Chapter 1

At twenty-five years old, Cha Hyemi was true to her desires. For Hyemi, a boyfriend was simply someone to have s*x with. The men she dated liked that attitude at first, but as time passed, they became exhausted by Hyemi’s desires and usually left.

Hyemi had only one particular taste. The man had to have a large chest and be well-endowed. But such men were rare. If the chest was big, the other part was small; if the other part was big, the chest was small. So Hyemi always lamented.

Then, by chance, a book ended up in her hands. It was an R-rated reverse harem, dark romance novel. Hyemi found it quite entertaining. That was because one of the male leads in the story matched her taste exactly. According to the book’s description, he had a large chest and was also well-endowed. On top of that, he was handsome, so it was perfect.

“Ha… Why aren’t there men like this in real life?”

“That’s why it’s called fantasy. It wouldn’t be fantasy otherwise, right?”

Yuri, sitting across from Hyemi, laughed brightly at her lament.

“There aren’t men like that in reality, so you have to be satisfied with books. But is it really that good?”

“It’s super fun. I’ve read others, but I keep coming back to this one.”

Hyemi giggled and turned her gaze to her phone to continue reading. She’d read it so many times that she could recite the next lines by heart, but it was so enjoyable that she couldn’t put it down.

“I wish I could go into the book and have s*x with the male lead just once.”

“Oh, gross, that’s creepy.”

Yuri seemed to take it as a joke, but Hyemi was serious. And no one knew that it would actually come true.

That day was just another ordinary day. Hyemi, who loved drinking, came home to her studio apartment, drunk as usual. She collapsed onto her bedding without even washing, blinking her eyes slowly. She knew she should wash before sleeping, but she was too lazy to move.

‘I’ll just wash tomorrow…’

If her mom heard, she’d probably smack her on the back right away. Hyemi closed her eyes and tried to sleep. Who knows how much time passed, but she was eventually awakened by someone shaking her.

“Madam, you need to get up.”

“Hmm…?”

“The sun is already high in the sky.”

Hyemi blinked her eyes. Maybe because she drank last night, her eyes kept closing.

“Madam, the Duke is waiting for you in the dining room. You need to hurry.”

At those words, Hyemi suddenly sat up.

“What? Madam? Duke?”

“What’s wrong? Did you have a dream?”

She stared blankly at the woman in front of her. It was someone she’d never seen before. The woman was looking at Hyemi with wide, surprised eyes. When Hyemi just stared vacantly, the woman spoke again with a worried expression.

“Madam? Are you alright? Should I call the physician?”

“No, why are you calling me ‘Madam’? What do you mean?”

Maybe because she was flustered, Hyemi spoke informally instead of politely. The woman looked even more flustered.

“This won’t do, Madam. I’ll bring the physician right away.”

“What? No, wait! Hold on!”

Before Hyemi could stop her, the woman hurried out. The door slammed shut, and Hyemi was left with a dazed look. Madam? She couldn’t understand what that meant.

‘More importantly, where am I?’

Only then did Hyemi look around. It was a huge room, almost the size of a gymnasium. The decorations looked extremely expensive, and the bed was so big she could roll around several times without falling off. She’d definitely closed her eyes in her tiny studio apartment, so she had no idea why she was here.

Suddenly, her gaze shifted to her hand. It was pale and long. Slim and beautifully extended. Hyemi’s hands were pretty, but not to this extent. Her heart dropped.

Now that she thought about it, her hair was long too. She’d always had short hair, so unless she’d put on extensions, this was impossible.

“No way…”

Hyemi hurried down from the bed and stood in front of the full-length mirror. Her mouth fell open on its own. The woman reflected in the mirror was someone she’d never seen before.

Fair skin, peach-tinted cheeks, a body with all the right curves. Deep red hair cascaded down to her waist. Her pale blue eyes were clear and transparent like the sky. When she hesitantly raised her hand, the woman in the mirror moved her hand too.

“This is a dream, right? It has to be.”

Hyemi muttered and pinched her cheek as hard as she could.

