RPOF 1

Chapter 1

“I surrender.”

The moment I knelt, I could feel it—the Emperor was furious.

Why?

I couldn’t guess the reason.

It was the Emperor of Rectis who had pressured me into surrendering.

Shouldn’t he be pleased now that he had what he wanted?

At the far end of the grand hall lined with statues, the Emperor stood buried in darkness, his anger eerily restrained.

“Your Emperor is quite heartless.”

At last, a voice drifted down from the throne atop the high dais.

The Emperor’s slightly husky, beautiful voice rumbled low.

“He used you when he needed you, and now he has discarded you like this.”

He rose from the throne and stepped onto the marble floor. His heavy footsteps echoed through the cavernous hall.

Dim light filtered through the stained glass, flickering in front of my knees.

Tap.

His steps stopped before me.

“Raise your head, Duke Verwen.”

The Emperor’s polished boots stood upon a streak of light.

It’s him. No… the Transcendent?

The greatest variable—even she, an avid reader of this novel, had never anticipated.

The Transcendent who conquered Rectis, the Land of Death. The Dragon.

The one who endured bones twisting and flesh tearing thousands upon thousands of times to conquer legendary Rectis.

The great Emperor who inherited the Dragon’s power and established a new empire upon that very land.

Hyacinth Bold Rectis.

“Lewin.”

At the fervent heat in his voice, my head lifted on its own.

The Emperor slowly knelt on one knee. As he moved into the light, his beautiful features were revealed.

A strong jawline. Red lips. A graceful nose.

And those familiar blue eyes that could mesmerize anyone.

That can’t be. That’s impossible…

I wished it were a mistake.

The person I knew with those eyes hadn’t had a body so solid—nor scars covering him like this.

“Why are you here…?”

He had once been as delicate as a single flower.

‘It’s a flower that perfectly resembles Your Highness’s eyes. Hyacinth.’

I had even said that to him once.

In my memories, he was like that.

“Ha…”

After taking a breath, he grabbed my hand with his scarred one.

Our intertwined hands caught the light and glowed.

“Am I no longer beautiful to you now that I’ve withered like this, Duke?”

He pressed his cheek against my palm bathed in light.

The warmth of his skin was so vivid that I froze in confusion.

“You have nothing to say.”

As if he had expected that, he let out a bitter laugh at my stiffened body.

“You were the one who told me to take revenge if I wished.”

“……”

“Take responsibility for what you’ve made of me.”

His beautiful eyelids lifted.

“Or at least pretend, like you did back then.”

What stared back at me was not a flower, but blue eyes blooming with rage and love.

A raw gaze that made no attempt to hide its resentment and possessiveness.

This makes no sense! How did he—

He was the protagonist of this BL novel.

The “shou” I had seduced and discarded to avoid the original tragic ending.

“If you, a prisoner, take even a single step outside the city walls,”

He had returned—looking every bit like an obsessive male lead.

“I will cut down everything you sought to protect. Even the person you love.”

Seeing that he had no intention of letting me go, I squeezed my eyes shut.

No. I was about to leave soon…

Once I achieved my goal, I had to escape this place.

Because I have a reason I must return.

To understand how all of this began, we must go back to that day.

The day Kang Hanna was born as Duke Verwen.

Twenty-seven years ago, Verwen Ducal Castle.

It was a day when rain poured as if the sky itself had torn open.

“How is Madam?”

Retainers stopped the maids who were hurrying up the stairs.

“She is still in labor.”

Several retainers gathered in the central hall let out sighs.

“If something happens to His Grace on the battlefield…”

“A woman cannot inherit the title! If a girl is born, Verwen is finished!”

At one retainer’s shrill cry, anxious murmurs spread.

“His Excellency’s only direct heir is the Duchess’s child…”

“If it’s a girl, the collateral branches will tear the duchy apart! It must be a boy!”

And as always, bad premonitions tend to come true.

Boom—

The grand castle gates opened, and through the fierce rain rode a knight.

A black plume fluttered from his back.

“That—!”

A black plume.

The sign of the Duke’s death.

“So His Grace has…”

Shocked gazes turned toward the Duchess’s chambers upstairs.

Now the fate of House Verwen depended on the gender of the child about to be born.

A boy! It had to be a boy!

