The Stepmother Keeps Stealing the Male Leads - Chapter 1

Contrary to its antique exterior, the mansion was desolate and bare, without a single decoration. Inside, a woman’s agitated voice rang out.

“Take one more step, and we’re all going down together!”

Helene flung the lamp oil in a wide arc. In her other hand, she held a lit lantern.

The loan sharks who had been chasing her flinched at the sight of the raised lantern.

Her red hair whipped through the air, and the madness in her crimson eyes showed not a shred of reason.

Indeed, there was no better title for her than ‘The Red Witch.’

Would she really set the mansion on fire?

Yes. If it were her, she would.

Helene was the kind of woman who would do it without hesitation.

Addicted to gambling and luxury, she feared nothing.

Just last week, after losing all her bets, she not only flipped the gambling table but also threw a punch at the nobleman who had taken her money.

As a result, she was blacklisted and banned from entering any gambling house.

Perhaps it had been inevitable.

With her debts surpassing 300,000 gold, there was no place left that would lend her money.

As expected, loan sharks from the underworld came knocking, and now, facing their threats to seize her mansion unless she paid up immediately, Helene had retaliated with her own threat—to burn the mansion to the ground.

For the loan sharks, who had given her money using the mansion as collateral, this was a threat they could not ignore.

More than that, if she truly set the mansion on fire, not just Helene but everyone inside would be in grave danger.

That included not only the menacing loan sharks in front of her but also the three sisters of the Emeldia family—victims who had done nothing wrong besides being unfortunate enough to have Helene as their stepmother, and who had lived in this mansion their whole lives.

At that moment—

“This crazy woman!!”

Before anyone realized, the second daughter of the Emeldia family, Jaina, had slipped in through the attic window and dashed into the corridor at lightning speed. Without hesitation, she launched a kick, sending the lantern flying far away.

Thud!

“Ah… Ah…”

Startled, Helene tried to run but tripped over her own feet and tumbled down the stairs.

***

—If we don’t settle, Dad goes to jail immediately! Is 20 million won really that much to you?

—You can always make more money, can’t you?

—You should at least repay the kindness of being raised!

In the end, with trembling hands, Han Yena transferred her entire savings of 20 million won to her stepmother.

‘That damn kindness of being raised.’

Every time her stepparents brought it up, Han Yena found herself unable to refuse.

After losing both her parents in an accident, she had been taken in by distant relatives, only to suffer their indifference and neglect.

Eight years ago, after finally becoming independent, she had scrimped and saved to gather her first 10 million won for tuition. But as if it were money they had entrusted to her, her stepparents shamelessly demanded more.

Her stepfather, who had started a business, fell victim to a scam and ended up having to pay a settlement after getting into a fight with his business partners. And once again, they reached out to their stepdaughter for money.

“…Hahahahahaha!”

She felt like she was losing her mind.

No, perhaps she already had.

Standing in the middle of the street, Han Yena burst into hysterical laughter. Tears she had been holding back poured out uncontrollably.

Could life get any more miserable?

How much had she tried to be loved, to be a real daughter to them?

But the harder she tried, the more they used her.

Last week, on her birthday, they hadn’t even sent her a text. Yet the moment they needed money, they came running straight to her.

Her stepparents did not love her.

To them, she was nothing but a means to an end.

‘I will never live like that.’

Han Yena roughly wiped away her tears.

Just then, a deafening horn blasted through her eardrums.

Her eyes locked onto the glaring headlights of a truck speeding toward her.

Her feet would not move.

In an instant, the dump truck struck her, and her body was flung into the air.

And so ended the life of Han Yena, a 26-year-old poor job seeker.

***

Helene’s eyes snapped open.

A headache pounded against her skull.

Memories of Han Yena flooded back as vividly as if they had happened just yesterday.

‘W-what is this? Memories of a past life?’

Perhaps it was the aftermath of tumbling down the stairs, but the memories of her time as ‘Han Yena’ were now surfacing.

‘…Helene Emeldia from The Perfect Lady Angelina?’

And if that wasn’t shocking enough, she realized she had reincarnated into the body of a character from her favorite romance fantasy novel.

She had been reborn as a figure from a book she had read in her past life. The kind of plot she had often encountered in web novels was now her reality.

Helene glanced around.

She was tied to a chair in the middle of the mansion. It seemed that after being knocked out by Jaina’s kick, the loan sharks had taken the opportunity to restrain her.

