Edmund was in a foul mood.

Why, you ask? Truthfully, there wasn’t even a clear reason.

“Olivia, you seem different today.”

“Do I? Actually, I have a date after work today!”

Wait, do you?

Edmund unconsciously clenched the document in his hand. The space where the imperial seal was supposed to go became thoroughly crumpled.

“A date? With… who?”

Dante, who had asked the question, seemed to regret it immediately. He covered his mouth and glanced at Edmund. The man’s red eyes were blazing.

“Sir Galahad.”

As her small, round lips shyly uttered the name of another man, Edmund couldn’t hold back any longer.

“Olivia! Did you finish the task I gave you yesterday?!”

When Edmund slammed his desk and shouted, the subordinates who had been casually chatting moments ago fell silent all at once.

They could even see that Edmund was in a dangerous mood today. On days like this, it was best to keep quiet and avoid drawing any unnecessary attention. If he spotted the slightest mistake, you might be penalised — and a pay cut was not something to be taken lightly.

“Of course. I’ve finished everything here.”

The paper Olivia handed over, beaming brightly, was filled with her round handwriting that resembled her own cheerful demeanor. Edmund snatched the document and began scanning through it quickly.

“……”

It was annoyingly perfect.

With nothing to nitpick from the paperwork, Edmund began searching for something else to pick a fight over.

“Why on earth is the office bookshelf arranged like that? Olivia, go and organize it properly right now!”

“Gasp, Your Highness. I’m so sorry. That’s actually my task starting today…”

Campbell, who had been sitting near the entrance drowning in a swamp of paperwork, replied tearfully.

“…Damn it.”

Having unjustly scolded the wrong person, Edmund clicked his tongue in frustration and muttered under his breath. Campbell’s face turned even more ashen.

Time continued to pass, and before long, the sun began to set.

As her colleagues gradually clocked out for the day, Olivia pulled a small mirror from her drawer and began fixing her hair. She brushed it this way, then that, until finally settling on a style she liked. With a satisfied smile, she began applying lipstick.

After pressing her now-moist lips together and letting them part with a soft pop, Edmund suddenly shouted.

“Olivia! Bring me the finalized tax report for last year by today!”

“Huh? But that’s due at the end of the month.”

“Are you talking back to me?!”

“…No, sir.”

Olivia drooped her shoulders. Her neatly shaped eyebrows dipped downward, and a satisfied smile crept across Edmund’s face.

But the smile didn’t last long.

“Your Highness, here’s the report.”

“…You already finished it?”

“Of course. You know I’m good at my job. Isn’t that why you chose me as your direct aide?”

Her round, sea-colored eyes sparkled as she smiled at him.

“Well then, I’ll be heading out.”

“Wait!!”

Edmund called out urgently, but Olivia quickly slipped out of the office. The remaining staff instinctively hunched their shoulders, and some quietly slipped away.

“Did she just ignore me?!”

As expected. In a burst of anger, Edmund hurled the stack of tax reports in his hand.

“Y-Your Highness…”

“She literally asked me out on a date just yesterday!”

“W-Well… you always brushed her off, didn’t you?”

His knight, Felix, cautiously replied, only for Edmund to snap back.

“That’s not the point—it pisses me off!”

Just yesterday, that woman had been clinging to him at every chance she got. And now, she was off on a date with another man. With his subordinate, no less.

‘Yeah. That’s all it is. I’m just… in a bad mood.’

Edmund slammed his desk with a loud thud, thinking just that.

Felix watched in silence as a crack formed on the desk—crafted from the world’s hardest Alistar wood—and slowly shook his head.

***

I awoke to the faint sound of gunfire.

The tent was collapsing around me, and everything in the room—from the tattered furniture to the dusty air—felt completely unfamiliar. But of course it did.

This wasn’t South Korea where I used to live. No—this wasn’t even the same world I had lived in.

In March, just as exam prep season began, my mother was diagnosed with stage 3 stomach cancer. While the future looked bleak, the man who claimed to be my father suddenly appeared.

「Cha Yuna. If you get into S University’s Department of Political Science and Diplomacy, I’ll give you what you deserve. You and your mother, both.」

Until then, I didn’t even know I had a father. He was a man who couldn’t give up the diplomatic legacy passed down through generations in his family. My so-called older brother had failed multiple times and barely managed to get into a second-rate provincial university—so they turned to me.

