Ch.5Somewhere Strange and Pitiful (2)

“Misfortune arrived with the ear-piercing screech of a pterodactyl.

“KYAAAAA! I got accepted into the Taekwondo Department at Korea Sports University!”

In the biting winter winds of December, I can’t describe how happy I was to receive my acceptance letter from my dream university. And not just any university, but one boasting the best input and output in the country.

“Swoosh. Swish-swoosh. Swoosh. Who am I?”

I step lightly on my feet. While sparring with an imaginary opponent, I suddenly unleash a side kick that’s almost perfectly straight in front of my laptop. Then comes my self-answer.

“Han Serin, Class of ’23, Taekwondo Department, Korea Sports University.”

“Shut up, you brat! For a repeat student, you’re acting like you just graduated high school!”

SMACK!

Unable to stand it anymore, my mom delivers a lightning-fast smash from behind! As expected from a former volleyball player. No matter how hard I train in taekwondo, I can’t see a way to beat mom’s hand skills.

Maybe volleyball is the ultimate martial art?

“Ah sheesh…”

“Sheesh? Did you just ‘sheesh’ your mother? The only grade you’ll be getting in college is an F, you little thing!”

SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!

“Ow, it hurts! Why are you doing this just because I misspoke?!”

“The way you talk at home is how you’ll talk to your seniors in the sports department. Want to be ostracized during orientation?”

“Hmph, I don’t care at all!”

“My goodness, where is this confidence coming from?”

“Because I’m pretty!!!”

With that shriek, I dash out the front door. When I turn my head, I see my mom shaking her head behind me, quietly muttering,

“Crazy girl…”

with a deep sigh of regret.

◇

Making drinking plans with friends happened quickly. Among my high school friends, I was the only repeat student, while the rest were already enjoying campus life.

I opened my messaging app and cheerfully typed:

[Hey guys, you can praise me at tonight’s drinking session]

But the responses were unexpected.

“Huh?”

[Did you know? Choi XX is enlisting in the military next week]

[So today we’re drinking to send him off?]

[Let’s have a farewell party]

[The 4-4 rule is trending in our club these days, everyone’s dying]

[What’s that?]

[No one can leave the club room from 4 PM to 4 AM lol]

[That’s insane lol]

“What’s going on? Am I being excluded?”

Is my college acceptance news so trivial that it’s easily overshadowed by someone’s military enlistment?

“Well, I guess military service deserves respect.”

I can’t drink from 4 to 4 because of my curfew, but it’s a chance to soak my liver in alcohol after a long time. Today was definitely party time.

“Campus check~ Club check~ Campus couple check~”

As I was singing my freshly made tune, my phone rang. When I turned on the screen, little everyday joys were screaming for my attention.

It was a web novel notification.

The genre: Romance Fantasy. The title: “I Tamed the Child of the Deposed Emperor.” What a blatantly obvious title.

“The Child of the Deposed Emperor” was a sequel to another work, but I found the happy ending of the previous work somewhat bitter.

The female lead who lost a political battle and was executed. For some reason, she regressed in time, seduced the Northern Grand Duke, and successfully turned her life around.

Thus, at the end, the Grand Duke became Emperor and the female lead from a viscount family became Empress. Unlike most romance fantasies, they didn’t immediately execute the villains.

Instead, they stripped the deposed emperor and his government of everything and abandoned them in the slums—a humiliating punishment.

‘It felt more sinister than execution, which made me a bit uncomfortable…’

Moreover, the final sentence of the epilogue was enough to earn my sympathy.

[Beautiful.]

That single word uttered by the child of the deposed emperor as he gazed from afar at the princess of the same age during the founding day ceremony. Just that one word moistened my heart with pain.

“The child born is innocent…”

It’s unfair. In an ending that contrasts light and darkness so starkly, I felt sorry for the child of the deposed emperor who shouldered misfortune simply for being born.

For someone like me, the title “I Tamed the Child of the Deposed Emperor” provided a glimmer of hope.

“But why ‘tame’ a child who’s already suffered so much?”

