CHAPTER 01
I have no money.
Not just a little—I have none at all.
“I wonder if money will ever fall from the sky? I wish I were rich enough to lie on a bed of cash and swim in stacks of bills.”
So that everyone who looked down on me would regret it.
So that even if my family came crawling to me, begging,
I could leave without a second thought.
“I feel like I’ve lived diligently… so why is my life like this?”
Maybe from drinking too much, the room spins.
My life seems dull and predictable ahead.
No matter how I look at it, this life feels like a failure.
“If I can’t become rich like this… I want to time-travel like the protagonists in novels. Or possess someone, reincarnate—anything. I won’t even call it cliché. Please, someone, send me to another world.”
I wanted to escape anywhere.
I was sick of feeling miserable because I had no money.
All I had were debts.
“How much is just the interest I pay in a month, anyway?”
Life feels pointless.
Soju slides down my throat easily without even a snack.
“The female leads in romance-fantasy novels can possess others just fine…”
“I want to get hit by a reincarnation truck too.”
It was then.
“Dear reader! Since you’re wishing to become rich, why not aim to become not just rich, but the ultimate tycoon?”
A voice like a scammer suddenly spoke, freezing me in place.
When I turned, a baby bird was flying in midair.
“How could I become a tycoon? Money breeds money in this world.”
“Even so, dear reader! Have you ever imagined buying new land and finding oil gushing out, becoming a tycoon? Or creating Bitcoin before anyone else, sitting on a fortune? Or discovering a new continent and cornering the market? Wouldn’t you want to become a tycoon?”
“…Wait, did that bird just… speak? Am I hallucinating from being drunk…?”
Or maybe it’s a dream.
I blinked several times.
Yet the baby bird, dressed in a suit, smiled brightly and asked:
“Are you suffering because you have no money?”
“…Yeah.”
“Do you wish you had a lot of money?”
“Of course.”
“Would you be okay living in a world where you could become not just rich, but a tycoon… not on Earth?”
“Yeah.”
“Would it bother you if you possessed someone, leaving your family behind?”
“I’ve been independent for a long time; my family was abusive.”
Of course, I’d rushed to become independent but got scammed on a rental deposit, ending up drinking like this…
“An abusive family? Perfect! Syncing with the possessed body will be easy. You can overcome almost any trial without blinking! Adaptation will be smooth. Congratulations in advance!”
“…Don’t you hear that you have zero tact?”
“Hehe. Yes! Coincidentally, there’s a perfect original work for you to possess!”
The baby bird beamed.
But it was too unrealistic to be angry about.
“Birds don’t talk. It’s a dream after all.”
I muttered to myself and shook my head.
Still, I had begged for time-travel, possession, or reincarnation just moments ago, so I was half-believing.
“…If you really can make me possess someone, I don’t care what work it is. Just make sure I can become rich. I’m sick of being poor.”
“I knew you’d agree! The reincarnation truck trend has passed anyway, so sorry if you wanted to be hit by one. Nowadays, the trend is direct possession after permission! Good luck, dear reader!”
I tried to respond, but my eyes closed.
And I collapsed.
When I opened my eyes, all I could see was a dirty street.
Even the stench of garbage pricked my nose.
‘What…?’
Did I sleep outside drunk?
‘And I even dreamed of talking to a weird baby bird…’
I paused and looked at my body.
Chubby little hands.
Small. Really tiny.
‘So it wasn’t a dream. I really got possessed?’
“What’s happening?”
Luckily, my speech wasn’t slurred.
I stood there stunned.
‘A trash heap?’
I looked around.
There was a puddle on the ground, so I bent to check my face.
Fluffy cotton-candy pink hair.
Sparkling pink gemstone eyes.
A rather cute face.
But ragged clothing.
‘No way… did I get possessed into a child-raising romance-fantasy?’
My heart started pounding.
It felt like winning the lottery.
‘If you’re going to possess someone, it should be a story with guaranteed flowers and happy paths.’
Child-rearing stories always performed well on ChocolatePage anyway.
‘Maybe I finally get to walk the flower path?’
The strongest dad in the world doting on his daughter!
A brother obsessed with his younger sibling!
And…
‘A life where you occasionally get buildings as gifts! A golden spoon life!’
Wow—already I felt detached from Earth.
“Thank you for letting me possess someone!”
I shouted my thanks.
Why me, why possession, why waking up in a garbage dump… none of that mattered.
I was just genuinely happy my wish came true.
‘My life on Earth was the worst.’
Mom, Dad, older brother, biological father, half-brothers, uncles—they were all abnormal.
‘I was the child born from my mom briefly seeing a tycoon.’
That was me.
At school, handsome half-brothers bullied me.
At home, Mom scolded me.
