Chapter 2
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Reincarnated in a Doomed World
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1. Reincarnated in a novel destined for ruin.
Three weeks before the incident.
So, here's my story.
I was hit by a car, died, and was reincarnated in a novel.
Usually, when you hear about someone being reincarnated or transmigrating into a novel, you picture a noble lady in a glamorous dress, surrounded by handsome men, living a life of luxury.
I, too, lived a life similar to that until recently. The key phrase being ‘until recently.’
This world, reminiscent of 19th-century Europe with its burgeoning industry, had a class system, a high society, and an abundance of parties—
But it’s all about to be destroyed. By a virus.
I was reincarnated into *Love in a Ruined World*, a B-grade apocalypse survival romance novel.
And not just as anyone, but as Cherry Sinclair, a troublesome side character who dies after endangering the second male lead’s life.
I became aware of this fact in the early spring of my nineteenth year.
My parents died in an accident three years ago, leaving me all alone in the world.
I wasn’t lonely, though. The enormous inheritance I received made sure of that.
‘Money is the best. Of course.’
I wasn't a noble, but being born into the bourgeoisie with more money than any aristocrat, I lived a happy life.
I could just party like a wild child and squander all my money!
“I’ll take this one, and wrap that one up, too.”
That day, I was on another extravagant shopping spree at a shoe store. Afterward, I hummed a tune as I strutted across the main street, making a show of it.
My maid, Susanna, struggled behind me, her arms full of shopping bags. It was a deliberately conspicuous sight.
I could hear the noble ladies who recognized me whispering.
“Isn’t that Lady Sinclair?”
“Whose design is that dress she’s wearing today?”
“That hat is lovely.”
Hmph. I swept my hair back and smiled with satisfaction.
I wasn’t a noble, but all the aristocrats admired me. It was a thrilling and pleasant feeling.
The papers were always running special features about me, the spoiled heiress, but I didn't mind. I took it as another form of attention.
Until that moment, I had been living so thoughtlessly, oblivious to the dark clouds gathering on my horizon.
“My lady, please wait just a moment.”
After we finished shopping, Susanna began loading the packages into the four-wheeled carriage. There was no room for them in the steam-powered automobile I used for transport.
I stood by and watched her. The boxes, filled with shoes, were heavy, and she grunted with the effort.
‘She looks like she’s struggling.’
I checked to see if anyone was around, then lifted the boxes with one hand and placed them inside the carriage.
“Wow… You’re so strong, my lady.”
Susanna clapped her hands, looking at me. I shrugged as if it were nothing. As she said, I was stronger than most people.
I wasn’t born this way. As a child, I was frail. But one day, after taking some medicine my parents had acquired, I developed this strength over the years.
However, superhuman strength is not a virtue for an upper-class woman. The old me, a thoughtless girl who desperately wanted to become a noble, had hidden this power at all costs.
“Hm?”
As I was about to get into the steam car after all the luggage was loaded, a sudden chill ran down my spine. With one foot already inside, Susanna looked at me and asked.
“Is something wrong, my lady?”
“No, it’s just…”
‘What is this ominous feeling?’
A strange sensation suddenly enveloped me. Thinking it was just my imagination, I tried to step into the car again, but I lost my balance, missed the step, and fell.
Thwack!
I hit my head on the ground.
Ugh. I instinctively swallowed my scream. A shocked Susanna helped me up.
The pain of smacking the back of my head on the hard ground was immense. It felt as if someone had split my skull in two with an axe, like cracking open a watermelon.
And through that crack, memories suddenly came pouring in. Like a flood.
Memories that felt like mine, yet not mine, yet mine all the same, surfaced vividly, as if they had happened only yesterday.
‘What is all this?’
And just like that, I came to a realization.
What in the world! I had a past life.
And this world I was reincarnated into was from a novel I had read in that past life.
A novel called *Love in a Ruined World*.
Damn it, what kind of novel-like situation is this?
Life is made up of crappy timing, or so the heroine of some survival novel once said.
“My lady, are you really alright?”
“I’m fine.”
In truth, I wasn't fine at all, but I let Susanna help me into the car.
My head was still throbbing. Leaning back against the seat, I began to think.
The novel I remembered just now, thanks to hitting my head, was the apocalypse survival romance, *Love in a Ruined World*.
*Love in a Ruined World*, or *Doomed Love* for short, was a story about the heroine, Aurora, gathering male leads after the world’s collapse to form a ‘survival team’ and search for a cure.
