Episode 2
***
Two days had passed since I woke up in Evgenia’s body.
I felt a faint headache and placed my hand on my forehead, where I noticed a bandage wrapped around it.
“Miss, are you awake?”
“…Anne?”
Suddenly, memories of two days ago resurfaced—first, of being startled by the vintage room, and second, by the sight of a Western woman in a maid’s uniform.
At that moment, I was shocked to hear the name naturally come from my lips.
The realization struck me immediately: Anne was the name of the maid loyal to Evgenia, the villainess in The Saint’s Dangerous Choice.
In other words, I had somehow ended up inside the novel—an unbelievable, storybook-like event!
Could I have died? No, I hadn’t even been hit by a truck.
But my bewilderment quickly faded.
“That’s right, I had sent that email…”
A hazy memory surfaced: instead of leaving a lengthy hate comment, I had openly asked the author to commission the manuscript. Feeling a bit embarrassed now, I wondered if that could have been the reason.
I embraced the situation without resistance.
“Yeah. I don’t know why, but I guess I’ll just have to accept it.”
At first, I was confused and thought it was a dream. But even after falling asleep and waking up again, this place remained my reality.
I shook my head, resigned.
However—
“Hehehe.”
A sly, mischievous laugh escaped my lips.
I looked into the mirror on the ornate vanity.
Though there was a bandage wrapped around my forehead, it didn’t hide the beautiful face with long, dark black hair and enchanting, mysterious purple eyes.
Only, the upward slant of my eyes gave me a sharp and frightening look… the face of a villainess, as vicious as she looked.
And indeed, this body belonged to an infamously notorious villainess. But fate had it that she was meant to marry my favorite character, Euclid.
…Well, even if they did eventually divorce, and he became her ex-husband. Hah.
***
The novel I was now a part of, The Saint’s Dangerous Choice, was a typical reverse harem romance where the female lead, Melissa, captivated the love of the crown prince, the high priest, and the guild master of assassins.
But as the title Dangerous Choice suggested, each of the three male leads had a slightly dangerous, unstable side.
Despite this, the novel was quite popular, and the comment sections were filled with readers fiercely supporting different male leads.
“…Except me.”
Unfortunately, I wasn’t part of those fights.
Though I had an incredible luck in investing, even turning random picks into huge profits, all of my fortune was strictly reserved for money.
“Of all people, I had to fall for a supporting character!”
The husband of a villainess who neglected her family and clung to the crown prince!
Yes, my favorite character was Euclid Ludion.
A poor duke who married the villainess despite his noble status, only to suffer due to poverty.
I had no idea why I became so fixated on such a minor character.
From the moment Euclid first appeared, he just captured my heart.
Unlike the arrogant, self-centered male leads, Euclid was consistently kind and respectful, which made him stand out.
But, in truth, he barely existed in the novel. Once they divorced, he wasn’t mentioned again until the very end.
But now, regardless of the original story, everything would change because I was here.
After possessing this body, it felt as if this world belonged to me, like something I’d longed for all along.
“Well, I’m not wrong.”
Even though I had plenty of money, I always wanted more.
I had little attachment to my former life, and I used to shed tears over Euclid’s minimal screen time, wishing I could meet him, even once.
So, I’ll believe that some higher being, be it the author or a deity, granted my wish.
They were silently telling me to create a new story centered around Euclid myself!
“Yes. I’ll lay down a path of flowers for him.”
As I chuckled, already envisioning my favorite character’s bright future, I suddenly heard a startled “Eep!” from somewhere.
When I looked up, Anne, who had just entered the room, was trembling as she gazed at me.
‘Anyone would think she heard me plotting to crush someone.’
For a moment, I was puzzled, but then I recalled Evgenia’s terrifying face and quickly understood.
Though I didn’t want to admit it, my own face in my previous life wasn’t any less intimidating than hers, so I was used to such reactions.
“Did you bring it?”
“Y-Yes!”
Anne answered my question with a sharp, disciplined tone, pulling a sturdy rope out of her bag.
