Chapter 2
One day, when I opened my eyes, I was possessed by a romance fantasy novel.
I was exactly aware of the circumstances when I was eight years old.
Memories poured out and I realized that I, Kim Soo-Yeon had become Aesvin Samuel.
Count Samuel’s beloved only daughter. The memories about ‘me’ naturally came to my mind.
At that time, I didn’t notice that I was possessed by a novel.
Because I didn’t know who Aesvin Samuel was.
‘What is this? What’s going on?’
I was just surprised that I suddenly became a child.
I was in the middle of the garden where western-style banquets were held with people wearing dresses that seemed to come out of the novel.
‘What the hell is going on here?’
There were many children who appeared to be my age. Bewildered, I pinched my cheeks.
My cheeks hurt so much.
Nevertheless, it didn’t seem like a dream to me as I couldn’t wake up. I sat blankly and tried to grasp the reality.
Then I heard people gather and chatter.
“Shall we do this again? That one.”
“Oh, that thing? Would you?”
‘That? What is that?’
I unknowingly listened to the voice of interest mixed with ridicule.
“What is it?”
Fortunately, I wasn’t the only one who didn’t know and someone asked a question instead of me.
However, the person who asked the question was laughed at by others for not knowing that.
The person who asked the question bowed her head in embarrassment, and the person who first brought it up informed her.
“To find a playmate for Prince Luciano.”
“Oh ….”
Only then did I seem to be aware of the situation when I noticed someone make a
“Oh, that?”
face.
Prince Luciano. Though it was out of the blue, it seemed to be a name I had heard somewhere.
“Of course I would. There is no one who doesn’t know that the tea party was held for that purpose.”
“If you look at it that way, Empress Isabelle is too much ….”
“Shh! Your voice is too loud.”
“Oops!”
The person who was reflexively voicing Empress Isabelle’s exaggeration covered her mouth in surprise at the urgent remark.
I turned my head and looked around. Then she made eye contact with me.
I flinched because I was caught peeping. However, the lady sighed in relief and immediately turned her head, thinking that she had no need to be vigilant to a child.
“Well, well, please keep it a secret that I said this.”
“I have that much sense.”
“I didn’t hear anything.”
The conversation continued, saying that they would cover up the slip of the tongue.
People began to speak again, lowering their voices more than before.
“More than that, who wants to be Prince Luciano’s playmate?”
“I know. Everyone knows that it’s not good to get close to Prince Luciano.”
“But you never know. Not if it’s a desperate family. For example, Marquess Simon ….”
“If it’s Marquess Simon, is it Brianna? I’m not going to do it because I have hopes that I’ll be able to become a wizard.”
“I’m not Marquess Simon, but I’ve lost all my old business. So I have to try hard to catch even a broken string.”
“Then, wouldn’t you avoid Prince Luciano? I don’t think you want to end it together.”
“There has to be someone who accepts it. Prince Steven’s side doesn’t even deal with him.”
“You have to gamble to survive.”
Not all of it was understandable.
However, the names were so familiar as I listened to the chatter of the ladies.
‘I’m sure I know those names. Where did I hear that?’
It wasn’t unfamiliar. I was wrapping my head, and a memory flashed into my mind.
It was the character’s name in a novel I read a few days ago.
Wait!
Were you looking for the prince’s playmate?
That was the same in the novel. So certainly there was only one conclusion I could make.
‘I was possessed by a romantic novel!’
Sure enough, listening to other people’s stories calmly made it clear.
The situation was the same as the story『Your Majesty, don’t be obsessed!』 .
『Your Majesty, don’t be obsessed!』was not a famous novel.
It was so obvious that it wasn’t popular.
Marquess Simon, the female lead’s family Brianna, was famous for their magic.
It was a family that had produced archmages for generations and stood at the peak of power in the past.
However, in recent generations, the family has been declining because there has not been a talented person in magic.
The female lead also turns out to have no magical talent and approaches the male lead to save her family.