The novel featured various survivors and the camps they built, where the size of the camp was a direct measure of power.
And the protagonist, Aurora, conquered these camps one by one, seizing power for herself.
But the problem was…
‘The novel was left unfinished.’
Without ever properly revealing why the virus had spread in the first place.
The only things clearly mentioned were that the heroine’s party would meet the scientist male lead, who had the ability to develop a cure, two years later.
And that only then would they discover that the heroine’s brother, Ethan, was an antibody carrier.
Damn it.
And that wasn't all. In the original story, all Cherry did was whine that Aurora’s group wasn't taking care of her.
Cherry’s end came when she threw a tantrum and was bitten and killed by a virus-infected monster. XX.
“My lady, are you crying?”
Susanna, sitting beside me, looked surprised as she offered me a handkerchief.
I had been quietly shedding tears while leaning my head against the seat. I answered Susanna.
“No, this is sweat.”
“…Pardon?”
Susanna asked again, a confused look on her face.
I took the handkerchief from her and wiped the teardrops from my cheeks.
Right. I’m not sad. These aren’t tears.
Of all the novels to be reincarnated into, why did it have to be *Love in a Ruined World*? Why an apocalypse, of all things!
XX. Why is this happening to me?
* * *
Benton, the capital of the Kingdom of Graydon.
The Sinclair family townhouse, located in the heart of the city, had a magnificent exterior.
Gilded statues carved into the pristine white walls flaunted the mansion’s grandeur, and the roof was covered in a thick layer of lavender.
It was a clear sign that the owner of the mansion prioritized ‘opulence’ over ‘harmony.’
On the third floor of the building was the largest room, complete with a walk-in closet.
A three-tiered tray, always filled with desserts, sat on the room’s table, and a scented candle constantly burned, filling the air with a soft floral fragrance.
Next to it was a bed adorned entirely in gold, and I was lying on that very bed.
I had been lying there listlessly since returning home, not even eating.
I wanted to deny this unbelievable reality!
In a world where the Co*ona virus had spread, I was a unicorn who had never even had a PCR test. I had been thanking God for my good luck, only to die in a sudden traffic accident.
And now, I’m reborn in a world from a novel that’s about to be destroyed by a virus? The difficulty level has been seriously upgraded.
‘So that’s why you let me be a unicorn. To screw me over even more.’
“If I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree today.”
There’s a famous saying like that, isn’t there?
But Cherry Sinclair of this world had lost her family not long ago and had no one left to love. And of course, she couldn't care less about apple trees.
I had no friends because I was always traveling the world for my parents’ business, and I didn’t even have a single cousin.
‘Ah. There is Harrison, though.’
Harrison Howard.
He was the Sinclair family’s legal advisor. We weren't blood-related, but we grew up together, so he was like an older brother to me.
I hadn’t known the staff of the Sinclair mansion for very long, so the only one I felt any attachment to was probably my personal maid, Susanna.
As I lay in bed crying, Susanna came to my room.
“Lady Cherry. The newspapers you asked for.”
In her hands was a stack of newspapers from various dates. I rubbed my eyes, sat up, and took them from her.
“Thank you.”
I immediately began to scan the papers. After looking through several for a while, I finally found the article I was looking for.
[A Deep Dive into Cherry Sinclair’s Spending Habits! How Far Will the Spoiled Heiress’s Extravagance Go…!]
Ah, not this one.
The article included an analysis of my spending habits and pictures of the dresses I had worn.
Whenever the clothes and jewelry I wore were featured in a newspaper or magazine, the designs would become a huge hit.
‘Everyone points fingers, but they’re still so interested in me.’
I shook my head and read the article below it.
[Large-Scale Funeral Held at the Household of Marquis Casey! Family Spokesman Reveals the Deceased Were Household Servants Suffering from an Infectious Disease…!]
This is it.
Just as I remembered from my past life, something was happening at the household of Marquis Casey.
‘I’m going crazy. Does this mean my past life memories are real?’
The tragedy of this novel begins with the Marquis of Casey’s suspicious experiments. Alchemists, sponsored by the marquis, ended up unleashing a devastating virus after a series of unethical experiments, and the family covered up the truth to avoid responsibility.
In the novel, the world was destroyed exactly three months after this article was published…
I quickly checked the publication date of the article. Two months had already passed!
“No, damn it, what is this?”
There were only 21 days left until the end of the world. Less than a month.
“This is insane, 21 days is too soon!”
I clutched my head in despair.