<Chapter 2>

I died.  

Hit by an enormous eight-ton truck, I was probably 99.9% gone unless some miracle intervened.  

But then…  

Where am I? Who are these people?

The room was filled with antique furniture.  

When I finally came to my senses, I realized I was sitting on a bed with a canopy draped over it, and people dressed in medieval Western attire were staring at me with cold eyes.  

Among them, the one glaring at me with the most hostility was a middle-aged man with a mustache.  

“Did you come to this castle with this in mind from the start? Were you planning to drag the honor of the Winsteins into the dirt?”  

I couldn’t tell if this was a dream or reality and could only blink in confusion, but the moment I heard his words, I snapped back to full awareness.  

From the orphanage to elementary, middle, and high school. To the university I had to quit despite the scholarship. Even the five different jobs where I only lasted three months each.  

Whenever someone got hurt, something went missing, or anything got broken…  

Whenever anything happened, it was always, “You did it, didn’t you?” accusing me as the culprit.  

I was very familiar with situations like this.  

At least it meant I’d learned how to handle them well. If you stammer like you’re clueless, you’ll 100% get blamed.  

I erased all expression from my face and stared directly at the man in front of me.  

“What do you think I’ve done? I have no idea what’s going on, but if you’re going to pin this on me, show me some evidence first.”  

At that, the man who had been intimidatingly pushing forward let out a frustrated sound and stepped back a little.  

“Are you pretending not to know? Acting like an imbecile won’t help you…”  

“David.”  

Just as he was about to argue back with fighting words, a heavy voice echoed from beyond the bed’s canopy.  

That alone was enough to instantly calm the once-chaotic atmosphere in the room.  

“We greet His Grace, the Duke.”  

The mustached man immediately turned and bowed with a respectful attitude, as did the others.  

A duke? What is this, some kind of romance fantasy world?

……No, wait. Could it be…?  

A ridiculous thought flashed across my mind.  

No way. Seriously, no way.

I wanted to check the face of the person they’d called “Duke,” but the canopy was blocking my view.  

As I tilted my head to peek without being noticed, the same voice spoke again from beyond the canopy.  

“I hear my fiancée has awakened.”  

“Your fiancée? The woman who threw herself off rather than marry…?”  

“David.”  

At the reprimanding tone in his voice, the mustached man pouted while keeping his head down.  

As his disgruntled side-glances turned toward me, a realization flashed through my mind.  

When he said “fiancée,” was he talking about me?

Was the man they called “Duke” my fiancé?  

“His Majesty arranged this marriage himself. The only way to refuse an imperial match is by throwing your life away. Although the lady made a wise decision by attempting just that…”  

Even though I couldn’t see him, I could feel his gaze directed at me from beyond the canopy.  

“It’s a shame you survived.”  

There was a hint of irony mixed with resignation in his mocking tone.  

As I turned over his words in my head, wondering if I had misheard, a realization dawned on me.  

Arranged by imperial order? Throwing myself off because I didn’t want to get married? ……This sounds oddly familiar.

While I sifted through my faint memories, the man’s voice continued.  

“Since you suffered a severe injury, we’ll postpone the wedding. I’ll inform His Majesty as much.”  

“Um, excuse me…”  

“For now, rest well until your body fully recovers.”  

With those farewell-like words, his footsteps faded away.  

The mustached man kept his head bowed until the sounds disappeared completely, then snapped his head up to glare at me with sharp eyes.  

“Since His Grace the Duke addressed you his fiancée, I shall refer to you as the prospective Duchess for now. However, don’t think that being the Duke’s fiancée entitles you to any authority. Do not dare to make any demands. Understood?”  

“But I…”  

“You will stay here, silent and hidden away, doing nothing at all. Is that so hard to comprehend?”  

Without giving me a chance to speak, the mustached man fixed me with a menacing look.  

I had a thousand questions, but I nodded for the time being.  

First, I need to figure out what’s going on.

For that, I needed to get the mustached man out of here. Fortunately, he was already saying exactly what I wanted to hear.

“Then, I’ll take my leave. Alice!”  

“Yes, Head Butler!”  

A girl, who looked to be in her late teens, hurried over and bowed respectfully to him.  

“Attend to the prospective duchess’s needs with utmost care.”  

“M-Me? ……Understood.”  

With that, everyone, including the head butler and about ten others, exited the room, leaving just Alice behind.  

Clack. The door closed.  

Alice, as if she had been waiting for this moment, scurried over, knelt beside my bed, and looked up at me with wide, tearful eyes. Her expression was rather cute.  

“Prospective Duchess, why did you make such a choice?”  

“I’m not really sure myself.”  

“Pardon?”  

I reached out to tug at the light purple strands swaying in front of me.  

