“Ophelia.”

He looked down at me, his gaze filled with adoration as if honey was dripping from his purple eyes.

He had a very charming look.

“I love you.”

The women of the empire would do anything to receive such sweet whispers from him.

Because he was the crown prince of this empire.

Sadly, however, there was only one answer I could give to this expression of his love.

“Cheep.”

That’s right. Whoever was in front of me, this was his bedroom, so none of the women who adored the Crown Prince could have entered. It didn’t work.

Because I was only a yellow little chick now.

“You’re so cute. Just the kind of person I chose.”

Clementz Resta Düshingen, who was smiling like he was dying of love, was a prince with silver hair.

He was the one who brought me in, a foolish aristocrat, to live trapped as a chick day and night in this painful palace separated from my family!

“Cheep! Cheep!”

I flapped my wings in protest. Y-You crazy– Do you know what kind of sorcery is going on in the palace right now?

“Cassius.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Ophelia didn’t eat anything. What happened?”

It’s because of you!

“Oh, no, she doesn’t seem to like the finest new Moi. I’ll tell them to change it back to the one she used to eat.”

“Lovely Ophelia, the prince’s chick with such a frugal appetite. It is indeed an example of this empire.”

What are you guys talking about?!

Even the most capable man in the empire, Marquis Cassius Dupre, was seriously supporting the prince’s play with his pet. Is the Empire going crazy because of me?

Clementz wasn’t the one who listened to me even when he saw what I was. I wonder what intentions he had. I don’t know what to say.

Having lost the will to resist, I sank into the bowl. My name “Ophelia” was carved in gold on a sophisticated Moi bowl. No matter how angry I was, I felt miserable for that precious man who just kept staring at me with awe.

“My Ophelia, do you have any concerns?”

Yes, it’s you! You are the cause of all my worries, anxiety, and disruptions!

Strange. Obviously, in the novel I read, Clementz was not a dork in a nutshell. He was a male protagonist, praised by all readers for his sweet attitude towards the heroine.

And even when he gets killed by my beloved female protagonist, Bellarusia.

As a reader, I couldn’t stand the tragic incident. So, I tried to stop him from dying after being possessed in a fictional world. By erasing all the misunderstandings between the male and the female leads so that they could be sincere to each other.

But things have been messed up in a good way and this was the result. It’s good that I am alive. But why did you take me, who’s just a chick, instead of the heroine? I was only an extra and a friend of the heroine.

“Your Highness, Crown Prince! Give Ophelia to me! Isn’t it my turn to take care of her lunch today?!”

A loud bang on the door rang through the room. There was only one person who dared to knock on the prince’s door like that.

Camille de Bayless, the daughter of Marquis Bayless. A beautiful woman with blond-green hair.

The woman who was most likely the candidate for the Crown Princess.

And in the novel, the woman who evilly wanted the attention of Clementz until his death.

But now, she was just a fiery competition to Clementz for having me, who was now a chick.

As soon as he saw me hearing Camille’s voice, Clementz’s expression hardened coldly.

“Return her back.”

“Leave it to me.”

Glances of planning a solemn strategy were exchanged between them before Marquis Dupre approached the door, leaving an afterimage of his red hair.

Camille, who knew I was here, wanted to come in, but Marquis Dupre lied from behind the door.

Camille was not a pushover. It probably took a while.

“You have nothing to worry, Ophelia.”

Meanwhile, Prince Clementz whispered sweetly, picking me up on his palms.

As if she was some lover I needed saving from.

Funny – Why is everyone so sincere to this chick?

“Cheep! Cheep! (I wanna go back home!)”

“Yeah, I feel the same as well.”

“Cheep! (You read my mind.) Chee. (Wait, you’re already there.)”

“There has never been such a cute being as you in my life, and there will never be. Next month…… let us have a ceremony with the elders of the imperial family.”

“Cheep. (What do you mean….?)”

He blushed in such a suspicious manner that it gave me the chills. This nuance was somewhat strange, but I tried to ignore it.

Finally, he removed the cover from the silver platter on the desk.

Below it were a white cotton dress, small rosebuds, and a tiara made of pearls.