At that moment—

The sound of footsteps approaching echoed in the corridor.

Helene quickly shut her eyes again.

The footsteps stopped in front of Helene.

Splash!

A bucket of cold water was thrown at her.

“Oh my, Countess? You’re finally awake?”

Though Helene had been drenched out of nowhere, she had no choice but to open her eyes.

It was utterly absurd that the very person who had splashed water on her was now pretending to speak with concern.

However, given who she was dealing with, she couldn’t afford to argue. Helene merely coughed and glared at him weakly.

The man in front of her, with his long blue hair tied like a horse’s tail and perpetually squinted eyes curved into a sly grin, was none other than Shakia—the underworld boss and her creditor to whom she owed a staggering 300,000 gold.

For reference, Helene had originally borrowed around 200,000 gold. In just one month, that amount had ballooned to 300,000.

Helene recalled the plot of The Perfect Lady Angelina.

‘If villains had ranks, Helene would be at the absolute bottom. A petty villain who throws tantrums over her own failures and ends up tripping over herself to death!’

She had lived a life of debauchery and recklessness, but managed to marry Count Raul of Emeldia—a man who had lost his beloved wife and was raising three daughters alone.

However, less than a year after their marriage, Count Emeldia died of illness. Helene indulged in extravagant luxuries and pleasure, eventually becoming addicted to gambling. In just two years, she squandered the vast fortune of House Emeldia.

In the end, Helene met a tragic fate. Thanks to her status as a countess, she was invited to an imperial ball, where—unfortunately—she insulted Angelina, the future crown princess, while drunk. That earned her a trip to the execution grounds.

Even in death, her sins did not end.

The three daughters of the Emeldia family, inheriting their father and mother’s exceptional beauty and noble character, had bright futures ahead of them. However, because of their unfortunate stepmother, they lost everything—their wealth, their title—and were scattered apart.

The eldest, weakened by illness, died young at twenty-two.

The second vanished into the mountains and became a hunter.

The third went missing, her fate unknown.

Helene, the woman who destroyed the bright futures of three sisters, was the worst kind of parent.

‘So that’s why my past life was so miserable… because of this sin.’

Whether the chicken or the egg came first, Han Yena’s wretched past life now felt like karmic retribution for living as Helene, the worst stepmother.

Judging by the current situation, House Emeldia was on the verge of bankruptcy, about to lose the mansion.

Of all the people to borrow money from, why did it have to be Shakia, the most ruthless loan shark?

Helene seethed with frustration at the previous her, who had made such a terrible decision before regaining her past memories.

“If you borrow money, you have to pay it back, right? Don’t you think so?”

At Shakia’s signal, his men forced Helene onto her stomach and stretched out her hand before him.

If one failed to repay Shakia’s debt, the first warning was losing a finger.

‘And according to the original story, Helene lost her ring finger here…’

Did she stop gambling after that? No. She treated it as if she had nine more fingers to lose and went right back to the tables.

Now, having regained Han Yena’s memories, the very thought of gambling made Helene shudder—thanks to the trauma left by her stepfather.

“…This is your last chance. Give me my money.”

Shakia’s squinted eyes opened slightly, revealing the sharp, predatory gaze of a white shark. His tone dropped from polite to informal, his voice dripping with menace.

“Didn’t you say your eldest daughter was marrying some powerful noble? That you’d be getting a fortune soon?”

‘…Right. I did say that.’

A week ago, when she ran out of gambling money, Helene had successfully borrowed funds by lying—claiming her eldest stepdaughter was engaged to an influential noble and that she would receive an enormous dowry.

“F*ck… another lie, huh?”

Seeing Helene’s eyes darting around in panic, Shakia cursed under his breath.

It didn’t matter. He already had the mansion as collateral, and if he wanted to punish her, he could just cut off a finger.

Shakia pulled out his sharp, custom-made knife.

“Well, then. Let’s get started.”

“W-wait! Cutting off my finger won’t magically make the money appear!”

“Countess, it’s too late for that now~”

“I-I’ll pay! I’ll repay all 300,000 gold!!!”

No matter how much she screamed, no matter how much she struggled, the loan sharks wouldn’t even flinch. They had heard these desperate pleas from countless debtors before.

Shakia adjusted his grip, aligning the knife with Helene’s ring finger.

She couldn’t lose a finger like this.

