There was one thing I needed to do first.

’Figure out the nature of the male lead.’

I wrapped my head around it and tried to refresh my memory.

No matter how recently I’ve read a novel, I couldn’t possibly remember everything about it, unless I was reading it with the care and attention level required to analyze it for an exam.

But I do have a general idea of the character.

Like any other romance novel, he was crazy about the heroine and was cool and collected, emitting a so-called “cool water” scent…

(T/N: In this context, “쿨워터” (Cool Water) is used metaphorically to describe a character who is cool, calm, and collected in their behavior, which gives off a refreshing and attractive scent, just like the popular cologne “Cool Water” by Davidoff. Cool Water is fresh and sharp, simple and very masculine.)

Ah…… let’s leave it at that.

From my vague recollection, he wasn’t very fond of people.

He had a lot of enemies and, more importantly, the novel needed to emphasize that he was a ‘mad tyrant’, so there weren’t many people around him.

Oh, right.

There was just one.

‘Ruel Chris, Commander of the Imperial Knights.’

The problem is, he’s the head of the Imperial Knights and the only friend of the male lead and he takes a liking to the female lead, who’s been captured by the male lead and is suffering. After that, the contents gradually became catastrophic…

I frowned at the horrific developments that were occurring in the story.

When I thought about it, I wondered about the whole plot.

I straightened my clothes and left the room an hour earlier than the schedule in my diary.

My first task was to go to the room of the male lead to clean up the blood from yesterday.

It was a bit surreal to simply dump the job on a girl who was barely an adult without a proper handover, but…….

But what do you expect in the world of a book. It’s just the way it is.

The sound of shoes echoed down the corridor.

The rainy early morning atmosphere made me feel a little depressed.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared of this situation.

Even if I’d gotten away with it yesterday because I hadn’t thought about it, could I be as carefree now that I knew the crown prince’s true identity?

I gritted my teeth and tried to recall the memory of the girl named Rose.

The structure of the palace and the simple relationships between the characters had been sketched out in my mind.

Going through someone else’s memories was a rather unpleasant sensation.

I let out a short sigh and headed straight for the kitchen.

As I recall, the original emperor was a workaholic, a typical Korean-invented tyrant.

I’m sure he’d wake up earlier than Rose’s schedule.

“He’s a bit too much of a workaholic.”

I got nervous and tried to remember what the male lead liked.

I remembered that in the novel, he was very satisfied with the tea the heroine served him and enjoyed it.

Of course, I wasn’t the female lead, and he would probably not like it, but I had to try, right?

As I stepped inside the kitchen door, I was greeted by a bustle of activity.

The meal was not my responsibility.

But the problem was that the moment breakfast was brought into the bedroom, all responsibility would fall on me.

So, I might as well make it clear from the start.

“Hello! Thank you for your hard work!”

I walked into the kitchen with a big smile on my face.

There was a moment of silence at the sound of my voice, but I immediately walked over to whoever I assumed was the chef and began to be friendly.

Not that Rose had any connections here anyway.

’Relationships are something you make.’

Socializing is a must if you want to survive here.

“What are you doing here? I heard that you’ve become His Highness the Crown Prince’s bedchamber maid, but…….”

The middle-aged man who appeared to be the chef looked me up and down, then clicked his tongue.

“I see you’re not dead.”

Bang. The chef’s knife, as big as his face, slammed into the chopping board.

I flinched very slightly, but still looked at the man with a smile on my face.

“Ah, indeed. I’ve never prepared a meal for His highness before, so I was wondering if I may ask what’s on the menu today?”

I smiled and glanced around the kitchen, only to be shocked.

The kitchen was filthy, only the food that would go to male lead was clean and neatly stacked on a tray.

His eyebrows were twitching.

Holy sh*t, I’ve never encountered anything like this in my life.

Moreover, the chefs’ hair was unkempt and haphazardly stretched out.

If a hair came out of his food, I would die.

Though it was the chef who was responsible, I was sure the chef was going to die and then I would probably die as well.

Because the male lead is a tyrant without mercy!

“Why do you ask?”

I said, as my lips trembled convulsively.

Because my life is hanging on the line right there, that’s why I’m curious, you fool!

“It’s because I lack the knowledge! I’m serving His Highness the Crown Prince, so I should at least know the name of the food. Haha.”

“As a maid’?”

The man reacted as if it was a very strange thing for a maid to come all the way down to the kitchen to do an inspection of the food.

Well, it certainly was a strange thing.

This was the crown prince’s palace, and yet no one even checked the food for poison, let alone maintained the hygiene standards.

‘Shouldn’t it be normal to have something similar here?‘

But sadly, there is no such thing, and there is no way for me to know if the food was poisoned or not right now.

But I certainly didn’t want to be the next food tester.

My stomach churned.

If I were to rely on the novel, the male lead, being the tyrant that he is, is the victim of quite a few poisoning attempts.

Fortunately, he didn’t die of exhaustion…….

That was the problem.

Since he wouldn’t die after the attempt to poison him, the servants were the only ones dying.

I checked the time, still smiling as if I didn’t know a thing.

I had at least twenty minutes to stand by the male lead’s bedroom door.

“Oh, please, can’t you just give me a heads up?”

I said with a cheerful wink. Then the man who appeared to be the chef smirked and crossed his arms.

“Croissants made with butter from the Marilton region, raspberry jam, an omelet with cheese, a salad with arugula and pink pepper sauce, and juice made from Kanisumis apples. Hmm, but can you memorize any of this?”

He was obviously belittling me.

I felt quite offended, but I smiled and put my hand on the tray carrying the food.

“I’ll be bringing the food upstairs myself today.”

An omelet with cheese for breakfast.

I didn’t particularly like it, but I didn’t know exactly what the male lead’s tastes were yet, so I had to go for it.

I inspected the utensils with a straight face. Luckily, there were no scratches.

“…….”

At this point, my lips curled up.

The meal seemed to be in good shape.

Although the plating was rather more standard than what I’m used to seeing…….

In a word, it was bland.

But this isn’t the real world. I could understand that.

Rattle, rattle, rattle.

The tray rolled along with a rattle. It didn’t take me long to get to the doorstep of the male lead.

If I hadn’t been in such a hurry, the food would have been cold already.

I had to take care of the utensils first.

The tableware the chef had given me was thin porcelain that didn’t retain heat well, so if I was even a little late, the food would go cold.

Of course, this is something the chef has to deal with, but…….

Thinking back to the kitchen five minutes ago, I suddenly felt angry, but I held it together with superhuman strength because it wasn’t important right now.

The moment I opened this gorgeous door in front of me, the battlefield would unfold.

No matter what, I must not let him get to me.

It’s too early to die yet.

“…….”

I pressed my ear to the door.

I could hear a rustling from inside the door.

I steadied my voice and knocked on the door with a trembling hand.

“Your Highness, are you awake?”

There was a moment of silence.

What?

Shouldn’t I be asking this? Was something wrong?

Just before my head began to spin with confusion and anxiety, the male lead’s quite pleasant deep bass voice crossed the doorway.

“Come in.”

I cautiously tugged on the doorknob.

The door slowly opened, revealing the male lead sitting languidly on the couch, as if he had just gotten up.

The sunlight glinted on his ebony hair and swept across his face.

I was momentarily mesmerized by the sight.

“…… Your Highness.”

As I dragged the tray inside, he jumped out of his seat and looked at me with a smirk.

Then he pointed to his watch.

“A minute later and I’d have had your head. Too bad.”

His red eyes flashed with interest.