Chapter 1. Bad Fate with Him

It’s been almost a month since she entered the novel ⟨The Sickly Princess⟩.

After going through a difficult adjustment period, everything became comfortable for Lee Seo-ha.

Though she was surprised that her brother, who believed the cliché of ‘losing memory’ appearing in novels without any suspicion, was the male protagonist, it didn’t affect her life.

After all, for ‘Roa,’ whose health had just improved, eating well and sleeping well were important.

‘I quite like the life of a wealthy young lady.’

And she had no family or friends to make her attached to her previous life.

‘From the gutter to the stars.’

Though she regretted the time spent studying desperately to become a prosecutor with great ambition, once she got used to the leisurely life, she realized once again that being a wealthy person with nothing to do was the best.

And Roa, who was living what she considered a normal happy life, felt the emotion of falling in love at first sight for the first time.

Her heart pounded.

A man with looks that seemed to only exist in dramas, no, even more outstanding than that, was a first in her lifetime.

‘My goodness, could there be another man as perfect as him?’

Forgetting that she was attending a ball, Roa stopped in her tracks and stared in one direction.

Roan felt that his sister, whose hand he was holding, wasn’t following him, and turned his head. There stood Roa with a red face, blankly staring.

Worry appeared on Roan’s face. He wondered if his sister, who had only been out of bed for a month, was going to collapse again.

Roan placed his hand on Roa’s forehead. Roa came to her senses at the warm touch and looked up.

“Roa, are you feeling ill?”

“No. Brother, who is that person?”

Roan followed the direction Roa was pointing to identify the person his sister was curious about. It didn’t take long.

A hyena-like man with deep black hair like obsidian and golden yellow eyes that shone like gold was the only one in this Empire.

When Roan noticed the man looking at him, he lowered Roa’s raised hand.

“Roa, that is His Highness Crown Prince Levian Khan Yvaine.”

The original novel’s female protagonist’s brother and the Empire’s only crown prince. When Roa’s eyes met with the noble hyena, she turned her head.

‘How happy would it be to receive love from such a person?’

Roa hid behind her brother out of embarrassment. Yvaine’s gaze seemed like it could detect her feelings.

Exactly three years later, Roa would realize that her first love was actually a demon and would regret it bitterly, but no one knew the future.

* * *

‘Again today!’

Roa swallowed the anger that boiled beyond her limit and exhaled with a “hoo-” The side hair that swayed with her breath pointed at the target of her anger.

The servants and the imperial knights turned away from another spectacle unfolding at the Grand Duke’s residence.

“Bro…ther?”

Roan broke out in a cold sweat seeing the obviously angry Roa. The sin he had committed himself returned with scarier consequences than expected.

“Do you know what day of the month it is today?”

“……”

When Roan answered with silence, Roa felt the urge to grab her brother by the collar.

Barely suppressing the rising urge, Roa opened her mouth to demand an explanation from him.

“This good sister remembers that you said today was your day off.”

Roan couldn’t meet Roa’s eyes and looked down. The marble floor, cleaned spotlessly today as well, seemed like his future that would be sorted out by his sister.

As if not wanting to give Roan time to think, Roa pushed him.

“Brother? Why aren’t you answering?”

“Well, that……”

“Why? Are you planning to claim that my memory is wrong again today?”

The question, asked while grinding her teeth, had the hidden message of ‘do you want to die,’ but Roan couldn’t help but know.

Roan, intimidated by his kind and affectionate sister, lowered his tail.

The only way to preserve his life here was to confess his sin with his own mouth.

“Today was a day off. How could I forget?”

“If you know that so well, where are you planning to go?”

The purple dress she often wore for outings, the white Mary Jane shoes gifted by Roan, and the hair that the maids had worked hard to style.

Roa didn’t want to be compensated with just an “I’m sorry” for the situation where her four hours had flown away with a single word.

“I’m angry because I can still see the image of my brother who said with a bright smile that he received a day off so let’s go play.”

Roan hiccupped. Seeing his sister who was letting him know that this promise had started from his own mouth, he felt like he was facing a lion.

“Do you know why I’m angry, brother?”

“……”

Roan knew why Roa was angry, but pretended not to know.

‘If I had known it would turn out like this, why did I say to just trust me?’

It was too late to regret. Time couldn’t be turned back.

The outing that Roa had been eagerly waiting for was canceled because of one demon. Only a bloody wind remained at the Grand Duke’s residence.

