Chapter 1

Thump, thump……

My heart was pounding like crazy.

I was at the checkpoint of Bernil, a border city.

The bustling city was overflowing with energy wherever I looked.

“I heard His Majesty the new Emperor decided to cut the tax rate in half!”

“I can hardly believe it! Who would’ve thought such a day would come? I also heard they’ve stopped forcibly conscripting young men in droves to use as shields against the monsters!”

“I heard His Majesty can fight a hundred monsters all by himself. They say even the Sergenev family, the renowned swordsmanship clan, has to give him an edge!”

Emperor. Emperor. Emperor.

It was nothing but talk of the Emperor everywhere I went.

I let out a deep sigh and turned my head, only to lock eyes with a wanted poster plastered on a nearby wall.

It was a poster seeking a woman, with her portrait drawn in huge letters.

“But we can’t exactly be happy about everything. Her Majesty the Empress has gone missing…… It’s such a frightening and heartbreaking thing.”

“Whatever bastard did this to Her Majesty?! Whoever dared kidnap Her Majesty should have all four limbs torn off the moment they’re caught!”

I cautiously felt my limbs.

I was the only one who had planned and carried out my disappearance—or rather, my escape.

“Still, let’s not worry too much. I heard His Majesty has sent knights throughout the entire Empire to find Her Majesty.”

“Oh, that certainly puts my mind at ease.”

That lunatic! As if plastering missing-person posters everywhere wasn’t enough, he’s wasting knights on this, too? Does he have manpower to spare or something?!

I was so dumbfounded and furious that I pounded my chest with my fist.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. This suffocating escape chase wasn’t part of my plan.

“Not only that! I hear the young masters of the Sergenev family are also combing through the entire border region with a fine-toothed comb!”

At the sudden mention of my brothers, I grabbed my head.

Why don’t you three mind your own family affairs instead of butting in?!

I had somehow ended up being pursued simultaneously by the three knights who were said to be the strongest on the entire continent.

Cold sweat poured down my back.

None of this had been included in my contract with that bastard.

Still, I’m almost there.

Once I passed this checkpoint, I would be out of the Empire.

And once that happened, I would run with all my might.

To the place where I could finally enjoy the peaceful retirement I had dreamed of!

That was when it happened.

A sparrow suddenly fluttered over from somewhere and landed in my arms.

[Emergency! Emergency!]

A sparrow—no.

It was Rossi, the magical doll I had personally developed, whispering in a voice only I could hear.

[That bastard approaching! That bastard approaching!]

There was only one person Rossi ever called “that bastard.”

I whispered in alarm.

“What? How close is he?”

At that moment, a border guard shouted.

“Attention! All inspections are suspended until further notice! Everyone, remain where you are!”

The sudden order caused the crowd to stir.

They’re suddenly suspending the inspections? Don’t tell me……

Damn it.

It seemed that bastard really had come right up to the checkpoint.

I had to choose.

Would I stay perfectly still and pretend I knew nothing, or make a run for it?

Before long, I saw the guards checking the faces of the people standing in line one by one.

I bit my lip and slowly moved my hand toward the knife hidden inside my sleeve.

I might have spent most of my time at a desk tinkering with mechanical parts and conducting research, but I was still a member of the Sergenev family, the Empire’s greatest swordsmanship clan.

I was fairly confident when it came to physical combat.

Let’s run to the place where I prepared the spatial transfer device in case something like this happened.

Having made up my mind, I slipped out of the line.

“Ah! Stop!”

Unfortunately, one of the sharp-eyed guards spotted me.

I dodged his hand as he tried to grab me and pulled out my knife.

“Let go!”

“Gah!”

I swung the knife, and the startled guard released me.

Good. Now I just need to press the pressure points with the back of the blade, subdue him, and run……

That was what I was thinking when—

Clack.

Someone seized my wrist.

“You’re doing it wrong, Lily.”

A low voice that made it hard to breathe.

At the same time, a warm body wrapped around my back.

Goosebumps spread across my entire body.

I barely managed to turn my head.

Beautiful golden eyes, as though they held the light of the sun, curved gently.

The person who had taught me swordsmanship.

And my one and only childhood friend.

Eden.

“If you’re going to stab someone, aim precisely for the Adam’s apple like this.”

As if demonstrating, Eden guided the knife in my hand toward his own throat.

All while still holding me from behind.

