Chapter 1

Prologue.

Melody frowned at the throbbing sensation. It was a dreadful hangover. As she groaned and pushed herself up, an unfamiliar scene unfolded before her eyes.

A hotel…?!

A splendid chandelier. A bedspread embroidered with gold. Her last memory was of a shabby tavern, so she had no idea how she ended up here.

Melody, wearing a dumbfounded expression, glanced down at her completely bare body, then quickly turned her gaze to the window.

In the reflection on the glass, she saw a woman with tousled light green hair, deep green eyes, and delicate facial features.

So yesterday, without a doubt…

I ran away from the capital—the setting of the novel.

Melody had one day realized, quite by accident, that this world was actually the setting of a 19+ reverse harem romance novel called “The Private Affairs of Lihellin.”
And in it, she was just a background character, someone who worked nonstop and eventually got caught up in a rebellion and beheaded—a side character so minor, she didn’t even register.

That side character… was Melody herself.

So to avoid death, she had to escape the novel. After months of preparation, she finally fled the capital on horseback yesterday morning.

To relax for a bit, she entered a tavern at an inn in a nearby village.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

She was immediately caught—by Male Lead #1 of the novel.

With golden hair, violet eyes, and a face like a sculpture clad in pristine white armor, the holy knight Awhin approached her and knelt.

“Lady Melody.”

He lifted both hands with a solemn expression. In his hands was a pristine white whip. As the eyes of everyone in the tavern turned toward them, he spoke.

“Sir Awhin… how did you find me…”

“Please strike me until your anger is soothed.”

“Huh? But I’m not even angry….”

“Then why did you leave without a word?”

“If I had told you, I wouldn’t have been able to leave. I didn’t think… you’d follow me.”

“If you must leave, then at least let me come with you. Let me stay by your side and tend to your wounds when you’re hurt.”

She had told him there was no need, that he should go back. But he simply wouldn’t listen. In frustration, she suggested they just have a drink—and had a few glasses.

And then—

“What is this hellhole? You left the capital for a dump like this?”

Male Lead #2 arrived: Ryan, Crown Prince of the Valkaras Empire. He stormed in, scaring off innocent customers. He looked completely out of place in the shabby tavern, dressed in extravagant clothing.

Her vision grew even blurrier when she met his delicate features, pale blue eyes, and blue hair.

“To think a servant of the goddess is chasing after a woman’s skirts. How laughable.”

With a scornful remark at Awhin, his sharp gaze fell on the luggage sitting beside Melody.

“You thought I’d get desperate just because you said you were leaving? That’s your mistake.”

Ryan, clearly agitated, ordered his attendants to bring forward the items they had carried. It was a chest full of luxurious dresses and bejeweled accessories.

“I was going to toss you a few palace jewels as a farewell gift.”

Ryan scoffed.

“You belong to me. So say you won’t go anywhere.”

“Your Highness, I’ll just take the jewels as a parting gift.”

Melody thanked him and pulled the box toward her. As she brought down the whip to break open the sturdy lock—

“What if you hurt your hand with that thing?”

A cold voice brushed her ear.

From the darkness appeared a man exuding a dangerously decadent aura. Underneath disheveled silver hair were lazily opened red eyes—so beautiful it was chilling.

This was Male Lead #3: Deonis Theodel Valkaras, Duke of the Valkaras Empire.

With a mere snap of his fingers, the whip in Melody’s hand turned to ash and vanished in an instant.

“How dare you use magic in front of me?!”

“Stay away from Lady Melody. I can’t allow someone as dangerous as you to be near her.”

In this world, magicians were feared.

As Ryan shouted, Awhin drew his sword and pointed it at Deonis.

“If you don’t watch me, can you kill me? This is perfect. I’ve been in the mood to kill someone anyway.”

His vicious gaze shifted from Awhin to Melody, softening as it did.

“When you disappeared without a word, I started wondering just how much more insane I could get.”

In the chaos of trying to stop a fight, the inn itself had vanished—and after that…

“What happened?!”

She couldn’t remember… Wait, she did.

“When crafting magical tools, the hammer is more important than the magic formula. The grip has to feel right… What the—why is this so big?”

Melody struggled to grasp something warm and thick—it was a man’s forearm.

“Could you stop touching me?”

“I just want to test the metal’s strength. Mind if I bite it?”

“…You want to bite me?”

“No, no, I meant the hammer. Excuse me for a moment.”

As she sank her teeth into the man’s smooth arm, a low, pleased laugh rumbled from his chest.

His lips glided across her skin. Damp breath. A sharp twinge. And then, an overwhelming pleasure. Memories of the previous night came flooding back, leaving her breathless.

“What the hell did I do?!”

After hesitating, Melody glanced to the side.

The man who had driven her wild last night was still lying there.

She pulled back the bedsheet covering his face—and the profile that emerged was breathtakingly beautiful. From his forehead to his nose bridge and jawline—even his crimson lips were flawless.

Upon seeing Deonis’s face, Melody quickly yanked the sheet back over it.

“This is insane.”

All she wanted was to escape her doomed fate in the novel. But of all people… she got entangled with the most dangerous man.

Was the mistake trying to change fate?

To understand what really happened, we must go back…

About six months ago.

* * *

Temple of Light.
Beneath the massive, snow-white building was a department unknown to most.

[Magical Tool Development Division]

Corpses of monsters lay scattered across the floor. Magic tool engineers, worn out from overtime, mechanically etched rune scripts onto dark mana cores.

— Light on.

One engineer chanted an ancient incantation, and a square lamp lit up brightly. He tossed the completed lamp into a box and began etching the next.

Meanwhile, underneath a dust-covered desk in the corner of the department, a woman with grass-green hair lay flat out. It was Melody.

“Melody, wake up!”
“What’s going on?”
“I dropped a hammer used for making magic tools… and it fell on your head…!”

A few engineers nearby gathered around, looking down at her in concern.

When she showed no sign of waking up, the one who dropped the hammer looked close to tears.

“She’s not going to stay unconscious forever… right? Should we contact her family?”
“Ah… she doesn’t really have one. Her mother left when she was young, and her father passed away. She lives alone in an inn near the temple. Since she’s from the slums, I don’t think anyone’s really looked after her.”
“Oh no. No wonder she’s been saving up so desperately… it’s because she’s on her own.”
“Shouldn’t we at least call a priest to check on her? We can’t just let her die without treatment.”

Melody’s eyes flew open at that very moment, right as their worried voices continued.

“No!”

Her deep green eyes trembled.

“No priests. Absolutely not. One gold coin would cost more than two months of my salary!”