“Ahhh!”

Inside the lavish room turned birthing chamber, the Duchess’s beautiful face twisted in agony.

“Madam, just a little more strength.”

“Ah!”

“Madam!”

The Duke’s mother, the Dowager Duchess, anxiously wrung her handkerchief.

“Is it not yet?”

“I can see the baby’s head! Madam, push!”

Mother and midwife alike were long exhausted by the drawn-out labor.

“Just a little more! I can see the head!”

“Ahhh!”

“The head is out! Just a little more!”

As the Dowager watched, an old maid approached and whispered in her ear.

As soon as the maid finished—

“Aah—!”

With the Duchess’s final scream came the midwife’s voice.

“Congratulations.”

Boom—

Thunder crashed as though signaling the climax of a tragedy.

Lightning illuminated the pale face of the unconscious Duchess.

“Madam! Wake up!”

“Madam!”

The maids tried to rouse her.

“What are you doing? Fetch a healer!”

“Yes, my lady!”

“You—bring fresh bedding! Hurry!”

The Dowager dismissed all the maids from the room.

All except her loyal old attendant.

Now there was only one person in the room she could not trust—the aged midwife.

“Is it a boy… or a girl?”

“My lady, it is…”

“Give the child to me!”

The Dowager looked beneath the silk wrapping and staggered.

A girl.

Holding her head, she gestured to the old maid.

“Go outside and summon the dark mage.”

“Yes, my lady.”

The loyal maid quickly left the room.

The midwife sensed the ominous air and stood up.

“A girl! You dare end our family line!”

The Dowager drew a sword from the wall—

“My lady, you mustn’t!”

The midwife moved to stop her, thinking she meant to stab the Duchess.

“…Ghk.”

Until she saw the blood pouring from her own abdomen.

Moments later, the Dowager confirmed the midwife had stopped breathing.

The baby in her other arm remained strangely quiet.

No—she looked slightly bewildered.

The infant stared at the pooling blood for a moment.

Then—

“Waaah! Waaah!”

As if finally understanding the situation, the baby began to wail fiercely.

“Congratulations.”

“Congratulations.”

Voices of knights and retainers seeped in from outside the door.

The Dowager placed her hand on the handle and murmured gravely:

“You were born a girl, but you will live as Duke Verwen.”

Forcing a smile, she opened the door.

“Rejoice! The heir of House Verwen—a son—is born!”

She presented the child with a bright expression.

But no one in the castle rejoiced.

The knights had removed their helmets in mourning. The retainers wore subdued expressions.

All were lost in grief.

Only a stable hand who had taken shelter from the rain muttered in the underground quarters:

“The heir of House Verwen? Born with great fortune indeed.”

Boom!

Thunder struck again, and the baby cried loudly—

Boldly announcing her existence to the world.

“Bl-b-b-blood!”

Even in my confusion, I knew the red liquid on the floor was blood.

“Blood! There’s blood!”

I flailed and pointed at the door.

Waking up in a strange place was bad enough—but a murder scene?!

“That grandma killed someone!”

I shouted at the kneeling, colorful heads before me.

At first I had been too stunned to react. Anyone would be.

Opening your eyes in a strange place, giant people passing you from hand to hand.

But more shocking was the murder I had just witnessed.

“Ha ha. Is this a dream?”

I tried to hold my head with my chubby, tiny hands.

I didn’t even bother screaming anymore. All that came out was baby wailing anyway.

Wait… a dream?

A strange feeling crept in.

Just moments ago, I was…

I had definitely fallen onto asphalt after a car accident.

The smashed cake, the blurry vision, the cold road beneath me—it was all vivid.

And now I’d been born as a baby.

Did I… reincarnate?

That was the only conclusion.

Crash!

Thunder roared outside. My throat tightened with injustice.

“Why today?! Why of all days…!”

I remembered the day I had the accident.

—Congratulations on your acceptance.

The day I died was the day I had finally passed the brutal entrance exams and job hunt and secured a position at a public corporation.

I cried like a baby.

“No way. This is so unfair. Waaaah.”

Thus, Kang Hanna—job seeker of South Korea—

Without ever wearing her employee ID around her neck—

Was reborn as the sole heir of House Verwen.

Lewin de Verwen.