In the midst of it, the hood Eden had been wearing slipped backward, revealing his face to everyone.

“G-Gasp.”

“His Majesty the Emperor!”

“We greet His Majesty the Emperor!”

Jet-black hair and dazzling golden eyes.

Features so perfect that he looked less like a human being and more like a doll or sculpture.

A tall, imposing physique—and above all, the enormous greatsword strapped to his back.

There was no one in the Empire who could fail to recognize the new Emperor.

The terrified citizens began dropping to their knees before Eden one by one.

Slowly.

Like a wave rolling in.

“……How did you find me?”

I bit my lip and glared at Eden.

He smiled brightly, like the sun.

“There’s no way I wouldn’t know what’s in Lily’s heart. We’ve been together since we were children.”

“Then why won’t you listen to me—”

“I thought I was going to lose my mind.”

Eden pulled me tightly against his shoulder.

The boy who had once been smaller than me now trapped me in arms that had grown far too large.

“When I thought you were dying every minute and every second somewhere I couldn’t reach you.”

As he said that, Eden took something out from inside his clothes.

It was a fist-sized magic stone.

The citizens, who had been watching in breathless fascination, widened their eyes at the magic stone’s mesmerizing glow.

“This is like breathing to you, isn’t it? Even if you’ve come to hate me, don’t reject the things I can give you.”

Huh?

A sticky, honey-like voice sent chills crawling up my ears.

“I’ve finally gotten everything into the palm of my hand.”

Eden wrapped his large palm around my neck and pleaded.

“But if you leave me now…… nothing means anything to me. It feels like I’ve become the king of a pile of dust. It’s miserable. Lily, do you know what that feels like?”

“Eden.”

I called his name as if trying to calm him down.

Like a well-behaved puppy, he looked down at me.

“So please, don’t hate me, Master.”

Eden whispered, even using the title he had called me long ago.

“……What?”

I stared into those beautiful golden eyes, where possessiveness had become stuck like glue.

And I sighed.

I had been so careful with every word and every action while raising him.

And yet, in the end, this bastard had grown into the perfect obsessive male lead, just like in the original story.

The problem was that I was the one hearing those lines.

Where exactly did I go wrong……?

If I were back on Earth in my previous life, I would have wanted to go on television just to find out what exactly had gone wrong with my parenting.

I regained the memories of my previous life when I was twelve.

It happened when I fell from a tree while fooling around because I wanted to prank my older sister, Eloise.

In my previous life, I had lived in a different world.

I had been a university graduate preparing for employment.

More specifically, my name had been Shin Yuna, and I had graduated at the top of the mechanical engineering department at Korea’s best university—a department famous for its graduates having an easy time finding jobs.

I thought all that remained was to land a job at one of my dream companies and pay off the student loans that had squeezed every last bit of living expenses out of me.

But the name on the final list of successful applicants for my dream company’s special recruitment was not mine.

It was the name of a classmate who was always begging me for hints on assignments.

A classmate who had casually bragged about his parents’ friendship with a director at my dream company.

I usually stayed far away from alcohol, but I drank quite a lot that day.

Apparently, the old saying that trouble comes when you do something you normally don’t do was true.

As I staggered back to my tiny apartment, a truck with failed brakes came barreling toward me……

Crash.

That was where my memories of my previous life ended.

I worked myself to the bone trying to make something of myself, and it ended in such a ridiculously futile way……

Unlike my unfairly cut-short previous life, in this life I had been born into a respectable noble family.

The Sergenev ducal family, no less—the family renowned as the greatest swordsmanship clan in the Empire!

It was a situation where I should have been dancing for joy.

But, well, things weren’t exactly good enough for me to simply celebrate being born with a silver spoon.

For starters, this world was practically an apocalypse filled with monsters.

And more importantly—

The Sergenev ducal family…… I’ve definitely seen this name before in my previous life.

To my astonishment, my current life was that of a character inside a game I had played in my previous life.

The Demon King’s Consort.

The main story revolved around the heroine, who had been kidnapped by the Emperor, desperately struggling to escape the Imperial Palace.

But no matter where she ran, the story inevitably led to a notorious confinement ending titled “You’re in the Palm of My Hand.”

And the unfortunate heroine, Eloise Sergenev, was……

My older sister?!

My older sister, Eloise, had been born with a frail body and was therefore the center of everyone’s attention.

Even my awful brothers, my terrifying father, and our strict butler all gave way to her.

