She was about to get up, leaving Duke Hardt, who was sleeping, but his firm arms tightened as it wrapped around her waist.
âArenât you sleepingâŚâŚ..?â
Duke Hardt carefully opened his closed eyes.
âI was woken up.â
No, at least he should have woken up when hearing the sound of her footsteps. Isnât it too much to wake up as soon as she was about to get her body up?
âItâs because Nelia is attempting to run away again.â
Duke Hardt glanced perseveringly at Nelia. Then he pulled her by the waist.
Nelia, unable to beat his strength, ended up lying down on the bed again.
âWhy do you keep running away?â
âBecause it looks like youâre asleepâŚ.â
As Nelia muttered apologetically, Duke Hardt proceeded to bury his face on her shoulder.
âDonât leave.â
The murmuring voice tickled and brushed against her collarbone.
âWithout Nelia by my side, I would change again.â
âI know, butâŚ.â
The end of Neliaâs words were unclear as she looked at the gorgeous man who was leaning on her.
The innocent-looking man who was hugging her without letting even just a little gap separating them, was actually the cold-blooded villain in the novel, Duke Hardt.
Hiding his identity as the cold-blooded villain, he had a reputation of being a handsome man who was admired by everyone in the empire.
However, beside the fact that he was the cold-blooded villain, he also had a huge secret that no one would believe.
Nelia shook her head mentally, recalling the day when she learned about his secret.
âI never imagined it.â
She, the supporting character, would find out about the villainâs secret.
Just as the flapping of the butterflyâs wings caused the typhoon on the opposite side of the earth, the beginning of all this event was coming from a very trivial issue.
It was back when she hadnât met the villain just yet.
***
In her past life, Nelia lived as a college student in South Korea.
She has to say that it was very unfortunate, too.
She experienced death from overworking when she was just twenty-one years old, and no one could deny it.
Due to the moneylender who came to see her every single day, there has been no part-time job that she didnât do since she was a student, and her life as an adult turned to be even more difficult.
Others say that they would buy nice clothes and drink alcohol after they became adults, but it was just like a dream to her.
Anyway, her wish and goal everyday was just âfilling herself with plenty of foodâ.
And then, one day.
While filling the convenience store shelves, she found a book that someone had left there.
No matter how much time had passed, no one came there to look for a book with a pretty pink rose illustration.
Due to that, she decided to read the book in her spare time when there were no customers around.
Now that she thought about it, there was nothing particularly special in the âAndrianâs Flowerâ, but she seemed to read it while feeling fascinated since it was her first time reading a romance novel.
âOf course, until I realized I would be possessed into this novel.â
Upon her death, she was possessed by the character of this novel, âNeliaâ.
At first, she had no idea what this was all about. All the hair was varied in colors and the houses here were western-style.
In her previous life, she was quite good at adapting to any strange and tricky situation quickly, but this time was an exception.
The environment that surrounded her, people, even her face looked really strange to her whenever she looked at the mirror, therefore it was hard to adapt to everything.
It was when the maid muttered the name âAndrianâ that she finally figured it out, after holding her breath for a while to concentrate on her attempt to apprehend the situation.
ââŚWhat now?â
âI was talking about the celebration of Andrianâs country establishment!â
Andrian was the name of the empire in âAndrianâs Flowerâ.
âDonât tell me it, itâsâŚ.â
She asked back again to confirm.
âWho is the current emperorâŚ.?â
âHis Majesty the Emperor ArjenâŚâŚ?â
Hyung.
Arjen was the Emperor of Andrian Empire.
Nelia returned the maidâs gaze with a pale face, and got lost in thought.
Now, she was in a book called âAndrianâs Flowerâ. She learned that the empireâs name and its emperor in the book matched with what had just come out of the maidâs mouth.
âAndrianâs Flowerâ was a romance novel in which Charlotte, the pretty and kind-hearted female protagonist, fell in love while embracing Carlos, the feisty male lead who suffered a lot of pain mentally.
It seemed to be a common romance novel, but the fantasy-tinged universe was quite unique, the male leadâs impecunious past and the love triangle that would gradually lead to the destruction, which gave off a somewhat dark atmosphere.
Nelia, who recalled the content of the book, realized that there was one thing she was able to point out right away.
âThey referred to me as âNeliaââŚâŚ..â
âŚâŚ. Who is Nellia?
Her eyes opened widely when she thought about her own name.
She remembered it! Nelia!
However, Neliaâs expression soon turned grim.
Based on the original story, she would die soon.
In the book, Nelia grew up in a wealthy and harmonious family, but her personality was not really pleasant. Since she had been spoiled way too much by her family, she was childish.
The character eventually raised a great hackle.
The incident began when she attended a party hosted by the imperial family. That day, the Emperor was going to make an important announcement and requested all nobles in the capital to attend it.
âNobody knew that the announcement was to introduce Prince Carlos, who had never appeared in public.â
It was the same for Nelia in the original story.
Nelia, whose eyes were wandering toward the imperial familyâs bright jewel, had the guts to touch and damage it, and of all people, she was discovered by Carlos.
