Prologue
Whenever the sky was perfectly clear—not a single cloud in sight—Harriet’s luck was guaranteed to be terrible.
On school picnic days, thunderstorms would suddenly erupt from an empty sky, drenching everyone in a downpour. Back when she was a student, a classmate once dumped an entire pile of garbage on her, saying that simply looking at her ruined their mood.
How many times had she tripped while walking alone? She had lost count of the occasions when she’d been unexpectedly splashed with water.
That wasn’t to say she had no luck at all.
When her mother saw her come home soaked to the bone after a picnic, she was so horrified that she immediately bought Harriet a brand-new set of clothes. The children who had dumped garbage on her were disciplined for bullying and eventually withdrew from school.
(Served them right.)
Whenever she fell and hurt herself, she’d somehow notice a coin glittering on the ground right in front of her. After getting drenched by random passersby, she’d end up receiving enough compensation to cover the laundry bill.
Life always had a way of turning misfortune into fortune.
Good things followed bad, disasters came after blessings, and fortune always changed in the end.
She had lived by that belief.
Yes…
She definitely had.
Harriet stood frozen before the bookstore, her mouth hanging open as she watched books being stacked away one after another.
She wasn’t the only spectator. Plenty of people had gathered to watch dozens of copies being removed from the display, so no one paid much attention to the dazed expression on her face.
Only a single title was disappearing from the shelves.
Ladies’ Night, the newest novel by the author Elliot Dark.
A promotional sign still hung in front of the bookstore.
“A brilliantly realistic portrayal of noble ladies’ rivalries, schemes, and the hidden power struggles beneath high society.”
Harriet did her best not to look at that glowing endorsement…
…which had already been ripped down and thrown into the trash.
Pen name: Elliot Dark.
Real name: Harriet Brown.
Watching the book she had nurtured like her own child being tossed onto the floor made fury blaze inside her chest.
The newspaper in her hand crumpled with a loud crunch.
Afraid Harriet might suddenly lose control and storm into the bookstore, Penelope tightened her grip on Harriet’s shoulder.
“Easy, Harriet. Relax your hand. Newspapers cost two bel each. Money doesn’t grow out of the ground. Calm down. Shh… shh…”
“What am I, a dog?”
Penelope wisely swallowed the comment that Harriet currently looked exactly like a rabid dog seconds away from biting someone.
Whenever Harriet fixated on something, she charged forward without a second thought.
If Penelope compared her to a dog now, Harriet would probably shout, “Fine! I’ll be a dog!” before rushing into the bookstore and causing absolute chaos.
Fortunately, Harriet unclenched her fist.
Throwing a tantrum or making a scene here would accomplish nothing except getting her dragged away by the police as a mentally unstable troublemaker.
The front page of the newspaper—barely recognizable after being crushed in her grip—displayed an enormous headline.
[Exclusive] Is This Even a Novel?! Emperor of the Swan Empire Enraged!
Below it was an illustration of the emperor standing beside a mysterious figure marked with a question mark.
Unlike Elliot Dark, who had been lazily depicted as nothing more than a silhouette, the emperor had been drawn so beautifully that anyone who saw him might fall in love at first sight.
Every strand of his hair had been painted with exquisite detail.
His melancholy eyes seemed almost alive.
Had Harriet not been Elliot Dark herself—the very author responsible for angering him—she might have admired the artwork and seriously considered using the emperor’s appearance as the male lead of her next novel.
But under the current circumstances…
There was no chance she’d appreciate it.
Seeing the murderous glare Harriet directed toward the emperor’s portrait, Penelope quickly snatched the newspaper away.
“There are people watching! If you tear it up, everyone’s going to stare!”
“Give it back.”
Harriet’s voice trembled.
“So I can burn it.”
“Have you completely lost your mind?!”
Harriet felt like screaming that yes—she had.
She was so furious she thought she’d explode.
After enduring countless hardships, her novel had finally begun attracting attention…
Only to have sales suspended because the emperor of a neighboring country happened to dislike it.