“I wish to spend the rest of my life with a cute little thing like you.”

He couldn’t be more careful when he patted my head.

“Do you like it?”

I tried not to get stressed no matter how absurd it sounded.

I couldn’t stand it any longer. My wings and feet trembled uncontrollably on Clementz’s hard calloused palm.

Just as my father-in-law with high blood pressure collapsed while holding his back in the middle of a drama, I also went backwards, bending my small orange feet up.

A fluffy sound erupted when my body made contact with his broad palms.

What’s wrong, Ophelia? Do you not like the dress?”

Uhh, how did things get like this?

Others may have possessed a dark supporting role or an extra, but at least they’re human.

I recalled my memories when I first entered the novel.

I was the daughter of a lowly aristocrat and entered the same province as the maid of honor of the daughter of the most influential Count.

Bellarusia Reyunis Monahan.

It wasn’t until I heard the lady’s name that I realized.

I was transferred into the free serialized novel “Beauty and the Beast” that I was reading.

***

“This can’t be happening!!”

The sentence on the screen remained the same even when I saw it after tearing my head off.

[That’s how Clementz Resta Düshingen died.]

“Hnnnnn…..”

A groan broke through my lips. Tears welled up in my eyes.

[Because he fell in love with the woman, he did not want to save himself.]

“Argh!!”

I couldn’t stand it, so I threw my cell phone. It bounced off my mattress and roughly contacted the floor. The fact that the installment agreement remained for it for more than a year did not even enter my mind.

I knew it was ridiculous to make this mess over the content of a web novel, but I really liked this novel, “Beauty and the Beast”. From the first episode I read, the novel was according to my taste, and I was waiting for the new episode that was uploaded every day.

The novel had always set a mysterious aura to the air. The origin of the mystery that lied in the female lead, Bellarusia.

Bellarusia Reyunis Monahan, the girl who used to turn into a black leopard every night under the curse of a devil.

Prince Clementz Resta Düshingen, the male lead, ran into her while visiting the west.

Although she was seemingly a calm and mature daughter of a Count, Bella was hiding her untamed wilderness. In the novel, Bella expresses her attraction to Clementz, desiring to eat him in her true nature. I wanted to break it.

Clementz was not an ordinary man either. He was definitely a human being, but somewhere, there was a part of him that wasn’t human. On a moony night, a deeper sense of dark aura always lurked around him.

[The first novel in which the FL wanted to eat the ML every time she saw him, literally……]

[Kya, I’m outta here.]

[This tense atmosphere. Is this novel suitable to read?]

[I don’t think it’s the bloody tension up there. I think it’s because of the style that emphasizes the atmosphere.]

I read the responses of the readers.

Anyway, the most beautiful women were attracted to him. However, Bella, the female lead, could not approach Clementz because of her curse, while Clementz grew more curious about her who was secretly pushing him away.

They go back to the palace together, riding a thrilling flirtatious journey through the novel, filled with the mysteriousness of an unspeakable secret in the middle.

However, there was Camille de Bayless, a social leader, who was considered a strong candidate for the position of Crown Princess.

Camille, whose world was turned upside down when she spotted Bella next to Clementz, tried her best to keep her weak feet planted on the ground.

[Camille; she was so annoying.]

[I was so confident. I was speechless when it happened. This is so frustrating.]

[Is this a good read?]

[Am I the only one who thinks he purposely did that as an excuse for Camille to fix Bella’s weakness?]

Immersed in the novel, I could feel Bella’s psychology, which was repeatedly expressed with heavy descriptions as if it was my heart. And Clementz’s love, which was always there for her, was also described beautifully.

Therefore, I put up something to defend my beloved main characters in the comments.

[Thinking of Bella’s condition, there was no way he could stand up to her in such a situation. Why are you doing this to Clementz? ㅠㅠ He was madly in love with Bella.]

Clementz died, filled with every affection to his last breath. And in Bella’s hands! It was literally a bolt out of the blue.

When I picked up the cellphone and looked at it, there were additional comments from readers who were in the pit of shock, just like me.

[That’s a waste……]

[Ha……]

[…….WHAAT?!!]

