1. My Sister Picked Up the Male Lead
* * *
Birds were chirping noisily in the bright daylight.
For me, Amy Lamias, realizing my distant past had been a very natural process. To be precise, I wasn’t originally from this world. By some twist of fate, I was reborn here and had simply forgotten my original world.
‘How is this even possible? I’m not a birdbrain.’
As for me, I was born the second daughter of a prestigious knight family that had served the Imperial Palace for generations. Until I turned five, I was loved dearly by my sister and parents.
But the following year, when I was six, my father got caught up in a political power struggle, and our family was ruined. Only my sister and I survived, fleeing to a secluded forest where we managed to build a new life.
Since then, our days had been peaceful. That’s why realizing one day that, in a faraway past, I had lived over twenty years in another world—South Korea—didn’t have much impact on me.
It was like the birth of a tiny star in the vast universe—too small and insignificant to affect me. It wasn’t enough to make me anyone other than Amy Lamias, and so I remained Amy, carrying those memories without issue.
Even though I couldn’t return to being a nobody, I was still Amy. The only thing I knew now was that this world was the very same one from a book I had once read long ago.
And this year, I was turning sixteen. My sister told me last night that she had prepared something “very special.” I was too old to get excited over just one sentence, but… my heart pounded uncontrollably, and I tossed and turned until nearly three in the morning before finally falling asleep.
“Ta-da, Amy! Look at this!”
“Sis?”
My sister Diana appeared just before noon when I still hadn’t gotten out of bed. She smiled brightly, her round eyes rolling like marbles, just as she always did.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
“Sis… what is that?”
“What do you mean? Your friend. You said you wanted a friend, didn’t you?”
“That was over ten years ago! When I was six! And where did you even pick up a kid?!”
Standing there was a very small boy, maybe seven or eight years old. Diana might seem like she was missing a few screws sometimes, but she was still careful and practical. She wasn’t the type to just randomly pick up a child.
But here she was, doing something completely out of character. Oddly enough, I wasn’t panicking. Somehow, this felt inevitable—like it had already been written. And the boy, with his pitch-black hair, looked familiar.
This was a scene straight out of the romance novel I had read.
Oh heavens above. I instinctively made the sign of the cross in my mind. God, the day I wished would never come… it’s finally here.
That boy—he was him. The male lead of the book.
“What do you mean, how can a little boy be a duke?” you might ask. But it all made sense if you knew the story.
Right now, I was in the part where the male lead, after being caught in his cousin the Crown Prince’s scheme, lost his memory and ended up being taken in by a woman while recovering from his injuries.
The Grand Duke of the Duchy of Iberich—Lennox Iberich.
This man’s life was a tragedy that could make even a stone-hearted reader cry. It was as if the author had a personal grudge against him.
There was no love in his life. His mother, the Duchess of Iberich, had been kidnapped by the barbaric Hunk tribe while pregnant with him. She was rescued through a military operation led by the Duke, but…
«Is that child really mine?»
After Lennox was born, the Duke doubted his wife’s fidelity. Their once loving relationship collapsed overnight. The Duchess, traumatized, lost her mind and became mute. She was locked away in the northern tower, and the Duke indulged himself with countless other women.
Growing up unloved, Lennox lived his childhood in isolation.
At eight years old, he killed a bird his father cherished because it was noisy when he went to get a book.
«It annoyed me, so I killed it. Why? Was I not supposed to?»
He was, in the simplest terms, a sociopath. Empathy was beyond him.
«To think I gave birth to such a thing…!»
The Duke’s abuse began that day. Lennox, who had never been taught love, couldn’t give love, and he grew up under relentless violence. Later, when he killed his father and became the Grand Duke, no one dared to question his barbarian blood.
Why? Because he looked exactly like his dead father, and later, after earning countless military achievements in the war against the barbarians, he became a celebrated hero throughout the Empire.
As Grand Duke, he was constantly watched by his cousin Tansiz, the Crown Prince and another male lead of the book. But Lennox, nicknamed the “Mad Grand Duke,” ignored every attempt to control him and stayed holed up in his mansion, uninterested in the throne.
And then, the cursed magic inherited in the Iberich bloodline awakened. It was more of a curse than a blessing, making daily life nearly impossible.
The Crown Prince offered him a deal:
«I can lift your curse.»
The royal family’s secret archives supposedly held ancient magic that could remove it. The only condition was that Lennox had to come to the Imperial Palace himself.
With no other choice, Lennox went to the capital. But the Crown Prince never intended to help him.
«Target the Grand Duke. Kill him instantly!»
The assassination attempt at dawn dragged on longer than expected, and daylight broke.
«Your Grace, hurry this way! We’ll hold them off!»
By day, Lennox turned into a child—utterly defenseless. His loyal knights protected him with their lives, and he barely escaped into the depths of the forest.
«Oh my, what’s a child doing here?»
Badly injured and with no memory, he was picked up by a woman living in the forest. That woman was my sister, Diana.
Unfortunately, my sister wasn’t the female lead. If only she were. But no—she was destined to die, killed by the Crown Prince’s men, which would trigger Lennox regaining his memories. She was his unforgettable “first love,” if you wanted to romanticize it.
