IBML

Chapter 01

“Yeah. Rasha Verni is mine. Do you have a problem with that?”

A cool scent of sandalwood wafted as an arm pulled me into an embrace.

The firm hold gave an inexplicable sense of coziness. It felt familiar.

I lifted my head to look at the owner of the arm: Duke Rekalin.

His fluttering coat and tightly tied black hair brushed against my cheek.

His golden eyes, thick as honey, gleamed behind thin silver-rimmed glasses.

He was staring at the two men before me—the candidate for Chancellor, Kalian, and Emperor Violes—with a cold, unreadable expression.

Then he parted his thin lips and addressed the Emperor:

“A secretary belongs to no one. It’s inappropriate to speak as if you have ownership.”

Though his tone was cold, I could sense a hint of affection hidden within it.

My fingertips twitched involuntarily at the ticklish feeling.

At that moment, one of the two men who had been bickering over me, Emperor Violes, sneered and approached me.

A strand of hair, which should have been neatly tucked, had fallen down.

He took my hand, kissing lightly on the back and then the palm, producing an awkward friction.

It was the same angle as when giving a jeweled bouquet during the summer festival, but his gaze was far more intense.

From his gloved hand came a faint scent of iron.

His crimson-purple eyes, deep as wine, flickered dangerously.

“Still inconvenient, is it?”
“…….”
“Then how about I become yours, Rasha?”

The Emperor’s over-the-top flirting only cooled my heart. Such a thing could never truly happen.

Just as I was about to scold him to at least release my hand, the other man, Kalian, knelt at my feet.

Before I could even be flustered, it happened so fast that I had no room to escape—my limbs were all bound.

All eyes focused on me, and my face burned as if it would split.

These people might be completely incapable of feeling embarrassment—otherwise, they couldn’t act like this.

I looked down at Kalian, the man who would become Chancellor.

Even under the strong afternoon sun, his golden hair, like a prince on a white horse, shone more brilliantly than the sun.

He held my remaining free hand and rested his cheek against it.

The touch of his flawless, moist skin brought an unfamiliar sensation.

His clear, lake-like blue eyes reflected only me.

There was something almost fanatic in his gaze.

“All right. Please make me Rasha’s.”

Those blunt yet familiar words contained no trace of falsehood, making me feel embarrassed.

I was the one thinking it, but it was said so plainly. Heat rushed to my face.

“Rasha, don’t listen to what they… I mean, him, are saying. You are Rasha.”

How did I even get into this situation?

I pressed my hand to my forehead, partly to hide my flushed face, feeling a sharp throb.

“Are you hurt?”
“Shall I treat you?”

A swarm of reactions erupted—so shameless it was infuriating.

No, this is all your fault!

I waved my hands and told them it was fine, and only then did their faces lean back.

I slowly wiped my face and bit the soft inside of my lip.

Anyone watching this scene would surely be laughing hysterically inside, even if they looked calm outside.

I was perfect as the protagonist of a ridiculous melodrama.

Surrounded by these three high-ranking men, I let out a quiet sigh.

Regret about what had already happened was useless; my empathetic embarrassment had peaked.

“I… appreciate the sentiment, but could you give me some space?”

At my earnest request, the three men released their hold and stepped back.

Finally, I felt a little relief.

I inhaled the cool sandalwood scent of Rekalin lingering at my nose and averted my gaze from the others.

It was a burden, but I needed to clarify what had happened.

To understand this ridiculous incident, I had to go back three months.

Clatter—

I stepped off the carriage, dragging my heavy suitcase.

It scraped along the dirt as I struggled to carry it.

I had packed all my belongings, since my lodging and meals were provided as work conditions.

Today was my first day working as the secretary for the Montenium Duke family.

I massaged my sore arms from the weight of the suitcase and pinched my cheeks. It hurt. This wasn’t a dream.

