ASDEF 01

Chapter 01

Two months before the wedding, on a particularly languid afternoon when the sunlight tickled my eyelids.

The emblem of the Royal Order fluttered alongside the national flag all over the city, and the golden cross statue prominently placed in the center of the square was grandly proclaiming the prestige of mages.

As I stared wide-eyed at the capital I was seeing for the first time, the carriage stopped in front of a large mansion, accompanied by the coachman’s announcement of our arrival.

When the carriage door opened, I clumsily grasped my dress, which I was wearing for the first time, and stepped down.

Soon, before my eyes, a sight unfolded of people, including a white-haired gentleman in a black suit, bowing their heads toward me.

“Celestine Fields, you must have had a tiring journey. I am Jacob Walker, the head butler of the Benson household. It is an honor to welcome someone precious to our young master.”

Huh? This is the Benson household…?! Surely not the Benson family I know?!

And what’s this about someone precious?

As my expression hardened and my eyes went wide, the young gentleman beside me poked me in the side.

I barely managed to clutch my aching side and quietly asked the gentleman.

“This is the Benson household? And what do you mean, someone precious? What on earth is this all about…”

“Oh, didn’t I tell you? Today is the day I introduce my lover.”

“Ehh? L-lover?!”

“Keep your composure. Unless you intend for us to get caught.”

“Then, surely you’re Daniel Benson…?”

“Wait. How do you know my name?”

Daniel narrowed his brow slightly. With a very suspicious look.

How do I know you? Because I’m a reader of this novel.

‘Have you ever deceived someone?’

‘Can I trust you when you say you’re good at acting?’

I should have realized it from the moment I received that sudden offer out of nowhere.

No, more than that, now that I’ve finally learned my true role in this novel, should I be happy?

Holding my chaotic feelings, I recalled the events that had led things to this point.

My real name is Kim Eun-hee. I was a 24-year-old assistant chef at a famous restaurant.

That day, as usual, I was on my way to the mart to buy ingredients on the chef’s errand.

Of course, I didn’t dislike that errand.

Because I could buy some hot, freshly made taiyaki (fish-shaped pastries) along the way.

Unfortunately, that day I had to wait in line to buy them, which delayed me much longer than usual.

To accommodate the chef’s temperament, which didn’t allow even a minute of lateness, I ran through a red light—and at that moment, I collided with a large truck.

Even in the midst of it all, I didn’t let go of the taiyaki I had in my mouth.

I don’t have clear memories, but I must have died of shock. I have a very faint memory of someone pumping my heart frantically.

When I first opened my eyes, I thought this was the heaven I’d only heard about.

That was, until I met my stepmother, who was glaring down at me viciously as I slept trembling in a fetal position.

“Sophie! Do you know what time it is? Because you haven’t fetched the water, we’re all starving!”

This place is inside the novel, *Dangerous Love with the Kind Prince*.

The story is about the female lead, a candidate for sainthood from a poor and unsightly family, who falls in love with the prince when he visits the temple.

The hidden villain, the sub-male lead Daniel, also loves her, but upon realizing they can never be together, he self-destructs.

That was the twist of this novel.

I realized I was inside a novel long after I had adapted to this place.

I realized it through the name of the young lord who constantly targeted me.

For me, who had entered this place, there was one advantage and one disadvantage.

The advantage was that I knew the ending of this novel better than anyone.

As a busy office worker, nothing was more important than the ending. I had paid for the last chapter first.

The disadvantage was that in this novel, I had no role at all.

I was just a character whose name wasn’t even mentioned, a slave-like figure who worked herself to death.

I hadn’t had a single day of rest all this time. Because I had to feed my sick father, my stepmother, and my half-siblings.

At dawn, I fetched water from the well, and after sunrise, I went to the village restaurant and cooked all day.

Sleeping in fits and starts in the dusty attic, I prayed without fail every single day.

“Oh God, please make me a filthy rich person! Is there any life harder than this second life?!”

Then, a turning point came to me, who had been barely scraping by day after day.

Whether it was in a positive direction—well, that’s debatable… The reason I ended up setting foot in this notoriously infamous Benson household.

It was all because of the sudden proposal from the gentleman right in front of me.

It started when I accidentally spilled turtle soup on a young gentleman’s clothes while trying to catch a dine-and-dash customer.

His attire clearly screamed that he was from a wealthy family.

The young gentleman, confirming his ruined clothes with a cold expression, demanded 50 gold for the fabric and 30 gold for the tailoring, totaling 80 gold.

“S-Sir… I don’t have that kind of money…”

The word ‘Sir’ popped out of my mouth automatically. The strong are always ‘Sir’.

He looked me over, from head to toe, as I groveled, and then nodded. Mercifully.

“Well, if that’s the case, I’ll give you a deadline.”

“Thank you so much. I’ll definitely repay…”

“Bring it within a week. Or I’ll report you immediately.”

“Eh?! Report?!”

Report? So my hidden role in this novel was just Extra #1, who gets executed by beheading after being reported by some high-ranking official?!

I was already miserable enough, and now I had to be beheaded… It was a horrifying thought.

Should I just run away? He’s a face I’ve never seen in this village before—maybe after we part today, he’ll forget about a mere commoner like me.

Seeing my pale, frightened face, the bastard slowly raised one corner of his mouth. Like a serial killer making his first appearance in a horror movie.

“Don’t even think about running away. Finding someone like you is no trouble at all.”

Yes, you certainly look like you could do that.

And so, for a week, I faced the biggest worry of my life.

From my stepmother, who wouldn’t give me a single coin, to my sick father and my exploitative employer—no one around me would lend me any money.

‘Oh, so this is truly my role.’

Even if this was a possession, this was still my precious life.

‘Maybe, as the young lord’s son said, I should have just become his wife…’

Olaf Sutton, the son of the lord who owned this region and a bachelor over fifty.

He was the bastard who kept coming to the restaurant where I worked and hitting on me incessantly ever since I possessed this novel. Spouting disgusting things nonstop.

‘How about you quit this tough work and become my wife? Hehe.’

Recalling his face as he swept back his few strands of hair and flashed his yellow teeth, I quickly changed my mind. I’d rather die than choose him.

At the end of my despair, exactly a week later, the young gentleman came back.

I even got down on my knees and begged.

“Would it be possible to work off the debt with labor instead? I’m quite good at cooking and cleaning. If you could take pity on me and show some leniency…”

It was a futile plea, but I said it anyway.

But sometimes, the world does listen to ridiculous requests.

“Labor, you say… Then, by any chance, can you act?”

I looked up sharply at the unexpected question.

“Act…?”

“Have you ever deceived anyone?”

“Deceived anyone…?”

If we honestly put our hands on our hearts and look back, everyone has acted at least once.

To get an allowance from mom, to lie to a friend, to make countless excuses to a boss, etc.

And so. Simply.

Because I had to survive first.

“Yes! Of course! I’ve done it plenty!”

“Is that so…?”

“Most people believe my acting without a doubt!”

For a moment, a strange light flickered in the gentleman’s eyes.

He rested his chin on his hand with a contemplative expression.

I couldn’t miss this opportunity. This was truly a matter of life and death—I had to be desperate.

“Sir! For the sake of repaying my debt, I can act out any role! Even if you told me to stand before a killer, I’m confident I wouldn’t even blink!”