Joohyun (Lisrene)

Chapter 1

Joohyun hated opening her eyes every morning.

'Ah...this damn migraine. Why must I go through the same pain twice in a lifetime?'

Joohyun held her aching head and got up. Her life followed the exact path of her dream. Once she started menstruating at age 15, she began suffering from massive migraines at least once a month and at most about three to four times a month. Though it wasn't serious, it would turn out to be a chronic illness tormenting her for the rest of her life.

By the time Joohyun turned 18 years old, she truly believed she had seen her own future in her dream. She had put in a lot of effort. Many things about her future had changed already.

But sometimes, the future was inevitable, and nothing could be done to change it. For example, in the summer when she was 13 years old, there had been a heavy downpour of rain, which had flooded the whole first floor of the royal palace. The following winter, a cold spell due to the flood had caused a shortage of firewood. She had spent the entire winter shivering with cold.

When she turned 15, she began menstruating and suffering migraines. Such was the power the future held. Even knowing what would happen next, it wasn't possible to change it.

When she turned 19, the King would die. Joohyun would be sold to the piggish Count Matin. That was part of the future Joohyun couldn't change. As she realized this, she fell in despair. What was the point of knowing the future? It felt like the heavens were pulling her leg, turning everything into a big joke.

She confined herself in her room in hopelessness, but she let it all go only a few days later . 'Even if I starve myself to death here, nobody will know.' It was like a breath of fresh air; she no longer felt the heavy burden of sorrow weighing on her heart.

Joohyun opened her windows. The cold morning air flooded into the room. She leaned against the windowsill and let the icy wind blast against her entire body. It was as if she was facing against her own cold destiny.

She was now tall enough to place her hands against the windowsill and lean out to look at the outside world. She took after her mother, so she had a small body frame. Her hair was reddish brown much like the rest of the population, but she had pumpkin orange eyes that glittered like gold and stood out from the rest. Other than that, she looked like any other person one could find on the street.

Even so, it wasn't like she didn't have any appeal. She had a pale but glowing complexion, so dressing up a bit let her display her charm. Usually, her allure remained dormant. She never needed a corset due to her thin waist. Her frail frame could incite most men's protective instinct. However, she didn't belong to the upper aristocracy, thus none of her charms could be appreciated.

"Let's see. I'm out of firewood and I'm running low on potatoes and eggs."

She was currently standing beside her creaky old wooden table, taking inventory of her life necessities. She had carelessly tied her long hair into a ponytail, and her plain poplin dress looked almost identical to the royal palace's maid uniform. In her current state, nobody would think she was a princess.

"I should go request for the necessary goods today."

It was improper for Princess Joohyun to do this herself, but it had become natural after a few years. There wasn't a single official maid residing in her palace at the moment. Thankfully, the place wasn't that big, so it wasn't too much trouble. The top floor of the palace had been blocked off for safety reasons ever since she had first arrived here. Currently, part of the first floor was also closed off. The only living spaces she could use were her bedroom and a few other rooms.

At first, she had five maids waiting on her. But they were crude and could not be considered palace maids at all.

The royal maids had their own pride. The servants who attended to the esteemed nobles were all called 'maids', but there were different ranks among them.