Chapter 1
It was truly a shocking possession.
“Han Chayun”—or rather, “Angelica Ratley,” as she had become now, sat in a daze, lost in thought.
“There was nothing unusual, so why did this happen?”
She had never been hit by a truck, nor left countless comments on the work as typically happens in these stories. All she had done was read the novel Empire’s Rose, now considered an old work, before falling asleep.
But when she opened her eyes, she found herself lying on a desk, having become a woman with platinum hair and golden eyes.
However, this world was not the novel she had read yesterday.
“Neither the name nor the name of the country feels familiar. I’ve never heard of either.”
Even if she had only reread her favorite scenes, Empire’s Rose was a novel she had read for 13 years.
There was no character named “Angelica Ratley,” not even a name starting with “An.”
“To possess into a novel I don’t even remember? What rotten luck I have.”
Her eyes, sparkling with excitement after the possession, quickly dimmed. If she had possessed into Empire’s Rose, there was a specific person she wanted to meet.
“Now I can’t even reread the novel, and I won’t be able to see ‘Hugo’ either.”
What a useless possession!
It was so frustrating that she felt an overwhelming urge to scream. Her previous life hadn’t been easy, but at least she had been happy with her favorite person, “Hugo Bernstein.”
“Hah…”
Angelica sighed in despair, then rested her head on the desk.
Annoyingly, a scattered pile of letters settled in front of her eyes.
『To… my beloved… Angelica…』
The letters were unfamiliar, but thanks to the body’s original owner’s memory, she managed to read them with difficulty.
The letter was brief.
It started with the embarrassing word “my beloved,” then expressed the person’s feelings about their last meeting and anticipation for the next one.
At the end, there was no name, just the initial “H.”
And yet, Angelica clearly remembered the letter’s sender.
“Hyperion.”
She didn’t know his title. She had known him since she was fifteen, but he never allowed her to call him by his full name, saying it wasn’t something a woman should utter.
“As expected, not a name from Empire’s Rose.”
If her father, the Duke of Ratley, addressed him that way, he must be someone of higher status.
“Haaa…”
Angelica sighed again, completely abandoning any hope that this world was the world of Empire’s Rose.
And at that very moment, she violently pushed the letter away, nearly tearing it.
She didn’t know why, but as soon as she read the letter, a intense disgust welled up inside her.
“How am I supposed to live now?”
The future was unknown. She no longer had the person who gave her life meaning, and worse, this duchy was steeped in a domineering patriarchal system.
She couldn’t declare independence and live alone, and worse, her jumbled memories suggested she was engaged to that man named “Hyperion.”
“Ugh…”
Just thinking about it made her body shudder with involuntary disgust.
She tried to calm her nausea while silently swallowing her tears.
“I want to escape.”
She had no experience dealing with men; she had remained single her whole life.
How could she feel anything for anyone else when all her thoughts were focused on “Hugo Bernstein”?
And now, she had to marry? To a man whose very presence made her body feel disgust and nausea?
“…Should I run away?”
The thought came suddenly, but it seemed incredibly tempting.
Rustle!
Angelica shot up from her slumped position over the desk in one breath.
‘My stomach still feels a bit nauseous, but that doesn’t matter.’
“Yes, I’ll try to escape. What’s the worst that could happen? Death?”
In fact, living without her favorite person was worse than death for her.
And perhaps, if she died, she would return to her original world.
Then, at least she could see “Hugo” again, even if just through words or the shadow of his image in one of the illustrations.
“I’ll escape!”
Her golden eyes gleamed with a manic, enthusiastic light.
And the timing was perfect, as night had already fallen.
She rushed to the dressing room and gathered as much fabric as possible, tying it together.
“This is good.”
She wiped the sweat beading on her forehead with a satisfied smile.
“This rope should be long enough to reach the ground.”
But at that moment…
Whoosh!
“Huh?”
The candles lighting the room suddenly went out.
“What is this? Why is there wind?”
The door was firmly closed; there shouldn’t have been any draft.
Yet, a cold breeze flowed through the room.
And amid that…
“Escape? It’s futile, daughter of Ratley.”
“!”
It was a cold, masculine voice she had never heard before, but it pierced her ears forcefully.
Even though summer was at its peak heat, hearing that voice made her body tremble as if she had been thrown into the midst of a harsh winter storm.