I had been jealous and annoyed by how much attention she received, so I often tormented her.

I’d pull her hair whenever I got the chance, trip her, and even release mice into her room……

Even this time, I had climbed the tree because I wanted to dump water on her, only to fall all by myself.

Now that I remembered the memories of my previous life, which had lasted until I was twenty-four, I realized that I had been an absolutely dreadful troublemaker up until then.

I had been a total little menace……!

When Eloise heard that I had regained consciousness, she came rushing over.

“Lily, you’re finally awake! Thank you, God. Thank you……”

My sister cried her eyes out for the little sister who had climbed a tree to splash cold water on her, only to fall down by herself.

Held tightly in her arms, I sniffled.

Stupid big sister.

Such a pushover.

Why were you crying this much for a little sister who had been punished by karma for trying to torment you?

Twelve-year-old Lillian had thought all of her sister’s kindness was nothing but an act.

But……

“I was so worried something had happened to you, Lily. I’m just so grateful you woke up. Yes, that’s all that matters.”

My sister held me tightly and shed endless tears.

Her body was hot, as though she had been taking care of me despite being sick herself.

Through the eyes of twenty-four-year-old Shin Yuna, I understood.

This wasn’t an act.

My sister had genuinely been worried about me.

Now, before, always.

Big sister……

Why did the tears suddenly come so easily once I realized that?

In the end, I burst into tears like an idiot.

“Waaaah.”

Big sister. What am I going to do about you?

“Waaaaah!”

They say my big sister is the heroine of this world.

They say she’s destined for a confinement ending at the hands of some crazy psycho obsessed with her.

“Lily! Lily, why are you suddenly crying? Does something still hurt? Is that it?”

“Waaaaaaah!”

Those insane developers were a bunch of perverts, and they littered my sister’s path with nothing but bad endings!

While sobbing and covering my sister’s chest with mucus, I made a vow.

To hell with the original story and everything else.

My sister—my angelic big sister—would live a life a hundred million light-years away from such a brutal, depressing story.

I would diligently save up money for an escape, survive, and flee with my sister to the warm and peaceful southern kingdom.

Especially the male lead. I’m going to make sure we never even cross paths with that insane, obsessive confinement freak!

I had made that solemn vow just last night.

“Lillian Sergenev. This is a present.”

My father had returned to the castle after being away for some time.

And with those words, he threw a boy at me.

He had black hair as dark as night and eyes so beautiful they looked as though gold had been melted into them.

“F-Father? What is this……?”

The father I hadn’t seen in a while looked terrifying.

His armor was splattered with monster blood, as though someone had sprayed it across him.

I swallowed nervously and stammered out my question.

“Your doll.”

The reply was as curt as a sheet of ice.

My father had returned from a business trip and given his daughter a doll!

At first glance, it might have looked like a heartwarming, domestic scene……

But that’s not a doll. That’s a person.

I silently questioned him while looking up at my enormous father.

No matter how sophisticated the “magic dolls” noble children played with these days were, that was unmistakably a living, breathing human being!

“You’re at the age when you should be playing with one. Throw away those mechanical contraptions that only commoners fiddle with.”

Perhaps it was simply fate, but even before recovering my memories from my previous life, I had always loved tinkering with machines.

My father continued explaining what he meant by “doll” in his icy voice.

No, I’m telling you, that’s clearly a person……!

More importantly—

That doll.

No, that boy’s appearance!

The boy had truly doll-like, beautiful features.

And in particular, my gaze was drawn to his dazzling golden eyes.

Golden eyes…… And that rare black hair?

A chilling premonition ran down my spine.

Swallowing my ominous feeling, I asked the boy:

“What’s your name?”

The boy raised his eyes toward me.

His gaze was sharp and dark, far too fierce for a child.

“Answer.”

My father looked down at him and spoke coldly.

The boy grimaced.

Grind.

Grinding his teeth, the boy spat out his answer.

“……Eden. I don’t have a family name. Just…… Eden.”

“G-Gasp.”

I stumbled backward, making a strange sound.

Eden.

That was the name of the male protagonist of this world, The Demon King’s Consort.

Th-The insane psycho confinement freak!

I hurriedly backed away from him as though he were covered in germs.

God.

What kind of cruel joke is this?

I had tried to avoid the original story.

But the original male lead had been thrown straight into my life under the guise of a doll.

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