[The development was slow, and they’ve been feeding us sweet crumbs all the time……but what is this? It’s a romance fantasy, but they took the male lead away. The story had a good style, but I just don’t know anymore. I’m dropping this.]

[Clementz was fake and Medif was the male lead? Medif, please wake up.]

[Author-nim, please get the male lead back in the next episode as if nothing happened. I’ll pretend I didn’t know and just read it.]

In the midst of them all, the one that drove me crazy the most was a line of announcement.

《”Beauty and the Beast” Season 1 is over. I’ll be back with Season 2. I need some time to recharge. Thank you.》

‘What? You’re taking a leave of absence after this?’

I lied down with tears in my eyes, praying earnestly and hoping the second part will be there when I open my eyes.

And when I came to my senses, I found out I had possessed the 12-year-old Ophelia Leora, who was destined to become a handmaiden of the same age for the female lead.

A girl with acacia honey blonde hair. Her golden round eyes and impressions were quite cute, but she could not rival the beauty of Bella even if she grew up.

There was no noticeable mention of this character in the novel. When she heard about the Prince’s visit to the County, she only made an appearance to make a fuss, or helped in dressing Bella and had a stand by role. A typical role next to the heroine in any novel to convey the rumors of the palace and run errands.

It was such a light presence. I realized I possessed this girl when I heard someone call for me using her name.

“……I asked to be greeted with the second season of the story when I woke up, not to turn me into a supporting character.”

“Ophelia, what are you saying?”

That must be Ophelia’s mother. Her round golden eyes, very similar to her daughter’s, looked down at me. I replied with a big smile.

“It’s nothing, Mother. I just want to sleep a little longer.”

“Ah, go ahead. If you travel to the House of Monahan next month, you wouldn’t be able to sleep as you wish…..”

What a strange detailed dream.

‘Please wake me up when the holiday gets over this time.’

I closed my eyes without knowing who I was begging. Or at least, I was just hoping to wake up back in my bedroom the next morning.

But the situation did not change. Even when I closed my eyes several times. Whenever I opened them, I was still Ophelia Leora.

I was in shock and locked up in this body, but I didn’t know what I could do.

I spent my next few days thinking about it over and over again.

Maybe there was a purpose for which I was transferred to this novel. A chance to stop the tragedy at the end of the first season and save the two characters I loved.

I knew that love burned more when it came to adversity. But did they have to kill each other?

The greater the loss through adversity, the more impoverished it would be, and the more true the love would seem. Therefore, the readers were angry with this novel.

In this case, the possibility of a sad ending also increased. A sad ending to my favorite novel, Beauty and the Beast. That was what I had to stop.

To do that, I had to start with the incident in question. Why did Bella kill Clementz?

It was partly due to the growing love of Camille, the evil girl, but the more fundamental cause was Bella’s identity. Bellarusia Reyunis Monahan. She was a reincarnated witch.

The background of the novel, the Clatia Empire, was a country founded by a wizard who drove away the demons. A long time ago, all kinds of magical beasts, regular beasts, and demons were rampant on this land, making it impossible for humans to live in peace.

Demons used to be born from pure clumps of spirits.

However, the mana that aroused from them was dull and hazy energy.

Both of the tribes were togetherly called the Magical Beast.

One day, a genius wizard sealed all of the Magical Beast’s birthplace with his blood and ascended to the throne. This power had been handed down from generation to generation, and finally to the descendant family of Düshingen.

But even after the seal was made, the beasts were active in Hornwood, on the western end of the world and on the border with Magye.

When the mana of the earth itself was strong, even ordinary animals mutated into spirits. This was the reason why the fatigue of the royal family could not be eliminated.

There was an old witch who lived in the forest, whom every beast followed like a mother. She was a great woman, originated as a human being, who lived freely, ignoring the order of the human world.

After much consideration, the Emperor chastised the Magical Beast by killing the woman and hanging her body.

The frightened Magical Beast retreated into the deep forest, but the witch’s spirit remained long before entering the body of a noble lady born in Hornwood.

Right. That was Bella.

It was only in the second half of Season 1 that Bella was shocked to find who she truly was. She had been enemies with the Düshingen.

