TVIOWM 02

~Chapter 2~

‘Why the hell is Killian here?!’

I’m screwed.

She didn’t know what exactly had happened, but only one thought filled Aisha’s mind.

“If someone asks a question, you answer it.”

Killian, now towering over the trembling Helen, spoke again in a low, ominous voice.

“I’ll ask one more time. This magazine… ha… where do I go to subscribe?”

“T-the, the, the thing is…”

Poor Helen stuttered and suddenly started hiccuping, her face pale as a sheet.

“You’d better tell me the truth, kid.”

“……”

“I’m in a very, very bad mood right now.”

Aisha felt like her mind was going blank at Killian’s words.

He might drag her off.

No—he definitely would drag her off, lock her in the duke’s underground prison, and torture her.

That man has never shown mercy, not even to children.

‘But I can’t afford to get noticed either…’

Aisha bit her pink lips hard as she stood frozen in place.

But could she just stand by and watch Helen suffer?

That was unthinkable.

“Oh my, sweetheart!”

Pulling her wide-brimmed hat down, Aisha stepped toward Helen, hiding her trembling voice and wearing a cheerful facade.

Hiccup.

Helen’s panicked eyes welled up with tears. She could feel Killian’s sinister gaze piercing through her.

Aisha reached out and gently helped the collapsed Helen to her feet.

“I sent you on an errand—what are you doing here?”

“An… errand… hiccup…”

“Oh my, you’re all dirty.”

Aisha turned her head and dusted Helen’s back and bottom, then glanced at the other frozen children and moved her lips silently:

Run now!

Whether they understood her or not, the kids immediately scattered, kicking up a cloud of dust.

And then…

“Is she someone you know?”

Killian’s deep voice came from behind her. It sounded like the Grim Reaper himself.

“She helps with errands at our house,” Aisha replied, pressing her hat down firmly.

“I don’t know what she’s doing here. Sunday Exposé? What even is that?”

“……”

“She must not have been making enough money if she had to do this kind of thing. I’ll make sure to pay her better. Come on, let’s head back.”

Whatever the situation, they had to get out of there—fast. If not, they might both end up dead in some underground prison.

With that thought in mind, Aisha quickly avoided Killian’s gaze and spoke again.

“We’ll be going now. I still have more errands for her to run.”

“Wait. Which noble house are you from…?”

“Well then, goodbye!”

Aisha didn’t think she’d ever get to demonstrate the meaning of the phrase “like lightning” in real life, but here she was. Grabbing Helen’s small hand, she bolted down the street.

In other words, she ran for it.

“……”

Left standing alone, Killian’s black eyes gleamed intensely, still fixed on Aisha’s quickly retreating figure in the distance.

But—

“Oh my gosh, it is Duke Killian Winters!”

“This is my first time seeing him in person. He looks exactly like his portrait in the magazine!”

“I’ve seen him before, but now he looks so… sad somehow.”

“Right? Especially after what was in the last issue. He really seems lonely…”

Voices from all directions pierced Killian’s ears—women talking about him.

Their shameless eyes were scanning him up and down like it was routine.

Damn it.

“Should we go say something to him?”

“Yeah! He’s known to be kind. Maybe he’ll welcome it!”

Damn, damn, damn!

Killian spun around the moment he made eye contact with the approaching ladies.

“Oh my, he looks even cuter when he’s scowling!”

Before any of them could speak to him, he walked away briskly.

Crush.

He crumpled the flyer in his hand with all his strength.

***

So this all started two years ago.

Song Seung-yeon, a political journalist at one of Korea’s top newspapers.

Her “accidental fall” happened on an otherwise ordinary day.

“You should’ve known when to stop digging, Reporter Song.”

That was the last thing she heard—muttered by the man with a cigarette dangling from his lips.

Pushed from the rooftop of an abandoned building, Seung-yeon thought:

‘You idiot. It’ll be breaking news in a few hours anyway.’

The man she’d been investigating was a high-profile opposition politician tipped to be the next president. She’d heard the rumors, but never thought she’d die for uncovering the truth.

Still, she had no regrets.

She did what she wanted, wrote what she believed in, and even fulfilled a few dreams along the way.

‘No family to mourn me anyway.’

It was a ridiculous end, sure, but she accepted it.

But when she opened her eyes again…

She realized her life wasn’t over.

Not exactly—it was the start of a new one.

She’d reincarnated as a side character in her favorite novel, which she’d read multiple times.

The Emperor Can’t Live Without His Captive.

And her new identity?

Aisha Ashton.

Seung-yeon—now Aisha—adapted to her situation quickly. In these reincarnation stories, survival always came down to adaptability.

The problem?

Aisha Ashton was a minor character doomed to die at the hands of Killian Winters, the second male lead.

‘Out of all people to reincarnate as!’

Aisha was the textbook supporting character. The eldest daughter of Count Ashton, forced into an engagement with Killian by her power-hungry father.

But then, she genuinely fell in love with Killian and became jealous of the main heroine, Hilda Everett, who stole his heart.

Aisha eventually plotted with her father to eliminate Hilda—but Killian discovered the plot and framed the entire Ashton family for treason.

He had them all executed.

That was Aisha Ashton’s fate.

‘Am I crazy? Die over a man? No way.’

She’d already fallen to her death and reincarnated—no way she was going to suffer such an unfair ending again.

Fortunately, she’d arrived before the engagement with Killian had taken place. Just before the original novel began. Count Ashton was still working behind the scenes to secure the marriage.

“I don’t care! I’m not getting engaged!”

“What nonsense is that! You’re already a disgrace to the family—!”

But there was no persuading Count Ashton. He was one of those sinister nobles desperate to marry into power, no matter the cost.

However, Aisha was no longer the old Aisha.

She left behind just one letter—and ran away from home.

[Letter]

Father, I’m leaving to find my own path. Please don’t look for me.

P.S.: If you love Killian so much, why don’t you become his bride yourself? Maybe you’re his type? I’m not a conservative daughter, so if it comes to that, I’ll cheer you on.

P.S.2: To my little brother Leoric—be careful. Father’s crazy enough to try and offer you up as a bride too.

– Aisha

Count Ashton collapsed clutching the back of his neck when he found the letter—but Aisha didn’t care.

And that was the moment—

The birth of Sunday Exposé began.