A bird raised in a cage doesn’t know how to fly. A child sickly from birth didn’t know how to live. She simply endured each day, trapped in a cramped hospital room.

For a child whose entire life consisted of pain and suffering, her only comfort came from a single book.

⌈To My Beloved Sun⌋

True to its title, the book told a fairy-tale story about the Empire’s sun—the Crown Prince—detailing his hardships and love on his journey to becoming Emperor.

She read that book until the cover wore thin, and her favorite character wasn’t the protagonist but the secondary male lead, ‘Julian.’

The reason was simple. He resembled her ‘dream.’

Despite growing up in circumstances similar to hers, he remained consistently kind and warm. Most of all, the confession he gave to the person he loved left a deep impression on her.

“If there’s something you wish for, whatever it may be, it will come true. I will make certain of it.”

“Why would you go so far…?”

“Because that was my promise, and it remains my heart’s desire even now. So for your happiness, I can do anything.”

Though they were merely lines from a book, each sentence seeped deep into her heart.

It felt like her dream had truly become reality, and he naturally became her very source of comfort.

‘To think I’d actually get to meet that Julian.’

Separate from the maids who had turned pale while carrying heated water, a senseless laugh kept spilling from her bluish lips.

After being moved indoors in a frenzy, everyone worked tirelessly to restore her body temperature. But what mattered to her wasn’t her physical condition.

The fact that ‘Julian,’ who had saved her, was now real—that was all that mattered.

“Bring more warm water here! Hurry!”

The maids diligently poured the water they’d heated over her body dozens of times. Only after her blue lips regained their color could she escape the steam-filled bathroom.

Before the warmth from the hot water had even faded, a thick blanket covered her body.

Firewood blazed in the fireplace out of season, and just when color returned to her cheeks, the door suddenly burst open.

Beyond the hastily opened door appeared a woman with hair as red as hearthfire. With steps matching her urgent entrance, the woman strode toward her bed.

“How is she?”

“M-My Lord! Well…”

“Where’s the doctor?”

“He said he’ll arrive soon!”

“Tsk, if I’d known this would happen, I should’ve dragged a healing mage along.”

Without even the leisure to properly hear the maid’s answer, Olivia fired off questions impatiently. She truly seemed to have rushed over—her hair was disheveled in every direction.

“It’ll be terrible if she catches a cold…”

The woman with red hair roughly swept it back and immediately reached out her hand.

A hand warmer than a normal person’s touched her forehead. Though only that small area made contact, warmth spread all the way to her fingers and toes.

Was this unfamiliar warmth this person’s power? When she looked up with a dazed expression, Olivia’s lips curved gently.

“Tia, are you cold?”

Not only was her voice strikingly different from before—much more affectionate—but the name especially sounded familiar.

Like she’d been hearing it for a very long time…

‘Tia. Right, that’s my name.’

Those two syllables Olivia uttered triggered memories in a chain reaction.

Chartia Blanche. The eldest daughter of the Marquis Blanche family. Daughter of Olivia Blanche, the former Magic Tower Master, and…

She narrowed her brow at the sudden headache. A faint pain arose whenever the body’s memories clashed with her original memories.

But pain was familiar. Chartia easily concealed the pain and shook her head.

“Thank goodness. When I heard you’d fallen into the lake, I was so shocked. If my disciple hadn’t stopped me, I nearly evaporated the entire lake.”

Olivia, fooled by that practiced deception, finally relaxed her stiff expression. Relieved, her tone mixed with jest.

Olivia sat on the edge of the bed and added while stroking her daughter’s hair.

“It’s truly fortunate the Young Duke was nearby. I should send a letter of thanks to the Chester family.”

Chartia’s shoulders flinched at the familiar name. The Chester Ducal House was Julian’s family.

‘Julian Chester.’

Chartia rolled the man’s name around in her mouth. It had a lovely, gentle ring to it.

And she recalled her meeting with the man who was perfect, just like his name.