I didn’t like it. Still, I followed each chapter out of curiosity about the fate of the deposed emperor’s child who strangely concerned me. However, most comments suggested the author had taken things too far this time…

“No… After wrapping up the previous work with a happy ending… why…”

This is absurd.

“Why is the daughter of the previous protagonists the villain?!”

Shouldn’t the honor of previous protagonists be respected? They were characters I loved so much!

“I can’t just ignore this.”

Others might have moved on, but the child of the deposed emperor was a kind of hostage to me. Because I wanted the character I sympathized with to reach a bright ending.

As chapters accumulated, the deposed emperor’s child became my favorite character. My only wish was to see his happy days.

But it seems the author wouldn’t grant even this. This time, the female protagonist was far from my taste.

“What’s this? Why does the male lead cling to her despite such treatment? Does low self-esteem make people like this?”

“What’s the point of the male lead being overpowered? He’s just living as the female lead’s doormat!”

“There’s no side for the male lead! The female lead is fickle, and the princess is trying to kill him for fear of losing her position.”

“If you’re going to put so much effort into describing the male lead’s face, just commission illustrations!”

The last one was purely my personal desire, but anyway, there were many things I didn’t like.

“Fine, whatever, a male lead who’s devoted only to the female lead is great. It’s romantic, what’s not to like? But did it have to be the child of the deposed emperor…”

I was furious at how the female lead and princess seemed to use the male lead’s unfortunate childhood as a leash. Considering that most readers of romance fantasy support the female lead, this was a rare case.

“I started reading because I wanted to see the child happy, but why does he only seem to be suffering?”

The female lead was quite something. She could just stick with the male lead, who was described as having world-class looks. Why did she have to get entangled with side male characters and create strange dynamics?

As for the princess… well, since the male lead was already caught by the female lead, maybe her murderous intent was unavoidable. After all, she’s a descendant of the legitimate imperial family.

“If he were given to me, I’d cherish him forever… sigh!”

Just as I let out a breath that seemed to sink the ground, the traffic light turned green. I put on my wireless earphones while ruminating on my regretful feelings. The latest model had excellent noise cancellation.

As I was walking, I felt as if something urgent was pulling at the back of my neck.

…!

… Move…!

Get… way!

… Get out of the way!

In an instant, a clear shout broke through the noise cancellation and reached me.

Only then did I turn my head to look around, but cruelly, it was far too late.

‘A truck…?’

Literally, a truck loaded with cargo was charging straight at me.

It was too fast for me to react, and my legs had long lost control.

Screech! CRASH!

‘Ah…’

Tinnitus tore through my eardrums. My body was floating, but strangely, I felt no pain. The world slowed down infinitely, and everything in sight became clear.

A woman screaming terribly. A man with stiff eyes trembling. And even the driver with cheeks flushed as if drunk.

I could sense it.

‘I guess they’ll hold their enlistment party at my funeral.’

With spicy beef soup as the side dish.

‘Ah… damn, I should have… apologized to mom…’

That bothered me more than missing out on college. And also,

‘Please make our male lead happy… damn you, author.’

This was the flow of my consciousness just before I ended my first life.

◇

I spent a long time in warm darkness, almost to the point where my sense of self faded.

So this is the suffocating world one must live in after death. The deeper my lingering attachment, the stronger my yearning for my previous life grew.

Did my wish reach God? After a long wait, light that I thought I’d never see again suddenly poured in.

“It’s a girl. A healthy princess has been born!”

‘What? A girl? Princess?’

“But the child isn’t crying. What’s going on?”

“It’s difficult to say for certain… but at least there’s nothing wrong with her health.”

“That’s a relief.”

A man’s words of relief. I slightly turned my head to look in his direction, and at that moment, I thought my heart, which had just started beating again, would stop.

‘Huh? What? Is this… a dream?’

How on earth.

Why did the male and female leads from the previous work suddenly appear before my eyes?

‘This can’t be…!!!’

“Waaaaaah!”

“Ah! The princess is finally crying.”

“At last I hear your voice.”

“How can she be so beautiful?”

Their reactions were all praise, but I could hardly smile.

‘This must be a dream. It has to be…!’

