Chapter 1
A woman with large blue eyes, a pale face, and long golden hair tied high into a single ponytail stared at me with trembling eyes.
Anyone could tell she was the heroine of the story—pure, delicate, and beautiful, like a single blooming lily.
“What did you just do to me?”
Water dripped from her hair. Drops splattered across her worn dress, forming stains like a map—clothing that looked completely out of place in such a luxurious mansion.
I parted my lips.
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
That’s what I wanted to say. But the only options floating in front of me were…
▶ Are you asking because you don’t know? If you’re poor, does that mean you’re stupid too? Or are you poor because you’re stupid?
▶ Disappear from my sight.
‘Whichever one I choose makes me sound like a complete psychopath!’
But I absolutely had to pick one of the two lines.
Because I was the villainess inside an otome game!
‘How did I even end up in a situation like this? This is so embarrassing.’
The moment I arrived at my fiancé’s house, I had just poured an entire teapot of tea over the heroine’s head. Naturally, everyone in the mansion was staring at us.
If I could, I wanted to shout:
‘Stop looking at me! I didn’t choose to be in this situation either! I’m actually really shy about standing in front of people!’
Of all people, why did someone timid like me have to become the villainess? My face burned with embarrassment.
But!
‘If I don’t choose one of these stupid options, the story won’t progress!’
And not only would it stop progressing—it would automatically choose the worst option.
‘Anything but auto-selection.’
As soon as that thought crossed my mind, a notification popped up.
▶ The choice will be automatically selected. 5, 4, 3…
In the end, I tearfully pressed the second option.
Do villainesses not have human rights?!
* * *
So how did someone like me—someone timid who hated attention—end up becoming the villainess in an otome game meant only for social butterflies?
I let out a deep sigh.
‘I shouldn’t have said something unnecessary while playing that otome game.’
But what’s the use of regret now?
It was a peaceful Monday evening. Just like always, I left work carrying a mountain of tasks that other people had dumped on me without saying a word in protest.
‘If I have to live like this, maybe dying would be better.’
Lost in gloomy thoughts, I turned on my phone while swaying in the subway.
‘Whatever. I’ll just play a game. Oh right—there was a new one released today.’
I had no friends, and at work I was nothing more than someone cleaning up after others. My only hobby was playing otome games during my commute.
And today was the launch of a new game titled [Victorian Love].
‘Nice opening.’
I watched the screen with interest.
But after exactly fifteen minutes, my face twisted in frustration.
“…What kind of garbage story is this?!”
The plot was so cliché that I felt like I could predict the entire story even with my eyes closed.
As the title [Victorian Love] suggested, the setting was the Victorian era.
The heroine was a poor but cheerful young woman who became a governess in the Bohanan Count’s household.
Her romance targets were the Count himself and his four sons.
But like any typical otome game, there was also a villainess.
Her name was Sienna Riata.
She was the first imperial princess of the empire and the fiancée of Daniel Bohanan, the eldest son of the Bohanan family!
I forgot I was in the subway and burst out in anger.
“How is she the villainess? Of course she’d interfere! Some random woman is stealing her fiancé!”
And just because she said a single word to that home-wrecking girl, the heroine burst into tears and suddenly she became the bad one.
‘Ugh… I started this game to relieve stress, but now I’m even more stressed.’
It felt like watching myself at work, taking the blame for things I didn’t do and not being able to say anything.
And then Daniel criticized the villainess like this:
— This is exactly why I’ve grown tired of you, Princess Sienna. You already have everything. Do you still need to bully someone so pitiful?
What kind of nonsense was that?
Because she had everything, she wasn’t allowed to get angry?
‘If a squirrel steals a bear’s food, does that make it okay?! You’re the bad guy! What did our villainess do wrong?!’
Fuming the entire subway ride, I eventually turned off my phone. I was still angry when I fell asleep at home.
Then the next day—
“…?”
Something felt strange.
When I opened my eyes, the room was dark.
‘Is it still night?’
I reached beside my pillow, looking for my phone. Instead, my hand touched a velvet blanket.
‘Huh? I don’t use blankets like this.’
If you used something like this with an electric heating mat, it would be way too hot.
‘And what’s this?’