After losing Diana, Lennox would vow revenge and head to the capital, where he’d meet the genius magician who would become the real female lead—Serenada, the one who would finally lift his curse.
And me? Later, I’d show up just to scream, “You killed my sister!”—a minor villain, nothing more. My sister and I were nothing but stepping stones for the male lead’s growth. Because she picked him up, she would die.
I stared blankly at the male lead. I knew this day would come, but facing it in person felt different. I wasn’t ready.
“Sis, take him back where you found him.”
“Hey, what’s with you? Don’t say things like that to a kid.”
My sister thought I was joking and even playfully tapped my shoulder.
“He may look young, but he understands everything you’re saying. Don’t say mean things.”
He’s not a “kid,” that’s why!
“Amy, say hello. He’ll be staying with us from now on. Poor thing doesn’t remember anything.”
“…Yeah.”
Of course he doesn’t. He got hit in the head hard enough to really lose his memories.
“What should we name him?”
My mouth opened like a goldfish before snapping shut again.
No, getting angry here wouldn’t solve anything. I had tried everything—pleading, coaxing, throwing tantrums, even yelling—to convince my sister to leave before this happened. Nothing worked.
Looking at my stubborn sister, I made up my mind. Fine, I’d just treat the male lead kindly for now. Be nice, gain his trust, then run away before the Crown Prince’s men showed up.
Right, male lead? How does that sound?
I sighed, staring at the boy.
“Then…”
Whatever I said now might change the flow of everything. Slowly, carefully, I spoke, still hesitating. But it didn’t last long. I had already decided—I would protect my sister, even if I had to take her place.
“How about… ‘Nox’?”
“…”
“Because you found him in the Night Forest.”
The boy looked up for the first time. I held my breath. His glossy black hair and jewel-like amethyst eyes…
I had read about it countless times, but seeing it in person was overwhelming. It felt like the words on the page had stabbed me right in the heart. He really was breathtaking—so beautiful it stole the air from my lungs. And those innocent, pure eyes…
“Nox! That’s a great name. What do you think? Do you like it?”
…He nodded. The boy who hadn’t moved at all finally nodded.
I broke into a cold sweat. His eyes were locked on me, as if piercing through me. …Somehow, I had planted a flag meant for my sister. What now? I let out an unconscious sigh.
‘Once it’s said, there’s no taking it back.’
«I named myself when I was ten. Until then, no one had ever given me a name.»
In the book, the woman who gave him his first name was an unbeatable rival to the female lead. If she hadn’t died, the female lead would never have stood a chance against his first love.
If my lover had someone like that in his past, I’d never be confident… but as a reader, it had felt romantic.
«The moment someone gave me a name, the whole world went silent, and all I could see was her. …It was long ago, Serenada.»
Names meant everything to Lennox. That’s why I realized too late the gravity of what I had done. Nox? That name wasn’t even in the original. But I had blurted it out, panicking.
The sun slowly rose, painting the sky red. Light fell softly across the boy sitting by the window, greeting the new day before I did. I swallowed hard. Now what do I do?
“Sit down first. We’re going to eat.”
Looking up, I saw the ingredients my sister had prepared for my birthday, as she always did. Even after our parents’ deaths, she never forgot my birthdays.
But this year? My sixteenth birthday gift was the male lead.
“Come on, move. We’re eating.”
I got up reluctantly, glancing repeatedly at the boy. Diana fussed over him, asking questions.
“What do you like? Kids usually don’t like salad, right? Green vegetables are hard to eat. Meat! Do you like meat?”
“…”
“Not even meat? That’s a problem.”
“Sis, stop. Let’s just eat.”
“Oh, right. Wait a moment, I’ll set the table!”
And so, I ended up sharing a table with the male lead.
I rested my chin in my hand, pouting silently. It was almost funny. My sister, who adored cute animals, was acting like a fish finally in water with Nox’s adorable appearance. I understood, but watching her dote on him when I knew he would be the reason she died… it was depressing.
Sis, you’re going to die because of him.
I sighed.
“I told you we should’ve moved!”
But I’d learned long ago that my sister never listened to me. Look at her—just like in the book, she really had picked up the male lead. She would be dead within a year.
I stared at the steaming pot with a grim face, lost in thought.
‘How long is he going to keep staring at me?’
I kept my eyes fixed forward to avoid meeting Nox’s piercing gaze. I shouldn’t have named him. …Even if this was a flag, this one was too dangerous.
The flag meant for my sister was now aimed squarely at me. Did that mean I was taking her place? His first love? The story of the Mad Grand Duke flashed through my mind. My resolve hardened. I had to leave before the Crown Prince’s assassins arrived.
Humming under my breath, I tried to ignore the sharpness of his gaze, like needles. I didn’t see anything. I saw nothing…
But oh God—I looked into his eyes after all.
“Why are you staring at me?”
“…”
I asked, meeting his gaze head-on, but Nox pressed his lips together in silence.
…So you’re going to ignore me too, huh?