Chapter 04
When I heard the news of the female protagonist’s disappearance, I suddenly recalled the very first day I possessed someone inside this novel.
That’s right.
Possession into a novel — it happened to me too.
I have no idea why it suddenly happened, especially since it was a novel I had read a very long time ago.
The title of the novel was [The Goblet that Rules Destruction].
It was, I guess, a fantasy coming-of-age story told from the male protagonist’s perspective.
The male lead, who grew stronger despite endless oppression and hardships.
He overcame the crisis of the world’s destruction with the one he loved and reached a happy ending.
I remember being satisfied with that tightly sealed happy conclusion when I closed the book…
And one day, I found myself possessing a character named Ariel Lecaysha in that novel.
At first, I didn’t know what was happening — I was just dazed.
In my hand was a luxurious bouquet of flowers.
On my body, a sparkling wedding dress.
And the place looked like an antique wedding hall.
Looking around, people were seated and staring at me with curious eyes.
“So… am I dreaming about getting married right now?”
Did I want to get married that badly?
I think I even laughed to myself, thinking that.
When I turned my head, a man — presumably my groom — was standing beside me.
“Wow, he’s handsome…”
I just stared at him blankly, as if it were none of my business.
At that point, I really thought it was just a dream.
I was at least fortunate not to mutter out loud about how handsome he was, though my mind wasn’t in the right place.
Then, that man — my soon-to-be husband — without even glancing at me, eyes fixed forward, suddenly said:
“Don’t look at me. Look ahead.”
“…Pardon?”
I swear my expression must have been ridiculously dumb.
Still in a daze, I walked that long virgin road toward the officiant, and when the officiant spoke my name, I tilted my head in confusion again.
“That name… sounds familiar.”
It was when my veil was lifted by my husband that things started to feel off.
Especially when the officiant called out my name and asked me to make an eternal vow.
“…Ariel Lecaysha?”
“…Yes?”
I didn’t even realize they were addressing me, so I just repeated the name back.
To my husband, it must have looked like I was refusing to make the vow, as if I’d rather die than marry him.
“…Ha.”
He let out a bitter laugh as he looked down at me.
His face seemed flushed, as though insulted.
And he had every reason to feel that way.
The character I possessed was nothing more than the daughter of a nouveau riche merchant with no noble roots.
To him, she was just a tool for humiliation, his weakness, given to him solely because of a prophecy.
When he would later ascend as emperor, she was nothing more than a trial to be endured.
In a voice low enough for only me to hear, he gave a warning:
“I know you hate this marriage. But at least play along.”
His cold expression seemed to say, ‘Do you think I want this either?’
If that tension could take form, it would’ve been like being pierced by a blade of ice.
I just rolled my eyes in silence.
I didn’t understand a single thing he was saying, so I just nodded.
Uh, and then… what did I say again?
“Um… I vow!”
I think I said it with quite a spirited, cheerful voice.
I had no idea what vow it was, but since they asked, I did it — and looked up at my husband with a bright, innocent face.
He stared at me, slightly agape, as if dumbfounded, then eventually gave up and leaned toward me.
His chiseled, male-protagonist face suddenly came close.
Startled, I froze stiff.
“It’s just for show.”
Maybe even that annoyed him, because instead of my lips, he brushed his lips against my cheek.
That was when a loud applause burst out from the guests behind us.
As I listened to the thunderous clapping, the names of my husband and I rang again in my ears — and that’s when it hit me.
“Oh, that’s it. These are the names from [The Goblet that Rules Destruction]… the male lead and the woman he married at first, only to divorce later.”
It had been so long since I read it, why was I suddenly dreaming about this?
Anyway, at least the male protagonist was handsome — that was enough to make me secretly grin.
But that night, even as I sat waiting blankly for a husband who never came to the bridal chamber, rubbing my sleepy eyes again and again…
And even when I thought, ‘Whatever, I’ll just sleep,’ and woke up the next morning…
I still hadn’t returned to my original body.
“…Huh?”
That was when I first felt true panic.
“Wait, is this not a dream? Did I really have a wedding yesterday?”
A day passed, then two, a week, a month…
No matter how much time went by, I was still Ariel Lecaysha.
Only then did I lock myself in a room, crying my eyes out, scribbling down every bit of the story I could remember from the novel.
