~Chapter 1~
“Astia!”
When I woke up from a hazy sleep, that was the first voice I heard.
Was there ever a voice so soft and pleasant in this world?
I wanted to close my eyes again and listen, but the thought didn’t last.
‘Wait a second.’
Something felt strange. I was used to sleeping on the hard floor of my small apartment…
But now, the bed was soft, like I was floating on clouds.
‘…?’
I slowly opened my eyes and looked around.
The room looked old-fashioned, like something from medieval Europe. And then…
“Are you awake? Can you move?”
The voice was trembling, as if it could disappear at any moment.
I looked up, and saw a man holding my hand tightly.
His silver hair didn’t look dyed, and his purple eyes were beautiful and shining.
‘Wow… There really are people who look like that.’
Just looking at him made me feel calm.
I didn’t know why such a handsome man looked so sad, but it was nice to see.
The man opened his lips, still shaking.
“Arti. Please.”
He kept calling out for someone with such a desperate voice. I didn’t know who Astia was, but I thought she was lucky.
‘Dreams really are nice.’
I could feel the touch of his hand, the warmth, and the air.
If dreams felt this real, maybe they weren’t different from reality. I thought it would be nice not to wake up.
But then—
“Cough! Cough!”
Suddenly, I started coughing so hard my whole body shook. I opened my eyes wide from the pain.
My chest hurt like it was being torn apart. Tears came out from the pain.
I couldn’t do anything. The pain was too much.
“Arti!”
Something was coming up my throat, but the man quickly handed me a handkerchief, so I could cover my mouth.
“Ah.”
After a while, my cough stopped. I lowered the handkerchief.
It was stained red with blood.
‘What is this…?’
I had never coughed this hard or spat blood in my life. I didn’t understand what was happening.
“Arti, Adel is coming right now. Can you hold on a little?”
I looked at the man. He looked like he was about to cry, face pale and shaking.
‘Arti?’
I realized they were calling me Astia, using the nickname “Arti.”
As soon as I realized it, I remembered the villain from a novel I read recently—Damian.
Silver hair, shining purple eyes, not of this world…
Why was I thinking of the description of the man in front of me?
It felt strange. Suddenly, my head hurt so much I couldn’t bear it.
“Ugh.”
“Astia!”
This time, the voice sounded even more desperate.
The man hugged me tightly, and someone was running toward us. My mind faded away.
And then—
I realized it naturally.
I was inside a novel.
I got drunk and was feeling sorry for myself, then got hit by a truck.
Maybe that was how I ended up inside a novel, the one I had read recently, called The Duke’s Secret.
There were only two Duke families in the Empire, and the Rovellito family was the strongest.
In the story, they were the villain’s family, always causing trouble for the male lead’s family, the Celion Duke’s house. The head, Damian Rovellito, did many evil things to ruin the male lead.
But because of the “main character powers,” Damian always lost, and in the end, he even hurt the newly awakened saintess, the female lead.
There were dangerous moments, but thanks to the smart male and female leads, they overcame the worst crises and the story ended.
‘The Rovellito family was destroyed in the end.’
But Damian wasn’t just a villain for no reason.
The reason he turned dark was because his little sister, who was terminally ill, died.
‘He loved his little sister so much, he was almost crazy about her.’
She had a rare disease. No matter how hard Damian tried, she died at a young age. He felt guilty and never forgot her.
Their parents had died early, so they were the only family left.
That chapter told things from Damian’s point of view. I remember the comment section was full of people crying.
‘The backstory was so sad, I almost cried too.’
Damian had nothing left to lose, so he tried to get the emperor’s treasure that could bring back the dead. He clashed with the male lead, who thought he was acting suspicious.
He loved his sister so much he even turned evil for her.
But now—
‘Why am I the little sister?!’
Damian’s only family, Astia Rovellito.
A twelve-year-old girl, small, with shiny golden hair like sunlight, and big, clear purple eyes.
She looked pitiful, like she might fall over any moment.
She was a rich and noble girl, but she wasn’t happy at all.
‘I’m terminally ill.’
Why did I have to become someone with a deadly disease?
Astia screamed silently inside.
Well, it was better than being born a commoner, but…
‘After I die, Damian turns evil. So I have to die?’
After that, Damian turns dark, and the Rovellito family is destroyed.
“No way!”