Roa threw a fit right there when Roan kept his mouth shut without making any more excuses.

“If you hadn’t made the promise in the first place, this wouldn’t have happened!! How many times is this?!”

Roan guessed that today would be his last day living in this world.

“Roa, I’m really sorry.”

“Do you think this can end with an apology?”

“I really intended to go with you this time. Really. But they said there’s an important meeting today, and as a subject’s duty, how can I……”

“…Ha.”

The worst answer came out of Roan’s mouth. Roa’s scornful laugh meant that.

The same repertoire of excuses every time was just sickening now.

Roan, who knew his own sin well, couldn’t speak clearly and bowed his head.

‘Your Highness, we promised not to call.’

Roan inwardly sobbed, blaming his boss who was the main culprit in this situation but had hidden away after dumping everything on him.

It was a thought that occurred to him without fail today as well, but he was certain that his boss enjoyed tormenting him.

Roan, who had succumbed to the reality of the workplace where one had to come out when the boss said to, recalled the face of his devilish boss.

“I see. As of today, I realize my position.”

The cold voice froze Roan.

“For my great brother, His Highness the Crown Prince always takes precedence over me.”

Recalling her previous life where she had experienced university life, often called a miniature version of society, Roa tried to understand Roan.

So at first, Roa understood her brother.

When this situation, which made her angry, exceeded exactly 30 times, Roa’s heart surged with unbearable anger.

‘I should throw that detestable pair into the sea.’

Roa now hated even hearing the syllable ‘His’ from her brother’s mouth when referring to His Highness the Crown Prince.

Roan was shocked by Roa’s last words and forgot to bow his head as he grabbed Roa’s hand. And he deliberately ignored his sister’s hand trembling with anger.

There was something more important to him than the fact that his sister was angry with him.

“Sweetie, how could I ever prioritize His Highness the Crown Prince over you?”

Like a great actor performing in a play, Roan expressed his sincerity to Roa with teary eyes.

But that sincerity didn’t reach Roa, who couldn’t see anything. She coldly brushed off his hand.

“Just don’t make any promises with me. Then I won’t be disappointed.”

Roan’s heart was stabbed by Roa’s cold gaze. He was hurt by his sister’s hatred.

Of course, he didn’t have time to just be in pain since he knew he had brought this hatred upon himself.

“Do you know how many times this has been already?”

Roa shouted at Roan, looking like she might burst into tears at any moment.

The moment Roan saw Roa’s tears, he thought about ignoring the crown prince’s orders. His hidden rebelliousness peeked out.

“I trusted only your words, woke up early in the morning, and waited with anticipation.”

Finally, tears flowed from Roa’s eyes. Roa, who had tried to hold back because she felt miserable, pouted at the rising sorrow.

“Is this all I get in return? Just one word saying you can’t go today, please understand?”

Roan felt his breath catch at Roa’s tears. He had the illusion that his resolve to protect his sister was crumbling.

“I see now that the rumors about you dating His Highness the Crown Prince are not false.”

“Roa! Dating? It’s not like that.”

Roan was startled by his sister’s words and tried to regain his senses, but nothing was getting through to Roa’s ears anymore.

On weekdays, weekends, and holidays, Yvaine and Roan were together all day.

Roa knew that the two were busy handling work.

She had also confirmed from the original work that there was no romantic feeling between them.

However, Roa, whose anger had risen to the top of her head, wanted to think that there was a bond between them that wasn’t just an aide and his master.

‘Live well and eat well. Damn them.’

Roa was confident that she wouldn’t be surprised even if Roan was dating the crown prince differently from the original work.

Seeing how he kept standing her up, it was clear that the crown prince was calling him because he wanted to see his lover.

And thinking like that was more comfortable for Roa’s heart.

‘I’m annoyed! So annoyed!’

Roa couldn’t curse the crown prince in front of the Imperial Knights, so she swallowed her anger inwardly.

‘I’ll rip out all his organs and soak them in seawater, that crown prince.’

Roa brushed away Roan’s hand that was wiping her tears and roughly rubbed her eyes with her sleeve.

The eye makeup done by the maids was smeared by tears and Roa’s rough actions, becoming a mess.

“The same goes for you, brother! Disappear from my sight right now! I hate seeing you!”

Roa, who had always wanted to be a good sister in front of Roan, raised her voice and got angry at Roan for the first time.

The curses that were faintly heard were shocking in succession, as it was unclear where she had learned them. Roan was stunned by his sister’s rebellion.

