BCTWN | Chapter 001

Episode 1

“Umm.”

Under the weight of a hand shaking my shoulder, I shifted in place, then rubbed my face against something hard and broad that brushed my cheek.

‘Warm. Feels nice.’

I’m certain I was drinking at a bar with friends I hadn’t seen in a while…

I didn’t drink much, but it seems I got drunk quickly.

‘At least they didn’t abandon me and put me somewhere to rest.’

I thought I should thank them later as I moved my head, feeling a hot warmth brush against my soft ear.

The pillow I’m lying on is wide and warm, making me drowsy and lick my lips sleepily.

But, *tap tap*.

Something is messing with my shoulder again.

“Ugh, why? Let me sleep a little.”

“…Are you sleeping *now*? After putting someone in this state?”

What?

A captivating, low voice crept in softly, making my ears tremble.

My friends are girls, so when did their voices become this deep?

I imagined their delicate faces producing a booming, mountain-splitting voice, and I chuckled quietly.

“Oh?”

Suddenly, someone pinched my cheek hard.

From the unexpected attack, I opened my drowsy eyes and tried to focus my vision while blinking.

“Ow, why are you squeezing me? That hurts.”

“It hurts, ‘what a pity’? And now you’re speaking so casually too?”

“Come on, that voice doesn’t suit you at all. Stop joking.”

“You?”

Why is she clinging to my words like this today?

When I tried to turn to see what was happening, I saw something in my clear vision that made me shudder.

“What? What’s this?”

I poked at a smooth rock in front of my eyes, and the rock moved slightly.

Why is the rock moving?

Thinking the alcohol hadn’t worn off, I rubbed my eyes, but a voice came from above my head.

“If you’ve regained your senses, it’s time to get up.”

“Oh? The rock talks too.”

Out of curiosity, I tried to get a closer look at the talking rock as I sluggishly sat up, and my mouth gradually widened.

“What… is this…?”

The further I pulled back, the wider my view became, revealing a toned chest and perfectly sculpted abs.

It didn’t take long to realize that what I was leaning on wasn’t a rock, but the chest of a strange man.

“Wow… what’s this situation?”

I covered my gaping mouth in shock, then slowly lowered my head to see what I was wearing—a thin, transparent gown.

“What… what is this?”

Even if I was drunk, I’ve never made such a mistake before, but this situation is utterly bewildering.

I grabbed anything to cover my body, then quickly darted my eyes around.

“Why am I like this? And why is the room so dark?”

What is this place? Why are there candles instead of lamps?

My eyes wandered through the dim room without finding anything distinctive until they settled on the man’s body, which I was still on top of.

I looked at my hand, still holding the sensation of his body, then at his broad chest, then back at my hand.

This time, I shook my head vigorously to make sense of the situation, then stole a glance toward where the man’s face might be.

No, impossible, right?

“Um… I…”

“Hm?”

“Did I… do something with you?”

Did I assault you?

I couldn’t say it, swallowing hard, but the man answered with blunt honesty.

“Yes. You’re the one who climbed on top of me.”

“…Me?”

“And you took off my shirt yourself. Don’t you remember?”

“Ha…! I’m sorry! I’ve never been bad when drunk, but this…”

“It’s fine.”

“No, it shouldn’t be that simple… right? I’ll get off now. Sorry!”

As I stammered, I tried to get up. If I stayed sitting on him, the man might get a cramp, and that would be really embarrassing.

Well, the situation is embarrassing enough already.

Anyway, as I tried to move away from his sturdy body, the man grabbed the edge of my gown, and my body was suddenly pulled toward him.

“Ah!”

“I said it’s fine.”

‘His eyes… they’re beautiful.’

As I got closer to the candlelight, his gray eyes became clear, shimmering with a mysterious glint.

While I stared at them, captivated, the man took my hand and placed it back on his chest.

“I didn’t dislike it.”

“Oh, I see… you didn’t dislike it.”

“Yes. So, shall we continue what we started?”

“Yes, continue. No, no! Continue what?”

As I repeated his words absentmindedly, I flinched when my finger touched a hard muscle.

I quickly pulled back, and my backside nearly fell off the edge of the bed.

“You’ll fall like that. It’s dangerous, come here.”