Their blue eyes met briefly, and despite the warm sunlight, Chartia’s body began to tremble. Julian carried her in his arms and came out onto the shore.

The moment his feet touched the ground, the servants who had been stamping their feet helplessly swarmed like bees. 

In an instant, both of them were buried under a pile of towels, and by the time she came to her senses, she’d already been separated from him and brought into the bathroom.

If she’d had her way, she never would have wanted to let him go.

Chartia looked regretfully at her hands that had held him but were now empty.

“Um, Julian…”

She wanted to ask if Julian, who had been just as soaked as her, was alright, and where he was now.

The moment Chartia opened her mouth, silence descended. Gazes that seemed both surprised and flustered poured toward her.

‘What?’

But his well-being was far more important than this strange atmosphere. After pausing briefly, she resolutely conveyed her intention.

“If possible, I’d like to see the Young Duke now.”

“Tia, you…”

She’d thought it wasn’t such a difficult request, but Olivia’s expression was far from ordinary.

“Would that be rude?”

“It’s not that…, no, never mind.”

Olivia, who had frozen momentarily, soon collected her agitation. Though her expression remained complicated, she adjusted her daughter’s blanket with an affectionate touch.

“You’ve overexerted yourself today, so rest first.”

“But…”

“Don’t worry, you’ll be able to see him again soon. The discussion isn’t finished yet.”

“Discussion?”

“Yes, the discussion about your engagement.”

‘Right… wait. What?’

An engagement.

Unlike her body, which had gone stiff, only her mind spun at a furious speed.

“Don’t tell me that engagement is between Julian and me…?”

When she offered the most reasonable yet self-interested answer among countless possibilities, Olivia immediately nodded like she was stating an obvious fact.

Chartia, now frozen even in her head, barely managed to retrace this miraculous situation.

What were the odds of dying and waking up inside your favorite book?

And on top of that, what were the odds of your bias being your fiancé?

“Insane.”

In short, she’d hit the lottery, and she couldn’t help but mutter that.

* * *

The woman persistently examined her counterpart in the ornate mirror studded with jewels.

The woman—no, herself—no, Chartia Blanche.

Pale red hair like diluted flower pigment, low-saturation green eyes resembling that flower’s petals, and skin so white it was nearly transparent. These were faint colors that seemed ready to melt and disappear in the rain.

So despite her flawless features, she gave an impression less of beauty and more of unreality.

After exploring her appearance for a while, Chartia furrowed her brow with mock seriousness.

Even though she shared no resemblance with her original self except for the pale skin tone, the fact that it felt like her own body created a sense of disconnect instead.

‘Is it because of the memories?’

Last night, she hadn’t slept at all. The body’s memories kept surfacing. And in that single night, the memories had integrated considerably, so the original Chartia’s memories now felt like her own.

The memories of Chartia that surfaced last night were like a movie. Not because they were thrilling, but because she could view them from an objective perspective.

Memories seen from a third-party standpoint were relatively peaceful. The problem, however, was that Chartia herself had lived her life feeling like a third party to it.

Exactly like an emotionless doll.

From the moment memories existed, she never displayed emotions and truly felt none.

She never even initiated conversation. She lived a doll-like life, only expressing basic intentions like yes or no.

No wonder her nickname was ‘the Doll Lady.’

‘Though that’s better than Psychopath Lady or Sociopath Lady.’

She felt no emotion even about that nickname mocking her inhuman nature, which said it all.

Her attending physician said she was simply duller to stimuli than ordinary people, but to put it bluntly, something was wrong with her brain. An incurable disease with no treatment or hope of recovery.

‘So that’s why they were so shocked when I said I wanted to see Julian yesterday.’

She would never have initiated conversation or expressed such clear intent.

Moreover, her condition wasn’t the only strange thing.

The original female protagonist’s name was ‘Rosenia Blanche.’

In other words, Chartia was Rosenia Blanche’s older sister. But though she’d read the book dozens of times, Rosenia never had an older sister.

Furthermore, Julian’s fiancée in the book was the original female lead—Rosenia.