TNMN 04

Chapter 04

Se-ah found it fascinating that someone who wrote romance novels could be so utterly uninterested in romance in real life.

It was no surprise, really.

Every unfinished romance fantasy novel of Hyojoo’s that Se-ah had read was filled with soft, heartwarming moments and exquisitely written emotional tension between a handsome male lead and an equally charming second male lead. Readers had praised them endlessly.

“How am I supposed to date a 2D character? We exist in different dimensions.”

“So what? Sure, there’s a monitor separating me from my 2D husband right now, but technology keeps advancing. Maybe someday they’ll become real. Or who knows? Maybe God will finally answer my years of prayers and something magical will happen, like, ‘I went to sleep and woke up in another world.’”

How ridiculous.

Snorting, Se-ah picked up the fried chicken that had long since gone cold and took a bite.

“…Fine. I’ll pray that happens for you.”

“I seriously wish it would.”

She knew it was an absurd fantasy.

Still, simply imagining herself living somewhere other than reality made Hyojoo’s heart race.

She had no family.

The only real connections she had in this world were the close author friend sitting in front of her, the editor waiting for her next manuscript, and the countless readers she’d never even met.

It wasn’t as though she hated her life.

She was a successful writer.

Surely someone walking the path of success was still allowed to imagine what life in another world might be like.

After passionately telling Se-ah that if God truly existed, someone like her deserved to be sent to another world…

Less than a day later, her wish had actually come true.

Only to discover—

This wasn’t a romance fantasy at all.

‘Out of every genre… why did it have to be this one?!’

She had imagined a carefree pink future after transmigrating into a novel.

Instead, she’d been handed a blood-red future.

This couldn’t continue.

“Ah-choo! I-I… I’m sorry. I’ve been feeling unwell since earlier… Cough! Cough! I think I’d better head home.”

“Oh dear! Are you feeling that bad? Should we call a physician—”

“No, I’ll be fine if I just get some rest. Cough, cough!”

Even with such painfully obvious fake acting that not even a dog would believe, Alexis and Dain remained sincerely worried about Alosha.

As she hurried toward the waiting carriage before the story could progress any further, tears suddenly welled up in her eyes.

“I’m doomed… My life is over.”

She wanted to cry more than anything.

But the shock had left her mind completely numb.

If she’d known things would turn out like this…

Instead of respecting her friend’s reading preferences, she should’ve pressed Ctrl + Delete and erased that manuscript from existence forever.

‘Was I asking for that much? I only wanted to become the rich daughter of some noble family in a romance fantasy and enjoy a sweet romance with a young, rich, handsome man! Why can’t I ever be happy?!’

And to make matters worse—

Not a two-hundred-chapter novel.

A whopping five hundred and sixty chapters.

With side stories included, it was probably even longer.

An epic fantasy of absurd length.

Honestly, she’d rather have transmigrated into that niche thriller-mystery romance fantasy instead.

At least people fell in love there.

According to the chapter count she’d heard, Alosha herself was murdered around Chapter Sixty.

‘Then… what chapter am I in right now?’

For the first time, Alosha truly understood why characters who transmigrated into doomed villainesses immediately packed their jewelry and fled to the ends of the earth.

Her thoughts were a tangled mess.

Dragging herself home, she locked herself inside her room without moving an inch.

She had no idea how much time had passed before—

Knock. Knock.

“Alosha… are you feeling any better?”

Huh?!

That voice outside the door…

The protagonist had come to ruin her life.

She clamped both hands over her mouth and held her breath.

‘Wait… I don’t remember Dain ever coming to Alosha’s room in the original story.’

If she remembered correctly, their first meeting had indeed taken place at the Nocturne estate rather than the Order of Knights.

The gradually changing storyline left her confused as she tried recalling the original novel.

Dain had arrived at the front entrance.

He shared dinner with the Nocturne siblings in a warm atmosphere.

After the meal, Alexis tactfully excused himself so the two of them could spend time alone.

The awkward pair took a walk through the garden, reminiscing about old memories, before Dain eventually presented Alosha with a bracelet.

That was how it was supposed to happen.

‘Why is everything changing? Is it because I acted differently?’

When Alosha remained silent, she heard a long sigh from outside.

“She must be asleep…”

Please stop acting like an ex-boyfriend who can’t let go and just leave already.

Actually, while you’re at it, leave the Nocturne family altogether and build your future somewhere else.

Alosha sincerely wished for exactly that.

Then—

“Don’t worry, Alosha. This time… I’ll definitely protect you from that bastard.”

I’m screwed.

He’d definitely regressed.

Listening to the male lead solemnly vowing outside her door that he’d defeat the villain and protect everyone made Alosha want to burst outside and grab Dain by the collar.

