Rofan Rule #1: Don’t You Dare Break the Original Story - Chapter 2

Suddenly becoming a short little kid whose fine motor skills weren’t even fully developed was extremely hard to adjust to. As if something had been connected wrong, her arms and legs wouldn’t move the way she wanted.

Because of that, it took quite a while just to learn how to walk on two feet.

‘Back then, it was a real disaster…’

The first time she went around on all fours while flipped over, the mansion was thrown into complete chaos. The way she couldn’t keep her neck still and kept whipping her head around looked like a scene straight out of a horror film.

In the end, Duke Avery secretly summoned a clergyman away from the public eye. The priest, radiating holiness from head to toe, splashed cold holy water right over her head.

‘Evil spirit! Begone from Agnes’s body at once!’

At the time, she really thought she might disappear. After all, she was technically a ghost clinging to Anne Agnes’s body. But since she still hadn’t disappeared, maybe she wasn’t an evil spirit… right?

With a clack, the carriage door opened. Anne Agnes’s father, Russell Avery, held out his hand to her.

“Let’s go in.”

“Yes, Father.”

Anne placed her fingertips onto his large palm. No matter how many times she looked, they were sigh-inducingly small. Just like her hands, she carefully stepped out of the carriage with her tiny feet.

The sight spread out before her made Anne’s eyes widen.

A vast garden decorated with flowers of every color. Noble ladies dressed in dazzling gowns. Yes, this was what a romance fantasy should look like. Her heart began to pound.

In the center of the garden, the party had been prepared. Since today’s guest of honor was a child, it seemed the event would be held lightly in the lush garden rather than in stiff formality. Duke Avery led his daughter toward the party venue. The Duchess had already joined the noblewomen and was chatting among them.

The one celebrating his birthday today was the current queen’s eldest son, the prince who stood first in line to the throne. It was no wonder the entire capital was in an uproar. But Anne knew something even more important, something others did not.

Logan was actually the male lead of the original story. And today was the day the male lead and the female lead would meet for the first time. This very place was where the romance began, the fresh first love that would start today. In the original, it only appeared briefly as a flashback, but still.

She had finally stepped onto the stage of the original. She was looking forward to the male lead and female lead as well as the other characters, but Anne especially wanted to meet Diane and Violet as soon as possible. In the original, their presence was practically nonexistent, minor villain side characters, but they were the close friends who stayed on Anne Agnes’s side until the very end. Would they become her friends too? Since Anne hadn’t been very socially active even in her previous life, she found herself quite excited.

Her steps slowed on their own from anticipation. Duke Avery asked gently,

“Would you like to rest for a moment if you’re tired?”

“No. I’m fine, Father.”

Anne quickly shook her head. Afraid he might change his mind, she tightened her grip on his hand. Russell Avery stared silently at the small hand clutching his firmly, then let out a quiet chuckle. Anne grinned up at her father as well. Yes, this much made her second life a success.

As they drew closer to the party, the faces of the guests became clear. The first to catch Anne’s eye was a young girl with pink hair. A girl who seemed to shine alone even within the crowd, the female lead, Marilyn, had appeared.

Near the fountain, around a low table laid out with refreshments, noble children under the age of ten had gathered. But to Anne, only Marilyn was visible. True to being the owner of the setting’s greatest beauty and personality, she stood out even among her peers.

‘So insanely gorgeous…!’

Anne snorted excitedly through her nose. The thought of finding the friends the original had matched her with had already been pushed to the back of her mind.

She wanted to run over and join them immediately. Duke Avery could clearly read that feeling as well, but he couldn’t bring himself to let go of her hand right away. He couldn’t help being worried. After all, Anne Agnes had been crawling along the outer walls of the country estate just a few weeks ago.

Anne looked up at her father with pleading eyes.

“I want to… make friends.”

At his daughter’s words, a trace of sorrow crossed Russell Avery’s face. Before and after the fever, Anne Agnes had never had any friends. That was partly because of her frail constitution, and partly because of the circumstances of House Avery.

Given House Avery’s tendency to keep a certain distance from other houses, there were few opportunities to make friends before reaching the age to enter high society. If she didn’t step forward herself at a gathering like this, Anne might never make friends at all.