If she’d thrown water on the emperor…
Or slapped him across the face…
Then maybe she’d understand.
But she’d never even met the man.
Of course she hadn’t.
Someone like her could never possibly meet someone like him.
She had quietly written novels…
And somehow been struck by lightning anyway.
Three years had passed since graduating from the academy.
While working as a maid, she’d sacrificed sleep every single night to write.
Her parents had gently suggested she marry a respectable man instead.
Her relatives had mocked her.
“Do you really think you can make a living writing stories?”
Ignoring all of them, she’d devoted herself entirely to writing.
She’d been rejected dozens of times.
She’d submitted manuscripts hundreds of times.
She’d written novel after novel that nobody cared to read.
Then at last…
Her newest work had begun making a name for itself.
She’d thought her life was finally about to bloom.
She imagined proudly showing her published book to those same relatives.
“See? I really can make a living writing.”
She had envisioned a future filled with roses.
Exactly six hours earlier…
Every single one of those dreams had been shattered.
That morning was her first day unemployed after resigning from her position at the count’s household.
Harriet had been enjoying the luxury of sleeping in when Penelope suddenly burst into her tiny one-room apartment and immediately began searching every corner.
“No one else came here besides me, right?”
“Who would come this early besides you? What are you doing…?”
Ignoring Harriet’s sleepy irritation, Penelope checked beneath the bed, inside the wardrobe, behind the bathroom door…
She even inspected the cabinet beneath the sink before sticking her head out the window to scan the street outside.
Only then did she finally collapse into a chair, completely exhausted.
Watching the bizarre spectacle, Harriet slowly began sensing something was terribly wrong.
Penelope spoke with unprecedented seriousness.
“Harriet Brown.”
“Don’t panic.”
“I’m already panicking.”
“What is it?”
“You’re screwed.”
Normally Harriet would’ve told her not to say such unlucky things.
But Penelope’s face was deadly serious.
Harriet unconsciously nodded.
“I see…”
“I’m screwed.”
“…But why?”
Instead of answering, Penelope shoved a newspaper into her hands like an unavoidable natural disaster.
“What the hell is this…”
The headline read:
[Exclusive] Is This Even a Novel?! Emperor of the Swan Empire Enraged
Harriet skimmed the article.
His Majesty Emperor Kallis of the Swan Empire—the only great empire on the continent and the eternal ally of our kingdom—became enraged after reading Elliot Dark’s newly released novel, Ladies’ Night, published in mid-January.
According to an anonymous source, His Majesty repeatedly questioned whether this could truly be called a novel, claiming that merely opening the first page made his eyes close. He reportedly remarked several times that his insomnia had miraculously been cured because he fell asleep the moment he opened the book.
(…)
In response, the authorities have ordered the suspension of publication and sales of Ladies’ Night, whose contents offended the great empire.
The following section was even more absurd.
Critic Gerard firmly declared that such a novel should never have been published.
The Marchioness of Welton also commented that she’d always had a bad feeling about it.
The next page overflowed with criticism.
Harriet’s hands trembled.
“What kind of insane…”
Elliot Dark?
That’s my pen name.
Ladies’ Night?
That’s my novel!
Just yesterday, this exact newspaper had praised it as “a jewel-like work with delicately crafted emotional depth.”
Now every word was condemnation.
“…”
She was truly screwed.
And not because of some ordinary person.
Because the emperor of a neighboring nation had destroyed her reputation overnight and thrown her straight into the abyss.
A long silence followed.
Then Harriet finally laughed.
“Ha…”
“Hahaha…”
“So this is what they mean…”
“When something’s too ridiculous, all you can do is laugh.”
“Hahaha!”
“Ahahaha!”
“Kya-ha-ha!”
“H-Harriet?”
“Kya-ha-ha!”
Clutching her stomach, Harriet laughed as though she’d lost her sanity.
Eventually she collapsed backward onto the bed, holding the back of her neck.
Penelope nearly had a heart attack.
“Hey!”
Hidden beneath Harriet’s hysterical laughter were all the curses she couldn’t bring herself to say aloud.
