āĀ Chapter 1 ā
When My Favorite Character Became My Daughter
The day I reached the very top as a makeup artist, I died from overwork.
I had worked myself to death.
It was so unfair.
Maybe even God felt sorry for me, because I was given three choices.
- Return to some point in my past.
- Possess one of the characters from the book I enjoyed reading the most.
- Be reincarnated into a completely different life.
I didn’t want to go back to my old life.
And even if I was reincarnated, there was no way of knowing what kind of life I would have.
So I chose the second optionāa story whose ending I already knew.
As a result…
I ended up inside the bestselling novel, La Vie en Rose.
La Vie en Rose was a romance fantasy novel about the heroine, Coral, who suffered under her wicked stepmother and terrible father before discovering her talent and becoming successful with a magical dress shop.
When she was young, Coral overcame her low birth and entered the Academy.
There, she met the male lead, Kai.
Kai fell in love with Coral at first sight, and little by little, the two grew closer.
But soon, Coral was sent to an orphanage, forcing them apart.
After that, countless hardships and trials stood in the way of Coral and Kai.
Years later, Kai became the Emperor and searched everywhere for Coral.
When they finally reunited after many years, they shared a passionate love.
The novel became popular not only because of its heartbreaking love story, but also because of its fascinating world.
- A world where beauty was so important that everyone, regardless of gender, wore makeup every day.
- The home of the Empire’s handsome F3, men said to possess beauty worthy of the heavens.
- The unbelievably adorable male and female leads who made readers squeal with excitement.
The Empire’s handsome F3 played a huge part in the novel’s popularity.
But honestly…
I barely noticed them.
“Maybe it’s because I worked as a makeup artist and saw handsome people every single day?”
They were said to be more handsome than even famous celebrities.
I was a little curious…
But my eyes were focused on only one person.
Our precious heroine, Coral.
“Our Coral is…”
“Beautiful, adorable, lovable… she has every wonderful quality.”
“And with her incredible talent, she’ll one day change the world.”
I couldn’t believe I was breathing under the same sky as my favorite character.
Forget destroying the Earth.
Forget destroying the universe.
Forget destroying my house.
My heart was the one that shattered.
But…
The person I possessed was Coral’s stepmother.
The beautiful woman reflected in the mirror, with silver hair and mysterious purple eyes…
There was no doubt.
She was the villainess,
Calypse Patuang.
If they were going to let me possess someone, they could have at least let me choose the character.
In the original story, Calypse had neglected and abused Coral for years.
After all, Coral was the child her beloved husband had brought home from another woman.
“Shouldn’t the one who deserves to be beaten to death be that husband instead?”
He always had money for drinking and gambling.
Yet he let his own daughter spend winter in an icy room.
That trash…
Was my husband.
The first day I met Coral was during a freezing winter.
While searching for the child who was hiding, I found her inside a storage room.
Under a single blanket, strands of silver hair peeked out.
As I slowly walked closer…
A pair of red, rabbit-like eyes cautiously peeked out.
“I can’t believe I’m seeing my favorite character in real life!”
Meeting Coral made me happier than words could express.
But the moment she saw me…
She trembled in fear.
Of course she did.
To Coral, I was the terrifying stepmother, Calypse.
“Don’t be afraid.”
Hearing those words only frightened her even more.
She hurriedly hid herself completely under the blanket.
The child had survived the entire winter with nothing but a single blanket, abandoned by both her father and stepmother.
“What sin could such a small child have possibly committed…?”
Even now, just remembering it brought tears to my eyes.
I gently comforted the frightened Coral until I was finally able to bring her inside the house.
The first thing I did afterward was buy her a proper bed and a dressing table, then decorate her room.
“From now on, this is your room.”
“I’ll knock before I come in.”
I never meant that she should stay inside forever.
Yet…
Except for going to the Academy, Coral never left her room.
“Forcing open the door would only make her resent me even more.”
I had been the stepmother who abused her.
Just because I suddenly treated her kindly didn’t mean she could immediately trust me.
Coral needed time to accept me.
“I’ve never been a mother before… but I’ll do my best.”
For our Coral…
I was ready to bring down the stars themselves.
Six months passed.
Little by little, Coral stopped avoiding me so often.
Even accepting the snacks I gave her was huge progress.
“Today’s White Chocolate Cookies are her favorite. I’m sure she’ll like them.”
It would make me even happier if she ate them in front of me.
But for now…
This was enough.
“At least she doesn’t run away from me anymore.”
When I entered her room, Coral was curled up beneath her blanket in the same hidden corner as always.
She had probably heard my footsteps.
Thankfully…
She no longer trembled whenever she saw me.
The sweet smell of cookies reached her nose, and the blanket moved slightly.
Soon, beautiful silver hair peeked out.
But she still didn’t come closer.
An invisible wall remained between us.
“Be patient. You have to be patient. You might scare her.”
Once again, I forced myself to hold back the overwhelming urge to hug her.
I placed the cookies on the table and turned to leave.
Then…
A tiny hand carefully grabbed the edge of my dress.
“U-Um…”
“Mom.”