‘My sister……”

More than his sister being angry with him, the fact that curses were coming out of Roa’s mouth was a deeper mental shock , whom he had tried to raise gently.

“Roa! Where did you learn such bad words!”

Roan grabbed Roa’s shoulders, dragging his legs that had no strength to stand due to the shock. Roan’s hand that touched Roa’s shoulder was cold.

His face, without a hint of blood, was pale enough that a vampire could ask to be friends. Roan’s voice trembled finely.

“Brother, bad words are not something you learn……”

“What does it matter to you where I learn bad words from!!”

Roa, who had lost her reason due to the crown prince’s continued provocation, cut off Roan’s words and screamed.

“Stop caring about me and take care of your great lover.”

Roan, who had received consecutive strong shock attacks from Roa, sat down on the spot as his legs gave out.

He felt guilty for making his sister have such a misunderstanding. Roa crossed her arms and turned her head.

“Hmph!”

He, who was now her brother, was ‘Roan Helena,’ the male protagonist who appeared in ⟨The Sickly Princess⟩ that Roa had read in her previous life.

And the extra who stimulated the male protagonist’s trauma and died from illness, that was ‘Roa Helena’ whom she had possessed.

Though an extra, Roa had quite an important mission. She was the medium connecting the male and female protagonists in the novel.

The plot of this novel was that Roan would be kind to the princess while thinking of his sister, and then fall in love with her.

But Roa didn’t die.

With a bit of health as a bonus, the soul of Lee Seo-ha, who died in a traffic accident, made her move and live.

Seo-ha, who had possessed a rich daughter, had inherited a happy diamond spoon, but……

“Roa, brother has no relationship with His Highness the Crown Prince.”

There were side effects. The crown prince ‘Levian Khan Yvaine,’ who was the female protagonist’s brother and Roan’s boss, became the source of her stress.

He was the person who arranged the fight between these siblings. Roa’s first love, and now the person she hated seeing more than anyone else.

Roa ground her teeth thinking about the crown prince, who was unpleasant just to recall.

“I used to think so too.”

Knowing that her words would come as a shock to Roan, Roa launched a preemptive attack.

Roa felt a sense of triumph seeing her brother’s shocked face as he misunderstood that she believed the rumors that Roan and the crown prince were lovers.

One word that guaranteed victory, Roa delivered hell to Roan.

“Until I started to suspect that the palace was really becoming a place for your secret meetings.”

Roan let out a silent scream at Roa’s reasonable suspicion.

Whether Roan was shocked or not, Roa, whose anger had risen to the top of her head, clenched her fist.

‘Damn bastard.’

She barely managed to suppress words that could be considered an insult to the imperial family.

“You and His Highness the Crown Prince suit each other well, so people won’t mind. I’ll support you in being very happy—biting and sucking each other all you want.”

What good is it that the crown prince is an unparalleled handsome man as recorded in the novel, when his personality is so twisted?

With a sullen face, Roa thought it wasn’t for nothing that rumors spread in the imperial palace that His Highness the Crown Prince liked his aide.

“Roa!”

“Don’t grab me!”

Roa pushed away Roan who was clinging to her feet and ran up to her room.

Tears came to her eyes as she felt too miserable about her reality of being less important than the crown prince.

Roan urgently reached out his hand when he saw Roa’s tears as she turned around to flee, but he couldn’t reach her.

Forgetting the fact that he had to go to the imperial palace now, Roan ran up the stairs following Roa.

The imperial knights standing behind waited for him.

They knew that being stood up 30 times in a row would be a great wound to the Grand Duke’s daughter.

Roan, reassured by the knights’ consideration, chased after his sister.

“Hueeeng.”

As he got closer to Roa’s room, her crying sound flowing through the improperly closed door made Roan’s heart troubled.

Roan knew better than anyone that what Roa, who was born with a weak body and lived mostly in bed without being able to go out, loved most was going outside.

Roan, who had seen his sister waiting for this day, even marking it on the calendar, carefully approached Roa who was lying face down on the bed crying, and said.

“Sweetie.”

Roa covered her ears with a pillow at the sound of Roan’s voice, which she hated to see. Roan inwardly sighed at Roa’s resolute attitude.

The ticking of the clock urged him to go to the imperial palace. Roan gently patted Roa’s shoulder.

“Let’s talk when I get back.”

‘It’s not like I’m asking to play for a week, just this one day.’

