ILOIML 01

Chapter 01

“No, no, that’s not what you do.”

I kept my mouth shut and shook my head as I pulled the snot-covered cloth from Leon’s shirt out of his mouth. Leon got annoyed and showed his teeth like he was angry.

“I don’t want to! Give it back!!”

“Hmph! Just behave.”

I ignored his whining and wiped his nose skillfully.

Then Leon rubbed his snotty hand on my dress.

“Hey!!”

When I spoke in a low voice, Leon’s face started to scrunch up like he was going to cry again.

“You’re really fussy today, Your Grace.”

I shook my head, looking troubled.

Officially, I was here to deliver a birthday letter from the emperor. But in reality, the emperor’s envoys had come to check up on Leon. They looked like they understood what was going on and didn’t plan to stay long.

“I’ll go see them out. You can be alone for just a second, right?”

“No! No! Never!!”

Leon sat down on the floor and kicked his feet, crying loudly.

I looked helplessly at the envoys. They exchanged glances and quickly waved their hands.

“It’s fine! You don’t need to see us out. We’ll get going.”

They quickly left the room. As soon as they were gone, Leon stopped crying, got up from the floor, and sat on the sofa with a blank look on his face.

“Make me a flower ring.”

He said it like it was a huge bother.

“…”

I really wanted to shout, Cut it out already, you little brat!

But instead, I forced a big smile.

“Amy, go bring some flowers. The red ones our young Duke likes.”

“Yes, Madam.”

When I spoke, Leon looked up at me and gave a big, innocent smile. The cold look from before was gone. He now looked pure and sweet.

But his red eyes still gleamed sharply.

I avoided his gaze and gave the brightest smile I could.

“I’ll make you the prettiest flower ring ever.”

* * *

This all started with a not-so-normal case of soul possession.

I went to bed like usual, but when I woke up, I was somewhere completely unfamiliar.

When I looked in the mirror, I saw a woman with emerald eyes and an incredibly beautiful face.

I had apparently come back from visiting my family in the capital yesterday. Also, the body I was now in… was married.

The names sounded strangely familiar. And when I finally met “My husband” Leon, I realized I was inside a tragic romance fantasy novel I had read in my previous life: I Want to Be the Brain in Your Head.

Leon was the male lead.

Most importantly, he was supposed to be an idiot—or rather, pretending to be one. He was the type of character loaded with secret power.

And me? I was the bad wife who treated him badly and acted like the whole duchy belonged to me. When the time of monsters came, Leon would show his true self and fall in love with the saint girl, the main heroine. I, the villain, would keep trying to get between them… and in the end, the monsters would tear me apart.

Honestly, if Leon hadn’t had snot on his face the first time I saw him, I might’ve fallen for him instantly. My pounding head from the possession suddenly felt clear, and he seemed to shine with the light of the world around him. Black hair and red eyes—he was exactly my ideal fantasy male lead.

“Wow! It’s Bell-Bell!”

Leon had shouted too loudly when he saw me. He ran toward me with a bright pose that didn’t suit his size. I instinctively took a step back.

But as soon as I backed away, his eyes turned cold.

He wiped his snot with his hand and grabbed my dress. I almost pushed him away without thinking, but I held back.

Snot again… Come on, I know you’re faking this. Do you have some kind of superpower over your nose? He better not be a real snotty idiot…

Despite being strong enough to kill me anytime he wanted.

That thought made me shiver.

Leon tilted his head as he shook my dress, waiting for me to say something.

“Um… Leon-nim?”

I wasn’t sure how the original “Bella” called him, so I carefully tried calling his name. Instantly, the smile vanished from his face.

I remembered—Bella was a villainess. How would she have called him?

I calmed my racing heart and opened my mouth.

“Hey, you brat.”

I saw a twitch in his forehead and realized this was wrong too.

In the book, Bella didn’t really appear much herself. She existed mostly as a topic in other characters’ conversations about her evil deeds. That’s probably why I didn’t remember much about how she interacted with Leon directly.

Maybe that was on purpose, so readers wouldn’t feel uncomfortable seeing the male lead with his actual wife.

“The. Duke. Is. Going. Out. For. A. Walk.”

His assistant, Kalsen, glared at me and spoke slowly, emphasizing each word. He was clearly telling me how I should be addressing Leon.

Duke or Archduke—aren’t they the same? Whatever. Let me just get out of here.

“Uh… Your Grace, enjoy your walk and—”

“Let’s go together!”

Leon wiped saliva from the corner of his lips and grabbed my arm with that same hand.

“Hey! That’s gross!!”

I shouted without thinking. Silence fell.

“…sir.”

I said the rest under my breath.

Leon, frozen for a second, suddenly lit up and began to call my name.

“Bell, Bell, Bell~”

He looked so happy as he spun in circles around me.

“Wait, Your Grace. Yes, let’s go together. Stop spinning, it’s dizzying.”

Leon stopped spinning and suddenly burst into laughter, holding his belly.

He’s not just pretending to be an idiot—he’s a psycho too? What kind of character is this?

Fine. Maybe he’s just trying to survive in his own way.

That made me feel a bit sorry for him.

And that day, during the walk, I made him the flower ring.

After that, we started occasionally going on walks or having meals together.

One of my maids, Amy, mentioned that before I returned from the capital, I hadn’t spent any time with Leon. Not even once.

So why was he suddenly so interested in me?

I didn’t know.

Maybe he sensed I had changed?

Either way, I decided I had to survive. I needed to avoid the cruel fate of getting ripped apart by monsters.

I made up my mind to treat Leon kindly and with care.

He might look like a fool, but surely he wouldn’t betray someone who treated him well… right?

From that day on, I decided to treat him like a child. He must never find out that I knew he was faking it.

* * *

“Here, your flower ring is ready!! Isn’t it pretty?”

“Hehe, pretty! Just like Bell-Bell!”

“Oh my~ You’re making me blush.”

I turned my head, pretending to be shy.

Ugh. This is sickening. Please stop.

“Bell-Bell, who were those dumb-looking guys just now?”

Leon had a talent for saying exactly what he wanted at the perfect moment. He seemed to enjoy it.

“Who do you think they were? Guess.”

Leon tilted his head and scratched his head with a idiot face.

“I don’t know!!”

“That’s right. You don’t need to know.”

He smiled brightly and let some drool fall from his mouth.

I calmly wiped his lips with the same snot cloth hanging on his outfit. He tried to avoid it, but I didn’t care.

What? You think it’s dirty because of the snot? Say it if you dare. Oh wait—you can’t.

“Okay, Your Grace, it’s time to study with Kalsen now. What are you learning today? Do you know this one? What’s one plus one?”

“…Three.”

Nice try, Your Grace.

“Correct! You’re a genius, our Duke! Keep up the great work today too!!”