Chapter 4
“The world will be destroyed…?!”
I asked the princess to explain, and that’s how we ended up like this.
The princess was drawing something on the ground. She wiped her nose with her dirt-covered sleeve.
That didn’t clean it. It only made it dirtier.
Looking even messier now, she pointed at the ground with her knife.
Side male lead — Main character — Male lead
Resius — Shabian — Kellian
It was a simple relationship chart.
“[…Wait a moment.]”
I pointed at the names she had written.
More specifically, Shabian and Kellian.
“[Aren’t these two brothers?]”
“[Yes.]”
“[You said you read it enough to memorize it. How many times was it?]”
“[…Ten times.]”
Oh my.
The princess, who had shrunk back a little after seeing my face, straightened up.
“[Technically, they aren’t related by blood at all!]”
Not related? I didn’t know that.
“[Alright. Keep explaining.]”
I calmed myself and urged her on.
“[Hilen wins the war against its enemy nation, Bahat. As a hostage, Bahat’s eighth prince, Shabian, is sent here to Hilen.]”
Oh. As expected, Hilen wins.
“[So the eighth prince and Resius fall in love. But why does the world get destroyed? Isn’t that the end?]”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The princess stabbed the ground hard with her knife like a hammer.
“[Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!]”
“[Then what happens?]”
She rested her chin on her hand.
“[If it ended like that, it wouldn’t be a novel. This is a dark, tragic story.]”
A tragic novel?
“[Kellian, the crown prince of Bahat, becomes curious. He wonders how his younger brother could make the enemy emperor fall so deeply in love. He starts paying attention…]”
She continued explaining.
Kellian threatens Shabian, who was sent as a hostage, and forces him back. Then Kellian falls in love with him.
Shabian, dragged back against his will, is slowly drawn to Kellian’s obsessive love.
Resius, not knowing any of this, starts a war to bring Shabian back.
In short—
Two emperors fight over a hostage prince in a love triangle.
The problem is, the fighting is a full-scale war.
“[And in the middle of that, I die too. The princess tries to stop the insane Resius, and her head gets chopped off.]”
She spoke about her own fate calmly.
“[The war begins, and the two obsessive male leads fight each other and stab each other to death. Shabian, feeling guilty that both people he loved died because of him, kills himself.]”
What? All three die?
“[But the main character is loved by God. God’s anger spreads across the continent, and humanity goes extinct.]”
…That’s even worse.
Not just ruin—total human extinction.
Unlike my serious face, the princess chatted cheerfully, knife still in hand.
“[The book is called The Legend of Bivalus. It ends with this story being passed down as a legend.]”
“[…Aren’t you way too cheerful telling me everyone dies?]”
“[Should I cry instead?]”
She tossed the knife aside.
“[That’s why I was digging this escape hole.]”
“[…]”
“[I’d rather travel freely than die while rotting in this suffocating palace.]”
She opened her backpack slightly.
It was filled with jewelry.
Enough wealth to live comfortably forever. She clearly looted the princess palace.
“[Well, either way, I’ll die soon anyway.]”
Leaning against the bag, she looked at me.
“[What about you, brother—]”
Brother?
Ah. Right. I’m cross-dressing as a man.
“[…I’m a woman.]”
The words slipped out.
A secret I had hidden for a long time.
Being from the same world made me feel comfortable, and there were other reasons too…
I looked at the dirty, blonde princess covered in leaves.
Most of all—
‘No one would believe the words of a “crazy princess.”’
So I told her.
I gathered my courage, but her reaction was lukewarm.
“[Oh. You were a woman in your past life.]”
“[No. I’m a woman in this life too.]”
“[Huh?]”
“[I’m a woman right now.]”
She scanned me from head to toe.
Then she patted my shoulder like it was nonsense.
“[No way.]”
“[It’s true…]”
“[You’re pretty, but…]”
Thanks to dark magic, it was hard to tell.
“[Dark magic.]”
“[Ah. Dark magic.]”
I felt her gaze carefully examining my face.
“[There’s something that surprised me after coming here. The story changed a bit. One change is the Duke of Berwen—you.]”
“[Me?]”
“[Yes.]”
She rubbed her chin with her dirty hand. That only made it worse.
“[In the novel, you don’t have much importance. You’re more like an idiot controlled by your retainers…]”
“[It’s the original story. I’m fine with that.]”
