DSMBL Chapter 01

Chapter 1

“Is it that hard to do nothing? Just live like a ghost. Stop doing weird stuff, for god’s sake.”

Piercing blue eyes glared at me with disdain.

Shattered glass and broken items were scattered across the floor, and blood was dripping from the man’s hand, staining the carpet.

…What the hell is going on?

I was on my way back from the convenience store after buying a can of beer and some peanuts. Then I got hit by a car… and I thought I died. But now, this ridiculously good-looking guy who looked like he stepped out of a novel was spouting lines like that.

Judging by the situation, he was talking to me.

But who even am I for him to say something so harsh?

“Charlotte Artesia, I hope you understand at least this much,” he muttered coldly before throwing the glass shard in his hand to the floor. Then he brushed past me and walked out of the room.

Until that moment, I couldn’t say a word. I just stood there, dumbfounded, staring at the handsome guy.

Then it hit me—what he just called me?

Charlotte… Artesia.

There was this web novel I’d been obsessed with lately. The title of that novel was “The Villainess and the Male Lead are One Step Apart,” a story that depicted the intense romance between Saintess Laurencia and Cassius.

If I remember correctly, the tags were something like: wounded heroine, wounded hero, regretful male lead, and devoted male lead.

Cassius had been a man who couldn’t trust others after a failed arranged marriage until he met Laurencia and found happiness.

And the woman in that failed marriage? was me?

The villainess, Charlotte Artesia.

A supporting character who murdered her brother-in-law, was divorced, banished, and eventually died a pitiful death.

Judging by the current situation, it looks like I’m about to get kicked out soon, only to starve to death.

Ugh… this can’t be happening, seriously!

————————§~~~§————————

The Next Day

I barely got any sleep, still unable to fully grasp the situation.

I didn’t even dare to leave my room for fear of getting lost.

My mind was full with thoughts.

Let’s be real: sticking close to the main characters is a way to live a miserable life. Wouldn’t it be better to leave while I still can?

At least I haven’t killed my brother-in-law yet. If I had, I’d already have been kicked out by now.

This might be my last chance to escape. But then again, what would I do once I left?

This isn’t a modern South Korea. It’s a novel. There’s no reliable public safety law enforcement, no cozy places like internet cafes or bathhouses where I can lay low.

If I leave without a plan, I might meet the same pathetic end as the original Charlotte—dying in the streets.

Which means… I have to stay.

To survive here, I need to make a peace with the owner of this house.

Because getting kicked out is not an option for now?

I thought about it all night, and by dawn, I was left utterly exhausted.

When the sun came up,the state of the room become apparent.

The only thing which was still intact was the bed. The curtains were all shredded, on the floor. The place was a mess. Honestly, a rundown streets would look better than this.

I was wondering how on earth I was supposed to clean this mess when I heard a knock at the door.

“Pardon me, Madam, I’m coming in,”

“Oh, uh… sure,”

At my awkward response, a maid entered the room, carrying a bag larger than herself.

“…Wait, am I getting kicked out?”

Is it already over for me? I swallowed nervously. Was this is the start of my tragic demise?

“What are you talking about, Madam? If you’re awake, could you please wait in the sitting room? I’ve been ordered to clean this place up,” the maid said, pouting slightly.

Phew. So I wasn’t getting kicked out.

The maid stared at me for a moment, with a expression like, Why are you still here?

But… where is the sitting room?

Even if I wanted to leave, I needed to know where to go.

I had a million questions, but they were the kind that would definitely look me strange if I asked.

In the end, I stayed near the door, awkwardly hovering. The maid sighed deeply before starting to clean the room.

She carefully packed the broken and damaged items into her oversized bag. Then, to my surprise, she began thoroughly searching the room.

She checked drawers, under the bed, and inside the cabinets, gathering anything sharp or fragile and putting it all into her bag.

“…What are you doing?”

“The Duke instructed us to remove all sharp objects from your room. He ordered us to make sure yesterday’s incident doesn’t happen again. He said if you attempt suicide one more time, we’ll all be thrown out of this house. I have no choice but to follow his instructions, madam.”

“…Suicide attempt?”

Crazy Charlotte.

She’d already done it, hadn’t she?

Charlotte and Cassius were in an arranged marriage. After their marriage, Charlotte’s family went bankrupt because of there reckless business expension.

Already deeply obsessed with Cassius, Charlotte’s obsessive become intense from that point on.

She would throw a fit and claim to kill herself whenever Cassius spoke with a maid. She even made a few serious attempts.

And the reason she killed her young brother-in-law? Was to draw Cassius’ attention back to herself.

She was utterly insane—a fact no one can disputed.

Even fans of the original novel called her “Crazy Lotte” or “Mad Charlotte.”

And this timing… seriously?

Isn’t possession usually supposed to happen before the character racks up all this bad karma? What kind of grudge does fate have against me to dump me in this mess?

“I’ll be on my way, then.”

The maid, having finished her cleaning, lifted her bag and walked past me.

She glared at me with clear distain.

Charlotte had hated everyone in the mansion. This was because Cassius treated everyone except her with equal kindness. Naturally, the staff of the mansion despised her in return.

It was all her own doing, really.

Fortunately, I had a strong mental fortitude. Being hated wasn’t exactly a new experience for me.

Thanks to the novel’s detailed backstory on Cassius, I quickly grasped the situation.

Instead of sitting around waiting to be kicked out, I needed to come up with a plan for survival.

And the first thing I had to do was already clear in my mind.

I had to check on my brother-in-law’s condition.

The eight-year-old terminally ill brother-in-law, who was practically my lifeline.

If I could cure him, I’d find a way to survive too.

Charlotte had spiritual power. I had to used that power to save him—there was no way I could just turn my back on him now.

With that resolve, I stepped out of my room with determination…

But then I froze.

I don’t even know where I’m going…

Before finding my brother-in-law, I had to figure out how to get there.

****

“Hey.”

As soon as I spoke, everyone turned pale, like they had seen a ghost, and ran off in panic.

In the end, I had no choice but to open the door one by one, but my lifeline, no, my brother-in-law’s room, was located at the farthest end of the hall from mine.

People looked at me strangely and then completely ignored me.

Thankfully, it seemed like the maid who usually attended his room wasn’t around.

I carefully stepped inside.

The child’s room was filled with a scent of medicine that didn’t belong in a place meant for children. I could hear the sound of shallow breathing from the bed.

“Wow…”

Turns out, he really was blood-related. He looked like a child version of the male lead. His beautiful face, with delicate lashes, was pale—no, almost ghostly white.

He was a child who had been given a terminal diagnosis at birth. He spent more time unconscious than awake.

Something inside me softened.

They said he was eight years old, but he looked like he was barely six.

How could Charlotte even think of killing someone like this? Doesn’t she have any humanity?

Oh, right. She doesn’t.

I carefully approached the child and sat beside him. He’d definitely not approve of me being here if he was awake. I glanced at the door, then gently took his hand.

It was burning hot.

Even the doctors didn’t know why he was so sick. There was no cure, so all they could do was watch him suffer.

He was so weak that he couldn’t even eat properly, causing him to stop growing. His body was so thin from lack of nutrients.

As I held his hand and breathed softly onto him, I felt my energy draining away.

“Gasp, gasp. Seriously? Just doing this much and I ‘m this exhausted?”

This is why they called my spiritual power so weak.