Honestly, I still couldn’t believe it. I had died in a traffic accident on my way home, only to awaken in the body of a supporting character from my favorite BL novel.

It sounded like the beginning of an all-too-common light novel.

The truck that hit me must have been the “reincarnation truck” I’d heard about.

I hadn’t wanted this kind of reincarnation—or body possession, rather.

Was the world mocking me? Or was I just dreaming vividly?

I pinched my cheek again; the sharp sting confirmed the reality.

My sore butt from being crammed in the carriage and my tingly feet added to the feeling of reality.

I bit my lower lip and exhaled deeply.

Looking into a full-length mirror across the street, I brushed my bangs aside.

A woman with caramel-colored, dry straight hair, and brown eyes streaked with gold, looked back. A face that might get called cute occasionally.

A face unfamiliar yet somehow familiar.

The character I had possessed was Rasha Verni.

She had lived in a rural village but came to the capital after her parents’ sudden death, armed with knowledge and ambition.

In the original story, Rasha endured the hardships of city life and eventually passed the exam to become the new secretary for the Montenium Duke.

She would start work within a few days after a brief training period.

I had possessed Rasha’s body just before she was scheduled to report to the Duke’s mansion.

The first day of possession felt surreal.

Once I realized it wasn’t a dream, I reflected on Rasha’s life, filling in the gaps not detailed in the original story.

Her memories were vivid, as if I had lived as her from the start, yet my previous life’s memories remained clear.

Living two lives at once felt strange.

I accepted the fact of possession.

But there were two major problems.

First, this world was a 19+ BL novel I had read in my previous life.

Second, Rasha Verni was a supporting character destined to die mid-story.

Ah, the carriage accident was separate from this destined death—it happened before the story began.

I had no idea she would have that accident, nor that I would possess her body at such a critical moment.

The death she was fated to meet would be caused by one of the main male leads, the Duke of Montenium, Rekalin de Montenium—my new boss.

I exhaled and clenched my fists tightly.

Fine. I didn’t want to admit it, but now I must.

I let my hands fall, shaking my head to brush hair from my cheeks. Surprisingly, I felt calm.

Now, I had to find a way to survive. My future wasn’t guaranteed to be rosy.

I recalled the novel: Starlight Kalian.

There were three main characters: the protagonist, the main male lead, and a secondary male lead—the one responsible for my death.

His “dark turn” would occur because he couldn’t get together with the main male lead.

Thinking about it, love-driven madness or tragic deaths were common in stories—so it was a plausible reason.

Since I knew the future, I considered options to avoid death.

Option one: resign. Escape somewhere, anywhere. But today was my first day, I felt guilty, and I had no money.

Rasha’s finances were tight: rent, living expenses, book costs—it was worse than the savings.

Option one was postponed.

Option two: return to my hometown. But the story’s late events were catastrophic—uncertain survival made this unviable.

Option three, the hardest but perhaps easiest: prevent the secondary male lead from turning dark.

To do so, I had to pair him with the main male lead.

I would become Cupid, shooting love arrows directly.

In the original story, the main male lead met the secondary male lead before the protagonist. Yet the secondary lead still didn’t get together due to “denial phase.”

Normally, they would eventually regret it and follow a regretful love route—but he was a “secondary lead,” so that didn’t happen.

But now, I could change it.

I would bypass the denial phase and push them toward romance faster than the original story.

I clenched my fists, my desire burning.

I had experience in love in my previous life and had even set up a friend successfully on a blind date.

Though I was often clumsy with my own love life, I only needed to play Cupid.

I named this plan the Cupid Project.

If I succeed, my survival chances would dramatically increase.

The first step: make the secondary lead and main male lead meet.

I couldn’t just stay in the past and hope to fall in love without meeting.

I recalled that I had been present at their first encounter.

So now, before the original events, I could accelerate their meeting and improve the success rate of the project.

Today, I would at least see my boss’s face.

I took a deep breath and walked toward my workplace.