IBYSDW 01

Chapter 01

What happened to me a week ago was something that often occurs in novels.

I fell asleep while reading a novel, and when I woke up, I had become a character inside it.

The title of the novel I had been enjoying was <Since I’m Terminally Ill, Don’t Love Me>.

I don’t even know how many tears I shed while reading it to the very end.

I must have cried myself to sleep that night.

When I woke up the next morning and came to my senses, my appearance had changed.

My house had changed.

My name had changed.

People were calling me “Rinzel.”

The world I lived in had completely shifted.

I, who had brown hair with dark roots showing, now had cotton-candy-like pink hair.

I, who had black eyes, now had green eyes resembling lush forests.

A woman with pink hair and green eyes.

The full name of the woman I had possessed was “Rinzel Valencia.”

She was a character from <Since I’m Terminally Ill, Don’t Love Me>, the very novel that made me cry.

To be more precise, she was the twin younger sister of the female protagonist.

At first, I thought maybe I had simply been too immersed in the novel and was dreaming.

But even after a week had passed, I was still Rinzel.

And today was no different.

I only managed to wake up around midday, lying in bed and slowly blinking my eyes.

What filled my vision was a ceiling that had now become quite familiar.

A ceiling painted with elegant murals, like something out of a medieval film.

Every time I looked at it, I realized—

Ah, I’m still Rinzel today.

Just then, someone flung open the door to my room.

“Rinzel! I have amazing news!”

The person who burst in with a bright voice looked exactly like me.

As she walked toward me, her pink hair, reaching down to her chest, swayed gently.

I briefly watched that soft movement.

Soon, she reached my bed and climbed right in.

She hugged me tightly and rubbed her face against my chest. It was natural, affectionate contact.

I didn’t stop her.

Instead, I stroked her hair—soft beyond belief.

Only after she had rubbed against me to her heart’s content did she lift her face.

Her green eyes, so similar to mine, were slightly widened.

“Rike. What’s this amazing news?”

Her name was Rike.

Rike was the female protagonist of this world—and the older twin sister of Rinzel, the body I now occupied.

“Rinzel. Yesterday, I exchanged two whole sentences with Lord Ishar.”

Ishar Claremont.

He was the male lead of this world—and Rike’s unrequited love.

I responded as if surprised.

“Wow, seriously? Two whole sentences?”

“Mm-hmm!”

“What did you talk about?”

“Listen. I went to the imperial palace yesterday, right? And in the hallway, I ran right into Lord Ishar. So I greeted him—‘Hello, Lord Ishar.’”

Rike continued,

“And he replied, ‘Yes, hello.’ I tried to keep the conversation going and asked, ‘Are you perhaps busy right now?’”

“So what did Ishar say?”

Rike cleared her throat and mimicked him,

“‘Yes, I am busy. Then, excuse me—’ That’s what he said!”

She was doing a strange imitation of his voice.

“And then he turned around and left… and his cloak fluttered dramatically. It was so cool.”

I honestly didn’t understand what part of that was cool.

Was it the short reply? The fluttering cloak?

Or was his face simply enough to justify everything?

Even though I couldn’t understand her, I smiled.

I even placed a kiss on her forehead.

Her skin carried a pleasant scent—something that oddly reminded me of a child.

“Rike. You must’ve been happy.”

A woman in love always looked lovely.

And Rike looked lovely to me.

“Rinzel… do you think I can marry Lord Ishar?”

She asked in a sorrowful tone. For some reason, her question made my heart ache.

I already knew the answer.

No.

Rike would not marry Ishar.

Because she would end up marrying the villain of this story.

She was also terminally ill.

Even though she would eventually nurture her love with Ishar in secret, by then… her condition would have worsened beyond recovery.

She didn’t have enough time left to dream of a happy future with the man she loved.

That was why I had cried so much while reading <Since I’m Terminally Ill, Don’t Love Me>.

Because Rike’s story—dying without fully realizing her love—was just too heartbreaking.

Even though I knew her fate, I lied.

“Of course. You can marry Ishar. You can be happy.”

Like casting a spell, I repeated,

“You definitely can.”

Because I was going to help you.

Rike hugged me even tighter.

“Rinzel… you’re all I have.”

I smirked slightly, teasing her.

“You like me more than the Ishar you love?”

She answered like she was comforting a child,

“Of course. You’re so childish.”

We both laughed.

To anyone watching, we would have looked like loving sisters.

I listened to her gentle laughter for a while.

But Rike was the first to stop.

As if something suddenly came to mind, she spoke in a quieter voice.

“…But Rinzel, I heard a rumor that Father is planning to marry me off to Prince Hernan… It’s just a rumor, right?”

Again, I knew the exact answer.

It’s not a rumor. It’s true.

Hernan Claremont, Ishar’s younger brother, was the villain of the story.

And he was the man Rike would marry.

Even so, I lied again.

“Yeah. It’s just a rumor.”

Rike and Rinzel were twin daughters of the Duke of Valencia.

Both had been born weak, but Rike’s condition was worse.

From a young age, doctors had told her she wouldn’t live past twenty.

Her heart was extremely fragile.

And in fact, she died the year she turned twenty.

On the very day she decided to elope with Ishar.

The cause of death was heart failure.

Her already weakened heart had simply given out.

Perhaps I had been possessed into Rinzel’s body to help Rike.

Because when I read about her death, I had desperately wished to save her.

That wish became reality.

My longing had changed the world.

I became Rinzel and met Rike.

Even though I had only known her for about a week, she was already precious to me.

I wanted her to be happy.

It felt like a destined wish.

Perhaps it was also because Rinzel’s memories had naturally blended into mine, making me care for Rike even more.

Even though it hadn’t been long since I was possessed, I felt like I had truly become Rinzel.

We were both eighteen now.

Rike had about two years left to live.

According to the novel, she married Hernan at eighteen.

Which meant the rumor she heard wasn’t false.

Strike while the iron is hot—I decided to deal with the issue immediately.

To do that, I needed to meet the Duke of Valencia, who had suddenly become my father.

After Rike left for her room, I went to find him.

I barely walked a few steps down the hallway before I became short of breath.

Rinzel’s body wasn’t in good condition either.

She wasn’t terminally ill, but she frequently fell sick and suffered from various chronic conditions.

With a maid supporting me, I barely made it to my father’s study.

“Your Grace, Duke Valencia. Lady Rinzel has arrived.”

The maid announced my presence, and my father remained silent for a moment.

Was he busy?

Just as I thought I should come back later, his voice rang out.

“Let her in.”

When I entered the study, he was seated on a sofa in the center.

Whenever I saw him, I was reminded that he looked nothing like us.

He had black hair and dark eyes.

We, on the other hand, resembled our late mother, who had died giving birth to us.

“Rinzel. What brings you here?”

He asked gently. He loved both of us dearly.

Partly because we resembled our mother.

And partly because he blamed himself for our frail health.

Every time he spoke kindly to me, I felt a strange sense of guilt.

Because I wasn’t the real Rinzel.

But there was nothing I could do about that.

I had already become Rinzel, and that couldn’t be undone.

I stood before him instead of sitting down and looked straight into his eyes.

“Father. I will marry Prince Hernan in Rike’s place.”

It was a direct and firm declaration.

My father’s eyes widened in shock.

“W-why would you make such a decision?”

Instead of asking how I knew, he asked why.

The rumor had already spread widely through the household.

Even Rike had heard whispers of it.

So it wasn’t strange that I knew as well.

My reason…

Of course, it wasn’t just to fulfill Rike’s love.

There was also a reason for myself.