She looked about seventeen, with big, gentle puppy-like eyes. I wanted to pat her head for her swift movements and praise her, but—
‘That would just scare her, wouldn’t it?’
Such behavior would be uncharacteristic of Evgenia, and it would undoubtedly strike Anne as odd.
Most people who get transported into fictional worlds talk about having residual memories from their new body, but strangely, I had no memories of Evgenia’s past.
In this situation, it was impossible to hide my unusual state from my only close companion, Anne, so I came up with a rather predictable excuse, claiming I seemed to be suffering from “partial amnesia.”
Thankfully, Anne readily accepted my lie. After all, an accident had already occurred that left a bandage wrapped around the forehead of Evgenia, a noble lady.
“So, what happened before I lost consciousness? Why is there a wound on my forehead?”
Although Anne was a trustworthy ally, if she found out that I wasn’t actually Evgenia, but a soul from another world who had taken over this body, she might very well turn against me. So, I asked as coldly as possible, in a way that sounded like Evgenia…
“Miss, then… do you not remember that His Highness the Crown Prince sent a proposal letter to Lady Melissa?”
Anne stammered nervously, her voice trembling with fear.
The Crown Prince sent a proposal letter to Melissa?
Fortunately, the story hadn’t progressed too far—it was still close to the beginning.
Melissa had just entered the Duke’s household, having gradually met each of her suitors, such as the Crown Prince, who was unaware that his mother was the Princess of Basilia and that he was the Duke’s only nephew, as well as the high priest who had come as a volunteer.
Moreover, although Evgenia had a nasty personality, she was generally indifferent to anyone except the Crown Prince.
‘So, she hasn’t started tormenting Melissa… oh.’
Now that I think about it, didn’t Anne say Evgenia already knew about the proposal?
Could it be that she’d already run over to Melissa and caused a scene? Or perhaps that’s why she collapsed…
Please! Please, let it be that she simply fainted from the shock and accidentally hit her head on a corner!
I fought to suppress my anxiety and asked.
“So, how did it come to the point where I collapsed?”
“Well… upon hearing the news, Miss got so furious that she rushed to the Duke’s office and… hit her head against the wall…”
“Enough. You don’t have to say more.”
I hastily raised my hand to stop Anne.
“Evgenia, are you seriously insane?!”
She hurt herself out of anger? And she even deliberately stormed into the Duke’s office?
In the novel, it was mentioned that Evgenia would throw tantrums and harm her own body, like refusing to eat, whenever she was in a foul mood.
I had always tried to be polite, even if I wasn’t inherently kind, yet here I was, possessing a character who behaved so recklessly.
Just as I felt a sigh rising—
“No, no, that’s wrong.”
I shouldn’t be complaining.
After all, it was precisely because of her temperament that the Crown Prince despised Evgenia, which in turn led her to marry Euclid.
With a change of heart, I decided to immediately seek out the Duke, apologize, and declare that I’d abandon my obsession with the Crown Prince.
But as soon as I opened the door—bang!
A dull noise echoed, and something sharp appeared in my line of sight, blinding me momentarily.
“…!”
In reality, I had a gentle heart despite my fierce-looking appearance.
Although not severe enough to disrupt daily life, I did suffer from a fear of sharp objects, a mild case of aichmophobia.
Just as I was about to panic, imagining the spear lunging towards me, I closed my eyes tightly.
“How dare you point a blade at the young lady! Have you lost your mind?”
A sharp voice rang out—so intense that I couldn’t believe it came from Anne.
At her words, I heard the knight hurriedly pulling the spear that had been blocking my path.
“Miss, it’s safe to open your eyes now.”
Anne’s words, full of loyal devotion to Evgenia, were meant to reassure me. She leaned close, whispering as if she knew I had been frightened.
My heart, which had been pounding wildly, gradually slowed to its normal rhythm.
Slowly opening my eyes, I glanced around, noticing the fearful face of the knight and the spear that he had set aside.
And then it dawned on me—I was currently in captivity!
• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Esraa• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
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