Chapter 02
The inside of the carriage was fairly spacious.
But the knights accompanying her were at least twice her size.
Prim shifted uncomfortably.
“I can’t breathe.”
She darted glances at the knight seated beside her.
Her eyes searched for any possible way to slip out of this situation.
“Should I… just ask?”
Summoning a bit of courage, she slowly opened her mouth.
“Um… could we possibly postpone the lessons to another day?”
“…Didn’t you just say earlier that you’re not Lady Primabelle?”
“I wasn’t fully awake then. Haha.”
Prim gave a sheepish laugh. The knight, however, replied firmly.
“That’s impossible. Haven’t you already received the advance payment?”
Prim’s mouth opened and closed like a fish.
“Ad… advance payment…?”
“If you do not proceed with the lessons, it will be considered a breach of contract, and you will have to pay back ten times the advance.”
Ten times… The sheer amount was unimaginable, and her jaw dropped.
She pictured her own house.
It was the kind of place that could collapse any moment.
There was no way she could repay ten times the small bundle of gold coins she’d briefly glimpsed.
At that moment, the carriage jolted. The coins in her pocket clinked noisily.
The knight’s eyes flicked toward the pocket of her dress.
No one else had stepped forward for this job—except for her, a nameless painter blinded by the lure of money.
And now the sound of those coins practically screamed her motives aloud.
“Haha… well, this is awkward…”
Prim awkwardly laughed and quickly covered her pocket with her hand.
There was no escape for now.
So she hurried to think of her next move.
Rein’s hatred toward the emperor had been growing steadily.
That hatred had burned strongest when he was fifteen, the year he gained the ability to see the color red.
And not long after that came the appearance of the nameless painter—Prim.
“Why… at the darkest time of all!”
And to make matters worse, Prim’s hair was red.
The very color that would most easily catch Rein’s eye.
Wow. Just my luck.
She gave a bitter smile, then shook her head fiercely.
“No, I should look on the bright side. Maybe ending up in this woman’s body isn’t so bad after all.”
If she stayed close to the protagonist, it would be easier to change the future.
This was the world she herself had written.
She knew when the main character would begin to stain the world red.
Maybe—just maybe—she could stop that future.
I don’t want to die!
“We’ll be arriving soon.”
At the knight’s words, she turned to look out the window.
Through the dense forest, the Belles Palace came into view.
Dark clouds seemed to loom over the castle itself.
The oppressive atmosphere made her shiver slightly.
“To think he spent his childhood in a place like this…”
It felt suffocating.
If just looking at the castle was this painful, how must it have been for someone trapped inside it all their life?
Prim stepped out of the carriage with the knights.
If the exterior was gloomy, the inside of the palace was even more so.
Lavish paintings were hung here and there as though someone had made an effort to brighten things up.
But the sparsely placed lanterns only deepened the shadows, making the paintings seem grotesque.
“Not that it matters—Rein can only see the color red anyway.”
She frowned slightly at the eerie atmosphere and followed the knights.
The staircase seemed endless, no matter how much they climbed.
“This is the place.”
One of the knights stopped before a massive door.
Knock, knock, knock. Three precise knocks, and the knight slowly opened the door.
“Lord Reinsis.”
Bowing respectfully, the knight stepped aside, gesturing for her to enter.
Prim hesitated before stepping into the room.
She had just begun to raise her voice in greeting when her gaze faltered.
Sunlight streamed through the window.
Beneath it, he sat, reading a book.
Silver hair and porcelain skin gleamed in the light.
It was a sorrowful sort of beauty.
Her mouth fell open.
If angels truly existed, they must look like this.
Even the word radiant felt insufficient.
“Lady Primabelle.”
The knight cleared his throat meaningfully, bringing her back to herself.
“Oh, um… hello. I’m Primabelle, and starting today, I’ll be teaching Lord Reinsis art. Please take care of me…”
Was that the right way to greet him?
Her voice was barely above a whisper, her gaze glued to the floor.
“…”
Silence filled the room.
Though she had greeted him, no response came.
Prim cautiously lifted her head.
Empty, ashen-gray eyes stared straight at her.
Eyes devoid of emotion. Eyes that seemed to have given up everything.
As their gazes met, the forced smile on her lips slowly faded.
Her mind went blank.
His face carried no spark of life.
There was no way she could keep smiling like a fool.
