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Chapter 1
<Please, just kill me instead>.
As you can tell from the title, it was a novel that was unbearably tragic—yet wildly popular.
The core of this damn story, its biggest point, was that the female lead, Asha Bacalar, was the object of everyone’s obsession.
Asha—an abused imperial princess, born to a lowborn dancing concubine.
Her mother had already died when she was young, and her father, the emperor, showed her not the slightest bit of affection.
And the only person who gave comfort to Asha—
was the male lead, Devaltin Bacalar.
The crown prince, born of the empress, noble from the very moment he was conceived.
But in a twist, Devaltin was not actually of imperial blood. And like most stories of this kind, he secretly loved Asha.
Then, after Asha became an adult—
or more precisely, one year later—
Devaltin ascended the throne as emperor and began to obsess over her in earnest, marking the beginning of Asha’s suffering.
Even in the midst of all that, the beautiful and kind Asha kept getting entangled with various supporting male characters—that was the main storyline.
So honestly, it felt like a relief.
‘At least I’m not Asha.’
Even if the body I possessed belonged to Celestine Winsel—a villainous supporting character who tormented Asha endlessly and was eventually killed by Devaltin—
it would still be far less suffering than what Asha had to go through.
‘Well, if I don’t bully Asha, I won’t get killed either.’
Celestine had no idea just how naïve and foolishly optimistic that thought was.
Unfortunately.
***
“Miss, would you like some tea?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ve also brought some fruit. Please have it together.”
It had been a week since the possession.
Celestine Winsel’s life was unbelievably peaceful.
“This is good.”
There was not a single thing lacking. Lavish meals, a luxurious mansion straight out of a comic, and maids who took care of every little task.
‘At this level, getting possessed isn’t so bad.’
Stretching lazily across a large sofa, Celestine shoved slices of apple—carefully cut by a maid—into her mouth and thought to herself.
‘The best part is that I don’t have to do anything.’
She was sick and tired of striving for something.
When she was young, she studied to the point of nosebleeds just to get into university. After getting in, she never even took a break and immediately prepared for employment.
She thought once she got a job, her life would finally bloom.
But no.
If anything, what awaited her was a hell even worse than her student days.
…Was this really a life for a human being?
That was the thought she had after working overtime nonstop for a month and a half, barely conscious as she returned home.
She was so out of it that she didn’t even notice.
A damn drunk-driving car was charging at her like a wild beast.
‘Anyway, I don’t have to live like that anymore.’
She was lucky. <Please, just kill me instead> was a novel she had reread multiple times.
Because of that, Celestine knew the future plot like the back of her hand.
In other words, she also knew the dangers she would face.
A peaceful life. Days of leisure where she didn’t have to do anything.
Celestine had only one goal.
To protect this happiness forever!
‘As for Asha and Devaltin, I can just avoid them.’
That’s how possession stories usually went. People insisted on not changing the original plot and got dragged into trouble. Or they tried to charm the character who would kill them and ended up entangled in events anyway.
Why go through all that hardship on purpose?
You could just do nothing.
And in fact, Celestine was sticking firmly to that belief. Today was no different.
“But Miss, are you really sure?”
“Hm? About what?”
“Today is your debutante. Even if you start preparing now, it’ll be tight on time…”
The maid, Melsi, spoke hesitantly.
“But it’s not too late yet. Maybe you could finish your tea and think about it a little more…?”
Melsi looked at her cautiously, worry clearly written across her face.
“You were really looking forward to your debutante! Every time you invited the other young ladies here, you talked about it—what dress you’d wear, what accessories…”
From Melsi’s perspective, she wasn’t wrong.
Even before the debutante, Celestine had regularly met with girls her age. And of course, all they talked about was how to prepare for it.
But the Celestine in front of her now wasn’t the same person Melsi knew.
“I’m not going.”
There was a reason Celestine was so firm.
She and Asha were the same age.
In other words, this debutante was also Asha’s debutante.
There’s no way I’d go there willingly unless I’m crazy.
“Celestine!”
Suddenly, the door burst open with a loud bang.
Celestine, who had been lounging lazily, finally sat up. Melsi lowered her head with a look that said ‘It’s finally happening.’
“You’re still lying around here?! Have you lost your mind?!”
Greg Winsel.
That was the name of the man shouting angrily with a flushed face.
In other words—Celestine’s father.
“Get up right now!”
Seriously, what a temper.
In the original story, Greg and Celestine worked perfectly together. And their goal was just one thing—
“Go and at least catch Devaltin’s eye! Stop lazing around like this!”
…Devaltin, the male lead.
That was the very reason Celestine bullied Asha in the first place.
She had a crush on Devaltin and wanted to gain his favor somehow, but he never wavered.
After realizing that his heart was directed at Asha, Celestine and Greg plotted to eliminate her.
But that plan failed miserably.
And the two of them were executed together.
“The emperor’s health isn’t good. Unless something unexpected happens, Devaltin will become the next emperor soon! After his coronation, it’ll be even harder to approach him. This is your only chance!”
It won’t matter anyway. He ends up with Asha.
Celestine let out a sigh.
“So go and prepare right now! Make yourself as flashy and extravagant as possible—someone who draws attention wherever she stands! Do you understand?”
“No, I’m telling you it’s better if I don’t go! How many times do I have to say it?!”
Celestine shouted back.
“This is all for the sake of our family—”
“At this rate, you’ll get us all wiped out if you think twice.”
Greg frowned in irritation.
“Melsi, take Celestine with you. Tie her up or beat her if you have to—just get her ready as quickly as possible!”
“M-Master…”
“What kind of crazy old man are you?!”
“What did you say?!”
Rolling up his sleeves as if he intended to tie her up himself, Greg strode toward her.
I can’t get dragged to the debutante like this.
If it comes to this, I’ll go all out.
Run.
If I just survive today, it’ll be fine.
With that thought, Celestine skillfully dodged Greg’s outstretched hand—
And then—
─ So you’re supposed to be a villainess?
“…Huh?”
Something strange began to appear.
─ They kept calling her a villainess, so I expected something, but she’s just an extra?
─ Then why is she taking up so much screen time? This makes no sense. I’m dropping this.
《WARNING!》
With a siren-like sound, bright red text appeared over the mysterious messages.
《After possession, you are doing nothing. Readers are beginning to leave!》
“W-Wait…?”
《Perform appropriate actions to draw back the departing readers.》
What?
《If you fail to stop the readers from leaving, Celestine Winsel—whose presence is fading—will disappear from the novel forever.》
What is this supposed to mean?
Stunned, Celestine stared blankly at the warning window with the dumbest expression in the world.