Ariel Lecaysha.
A woman who was nothing more than a trial for the protagonist.
One day, her father suddenly struck it rich. He bought himself a noble title just to show off — and because his only daughter begged for it.
Then, under the direction of the Empress and her son, Prince Alec, Ariel was forced into marriage with the crown prince, the male protagonist.
Marrying such a brilliant man should have been a blessing, right?
After all, she might even become the future Empress…
…But Ariel was quite a peculiar character.
She wanted to marry her childhood friend and fiancé, Ian Harmel.
“Father, can’t you buy a noble title? I must marry Ian.”
“Hmm, but even if I buy one, it’d only be a barony…”
“That’s fine! Ian has an older brother, so he won’t inherit the marquisate anyway.”
“O-Oh, is that so?”
“As long as I’m a noble, it’ll work out. Please, Father!”
And so, the day she became a noble…
Word spread throughout the Empire that a commoner had bought nobility with money.
Her family became the perfect target for ridicule among the aristocracy.
Even the Empress, who despised the crown prince, heard the news.
Using her authority as “mother,” she recommended Ariel as his bride.
Thus, the woman who was supposed to be the crown prince’s esteemed political partner ended up being “the nouveau riche merchant’s daughter who bought her title.”
In the story, Blake — the crown prince — had always been belittled for being born of a maidservant.
Now, on top of that, his bride wasn’t from a noble lineage but was someone laughed at for buying her title.
That enraged him.
So after their wedding, three whole years passed, yet the two remained cold and distant.
Eventually, Ariel rekindled her love with Ian. She left behind divorce papers and eloped with him.
But before the protagonist could even condemn them, the two were mauled to death by feral wolves corrupted by dark magic.
What an absurd, pitiful death!
So I had possessed the body of the cheating woman who betrayed the protagonist…?
And her end was to be eaten alive by wolves?
Unbelievable.
“There’s no way I’m dying like that!”
With sudden clarity, I immediately drew a firm line with Ian, who often came by with a sorrowful face.
“From now on, you’re just a friend. Nothing more.”
“Ariel…”
“I’m married now. So don’t come looking for me anymore.”
Though Ian looked hurt, he accepted it — at least outwardly.
But he still visited from time to time under the guise of friendship, spewing insults about Blake.
And he’d say things like:
“That bastard will never, ever tell you he loves you.”
His words, spit out like venom, made me widen my eyes.
Not because of the content, but because—
“You’d better watch out. If someone hears that, you’ll be punished for insulting royalty.”
“Let them catch me.”
He tossed the words out carelessly, though his eyes still glowed with concern for me.
And that was the problem.
I shook my head and carefully sipped the steaming tea. Then I replied:
“Well… it’s not like I married him without knowing that.”
Even so, Ian sometimes shot me looks that said he wanted to whisk me away, all while calling my husband “that bastard.”
But as long as I ignored it, he’d eventually sulk quietly.
Maybe that’s why I thought everything was going smoothly.
After all, it had been exactly one year since I started living meekly as Ariel Lecaysha.
It was about the time the real female protagonist should enter the picture.
By now, the male lead’s power and influence had grown strong enough that he no longer needed to marry me out of weakness.
“This is the perfect time for a divorce!”
That’s what I thought.
So that morning, I quietly wrote up divorce papers and sent them to my husband.
“By tomorrow, he’ll have read them, signed them, and filed them officially.”
Once the divorce was finalized, my plan was to retreat to my father’s countryside villa and hide away until the original story ended.
If I wandered around, I might die. Better to vanish from everyone’s notice.
I had no intention of reconnecting with Ian either.
I had no desire to die.
With a perfectly laid out plan and thoughts of my peaceful future, I smiled at Ian — who was grumbling in front of me — and said cheerfully:
“Don’t worry. Everything will work out.”
I swear, those words came only from my hopes of a successful divorce and a happy single life.
There wasn’t a shred of ulterior motive.
I truly wished the male protagonist — my husband — success and happiness.
But then.
That night, instead of hearing that he’d accepted the divorce, I heard something else—
“His Highness the Crown Prince has passed away.”
Just as Ian had sneered, saying my husband would never tell me he loved me even in death…
On the very day I submitted the divorce papers, my husband really did die.