The reason why she was obsessed with Clementz’s blood was due to none other than the bloodlust of the original witch’s spirit.

How much bloodlust did Bella really feel for Clementz when that terrible thing happened?

‘But……’

When the claws finally struck Clementz’s heart, the spirit of the witch, who was captivating Bella, flew away with a chilling laugh all over the sky.

Leaving a crying Bella over the freezing body of Clementz.

The spirit of the witch laughed, while Bella cried. After all, the two were very different beings. Bella must have deeply regretted killing Clementz.

That’s why, I decided to make sure she would never have to regret.

Bella had suffered from loneliness and frustration since she was young.

For her, the night was more comforting than the day. She secretly used to play in the woods outside the mansion in the middle of the night. The ‘voice’ from somewhere inside the forest became her friend.

It turned out that the ‘voice’ belonged to the Magical Beast.

However, such secrets could not be tolerated by the aristocratic spirituality, whose purpose was to build up what was only right for a lady’s culture and for her to be married into a good family.

The aristocratic priests gave her a stern scolding, treating her like a strange lady.

It got worse after she escaped her room and returned back with a curse on her.

“You’re the most beautiful daughter of the night. Let me give you a better look.”

The curse of the spirit of night, which turned her into a black leopard, was like a blessing to Bella. She had always wanted to be able to travel more freely in the woods.

But freedom didn’t last long. Everyone hid and imprisoned Bella for fear that the secret of the famous Count’s daughter would be revealed. Bella eventually closed her mind to most people. She couldn’t understand others, and others couldn’t understand her either.

Could a woman, who grew up so oppressed, ever accept her fateful love should it come?

Could she tell the difference between the whisper of the spirit within her, telling her to bite off flesh, and the real idea of her love? It might have been very difficult.

But what if she had a friend who understood and supported her since childhood? What if she let her frustrated and repressed mind freely speak to someone?

What if there was someone to tell her she was different, and that no matter what she was in the past, she could live as she wanted?

Then, she might accept her feelings of love. She might stop herself from moving toward a catastrophe.

‘Okay, I’ve made up my mind.’

There were now eight years left before the beginning of the original plot. It was enough time to give a positive impact on a child’s growth.

When the novel would begin and Clementz would enter the plot, I would become a guardian angel of love to destroy the obstacles and misunderstandings between them.

That way, the ending of this story would not turn into exhaustion or sadness, but a sweet happiness, right?

‘You guys, I’ll make sure to have you both walk on the flowery path!’

I, a 12-year-old young girl, decided with my fists clenched before me.

***

“Bella. Bellarusia!”

On the first day of my meeting with the 12-year-old Bella, I grinned in delight at my determination and embraced the little lady of the Monahan family.

“W-What?”

‘Don’t worry about anything. You can live however you want. I’ll make sure of it.’

The girl within my arms had silky black hair.

I accompanied Bella every day. Although she was a maid, Ophelia was the daughter of a fallen aristocrat. So, I attended classes with Bella and joined her in activities as a friend.

As a constant reader, my affection for the heroine deepened as I watched her. Adding a little exaggeration, I could do anything for Bella.

“Bella, if you don’t like embroidery, you don’t have to. I’ll finish it for you, so have a good sleep.”

“Count Monahan is taking a walk outside. I think he’s looking for you. If you hide in the closet, I’ll cover you up to keep you hidden.”

“You can tell me anything. I will always be at your side.”

I said I’d listen to her, but Bella was usually the listener and I, the talker.

She wouldn’t change her personality so easily, I thought. She would have to open her heart to me little by little to share her thoughts and feelings.

Those eight years passed away like that.

There was something I worked on more than anything while being Bella’s handmaiden. Cooperating with her to experience a sufficiently secretive freedom without being caught.

Of course, it would have been dangerous for Bella to stay with the Magical Beast. But I thought it was a hundred times more dangerous for her nature to be suppressed.

In fact, every time Clementz appeared in the original novel, Bella had a hard time keeping her nature from exploding.

... ...

Because of this, Leonia’s meals always had meat.

After making sure that Leonia ate enough for her stomach to pop out a little and burp uncontrollably, Paul headed for the Dukedom.

“I’m ful…….”

