The Presentation Ball of House Meraki was supposed to announce my future. Instead, I decided to burn it to the ground.

Three years ago, on the eve of my seventh birthday, all the memories of my past life flooded my mind. I had only then remembered my past and my identity and the life I had lived before. At first, the memories seemed like nightmares that visited me every night, each one clearer than the last. But when it fully dawned on me, I felt sick to my stomach. I, Seo Jeong, had died a horrible death—drowning myself in alcohol in my single rundown apartment. I was thirty-five years old at the time of my death, and I had spent my entire life toiling away, playing parent to my two younger siblings after our parents died. I had worked every kind of job: cleaner, loan shark, pickpocket, waiter, prostitute. There was nothing under the sun I had not done to put food on the table for my siblings. But when time passed and both of them made decent lives for themselves, all I had left were dreams of what could have been and envy for those who had succeeded, who had lived better lives than I had. I drowned in unquenchable sorrow and grief, and eventually it killed me.

A few months before my death, I had hauled myself into my single room like a hikikomori and read an amateur manhwa called The Burning Nights of Valtherion. The story was good—a basic love story—but it had many unanswered plot holes that infuriated me at the time. When I finally woke up in this world and regained my memories, I found that I had been reborn as a secondary villainess in the book. Evelyn Vaelor of House Meraki was the fiancée of the crown prince, the main male lead in a heart-wrenching period drama set in a historical fantasy of the Victorian era. Like all romance manhwas of this time, Evelyn would play the villainess who bullies the main female lead to further the romance plot, after which she and her family would be punished and the main characters would live happily ever after.

Not this time, though.

The banquet was going very well. The music was lively, and the room shone with a warm, magical glow. The floors and pillars were marble, and the chandeliers' light bounced off them, making the room feel almost enchanted. I had just finished a dance with the eldest son of House Blackthorn—my father's closest ally—when the Emperor, who was the main guest, raised his cup for a toast. The music fell silent, and the audience turned their attention to him with eagerness. This was the main moment of the night. This was when I would be announced as the betrothed to the crown prince.

"Evelyn Vaelor, daughter of the Earl of Meraki, please come forward," the Emperor announced.

I walked forward. I was short, with long red hair and striking light blue eyes. I wore a beautiful red gown. People murmured in anticipation.

I stood before the Emperor with determination. "Your Highness." I curtsied. "I'd like to say something, if you'd allow it." I grinned. The Emperor gave a light chuckle of amusement. "Please allow me to give my honest thoughts. Should I offend you, then I'll also like to pick my punishment."

"Go ahead. I approve."

This was the cue. My father had instructed me to say, childishly, that I fancied the young prince who stood beside His Majesty. Then the Emperor would say my words did not offend and that I would be his fiancée. It was all carefully planned out. But I had my own plans. Plans to make a scene like none before.

I took a deep breath and bowed.

"Every single one of you is inbred. That is why you look the way you do. That is why the mortality rate increases with each generation. That is why our empire has so many sick and crippled nobles. And that is why I refuse to marry your son." The words came out steady. "The Duke of Raven wants more protection—his dukedom is in ashes from constant war. The Duke of Ashford wants food and wealth because the population of Blackthorn is too large. And the Duke of Blackthorn just wants power. And you—" I pointed to the Emperor. "What is it that you desire so badly that you would tie the heir of this empire to the daughter of a mere earl? You fear my father's position. An Earl of Meraki, a stronghold of House Blackthorn. A man of House Verdina and the in-law of an independent military stronghold, Ismere. So with all your wit, the greatest men of the empire decided the solution to their problems was to hold each other hostage by forcing their children into marriage and engagement as a type of political ransom."

I scoffed and started laughing, almost hysterically. The banquet hall was silent. The faces of the nobles were scrunched up—some in fear, some in worry, but most in anger.

The Presentation to Society Ball was a rite of passage for all children in Valtherion, marking their entrance into society. Prior to this, they were never seen or even mentioned. A child was considered to be in great danger of disease, death, and the so-called evil eye, so a child's existence was only ever brought to light once they turned ten years old. In reality, the hunger to maintain pure bloodlines had resulted in so much inbreeding that most noble children were born with horrific birth defects, and few made it past ten. The few who did survive were then presented to society in an almost victorious manner. This, however, was a more common issue among lowborn nobles who were constantly fighting to retain their titles.

A girl of House Meraki drew the attention of many nobles. The Earl of Meraki was an influential man. He had two sons: the oldest, Raymond, was the heir of Meraki at sixteen years old, and he spent most of his time reading. The second son, Louis, was fourteen and being propped up to be an aide to the crown prince. And now the Earl presented his youngest child—a daughter. Greedy nobles rushed from all over to secure an engagement with the young girl, for power, for wealth, for whatever reason would present itself.

