I was an office worker. More precisely, a corporate slave worn down by overtime work.

1:40 AM

My tired, dry eyes stared at the red glowing numbers on the office’s digital clock.

“The coffee… is all gone…”

I tried to get up to brew fresh coffee in the break room but stumbled and collapsed back into my chair.

I had already pulled three all-nighters.

On the first day, there were still people around until 8 PM, but now I was the only one left in the office.

“Su-a, I have my sibling’s wedding to attend. I really need your help.”

“Oh, I have a class reunion dinner tonight. You’re my only hope, Deputy Manager Han!”

“Today is my 100-day anniversary with my girlfriend… I’m sorry. Please help me out, Deputy Manager.”

I wonder what they’re all doing now?

They’re probably eating something delicious and resting comfortably at home, or enjoying their time.

I skipped dinner afraid I might get sleepy, but my stomach felt queasy and bitter from all the coffee I’d poured into it.

But even if I could go back, I’d still end up working overtime. I had already tried to speak up about how difficult it was, but…

“Um, today I really need to…”

“Oh, Su-a, do you have plans?”

“….”

After all, I had no family, no close friends from school, and no lover. My team members knew this fact.

My parents passed away in a traffic accident when I was in middle school.

Afterward, I bounced between relatives’ homes until I moved out as soon as I became an adult, tired of feeling like a burden.

Fortunately, I attended university on a scholarship, but working for living expenses left me no time to make close friends.

As for relationships… better not to think about that.

“Let’s try to wake up a bit.”

I tapped my smartphone to open a web novel platform app.

Reading a chapter or two when feeling dazed usually helped me stay alert.

Soon, I saw the flashy typography of a romance fantasy web novel titled “Contract Saint.”

The illustration of the silver-haired female protagonist with her sacred aura was beautiful as always.

I randomly clicked on a middle chapter.

「”Is it true that Your Majesty executed the Rabius Duke’s daughter for blasphemy?”

“Who told you this information?”

Friedrich asked, tilting his head slightly.

From his reaction, Anael realized that the information she had received was true. She sighed silently.

‘Really, the Rabius Duke’s daughter was executed…?’

Callia Rabius was someone who had tormented her terribly and even tried to kill her.

But she felt no satisfaction or relief at her death.

Rather, she only felt that something was wrong.

“She shouldn’t have been killed like that. If she had lived, things might have been different…”

“She would have persecuted you more severely.”

Friedrich rose from his seat, came to the table, and embraced Anael.

But she didn’t return his embrace as usual.

This made Friedrich’s jaw tighten.

He pulled the motionless saint closer to himself and muttered.

“Yes, she shouldn’t have died like that. She should have died more painfully.”

“Your Majesty.”

Anael broke free from Friedrich’s embrace.

The Harnelia Grand Temple where she was born and raised taught that human life should be valued.

Friedrich, on the other hand, was someone with opposing values.

“I cannot understand Your Majesty.”

Anael turned her back on Friedrich and left his office.

…」

‘Ah, this was the chapter after the villainess died.’

Usually, people would celebrate when the antagonist is eliminated, but because the female lead acted this way, the comment reactions were mostly very negative.

└ Feels like leaving without wiping after a satisfying dump

└ Thought she was a girl crush protagonist but she’s just stupid and frustrating. I’m out.

└ Is this what they call satisfaction turned into frustration? . . . While there were occasional comments looking forward to seeing the scheming emperor getting anxious, most were criticizing the female lead’s frustrating behavior.

‘If you’re going to love Anael, you should love her frustrating side too.’

Her charm lies in being magnanimous enough to embrace even the villainess with an open heart.

I clicked my tongue and put down my smartphone. At least reading had helped me stay awake.

Though my body still felt heavy as stone…

“Tomorrow’s my day off, so let’s just finish this quickly.”

A day off I barely managed to get after bringing it up two months ago. But I’ll probably sleep in late, catch up on housework, and the day will be over before I know it.

I swallowed a sigh and turned my attention back to the brightly lit monitor.

Suddenly, my vision blurred.