The male lead was Luciano Frederick.
As the first prince, he was ranked first in line of succession, but his mother who was the empress died early. His life was at stake due to the second empress’ schemes who was also the emperor’s favourite.
Then, it was a story of meeting a female protagonist and receiving mental salvation.
Of course, there have been several incidents in the meantime, with the two of them losing and criticizing, as well as the emergence of the evil women and the mastermind.
However like any other romance fantasy novels, Brianna and Luciano eventually became OP characters and lived happily ever after.
Having read the novel, I knew that Aesvin Samuel was not even mentioned in the content.
Based on my experience as a long-time reader, I was possessed by a novel.
What would you conclude if you were an extra whose name didn’t even appear?
This was the extra possession!
‘I have become the main character in the novel!’
It was natural to think like that, I believed I was the main character without any doubt.
Romance was essential due to the genre of romance fantasy’s nature.
Then, who would be my male protagonist?
These days, the romance fantasy trend has changed so rapidly that I couldn’t guess who it was.
The original male lead was popular as the male lead for a while in the extra-possessed stories, followed by the second male lead, and then the mastermind as the male lead was popular.
I didn’t know who would be my man, so I decided to meet everyone.
I came to all these conclusions within half an hour after realizing I was in a novel.
While trying to figure out the situation, I clearly recognized what tea party this was.
‘Finding Prince Luciano’s playmate’ was an event before the novel officially started, and it was an event that appeared briefly in the side story from the prince’s point of view.
『
Empress Isabelle intentionally held a spring tea party once in a while.
And Luciano hated this tea party.
“Thank you all for coming. A lot of people gathered again this time.”
“Hahaha, of course I have to come. We’re grateful for the meeting.”
“It’s very important for aristocratic children to get along. Isn’t it the duty of the royal family to hold a meeting like this?”
On the outside, it was labeled as a meeting to strengthen the friendship of aristocratic children.
But no one knew that there were other meanings in it.
Empress Isabelle looked at the table where her own son, Prince Steven, sat.
She smiled happily as he was surrounded by aristocratic children.
Then she checked Luciano sitting alone on the other side.
He was so poor to the point it was hard for him to be considered as the first prince, so Empress Isabelle lifted her fan and covered her mouth.
She couldn’t help but she had a satisfied smile behind the fan.
Empress Isabelle Isabel created a friendly face.
“Prince Luciano, are you alone again this year?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, no. It’s because the prince is not sociable. Since the prince is so introverted, I have no choice but to worry about everything.”
Luciano’s fist was strengthened by Empress Isabelle’s pretentious attitude.
Luciano’s eyes darkened because he knew what Empress Isabelle was trying to talk about.
However, the signs quickly disappeared, so no one else could know.
“Is there anyone out there who can be friends with Prince Luciano? I’m so worried because the prince seems to be alone.”
Empress Isabelle did not hesitate to insult Luciano.
She made all of these situations, and she humiliated him by telling how there were no people around him.
Knowing the subject, people whispered, this moment of humiliation was ‘finding Prince Luciano’s playmates’.
He had expected it, and it was not something he had experienced once or twice, but Luciano felt miserable whenever he received the aristocrat’s pitiful gazes.
He calmed his feelings, pretending to be fine on the outside.
Waiting for the time to come someday, he endured it again.
』
I remembered the story so clearly to the point I wondered if I had such a good memory.
The reason why it was so memorable was simple.
It was because I sympathized with how humiliating and hurtful it must have been to have experienced such an occurrence at such a young age.
Basically, in this world, the prince’s servants are the aristocracy, not the ordinary people.
He kept them by his side and made them his closest confidants, strengthening power from an early age.
However, Prince Luciano had no servant.
It was a unique situation where he was a member of the royal family and attended by ordinary servants and maids.
It was Empress Isabelle who created the whole situation.
The first thing she did after giving birth to Prince Steven was to isolate Prince Luciano.
