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Chapter 01
A Night with the Infamously Cruel Northern Duke (Extra Role)
‘Where… am I?’
Doyeon shivered at the sudden chill in the air as she looked around.
Inside a dim, cramped barrack, a group of women were huddled together, sobbing quietly.
‘What the hell? I died, didn’t I? I was trapped in that burning warehouse, and it was so hot—how could I not be dead?’
Was this a dream? Do people dream even after death?
Or was this the afterlife?
Dazed and confused, Doyeon approached a woman who at least looked somewhat sane among the group and asked,
“Um… where are we?”
The woman, her face lined with exhaustion, responded,
“You… were you captured today?”
Captured?
Though she didn’t fully understand, “Brody” nodded her head.
‘Wait. Brody?’
Doyeon’s eyes widened in shock.
She had instinctively responded to being called “Brody.”
Panicking, she looked down at her body. Instead of her familiar black hair, soft light-brown waves spilled past her shoulders.
Her temples throbbed, and a cold tremble ran through her.
‘What the hell is going on? I’m Brody? Why me?’
The woman in front of her looked at her with concern.
“You okay?”
Despite her pale face, the woman had a sort of presence—someone strong enough to worry about others even in a place like this.
Brody found some comfort in her voice and nodded faintly.
“I… I think I hit my head. I’m a little out of it.”
“Damn bastards. Hitting a scrawny girl like you for resisting—what the hell.”
The woman’s concern turned into a scowl as she cursed, shaking her head before answering Brody’s earlier question.
“This is the prisoner camp of the Ice Wall Grand Duke. You remember the northern duke who rebelled?”
“The… what?”
The Ice Wall Duke? A rebellion? Prisoners?
What was all this?
Brody once again questioned whether this was a dream.
And for good reason…
‘The Ice Wall Duke? Isn’t that the extra character in that trashy novel I read while shivering in that warehouse?’
The name was familiar. It was from the only novel she had downloaded on her phone, which had no Wi-Fi or signal. She didn’t even like it but had read it over and over because it was all she had to pass the time during that freezing night.
And now…
‘Brody… That name…!’
While Doyeon—no, Brody—was trying to piece things together, the woman continued explaining.
“That Ice Wall Grand Duke is just as crazy as the rumors say. They say any woman who gets sent to his tent is used up cruelly and killed by morning. One woman a night. Fourteen nights already… not a single one’s come back.”
Brody listened with one ear while her brain raced.
Crap…
It seemed like…
She had transmigrated into the villainess of that novel.
“Ugh…”
Clutching her head, Brody bent over. The woman, thinking she was in shock, gently patted her on the shoulder.
Brody welcomed the rhythmic touch as she tried to recall the details.
So, the original owner of this body was Brody—an idiot villainess from the novel “Golden Hair, Like the Sun.” She had loved the blond male lead, Jax McCarthy, so pathetically that she was used and discarded, eventually turning into a full-blown villainess.
Gaslit since childhood, she gave all her credit and accomplishments to Jax.
And Jax? He used that credit to meet the imperial princess and fall in love.
“I’m sorry, Brody. I really like you, but you know we’re like siblings. We’re not meant to be lovers.”
After giving him her entire life, Brody lost her mind when he left and started pulling villainous stunts to sabotage the leads, earning her the villainess title.
But in the end, she was “redeemed” by the angelic heroine, Myla Riley, and even served as a bridesmaid at their wedding. The novel ended with everyone laughing and smiling.
‘Ugh. Gross. A villainess-turned-Cupid? Disgusting. Why the hell did she stick around to get “redeemed”?’
Doyeon had always thought while reading the story that she would never act that way if she were Brody.
Well, her words must have planted a cursed seed—because now, it had sprouted.
She pinched her wrist and felt the pain. This was real.
‘I don’t know if this is a dream or what, but I’m living by my own rules. No way I’m going to follow that stupid story.’
She made up her mind. She’d live a life entirely separate from the two main leads.
The Ice Wall Grand Duke…
As her memories sharpened, she realized where she was in the story.
She—Brody—had infiltrated the enemy camp to poison the northern grand duke, the antagonist to the blond leads, all for Jax.
‘Of all times to transmigrate, why now?! At least it could’ve been before I got captured!’
Just as she finished assessing the situation, the flap of the tent flew open.
It was night outside. The inside of the tent was dimly lit, casting eerie shadows.
When a soldier entered, the women silenced their sobs, burying their faces between their knees.
“You!”
He pointed at Brody.
Still dazed, she was hauled up by two burly men.
Surrounded by fearful, pitying, and relieved eyes, she was dragged out.
The woman who had explained everything to her covered her mouth with her hands and watched with sorrow.
The tent door shut behind her.
The next tent was brighter.
A few stern-looking women stood with wet towels.
They stripped Brody without mercy and scrubbed her like they were cleaning a floor.
