Chapter 2: TPTWM

How is anyone supposed to eat this?

Between two pieces of bread so hard they were difficult to chew sat a single shriveled cucumber.

A small smear of butter in a suspicious color that looked one step away from spoiling.

This breakfast tasted absolutely awful.

I wasn’t expecting steak or anything, but this is too much.

I’d even take cup ramen or a triangle kimbap at this point…

Anything but this cold, stale food!

After forcing myself to fill my stomach, I headed to the bathroom, only to find freezing bathwater waiting for me.

The moment I dipped a hand into the worn bathtub, I shuddered violently.

Cold!

Even the Fraisier family probably wouldn’t wash their horses in icy water like this.

At this point, something felt strange.

Was Tullia really this poor?

Sure, I understood that Tullia’s father, Marquis Fraisier, was such a petty man that he refused to send child support to his own daughter.

But Tullia was currently staying in the Grand Duke’s castle.

Shouldn’t there at least be a budget for basic living expenses?

It wasn’t even about luxury. There was no way the legitimate granddaughter of the Grand Duke should be living like a beggar.

A strong sense that something was wrong hit me.

No, this was just the instinct of Han Ina, someone who had grown up carefully reading the room in her own home since childhood.

Besides, even when Corico first starts Bread of Honey and Wheat, she doesn’t live this miserably.

And Corico was an illegitimate child looked down on for having slave blood mixed in her lineage.

“Ugh… so cold…”

Even though I had only washed my face, my whole body trembled like a leaf.

I buried myself under the blanket, waiting for my body temperature to return, and must have passed out.

What was that?

When I opened my eyes at a faint sound, I caught sight of a maid hurriedly fleeing outside the door.

“Excuse me…”

Even though I called out groggily, the maid didn’t look back once.

Bang!

The door slammed shut.

It was the kind of attitude people used toward someone carrying an infectious disease.

Anyone could see that the servants were openly avoiding their mistress, Tullia.

It would’ve made sense if this were after Tullia had started abducting unrelated maids and selling them off.

But right now, she was just a pitiful young lady who didn’t even know how to do something like that yet.

In other words, they were blatantly looking down on her.

Freeze to death, starve to death, or die from humiliation.

I had no intention of choosing any of those options.

I immediately threw off the blanket and stood up.

“Don’t underestimate my years of experience with Bread of Honey and Wheat.”

Because I’d played the game for so long, I knew exactly who was in charge of the household finances of the Fraisier Grand Ducal estate, a family second only to the imperial household itself.

Just as I took my first step to go find him—

“...?!”

I froze in shock.

I couldn’t help it.

“What is this?”

A translucent status window began floating in the air before me.

[System: Status Window]
Tullia Fraisier (15 years old)

• Coins Owned: 1,000

Stats

• Personality: -10
• Beauty: 8
• Ability: -10
• Wealth: -9
• Luck: -10

Overall Rating: F-

My eyes widened.

Am I dreaming while standing up?

I stared blankly at it for a moment before an odd sense of familiarity washed over me.

I’ve seen this screen somewhere before.

The hazy memory suddenly became crystal clear.

“No way… Bread of Honey and Wheat?”

My eyes widened.

I remembered it at last.

This was the interface screen from Bread of Honey and Wheat, the game I had been playing right up until my death.

In simpler terms—

A status window.

Why was this appearing in front of me? Was I hallucinating?

Then, a thought crossed my mind.

“Don’t tell me… I’m supposed to raise Tullia instead of Corico, just like in the game…?”

No way…

“...!”

At that moment, brightly colored text exploded before my eyes like a loudspeaker announcement.

[System: Main Quest Activated!]

Main Objective: Repentance for Your Sins

You are trash!
You’re poor, unlucky, and hated by everyone!
(Except for one person.) Nobody loves you!

Goal:

Achieve Rank A before the “real one” appears!

Failure Penalty:

Death

The powerful word death snapped me back to reality.

I hurriedly steadied myself and reread the floating text.

Achieve Rank A before the “real one” appears!

Rank A? Before the real one appears?

Then it hit me.

“Don’t tell me… Corico?”

Obviously, it meant Corico, the original protagonist of Bread of Honey and Wheat.

And that was how the game originally began.

The story started the moment Corico entered this family.

In other words, I had to reach Rank A before Corico appeared if I wanted to survive.

Isn’t this difficulty level insane?

With despair in my eyes, I checked the stat window again.

[System: Status Window]
Tullia Fraisier (15 years old)

• Coins Owned: 1,000

Stats

• Personality: -10
• Beauty: 8
• Ability: -10
• Wealth: -9
• Luck: -10

Overall Rating: F-

Is it even possible to survive with stats this terrible? And how am I supposed to reach Rank A?

Corico, the game’s original protagonist, had a far easier starting point.

Not only were her starting stats much better, but her overall rating began at a perfectly average C.

Unless you deliberately aimed for the hidden bad ending, reaching F- was practically impossible.

And to achieve Rank A, I’d inevitably have to get entangled with the male leads too…

BANG! BANG!

Just then, the bedroom door flew open with a noise loud enough to sound like the wood might split apart.

“Hey, beggar.”

This guy whose face practically screamed looking for a fight was Tedric.

Of all people, I had to see him first.

He was Tullia’s cousin. His father, Viscount Lilius, was the younger brother of Marquis Fraisier—Tullia’s father.

And the person managing the Grand Ducal estate’s finances was none other than Viscount Lilius himself.

How thoughtful of him to show up before I even had the chance to go find his father.

Just from one glance, Tedric Fraisier’s hostility toward Tullia looked enormous.

Ah, right.

In Bread of Honey and Wheat, the two of them had a terrible relationship.

Tullia bullied Corico, and Tedric constantly clashed with her while protecting Corico.

But Corico wasn’t even here yet, so why was he picking a fight already?

Judging by his expression alone, Tedric Fraisier looked more like the villain.

As I silently stared at him, Tedric frowned, apparently offended.

“What are you staring at with those big eyes, you filthy beggar?”

Thanks to Tullia’s memories flowing into me, it was easy to predict what he’d say next.

First: insulting Tullia’s residence.

“By the way, your warehouse— no, your castle— looks like it’s about to collapse every time I see it.”

Next: mocking Tullia’s circumstances.

“Well, I guess Grandfather did place you under indefinite confinement, so what can you do?”

And finally: insulting Tullia’s life itself.

“Oh right, but it’s true your father abandoned you, so why did you throw such a tantrum at the banquet? That’s why you’re stuck looking like a pathetic beggar. How embarrassing.”

Ah, this bastard.

Same pattern as always.

Honestly, when I was just playing the game, I never realized it.

But now that I had become Tullia, I truly couldn’t understand.

Why was it that in Bread of Honey and Wheat, everyone in the Fraisier family except Tullia was portrayed as a kind supporting character?

Did they all only act like angels toward Corico?

Or was the heroine’s blessing so powerful that it transformed even people like this into saints?

Even someone who constantly mocked Tullia for living in a “warehouse” instead of a castle?

“Hey! Are you ignoring me? A discarded beggar sure has a lot of pride!”

When I still didn’t react, Tedric’s voice rose in irritation, probably thinking I was looking down on him.