Roa expressed her sorrow as she heard Roan leaving the room. Now she was too tired from crying, her throat hurt, and her body had no strength.

This weak body complained of fatigue just from shedding a few tears. Just as Roa was thinking about stopping her meaningless crying, there was a knock.

“Roa.”

“……”

Her father, ‘Mikel Helena,’ who confirmed that Roa was lying down without saying anything because she had no energy to speak, carefully entered and sat on the bed.

Roa turned her head to the opposite side where no one was. Mikel observed his daughter’s mood.

“Are you feeling alright?”

He first asked about the well-being of his daughter who had experience fainting after crying.

“I’m not alright.”

Mikel bit his lower lip to hold back laughter at the tearful, whimpering voice.

Having cried it all out already, the sound of her sniffling was adorably mismatched with the situation. Roa, whose anger had subsided a bit after crying alone, turned her head back to look at Mikel.

Seeing Roa who only turned her head with reddened eyes, Mikel wiped her tears with a handkerchief he had prepared in advance.

“Have you finished crying?”

“I’m going to cry more.”

Although the already dried-up tears wouldn’t come out, it wasn’t a lie that she wanted to cry.

Mikel, who knew that Roa was upset inside despite speaking curtly, carefully helped her sit up.

Without any particular resistance, Roa got up from the bed and sat on Mikel’s thigh facing him, resting her chin on his shoulder, as if used to it.

Roa loved Mikel the most when he comforted her by hugging her in this position. Roa’s feet dangled off the bed.

“My dear, what made you so sad?”

Mikel’s affectionate voice was like magic to Roa. It melted her heart and made her open up.

Roa, under Mikel’s spell, quietly opened her mouth to share her sorrow.

“I waited so long. I’m sure His Highness the Crown Prince is deliberately targeting the times when brother has plans with me.”

Even though she knew it wasn’t true, her desire to find someone to blame made her rationalize that it must be so.

The accumulated misfortunes had somehow transformed into the crown prince’s fault. Roa’s legs swung in the air.

“I haven’t been able to buy the dress I was planning to get when going out with brother for a month now.”

The dress she had spotted in advance, trusting Roan who had promised to go out with her last month, had already gone out of fashion.

Like that dress, the sorrow Roa had been accumulating burst out today.

“But I’m not angry because I couldn’t buy the dress.”

Roa retracted her words without confidence, afraid that Mikel might think she was immature. Mikel silently patted Roa’s back.

He knew well that she had been patient and trying to understand Roan all this time.

“I just hate brother for not keeping his promises.”

“Roan is His Highness the Crown Prince’s only aide. Your brother probably doesn’t do it on purpose.”

“I know that too. That’s why I tried to be understanding.”

At first, she told Roan it was okay when he apologized. The second time, she told apologetic Roan not to worry about it.

The third time, she smiled at Roan who was watching her reaction. Roa, who had tried to be considerate of Roan, was now exhausted.

She no longer wanted to be the only one expecting and waiting for promises.

“Even a lover wouldn’t do that. I think there’s a possibility that their relationship is not so innocent.”

‘Just try to think I’m misunderstanding.’

Roa didn’t reveal the truth in her heart to Mikel and instead amplified the misunderstanding.

Mikel burst into laughter at Roa’s suspicion. The small vibration was transmitted to Roa, and the laughter was contagious.

Roa leaned her cheek on Mikel’s shoulder and laughed together. Mikel noticed that Roa’s mood had completely improved.

“Would you like to go on a date with Dad today?”

“Do you have a day off today?”

Roa asked with round eyes at the new information. Mikel had already seen through his daughter’s patience, which was like a time bomb that could explode at any moment.

Mikel, who had already received a day off from the emperor with the intention of granting whatever Roa wanted for a day, answered positively to her question.

Roa’s face brightened like a flower blooming in the morning sunlight. Mikel lightly lifted Roa in that state.

“Let’s get ready to go out quickly.”

“Don’t forget to drink water first.”

Roa’s mother, ‘Monia Helena,’ who had nestled into the warm father-daughter relationship, put the glass of water she was holding into Roa’s hand.

Roa, who was thirsty from crying, drank the water in one go. The water filled her body, replacing what had been lost through tears.

“Is mother coming too?”

“Shall I?”

Roa nodded quickly to Monia’s question and smiled brightly.

* * *

dorothea’s note:
for now this will just be updated casually. no schedule yet. please stop commenting asking for updates okay please be patient~