Chapter 03
“What did you say?”
I asked again in disbelief, but Sir Aile answered calmly, with a face that seemed to gather all the trust in the world.
“What fell onto the carriage was truly a boy.”
“……”
“And that is the result.”
“Ugh!”
At that moment, my heart pounded so hard it felt like it stopped.
Was it because I was too shocked? A sharp pain struck my chest. I frowned and grabbed at it, and the people around me began shouting in panic.
“My lady!”
Huff—my breathing turned rough. For a moment, my vision went white. Cold sweat ran down my face. I raised a hand to calm them.
Damn this body.
“I’m fine. I-I was just startled.”
I heard Sasha scolding Jeffrey like a storm. I bit my lip and clearly felt my fingers turning cold.
This is strange. Something like this shouldn’t happen. My life was supposed to be calm and peaceful.
“So it’s true that someone fell onto the carriage?”
“Yes.”
Even as I spoke, I couldn’t hide my shock. Sasha let out a small scream.
So, a boy fell from the sky and destroyed my carriage. A human couldn’t survive that kind of impact.
Then that boy must be—
I frowned deeply. A terrible image filled my mind.
“Is he dead?”
“My lady.”
“The boy who fell. Is he dead?”
Even to my own ears, my voice trembled. Someone’s death? Would that be the first death I saw in this world? I wasn’t ready for that.
I already knew death was common in this world. This was not a dream anymore. This was my reality.
Did it hurt? That child.
I swallowed the rising emotion. Of course it hurt. When I died, it was terrible. So that boy must have—
“No.”
It must have hurt terribly—huh?
I lifted my head quickly.
“Eh? Sir, did you just say no?”
“Yes, my lady. You don’t need to worry.”
“Why… why don’t I need to worry?”
Sir Aile still looked serious.
“The boy is alive. The only thing that died is your carriage.”
The only thing that died was my carriage.
Well, looking at it, that was true.
I took a slow breath and replied as slowly as a crawling turtle.
“……That’s a lie. The carriage looks like that.”
“Yes. Even so.”
“He should have died ten times over.”
“That is the strange part, but he is alive.”
For the first time, the usually expressionless knight smiled slightly.
“Judging by your reaction, my lady, it is a great relief that the boy is alive. Don’t worry. The child is unharmed. He won’t appear in your nightmares.”
“……”
That’s strange. How is that possible?
I stared blankly.
Knights climbed onto the carriage and carefully lowered someone down—the boy who had fallen from the sky.
His arms and legs hung loosely. They were very thin. I couldn’t see his face clearly because the knights blocked my view, but he looked like an ordinary child.
And he did not look dead at all.
“The boy is not dead. Rather, despite destroying the carriage, there isn’t a single drop of blood. From what we can see, he seems to be peacefully asleep.”
Ah!
At that moment, I saw his dark black hair as they carried him down—
And suddenly, a memory flashed through my mind.
‘Right. There was someone.’
The story of that novel—the one that had become my life, the one I tried not to remember—burst into my mind like a flash of light.
There was only one person capable of something like this.
“From the moment he was born, the man received the infinite glory of the gods.
The goddess proclaimed with a grand voice:
No sword nor spear shall wound him.
Thus, in a land filled with murder and battle, he alone claimed the seat of ruler.
Cruel and ruthless, and always would be.
For him, life was nothing but boredom, and everything rolled smoothly like a wheel—
Until he met the woman who would shake his life, Tesha.
His name was Vasilisa.
The King of Shadows.”
“My lady? My lady, are you alright?”
Sasha’s voice sounded faint, as if from far away.
“S-Sasha. My hand… let me hold your hand.”
I grabbed her sleeve tightly to fight the dizziness. She patted my shoulder anxiously.
“What’s wrong? Are you hurt? Are you dizzy? Should we return at once?”
I trembled as if waking from a shallow sleep and looked again at the unconscious—no, sleeping—boy.
Even when I blinked, he did not disappear like mist.
“No, I’m fine. But… I want to see him up close.”
“No! It might be dangerous!”
“Why? You said he’s sleeping. He’s not going to suddenly wake up and attack me.”
“B-but, my lady—”
“I want to see.”
I had to confirm it.
Ignoring their protests, I slowly approached and looked down at the sleeping boy.
“……”
He was noticeably beautiful.
His features were clear, as if a forest nymph had fallen from the sky. He was still young, but it was easy to imagine how handsome he would become.
A smooth white forehead, messy wavy black hair, pale skin. Though his eyes were closed, I knew the color hidden beneath those lids would be a vivid purple.
His lips were small and red like cherries.
It felt almost disrespectful to even harbor ill feelings toward him—like defying a god.
There could not be another like him.
The moment I confirmed his face, I staggered from dizziness.
“My goodness. What is going on?”
“My lady?”
Sasha’s tearful voice reached me, but I couldn’t comfort her. I was trapped in my own thoughts.
Swallowing dryly, I placed my trembling hand near his nose.
Warm breath touched my skin.
At that moment, I was certain of his identity.
And at the same time, fear rose inside me.
Something was terribly wrong.
‘Why?’
This boy was someone I should never meet here.
‘Why is he here?’
Because—
He was one of the male leads of this novel.
Even though I could not remember my old name, I clearly remembered that day.
It was a special day.
Unusually lucky.
Looking back, maybe it was the gods’ small pity before the misfortune that would come later.
‘Huh?’
I still remembered clearly. The grogginess when I woke up. Checking the results of the 213th lottery half-asleep. Then widening my eyes and shouting in joy.
‘What?! No way! Did I dream of pigs last night?’
That lottery ticket I loved and hated—always making me cry because I never even won five thousand won—had won third prize.
Third prize!
I felt like I could fly.
‘Yahoo!’
How much was third prize? Of course, it wasn’t first prize, but I was still unbelievably happy.
My life was one of taking breaks from university because of crushing tuition fees.
The classmates I used to hang out with in first year had all graduated and stopped contacting me. I wandered aimlessly among younger students, waiting for a graduation that felt far away.
My parents had been kind and gentle people, but sadly, they left me early.
My mother died first from illness. My father loved her so much that a few years later, his heart suddenly stopped.
I was twenty.
I wanted to quit university.
But my mother had cried and told me I must graduate, asking me to keep certain promises in life. Those words were carved into my heart.
Thankfully, I had friends.
Friends from high school met me often and comforted me. Even after becoming adults and busy, they still made time to drink with me.
I smiled foolishly, thinking about collecting the prize money.
Then I rushed to prepare for my factory part-time job and boarded the shuttle bus. I saw familiar, tired faces.
“Good morning!”
“You’re here? You look especially bright today. Something good happen?”
“Hehe. It’s a secret.”
I sat down and took out the thick novel from my bag.
‘This is the best time of the day.’
The older women and men teased me about the sparkly cover.
I told them romance novels must have shiny covers, and they laughed.
I gently stroked the book.
Red Rose.
A slightly childish title, but it was a very popular romance novel. I was probably the most devoted fan of the author.
‘It’s a shame the ending was open. But the author said there will be a mature side story next year. Then we’ll know who the heroine ends up with! I’ll endure until then!’
It was so popular that it would even be adapted into animation next year.
I smiled and promised myself.
I would definitely watch it. I had to see my favorite male lead end up with the heroine.
And then—
It happened.
