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Chapter – 01
Astarote Halstein held the world in her hands at the age of only sixteen.
Standing before the crown she had never even dreamed of wanting, she bit her lip.
[The future of this country depends on your hands.]
Looking down at the ministers bowing their heads before her, she swallowed the bitterness of her fate.
It all began with the sudden death of her beloved father, Grand Duke Halstein. After that, members of the royal family began dying one after another under mysterious circumstances.
Before long, only one royal bloodline remained—Astarote herself.
After long deliberation, the nobles chose not to fight over succession and instead placed the burden on a young girl’s shoulders.
[Please select the next heir to the throne as soon as possible.]
All the men of the world bowed before her to claim the throne.
Choosing the next king by marrying one of the many candidates—that was the fate given to Astarote.
A fully voiced romance simulation game released ten years ago, <To You the Crown>.
In this game, the player becomes the unfortunate heroine Astarote and must build affection with one of five male characters and marry him.
“She’s seriously so handsome.”
That was the reason I decided to buy the game in the first place. It was because of the beautiful blond boy with blue eyes drawn on the cover—Cedric.
At the time of release, it caused a huge sensation. Only packaged versions were sold, and people even lined up until dawn to get it.
Soon after, it was discontinued, and now, ten years later, it has become a legendary game impossible to obtain.
“I really wanted to play it too.”
Thinking about it suddenly made me feel regretful again.
While walking down the street, a tangerine rolled to my feet.
“Ah, oh no!”
A torn plastic bag spilled tangerines across the asphalt road.
While everyone else walked while looking at their phones, I ran over first to help the flustered old man picking them up.
“Are you okay, sir?”
“Oh dear… what do I do? My wife told me to buy these quickly.”
“Please use this.”
Without hesitation, I took my eco bag from my pocket and handed it to him after putting my phone and wallet away.
“Oh my, what should I do? Thank you, student. I’ll return it right away after I go to that shop over there.”
The old couple ran a small, old bookstore that was close to shutting down.
The tangerine-selling grandfather was the owner.
I used to come here often as a child. They sold not only books but also games, but nowadays there were very few customers.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been here.”
“Everyone orders online these days. We’re planning to close next week.”
“Really?”
“It’s not much, but if there’s anything you like, take it.”
Even after all this time, the grandfather still remembered that I liked games.
I didn’t really do anything, so there was no reason to refuse.
I looked through the remaining game CDs.
“Ah?”
And then I saw it.
The legendary game that was supposed to be impossible to obtain was right in front of me.
My trembling hand reached out.
“Grandpa, th-this, th-this is—!”
What kind of luck was this?
The old man sighed, rubbing his tired eyes.
“If you like it, just take it. We don’t need it anymore.”
“This is extremely expensive! Online, it sells for over a million won because it’s discontinued!”
“That’s good then. Take it, student. Old people like us wouldn’t even know how to use it anyway.”
“Grandpa…”
He carefully wiped a dusty tangerine and handed it to me. When I took it, he gently held my hand.
“You are a truly rare kind person.”
“Me? No, I’m actually very selfish and mean.”
“If you were really mean, you wouldn’t have come all the way here to help an old man like me.”
Then he smiled softly.
“Take the game.”
He smiled and said:
[I wish you good luck.]
At the time, I didn’t understand what that meant.
I hugged the game tightly and walked home.
Staring at the unopened CD, I steadied my breathing.
“Can I really do this?”
And so, I immediately started the game.
Under the blooming acacia trees in the royal palace garden, Astarote met a man—and realized this meeting was fate.
[I am Cedric, the second son of Marquis Montpellier.]
A beautiful boy with blue eyes that shone even under the dark moonlight.
Under falling petals, the boy and girl fell in love.
“Yes, this is it!”
After playing for three days straight without eating, I finally reached Cedric’s ending route.
[Please marry me.]
▶ Yes
▷ I have someone else.
▷ Please give me some time.
Without hesitation, I chose yes.
“Finally, finally!”
The screen changed beautifully, signaling the ending.
But I didn’t know yet.
This was not a normal game—it was a completely insane one.
A wedding scene appeared, followed by post-ending narration.
[Astarote handed all authority to King Cedric, believing she was finally free from the burden of royal blood and could live as a queen.]
“…What?”
More lines appeared.
[But it was all an illusion. The romantic first meeting, the beautiful dates, even the proposal—all of it was a lie.]
Six years after the wedding.
Cedric Montpellier, now King Cedric, looked at her with those same blue eyes and declared:
[For falsely claiming royal blood and deceiving the kingdom, Queen Astarote is hereby stripped of her title and sentenced to death!]
“What the hell is this?”
This wasn’t the ending I played for.
I threw down the controller in rage.
“I could’ve made a better game than this trash!”
If I had known, I should never have said that.
“…Huh?”
My vision went dark.
A strange interface appeared.
The world flipped upside down.
When I regained consciousness, someone was dragging my collapsed body.
“Ugh… where am I?”
A crowd full of hostile eyes surrounded me.
“Kill her!”
A mad crowd roared.
On the tower above, I saw Cedric wearing a crown.
“Cedric?!”
There was no time to react.
He smiled as if saying goodbye.
“Goodbye, Astarote.”
Too late, I understood.
“Hey, you bastard—!”
Slash!
Astarote—no, me, the player—was executed by guillotine.
That was my first death inside the game.
As the game title suggests, the man who marries Astarote becomes king.
There were five official route targets: Cedric, a fallen knight commander, a future prime minister candidate, a genius mage, and even a prisoner from an enemy nation.
At first, I thought choosing one of them would let me return to the real world.
But after possessing this game, my reality became not a romance simulation—but a survival game.
With multiple regressions.
“Ahhh!”
I had regressed again.
As usual, the first thing I checked after waking up was my neck.
“…I’m here again.”
Breathing heavily, I grabbed my neck.
I had failed countless times trying to escape this cursed game.
No matter who I chose, every man only wanted the throne.
This game was fundamentally unfair to Astarote.
All the male characters who once showed affection betrayed her immediately after gaining power.
So there was only one path left for me.
“If this is how it is… maybe I should become king myself.”
Ding—
[A new route has been unlocked.]