She had been filthy, as expected of a war prisoner.
But even after the scrubbing, she didn’t look “clean”—just less dirty.
Water must’ve been scarce. That was all they did.
Then they brushed her tangled hair with a coarse brush.
Finally, they checked every inch of her body—nose, mouth, ears—every cavity.
It was humiliating.
‘Why the hell do I have to go through this? Damn it, Brody!’
Despite cursing her, Brody couldn’t help but feel sympathy for the original. Her love for Jax had been… intense.
Sighing at the foreign memories that now felt like her own, she was eventually dressed in clothes that were clean but far from pretty.
But the worst was yet to come.
She was going to be sent to the infamous Ice Wall Duke.
Dragged again, she caught a glimpse of the stars—not neon signs. Felt earth and moss underfoot—not asphalt.
Reality sank in, and it felt heavy.
Eventually, they reached a massive tent.
It was clearly for someone important, adorned with multiple insignias.
‘Must be the Ice Wall Duke’s.’
She was pushed through the double doors.
It was just as dark as the others.
A simple candle sat on the desk, lighting up a man reading maps and documents.
‘That’s the man I’m supposed to poison?’
Despite the absurdity of her situation, she wasn’t scared.
She already knew the method—and the outcome. In the novel, Brody successfully poisons the grand duke and gains recognition.
Glancing down at her palm, a blue leaf flickered into view before vanishing.
‘Good. My “ability” still works.’
Feeling confident, Brody calmly observed the man.
He hadn’t looked at her since she entered.
She took her time examining him.
A physique that could probably cut down a hundred men with ease.
Broad shoulders, rough aura, bloodstained clothes—fresh from battle.
His sharp sapphire eyes were unreadable.
War-hardened features and a gaunt face dusted with dirt didn’t dull his presence in the candlelight.
He radiated an aura no ordinary man could possess.
That man? A womanizer who kills after one night? Please. What a waste of that face.
‘He doesn’t look like a pervert to me.’
She thought back to all the authority figures she’d encountered.
‘More like a workaholic crushed by responsibility… Damn. Even the shadows on his face are sexy.’
Stern, stoic, and strangely alluring. Damn it—this “extra” duke was totally her type.
‘If only he wasn’t a complete trash person…’
If spending a night with him were a thing, the line would wrap around Gwanghwamun.
Looking at him now, she couldn’t understand why she had to kill him.
He didn’t seem like a bad guy.
And she had no intention of following the original plot.
‘He was only the enemy because the blond leads needed one. Maybe he’s not so bad. And if he is? Someone else will take care of him. I just need to escape.’
She glanced around.
The tent was modest but had the necessities.
Her eyes landed on a brazier and kettle.
‘There it is.’
Next to the kettle was a box of tea leaves—just like in the novel.
‘Even with food shortages, they drink tea? Well, I guess he is the lord of the north.’
Shaking off her thoughts, she used the brazier to boil water.
She needed to focus.
Calmly, she brewed the tea.
The man didn’t react, even as she approached with the cup.
But when she gently set the cup in front of him, he looked at it.
Steam curled from the simple white teacup.
‘Tea? Was that here before?’
The duke frowned.
He vaguely recalled his chief of staff insisting, “Please at least drink this! If you don’t sleep, you’ll die out there!”
Finally, his gaze met hers.
Brody clasped her hands and looked at him.
Her heart raced. Up close, he was even more striking.
But…
‘Why is he looking at me like that?’
His stare burned strangely hot.
Had he noticed something?
No—it couldn’t be. He drank the tea in the novel, too.
‘It was ridiculous. What kind of general drinks tea from an enemy prisoner without question?’
But no one expected Brody’s “special ability” either.
Maintaining a harmless expression, she met his eyes.
The warm, bittersweet scent of tea filled the space between them.
Finally, the man spoke, voice low and gravelly:
“Leave it and go.”
Brody stepped back to the tent’s edge.
He stared at the cup for a long moment.
She swallowed hard. Every second felt like an hour.
‘Drink it! Just drink it! Once you do…!’
He finally lifted the cup.
‘In the original, this is where he dies.’
Brody’s clasped hands tightened.
He took a sip, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
‘Well… he died in the original, anyway.’
But this time, Brody hadn’t used poison.
She had used something else—just enough to let her escape.
As the tea hit his system, he shook his head.
‘Of course he’s sleepy. I laced it with “Meshu.”’
Once he fell asleep, she would use her ability to escape.
‘Sleep. Just sleep…’
She waited tensely.
But something felt off.
“Meshu” calms and sedates—depending on the dose, it can knock someone out.
She’d added the proper amount… so why wasn’t he asleep?
His sharp eyes grew hazy.
He tilted his head, blinking heavily.
His gaze, unfocused, settled on her—but he didn’t close his eyes.
‘Why? Why?!’
As his massive frame staggered toward her, Brody froze—
