TYLWBOHEDNOOAOTTE CH 01

1. Today, I broke off my engagement with him

The result before her eyes was merciless.

[You failed to reach the ending.]

Watching him walk into the wedding hall holding the hand of the heroine dressed in pure white, Serdel let out a hollow laugh, drowned in emptiness.

[Failed to complete ending. Reset will begin.
※You cannot return to reality until an ending is achieved.]

As the status window—blocking the path between them—glared at her, the world she stood in suddenly flickered and vanished.

At the same time, everything began to rewind as if she were falling backward from a hill—countless scenes she had lived through here, one after another.

Sorrow, emptiness, frustration, and rage swept through her body.

After being pushed and dragged through it all—

Her soul was pulled into a single scene floating above the abyss.

Her mind was hazy.

How long had she been like this?

As her forcibly halted senses began to reorganize, faint traces of her surroundings returned.

At the same time, a faint scent of tea drifted into her nose.

Serdel instantly realized she had returned to her first moment of possession.

‘It must be a tea house.’

And across from her would be her fiancé—no, her betrayer—Count Hersh Meiyant.

He would be—

“Lady. Let’s break off our engagement.”

He would be saying those breakup words with a serious expression.

She couldn’t hear it clearly, but she had already experienced it once—she could predict it easily.

Tears streamed down her face without permission.

It wasn’t her will. It happened on its own.

Damn it. Of all moments—

Humiliation surged through her.

“I’m sorry.”

She could imagine his expression.

‘The other customers are probably listening.’

The atmosphere between them would be tense.

And because of that, Count Meiyant would look even more apologetic.

That was the kind of man he was.

Someone who casually said cruel things when needed, yet pretended to maintain courtesy on the surface.

A two-faced, hypocritical bastard who cared only about how others perceived him.

That was Hersh Meiyant.

“……”

Her senses were still sluggish, and she couldn’t even move her lips—she could only cry.

‘I’m going crazy.’

Frustration built up inside her.

When would her senses fully return?

Was this a penalty for failing the ending?

Her soul and body were reconnecting too slowly.

“I’m truly sorry. I will send the written breakup agreement to your family soon.”

With that, he stood up carefully and bowed deeply.

Wait—wait a second!

10. 9. 8. 7…

“Then I have matters to attend to, so I’ll take my leave.”

…3, 2, 1.

Flash!

The blurred world cleared, and her fingers twitched.

Her senses fully returned—and drag!

Serdel deliberately pushed her chair back loudly.

“You only say what you want and conveniently leave out the most important part? You should return the Elbash Forest development rights you took as part of the marriage settlement.”

Yes. That was the first key part of the game’s main story.

‘I can’t let trash like you participate.’

She wouldn’t make the same foolish choices again.

Serdel pressed a handkerchief against her eyes, wiping away tears.

The cosmetics here were so low quality that her eye area was probably smeared already.

Damn it. She didn’t want to look ridiculous.

“If you’re talking about breaking off the engagement, then you should also withdraw from our family’s business. You don’t seriously expect to continue as if nothing happened, do you?”

“Lady…?”

“Even if it’s not you, there are plenty of people who want to invest in the Elbash Forest project. Don’t act shameless after discarding me. Please prepare the documents properly and send them with the breakup papers. Then I’ll take my leave.”

Leaving him stunned and flustered, she scoffed and walked out without hesitation.

What a scumbag.

She felt oddly refreshed.

Three years earlier

She had been trapped inside the game for three years.

After finishing a hectic project, she had met her boyfriend—only for him to break up with her.

She couldn’t believe it.

“Hey, we’re planning our wedding. Did you forget? Is this some kind of April Fool’s joke?”

“I’m sorry. I’ve fallen in love with someone else.”

“…What?”

“To be honest, we’ve been together too long. It’s gotten boring. If we get married like this, it’ll just be a marriage out of obligation.”

“…Love? Obligation?”

She froze in disbelief.

“Let’s just break up cleanly before the invitations are printed.”

With that, he left the café.

She couldn’t stop him.

Pride? Shame?

She had no time for such things—she just couldn’t lose him.

He wasn’t even that great objectively.

But being abandoned felt worse than death.

“I’m not mad. Did I do something wrong? Huh? People get sensitive before marriage, right?”

“I already don’t want to marry you. Don’t be pathetic.”

That was the end.

She didn’t even remember how she got home.

Her work performance collapsed, and she eventually took leave.

Then she started playing a game with a cheesy title: “The Men of That Heroine.”

A reverse-harem romance simulation where the heroine Elexa dated four male leads and reached an ending.

Four men—how hard could it be?

It became her escape from reality.

She grew deeply immersed in those fictional characters.

And then—she possessed the body.

She became Serdel Robesta, fiancée of male lead Hersh Meiyant, second daughter of a count family.

And she had clung desperately to him for a long time after he broke off the engagement.

‘That was foolish.’

She didn’t want to be abandoned again—whether in reality or here.

Her low self-esteem, shaped by childhood trauma, made abandonment unbearable.

And Hersh, at times, had acted like he relied on her.

‘What was I thinking?’

She had been foolishly manipulated by his gentle smiles.

She should have acted more cunningly like the heroine.

Instead, she had given her whole heart.

And failed to reach the ending.

‘I want to go back…’

Back to reality.

‘Dating is disgusting.’

Too many emotions had been consumed.

Love was now frightening.

Yet if she remained here, she had to reach an ending faster than Elexa.

‘I won’t fail again.’

She would aim for the other male leads—excluding that trash Meiyant.

As she thought deeply, she realized—

Her shoes were painfully uncomfortable.

‘What was that woman thinking sending away the carriage!’

She flagged down a passing carriage.

A luxury two-seater used by nobles.

A taxi in this world.

She opened the door before the driver could even step down.

“Sorry, can you give me a hand?”

Without checking who was inside, she grabbed the offered hand and climbed in.

“Thank you. I’m in a hurry.”

She sat down, adjusted her dress, and even took off her shoes.

“Phew.”

‘I can breathe again!’

Only then did she look around.

‘Isn’t this carriage too luxurious?’

And then—

A smooth voice slipped into her ears.

“Where shall I take you?”

Her eyes slowly lifted.

“……”

Ash-gray hair, black eyes, a breathtakingly beautiful man smiling faintly at her.

“Lady Serdel Robesta.”