“I must… move…”
She tried to move her body, but it froze in place.
Alarm bells rang in her mind, but she couldn’t even utter the word “help.”
Heavy footsteps approaching…
The man was approaching her slowly, each moment feeling like an eternity.
Then, without warning…
“Oh?!”
His arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her toward him with force.
“Ugh…!!”
No, this wasn’t just an “embrace.”
His chest, felt through his soft clothes, was hard as stone.
She let out a soft moan, feeling as if the grip of his arms around her loosened for a moment.
But she thought she was imagining it.
Then…
“Oh.!”
“Stay calm.”
He gripped her jaw tightly, forcing her face toward him violently.
Her vision was blurred from the pain, but she caught the reflection of his feral eyes.
She couldn’t see his full face.
The room was dark, her eyes hadn’t adjusted to the darkness yet, and she had instinctively closed them from sheer fear.
But with her sight impaired, her other senses became more acute…
For example, she could feel the man’s hand gripping her chin more sensitively on her skin.
His fingertips were so hard they felt stinging, as if they were scars.
The instinctive fear she felt, and the pain spreading through her heightened senses, clouded her mind.
‘Hah… I’m scared.’
Tears streamed from her eyes.
But what was this?…
“I won’t hurt you, Angelica Ratley.”
Though his hand on her jaw was rough, he wiped her tears with his thumb in a strangely contradictory motion.
His movement was rough and harsh, but it didn’t reflect a desire to kill her.
Unbeknownst to herself, Angelica slowly opened her eyes.
And that was the moment that completely changed her fate.
“Ah, I’m going to die…”
With that thought, Angelica let go of the last thing keeping her from madness.
Then she fainted.
It was a dream about the moment she first read Empire of Roses.
That day was clearer than any other.
It was winter, and she was sixteen years old.
Her curiosity led her to click on a novel that was about to be pulled from the markets.
The story was so engaging.
It was an academy novel about a heroine in the sword department and the prince in the magic department, and how a romantic relationship tied them together. But the man she thought was just a foolish prince turned out to be proficient in sword arts with imperial ambitions, just like in classic tales. There were also stunning illustrations of the young prince with blond hair and blue eyes that captivated the eye.
But the character who captured Angelica’s heart wasn’t him.
It was “Hugo Bernstein,” who appeared mysteriously in the background at first.
<What’s troubling you, Miss Rose? Grip the sword. Do as you wish. I’ll bear all the risks for you.>
<Your smile is beautiful. Smile always; that’s an order.>
<Miss Rose, I think I’ve already fallen for you. Have you gotten a satisfactory answer now?>
Unlike the novel’s protagonist, who was always full of naivety, “Hugo” was serious and straightforward in everything. And despite his title “The Blood-Living War Demon,” he showed glimpses of sincerity and diligence, and even seemed innocent at times.
It was just that reason.
‘I loved Hugo for that reason alone.’
Every time she recalled his actions as the novel progressed, she found herself smiling unconsciously. And when she tried to picture his features based on the written description, he seemed cute, no matter how harsh or strict he appeared in the novel.
But that feeling, which she thought was just a fleeting moment, lasted with her for thirteen years.
She didn’t know if she was the type to cling to someone, but she never expected to love a fictional character so deeply, not just a two-dimensional character, but mere written words.
She didn’t know his real face, his voice, his height, not even his birthday… She knew nothing about him except what was written in the novel.
“Hu… go…”
But instead of finding herself in a world with her favorite person, her misfortune didn’t stop at possessing an unknown character; she ended up getting kidnapped too!
‘These days, possessions don’t happen just once; they repeat multiple times…’
So, she wished the next time would be in the world of Empire of Roses, where Hugo existed.
But before she could even sink into that dream—
“Have you woken up, Angelica Ratley?”
“…?”
She heard the voice of the man who had kidnapped her.
She felt disoriented, and her consciousness gradually returned. In an instant, her body froze in place.
“I’m… still alive?”
How could that be?
Despite trying to deny reality, her senses began to return gradually.
The sound of horse hooves, the hardness of the man’s chest she was still pressed against, the sensation of his arms wrapped around her waist, his hot breath brushing her ear, and the strong thigh her trembling feet were propped against.
But there was only one thing…
“My eyes… why…”
She couldn’t see anything.
The world in front of her was completely dark.
