~Chapter 1~

Once, I used to dream of becoming a possessed heroine in a romance fantasy.

Main character, side character, villain, even the ones destined to die young—everyone still managed to live happily.

I thought when people said, “I don’t want to transmigrate!” they didn’t really mean it.

But after actually transmigrating,

“This is garbage.”

That’s right. Lovelace had transmigrated, and she realized this new life was horrible.

On top of that, unlike other romance-fantasy heroines, she had a fatal weakness.

“What kind of novel did I even transmigrate into?!”

Lovelace didn’t know the original story.
Which meant this life… was doomed.

Like the lyrics of that famous song—a hyena prowling the mountainside looking for food—Lovelace wandered around the temple.

Her robe was filthy, her skin dry and rough from not eating properly for so long.

She rubbed her stomach, so thin it was impossible to tell belly from back, yet her eyes still burned with sharp hunger.

Food, food…

People avoided her strange, pitiful figure. The lower priests of the temple clicked their tongues.

“You again? I told you to stop coming!”

“I don’t want to either. Please, priest… just give me some bread.”

Lovelace clutched at the priest’s robe. He shook her hand off as if she were filth. Watching her stumble, he only clicked his tongue and walked away.

It should have hurt her pride, but Lovelace didn’t care. Six months in the slums had hardened her to scorn and contempt—but hunger was something she could never get used to.

With no special skills, she was useless in the slums.

“Hey, go pick pockets or something.”

Banks, the leader of the slums, ordered her to do all kinds of shady things. But she refused. She would rather starve than do that.

Not out of guilt or conscience, but—

“I’m terrified of the gallows.”

A very realistic reason.

Whenever she rejected his orders, Banks either starved or beat her. He never starved her for more than a day, but this time it had been three full days.

Stingy, greedy, bastard. Getting angry for three days over something so petty.

Lovelace’s vision blurred. Her stomach clung to her back so tightly that even stones on the road started looking like bread. She bent forward, her body about to collapse.

No! That’s just a rock!

She tried to snap out of it, but hunger devoured her reason. Against her will, her hand reached down to grab the stone.

Then, carried on the wind, a delicious smell struck her like a hammer.

Her eyes flew wide open. Drooping shoulders straightened, and she staggered after the scent until she found herself at the back door of the temple’s kitchen.

She had discovered by accident not long ago that the door was always left open for food deliveries. She had ignored it—because she didn’t want to commit a crime.

But today was different. Picking up that rock and smelling bread… it had to be divine revelation.

Eat your fill, my lamb.

When she pushed the kitchen door, it creaked open. Sure enough, it was unlocked today as well.

Fragrant smells wafted through the crack. Lunch must have just ended.

If I go in now, there’ll still be bread and soup left.

Her mouth watered just imagining it. The gulp was so loud she covered her mouth in fear someone might hear.

“It’s prayer time, Philip!”

“What? Already? I haven’t even finished cleaning up yet!”

At the sound of the priests talking, Lovelace’s nerves went taut. After every meal, the priests all gathered for worship.

Perfect timing.

The clatter of dishes being cleaned. Footsteps leaving the kitchen.

Her lips trembled, and tears of joy streamed down her cheeks. She carefully stepped inside. It had been so long since she’d seen a real kitchen that she didn’t even know where to look first.

Her stomach growled louder, urging her on. Her heart pounded with anticipation.

“There it is!”

Bread. Right in front of her eyes.

Like a believer discovering a miracle—or a mathematician solving the unsolvable—Lovelace’s eyes sparkled.

She bit her lips to keep from cheering. Any noise could give her away.

The bread was plump like a child’s cheek, golden-brown as if kissed by the autumn sun, radiating the warm fragrance of a wheat field.

“Perfect!”

She leapt forward like a leopard pouncing on prey, snatching the bread.

So unlike her usual sluggish steps, it was lightning-fast. If Banks had seen it, he would’ve shouted, “That’s how you should be stealing!”

But such speed only came from desperation at the edge of death.

Finally—finally—she held the bread in her hands. Six months in the slums, and she had achieved a true victory.

Tears and snot poured down her face. She was so overwhelmed she forgot to even eat.

Then—rumble.

The ground roared beneath her.

What—what is that?!

Startled, Lovelace clutched the bread tighter. Fear of being discovered and panic that the bread might vanish seized her at once.

She opened her mouth wide, about to bite down—

Bang!

