“My dearest, you will always be my number one. I’m sorry I won’t live long enough to see you grow.”

A child held the woman’s hand while looking at her with warm eyes.

“The duke will take care of you in my absence. I had promised that I will protect you.” The frail woman slowly got up as she took off her seashell necklace and put it around the child’s neck.

“I will leave you with my pearl. To remember me, to always know that I will be with you.”

In This life, I was reborn inside a romance novel as the pathetic villainess Selene Castellance. Selene was the adoptive child of Duke Castellance and the future villainess of the Novel “Tears of Neptune”. she had beautiful aquamarine eyes and platinum silver hair. Just like her name indicated, Selene was the perfect incarnation of the moon itself. She was a neglected child who was simply the duke’s “work of charity”. According to society, the duke could not bear the loss of the great opera singer who stole his heart. Thus, he took in her child in his care as the promise he once made to his lover.

“My lady, the duke calls for you.”

“Tell his grace I shall be there shortly.”

It has been 6 years since I became a member of house Castellance. I rarely saw the duke or his children. I often kept myself confined within the winter mansion, hoping to stay away from any characters or the plot itself. I knew that I couldn’t escape from it forever and now that I was 17, I was eligible to be a candidate that could become empress. Even as the dukes “work of charity”, I was imply brought in to secure a position within the royal family. I lacked the signature red hair and garnet eyes of house Castellance. But his daughter, Irene, used to be a frail young lady whose health was a constant threat to her life. So, in other words, I was brought to be her replacement.

My maid Artemis escorted me to the main mansion. It wasn’t hard to predict what the duke had wanted; the debutante ball was approaching as I had to make an appearance to society. I had once thought that curing Irene would cause me to be removed from the duchy and follow my own path, I intended to become a pianist just like my previous life. When I found out I possessed light magic, the essence of all magic and a rare attribute. I thought I could use my hidden talent to cure the duke’s daughter and be removed at once since I had no purpose afterwards. However, I was wrong. When Irene was cured, she had debuted and fell in love with a marquis.

“Artemis, wait for me here so we can return to the mansion together.”

“Yes, my lady.”

I smiled at her as the butler guided me towards the duke’s office. The butler knocked then entered announcing my arrival. I took in a deep breath as I stepped forward.

“I see you still call that hideous thing your maid.” He spoke while he looked at the window.

“Indeed, your grace. Artemis is my most beloved maid.” I replied in a cold voice, while my eyes stare directly into his. It was true that Artemis was a demi-human, a race treated so unfairly that even the title of a maid was an honor to bestow upon them.

“You are to meet with the crown prince tomorrow and get to know him.” The duke spoke while he took a seat on his chair. I raised an eyebrow at him, it was unpleasant news.

“It is about time you repay my kindness for raising you. In fact, I think I’m doing you a favor by allowing you to become empress in the stead of Irene.”

“You will do as I say, or you can say goodbye to your precious maid.” The duke spoke once again.

I nodded in response while clenching my fists as I exited the study. I was running out of time and Artemis was the only one I couldn’t think about losing. At this point, my last resort was to be engaged to another.