“Ack!!!”

She pinched so hard that a scream escaped her, and tears welled up. If it was a dream, she shouldn’t feel pain, so this had to be real.

“This makes no sense… This is me? Am I crazy?”

No sooner had she muttered that than the door burst open.

“Madam, I brought the physician. Physician, please check Madam’s condition.”

The woman with glasses was probably the physician. Hyemi didn’t know how to react, so she nervously rolled her eyes. Should she tell them the truth, that she came from another world? The chance they’d believe her was almost zero. Hesitating, Hyemi carefully spoke.

“…Who am I?”

“…Excuse me?”

“…What?”

The room filled with silence.

* * *

After asking Hyemi various questions, the physician pushed up her glasses and spoke.

“It seems to be temporary amnesia.”

“What? Amnesia? Just like that, all of a sudden?”

“This is the first time I’ve seen something like this… It’s very unsettling.”

Watching their reactions, Hyemi spoke up.

“Um… Could you tell me my name? I don’t know what to call myself…”

At her words, the two women exchanged glances and then spoke in turn.

“I’m Jane, your personal maid.”

“I’m Ilena, the personal physician of this duchy.”

Hyemi repeated their names under her breath a few times, then smiled awkwardly.

“Well, nice to meet you, Jane. You too, Ilena.”

It felt weird to say English names she’d never heard before.

Jane spoke, teary-eyed.

“Physician, what if Madam’s memory never returns?”

“What can we do? She’ll just have to live as she is.”

At that response, Jane glared at Ilena, then quickly ran over to hold Hyemi’s hand.

“Madam, do you remember your name?”

Hyemi hesitated, then gently shook her head. Jane sniffled and said,

“Madam, your name is Lilia Fortein. You’re the lady of the house of the Fortein Duchy.”

“…Lilia Fortein?”

“Yes! Do you remember anything?”

“…Wait a moment.”

Lilia Fortein. The name felt familiar somehow. More precisely, Fortein was familiar. She felt like she was about to remember something, when the door burst open again.

Hyemi looked up quickly, and a man stood at the doorway. Her mouth slowly fell open as she saw him. Jet-black hair, amethyst-like violet eyes. Bronzed skin, sharp jawline, broad shoulders. She could hardly believe it, but she cautiously called his name.

“Damon?”

“…Since when did you call my name so familiarly?”

“Oh my god.”

She almost screamed—not in horror, but in joy. Damon! That Damon! That breathtakingly handsome man was Damon Fortein, one of the male leads from the R-rated reverse harem dark romance novel she’d read countless times in Korea.

‘Wait, they said I’m the lady of the house of the Fortein Duchy… That means I’m married to Damon? Oh my god, what am I supposed to do!’

She felt so happy she could fly. Now that she thought about it, Lilia Fortein was a supporting character in the novel. She had a terrible relationship with Damon and eventually divorced him. Then the female protagonist, Cynthiarel, comforted her wounded heart.

‘Divorce? No way. How could anyone leave a man like that?’

According to the book, he was passionate and his technique was legendary. Divorce was out of the question. Thankfully, it seemed to be before the divorce, so if she played it right from now, things would work out. After finishing her thoughts, she smiled brightly.

‘Alright, from now on I’m not Cha Hyemi, I’m Lilia Fortein.’

Maybe it was a carefree thought, but she couldn’t let this golden opportunity slip away. Damon frowned as he saw her smiling face.

“Finally lost your mind? You used to scowl at me every time you saw me.”

“Oh my, did I? I don’t remember, since I’ve lost my memory.”

Hyemi—no, Lilia—spoke innocently, and Damon gestured to Ilena to explain. Ilena, who’d been watching Lilia carefully, spoke up.

“Madam currently has temporary amnesia.”

“Amnesia?”

“Yes. That’s the only explanation for now.”

Damon looked dumbfounded. He couldn’t get used to Lilia’s cheerful smile. She used to scowl at him like she’d seen something disgusting, but now she just smiled vacantly.