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Chapter 1
“I’m late!”
I burst through the entrance to the manor and scrambled up the stairs, out of breath. Every step made the cherry pie I’d bought in the market wobble in its box.
“Duke— I’m here…!”
I whispered as if frightened to make a sound as I stepped into the bedroom.
The room was pitch-dark.
Is he asleep?
I stifled my footsteps and crept toward the wardrobe.
Only the tiny bed I’d made sat on top of it, empty.
“Duke?”
I peeked at the neatly made bedding and tilted my head.
Where could he have gone?
If anyone could evidence where Rishi would hide… I searched the huge room inch by inch: under shelves, behind drawers, in the empty spaces on the bookcase, in floor cracks.
Rishi was nowhere to be found.
I lifted the bedspread that nearly reached the floor and, peering into the dark, muttered, “Knock, is anyone there?”
A low, cool voice behind me made me jump.
“Airel Blandice, why are you only coming now?”
It startled me. The voice was softer than the first time we’d met, but still blunt.
“Duke! I’m sorry. Have you been waiting long? I… I just stopped by the information guild and, on the way back, I thought I’d buy a pie—”
“You’ve been coming home late these days.”
When I turned, I caught his eyes perched on the windowsill. His red irises flickered toward me.
“Do you not think of the person who’s waiting? The sun’s almost down.”
Rishi crossed his arms at an angle, as if displeased. The wind that blew through the open window played with his black hair.
I blinked, watching the scarlet sunset that lingered behind him.
“…You went outside, Duke?”
The window was open.
I wiped the smile off my face and reached toward it. He flinched and turned his gaze away.
I sighed and slammed the window shut.
“I told you— it’s dangerous outside. You promised me you wouldn’t go. Remember?”
I forced a smile and looked down at him. He peevishly glanced at the closed window.
“You, on the other hand, seemed awfully happy trailing that man from the information guild.”
How did he know that?
I squinted in surprise. Rishi sighed and rose from his seat as if to show how bothersome it was.
“A gift.”
“Huh?”
He drew his sword with an air of annoyance and pointed its toothpick-like tip at a neatly folded handkerchief laid on the table.
I blinked, puzzled.
“What’s this for? A handkerchief?”
Did he go out to buy it? But how could he have?
I picked it up with a bewildered expression. A white cloth trimmed with pink lace and tiny, looping embroidery caught my eye.
[Airel Blandice.]
My not-yet-familiar name was stitched in gold thread.
No way.
I glanced at the table in a panic. There were threads, needles, and a basket of fabric—things that meant someone had been sewing.
“Did you… make this for me, Duke?”
Why would he?! My eyes widened. I’d assumed that anything Rishid Eppenterion might give me would be only death.
And yet— a handkerchief. With my name embroidered by his own hand!
Rishi’s voice, flat as always, followed.
“You assisted me, so I’m merely offering an appropriate reward.”
He jabbed the tip of his sword at his portrait that decorated the corner of my room.
“So don’t misunderstand. Don’t take this as meaning I have the same feelings as you.”
I bit my tongue. Looking around that room, one could believe I liked him; Airel could very well be in love with Rishi. But—
That’s not it. Not at all.
I’m not the real Airel!
This is bad. I’d only kidnapped the male lead to survive… and now his misreading of me might be catastrophic.
“Instead, if you lift my curse, I’ll allow you to hold me in your arms for one night.”
His sword tip traced a curve and rested on a cushion bearing his face.
His ear went pink as he avoided my eyes.
“…Why do you look so unpleased, Lady? Didn’t you promise to help me because you desired my body?”
Oh no.
I stared at him in a daze. The person who’d cast the curse Rishi spoke of was none other than me, Airel Blandice.
“They say Duke Epenterion has already returned from monster-hunting. The capital will be buzzing for a while.”
“If that’s true, his welcome ceremony will be moved up. Call the designer; we must get a new dress ready.”
I froze mid-spoonful of bibimbap before the monitor.
Huh…? Why does my mouth taste like potato soup?
Where were the meat patties I’d simmered for three hours? The freshly fried eggs? They’d been soft-boiled, weren’t they?
“My bibimbap!”
Has anyone ever possessed someone while eating? I hadn’t been hit by a possession truck, nor had any blackouts preceded this. I simply blinked—and found myself inhabiting a different body.
My painstakingly prepared bibimbap lay untouched, one spoon empty of the work I’d poured my heart into.
Is this insane?
“Airel Blandiche.”
A refined voice floated to my ear as I leapt up, startled. A woman with gold hair wound up in an elaborate coiffure frowned and put down her knife.
“What a commotion during a meal. I thought I told you not to disgrace the Blandiche name.”
She clicked her tongue and surveyed me.
“Clearly your manners need re-teaching. Ever since you’ve been trailing after Duke Eppenterion, you recklessly lower our family’s dignity…”
Wait—Airel Blandiche? Eppenterion Duke?
No way.
Her nagging continued, but I was busy assessing the situation. I fingered my hair. Pulling a tightly bound ribbon released a cascade of hair over my shoulders.
And—
I’m doomed.
A long, gleaming silver mane tumbled past my shoulders.
Airel Blandiche.
The villainess from the web novel My Boss Baby.
In the original, Rishid Eppenterion is the northern duke who guards the monster-haunted mountains. Airel, with her silver hair, is a villain who, in her crazed, unrequited love for Rishid, casts the “Doll’s Curse” that shrinks people into tiny dolls.
They called it the “Pocket-Boy Operation” and mocked it as a ridiculous scheme. It collapses quickly—because while Rishid was returning from monster-slaying, the cursed male lead, by luck, boarded the carriage of the heroine Seria, who was on her way to be appointed a saint. Seria purified the curse like a true saint, and she and Rishid naturally fall in love. The middle of the novel follows their sweet romance as they purify monsters across the land.
But what about me—Airel Blandiche?
Not only does she curse Rishid, she torments Seria, summons dark magic and monsters, and throws the world into peril. In the end, she is disowned by her family and killed at Rishid’s hands—abandoned and rolled in filth, meeting a gruesome demise.
Why did I have to manifest in this body right before lunch…?
I gripped my pounding heart. The idea of inhabiting someone else’s body—especially a villain destined for a grisly end—was terrifying.
Is the original story starting now?
A voice answered my question.
“The newly appointed saint the deputy appointed—Edwin, you know her, right?”
The heroine—the original’s female lead?
I jerked my head up. A young man at the table was being watched by the duke. He smiled and nodded.
“Yes. I was assigned as her escort for the day she enters the cathedral.”
“Having our family’s guard protect the saint—what an honor for her. Do well.”
The man’s gentle face and his golden hair stood out, different from Airel’s.
Edwin Blandiche— the original’s secondary male lead who would one day cause Airel to be disowned.
What a nightmare.
He scowled as if he sensed I’d been looking at him. This is maddening.
I sighed in frustration, lowering my eyes.
Kicked out by my brother, in love with a man who would kill me—no, I refused to accept that fate.
First, I had to remove every reason this body would die.
Airel’s first crime was casting the curse on Rishid, wasn’t it?
I kept my head down until the meal ended and then summoned Airel’s maid, Jenis, as soon as I reached the room.
My top priority: undo the curse.