She had to do something.

She had to say something.

In a panic, Helene blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

“300,000 gold—double it! Let’s go all in!!!”

Repaying 300,000 gold was already impossible, so how could she possibly double it?

Still, at least she had managed to catch Shakia’s interest this time. He raised a hand, signaling his men to release Helene’s bound hands.

Freed from their grasp, Helene clutched her chest, calming her racing heart. She had succeeded in drawing their attention, but the real challenge—convincing them—still remained.

Desperately, she racked her brain for a way out.

“Countess, if you’re spewing nonsense again, it won’t just be your fingers—you’ll lose your teeth next.”

Though Shakia issued a final warning, he was also curious about what pathetic lie she would come up with this time.

The claim that the eldest of the three sisters was marrying a powerful noble? A lie.

Not long ago, she had even used the name of the sisters’ wealthy godfather to pull off a scam about an artificial gemstone business, barely avoiding jail by paying bail.

The Emeldia mansion no longer had a single valuable object left—Helene had sold even the silver plates ages ago.

Helene looked around.

Fortunately, only Shakia’s men were present. The three sisters had apparently locked themselves in their rooms, leaving Helene to deal with Shakia alone.

‘Well, they’re about to lose the home they’ve lived in all their lives because of me. It’s no surprise they don’t care whether I live or die.’

Even if they wished for her death, she couldn’t blame them.

Helene surveyed her surroundings once more before opening her mouth.

“T-the eldest is marrying a wealthy and powerful noble. It’s true. It’s just that certain matters on his end have delayed the official announcement.”

“…What?”

Shakia looked dumbfounded.

Did she really intend to push forward with an already failed lie?

Helene was just as shocked as he was at the words coming out of her own mouth.

But if she did nothing, her fingers would be chopped off in an instant.

She had to make this lie work somehow.

“Y-you know how nobles are. They’re peculiar about all sorts of things. There are a lot of factors at play, so the official announcement is taking longer than expected. I didn’t think it would take this long either!”

Shakia decided to listen for now.

“Oh really? And which ‘great noble’ is this?”

Helene sighed heavily, as if frustrated by his ignorance.

“Didn’t you hear what I just said? They’re peculiar. If rumors spread recklessly among nobles, it could ruin everything. And you want me to spill the name to you lowlifes? What if it falls apart because of you?!”

Helene huffed in indignation.

“What do you think my future in-laws would say if they saw my hands missing fingers?!”

Shaking her head gravely, she adopted a serious expression.

“I’m doing this for your sake too. Do you have any idea what would happen if you laid a hand on someone about to become the in-law of a powerful noble? I’m warning you, for your own safety—I absolutely cannot reveal the name.”

Helene’s expression was so convincingly earnest that, except for Shakia, even the other loan sharks began to waver.

“If you really want your money, put that ugly thing away first.”

Shakia’s already narrow eyes narrowed further.

He didn’t seem convinced, but it was clear his resolve wavered like the knife in his grip.

Helene had blurted out whatever came to mind in desperation, but the more she thought about it, the more plausible her lie seemed.

The nobles of the Herzen Empire loved flaunting their wealth, and wedding gifts and congratulatory funds for marriages among high-ranking nobles were enormous.

Of course, this only applied to the top 1% of nobles.

If Liliana truly married one of the most prestigious nobles in the empire, the wedding gifts alone would be astronomical, and as her mother-in-law, Helene would naturally get a share.

The problem was that nobles like that were extremely rare.

In most marriages, the bride’s family was expected to provide a dowry instead.

That was precisely why Liliana, the eldest of the three sisters, remained unmarried at twenty-two. Normally, noble daughters were engaged at a young age and married by eighteen.

‘A man wealthy enough that he doesn’t need a dowry, powerful enough to receive extravagant wedding gifts from nobles, and handsome enough to captivate the three sisters… Unless he’s a male lead candidate from The Perfect Lady Angelina…’

At that thought, Helene froze.

Wait. This was actually a brilliant idea.

The Perfect Lady Angelina was a reverse harem novel, meaning it was overflowing with male lead candidates.

‘If I steal the male leads and marry them off to the Emeldia sisters, problem solved!’

Thanks to her past life as Han Yena, Helene knew everything about the male leads—their futures, personalities, preferences, and exactly what made them fall for the heroine.

Helene lifted her head high and grinned in triumph.