COARV Chapter 1

Prologue

Seria had been sleeping more lately.

This was a departure from the woman she'd been a year ago. Last year's Seria had been high society's infamous villainess—a wastrel who chased after every banquet and ball, sacrificing sleep itself to commit her various atrocities. With rank and position to shield her, no one could stop her rampage.

But that era had ended long ago.

Anyone who mattered among the nobility knew that Seria had reformed. She had changed slowly, carefully—just within the bounds of what everyone could grudgingly accept as plausible. How that insane woman had grown so quiet remained a mystery, of course.

In any case, Seria sat drowsing on the luxurious terrace.

"It's because of your cold, miss. They say this winter's illness makes people sleep like this."

The person addressing Seria in gentle tones was a priestess dispatched from the temple. She had traveled all the way to this remote estate purely because of Seria's cold. The priestess gazed down from the terrace with a contented expression.

A woman with raven-black hair stood below.

"To think a saint descended from heaven itself. Truly a blessing from above. Of course, Miss Seria has also received divine favor, so a mere cold will pass quickly. You shall always remain healthy."

The priestess's well-wishes flowed warmly. Joy filled her face.

A saint.

Seria followed the priestess's gaze out beyond the terrace.

There—the saint called Lina, with her deep umber hair and ivory skin.

Yes, she was indeed a saint. In the 'original work' I'd read, the female protagonist had been called a saint.

This was a world inside a novel, and just days ago, exactly as the original dictated, the female protagonist had dropped from the sky.

"Oh, isn't that Miss Seria's fiancé?"

The priestess was right. Beside Lina stood a handsome man whose striking golden hair caught the eye even from this distance.

Kallis strode toward Lina with long steps, and Lina—already acquainted with him—greeted him with a bright smile. Even from the distant terrace, Lina's smile was clearly visible. She wore a dress that bared her shoulders, and just then a chilly breeze swept past.

After a moment's hesitation, Kallis removed his coat and draped it around Lina's shoulders. Watching this, I felt something odd twist in my chest.

'That bastard?'

He was my fiancé. With our wedding only one week away.

Should I go down there and tear her hair out? Even if I did, would I survive it?

"Keeping a patient out on the terrace all day long."

At the voice behind us, both the priestess and I reflexively turned. I immediately rose from my seat. The priestess hurriedly bowed her head.

"Grand Duke Lesche Berke."

Blood-red eyes looked down at the priestess. The cool gaze carried thick irritation.

"Lady Seria, if you remain on the terrace and your cold worsens, won't that meddlesome fiancé of yours throw a fit and summon the high priest this time?"

This man wasn't concerned about my health. He simply found the prospect of not just a priestess but a high priest arriving at his estate tiresome.

"My apologies, Your Grace."

Lesche Berke. He stared at me for a moment before shifting his gaze. Then he addressed the priestess.

"Take the saint back to the grand temple as soon as possible."

"As I mentioned, the saint wishes to remain here a while longer for her stability... Your Grace!"

The grand duke simply walked away with heavy steps. The priestess hurried after him, but I paid little attention.

'Because he's the male lead.'

Right now he seemed cold, but later he'd gaze at the female lead with honey dripping from his eyes.

That was the male lead's destiny and this original work's ending.

That's what I—or rather, what I who had 'possessed' Seria's body—believed.

I should start by explaining that I was originally an ordinary graduate student.

Yes, I know. Graduate students can't exactly be called ordinary people.

In any case, one day I woke up to find myself possessed by a character in a novel I'd been reading. I won't bother explaining how I died or how I managed to cope with it all. Remembering what I've struggled to forget would only hurt me.

What matters is the person I possessed: Seria Stern.

Seria Stern was undeniably the original work's greatest villainess.

If you asked 100 people to name the empire's most notorious wastrels, 130 would choose her. A villainess with flawless beauty but a personality to match ice. Someone with the audacity to dump champagne on anyone who displeased her—'keeping in mind their station,' of course.

Naturally, inferiority complex formed the foundation of her villainy.

Seria was the young lady of the prestigious western Keliden Marquessate, but unfortunately her birth mother had been a lowborn actress. I believe her status wavered somewhere between commoner and the lower classes?

Still, the mother's beauty had been exceptional, they said. Thanks to inheriting those genes, Seria possessed remarkable beauty—lustrous green hair and eyes as ice-blue as frost.

But the Keliden Marquess already had two sons. Both born to his high-ranking legitimate wife, their bloodlines were impeccable.

Only Seria's birth mother had been some nobody actress.

Unable to integrate with her family at home, Seria threw constant tantrums. Her hobby was extravagance. Her specialty was waste. Her relationship with her family was abysmal.

But when Seria turned fifteen, circumstances changed.

She was revealed to possess divine power. And what happened then? Seria ostentatiously took 'Stern'—the title bestowed by the temple—as her surname, left the Keliden Marquessate, moved to the capital, and indulged in a wastrel's luxurious lifestyle.

But around a year ago, Seria changed.

Starting from when I possessed her body. At first, I tore at my hair wondering why I'd possessed her of all people.

And for good reason—while this novel had a few unique setting elements, the characters and relationships followed clichés religiously.

A dimensional traveler, the female protagonist 'Lina,' falls into another world and receives abundant love from the male lead and sub-male leads. Naturally, it faithfully followed the happy ending cliché.

But wherever there's light, shadows exist. Naturally, there was a villainess who died miserably.

That was me. Seria Stern. My life even ended with Kallis's sword cutting my throat clean in half...

I wanted to live. My previous life had been cut short—I didn't want this life shortened too. I had no fetish for villainy. I easily abandoned those wicked ways. Though it seemed I still had a long road ahead before my rock-bottom reputation recovered...

While struggling to survive, falling in love with my current fiancé was pure accident.

Kallis Haneton.

A man with beautiful golden hair, this novel's sub-male lead... and as of a month ago, my fiancé.

'The wedding is next week.'

Though Kallis was beautiful, he'd been hiding constant agony as one arm slowly rotted. The person who healed this was the female protagonist Lina, and naturally Kallis developed feelings for Lina who'd healed his arm. Those feelings easily developed into love.

But don't all sub-male leads meet the same fate? Kallis was devoted to Lina. So devoted that he even personally dealt with the villainess Seria who tormented Lina. Yet ultimately Lina didn't choose him, so he ended his life in loneliness.

Having become Seria, I was honestly afraid of Kallis.

The scene where he sliced Seria's throat open with his sword was so vivid in the original that just thinking about it made my skin crawl. Moreover, the reason Kallis had injured his arm was actually related to Seria, which partly explained his hatred for her.

To survive, I sought out Kallis, groveled pathetically, and healed his arm. Since I'd read the original work too, I naturally knew how Lina had healed Kallis's arm.

I'd gained the favor of the person who killed me most cruelly.

But I never expected him to confess his love.

Honestly, I wondered if he just fell in love with anyone who healed his arm. Still, as Kallis boldly confessed, I gradually developed feelings for him too.

The female lead would fall for the male lead anyway, and rather than the sub-male lead suffering before committing suicide, wouldn't it benefit everyone if he found happiness with a reformed villainess?

Right. I truly thought it was the perfect resolution to the original work.

I thought so, but...

"Seria Stern!"

I stared blankly up at the man shaking my body. He wasn't my fiancé Kallis Haneton. My crumpled wedding veil rolled across the floor, crushed in his grip. He called my name through clenched teeth as I lay there in a blood-soaked wedding dress.

Some of my blood had even stained his beautiful silver hair.

"Stay conscious. Don't die. Don't you dare die, damn it!"

...How did it come to this?