Leonia lied down in the carriage seat in exhaustion from eating. Small burps continued to come out of her mouth.

“What if I throw up?”

“That’s fine.”

Paul answered uninterestedly while looking over documents.

“The carriage is expensive. It would be a waste. The people who clean it will have a hard time as well.”

“Why are you worrying about that?”

Paul was genuinely curious. Leonia lifted her upper body.

Her red dress and cape, and the red ribbon that was used to tie her hair suited her so well that they all looked as if they belonged to Leonia from the start.

‘There are a lot of things I need to buy.’

Nothing that a child needed was in the Voreoti Dukedom.

The only things were Paul’s things from when he as a child, but those were all dusty from being left in the storage all this time, so you couldn’t exactly use them.

And Paul didn’t want to give something like that to his child.

“…….”

Paul let go of the files in his hands as he recalled unwanted memories.

The child was still looking at Paul.

“You are a lady of the Voreoti Dukedom now.”

Paul spoke, gazing back at the child.

“Don’t be afraid to let some carriage go to waste. Even as you breathe, I’m making enough money to buy another carriage for you, so just do anything you want.”

Woah! Leonia made an exaggerated gasp.

“Old man, you’re kind of cool, aren’t you?”

Leonia giggled, remarking that money was the best after all.

Paul felt as if some cheapskate was sitting in front of him.

He wondered if she liked money so much because she was a commoner, but if you thought of her age, that didn’t seem to be it either.

She actually acted like an adult who had gone through all the ups and downs of life.

The child wasn’t childlike at all.

This irritated Paul as if it were a rash on his finger.

“Even so, I don’t want to throw up.”

Looking out the window, Leonia muttered that it would hurt if she did.

Paul’s gaze followed Leonia’ out the window.

The trees were colorful, as it was the end of autumn.

“And people need to have rich hearts, not rich in money.”

“That’s a load of crap.”

“You’re right, it is.”

Leonia added that it was something poor people said to make themselves feel better.

“You sure know your stuff, old man.”

The 1 day old father and daughter were really connected, in many different ways.

Paul was extremely satisfied with the family he had formed out of his sudden change of mind.

Moments later, a knight knocked on the carriage window. When Paul looked out, Meles told him that they had almost arrived at their destination.

Leonia smiled brightly and waved her hand when she saw the familiar face.

“Meles!”

Leonia greeted her. Meles greeted her back with a smile and a nod.

“I like her.”

“Meles is a good knight.”

Paul realized that he would need knights to guard his daughter as well.

He not only needed to buy materialistic things, but also needed to find people. He needed teachers, a maid, and knights.

And Meles over there had just made the list of the lady’s personal guards.

“Right, Leonia.”

Paul asked after he had sorted out the things he needed to do once he returned home.

“Have you ever ridden a gate?”

* * *

“Uwaaaack!”

Leonia threw up while holding onto a thin tree.

Instead of the autumn leaves they had seen a moment ago, a huge pile of snow had taken its place.

But Leonia was suffering from nausea after using the gate to come over to the Voreoti land directly.

“Lady, are you okay?”

Meles tapped her small back.

“How weak.”

Paul clicked his tongue.

When the knights informed him that they had arrived near the gate, Leonia had widened her eyes asked what it was.

Paul explained that it allowed you to travel a long distance in an instance, and people riding it for the first time may experience nausea, although it wasn’t common.

‘Must be like a tunnel.’

Leonia nodded after muttering something Paul couldn’t understand.

‘I’ve never been on it, but I think it’ll be fine.’

But the results were terrible. Leonia happened to be one of the rare cases where she experienced extreme nausea after going on the gate for the first time.

“I’m going to die…….”

Leonia looked like a dying weed in Meles’ arms.

“I’ve never seen anyone die from nausea.”

Paul became irritated when he saw the child.

The child was already extremely thin, but now she looked even more ill because she was out of energy.

But it was different from the irritation he usually felt. It was the same type of feeling as when he found the bruise on the child’s arm.

“Old man, you’re mean…….”

But her mind seemed to be fine, since she was talking back.

“Look, you’re not dead yet.”

Paul took off his cape and carefully wrapped Leonia in it as he took her from Meles.