The fear became real. With a deafening crash, stones rained down from above.

An earthquake?!

What else could make the ground and building shake like this? Natural disaster was the only thought that came.

Survival instincts flared again. She dove under a large kitchen table, just in time to avoid being crushed.

“Ow!”

In her haste, she smashed her forehead against the edge. Rubbing her head, she looked up—only to see a nightmare.

Walls collapsing, priests shouting, people running, dust filling the air. Stones still falling.

The temple is collapsing!

She shot up—bam!—and hit her head again.

Groaning, she crawled out. She couldn’t stay here. If she did, she’d die. Yet her stomach still screamed for food.

Then she remembered—

“My bread!”

The shock had made her drop it. Gone. Not just the bread—everything in the kitchen was now out of reach.

“What the hell… what the hell is this?!”

Tears gushed down her face.

“Who’s there?! It’s dangerous! Get out, now! Do you want to die?!”

A passing priest waved frantically.

He was right. She’d be crushed if she stayed. Starving to death was bad enough, but being buried alive was worse.

Didn’t they say not to run around during an earthquake?

She remembered safety lessons from Korea, but there was no time to think.

Swallowing tears, Lovelace ran into the collapsing temple. The back door was blocked by debris—there was no other way.

The temple hall was pure chaos. People screamed and shoved, desperate to escape. Another explosion shook the building.

Her ears rang. She crouched down, covering them.

“Get out of the way, useless brat!”

A priest kneed her aside as he ran. She fell awkwardly. Not one of them tried to help.

She cursed every animal name she knew at the fleeing priest.

Then—

Roll. Something shiny rolled to her feet.

A candy.

Large like the marble candies she’d had as a child. Smooth as glass. Sweet fragrance flooding her nose, making her dizzy.

Her reason screamed: No! Don’t touch it!

Her pride shouted: What, am I so desperate I’ll eat candy dropped on the ground?!

But her eyes stayed glued to it. Not just from hunger—the candy gleamed with an enchanting light.

It felt like fate. Like she had to eat it.

They say if you eat it within three seconds…

But three seconds had long passed.

And yet, despite the chaos, the candy was spotless. Not a speck of dust on it.

Her stomach groaned and groaned, tormenting her.

No one could blame the starving for what they chose.

Her hand twitched forward—

“Are you crazy?! Don’t touch that!”

A voice roared. Someone rushed at her, pointing furiously as if she’d stolen something precious.

“What the hell? A beggar?”

“…Beggar?”

Lovelace tilted her head.

Sure, she was a beggar—but how dare they say it to her face like that!

“What even is this…?”

She let out a hollow laugh.

Dozens of priests and men in black robes charged toward her—all for that candy.

A memory surfaced—Banks’s drunken gossip.

“They say the Pope hides something only he eats. Rarest delicacy. Even the Emperor can’t get it.”

Don’t tell me… this is it?

If they were this desperate, it had to be.

Some mystical elixir? Immortality candy?

She snorted. Hunger was making her brain rot.

The world’s going crazy.

But the candy still gleamed, sweet scent overwhelming her senses.

Before she knew it, she had picked it up.

“Stop! Don’t you dare!”

“She’s insane! Drop it now!”

Too loud. Too chaotic.

Lovelace, almost entranced, popped the candy into her mouth. Watching their faces twist in horror was strangely satisfying.

Honestly, the candy tasted awful.

“Spit it out! Spit it out, now!”

One man grabbed her by the collar, shaking her like a ragdoll.

With no strength, she swayed helplessly. The candy slid down her throat—gulp.

“…Did she just swallow it?”

The priest’s face crumpled in despair.

All this fuss over one stupid candy.

Lovelace smirked. That’s right. I ate it. She wanted to tease them.

But no words came out.

“Khuh—!”

She clutched her throat and collapsed. Something inside her struggled violently, trying to burst out.

Heat surged through her. She panted as though she’d run miles.

Her mind went blank.

All she could see was white light, swallowing her vision.

Reality blurred. Her feet lost all sense of the ground.

“Get lost.”

A voice cut through the light.

The priests vanished. A man in black appeared instead, catching her collapsing body.

Ha… did you even know what that was before gulping it down?

“If you ate it, you should take responsibility, right?”

His mocking voice, laced with laughter, rang in her ears.

All she’d done was eat a piece of candy…
And now he was telling her to take responsibility?

How absurd.