“Did… did she just call me Mom?”
For the first time in six months…
I heard that word.
I quickly turned around.
Coral’s soft pink eyes looked straight at me.
Then, like a frightened rabbit, her eyes lowered again.
“Thank you.”
“…?”
“The cookies are delicious.”
Her fluffy silver hair disappeared back under the blanket.
“Coral called me Mom…!”
“She said the cookies I gave her were delicious…!”
That day…
I almost bought every White Chocolate Cookie in the world.
“This life is already so wonderful. If only my husband would disappear, my quality of life would improve ten thousand times.”
Ever since possessing this body, I had been planning to divorce my husband, Shuvil.
If Coral and I were going to live happily…
Divorcing that worthless man was the only answer.
Thankfully, because Shuvil rarely came home, my preparations went smoothly.
“How can I make people say this was the greatest divorce ever?”
That was my goal.
The perfect divorce.
In other novels, the heroine usually received huge alimony or at least some land.
But…
This useless man wasn’t even helpful until the very end.
“Just how much had he gambled to end up with nothing but mountains of debt?”
Of course, I would never let those debts become my responsibility.
Still, after the divorce, I would definitely end up broke.
Maybe fate pitied me.
Because I had received one special advantage after possessing Calypse.
In the original story…
Calypse was a genius at creating magical tools.
That talent became mine as well.
I could turn magic into formulas and algorithms.
“If I compared it to my old world… I’d probably be considered a genius engineer.”
Unfortunately…
Calypse had absolutely terrible artistic taste.
No matter how useful her magical tools were, everyone criticized them for looking awful.
What was the point of having excellent functions?
No one wanted to use something so ugly.
“There wasn’t really any division of labor in this world.”
But who was I?
I had once been one of the greatest makeup artists.
And in La Vie en Rose…
Beauty was everything.
Everyone, men and women alike, wore makeup.
“What if I combine makeup with magical tools…?”
A magical tool that could apply makeup exactly the way people wanted.
That would definitely become a huge success.
My business plans quickly took shape, and production began almost immediately.
“If it means giving Coral a life filled with happiness, I’ll do anything.”
If my magical tool business succeeded…
Even after the divorce, Coral and I would live comfortably.
I would be able to give her anything she wanted.
As the day of my divorce grew closer…
Everything was going according to plan.
I accomplished many things.
But the happiest change of all…
Was Coral.
After she called me “Mom,” the way she treated me changed completely.
One hundred days before carrying out my divorce plan, I started writing a diary.
Almost every page was about Coral.
D-100
Today, Coral said something strange.
“I’ll do better, Mom.”
You’re already wonderful just by existing.
What do you mean you’ll do better?
I wanted to tell her that I was the one who needed to do better.
But my throat tightened.
I hope she didn’t notice I was crying.
D-70
Coral doesn’t avoid eye contact anymore.
Instead…
I ended up looking away.
I hope she didn’t notice.
Who could understand what it feels like when your own daughter is your favorite character?
D-50
Coral grabbed the edge of my clothes and said,
“Let’s… eat together, Mom.”
Starting today, we’re eating together.
I’m so happy I could go crazy.
I can’t even fall asleep.
What should I do?
D-30
Today, Coral smiled for the first time while we were eating together.
I asked her what her ideal type was.
She answered,
“Mom.”
Kai.
You’d better watch out.
Are you listening?
D-10
Today, during snack time, I quietly asked Coral to go on a little date with me.
When I held out my hand…
She stopped hesitating and gently placed her tiny hand in mine.
“Mom… you look like a princess.”
Actually…
I only activated the Snow White beauty magic because I thought Coral would like it.
Coral…
If it makes you happy,
Mom can make anything.
Finally…
The day before D-Day arrived.
Over the past one hundred days, I had gathered more than enough evidence.
I unlocked the small box hidden in the corner and took out a tracking magical tool.
Click.
The moment I pressed the button…
Images of Shuvil gambling played continuously inside the crystal sphere.
If I were the real Calypse, the sight would have broken my heart.
But instead…
I smiled.
“Goodbye, Shuvil.”
“Let’s never meet again.”
Shuvil came home early the next morning.
As always…
He carried the strong scent of another woman.
Deep double eyelids.
A sharp jawline.
A tall figure.
Although Shuvil wasn’t one of the Empire’s famous F3…
He was still handsome.
“So what? He’s still nothing but a good-looking piece of trash.”
Since Shuvil had barely spent any time with Calypse,
he never even realized that the person inside her body had changed.
Without saying a single word,
I led him to a quiet gallery near the house.
There wasn’t a single conversation between us.
The nearly empty gallery was the perfect place to carry out something as important as a divorce.
Shuvil looked exhausted, probably because of whatever he had done all night.
He sat down impatiently and sneered.
“I’m tired.”
“What is it?”
“Just say it already.”
The more I learned about Calypse’s life,
the more pitiful it seemed.
She had never been loved.
So she even begged a man like him for affection.
But now…
I wasn’t the Calypse he once knew.
I looked him straight in the eyes.
“Let’s get divorced.”