I… I…!

To think I’d be reborn as the villain princess in “I Tamed the Child of the Deposed Emperor”!

‘If there’s a god in this world, I’d like to give them a 1080-degree spinning kick…’

◇

At the age of five, I suddenly realized a significant truth.

“Nanny.”

“What is it, Princess?”

“I’ve realized an important truth.”

“What has our princess learned?”

I proudly put my hands on my hips and declared:

“If I don’t want to be someone I dislike, I just have to not be that person.”

Fun, cool, and sexy.

“My, what a profound realization.”

“Mm-hmm.”

I had been busy criticizing the female leads in the original work, but in reality, I was buried in concerns typical of a devoted fan.

If I don’t like the female lead, I can replace her. Even better if it’s me.

If I don’t like being a villain, I just won’t be one. I’ll find a way somehow.

‘But as long as the male lead is the child of the deposed emperor, there’s nothing I can do as the current princess…’

If that’s the case, they should have let me possess the female lead instead. Why reincarnate me as the princess who’s difficult to connect with!

I should be satisfied with this though. It’s much better than being an extra civilian like Ms. A who can’t even create a point of contact. Still, human nature being what it is, I couldn’t help but feel regretful.

‘There’s no choice. All I can do now is wait quietly.’

The clock in my heart ticked endlessly, fueled by my own sense of helplessness.

…

……

I thought I’d be suited for the role of a satisfying female lead. But the wall of reality far exceeded my expectations. The strict life of a princess and political position meant I wasn’t allowed even a speck of opportunity to meet the male lead.

When I heard that the male lead had escaped from the institution, I cried severely. I wailed loudly.

To think I’d be reincarnated only to part with my favorite character without even seeing his childhood face once! How could this be!

“Male lead… my runaway male lead whose whereabouts are unknown… the void left by the male lead is so great that from now on, I’ll stand above the female lead…”

What am I even saying about standing above?

As years passed, my nonsensical ramblings increased. To the point where my parents—the male and female leads from the previous work—were deeply concerned.

‘Ugh…’

As if mocking my feelings, news about the child of the deposed emperor was completely cut off as time passed.

Living such a meaningless life as if entranced, I had grown into a nineteen-year-old lady, close to my age in my previous life.

By this time, I had adapted well enough to my current life that I was overconfident. To the extent that I would roam the streets after evading my guards and even disguising myself.

There was only one thing I overlooked.

The fact that this place wasn’t South Korea, the world’s safest country!

I accepted drinks from suspicious-looking men without doubt, and soon lost consciousness due to extreme drowsiness.

After that, the kidnappers worked with clockwork efficiency.

Thoroughly bound and thrown into a carriage, all sorts of random thoughts tormented me during the journey.

‘I’m scared and going crazy… my hands are numb and my body feels gross… I need to use the bathroom… I want kimchi stew…’

After nine days, I arrived at a tent with a chaotic atmosphere. The sound of someone whispering earnestly made me feel both relieved and anxious. There was no guarantee these people wouldn’t harm me.

“Ugh… excuse me…?”

That’s when it happened.

As I trembled in fear, he approached and removed my blindfold.

“Pleased to meet you, miss whose name I don’t know. We’ve dealt with the kidnappers, so you can rest easy.”

A masked man. This extremely suspicious person had saved me. The feeling when I realized I could truly relax was like gaining another new life.

And so the situation arrives at the present.

A present swirling with very serious contemplation.

‘Since it’s still before the original timeline, I can’t be certain…’

Based on my N years of romance fantasy experience.

I have a reasonable suspicion that Rian might be the male lead of “I Tamed the Child of the Deposed Emperor.”

The reason is simple and clear.

‘Well… in a romance fantasy, it’s only natural that the male lead rescues the reincarnated female lead…!’

He could easily be using an alias!

Even I’m impressed by this century’s brilliant deduction.

Moreover, it’s suspicious that he hides his face with a mask, and his blonde hair and blue eyes match perfectly.

‘Before I go back, I’ll definitely make him take off that mask!’

With all my might, absolutely!

Our exploration began through this process.”