"You use soul contracts on thieves and slaves, and sometimes even engagements and business partners, but you draw the line at political houses, so your children's lives become the next best option. Right?" I said sarcastically. "House Ashford wants to secure wealth and food security, yet you haven't even tried farming for yourselves—but the land has red volcanic soil, like Verdina. And House Raven has been asking for more soldiers and more war funding but is being ignored because you can't cut your party budget here in the capital. Yet you have the guile to fear rebellion in the outer dukedoms. If I had to bear the brunt of two hundred years of war, I would revolt without a second thought, to be fair. But here they are, begging for support.

"And then there is my father, who has been a loyal man all his life serving the empire so diligently, yet he is the subject of your suspicion. Sixty years ago, Meraki was a slum town. Now it's a leading industrial town, with its citizens—both noble and common—living lavishly in wealth. My grandfather and my father did that. Not for the throne, but for the people. So why make this convoluted plan to hold me hostage just to keep my father from revolting? He never planned to, and he never will.

"I will not become a chess piece in your game. Besides, why would I spend my life learning to be the wife of a man who has no interest in me whatsoever? I don't want to marry your son, and I have no desire to become an empress, let alone a fiancée to the crown prince."

At this, my father launched himself forward and grabbed my shoulder. "But Evelyn, you said you liked the crown prince," he said, worry in his tone.

"When did I say that? And even if I said it in passing, I am a child. Today I might say I like dogs; tomorrow I'll say I like cats. Let's not determine my future over the whims of a child."

My father seemed taken aback. Murmurs started to erupt from the audience.

The Emperor raised his hand, and the banquet hall fell silent again. "You said you wanted free rein to speak, and I allowed it. You said you wanted to mete out your own punishment should you cross the line, and it amused me, so I allowed it. But to compare my heir—the future morning sun of our empire—to cats and dogs, I will not allow. So state your punishment. Should it not satisfy my rage, then we shall leave here having never seen nor heard of the daughter of this house."

His voice boomed and echoed in the empty hall. Shivers ran down my spine for the first time in months. Was I making the right choice? His words meant I would be put to death, right? Was my plan an idiotic move? No. This wasn't the time to falter. I took a deep breath and bowed.

"Very well," I said calmly. "My punishment is this: I will be banished to the war front of Ismere to live with my maternal grandparents. I will never marry into any noble house. I will only be allowed to meet and mingle with nobles from my family, and until my thirtieth birthday, I shall be barred from high society as a whole. Does that satisfy your anger?"

Murmurs spread fast within the banquet hall.

Social suicide. That was what the young child had pronounced on herself. In truth, the Emperor would not have sentenced the girl to death, but hearing her mete out a punishment that even the worst of noble women had yet to receive made him anxious. Did she know what she was asking for? Did she understand the meaning behind her words? And what exactly was her motive or goal behind all of this? What a strange child, the Emperor thought. The punishment Evelyn had passed on herself was so severe that the nobles who had been full of rage were now almost pitying the young child. It was as if they had finally realized the person speaking was only ten years old.

"Yes, it does," the Emperor said.

A sentence had been passed. What could a child of this age really be after? the Emperor thought. But once a royal decree was passed, it could not be undone, however cruel or unjust it might be.

Raymond rushed forward to grab his sister's hand but was met with indifferent eyes that seemed almost resentful. "What is the meaning of this, Eve? You are ruining us!" he half-yelled. "Apologize right now!"

"I will not." I turned to the Emperor once more. "Then, if you will excuse me, I will prepare to leave by tomorrow."

I bowed and turned. The hall was quiet. My family stood in shock. From the corner of my eye, I saw my mother faint. My father rushed to catch her. I saw Raymond and Louis standing by. I felt the eyes of the other noble children follow me, and the eyes of hundreds of adults, and the Emperor himself, watching the small child as she walked away.

"What just happened?" "What was that?" "Why would a child do such a thing?"

By the time I got back to my room, the banquet hall was clearing out. The band that had been hired to animate the event were packing up noisily as they discussed the events of the day. The noble carriages were pulling out of the courtyard, and I could hear murmurs even from my room on the second floor. I had already hired maids to pack my belongings beforehand.

This was it. This was the day I had anticipated for so long. But I couldn't help but feel sad. It wasn't that I had wanted to leave this family—in fact, I had grown to care for them dearly. But if I stayed, the story would play out like the original book, and before the ending, this family would be met with disaster. Maybe if I didn't get involved, I could keep them safe in my own way.

As for now, I was finally free. Finally free to live out my life as I pleased.

It had taken me a long time to grasp the fact that I had somehow transmigrated to the world of a shoddily written book. At one point, I even imagined these were my last thoughts as I died. But days turned to weeks, weeks to months, months to years, and I had no choice but to accept that this was who I was now. I mourned myself enough over the years. When that pain subsided and the ache of regret passed, a new conviction brewed within me. I wanted to escape and live the life I deserved.

The main plot of the manhwa was based in the capital, in high society. I thought of how I would escape my duties and my role in this world, and so I came up with a plan: offend the Emperor and exit high society. Was it a brilliant idea? No. But was this my only chance? Yes.

I swore that in this life, I would be all that I ever wanted to be.