At the age of ten, Pia Rockwell recovers from a high fever and suddenly remembers her past life as a Japanese university student working toward a doctorate in paleontology. Now living as a minor villainess in an otome game, she knows her future holds only banishment after a confrontation with the game’s heroine, Caroline. Determined to escape this fate, the extremely timid Pia abandons any thought of revenge or courtly intrigue. Instead, she aims to use her past-life knowledge to become a paleontologist, dreaming of excavating fossils, building a museum, and living as a commoner curator.

To achieve this, she knows she must first break her engagement to Rufus Stan, the cunning and powerful son of the Prime Minister. When she approaches him to end their betrothal, Rufus refuses to let her go so easily. He proposes a bet instead: if he ever falls in love with Caroline, the game’s heroine, he will grant Pia a large sum of money and a territory of her own after seven years. Believing this is her safest path to freedom and her fossil-filled future, Pia agrees. What she does not anticipate is that her own nervous behavior and lack of interest in noble status, combined with her intense focus on fossils, are precisely what make her endearing to Rufus. He misinterprets her constant fear as a deep concern over losing him rather than his wealth or position, leading him to fall genuinely in love with her.

The series is set in a noble court inspired by classic otome game fantasy settings, with much of the tension arising from Pia’s desperate attempts to avoid the game’s original storyline. Her past-life memories give her unique knowledge, but her extreme timidity means she struggles to assert herself, creating a contrast between her internal expertise and her outward hesitation. A central narrative arc follows the seven-year bet between Pia and Rufus, during which Pia tries to steer her life toward paleontology while Rufus grows increasingly attached to her. Another key thread involves Pia’s gradual steps toward her dream, including her efforts to study fossils and build connections that will allow her to leave noble society. Rufus, meanwhile, must confront his own changing feelings as the predicted meeting with Caroline approaches. An anime television series adaptation has been announced, with Miku Itō voicing Pia Rockwell and Ryōta Ōsaka voicing Rufus Stan.