“Shall we go?”
After confirming that I had finished fixing my appearance, Davin held out his hand to me. Smiling, I took it.
“Yeah, let’s go. Mr. Smith, I’ll see you next time.”
Mr. Smith sniffled behind his desk and bowed his head with a dazed expression. I gave him a smile and left the office, escorted by Davin.
The peak of summer had passed, but it still felt closer to summer than autumn.
As soon as I stepped outside, the heat rushed over me. I fanned the back of my neck and asked,
“It’s hot. I want shaved ice. Aren’t you hot, Davin?”
“I’m fine. If you’d like shaved ice, shall I guide you to the shop you used to enjoy?”
Hmm.
Shaved ice… I want shaved ice. Red bean shaved ice, fruit shaved ice, mango shaved ice…
As I imagined all kinds of shaved ice, I swallowed unconsciously. But could I really sit at a shop and enjoy it leisurely? It felt like enemies might attack again.
“…Let’s just buy some fruit instead. I’ll have Rana make shaved ice for me.”
When I backed off like that, Davin suddenly stopped walking and stared at me. I blinked, and he spoke in a firm tone.
“Do you remember what I told you, Lady Anise?”
“Hm? Yeah. I remember.”
Then Davin repeated what he had emphasized several times before we left today.
“You may go wherever you please at ease. Protecting you is my duty, so please don’t be afraid in advance.”
Seeing him so serious and concerned for me, I smiled softly.
Davin—the male lead of the original story. With a face so radiant it could blind anyone, he was, contrary to his appearance, an overwhelming powerhouse. Later, he would become the vanguard of the revolutionary army and cut down the empire’s strongest knights who protected the emperor—the strongest being in this world.
Assassination attempts, arrows, poisoned food—my life was filled with danger every single day. Anyone would normally tremble in fear and hide in their room. At first, I did too.
“There is nothing for you to worry about. I am by your side.”
Encouraging me whenever I shrank back, Davin continued to protect me. After a few weeks, I regained my composure.
‘Right. Davin is the strongest!’
The original story claimed that if Davin had been by Anise’s side at the moment of her death, she never would have died—and that wasn’t an exaggeration. At first, I was shocked by the unbelievable sights unfolding before me, but now I was used to it.
I looked at his silver hair, gleaming like pale gold under the summer sunlight, and his violet eyes shining like amethysts, and smiled brightly.
Yes, the male lead of a romance fantasy should be this handsome—enough to tear the world apart.
“I should’ve asked about what happened to Mr. Smith’s office… If the shaved ice shop gets wrecked too, wouldn’t that be excessive expenses? And it might scare the people there. But I’m not giving up on shaved ice.”
Davin stayed silent for a moment, then nodded.
“Understood. Then let us buy fruit. There should be ice in the kitchen.”
He escorted me, walking on the outer side of the street. I grinned, enjoying the polite escort from the novel’s male lead.
‘Crossing dimensions and having the strongest male lead protect me.’
If this isn’t a fan’s dream come true, what is?
Since it was summer, the fruit shop displayed many tropical fruits. As I browsed, I turned to Davin and asked,
“What kind of fruit do you like?”
“I’m fine with anything. Please choose what you would like, Lady Anise.”
I frowned.
Just like a typical romance fantasy male lead—Davin had no interest in sweets. I grumbled,
“How can someone not like sweets?”
Isn’t liking sweets a human instinct? Am I the only glutton here? As I pouted, Davin chuckled softly.
“Heh, you used to say that as well.”
“…I did?”
“Yes. Before you lost your memory, you said the same.”
He looked at me warmly, but I forced an awkward smile in return.
The doctor had diagnosed me with amnesia since I had none of Anise’s memories. Everyone in the mansion pitied me, but the truth was different.
On the day the original Anise Miller fell into the lake and died, I possessed her body.
At first, I panicked, but seeing the protagonists around me, I quickly realized which novel I had transmigrated into. And as they treated me with such warmth, my heart gradually softened.
Of course, they were being kind because they thought I was Anise, but—
‘The real Anise’s soul is probably gone anyway.’
Wouldn’t it be okay if I made these people happy in her place?
‘Still… why did I have to end up in this story of all things?’
As kind and gentle as the protagonists were, I couldn’t help but sigh. The original story was extremely tragic and filled with suffering.
The protagonist, Rana, was a maid to Anise Miller, the emperor’s fiancée. Anise, who had saved Rana from the slums as a child, was suddenly murdered one day.
Not only was her benefactor dead, but despite clear evidence, the emperor dismissed her death as suicide, bowing to noble opinion instead of calling it assassination.
The nobles had always criticized Anise as unfit to become empress. They mocked her for her background, saying the emperor was lowering himself, and constantly harassed her, finding fault in everything she did.
“Look at that! She’s not worthy of being empress!”
Even after her unjust death, they spewed cruel remarks, saying she had overreached and met her downfall.
“If it weren’t for my lady, I would have died long ago. I will dedicate my life to avenging her!”
Overcome with rage, Rana decided to take up the sword herself. After uncovering the truth behind Anise’s death, she sought out Davin—who had lost all the evidence—and asked him to teach her swordsmanship.
“…It will be a harsher path than you imagine. Are you certain you wish to walk it?”
Davin, too, had no intention of continuing life as an imperial knight.
The fact that Anise died on the one day he was absent made him suspicious. He gathered evidence proving it was assassination, not suicide—but the emperor confiscated it and declared her death a suicide.
Burning with anger toward the emperor, Davin accepted Rana’s resolve.
“Very well. I will teach you the sword.”
He relinquished his knighthood and joined the rebel group opposing the empire—later known as the revolutionary army—alongside Rana.
Seven years later, after countless internal and external wars, the Logrant Empire completely collapsed. The protagonists finally avenged Anise’s unjust death.
But in the process, both Rana and Davin died.
Recalling the ending, I felt like I might faint.
‘Everyone dies? What kind of ending is that? Is the author insane?’
It was a long series with over 300 chapters. Readers had grown deeply attached to Rana and Davin, sincerely wishing for their happiness.
When Rana—who had grown into a master swordswoman—died due to Empress Ranie’s cowardly schemes, readers were shocked. But as the story continued, everyone naturally expected—
She’ll come back to life, right? Davin will find a way to save her, right?
Readers who had complained that Davin wasn’t affectionate enough and only used Rana now shouted:
[We didn’t recognize you as the male lead before, but if you bring Rana back to life, we’ll accept you as the male lead!]
But mocking everyone’s desperate hopes, Rana never returned. And after killing the emperor, Davin also died, falling victim to the emperor’s cowardly scheme.
And then, the final word appeared:
[The End]
The readers were utterly horrified.