“Ah…”

Something dripped from my nose.

It was bright red blood.

I covered my nose with one hand and fumbled around the desk looking for tissues when my head started spinning.

I couldn’t hold my neck up. My head hit the office desk.

The blood from my nose showed no signs of stopping, and I could barely breathe.

A terrifying thought struck me.

I desperately tried to tap my smartphone screen to call an ambulance.

But that was the end.

I couldn’t move my fingers anymore.

[“P-please save me!”]

My finger must have hit the previous chapter button, as I vaguely read the villainess Callia’s plea to the male lead before her execution.

With my foggy mind, I thought:

‘This villainess had money and a good family background, so why did she live like that? If it were me, I would never…’

If I wake up safely, I’ll never overwork myself, get enough sleep, and maybe even try dating…

That was my last thought.

***

And when I opened my eyes, I had become that very villainess, ‘Callia Rabius.’

How did I know?

“Callia! You’re confined to your room for a month. If you take even one step outside, you’ll be thrown out!”

Thanks to the Rabius Duke, Callia’s father, who barged in and scolded me like that.

At first, I thought it was just a dream when this unfamiliar foreign man appeared.

But as I tried to go back to sleep with my fatigue-addled mind, the bedding felt too good and actually woke me up.

‘Why does this feel too vivid for an unconscious state?’

Thankfully, having read many web novels helped me grasp the situation quickly.

‘So I possessed a villainess… before she died?’

My acceptance was quick too.

“…Jackpot?”

Is this what imperial confinement is like?

A month of full room and board with service in a room that puts suite rooms to shame.

For a homebody, this is a reward. This is the ultimate luxury staycation!

I slept in late every day and took naps.

Between those times, I didn’t miss the 100% customized full-course meals that the maids brought right to my bed.

Just the fact that someone else prepared the meals was touching enough, but the menu composition and taste were Michelin-worthy – I almost cried.

Moreover, when I wanted to bathe, the maid would fill the large tub with warm water topped with rose petals, carefully wash my hair, and even give me aromatic oil massages.

The chronic fatigue engraved in my soul from office work melted away.

It was truly the best. Perfect, amazing, and thrilling.

“Staying quietly in your room like this… Have you truly reflected on your actions?”

Just for doing nothing but playing and eating, they show such proud, impressed, and moved reactions.

I’m starting to wonder if it’s okay to coast through life this easily.

As the confinement period was approaching its last week, I seriously contemplated:

“How can I continue this sweet life instead of heading toward execution?”

From what I gathered listening to the maids’ chatter outside.

My reputation in the capital, Rainfeld, was already at rock bottom.

The image of ‘the villainess who torments the saint’ had completely solidified.

I might be able to get some recognition for reforming if I work desperately hard to restore my image, but…

‘Do I really need to go through all that trouble?’

I’m tired of struggling to package myself nicely for people I’m not even close to.

If I were Han Su-a from Korea, I would have endured it for survival, but now I’m a silver-spoon villainess, right?

Besides, having a rock-bottom reputation wasn’t entirely bad. No, it was actually good.

Think about it – what if I had possessed Anael, the paragon of diligence who wakes up at dawn every day to offer devout prayers to God and practice swordsmanship?

‘99.9% chance I would have been subjected to exorcism for being possessed by a demon.’

In contrast, possessing Callia meant that even when I’m just lazing around, I get praised for becoming well-behaved.

Indeed, possessing a delinquent villainess is better than a goody-two-shoes protagonist.

Well, I’m apparently treated like a traitor in high society.

I might change my mind if I go to parties and such…

‘Then I can just abandon it all and leave.’

“Contract Saint” is a romance fantasy novel set in the imperial palace.

While the setting expands to include the capital and the north in the latter half, that’s not a problem.

‘Hmm. Since both north and central are blocked, I’ll head south!’

So on the last day of my month-long confinement, I attended the May Festival to hold my own retirement ceremony.

Then I departed for Basium, a rural territory in the southeastern part of the Rabius domain known for its good water and air.

Let’s begin this fantastic healing lifestyle of a wealthy unemployed person!