‘Stop! That’s a death flag!’

The classic cliché.

Whenever a soldier said,

“After this war is over…”

or

“I promise I’ll…”

they inevitably died.

And now she’d just heard the immortal protagonist himself utter one of those infamous lines.

‘So… my death is basically guaranteed now.’

While Alosha stood there in utter despair, she heard rustling outside.

Soon afterward, the footsteps disappeared.

After waiting nervously for several more minutes to make sure nothing else would happen, she finally relaxed and unlocked her door.

Looking around to see whether Dain was still there, she noticed a small box lying on the floor near her feet.

Her hands trembling, she picked it up.

She had always complained while watching horror movies that characters never simply ran away at the first sign of danger.

Yet now, as though hypnotized, she slowly opened the box herself.

“Please… don’t let it be what I think. Please let it be nothing.”

Inside lay a simple gold bangle.

Set into its center was an emerald that matched the color of Alosha’s eyes.

By itself, the bracelet wasn’t frightening.

The terrifying part was the engraving on the inside.

“To Alosha Nocturne — From Dain.”

In the original story, anyone other than the heroine who received such a symbolic gift from the male lead was destined to die.

Readers would probably find it touching.

They’d look forward to the protagonist’s emotional growth.

But for Alosha—the one actually doomed to die—

Her heart sank like a stone.

[“Oh, them? Of course they died. Around Chapter Sixty, I think. After it was discovered they’d helped the male lead, the villainous Duke sliced the younger sister down first.”]

‘If I die here… what happens? Do I just return to my own world?’

She’d never read a transmigration novel where the transmigrated character actually died.

Maybe she’d survive somehow.

But then again…

Those characters had all been the protagonists.

“No… It’s too early to give up. There has to be a way.”

Determined to organize her thoughts, Alosha sat at her desk and began writing everything down.

In the original story, her first meeting with Dain happened during dinner.

She had been wearing a blue dress.

But now—

It had happened during lunch.

She’d been wearing a lavender dress instead.

She had successfully avoided Dain to stop the story from progressing.

Yet somehow…

The bracelet scene still happened.

“So I can change the details depending on my actions… but the major events of the original story will always happen?”

If even a tiny stream could gradually change the course of a river…

Then perhaps her own actions could eventually alter the story enough for her to survive.

She remembered that, regardless, war would eventually break out.

Her older brother, Count Alexis Nocturne, would join forces with Dain, gather allies, and build enough influence to oppose Duke Whistler.

‘Then… what if I stop them from siding with Dain?’

In that case, Duke Whistler would simply unleash his bloody campaign even sooner and conquer the Empire.

No matter which direction events took…

The Nocturne family would still be wiped out.

Both Alexis and Alosha would die together.

There seemed to be no escaping that ending.

“Seriously! Why are villains in movies and novels always obsessed with conquering continents and becoming rulers? Couldn’t they just obsess over the heroine like every normal romance fantasy villain?”

She muttered bitterly.

Then—

A brilliant flash of inspiration struck her.

She could practically hear the familiar sound effect of a lightbulb turning on as a beam of light descended from heaven.

“…Wait. Does this novel really have to stay a fantasy filled with blood, violence, and betrayal?”

There was one perfect solution.

One trick that could eliminate all those complicated characters.

One way to reach a peaceful ending without sacrificing countless innocent lives.

“I just have to turn this genre into a romance fantasy!”

If she couldn’t completely rewrite the original story…

Then she’d simply create a new one on top of it.

A massive work spanning 560 chapters?

With every romance fantasy cliché she’d ever read and written…

She could probably wrap the whole thing up in 160 chapters.

There wasn’t a single proper romance in this world.

There weren’t any female rivals standing in her way.

Naturally, she would become the heroine.

If she rewrote the story carefully enough…

She could avoid the hopeless future awaiting Alosha.

“So… who should I seduce to change the original story?”

Dain?

She immediately shook her head.

Even in the original, Alosha had only been a woman with an unrequited love for the protagonist.

“The protagonist is out.”

The woman standing beside a hero was always kidnapped, threatened, or murdered out of revenge.

That was another classic cliché.

Then perhaps someone powerful?

The conservative Duke Helmilston?

The Crown Prince?

She shook her head again.

She only knew the story up to around Chapter Fifty.

She knew almost nothing about the Crown Prince.

She could barely even remember what Duke Helmilston looked like.

She needed someone who wasn’t the protagonist…

Someone powerful enough to prevent the war itself.

The head of the Laos Merchant Guild, who could buy and sell anything?

No.

He seemed far more interested in money than women.

Then there was only one person left.

One man capable of blooming romance on this barren battlefield.

“That’s it!”

“I’ll seduce the villain.”