If I got accepted, my mother’s surgery and the terrifying cost of chemotherapy would be covered. That single promise was enough to push me forward.

I slept only two hours a night. I gave up every hobby, every distraction, and lived only as a test-taker. All of it was rewarded the moment I saw those words on the screen: You have been accepted.

The day after I was accepted, I stared at all the zeroes in my bank account, then took the bus home after visiting my mother in the hospital. That’s when I overheard a group of schoolgirls talking.

I couldn’t understand everything, but I caught that they were talking about a web novel.

It had been so long since I read something unrelated to exams or essays. I was curious. Almost entranced, I pulled out my phone and clicked on the novel that was ranked number one for the week.

‘Oh, so the male lead becomes crown prince after marrying the female lead. That’s the ending? A happy one, huh.’

I’ve always read the ending first. Satisfied with the closed-off happy ending, I went back to start reading from chapter one.

It was a story about outcasts of the Empire, with the female protagonist representing them and eventually winning the heart of the male lead through her abilities.

I was deep into the novel, enjoying every moment—when suddenly, there was a flash of light.

Turning toward its source, I realized a massive freight truck was barreling toward the bus.

And then—I blacked out.

The next time I opened my eyes was now. This very moment.

It seemed I had possessed someone.

“Ah, there you are.”

A child with singed hands approached awkwardly.

“Olivia, I found you.”

‘Olivia?’

I always thought I was pretty smart, but no matter how hard I searched my memory, I couldn’t recall that name appearing in the novel.

Who was this kid? Where exactly was I?

Just as I was about to ask, my body lifted off the ground.

The boy held me with one hand and swung me around as he ran. Even in the chaos, gunshots and screams echoed everywhere.

The stench of burning corpses filled the air, and the streets were soaked with blood and bodies.

I tried several times to speak, but my lips wouldn’t move. My voice wouldn’t come out.

In the midst of that terrifying scene, the boy gripped my hand tightly—and ran with all his might.

At first glance, he looked about five or six years old. I wanted to get a better look at his face, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t move my head.

Strange. No matter how light I might be, there’s no way a kid like that could run while carrying me so easily, right?

As I puzzled over this, the child finally stopped—and that’s when I caught sight of my reflection in a shattered window.

Sky-blue hair and eyes of the same hue. Pale white skin. A tiny, delicate nose and lips. I looked like a doll—beautiful at a glance.

‘A doll?’
Not the heroine, not a villainess, not even a side character—but an inanimate object?
That’s just cruel!

“What’ve we got here, kid?”

Several men in military boots approached, their heavy footsteps drawing closer as they looked down at the boy and sneered.

“There are still Puglishi in the capital, huh.”

Puglishi.
The moment I heard that word, my heart sank.
So it really was the novel I had been reading.

If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve picked something peaceful instead.

The boy, unaware of my turmoil, simply held me tighter in silence.

One of the soldiers aimed his gun—at a child barely tall enough to reach his waist.

Bang—
The sound of the gunshot echoed, and the shock ran through my entire body.

As the boy collapsed, my field of vision tilted along with him. Still clutching me tightly, he mumbled with a trembling voice.

“…Have to… give it… Angel… to Olivia…”

And then, the boy closed his eyes.
I wanted to scream—but I couldn’t.

“Is he dead?”

“Probably.”

The soldier who fired lit a cigarette nonchalantly and told his comrades to go on ahead.

“We’ll head toward the city, then.”

“Alright. I’ll finish this and catch up.”

As the sound of boots faded into the distance, the man ground out his cigarette and cautiously looked around.

“Hey, you alright?”

The soldier gently lifted the boy.
Only then did I notice the bullet lodged in the boy’s hand.
It must’ve hit him there.

“Ha… Dear God. Even kids like this, we’re supposed to kill?”

He sighed heavily and carefully cradled the boy in his arms.

“I’ll make sure you survive.”

And with that, he ran off somewhere, leaving me all alone.

Ugh. This is a nightmare.

Possessed into a non-living object?
What am I supposed to do now?

I was blankly staring up at the sky when—

“Hello.”

A beautiful boy appeared before me and smiled.