One day, I suddenly became a different person. And not just any person, but a main character from a romance fantasy novel I read a month ago.
"ha……………"
I let out a small sigh and stared intently at my face reflected in the mirror.
Deeply upturned eyes set with an intense glare at a quick glance. Long, straight, dark brown hair parted rather tackily in the middle, revealing a broad forehead. Eyes close in color to the neighbor's yellowish-brown dog. Strictly speaking, it is not ugly, but it is by no means pretty either; there is only one person who possesses a face that simply looks fierce.
Melissa Podebrat.
She is the most hated villainess of all time, the evil Duchess's daughter in the romance fantasy novel 'All the Men That Loved Her'.
'All the Men That Loved Her' is one of the novels that flooded the market when mass-produced reverse harem novels were in demand, featuring a common and predictable story where a kind and pretty female protagonist is surrounded by men and pushed around.
The heroine, Yuri Elizabeth, was a commoner, but after being recognized for having immense magical power latent within her body, she was adopted into a noble family and began to build a reverse harem in earnest.
Crown Prince, Sniper, Werewolf and a Wealthy man.
Four men with diverse personalities and professions cling to her. She is a woman of bewitching allure.
The person who hates and torments Yuri more than anyone else is Melissa Podebrat, the Crown Prince's fiancée, the sniper's older sister, a werewolf hater, and an antagonist to the wealthy merchant guild. She is a troublemaker.
And now, I am that very trouble maker.
I never imagined that something like getting into a car accident and waking up to find myself a character in a novel—something that sounds like it belongs in a really common novel—would happen to me. Although I was flustered, I thought it would be better to quickly accept this new reality, since I am alive now and have to keep living.
“Still, in the end, I’m not Melissa. I’ve probably committed quite a few sins so far………………. but I’ll just reflect on them and live without sinning from now on, right.”
Like most heroines in possession novels who have transmigrated into villains, I had no particular intention of obsessing over being a villain anymore, nor did I intend to turn into a saint. I just planned to live leisurely, doing whatever I wanted while enjoying the sweet life. Even though I had become a villainess, so what?
As someone who had been single my whole life, I had no chance of seducing male protagonists to turn my life around, and as far as I knew, Melissa Podebrat never lost her life in the novel, so there was no reason to rack my brains trying to preserve my own life. Since I was born with a silver spoon as a Duke's daughter, I should have just shouted, "Let's live well!"
And as someone who had been bogged down by life as an ordinary college student, I was actually looking forward to life in a fantasy world a little. Just admiring the handsome faces of the male protagonists....
It was how it had been at first.
***
Okay, how did things end up like this?
I was speechless at the sight unfolding before my eyes.
I know that the plot is that Crown Prince Ian Basilios is my fiancé, but he dislikes me and pushes me away.
He lived a somewhat dissolute life, wandering here and there unable to find true love, but that improved after meeting Yuri. Since we are at a point before Ian and Yuri share a romantic relationship, it is correct to say that he is not deviating from the norm.
That's all true, but...
“Hehe, that tickles. Your Highness, are you teasing me?”
'Oh, I don't know……………. Ian is a pervert.'
"In front of the Young Lady, even this Crown Prince would have no choice but to turn into a beast."
Isn't that sight—burying his face in the nape of a stranger's neck as she bursts into giggles, while stealthily slipping one hand under her skirt—also part of that perversion?
And that too, while his fiancée was watching with wide-open eyes.
“Oh my, Ian. Who is that woman? Is she a servant?”
Servant? Can't you see this excessively splendid mess that the servants frantically rushed to create at the crack of dawn at the news that none other than the Crown Prince was summoning her?
“Don’t worry about it. Now, first, take this off……………….”
They're both already half-naked, so what more could they possibly be taking off?
Human skin?
Even if I rub my eyes and look again, with his black hair, golden eyes, and dazzling good looks, the handsome man whispering to a stranger in a voice unable to hide his excitement is Ian Basilios.
Unable to close or turn my eyes away, I stared blankly at the actions of the two animals for a while. It was only after the sound of their kissing began to fill the drawing room that my mind finally began to function coolly.
First, this is the Crown Prince's private reception room, one of the many reception rooms within the Imperial Palace.
Second, that woman is probably someone Ian brought in from outside.
Because the clothes she was wearing—or rather, the clothes she had been wearing—did not belong to a servant.
Third, since that man is my—Melissa's—fiancé, strictly speaking, he is having an affair.
Fourth, I came here today at the summons of the Crown Prince.
He said he had something he wanted to show me, so I guess this was it.
Fifth, according to Melissa's memory, this was not the first or second time this had happened.
Conclusion: Ian Basilios is a bastard.
"Are you an as*hole, Your Highness?"
There was no reason not to voice a simple and clear conclusion that even Kindaichi's great-granddaughter, not just Detective Kindaichi [1], would understand. I also kindly informed them because it seemed like it was a fact only those two were unaware of.
