OMLOW 02

Chapter 02

My Fiancé Is an Obsessive Male Lead?!

“I don’t want to get engaged! No, no, no! I said I don’t want to!”

At the tender age of sixteen—
while throwing a tantrum and rolling around on the floor because I didn’t want to marry—
I accidentally tumbled down the second-floor stairs.

“My goodness, my baby!”
“Cecil!”
“Miss!”

Hearing my family’s shocked cries, I lost consciousness…
and only regained it two full days later.

But even after waking, I had to remain in bed for four more days.
Perhaps from the blow to my head, I recovered memories of my previous life and suffered a fever of awakening.

Th-this is impossible… I reincarnated into a 19+ dark romance fantasy world? Of all genres—why a tragic one instead of rom-com, healing, or childcare?!

I wanted to deny it, but there was too much evidence.

The familiar name Cecilia Roheim.
My rare, water-colored hair and eyes reflected in the mirror.
A family environment where I was the pampered youngest daughter, showered with love.

And…
a fiancé who was the Second Prince destined to become emperor!

“This can’t be real. This is a dream…”

“My dear, did you hate the engagement that much?”

My mother, who hadn’t left my side while I was ill, looked determined.

“If you truly dislike it, we can cancel it.
The documents are still under negotiation, and no seal has been stamped yet…”

“N-No, we can’t!”

Startled, I jumped up and grabbed her hand.

“My dear?”

“I was being short-sighted.
Even if it’s not sealed, it’s already verbally agreed upon.
If we cancel without reason, we might be accused of insulting the imperial family.”

In truth, there was another reason the engagement couldn’t be broken—
but I couldn’t tell my mother.

“And besides! They say the Second Prince is very handsome, right?
If I have to marry anyway, I prefer a handsome man.”

At my deliberately childish tone, Mother looked surprised,
then gently stroked my shoulder.

“Of course we wouldn’t choose your husband carelessly.
Your father, siblings, and even the palace staff praise him endlessly.
They say he is diligent and upright—so much so it’s hard to believe he’s royalty.”

“H-haha… I’m sure…”

But Mother—
when a model student goes astray,
the disaster is far worse than anything a delinquent could imagine.

The male lead everyone praised as sincere and humble
would one day darken into a mad, obsessive man.

Remembering the unspeakable acts he committed in the novel,
I forced out a hollow laugh through unshed tears.

What am I supposed to do now?!

* * *

After sending Mother out with the excuse that I wanted cookies she baked herself,
I sat alone at my desk and opened a notebook.

If I summarized the novel in one line:

A high-intensity tragic romance where the male lead—who had everything stolen by his older brother—
loses even the crown prince position and his fiancée,
then darkens, kills them all, and kidnaps and imprisons the heroine.

Why on earth did I ever read such a story?!

The obsessive male lead, Lionel von Altehyde,
was born the Empire’s Second Prince and was undergoing harsh training to become emperor.

Why was the Second Prince the crown-prince candidate instead of the First Prince?
Because the First Prince, Kaien, was the root of all problems.

Too frail to bear imperial duties,
he spent most of his days bedridden—
and grew jealous of his healthy younger brother.

So he repeatedly tormented Lionel,
stealing everything Lionel cherished—
objects, attendants, nanny, even pets.

And it didn’t end there.

While Lionel struggled on the dangerous northern frontier,
Kaien suddenly recovered his health
and stole both the crown prince title and Lionel’s fiancée.

That fiancée—
the novel’s heroine—
was Cecilia Roheim.

Me.

The First Prince became so arrogant entirely because of the Empress…

Feeling guilty over her eldest son’s illness,
the Empress spoiled him endlessly
while neglecting—almost hating—Lionel.

To the extent that after Lionel lost the crown prince position,
she banished him to the Central Temple,
fearing he’d cause future conflict.

Having lost everything,
Lionel gathered power in the temple and underworld,
launched a rebellion—
and succeeded.

Seated on a throne stained with his family’s blood,
he kidnapped and imprisoned me,
his former fiancée.

That was the beginning of the tragic novel I once read—
whose title I don’t even remember.

What followed was just… various things he did to me while I was imprisoned.
No need to recall that.

What mattered was this:

The biggest trigger for Lionel’s corruption
was losing the crown prince position and his fiancée and being exiled.

That’s why I stopped Mother from canceling the engagement—
in case Lionel already recognized me as his fiancée
and canceling would accelerate his downfall.

It’s only a verbal agreement so far… maybe it’s okay…

But you never know.

Maybe we met in childhood—
a classic trope!

A bleak childhood of harsh training and painful discrimination…
and within it,
a tender first-love memory blooming like a flower.

Except I don’t remember—
and only the male lead does!

If that were true,
perhaps I unknowingly became his only salvation
and planted the seed of obsession in his heart.

And besides…

Looking in the mirror, I nodded in satisfaction.

It felt awkward to say myself, but honestly—
I was beautiful.
Even more doll-like and lovely as a child.

Right… it’d be hard not to fall for that face.

Maybe…
Lionel himself pushed for this engagement.

If that’s the case, I can’t just run away.
That might speed up his corruption.

The engagement had already happened.
There was no undoing it.

So what I must do now:

Prevent the male lead’s corruption—no matter what.

I couldn’t stop the First Prince from recovering and becoming crown prince—
the novel never explained how he recovered.

But I did know the trigger of Lionel’s fall.

So I had to stop it.
For the sake of my peaceful future retirement if nothing else!

To do that… I need to see my fiancé’s face at least once.

I had to confirm what feelings Lionel currently had toward me.

Decision made,
I spoke directly to Mother when she returned with cookies.

“Mother, how about inviting the Second Prince for a meal?”

“A meal?”

“Yes. He’s going to be my husband.
I want to see for myself how handsome he is—
and whether he’s truly as sincere and humble as rumored.”

“Oh my, that makes sense.
Very well—I’ll send an invitation to the palace.”

And so, a few days later,
I was finally able to meet
my future darkened, obsessive fiancé.

But the situation differed from what I expected.

“What? We’re going where?”

“To the imperial palace.
They invited our whole family.”

Instead of the Second Prince visiting us,
our entire family was summoned to the palace.

In other words—

Before the engagement was even finalized,
the two families were already holding a formal meeting.