If she lowered her head in an apologetic manner there, she wouldnât have provoked his temper, instead Nelia raised her voice without being aware that Carlos was the crown prince.
âTell me, whatâs so great about this?â
Due to that, she was imprisoned for various charges of crimes, such as contempt toward the imperial family, breakage of jewels, demoralizing behavior, and was executed.
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Just like that, Nelia in the original story was just a stupid one extra who failed to recognize Prince Carlos.
She was just a tool in order to show Carlosâ cruel personality, the male lead.
However, it was too early to lose hope.
Despite how Nelia acted in the original story, it would be fine if she didnât act that way.
Above anything else, she knew how Prince Carlos looked like, and she wouldnât be doing anything stupid to damage the imperial familyâs jewels without necessary.
She got a new life at most, and she didnât want to die in a ridiculous way anymore.
Although what happened to her at this moment was confusing, the circumstance she was currently living in was incomparably rich and stable rather than in her previous life.
âYeah, letâs see.â
Nelia heard her motherâs voice, Lily, downstairs as she clenched her fist and made a determined decision.
âNelia, come down here and enjoy the strawberry tart.â
***
When she entered the dining room, there was a bright glistening strawberry tart on the table.
âI bought it since you seemed to run out of energy lately.â
Mother must have been worried about her daughterâs strange condition lately.
In fact, her daughter, who had been wandering around outside every single day, had locked herself up in the room for several days, therefore the parents were bound to be worried.
Nelia felt awkward with others, so she was afraid to talk to them. Therefore, she spoke as little as possible to others and stayed in her room.
But now, after she realized that this world was in the book Iâve read before with the sufficient amount of information about her identity, she didnât have to keep hiding inside her room.
However, the truth was he felt a little gloomy.
It wasnât easy for her to adapt to the changing circumstances, and moreover, becoming the daughter of some stranger.
They didnât know, but for her, they were complete strangers.
So, sometimes she was lonely and felt confused.
Though, the frequency [of it happening] was decreasing bit by bit.
âHurry up and eat.â
However, her mother, Lily, was speaking in a tone laced with worries regarding her daughter.
Nelia put aside her stinking thoughts and moved her fork to pick up the tart.
The sweet smell that stimulated her nose tip seemed to make her feel even more gloomy than before.
Chew.
ââŚâŚ Oh, Itâs delicious.â
The tart was more delicious than she thought.
As she took a bite of it, the tart disappeared faster than she expected.
Thump, thump.
Then, she heard someone trotting down the stairs.
A man with light brown hair, similar to Neliaâs, came into the view in no time.
âWhat, You ate it by yourself?â
He was Leighton, Neliaâs the one and only brother.
âThis is not the tart from Pashu Bakery! Iâm disappointed, mother. Just take care of Nelia!â
While living her life as Nelia, there was one thing that pierced deeply in her mind.
This household certainly failed in raising the children.
It was surprising how not just Nelia, but also her brother, Leighton could be so childish despite being that old in the original story.
Look at him, he was piercing daggers into her mother with his eyes after finding out that her sister had been trying out a little slice of tart.
âI bought this because Nelia didnât seem energized. Why donât you just buy it as well if you want to.â
âYou have to stand in line if you want to buy the tart! Go and tell Dina to buy it for me!â
Lily stroked her cheek at Leightonâs viciousness.
âDina just left to do some errand, so sheâs not hereâŚ.â
Dina was the mansionâs maid. Dina often ran errands where she had to go to the bakery, and she just happened to be away at that moment.
âOh, that pathetic guy.â
Nelia sighed.
âMother, I will go to the bakery.â
She could have requested another maid, but she thought sheâd go there while taking a walk. Since she decided to adapt here, it seemed to be a good idea to leave the house and look around outside.
âAll right, you should buy it for me if you have some conscience in yourself.â
As Nelia came forward, Leighton nodded as if she naturally had to do that.
Nelia also acted that way in the original story, so she wondered how upset her mother was to both of them.
Nelia clicked her tongue and prepared to go out.
âHurry up and return. I have to go out in the afternoon.â
She clenched her fist once Leighton, who spoke in a mean way, revealed the back of his head to her.
***
The countâs mansion, which was located in the capital, happened to be close to the city.
Nelia was not in the bad mood anymore once she left the house after a long time.
However, as soon as she arrived in front of the bakery, she had to receive disappointing news that made her lose the strength in her body.
âOh my, what to do. We just ran out of strawberry tart.â
Nelia bowed her head at the shopkeeperâs words, who was speaking as if they pitied her.
âIâve come all the way hereâŚâŚ!â
It was when Nelia left the shop and was about to return back home.
âAHH!â
The scream of a slender woman came from behind her. Nelia reflexively turned her head around in a flash.
Several people gathered in one place and formed a circle.
âNo problem. I got this!â
The man held the sack in his hand as he shouted confidently.
The sack seemed to shake slightly as if there was something alive inside.
âWhat is it?â
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Nelia, who was curious, came closer to her.
âPhew, itâs monstrous. Come here, tie this up.â
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