She gave unreasonable things to those who were close to him, or made an incident and put him in trouble.
The nobles were people who had a good understanding of politics.
There was no one who couldn’t notice what Empress Isabelle wanted from the series of events.
It was so obvious from their perspective.
The emperor’s first son who has legitimacy but no supporters and the empress’ favourite.
Even when Empress Isabelle took obvious measures, the emperor remained on the sidelines.
Therefore, if you had to choose between the two princes, you had no choice but to choose the second prince.
The nobles restrained their children so they would not be close to Prince Luciano.
The number of people beside Prince Luciano gradually decreased, and there were no servants left since last year.
It was intended to publicize that Luciano was abandoned and to instill in him the importance of knowing where he belonged.
A tea party for such a low purpose was now being held.
It was the perfect time to approach the male protagonist, Prince Luciano.
‘Let’s get close to the male lead before the female lead appears.’
As soon as I came to that conclusion, the air around me shifted.
The main characters of this tea party, Empress Isabelle, Prince Luciano and Prince Steven appeared.
“It’s an honor to meet you.”
The aristocrats and their children who spent their own time greeted the royal family in unison as if they had planned it beforehand.
Having yet adapted to this world, I greeted them a bit late.
Then I made eye contact with Prince Luciano.
Surprised, I bowed my head in a hurry.
However, my curiosity rose and I gently lifted my head. I saw the red eyes kept looking at me, so I stared at the floor again.
My heart was pounding.
‘Why are you looking at me?’
I glanced at him again, he wasn’t looking at me anymore.
‘Was it my misunderstanding?’
Thinking that way, I kept glancing at Prince Luciano.
Like a male protagonist, he already had a beautiful face that soon would bloom.
It was a very gorgeous appearance with bright golden hair and red eyes.
If it weren’t for his cold expression that didn’t feel like a child, I would have been dazzled by how pretty he was.
“Are we a little late?”
“No, you came out just right.”
“Hoho, shall we all sit comfortably?”
At the words of Empress Isabelle, everyone quickly settled down.
Empress Isabelle was seated in the best seat, and her aides sat around her.
Prince Steven sat at the table right next to her, and all the children of my age flocked around him.
At the table where Prince Luciano sat, he was the only one.
I couldn’t believe I was seeing this obvious bullying in reality.
“Thank you all for coming. A lot of people gathered again this time.”
“Hahaha, of course I have to come. We’re grateful for the meeting.”
“It’s very important for aristocratic children to get along. Isn’t it the duty of the royal family to hold a meeting like this?”
A conversation between Empress Isabelle and the aristocrats was heard.
It was the same with the story in the novel.
“Prince Luciano, are you alone again this year?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, no. It’s because the prince is not sociable. Since the prince is so introverted, I have no choice but to worry about everything.”
Even this line was really the same.
I glanced at Luciano without realizing it, his rigid condition caught my eye.
When reading the side story, he said he hid it well, but Prince Luciano’s feeling could be seen through my eyes. Just like now.
A vicious satisfaction filled Empress Isabelle’s eyes.
I could also predict what words would come out of her mouth.
“Is there anyone out there who can be friends with Prince Luciano? I’m so worried because the prince seems to be alone.”
Empress Isabelle smiled and looked around, she said so but she was confident no one would do that.
A silence surrounded them.
The adults awkwardly avoided eye contact and the children also pretended not to know.
There were many people here, but no one stepped up.
I knew it would happen because I read the novel, but it was really too much.
I was worried about Prince Luciano.
Prince Luciano, who had been holding out with his back stiff, slowly lowered his gaze as it was difficult to hold out any longer.
Dismal.
Resignation.
I raised my hand because I couldn’t watch Prince Luciano’s face any longer, where everything was mixed up.
“Me!”
It was so quiet that everyone’s gaze was drawn to me.
Everyone looked at me strangely, probably because it was so unexpected.So I smiled brightly and shouted.
“I’ll be the prince’s friend!”