[1] TN - Detective Kindaichi refers to two iconic characters in Japanese mystery fiction: the classic literary sleuth Kosuke Kindaichi and his fictional grandson, the high school genius Hajime Kindaichi. Together, they anchor some of the most influential "whodunit" and locked-room murder mystery franchises in Japanese pop culture. - copied right off wikipedia
"What?"
Only then did Ian, who had been completely ignoring me until now, turn to look at me. His golden eyes were filled with bewilderment.
"I asked if Your Highness was an as*hole."
I smiled gently and said.
'You must be confused.'
There were several times when Ian deliberately showed Melissa the sight of himself hooking up with other women in this manner. However, Melissa, who was deeply infatuated with Ian, would only grab the other woman by the hair and make a huge fuss, shouting that the bitch dared to seduce His Highness; she could not express any dissatisfaction to Ian.
Actually, His Highness must be the one who really seduced her.
“Could it be…………… that you've finally gone mad?”
“That is exactly what I should be saying. Do I look like a madman to you for not grabbing Your Highness by the hair and shoving your head into an ashtray right now, even after seeing this? I seem to be acting extremely rational…………….”
In fact, my voice was incredibly calm.
How should I put it? To me, not as 'Melissa', Ian is the character I like the least among the male leads in the novel, and since the first thing I saw after being possessed was this kind of thing, I didn't really feel any intense emotions.
I was merely indifferent.
Naturally, such content did not appear in the novel. Because it would be completely useless and meaningless.
"You said you were just playing around. You said it was an escape. At best, I thought, 'he's just a dissolute [2] crown prince who liked to party'."
[2] TN - Lacking moral restraint, often indulging excessively in sensual pleasures or vices. - hedonistic, depraved
Of course I was disappointed, and indeed, I was surprised. First of all, that damn crappy comment.
Calling himself a beast or something infront of a young lady—is that some kind of pickup line straight out of an 80s Korean pornographic novel?
“Wha- grabbing my hair……………? Hah, no matter how violent your nature may be, I never thought you would make such an insulting remark to the royal family right in front of my eyes!”
However, Ian looked at me in bewilderment with eyes even more surprised than mine and said.
'Ah, this is a bit ridiculous. Are you cheating right in front of my eyes because you're so kind-hearted?'
“Your Highness, be quiet. Shall I tell you what a truly insulting remark is? Or, since I saw you were quite a kisser earlier, shall I let you have a passionate kiss with the floor?”
"......!"
I let out a sigh involuntarily. To think that face of his looks as shocked as a baby deer.
Then again, up until now, in situations like this, he had been playing the role of a bystander, watching the fight between Melissa and his paramour with his arms crossed. He surely had never heard such direct verbal abuse before.
This time, I confidently crossed my arms and scowled.
“Fine, since things have come to this, I will quit as well. To think Your Highness disliked me this much; at this point, even if we went ahead with the wedding, the two of us wouldn't even be able to play Sse-sse-sse [3] on the bed.”
[3] TN - 쎄쎄쎄 (Sse-sse-sse) is a traditional Korean hand-clapping game.
Actually, in the original story, Melissa is asked to break off the engagement by Ian, who is deeply infatuated with Yuri. It happened quite a while later than this, but back then, Melissa refused to break off the engagement by crying, wailing, rolling on the ground, and screaming in every way possible. In the end, she only accepted the breakup and fell into ruin after being miserably dumped in front of the entire nation.
But I have absolutely no intention of doing that.
'What on earth did Melissa see in a guy like this that she was clinging to him all this time?'
No matter how much you love him, there is no reason to continue being with a guy who is blatantly cheating.
The reason Ian is putting on this act is probably because he wants me to think this way and suggest breaking up first.
After all, our engagement was purely a political arrangement, and Ian disliked Melissa. Moreover, he was about to meet the heroine and whisper words of true love into her ears. Since Melissa certainly wouldn't agree if he politely asked to break off the engagement first, he was undoubtedly making the request indirectly like this.
Since I’ve come this far, I might as well just break off the engagement as he and I want, go home, wash my feet, and get some sleep. It can’t get any worse if we break it off a little earlier than in the original story, right?
No, it might actually be better. If I broke off the engagement with Ian, I wouldn't be entangled in a bitter feud with the heroine, and the possibility of my downfall would naturally disappear.
Hmm, as expected, breaking off the engagement right now was the shortcut to living a comfortable life.
Besides, I am also a daughter of a ducal family. A single broken engagement does not block my future marriage prospects or bring ruin to my family. Not even if the prospective partner is the Crown Prince. There was no problem.
I made up my mind and spoke while looking straight into the Crown Prince's stupid eyes.
"Let's break off the engagement."
However, a completely unexpected voice pierced my ears.
"No!"
"Uh, what?"