Astia screamed without meaning to.
Her body shook and the blanket fell off.
“Miss…!”
Her maid, Annie, jumped over in surprise.
Her face was so pale, she looked like the sick one.
Astia quickly tried to calm Annie down before the whole mansion went crazy.
For the last week, every time she coughed, the servants panicked, and Damian would drop everything and come running, crying.
She didn’t want to see that again.
“I’m okay. My head just hurt a little.”
She tried to act like nothing was wrong, but Annie’s brown eyes were still shaking.
“Are you really okay? Should I call the doctor?”
Annie, now calmer, asked again, but Astia shook her head.
“No, I’m just upset about my situation.”
“…?”
Astia sighed.
‘Do you know what it feels like to wake up and find out you’re dying? While the main characters are falling in love, why am I struggling just to survive?’
She felt so wronged, she couldn’t describe it.
‘But at least there’s a way out.’
The good thing was, she could remember all this body’s memories, and felt like herself.
Astia started to remember the details of the original story.
Like most novels, after Astia (the little sister) dies, a cure for her disease is found.
The Rovellito family’s doctor finally discovers the cure after years of research.
It was a rare disease where you coughed up blood, lost your magic, and died—but the cure was surprisingly simple.
‘Hineloti flower.’
A tree from the east, whose flowers bloom until death. If you make tea from its petals and drink it three times a day, you get better.
‘Luckily, the Rovellito family garden has lots of Hineloti trees.’
They weren’t useful, but they were pretty and common in noble gardens.
So, she didn’t need to go searching.
‘I can’t die like in the original! I’m going to survive.’
She didn’t want to die for nothing. If she kept drinking Hineloti tea, she’d get better.
And then—
‘Let’s turn this story from a survival drama into a healing story.’
She’d do what she wanted and live happily. Living as a rich noble didn’t sound so bad.
But there was a problem. The fruit of the Hineloti tree was rumored to be poisonous, so no one ate it. But actually, it wasn’t dangerous for people.
Still, the cure wasn’t known yet, so if Damian found out she was drinking Hineloti tea, he’d freak out.
‘I can’t let my brother find out.’
That was the key.
“I want to take a walk.”
“Miss, you’re so pale…! I’ll go get the young master.”
“No, I can go alone.”
Astia tried to sound strong, but her words were weak.
Annie shook her head and grabbed Astia’s hand tightly.
“No, Miss! I’ll stay with you until the end! Don’t worry—I’m always on your side.”
Annie’s eyes were full of tears as she held Astia’s hand.
Astia just stared at her and sighed. She had missed one thing.
Everyone around her was way too protective.
‘It’s nice, but… they’re too overprotective.’
Astia could barely leave her room. Picking Hineloti petals would be hard.
If she even looked uncomfortable, Annie would rush over, and if she insisted, Damian would make a fuss and try to carry her himself.
“Arti, you’re going to the garden? I’ll carry you!”
Just like now.
Damian, buried in his paperwork, had dropped everything to come.
Astia put her hand on her forehead.
“Brother.”
“Arti, are you sick? Do you have a fever?”
“No, I don’t.”
Damian’s sharp eyes moved to Annie.
“How many times did Arti cough today?”
“Uh, well…”
“If you can’t answer your master, do you really need a mouth?”
Annie closed her eyes tightly, as if ready for anything.
“…Twice.”
Annie fell to her knees.
“Young master! I’m so sorry. Please forgive me just once. I swear I’ll take care of the young miss, even if it costs my life…”
“…You’ll have to do much better from now on.”
“Thank you! Thank you!”
‘Excuse me… can you listen to me?’
Astia tried to talk, but they just kept arguing, not hearing her at all.
“Call the doctor. If she’s going to the garden, tell him to follow.”
“Yes, young master.”
Annie left the room. Damian stared at Astia.
“Arti.”
He slowly knelt in front of her and turned his back to her, as if inviting her to get on.
If anyone saw, they’d faint.
“Can you get on my back?”
Damian smiled gently at her. If he had a tail, it would be wagging.
He looked up at Astia, full of hope.
“Okay? I’ll make sure you only walk on flower paths. Just trust me, Arti.”
…He was the head of the Rovellito family, the most powerful duke in the empire.
‘Can I really get better…?’
She felt like she was going to walk through fire, not on flower paths, and her mind went blank.