My movement seemed dangerous in the man’s eyes, so he rose from his slanted position and approached me.

But the problem…

“Wait! Don’t come closer!”

The man’s appearance under the candlelight was shocking.

His completely bare torso… and gloves.

Bare with gloves?

Before the sheet covering his legs could slip off, I quickly covered my eyes.

“I… I’m not ready yet! Can you not come closer now?”

“What’s that supposed to mean… wait! Don’t move!”

“What…?”

The moment he said, “Don’t move,” the room tilted, and I felt my body falling.

“Ah, ah, ah?”

“Riana!”

The ringing sound of something crashing to the floor.

Followed by the man’s voice calling a strange name, “Riana.”

Then a loud thud and pain in my head.

Before I could understand what was happening, my eyes welled up with tears from the pain.

“Ouch…”

I looked up at the ornate ceiling above me while lying on the floor.

Then a pair of long legs in dark blue pants approached.

“Are you okay?”

“The pants… you’re wearing them?”

“…What?”

Ugh, if I’d known he was wearing pants covering his legs, I wouldn’t have caused this mess.

In the silence of the night, broken by the commotion, I held my aching head, swallowing my embarrassment.

“Your Majesty! What happened?”

I heard loud voices, and a group of people rushed into the room.

Their appearance was strange, and they used a strange title: “Your Majesty.”

“What’s this… am I in a foreign country? Did I get drunk and board a plane?”

* * *

I looked up and saw a man in elegant clothes looking down at me.

“So… what’s my name?”

“Riana Daphne.”

“And your name?”

“Enoch Philipp Dehart. And I’m not ‘you,’ I’m somewhat of an Emperor.”

I looked at Enoch as he tilted his head sleepily and rubbed my fingers.

“So, the situation just now…”

“Yes. I was changing my clothes when you barged in and climbed on top of me. And you took off your clothes yourself because you felt hot.”

“Haha, I see.”

“Ah, just to clarify, no need to worry about anything. Any other questions?”

I shook my head, then carefully reviewed Enoch’s words.

“So, I’m Riana, and you— I mean, Your Majesty, are Enoch. And I was harassing Your Majesty?”

“Yes. Ugh, how many times do I have to repeat this?”

His gray eyes crinkled after repeating the question multiple times.

Then he looked at me as I nervously grabbed my hair and muttered:

“You were drinking a lot… did that cause memory loss? Riana, you might need to cut back on drinking.”

“Haha, yes, I’ll try.”

Avoiding his sharp gaze, I saw platinum blonde hair swaying in front of me.

‘Does this situation make sense?’

After the fifth explanation, I finally accepted reality, and my legs began to tremble.

If I understood correctly, I’m in the world of an adult novel.

Its striking title: *Why Is That Duchess Tumbling in the Rose Garden?*

A novel full of passionate love, not just for adults, but more than that! And the worst part is, I only learned about this novel a day ago.

‘I was only reading it because my friends were talking about it!’

I read part of it out of curiosity but stopped because it was embarrassing. Who would’ve thought I’d end up inside it?

‘If I’d known, I would’ve read it all.’

I stopped my legs from trembling and nervously chewed on my hair, trying to recall Riana’s character.

Riana Daphne.

With her platinum blonde hair and green eyes, she looks exactly like the heroine and is her cousin.

She has no special traits, except that she’s a villain who appears early on to spice up the story.

She loves money, power,

Oh, and alcohol too.

Anyway, she was a character who tried to seduce the Emperor at every opportunity to become Empress.

“Ah! But why now of all times?”

“What? What do you mean?”

“…Nothing, just talking to myself.”

“Riana.”

“Yes?”

Enoch called me seriously and stared at my hand.

“Just to clarify, hair isn’t food.”

“…What?”

He shook his head, then leaned forward slightly, removed a strand of hair from my lips, and returned to his chair.

“If you’re hungry, shall I order food? Eating hair will hurt your stomach.”

“I’m not hungry!… I mean, yes, you’re right. I shouldn’t eat hair. Haha, I不會.”

I felt annoyed at his tone, as if scolding a three-year-old, but I quickly calmed down.

Because the man sitting in front of me, sleepily,

smiling with his red lips like a satisfied predator,

is none other than…

the mad tyrant of this depraved, tragic novel.