Not a single day went by without crying.
“How could you call a school violence committee over family fights?”
“But Mom… I was pushed down the stairs…”
“So what? Even a tycoon’s illegitimate child has enviable specs. And these are your half-brothers—you could try being friendly.”
Even after being bullied at school, coming home crying, Mom didn’t care.
‘She even said my tears annoyed her…’
I forcibly shut out the memory.
So miserable that as soon as I became an adult, I cut ties with my family.
‘Just yesterday, I dreamed of my childhood nightmare.’
Even as a tycoon’s illegitimate child, I couldn’t be on my father’s family registry and inherited nothing.
After moving out, I lived frugally.
Hearing that my half-brothers lived luxuriously only added to my sense of deprivation.
‘But does this mean the days of suffering without money are over? Can I finally be loved by a family?’
Life wasn’t that simple.
When I lifted my head, I saw a system window.
Welcome, dear reader, to ‘I Monopolize Tyrants Alone’.
“Uh… Tyrant Solo?”
I froze.
“Why is the title here?”
I felt like I was losing my mind.
Because…
‘Tyrant Solo is a reverse-harem romance-fantasy.’
My face went pale.
‘Wait… pink hair, pink eyes… I’m the villainess.’
The villainess—revealed as the lost granddaughter of a duke, rescued from the slums.
A villainess with extreme superiority and inferiority complexes due to her status.
A villainess doomed to die horribly after tormenting the heroine.
That’s me.
“Ouch.”
I pinched my cheek—painful. Definitely not a dream.
‘The world only loved the heroine. By the end, the male lead annihilated the villainess’ family…’
I shivered recalling that scene.
The male lead orchestrating revenge simply because I belonged to the villainous family.
‘If this world enforces the original story, I’m doomed…’
It felt ominous.
The baby bird had possessed me into a reverse-harem romance-fantasy with zero explanation.
I blinked and opened my mouth, wondering if there might be a status window too.
“…Status window?”
…Wow, it actually appeared!
Name: Ariana [Player] Lv.1
Age: 5
Title: None
Status: Hungry (3 days without food)
Assets: 0
Trait: [Character] Modify Status Window
“What does the trait do?”
My stomach growled.
Of course, a Korean knows the power of food, and starting possession hungry is cruel…
But if I can modify the status window, this might be an S-tier skill.
“Modify Status Window.”
I said, full of expectation.
I tried changing ‘hungry’ to ‘full,’ but nothing happened.
‘Ah, I’m a player, not a character, so I can’t modify it.’
I reread the line: [Character] Modify Status Window.
Next to my name was [Player].
“Why am I not a character? I’m the main villainess, after all.”
The window closed.
A new notification popped up.
Quest forcibly activated!
“Dear reader, who suffered from having no money! We’ve prepared the perfect romance-fantasy quest for you. Enjoy!
You will be the villainess of ‘Tyrant Solo,’ granddaughter of a noble ducal family, but until rescued from the slums, you must survive on your own. You’ll need money to buy food—stealing is not an option!
Good luck, dear reader!”
“What?”
Quest Success Condition: Contact with money
Quest Failure: Starvation → death
“…Starve to death?”
Even reading the words felt like the baby bird’s voice was narrating.
‘It even talks like him.’
Warning: Permanent soul destruction upon death.
I finally read the fine-print warning and went pale.
But more importantly:
“Why promise wealth only to throw me into a reverse-harem romance-fantasy?”
Was this some scam?
I suppressed my anxiety.
Maybe I could mimic a child-raising fantasy after all.
But my hope was quickly shattered.
Day 4 of possession
No progress.
I had barely picked up a few crumbs of bread.
“I’m… so hungry… I think I might actually starve…”
I staggered along.
Exhausted, feet blistered from worn-out shoes.
‘How many days have I been starving? Three already before possession… so a week total?’
Too weak to lift my head, I stared at the ground.
After three days of hunger at the start of possession, I was nearing my limit.
“……?”
On the verge of collapse, someone ahead dropped something with a clink.
A flash of golden light froze my breath.
As if nothing had happened, I ran and picked up the money.
‘Gold coin…?’
A “ding” sound rang, and messages floated in the air.
You have contacted 1 gold and succeeded in the quest!
Hunger is alleviated!
Starvation penalty removed!
I blinked in surprise.
‘Just 1 gold!’
You have picked up the male lead Perez’s gold coin. If you flee without returning it, it becomes yours.
But the next notification froze me with terror.
If I read it correctly:
‘Perez? …the main male lead of Tyrant Solo?’
I froze holding the coin.
I remembered how terrifying he was as a reader.
Looking up, I immediately made eye contact with the boy.
It was definitely Perez.
Do you wish to flee?
Yes / No