Some thick piece of blob was created in a matter of moments.

“Whew…….”

Leonia let out a breath comfortably. Paul stared at her for a moment, and patted her back awkwardly.

“Ughhh, don’t pat me…….”

Paul quickly stopped when Leonia said she felt like puking again.

“You sure talk a lot.”

Paul told her to stop talking if she was feeling so unwell.

Leonia just made noises now, because she was out of energy.

“Can I throw up on your clothes……?”

“Am I just a joke to you?”

Paul frowned. But his hands were still careful as he patted her.

Soon, Paul heard a soft breathing. Leonia had fallen asleep in Paul’s arms.

“……How ugly.”

Paul remarked as he looked at the child’s sleeping face.

But his usually indifferent lips had formed a curved.

Paul quietly ordered for the knights to prepare for departure, and the knights waited until Paul and Leonia had entered the carriage before preparing.

The knights were horrified at what Paul had just done.

“……Did you see that?”

“Yeah, I did.”

“I thought I was seeing things.”

“He must’ve hurt his head…….”

“It must really be his real daughter that he’s kept hidden.”

Everyone from the Voreoti family was famous for being cold and indifferent towards people, and Paul Voreoti was the worst of them all.

But he was now pouring all his attention towards a child he had brought from the orphanage yesterday.

He even lowered his voice so the child would not wake up.

This brought more fear to Paul’s knights than the monsters in the Northern mountains.

“The lady isn’t normal either.”

Meles, who had looked after Leonia at the hotel, added.

Meles was already thinking of Leonia as the lady of the Voreoti Dukedom, and was treating her with respect.

Since Paul had said Leonia would be his daughter, his loyal knights had to follow without question.

“She even pretended to kick the Duke when he wasn’t looking yesterday.”

“Woah!”

“How brave of her!”

The knights turned pale, as if they’d seen a ghost.

Meles, who was explaining, was also pale.

“He said ‘You’re still ugly even after washing’ to her when she came out of the shower. Then the lady talked back, asking if he did anything to contribute to her looks, and pretended to kick him.”

The knights all rubbed their ears. They all believed they were hearing things.

But after seeing Meles’ serious expression, they were in awe.

There were two reasons as to why they were surprised.

The first reason was Leonia’s courage.

Another was the fact that Paul had made a joke to the child.

“……She must be his real child.”

There was no way the small child could act such a way if this wasn’t the case.

The knights all decided that it was only possible because she was related to him by blood.

A knight was usually not allowed to speak like this about their master, whom they swore their loyalty to.

But this time, everyone was talking about the strange father-daughter relationship they had seen, and people began to strongly believe that Leonia was Paul’s real child.

* * *

The Voreoti Dukedom.

There was only one name for the harsh Northern continent, but it had several nicknames.

Monster’s den, land of perpetual snow, and home to the black beasts.

The black beasts referred to the Voreoti Dukedom family that ruled over the land.

The family, whose strength exceeded that of normal humans, had black hair, which was unusual in the empire, and the nickname was formed by those who respected and feared them.

The black lion on the family crest was also derived from the nickname.

“You’re lucky.”

Paul told Leonia, who had woken up.

The child stared at her father and made chewing movements with her mouth, still half asleep.

“Since you have the color black on you, like me.”

“Hmm.”

Leonia looked out the window, still wrapped up in Paul’s cape and arms.

The sun was high up in the sky.

“There’s a lot of snow.”

“It snows until spring in the Voreoti Dukedom.”

“Is it super cold?”

“It’s fine once you get used to it.”

“I like the cold, too.”

Leonia smiled. Paul also loosened his lips.

“Is it your first time seeing snow?”

“Nope.”

Leonia shook her head.

Her eyes held longing, which didn’t suit her age.

Paul quietly observed his daughter.

He had felt it since they first met, but the child was excessively mature.

He thought of the personal information document from the orphanage, which estimated her to be seven.

Her physical appearance could not be seen as any more than five.

But even if she really was seven, the difficult words that didn’t suit her age and her calm face expressions surprised Paul.

‘She may not be a commoner.’

^^^His black eyes gazed at Leonia .^^^