episode_0001

Seo Juha found herself in a strange woman’s body.

When she opened her eyes in the body of a lady named Eleanor de Beaune, her first thought was not the usual mundane observation like ‘a strange ceiling.’

“The bed is disgustingly soft.”

Beneath elegantly curved eyelashes, Eleanor murmured to herself alone, rubbing her heavy eyelids.

The canopy bed with billowy curtains uncomfortably embraced her slender waist. Her body felt unusually wide.

For Seo Juha, accustomed to rough single mattresses, this bed was incredibly unfamiliar.

“Ugh. It’s seriously uncomfortable.”

The girl’s voice, filled with drowsiness, echoed through the large bedroom.

It had been almost two weeks since she had possessed the current blonde lady’s body.

Yet, she couldn’t quite adapt to this grand bed, fit for a princess in a girls’ animation.

It wasn’t just the bed; even the walls and floor were made of low-saturation stone.

From the interior devoid of artificial materials, a chill she had never felt before seeped out of the faded wallpaper and sticky flooring.

Furniture made of proper wood, not cheap plywood or plastic, was different from the start.

Beyond the elegant wood grain, a heavy yet warm woody scent wafted through the air.

The touch of lace brushing against the white flesh on the inner thighs was so ticklish it sent shivers down her spine.

Even though not large, the two fleshy masses that expressed her existence with each movement were incredibly nerve-wracking.

It was filled with overwhelmingly unfamiliar sensations.

Amidst these new stimuli, Eleanor let out a small sigh.

Her first action upon rising from her seat was also something she had never done in reality—pulling the dangling cord near her head.

#.

That day was an ordinary one.

No, it was a slightly luckier day than usual.

Starting her convenience store night shift job to earn her living expenses, even if not her tuition, she spent over a year without rowdy customers, experiencing a quiet night for the first time.

With hardly any customers, there was no need to tidy up the store.

The shelves and fridge were neat as well. Thanks to this, there was no need to squeeze into the cramped fridge or sweat while restocking the shelves.

It was a peaceful night, starting her part-time job.

Juha, beyond the cash register, got lost in the tiny characters of web novels on her app all night long.

Moreover, miraculously, the stories she had pre-saved seemed to update one after another.

The streak of luck throughout the night didn’t end with a peaceful night.

For some reason, the manager who usually arrived late came in early that day.

With the inventory check going smoothly, Juha could leave the cash register earlier than usual.

The manager handed her a lunchbox with a sympathetic look.

Despite its high price for a lunchbox and its lavish contents, it was the meat-filled Double Max lunchbox she had been eyeing for a while.

She didn’t think twice.

Just in case her mind changed, Juha casually accepted the lunchbox.

Thanks to that, her usually enjoyable walk back home was particularly cheerful that day.

Unknowingly, she hummed a tune and swayed her body to a girl group’s song playing through her cheap earphones.

And then.

That streak of luck ended right there.

The much-desired meat-filled Double Max lunchbox remained untasted, as if trying to claim the value of the luck that had lasted all night.

In front of the pedestrian crossing, a convenience store’s logistics truck came rushing towards Juha, who was waiting for the signal.

Normally, it would have been easy to avoid.

However, he had already cranked up the volume on his smartphone as his excitement rose.

While waiting for the long signal at the bustling intersection, he recalled the web novel he had been reading during work, reviewing it in his mind.

Beyond his tilted gaze, what Juha conjured up wasn’t just fleeting memories as commonly thought but something akin to a lifeline, not just because of the worn-out material or merely because it was a romance novel.

It was the latest work of his favorite author that he had only read the prologue of and left untouched.

Each phrase from that prologue lingered in Juha’s mind as his vision turned crimson.

“If I knew it would be like this, I should have followed along instead of leaving it aside.”

That was the last thought Juha recalled from his original world.

#.

“Come to think of it, I’m getting annoyed again! I’m not some Kim Cheomji! And what’s with this reincarnated truck, seriously!”

The sight of the lady tearing at her hair while making incomprehensible noises had become a familiar scene to the servants of Veraun Castle.

She was a lady lost in inexplicable agitation and wandering through scenes.

The castle’s servants simply overlooked the lady’s peculiar behaviors.

This morning was no different.

The maids, wearing black dresses with white aprons, passed by, pretending not to see their lady as they always did. Following suit, Eleanor’s maid duo promptly began tidying up the bedroom she had messed up all night.

“You’ve been coughing a lot. Lady Sophia is waiting for you in the dining room.”

And it was Manuela, the housekeeper of the castle, who approached Eleanor with her hands neatly placed on her hips behind square glasses, looking stern.

“If you were late, you could have come to wake me up yourself.”

The lady, who had stopped her usual morning routine, replied curtly.

Manuela, with a smile that didn’t match her stern demeanor, even extended a rough hand to Eleanor, speaking with an unexpectedly soft voice.

