BCOM 01

Chapter 1

Be Careful of Me

1.

I was standing in front of a mirror.

The platinum hair cascading down my delicate frame and the sparkling amber eyes were mesmerizing.

At first, I thought the large full-length mirror was extravagant, but when I looked at my reflection, I barely paid attention to the mirror itself.

I was so captivated by my own beauty that I couldn’t take my eyes off my reflection.

In other words… this was a situation that felt both incredibly unfamiliar and strangely familiar at the same time.

I stood upright, carefully examining my reflection, moving my arms and legs slightly to see if the figure in the mirror mirrored my movements perfectly.

“Wow… is this really possible?”

Knock, knock.

At that moment, a knock came at the door. Startled by the sudden presence of someone else, I tensed up and looked toward the door.

“Miss Anes, are you awake? Would you like to have breakfast?”

Anes…

The gentle voice uttering my name sent my thoughts spinning.

I had guessed it from my reflection…

I tore my gaze from the mirror and looked around. The room was spacious, filled with luxurious furniture and decor.

At first, it seemed empty, but in reality, it was just enormous. If I tried to fit all this furniture into my old room, it wouldn’t even come close to fitting.

Wouldn’t even a single bed fill a small studio apartment?

“Miss Anes? It’s Tarin. Are you awake?”

The familiar voice snapped me out of my wandering thoughts.

Tarin… oh my god. This was real. I really had become the protagonist of The Empire Fell Because of Me.

“Uh… I’m up.”

I quickly rolled my eyes to find a proper reply. The door opened, and a maid with brown hair and darker eyes entered.

Romance fantasy novels had been my only joy in a monotonous life. In a world where no one understood me, I could immerse myself in these novels without anyone disturbing me.

The Empire Fell Because of Me was the most recent book I had read. I had lived yesterday just like today, and would spend tomorrow just like today… yet when I opened my eyes, I was here.

It was something I had read about countless times in novels, yet experiencing it felt utterly strange.

“Miss, were you looking at the mirror? Don’t worry; you’re beautiful today as well.”

Her charming eye smile was enchanting.

…That sentence had been written exactly as it appeared in the book. I was genuinely surprised.

“Tarin, you really flatter me too much.”

I spoke a clumsy but familiar line. Tarin, as my personal maid, often began her day by praising my beauty.

She smiled at me and draped a gown over my shoulders.

“Come on, Miss. The Marquis is waiting.”

The Marquis—my father. I knew most of the characters because I had read about half the book.

Pretending to be composed while my mind was in chaos, I followed Tarin out of the room. The mansion was exactly as one would imagine a grand estate: soft, matte marble-like walls, sturdy polished wood floors and railings—it was all magnificently old-fashioned.

Even as I took it all in, I couldn’t shake the feeling of unease creeping up on me.

Anes was famous as the most beautiful young lady in the Empire, wealthy, and not lacking in influence. The real problem, however, was something not yet revealed in the novel, but mentioned in the character introduction:

She would become an extraordinary presence that determines the fall of the Empire…

How could this fragile, beautiful girl possibly bring the Empire to ruin?!

All the foreshadowing had been dropped, but the cause and effect had not yet been shown.

In the dining room, a middle-aged man with the same hair and eye color as me sat at the head of the table.

He looked at me and greeted me with a smile. Despite his gaunt features and frail appearance, his smile toward me seemed warm and kind.

After a brief greeting, breakfast began. I tried to act nonchalant, eating bread and soup, while scanning my surroundings carefully.

Is this… the world I’m about to live in?

I had eaten with others before, even at work, but never with a figure called “father.” Should I start a conversation? Should I take the initiative as his daughter? My mind was racing with all these questions.

“Today is your mother’s death anniversary. I’ll go up to the mountains for a while.”

“Oh… very well.”

My mother had died of an incurable disease when I was young. My father, who had loved her deeply, had never remarried and raised me alone.

Originally a knight who wielded both sword and magic and served as the captain of the royal knights, he resigned after my mother’s death, unable to bear the grief.

Yet the Emperor, unable to let him go entirely, gave him the honorary title of knight, promising he would be the first to respond in times of crisis. Even now, no one had surpassed his abilities.

I had been living alone for quite some time, having lost my parents at a very young age in an accident. My aunt’s family had taken care of me briefly, but once I became a middle schooler, I had to move into a small studio and live independently.

From that point on, no one had been around me. Perhaps that was why I had always empathized so deeply with family in romance fantasy novels.

As my thoughts circled back to my mother, tears stung my eyes.

Hmm… would I end up dying like my mother, suffering from an incurable disease?

The question of my future struck me sharply.

No, that wouldn’t cause the Empire to fall—it would just be my death…

“You don’t have many memories of your mother, yet you’re still so sad.”

The Marquis suddenly spoke with concern. Without a mirror, I couldn’t gauge my own expression, but he must have sensed I was on the verge of tears.

What should I say? I felt sadness, but not exactly longing for her—it was a confusing mix of emotions.

I bit my lip and averted my gaze slightly, and the Marquis offered a faintly sorrowful smile.

“I was worried about you being alone in the mansion, but luckily the Emperor called me to visit the palace. That must be why he asked me to go to the mountains.”

I paused with the soft soup in my mouth, suddenly uneasy. The palace… the palace?

Why would I have anything to do with the Emperor? I felt the blood drain from my face. It wasn’t just seeing someone else; it was an internal shiver that sent chills through me.

“Haha, well… now that your engagement with the Crown Prince is set, it’s to spend a little more time together, isn’t it?”

The Marquis smiled, despite his worried expression. He seemed to trust the Emperor and Crown Prince to take care of his daughter.

Was my memory wrong? I had heard the Crown Prince was quite opposed to this engagement. He was known as a stern, difficult man, rumored later to have tyrannical tendencies.

Young ladies were often enchanted by his looks but found it impossible to handle his harsh demeanor. Yet despite that, they would be drawn to him again—the problem being his irresistible charm…

And now I was engaged to that Crown Prince.

First, our ages were similar. Second, my father had long-standing ties with the Emperor. The second reason seemed disproportionately significant, though.

It was already shocking that I—Anes, or rather, I—was about to marry, but now I had to meet him immediately without a moment to prepare.

Perhaps noticing my slightly stiff expression, the Marquis watched me with concern. Sensing his worry, I forced a faint smile.

Would such an ambiguous smile reassure him?

Worried about my awkwardness, I watched him nod as if satisfied, and we continued the meal.

“The Crown Prince may have a reputation for being harsh, but he’s quite kind. Once you get to know him, you’ll see he’s a good man.”

Kind? A good man…? I didn’t recall that from the book.

In the novels, he often intimidated others with the impression he would do something disastrous. He was strict, charismatic, and even after marriage, his temperament did not soften, showing little kindness to me.

Wait… could his harshness escalate into tyranny? Cutting down anyone who opposed him, even me, the bride chosen by the Emperor…

Snapping back to reality, I reminded myself: that’s what the Crown Prince would do, not me.

Exhaling quietly, I realized: in other novels, people tried to avoid tyrannical male leads or cruel female antagonists—but here, I’m the one everyone needs to watch out for.