Episode 01
“Ophelia.”
He gazed at me as if I were the most precious thing in the world. His violet eyes shimmered, as though dripping with honey.
He was breathtakingly handsome.
“I love you.”
If the women of the Empire could receive such a sweet whisper from him, they would do anything.
Because he was the Crown Prince of this Empire.
But unfortunately—
There was only one answer I could give to such a divine confession.
“Peep.”
That’s right.
No matter who stood before me, no matter that this was the Crown Prince’s private bedroom—a place no woman who adored him had ever been allowed to enter—
None of it mattered.
Because right now, I was nothing more than a tiny yellow chick.
“How adorable. Just as expected of the one I chose.”
Murmuring with a low chuckle, as if I were unbearably cute, was Clements Lestat Düssingen—the silver-haired Crown Prince who looked every bit as noble as his title.
He was the very man who had turned me—a perfectly normal noble lady—into a chick day and night, torn me away from my family, and forced me to live in this troublesome imperial palace!
“Peep! Peep!”
I flapped my wings furiously in protest.
You lunatic! Do you even realize what kind of chaos is erupting in the palace because you’re carrying around a chick like some beloved concubine?!
“Casis.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Ophelia isn’t pecking at her feed. What’s the matter?”
Because of you!
“It seems the premium feed we recently switched to doesn’t suit her taste. I shall have it replaced with the previous one.”
“My lovely Ophelia, even as the Crown Prince’s chick, your tastes are so modest. Truly, an example for the Empire.”
What nonsense is that?!
Even Marquis Casis Dupre, the Crown Prince’s aide and one of the most capable men in the Empire, was seriously indulging in this absurd pet-play.
Was the entire Empire losing its mind except for me?
Clements had never listened to me even when I was in my human form. Let alone now—how could I possibly convey anything as a chick?
Having lost the will to resist, I slumped onto the feed dish.
My name, Ophelia, engraved in gold on the elegant bowl, came into view.
No matter how much I raged, to that exalted man, I was nothing more than adorable.
“My Ophelia, is something troubling you?”
You. You are the source of all my worries, my misery, my ruin!
Something was wrong.
In the novel I had read, Clements wasn’t… this kind of lunatic.
He was the male lead praised by readers for his sweet devotion to the heroine.
Though—
He ultimately met his death at the hands of the woman he loved, Belarusia.
As a devoted reader, I couldn’t bear that tragic ending.
So after transmigrating into the novel, I tried to prevent his death—making sure there were no misunderstandings between him and the heroine, ensuring their love stayed pure.
But everything had gone terribly wrong.
And the result—
Was this.
Yes, he was alive.
But why—
Why was he ignoring the heroine and instead doting on me, a mere chick?
Me, who had originally been nothing more than an extra—a childhood acquaintance of the heroine.
“Your Highness! Please return Ophelia! It’s my turn to take care of her at lunch today!”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Someone pounded on the sturdy bedroom door as if trying to break it down.
There was only one person in the Empire bold enough to knock on the Crown Prince’s door like that.
Lady Camille de Baylis, a platinum-blonde beauty with green eyes.
The strongest candidate for Crown Princess.
And in the novel—
The villainess who tormented the heroine relentlessly to gain Clements’s attention.
But now?
She was simply someone competing fiercely with Clements to possess me—a chick.
The moment Clements heard her voice, his expression turned cold.
“Send her away.”
“Leave it to me.”
As if embarking on a solemn mission, the Marquis strode toward the door, leaving behind a flash of red hair.
Outside, Camille insisted she knew I was inside and demanded entry, while the Marquis calmly lied that I wasn’t here at all.
Camille wasn’t someone who would back down easily. This would take time.
“You need not worry about anything, Ophelia.”
In the meantime, Clements whispered sweetly and lifted me onto his palm.
As though I were a lover he was secretly sheltering.
Are you kidding me—why is everyone this serious about a chick?!
“Peep! Peep! (I’m going insane!)”
“Yes, I feel the same.”
“Peep! (Don’t say that!) Peep. (You’ve already lost it.)”
“You are the cutest being I have ever known—and ever will. Next month… let us hold a ceremony with the imperial elders present.”
“Peep. (What ceremony are you talking about…?)”
Clements blushed slightly.
I felt a chill run down my spine.
Ignoring the ominous implication, I watched as he removed the silk cover from a silver tray on his desk.
Beneath it—
A tiny white dress, a veil, a tiara adorned with rosebuds and pearls…
All tailored perfectly to fit a chick’s body.
Even displayed neatly on a chick-shaped mannequin made of white wire.
“I want to spend my entire life with a chick as adorable as you.”
He gently stroked my head with his thumb.
“Do you like it?”
I had tried not to let anything stress me out—
But this?
This was my limit.
My tiny orange feet trembled uncontrollably.
Like a drama character collapsing from shock, I flipped backward—
Though, of course, I only landed softly in the palm of his hand, my fluffy feathers cushioning the fall.
“Ophelia, what’s wrong? Do you not like the dress?”
Ah…
How did things end up like this?
Even if others transmigrated into tragic side characters, at least they remained human.
My memory drifted back to the very beginning—
To when I first entered this novel.
“I can’t believe this!!!”
Grabbing my hair, I reread the sentence on the screen.
[Clements Lesta Düssingen died just like that.]
“Ugh…!”
A strange groan escaped my lips as tears welled in my eyes.
[Because he fell in love, he could not reclaim even his own life from her hands.]
“Aaaah!!”
Unable to bear it, I hurled my phone across the room.
It bounced off the mattress and crashed onto the floor—but I didn’t even think about the installment payments still left on it.
I knew it was ridiculous to react like this over a web novel.
But I truly loved this story—Beauty and the Beast.
From the very first chapter, it perfectly matched my taste. I reread it countless times, eagerly waiting every day for new updates.
What made the novel so captivating was its mysterious setting and atmosphere—
And at the center of it all was the heroine.
Belarusia Leunis Monahan.
A count’s daughter cursed to transform into a black panther every night.
The male lead—
Clements Lesta Düssingen, the Crown Prince.
Though elegant and composed on the surface, Bela harbored an untamed wildness.
In the novel, her attraction to Clemetns was expressed in raw instincts—
“I want to devour him.”
“I want to break him.”
Clements, too, was no ordinary man.
He was human—but something about him felt… not quite human.
Especially under the moonlight.
Readers reacted like this:
[First time seeing a heroine who wants to eat the male lead…]
[Clements, run away.]
[Is this a dark story?]
Despite everything, they were drawn to each other at first sight.
But Bela couldn’t approach him freely due to her curse, while Clements grew more intrigued by her distance.
Between secrets and tension—
They entered a thrilling, dangerous romance.
And then returned together to the imperial palace.
But there—
Camille de Baylis awaited them.
The villainess, the queen of high society.
Seeing Bela by Clements’s side, Camille lost her mind and devoted herself to crushing her.
Reader comments flooded in:
[Camille is so annoying; author, please give us some payback already.]
[Why is the heroine so passive in front of her? So frustrating.]
[Is this a tragedy?]
[Is it just me, or is the male lead suspicious?]
Deeply immersed, I felt Bela’s emotions as if they were my own.
And I trusted Clements’s love completely.
I even defended them passionately in the comments:
[Considering Bela’s upbringing, there’s no way she could stand her ground in such an unfamiliar environment. And why are you blaming Clements? He’s completely devoted to her!]
I had loved this story so much.
And yet—
Clements died.
At Bela’s hands.
It was nothing less than a bolt from the blue.