The frilly lace slip I was wearing also felt unfamiliar.
I never wore pajamas like this. In winter, fleece pants were the best.
‘I sleep with the heating mat on because it’s cold—why would I wear a slip dress?’
Something was very, very wrong.
I crawled across the bed and carefully lowered my feet to the floor.
The floor was soft, like something plush was laid across it.
In any case, this definitely wasn’t my room.
I stumbled through the darkness, trying to turn on the lights.
But no matter how much I searched along the wall, I couldn’t find a switch. So I eventually walked to the window and pulled open the curtains.
And then—
“…Where is this?”
Outside the window stretched a vast green garden.
How could there be scenery like this in the middle of winter?
‘Look at those trees. They look like topiary.’
The hedges were trimmed into shapes like rabbits and butterflies, like something you’d see at an amusement park.
Dumbfounded, I turned back around.
Compared to the garden, the room was even more unbelievable.
‘What kind of princess bedroom is this?’
In the center stood a large round bed draped in lace. On both sides were an elegant white vanity and an antique sofa.
Even though the room was enormous, there were no wardrobes or other furniture.
“What is this…?”
No matter how I looked at it, it definitely wasn’t my house.
Just as I stood there blinking in shock—
Ding-dong.
A bell chimed above my head.
※ Welcome to the otome game [Victorian Love]!
“What?”
Glowing yellow letters floated in the air.
※ God was deeply moved by your unique interpretation. Therefore, you have been granted the chance to create a new ending.
Unique interpretation?
‘Defending the villainess suffering because of her cheating fiancé counts as unique?’
If you fall in love with someone else, the polite thing to do is break up with the person you’re currently dating first.
‘How is that unique?’
As I read the message with a skeptical expression, it changed again.
Ding-dong.
※ Please change the fate of the villainess Sienna, who is destined to be killed by Daniel Bohanan’s sword in 100 days.
Reward for success: [Happy Ending]
Reward for failure: [Death]
“…What?! Death?! Are you kidding me?!”
Daniel—that jerk!
‘Cheating is already disgusting, but he even kills his fiancée? What trash.’
At that moment, I was still calm.
Because it felt like someone else’s problem.
More precisely, I still hadn’t realized who I had possessed.
‘Complete garbage. Non-recyclable trash.’
While I continued insulting Daniel in my mind—
Ding-dong.
Another message appeared.
※ Warning.
This time the letters were red.
※ You are the villainess. If you behave in ways unbefitting a villainess and lose the character’s identity, your existence may disappear.
“…I’m the villainess?”
Only then did reality begin to sink in.
Being angry about someone else getting stabbed and being the one stabbed yourself were very different things.
‘If I’m the villainess… does that mean I’m Sienna Riata?’
Since the villainess’s room never appeared in the game, there was no way to confirm it.
As the fading message disappeared, I asked hurriedly:
“W-wait! What do you mean my existence disappears?”
But the red letters turned yellow again without answering.
※ Now, the story begins.
“Hey! Are you ignoring me? Hey!”
I swung my fist at the empty air, but no new messages appeared.
‘I became Sienna…’
I pinched my cheek.
It hurt.
This wasn’t a dream.
‘If pinching hurts this much, getting stabbed would hurt even more.’
The message had clearly said: death upon failure.
‘There’s no reason to test whether that’s true.’
Whether I succeeded or failed, I still had 100 days.
No save points. No rewinds.
I crossed my arms and thought.
I had only played the game for about twenty minutes. After the mandatory opening, I barely saw the beginning.
‘The story starts from the heroine’s perspective.’
The heroine Beth was the daughter of a rural pastor. She caught the eye of Count Bohanan during a visit to his territory and was hired as a governess.
He appeared to be a stoic character, but considering he was a romance option, he must have had ulterior motives from the start.
‘Then I just need to prevent the Count from ever meeting the heroine.’
If that meeting never happened, the story wouldn’t start—and Daniel would never fall in love with Beth.
‘But everything I know is from the heroine’s point of view. How does the story begin from the villainess’s side?’
Just as I tilted my head while sitting on the bed—
Knock knock.
Someone knocked on the door.
“Have you woken up, Princess?”
