I Became The Villain’s Master - Chapter 1.2

[You want to do musical theater? You, Kim Ha-neul?]

Enduring the mocking glances, I recited lines, danced, and sang in between part-time jobs.

At twenty-two.

A bit later than others, but without money for prep school, I prepared for university admission by watching the same videos over and over, practicing relentlessly.

[Ms. Kim Ha-neul. You dropped out of high school and graduated through the equivalency exam. Is there a reason?]

[… Do I have to say it?]

I thought that question, which I’d heard more than ten times, would trip me up again.

There wasn’t a single word of evaluation about the small stage I had put together.

Just as I was about to feel wronged, I realized my arrogance.

The 19-year-old girl who auditioned with me, though inexperienced, had the audience’s hearts in her palm.

Comparing her acting to mine, I was consumed by inferiority.

I realized that passion and skill are not always proportional.

[Unnie. You didn’t go to an academy, right? I could tell you were self-taught.]

The girl spoke to me as we were leaving.

[But I liked it.]

I laughed at her clumsy but direct comfort.

The cheerful girl handed me a novel, saying reading books is the best way to forget when you’re feeling down, then ran off to her waiting parents.

After being rejected from all the universities I applied to, my self-esteem hit rock bottom, and I kept failing auditions even for ensemble roles.

The next year, on a particularly hot summer day.

Perhaps I had become completely exhausted.

I impulsively bought a train ticket and headed to the East Sea.

On the train, I opened the novel the girl had given me, which I had been putting off reading.

It had a unique title: “The Devil Smells of Cinnamon”.

As I turned the pages without much thought, I fell completely for Rory Valliet’s charm.

The author described his appearance like this:

<Rory Valliet was a handsome man with silky, dazzling silver hair as if spun from moonlight, and mysteriously pale pink eyes that sent chills down your spine the moment you met them. His gaze was like a calm lake at sunset, and his low, gentle voice was as sweet as if coated with golden honey.>

Rory was an excellent supporting male lead.

He lacked nothing in looks, wealth, or ability, and was a clean character with no history of womanizing.

Moreover, having fallen for Cinnamon at first sight, he consistently seduced her with gentleness and courtesy.

In contrast, the male protagonist, Crown Prince Ardan Cranberry, was completely self-centered.

It was unsettling how he would become intensely jealous just seeing Cinnamon talking to another man, forcefully kissing her, and then feeling satisfied.

His skinship, performed shamelessly regardless of time and place, was also very off-putting.

The timid Cinnamon would just blush silently no matter what Ardan did.

Rory suffered watching the two grow closer without being able to do anything.

And in the middle of the novel.

As Rory’s unfortunate past and the fact that he became a demon at 19 were revealed, the story began to reach its climax.

Beneath his mask of kindness, the dark demonic aspect as deep as a thousand-foot cliff began to emerge.

A cruel side that wouldn’t hesitate to commit any evil act to achieve his goals.

Rory secretly prepared for rebellion.

In front of the Crown Prince and Cinnamon, he congratulated their love, while behind the scenes, he steadily advanced his plans.

And on the day of the main characters’ wedding.

He follows the route of staging a rebellion using the private army he had nurtured with demonic power, while simultaneously kidnapping and imprisoning Cinnamon.

However, his attitude towards Cinnamon was always polite and gentle.

Although he was already a criminal for kidnapping and confinement, he always showed a careful attitude towards her.

He always sought consent for even the smallest things, brought her delicious food, and took meticulous care of her.

A kindly insane person.

This was the first time I’d encountered such a character.

“So that’s why I was drawn in even more…”

Because the duality of being a demon yet not demon-like was attractive.

I had the arrogant thought of wanting to embrace him as he exuded a precarious and dangerous atmosphere every time Cinnamon rejected him.

It was partly because Rory was such a fatal character, but also because he was a lonely person.

His image of being unloved by anyone in the story overlapped with mine.

The end of the novel is Rory’s death.

He, who had easily conquered the imperial city and plunged it into hell, crumbles at Cinnamon’s tears and persuasion, giving up everything.

And he dies by the sword of the Crown Prince who came to rescue Cinnamon.

“In fact, he could have escaped anytime he wanted.”

When Ardan arrived at the Duke’s castle, he was already severely injured and could barely hold a sword.

But Rory chose death in the end.

Because unrequited love was more painful than death.

He wanted to be free from the cruel emotions that bound him.

With the death of Rory, the final mastermind, Cinnamon, and the Crown Prince met their happy ending.

However, I couldn’t relate to their happiness.

I regretted reading the novel, mulling over Rory’s tragic ending over and over again.

Even as I ate at a restaurant featured on TV, walked through an alley with murals, and sat on the beach with a can of beer enjoying contemplation, my heart felt heavy all day.

“If it was going to be like this, why did they title it ‘The Devil Smells of Cinnamon’?”

It’s truly puzzling.

The word ‘devil’ was referring to Rory.

Perhaps the author secretly loved Rory the most?

Late in the evening.

On the train ride back home.

I tried to sleep, hugging the book and leaning my head against the window.

Screeeeech! Screech!

With a noise that felt like it would tear my ears, my body was thrown forward.

“Ah!”

The train, having left the tracks, shook violently and overturned.

In that split second, my heart, which had momentarily sunk, began to beat frantically.

My body, having hit the floor, felt as if it had shattered into pieces.

Bang!

With a massive explosion, hot and damp blood flowed from my head and all over my body.

The book was open under my right hand, which I couldn’t feel.

<There was a musty smell inside the iron cage. The yellow-toothed man locked Rory in a narrow iron cage and secured the lock. Rory, terrified…>

Unlike other novels, I noticed the narrative style written in formal speech, which I had thought was unique and fairytale-like.

Droplets of blood spattered onto the white paper.

The vivid sentences that filled the pages began to blur.

When I lost consciousness in the midst of shaking pain.

“Kee-ing……! Kee-ing!”

I had become a fennec fox.

With feet covered in nearly white fur, two perked-up ears, and an adorable tail…… an absurdly tiny baby fox.

Unable to speak, I heard the cry of a frightened young animal from my throat.

Startled, I jumped up on the spot, then fled to avoid a hand suddenly reaching out.

“Oh my! Young miss!”

A woman as large as a giant chased after me.

Terrified, I ran here and there until I reached an unfamiliar oasis.

While the surrounding land was all cracked and dry, every time the wind blew, fine sand particles flew from the distant sand dunes and covered my face.

Rubbing my eyes with my short front paws and looking around, my vision brightened as dawn was breaking.

I changed into the form of a young child with a ‘poof!’

When I saw a naked baby with bright eyes reflected on the water surface, staring back at me with earthquake-stricken pupils.

I realized I had entered the novel.

The youngest daughter of the minor villain family ‘Count Hauser’, mentioned as a desert fox shapeshifter in the novel.

The young master of the mastermind.

“Young miss! Miss Merchen!”

I had possessed the body of Merchen Hauser.