Only today did she truly understand the saying that comedy often concealed grief and resentment.
Life really is unpredictable.
After calming down, Penelope suggested they get some fresh air.
So they wandered through the streets.
Unfortunately…
They happened to pass the bookstore.
And Harriet happened to see copies of her own novel being thrown away.
Her eyes ignited.
The book had been banned.
Her pen name had been disgraced.
The road ahead was nothing but darkness and thorns.
Three years of living as an unknown novelist while working as a maid…
She had thought they were finally over.
“At last… my flower path is beginning.”
So why had life given her nothing but an impossibly steep uphill climb?
Harriet glared at the handsome emperor in the newspaper illustration.
If you’ve got nothing better to do, why don’t you just go to sleep?!
Why meddle with someone else’s precious novel and ruin their life?!
“You damned emperor—!”
Penelope instantly clamped a hand over Harriet’s mouth.
“Do you want to get arrested?!”
Then arrest me!
Go ahead!
“Is this even a novel?”
“It cured my insomnia?”
The more she thought about it, the hotter her blood boiled.
Shoving Penelope’s hand away, Harriet dug paper and a pen out of her bag.
She pressed the paper against a nearby wall and furiously scribbled away.
Penelope glanced over…
Then nearly fainted.
She tried to snatch it away, but Harriet skillfully dodged her, sealed the letter inside an envelope, and started walking.
“Where are you going?!”
“To the newspaper office!”
Fine.
Let’s do this.
Harriet snorted.
The next day…
A brand-new exclusive headline appeared.
[Exclusive] Elliot Dark Announces: The Villain of the Next Novel Will Be Modeled After the Emperor of the Swan Empire! Stay Tuned!
A silver-haired man slowly smiled as he read the newspaper.
Sunlight streamed through the window, flowing across his silver hair before lingering briefly at the corners of his icy blue eyes.
The light made him frown.
With an annoyed flick of his hand—as though swatting away a fly—he waved the sunlight aside.
It obediently retreated.
His neatly trimmed fingernails tapped lightly against the newspaper lying on the desk.
Following those elegant ivory fingers upward revealed a man so handsome he seemed to shine on his own.
“An unbreakable spirit.”
“Admirable, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Your Majesty…”
“Forgive my boldness…”
“If you’re sorry, then don’t say it.”
“The ministers are furious. They insist that she must answer for daring to use Your Majesty merely as newspaper fodder… and for provoking the Empire.”
“How troublesome.”
The emperor sighed softly.
“So many things enrage them.”
“If only they’d devote that energy to governing.”
“Forgive me, Your Majesty…”
“If you’re sorry, then don’t say it.”
“Weren’t you the one most enraged by that article?”
The emperor fell silent.
Who had leapt to his feet after reading the article claiming Elliot Dark’s novel was so boring it cured insomnia?
Who had declared that if a tiny kingdom like Chelling dared use his name merely to sell newspapers, then its rulers clearly needed to be taught a lesson?
His attendants had barely managed to stop him from preparing to invade.
“I hear Elliot Dark’s latest novel has now been banned.”
“Banned…”
The emperor scoffed.
The crease between his brows deepened.
He folded the newspaper and handed it to his attendant.
“Summon Baron Bellen.”
“I have something to discuss.”
“At once, Your Majesty.”
“And one more thing.”
After a brief pause, he continued.
“If one is challenged…”
“Shouldn’t one answer that challenge?”
“Your Majesty…”
Having served him for many years, the attendant immediately sensed danger.
“I’ve told you before.”
“How many more times must I silence that mouth of yours?”
The attendant, who had never stopped speaking even when ordered to, remained quiet for a moment.
Then he smiled in resignation.
“As you command.”
A few days later…
Another exclusive headline appeared in the newspapers of the Kingdom of Chelling.
[Exclusive] Emperor of the Swan Empire Responds to Elliot Dark’s Provocation: “I Look Forward to It.”
And thus began a grand chase—
Harriet, who would desperately try to avoid the emperor…
And the emperor, who would stubbornly pursue her at all costs.
