almost never cries or fusses.”
“…”
“I’m not sure if that’s a good thing.”
A child who doesn’t ask for her parents.
It broke Sears’ heart.
“It seems like she’s holding something in. But that can’t be, right? She’s only been alive a year.”
It was awful, but Sears knew his wife didn’t have much time left.
That’s why he stayed by her side, acting as her hands and feet, handling every daily task.
Which meant he couldn’t be there for the child.
His hand trembled as he recalled today’s conversation.
The family physician, face pale, had sighed and said,
‘I can’t promise anything anymore, my lord.’
‘Then…’
‘The best we can do is ease her pain. The medicine used in treatment was… strong…’
It was horrifying.
His wife was his life.
His jaw clenched tightly.
She was dying.
‘Am I… dying?’
She’d woken just in time to whisper that, smiling faintly.
It felt like he was being pushed off a cliff.
Even as the physician bowed and left, she’d comforted him.
Told him it was okay. Thanked him for loving her all this time.
Her gentle eyes hurt worse than any wound. And he, like a fool, had begged.
Begged not to lose her.
‘I can’t let you go. No matter what it takes—’
She’d caressed his face tenderly.
‘Sears. You need to stay strong. You know this isn’t because of our child. Don’t let blind rage take over. If you do, even the heavens won’t forgive you.’
‘Please.’
‘Save her. Not me—our child. Love her more than anyone. Promise me. And protect her. There may be those who try to use her blessing. Anyone who targets Hillington might try anything. Never, ever let the temple take her again…’
A sigh escaped him.
Each day was terrifying.
He hadn’t even properly introduced their daughter to her mother. It wasn’t safe enough yet to reunite her with her twin sibling.
“My daughter.”
It was pitiful, but for now, coming to see her in the late hours of the night was all he could do.
Dragging a chair beside her crib, he sat quietly, looking down at his child.
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