~TMPM 01~

Chapter 1

Thud.
Tap.
Clack.

Those sounds were none other than the sound effects of various documents being placed in front of me.

“…….”

“Your hand stopped, Rose.”

What a crazy, evil boss.

“Are you perhaps quite free right now?”

I glared silently at the provider of this insane workload in protest, then answered with a shallow sigh and moved my hand again.

My hands were completely stained with ink. The first joint of my middle finger had become even rougher than when I was a student preparing for exams in my previous life!

I seriously found myself missing the laptop keyboard I used to curse at while typing in my past life.

I spat out dozens of complaints in my head, but I couldn’t deny reality, so I focused on the scratching sound of the pen and continued processing the mountain of documents.

How on earth did things end up like this?

I was supposed to have transmigrated into the heroine of this story.

All I did was twist fate a little.

Isn’t it too much for my entire family to go completely bankrupt, dear God…?!

Roselita Salice, the precious only daughter of Baron Salice.

That was the name and status I was given in my second life.

A second life—I’d seen that countless times in novels I read as a hobby, but I never once thought it would happen to me.

If I had known this would be my future, I would have only read soft, healing stories filled with comfort instead of this kind of novel.

Then I might have been reborn as the beloved youngest child, or maybe maid number one who serves that youngest child.

But in my previous life, I read too many novels to escape reality, and the genres were incredibly diverse.

So when I ended up being reborn into one of those many stories—and of all things, into a dark tragedy—I should have realized then.

‘I have unbelievably bad luck.’

But there was a reason I didn’t realize it immediately.

Even though the genre was tragic, the person I transmigrated into wasn’t a villain or a one-line extra.

I was the main character.

‘Even though she nearly died seven times and constantly got kidnapped or threatened, the ending was definitely a happy ending.’

So when I realized I had been reborn as the protagonist of a tragic novel, I honestly did want to change fate.

In my previous life, I was just an ordinary person who relieved stress by watching variety shows and reading novels.

And now I was supposed to be a protagonist who overcomes endless hardships?

There was no way I could do that.

‘Dear God, I don’t know why you placed me in this life, but I am not qualified for it.’

When I was about seven years old and realized this world was the setting of that tragic novel, I confessed my lack of ability to God in my heart.

So I hoped that maybe some ambitious villain or extra who had also transmigrated into this world would take my role instead.

I never wanted to be the protagonist of some grand story.

I just wanted to be the protagonist of my own ordinary, peaceful life. That was enough for me.

The Salice barony I was born into was reasonably stable, and my parents were kind and decent people.

Just like in the original story where they always worried about and supported the heroine, they were exactly the same as my parents here.

So I simply changed my fate a little.

Instead of becoming Roselita, the heroine who gets entangled with the male lead after saving him in childhood, I lived the life of an ordinary rural noble lady.

Up until then, I truly had no idea.

That simply trying to live an ordinary life…

Would come at the cost of my family going completely bankrupt.

‘I’m sorry, Roselita.’

‘Our beloved daughter… and this had to happen the year before your debutante ball….’

If I had known this would happen, I would have started the businesses Roselita did in the original story myself.

Even after selling all our expensive belongings, we barely managed to keep the territory and the mansion. Seeing that, I regretted it deeply.

And we still had debts left to repay.

But what’s done was done.

‘If I touched the protagonist’s role, I felt like I’d really have to live the protagonist’s life….’

But now wasn’t the time to be picky.

Business? You need capital for that.

There was no way a train that had already left the station would suddenly come back.

‘Still, don’t worry too much, Roselita. We will at least protect you no matter what.’

My kind and gentle parents said that, but I wasn’t the type to just sit still and rely on them.

Even in my previous life, I fought desperately just to support myself.

How could I, a perfectly healthy adult, just sit around relying on my parents? That made no sense.

So instead of preparing for a debutante like other noble ladies my age, I entered the job market.

But being a baron’s daughter made it difficult to find work. I had to search everywhere and ask around endlessly.

Most places rejected me just because of my status, or they were illegal businesses.

After countless struggles, I finally managed to find a legitimate, legal job with surprisingly high pay.

Even though that meant becoming the assistant to the male lead…

The male lead. I tried so hard not to get involved with him, and now this.

But humans are weak, and in the end, I submitted the application.

I was about to starve to death—who cares about destiny from a novel? People can’t live without food.

I had hoped never to get involved with the male lead, yet now I was this desperate.

Less than two weeks after submitting the application, I received an interview notice.

And so, in the winter when I was nineteen years old,

I, Roselita Salice, chose to go to the capital to somehow save my family.

Coincidentally, it was the exact same age that Roselita entered the capital with the male lead in the original story.

Thinking back, the red alarm bells had been ringing loudly since that interview.

“Please go in, Miss Salice.”

For some reason, I was the only one who showed up at the interview location.

“We have been waiting for you for a long time, Miss Salice. If your territory had been a bit closer, we would have sent an imperial carriage.”

The male lead—who in the original story was cold to everyone except the heroine—greeted me with an extremely kind and bright attitude.

“Th-Thank you. You flatter me, Your Highness.”

Seeing my awkward response, flustered both by his words and the thought that he might become my boss, he smiled a rather sly smile—something I only realized after working beside him for a while.

“Flatter you? The documents you attached with your resume were so impressive that I thought I would definitely regret it if I missed this opportunity.”

And the arrogant prince, who normally looked down on others, was strangely extremely polite to me, a rural noble lady. Looking back now, everything about it was suspicious.

“The interview is just a formality. I called you here to discuss your working conditions. Since your territory is far away, this will make it easier for you to start work immediately.”

The male lead was truly, incredibly cunning.

He only offered conditions that I could never refuse.

“The working conditions I wish to offer you are written in this document.”

The contract he handed me that day had far better conditions than even my previous life, where labor laws existed—far better than the job advertisement.

[Monthly base salary: 500 gold. Overtime paid at double hourly rate.
Working hours: 8 hours per day, with 1 hour break.
Two-story house provided within 10 minutes by carriage or 30 minutes on foot from workplace, including a maid.
Three meals per day or meal allowance provided.
Monthly clothing allowance: 50 gold.
20 vacation days per year and 4-day work week.
Overtime compensated with either substitute vacation or double pay.
Severance pay upon resignation.]

I didn’t realize that overly good conditions always hide a trap.

So I signed it.

Carefully writing my name:

Roselita Salice.

And now, Roselita Salice thinks this:

“Rose.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“It’s six in the evening. The time you love so much.”

“…….”

I clenched my teeth at those words.

“You’re happy, right? From now on.”

Thud.

He placed another stack of documents on my desk with a sly smile.

“Because it’s overtime with double pay—the thing you love so much.”

Now I finally understood why the salary was ridiculously high for a nineteen-year-old noble lady.

Why the contract included the words “substitute vacation or double pay.”

“Tonight’s dinner is premium eastern region beef cooked medium rare, with seasonal vegetables as garnish. They also prepared low-alcohol wine.”

I should have realized why they provided three meals a day or meal allowances.

It meant frequent overtime and weekend work.

“There really is no workplace better than this, right, Rose?”

He spoke with a beautiful smile—the same smile that made newspaper readers cheer and society ladies sigh in admiration.

Looking at that smile, I forced the corners of my mouth upward.

You devil.

Really.

Dear God…

I really should never have gotten involved with the male lead…