I shrugged.
“[Because the duke is useless in the original, Resius grows more twisted. Since the border lord doesn’t act, Resius fights in countless wars.]”
Hmm. Resius, twisted?
“[…Resius?]”
“[Yes. I thought it was strange too. His personality here is very different. Originally, he’s cold and selfish. There’s a reason he’s called insane.]”
Cold. Selfish. Insane.
‘That’s the opposite of the Resius I know.’
Kind, gentle, warm—that’s how people describe him.
“[Insane? That can’t be right.]”
“[I want to believe that too. But…]”
She frowned deeply.
“[I’m an isekai possessor, but I also have the princess’s memories. When I look at his childhood, something feels off.]”
“[What kind of memories?]”
“[Resius was good at lying even as a child. If he wanted something, he acted and deceived people until he got it.]”
That was when he was young.
Lying is bad, but calling a child insane is a bit much…
The princess sighed and brushed back her dusty hair.
She’s called the crazy princess, yet she calls Resius insane. Who should I believe?
‘I trust Resius.’
Still, I kept a straight face.
“[Maybe I’m just being sensitive.]”
Sand tangled in her blonde hair.
“[I know his personality from the novel, so it’s hard to be objective. And I’m a writer, so I imagine too much.]”
A writer?
I looked at her.
“[Not the novelist. A playwright. I’m still a student, though.]”
She spoke shyly.
“[I thought a lot about how to change this story. What would I do if I were the author?]”
“[Did you find an answer?]”
She nodded.
“[Yes. It’s simple.]”
“[What is it?]”
“[Just stop Resius and Shabian from falling in love.]”
“[Can’t we just not accept the eighth prince as a hostage?]”
She shook her head.
“[Shabian must come to Hilen. Otherwise, he’ll be sent to violent barbarians as a hostage.]”
She looked at me with expectation.
Why that look?
“[Someone from Hilen should fall in love with Shabian instead of Resius.]”
“[Who?]”
She stared straight at my face.
Don’t tell me…
She raised her knife dramatically.
“[The Duke of Berwen is perfect!]”
The knife reflected my face.
Gray hair. Silver-gray eyes.
Me.
“[You’re perfect. Sword genius, a duke, smart, handsome—!]”
She swallowed.
Why are you swallowing?
“[You’re charming enough to rival both obsessive male leads.]”
“[But why me…]”
“[Because Shabian loves obsessive types.]”
She dropped the knife and stared at me.
“[That means his type is obsessive men. And you have all the qualities to become one!]”
“[What?]”
“[You just need to seduce Shabian. If he falls for you, he won’t love Resius, and Kellian won’t get involved either!]”
She jumped up, excited.
“[That means no world destruction! The end! Happy ending!]”
“[…]”
“[No matter how important they are, we can’t leave the world to insane men!]”
“[…Wait.]”
“[Please become a fake obsessive male lead!]”
She reached out her hand.
“[Let’s save the world.]”
Her golden hair shone like fire in the sunlight.
When her burning eyes met mine, my hand moved on its own.
But—
‘There’s one thing I didn’t ask.’
What is an obsessive male lead?
“[Um… is ‘obsessive male lead’ a person’s name? Or a nickname?]”
She froze.
Covering her cheeks, she panicked.
“[You don’t know what that means?! You don’t even know BL and you were listening to me?!]”
“[…What is it?]”
She tightened her backpack straps.
“[Follow me. This will be Spartan training from now on.]”
She turned toward the palace and waved.
“[What are you doing? Hurry!]”
I sighed and stood up.
‘I can’t fully trust her claim that this is a novel…’
But I have time to verify it.
“Your Highness.”
I returned from Kang Hanna of my past life to the Duke of Berwen.
“[Why are you acting so serious—hey! What are you doing?!]”
I lifted the princess in both arms.
She struggled, but—
“If we return like this, you’ll be scolded, and your rumors will get even worse.”
“….”
“Let’s say you tripped and fell.”
She went quiet, probably imagining the endless nagging.
And then—
“D-Duke Berwen? P-Princess?!”
The princess’s maid, Lady Roxon, fainted again as soon as she saw us.
“Did you hear? The duke was carrying the princess—”
“They say Lady Roxon fainted after seeing it. Something more intimate must have happened—”
And so, a long-lasting rumor was born.
