I opened my eyes.

The ceiling above me was white, spotless, and unfamiliar. Sunlight spilled through a curtain I didn’t recognize, casting soft golden stripes across a bed that wasn’t mine. My chest tightened. This wasn’t my room.

Pushing the blanket aside, I sat up slowly, my gaze darting around. Everything was strange—the pale walls, the framed photographs of people I didn’t know, the faint scent of lavender mixed with something warm and sweet, like freshly baked bread.

I stumbled toward a tall mirror in the corner. My breath caught in my throat.

A woman stared back at me.

She had long, silky black hair that tumbled past her shoulders, light brown eyes framed with thick lashes, and a curvy figure dressed in loose pajamas. She was beautiful—too beautiful—but she wasn’t me.

“This… this isn’t me,” I whispered, my voice trembling.

Before I could make sense of it, a strange sound broke the silence. A sharp chime. Then another. My eyes darted to the bed, where something was glowing.

“What… is that?” I muttered.

I picked it up—a smooth, bright, rectangular object, its light so harsh it made my eyes water. On its surface was an image. A man’s face. Smiling. Looking right at me.

“How is this possible?” My voice was barely audible.

I turned the object over in my hands, searching for some clue. My fingers brushed over part of it, and suddenly it came alive.

“Lina. Good morning, my love,” a warm male voice said.

I froze, my grip tightening.

“Lina? Who’s Lina? Who are you? And… and how the hell is this rectangle talking?”

There was a pause, then the voice returned with a sigh.

“Lina, it’s me—Max. Your fiancé. Did you forget to take your pills again? That ‘rectangle’ you’re talking about… it’s your phone.” His tone shifted, more concerned now. “I’m calling Aunt Jessie.”

Before I could respond, the glowing rectangle went silent.

The door burst open, making me flinch. A woman stood there, framed in the doorway, her eyes wide and searching my face.

“Lina… come and eat breakfast,” she said softly.

“Who… who are you?” I asked, my voice shaking.

Her eyes widened further, and for a moment, she didn’t speak. Then, in a trembling voice, she said, “Lina. I’m your mom. Jessie. Now take your meds… here.”

She stepped forward and pressed a small paper cup into my hands. Inside were two capsules—dark green, almost like crushed herbs sealed in a shell. I hesitated, but something in her gaze—fear? desperation?—made me tip my head back and swallow them.

The moment they slid down my throat, something happened.

Images—blurry, disjointed—flashed before my eyes. A birthday cake with pink candles. A man’s laugh. A beach at sunset. A wedding dress in a shop window. None of them were mine.

I clutched the edge of the dresser, gasping. “What year is this?”

Jessie blinked at me. “It’s 2025, dear. Are you feeling better now? Wash your face and come down for breakfast.” She gave me one last searching look before closing the door.

I stood in the silence, the weight of her words pressing into me.

200 years ahead of where I should be.

“These aren’t my memories,” I whispered. “This isn’t my life.”

My fingers tightened against the wood of the dresser, the unfamiliar reflection in the mirror staring back.

A cold shiver ran down my spine.

“Did I… get reincarnated?”

Just moments ago, I was a maid in Duke Snider’s mansion.

Before that, I was Lady Ruby, the daughter of a ruined noble family. But no one ever called me that. Instead, I was known as the ugliest noble lady in the entire kingdom.

I was a stain on my family’s name, a reminder of their disgrace. And I was treated as such.

My mother died when I was young, and my father never wanted me.

I was his illegitimate daughter — a mistake, a burden, a secret he could never acknowledge.

My stepmother made it clear from the beginning that I was nothing more than an inconvenience to their well-ordered life. They left me to rot in the shadows, ignored, unloved, and constantly humiliated.

The only ones who ever showed me kindness were my maid, Helena, and Duke Snider. For a brief moment, they made me believe that I had value.

Helena, with her soft voice and gentle hands, whispered comforting words into my ear, telling me that one day, my life would change.

And Duke Snider… He treated me with respect, with admiration — at least that’s how I saw it. He would visit the estate on occasion, and when he did, his gaze lingered on me, not with scorn, but with something like interest.

But the truth was, they were both deceiving me…

Helena, the one person I trusted more than anyone, was using me. She accused me of being a witch, of casting dark spells to ensnare noblemen.

She claimed that I had seduced men of high rank, giving my body to them in exchange for their favor.

Helena didn’t care about me — she only saw a way to climb the social ladder. She spread vicious rumors, ruining my name, all for her own gain.

As for Duke Snider, his betrayal was even worse…

He took Helena’s lies as truth, using them as a justification to sue my family into ruin.

The baron’s estate, already hanging by a thread, was destroyed entirely by his legal actions.

His excuse? That I had “cheated” on him, tarnishing his honor and causing him public shame. But it was all a lie. He never loved me — I was just another pawn in his cruel game.

With nothing left, I was cast out into the world. But fate had one more cruel twist in store for me.

I was made a maid in Duke Snider’s mansion. The very place that had once been a symbol of my fleeting hope now became my prison.

The maids treated me like dirt — I was their punching bag, their scapegoat. If something went wrong, it was my fault. If the food was cold, it was my fault. If the Duke was in a bad mood, it was always my fault.

And the Duke himself? He would beat me without hesitation. His anger, so cold and detached, would lash out without reason.

The blows didn’t hurt nearly as much as the disdain in his eyes…

I wasn’t even human to him anymore. I was less than an insect to be squashed underfoot.

I tried to endure. But the humiliation, the pain — it broke me. I could feel my soul withering, piece by piece, until one day, I couldn’t take it anymore. I made a decision. I chose to end my suffering.

And that’s when I died.

Or so I thought.

I woke up.

Not in the cold, broken body I left behind, but in someone else’s. A stranger’s body. In a time I didn’t recognize. The future.

At first, I thought I was dreaming — some kind of cruel trick. But when I looked in the mirror, I saw someone completely different.

A woman, yes, but with features so delicate, so beautiful, that it almost hurt to look at her.

This was not my body. This wasn’t the body of the ugly, worthless Ruby that had been abandoned by the world.

I was in a different place entirely, surrounded by technology and buildings that were nothing like the world I had known.

The landscape was strange, yet familiar. There was a sense of power in the air, a hum of something new, something dangerous.

For the first time in years, I felt a flicker of hope. But it was quickly replaced by suspicion.

What if this is just another form of punishment?