However, at the mention of one word hidden within the soft tone, Eleanor shuddered visibly.

“Lady?”

Hah. A lady. Me, a lady!

It felt suffocating. It seemed like something forcibly stuffed into ill-fitting clothes, wanting to stretch out its neck.

Every time the people of the castle called her “lady,” Eleanor always felt this way.

But she couldn’t pour out that suffocating feeling.

She couldn’t even speak up against the late manager who arrived every day.

Moreover, over the past two weeks, she had witnessed how sincerely the people of the castle treated her.

Even the stern-faced Manuela had burst into tears when Eleanor woke up.

Such people didn’t deserve to be spoken back to by a flawed individual like her.

So Eleanor simply gripped Manuela’s hand, biting down on her lower lip.

Manuela carefully helped Eleanor to her feet.

With her roughened hand contrasting starkly with the small, fair, and soft white hand, Eleanor cautiously led the lady towards the full-length mirror on the left side of the vanity.

The maids, who had finished tidying up the bedroom in no time, stood somewhat reservedly behind Manuella.

Manuella’s white cuffs moved back and forth, signaling the maids to resume their work diligently.

Creak, thud.

The heavy wooden bedroom door made a loud noise as it closed firmly once again.

At the considerable sound, Eleanor swallowed dryly.

“Excuse me, miss.”

Following that, echoing voices of girls from behind.

Facing one of the most awkward tasks during work hours, Eleanor steadied herself.

#

As soon as the words ended, the girls approached Eleanor closely.

Some unbuttoned the night dress down from the slightly raised chest, while others brushed Sophia’s lush hair down.

There was also a girl holding clothes to be changed into behind her.

And Eleanor, the subject in question, gazed at the platinum blonde woman in the mirror with a stern expression, sporting what could be described as a forced smile.

As the maids’ hands worked faster, the front of the dress gradually widened.

Passing over the open shoulders and brushing past the collarbone, a gentle touch made Eleanor furrow her neat golden eyebrows slightly.

The girl behind, combing the lush hair, added with a concerned voice through the mirror, “Miss, are you uncomfortable anywhere?”

Holding the large brush close to her chest, Eleanor gently shook her head at the worried look.

“No, Sophie. I’m fine.”

“Perhaps you don’t like the outfit? Shall I bring another one?”

“Nah, it’s just because I’m a bit tired.”

Having lived as a man for 21 years, what do I know about women’s clothing?

Eleanor forced a smile as she responded.

Through the large mirror, Manuel’s nodding was visible.

Pausing briefly at Sophie’s worried voice, the maids, who had stopped momentarily, began bustling around again at Manuel’s gesture.

One, two.

The buttons of the night dress, which seemed complicated to undo alone, suddenly came undone.

The white dress that was precariously draped over the slightly exposed chest soon succumbed to gravity, flowing down beneath the snow-white legs.

Simultaneously, Eleanor’s slender shoulders trembled faintly.

Is this how a woman’s body naturally is?

Or is this lady’s body exceptional?

The sensation of soft fabric skimming over smooth skin was a significant stimulation for Eleanor, whose memories of being a man were still vivid.

Of course, the trembling of her shoulders was matched by the quiver of her chest.

Really… It’s my body, but I don’t even know, really.

Another worried voice seemed to come through.

Forcing back a sigh that was about to escape, Eleanor looked at the large mirror in front of her.

Behind the mirror, the blonde girl with a chubby face blushing red, revealing white stockings, stared at Eleanor.

Objectively speaking, the girl in the mirror was pretty.

From Eleanor’s perspective, and even from a third-person view, it was the same.

It felt like a character straight out of a novel’s illustration had come to life.

‘Ah… I was a character in a novel.’

Slipping her arms into the white blouse held by the maid, Eleanor pondered these thoughts.

Above her petite face, transparent skin devoid of freckles or blemishes gleamed, showcasing her flawless complexion.

The sky-colored irises in the large eyes beyond the mirror conveyed a refreshing coolness even with just a glance.

Underneath a sharp nose, lips slightly parted as if waking from sleep were moistened with a pink hue.

Somehow, her blushing cheeks, now devoid of puffiness due to recent treatments, exuded an ambiguous charm between girlhood and womanhood from the platinum-haired lady’s face reflected in the mirror.

It wasn’t just about her silky face.

Atop flawless, snow-white skin lay graceful curves only a woman could possess on her chest and hips. While one couldn’t say they were overflowing, at least they had curves hot enough to stir men’s blood. Eleanor’s flushed cheeks testified to that fact.

Beneath a sky-blue long skirt, legs extended elegantly, similar in height to the surrounding girls, yet making Eleanor stand out among them.

“Sigh. Even if I’m this pretty… so what? It’s just a common mask inside.”

As she leaned into the maids buttoning up her blouse, Eleanor thought so.