Episode 1
“Are you crazy?”
Ayla shouted angrily, glaring at the man in front of her.
The man, who had been walking toward her, stopped and tilted his head slightly with a puzzled look.
“Last night was a mistake, fine! But now? Absolutely not! Do you think I’m insane enough to do that again with someone I don’t even know?”
“……”
“I can’t believe I did something like that with a pervert like you!”
Ayla was furious — not just at the man, but mostly at herself. She couldn’t accept that she had done something that went against her own morals.
The man simply looked at her quietly, his brow furrowing slightly as if deep in thought.
“Ah.”
After a short pause, he let out a quiet sigh — then smiled wickedly.
“So, you don’t remember.”
Ayla flinched visibly, as if he had caught her biggest weakness.
Now he had the upper hand.
“You dared to pounce on me first?”
He sneered.
Ayla froze for five seconds before her face went pale — finally understanding what he meant.
Wait, what did I even do to him last night?!
Ayla shoved the man away with all her strength and ran home.
She couldn’t even remember how she got back.
“How much did I even drink last night?”
Hiding in her room, she kicked her blanket over and over — something she had never done before — out of pure embarrassment.
Then she stopped and frowned.
“But… who was that pervert?”
She realized she had no idea who the man she spent the night with actually was.
“…Should I have asked before running away?”
But no — asking that while treating him like some criminal would’ve been ridiculous.
After another ten rounds of frustrated blanket-kicking, she forced herself to recall what happened.
A luxurious bedroom… a white bed… herself wearing a thin negligee that barely covered her skin…
The spot next to her still warm — proof that someone had been lying there moments ago.
“Damn it!”
Even at the start of her memory, she wanted to scream. She didn’t need to remember everything to know what had happened. She wasn’t stupid or naive enough to pretend otherwise.
Her pale violet eyes — the ones her parents always praised as “deer-like” — welled up with tears.
Swallowing them back, she forced herself to remember more.
A tall man appeared — half-naked, fresh from a bath, a towel wrapped loosely around his waist.
Unlike Ayla, who had instinctively covered her chest, he didn’t seem shy at all.
“Oh…”
Ayla couldn’t help but let out a small gasp.
He was tall, well-built, and muscular. His sharp jawline, full lips, and golden hair made him look dazzling — almost unreal.
And he wasn’t even embarrassed under her stare. If anything, he seemed used to it.
“If you keep looking at me like that,” he said with a calm smile, “you’ll be the one in danger.”
“Huh?”
“Your eyes are making my body ache.”
She remembered thinking he was talking nonsense.
Then—
“I know it’s sudden, but can I ask you for something?”
“What?”
“I’m in a hurry.”
“What?!”
Her instincts screamed Run! — but before she knew it, she was cornered.
“W-What do you want from me?”
“What we did last night.”
At that, Ayla’s face burned red with embarrassment.
Now, recalling everything, she groaned.
“I should’ve called him a damn pervert right to his face!”
She regretted not cursing him out while she had the chance.
Now it was too late.
Even if he was a pervert, she couldn’t just let rumors spread — not in high society.
If that man talked about what happened, even as a joke, she’d be ruined.
Especially if the wrong person found out…
“I can’t let that happen. This is my one and only chance!”
Because Ayla wasn’t the original heroine anymore.
Three years ago, her soul — that of a hardcore romance-fantasy novel reader — had replaced the real Ayla’s.
Since then, she’d lived as a different Ayla — one with her own plans.
She didn’t like the choices the original Ayla had made in the story.
Because as a reader, she had always preferred the second male lead, not the crown prince.
So when she was reincarnated into Ayla’s body, she swore she’d make sure the heroine ended up with the second male lead instead!
But now? She realized she was in serious trouble — before she even had the chance to confess to him!
“Sigh… Who the hell is that pervert from last night?”
If she wanted her happy ending with the second male lead, she had to find out who that man was — fast.
She thought hard. The only clue she had was where she’d been drinking: the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet.
It was a huge event — even minor nobles had been invited — so identifying the man would be difficult.
“…Wait. Didn’t I escape from the palace last night? Why did I wake up in the palace?”
Her face turned deathly pale as the truth hit her.
That man’s identity was clear now.
Licht Rune Leopold.
The Crown Prince of the Nia Empire — and the male lead of the novel.
“…I’m doomed.”
All those years she’d spent avoiding him — completely wasted.
She knew she’d have to meet him eventually. Fate always brought the heroine and male lead together.
But this was way too early.
“I was supposed to meet him after marrying Dainhart!”
Dainhart Blackwood — Ayla’s childhood friend and the second male lead she’d fallen for back when she was a reader.
The moment she possessed Ayla, she made a plan to marry Dainhart.
First, she’d open a clinic with him as business partners. That way, she could spend time with him without her overprotective family (her father and two brothers) interfering.
And it had been working! Dainhart, who was also a mage affiliated with the Magic Tower, adjusted his schedule just to see her often.
Everything was going perfectly—
Until now.
“What’s the point of all that planning if I’m tied to the male lead now…”
She sighed miserably.
Then suddenly, she thought—
“…Wait. Do I really have to follow the original plot?”
The answer came instantly.
“Of course not. Just because I’m the heroine doesn’t mean I have to end up with the male lead.”
Plenty of readers had wanted her to end up with the second male lead anyway.
Besides, if fate couldn’t stop her from avoiding Licht all this time, maybe she could rewrite the story herself.
“After all, what matters most is who I love, right?”
She knew it wouldn’t be easy. Maybe she’d face consequences for going against the story.
But she didn’t care.
“True love grows stronger through hardship and struggle!”
And if that love was with Dainhart — the man she’d always rooted for — she’d endure anything.