“The prophecy…”
Perhaps she was partly to blame for what he had become.
“Then, I’ll take my leave.”
“If you need anything, just tell the attendant outside.”
After saying this, the knights exited.
As the door closed, a suffocating silence filled the room.
Rein, as though nothing had happened, returned his gaze to the book.
“…”
Prim pressed her lips together.
It wasn’t that her pride was wounded at being ignored.
It was that those lifeless eyes kept pricking at her conscience.
She hesitated.
“…Are you just going to keep standing there like an idiot?”
His cold voice broke the silence.
She flinched. Rein still hadn’t lifted his eyes from the book.
Prim couldn’t answer right away—her thoughts were still in disarray.
Slowly, Rein raised his head.
His icy gaze locked onto her.
“If you’re just going to stand there like a fool, then get out.”
“…Sorry?”
“Or better yet—say you can’t do it, and run away. I wouldn’t blame you.”
“It’s not like you want to lose your sight too, is it? You call yourself a painter.”
Even as he said such cutting words, his beauty remained unshaken.
Prim stared at him, dazed, which only made him smirk as if used to such reactions.
“If you have nothing else to say, then leave.”
“…Your Highness.”
“Now.”
“….”
His decisive words fell, and his eyes drifted back to the book.
In the end, Prim couldn’t muster a single proper word and had to retreat from the room.
“Um…”
“….”
“Lady Primabelle?”
The maid’s worried voice reached her.
But Prim couldn’t answer.
The emptiness in his eyes had driven away all thoughts of running.
“If you’re going to stand there like an idiot, just get out.”
“Or else run away, say you can’t do it.”
Rein’s sharp voice still echoed in her ears.
Prim let out a long sigh.
After all, the root cause of all this could be said to lie with her, the creator of this world.
“Isn’t there something I can do?”
Lost in thought, she walked until the maid stopped in front of a small room.
It was the lodging prepared for her inside the palace—to prevent any thought of escape.
Prim stepped carefully inside.
It wasn’t shabby, but the oppressive air lingered.
“The knights have already delivered and unpacked your things.”
“…Ah, thank you.”
“If you need anything, please call.”
As the maid left, she cast one last glance at Prim.
Surely, she too wondered how long this money-driven newcomer would last, when every other painter had quit after meeting with “accidents.”
When the maid was gone, the room fell into silence.
Feeling uneasy, Prim lit the lamp with a match.
Then she collapsed onto the bed.
As she stared blankly at the ceiling, Rein’s dull eyes kept flashing before her.
The guilt that had pricked her earlier grew heavier.
“No. I can’t just sit here doing nothing.”
She jumped up, mind racing.
The prophecy of destruction.
And Rein, trapped in a colorless world.
His emotions manifested as colors.
When his dark, suffocating emotions awakened into rage, he gained the ability to see red.
But when he met his fated love, the heroine, the light of the world would finally pierce into his eyes.
The heroine would gently embrace his confusion.
Through her, he would learn to see color—and to feel.
“So the easiest way is still to find the heroine…”
But how could she find her?
The empire was vast. She had no name, no age.
And Rein was the embodiment of fear itself.
Everyone fled at the mere sight of him, terrified of the curse waiting to bloom.
“To find her, he needs to meet people. But everyone runs. How do I prove he’s harmless?”
After agonizing for a while, she suddenly sprang up.
“Yes!”
“I’ll prove it myself!”
The stories of painters being injured were all lies.
But blinded by fear, people had believed them and come to dread Rein even more.
“So if I survive unscathed, that alone will prove something!”
If she could befriend Rein, quell the rumors, and even find the heroine for him—
“Then I won’t die, and the curse will be broken too!”
Sure, her intervention meant this wouldn’t play out like the novel’s fated meeting.
But what did that matter?
The heroine had been written as a noblewoman.
With black hair and red eyes.
Beyond that, even she—the author—didn’t know. She had written only that much before falling into this world.
Still, as long as the two met, Rein would gain the ability to see color.
Who would have thought coming here as his tutor would turn out to be such an advantage?
Prim clenched her fists.
“I’ll make sure the beauty comes to him!”
And I’ll turn our beast into a man admired by all!
Her eyes glimmered in the lamplight.
To hasten her male lead Rein’s destiny, the very first step was clear.
“Hello, Your Highness?”
She needed to befriend the beast herself.