“Ow, ow…”  

Judging by the sharp sting on my scalp, it seems this hair is mine.  

“Doesn’t look like some hidden-camera prank on an unsuspecting civilian…”  

“Pardon?”  

“You’re Alice, right?”  

Where am I? Who am I? Who are these people…?  

I uttered the magic words that could cover all my questions in one go.  

“Well, it seems I’ve lost my memory.”  

“What? What did you say?”  

“I can’t remember anything. Although, I guess I can still speak. How strange.”  

It was fascinating that I could use a language that wasn’t Korean so freely.  

“……Dr. William! Dr. William!”  

Alice, who had no idea what I was marveling over, took my words very seriously and practically screamed as she ran out of the bedroom.  

Not that I minded. She quickly returned, bringing back the doctor with her.

*  *  *

Dr. William, the physician responsible for the Winstein family’s health.  

Almost dragged along by Alice, he asked me a few questions and then, with a heavy sigh, gave me the diagnosis I’d been hoping for.  

“It appears you’ve lost your memory.”  

“Memory loss? The prospective duchess?”  

“She did fall from a great height, head first, so it’s to be expected. Are there any other areas where you feel discomfort?”  

At that, I tried flexing and stretching different parts of my body.  

“Apart from feeling a bit tired, not really.”  

After answering, I couldn’t help but feel puzzled.  

I jumped from a great height, yet not a single bone is broken?!

Deciding to leave that question for later, I asked the two of them about the thing I was most curious about.  

“So it’s true that I threw myself from a high place?”  

“Well…”  

With a small sigh, Dr. William began to explain in a story that was neither too long nor too short.

*  *  *

Three days ago, I—Inosensia—had arrived at Winstein Castle. That very night, I climbed to the top of the high tower… and threw myself off.

In short, she had chosen to end her life just half a day after arriving at the castle.  

Even rolling in the mud is better than the afterlife…… It must’ve been that unbearable.

Since her stay here had been so brief, Dr. William and Alice knew very little about “Inosensia.” However, it had been decided by the Emperor’s decree two months prior that she would come here, and in those two months, plenty of rumors had circulated.  

The two recounted those rumors and recent events that had occurred at the Duke’s residence over the past six months, helping me recognize the source of the strange sense of familiarity I’d been feeling.  

No wonder all these words sounded so familiar…!

The last thing I’d done before crossing that crosswalk was leave a comment on a romance fantasy novel.

The male lead turned into a monster and destroyed the world???? This ending’s real???? I had a bad feeling, so I skipped to the last chapter, and I’m glad I didㅠㅠ If I’d known it would end like this, I wouldn’t have even startedㅠㅠ;;;*

Yes, as much as I didn’t want to believe it, this world was on the brink of destruction.  

And by none other than the male lead who transformed into a monster! He’d kill the heroine, everyone, everything, and after the world lay in ruins, he’d vanish into dust, leaving nothing behind!  

In this world devoid of dreams or hope, the “Inosensia” I had possessed wasn’t even a supporting character.  

She was a mere extra—one who, before the male lead met the heroine, chose to jump from the highest tower and end her life rather than marry the monstrous male lead as the third candidate for his bride.  

In other words, she was someone who died before the story even began!  

‘No matter how unlucky life’s been, I’ve always tried my best! It was bad enough getting hit by a truck running a red light, but now I’m doomed to die again so pointlessly?’

 ……Hmph! Don’t make me laugh! 

I’m not someone who ever gave up, no matter the hardships I faced back in South Korea.  

Even if I’ve ended up transmigrated into a novel’s world, you think I’m just going to shrink back?  

I’ll survive, no matter what. I’ll find a way to live, so that one day, I’ll die peacefully, surrounded by kids and grandkids. I’ll live happily, just to show you!  

……Although the difficulty level is basically hell.

The only silver lining is that even when the sky falls, there’s always a way through.  

In this world, there was definitely a God.

Not two, not three, or four—just one. A single deity.  

God’s influence was overwhelming in this world, giving the Pope immense power as His representative, so much so that even the Emperor had to bow down to him.  

And right after the Pope, second in power was the Saintess, known as God’s favored one……  

The body I’d ended up in, “Inosensia,” was originally one of the four candidates training at the temple to become a Saintess.  

She might not be the Saintess, but she was at least a candidate, right? That means she must have caught God’s eye in some way.

So, naturally, God must be watching over my current situation.  

Actually, maybe God was the one who placed my soul in this body to begin with.  

I’ll find out if I go and check. 

I immediately pulled the bell cord to summon Alice.  

“I want to pray to God—can I go to the chapel right now?”  

God, we need to have a serious conversation!
 

<To be continued>

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