<Everyone Loved Her>
The character I’ve taken over in this novel is the wife of the second male lead.
The character I liked the most when reading the novel: Dante Petros.
Dante had been diagnosed with a terminal illness as a child. But he overcame it and became the empire’s greatest knight. His storyline was flawless, but on top of that, men who work hard always look sexy.
The keywords tied to him as a second male lead were ‘indifferent guy,’ ‘virile guy,’ and ‘obsessive guy’—were more than enough to captivate people. But his hardships didn’t end there.
He was constantly being watched by the imperial family.
Dante’s life was full of ups and downs. The reason he could only be a supporting male lead, despite all his background and skills, was because of imperial pressure.
And even, his marriage to Chloe—who now was me—was part of that too.
Dante, who had someone else he loved, obviously hated Chloe. It was a natural outcome.
It was like that in the original, so I assumed that even now Dante probably still…
In any case, despite all that, Dante respected me as his wife and gave his best in what was surely a miserable marriage.
Even in bed.
Seduced by Dante, I deluded myself into thinking that if I worked hard enough, I could change this fate.
How foolish.
The voice drifting from inside the office, along with the light, was Dante’s.
“Is the birth control working properly?”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
The person answering was Petros’ family doctor.
“That’s a relief.”
Birth control? What’s he talking about?
I had gone looking for Dante, who hadn’t returned to the bedroom, even though it was late. Dante usually came to my room by 11 PM.
He really did do his best, considering I was just a wife in name only.
But I shouldn’t have left my bedroom tonight.
Then, I wouldn’t have heard this conversation.
I could’ve stayed in my delusion and been a little happier.
“If Chloe gets pregnant right now, that’ll be a problem.”
“…She could already be.”
“But didn’t the examination results say otherwise?”
“We can’t always exclude the possibility of ‘what if,’ can we?”
My heart felt like it was about to burst out of my chest as I listened to their conversation.
I had a gut feeling.
The next thing Dante said would tear me apart.
“…Then we have to kill her.”
“If that happens…”
My legs started shaking.
In the original novel, Chloe was also killed by Dante.
It’s only natural since it was because of Chloe that the woman Dante loved ended up in a coma.
I did everything I could to survive.
“Lady Illya…”
The name of the woman Dante loved hit my ears like a slap.
In the end, the female lead had to have a happy ending with the male lead, just as the original plot dictated.
So I thought, surely, I’d be allowed to have Dante for myself.
Before I realized it… I had fallen in love with Dante, too.
But even Dante belonged to the heroine.
I leaned against the wall, gasping for breath.
Tears quietly started to stream down my cheeks.
What did you expect, Chloe?
***
That was over a month ago.
If he wasn’t mine, to begin with, I wanted to leave before being abandoned.
So I decided to live quietly and peacefully in some faraway place.
Somewhere where no one would recognize me.
I had successfully run away.
I spent a good amount of money on hair dye, dyeing my hair once a month, for that very reason.
Luckily, my wheat-colored hair takes dye really well.
Thanks to that, no one recognized me.
Sometimes, I missed Dante, but it was fine. This was the right choice for everyone.
At least, I was fine until this morning.
Until I saw the huge shadow standing in front of the small house I’d gotten for myself.
The basket in my hand dropped with a dull thud.
An apple rolled out, bumping softly against the shadow’s foot.
The owner of the shadow turned to face me.
‘Dante…!’
Why is he here?!
“Chloe.”
Dante bent down to pick up the apple.
“So this is where you were.”
“D-Dante…”
“Where’s Werner?”
Werner? Why’s he asking about Werner?
Isn’t the male lead supposed to be living happily with the female lead?
“I know you ran away with him, Chloe.”
I was at a loss for words. This situation made no sense.
“It’s okay, Chloe. We can start over from the beginning.”
Dante smiled gently.
But why did that smile seem so terrifying?
“You always liked our… physical relationship, if nothing else. Let’s start from there.”
What the hell… is he saying right now?
Smack-!
The apple in Dante’s hand burst. Juice dripped down his hand. Was he planning to crush me like that apple? I could almost see my fate shattering, just like that apple. Another apple rolled and lightly tapped against my foot.
In Dante’s gleaming eyes, there was only me—just me, entirely. The eyes I thought I’d never see again were now fixed solely on me.
Is this what it feels like to be so shocked that you lose your ability to speak? My mouth was glued shut, unable to utter a word.
Was there anyone who could explain what was going on?
Nope.
I awkwardly stepped back.
Dante took one step closer.
I had retreated three steps, but to him, that distance was barely one step.
Dante bent down and picked up another apple. Juice dripped from his hand with a loud *plop*.
That sound echoed in my ears.
“Don’t think about anything else. I’m going to kill that guy.”
Who’s he going to kill?
The male lead…?
* * *
I realized I was inside a novel when I was 18. That was three years ago. Until then, I kept thinking my life was awful, wondering if I was even part of this family, but that wasn’t it. I had just possessed a woman named Chloe and had been living her life, and I came to accept there would be no dramatic twist in my life.
At first, I denied it. Then I denied it again. Finally, I accepted it. What else could I do? No matter how much I struggled, I was Chloe Tyrania, through and through.
“Oh, right, Miss. You haven’t eaten in two days, right? I brought some food.”
My maid, Marianne, handed me a rice ball wrapped in a white handkerchief.
We were in a shabby room, the furthest one from Illye. That’s because my presence was a nuisance to her.
I stared at the rice ball with a pale face. Just like Marianne said, it had been two days since I’d had a sip of water.
“It’s nothing special, but if I dig through the kitchen right now, I’ll get kicked out too… I’m sorry this is all I could bring.”
The rice ball was as warm as Marianne’s kindness. I picked it up with my bony hand, hearing her sniffle in the background. The scent of salt and fried vegetables hit my nose as I bit into it, and tears welled up in my eyes. I thought my tear ducts had dried up, but apparently, they hadn’t. Each bite, chew, and swallow was precious. Marianne sobbed as she watched me eat.
Chloe Tyrania. And the cursed Tyrania family.
I was the family’s black sheep. I had a twin sister—the female lead of this novel. I, Chloe, was the villainess. In the story, Chloe was obsessed with taking everything Illye had. Not only did she steal the marriage proposal to Duke Petros, but she also loved Werner, the crown prince. After tormenting a pregnant Illye, Chloe causes her to miscarry and eventually dies in a dungeon.
The most infamous moment?
“That child is mine! It should’ve been my child!”
That’s how Chloe was, screaming in madness. She left quite a collection of crazy quotes behind.
“He was supposed to be my man from the start. You’re just in the way.”
“You wretched thing, you’ll die bleeding like a stuck pig!”
Unlike Chloe, Illye was sweet, beloved by everyone, and even loved her older sister who tormented her.
But the Illye I knew was different.
The year Illye awakened as a saint, a priest from the temple gave a prophecy to my parents:
“There is an anomaly in your family. That anomaly will devour the saint’s destiny. Be careful.”
To anyone who didn’t know the situation, it would’ve sounded like nonsense. But, unfortunately, there was such a person in our family. The only one in the house full of silver-haired people who was born with unique wheat-colored hair.
The anomaly the priest mentioned was clearly me.
This looks good.