The first thing I realized was that dying didn't feel like I thought it would. It didn't feel like drifting into a peaceful sleep. It felt like being plunged into a tub of ice-cold water while someone hammered a nail into my skull.
I gasped, my lungs burning as if they hadn't tasted oxygen in a century. My eyes snapped open, but the ceiling above me wasn't the stained, popcorn-textured plaster of my studio apartment. It was an expanse of white marble, gold-leaf molding, and a chandelier so heavy with crystal it looked like it could crush a carriage.
Where am I?
The smell of sandalwood and expensive tobacco hit me next—underlaid with something sharp, metallic, and terrifyingly familiar.
Blood.
"Is this your new game, Evelyn? Or have you finally lost the last shred of your sanity?"
The voice was deep, a low baritone that vibrated in the very air around me. It was beautiful, yes, but it carried the chilling weight of a guillotine blade.
I tried to sit up, but a cold, hard pressure against my throat pinned me back onto the velvet chaise lounge. I looked down. The reflected glint of a silver rapier blinded me for a second. The tip of the blade was buried in the soft skin of my neck, just millimeters from my jugular.
My gaze traveled up the length of the steel, following it to a gloved hand, then a broad shoulder, and finally, a face that made my heart stop for an entirely different reason.
He was devastating. Jet-black hair fell over a forehead as pale as moonlight. His eyes weren't just blue; they were the color of a frozen sea in the middle of a storm—turbulent, dark, and utterly devoid of mercy. He wore a high-collared black military tunic, the silver embroidery glinting in the candlelight, but the front of it was ruined. Splashes of fresh, crimson blood stained the white lace at his throat.
Wait. Black hair. Stormy eyes. The 'Monster Duke'.
My brain screamed as the pieces clicked into place. This was The Rose of the Empire, the trashy R-18 romance novel I'd stayed up until 3:00 AM reading before I... before I what? Before the truck hit me?
The realization was a physical blow. I wasn't just in a book. I was Evelyn von Rose. The pampered, cruel, and obsessed Duchess who tried to poison her husband because he wouldn't look at her. In the original story, this was the scene where Duke Alaric finally loses his patience and executes her on the spot.
I wasn't just a villainess. I was a dead woman walking.
"I asked you a question," Alaric hissed, leaning in closer. I could see the fine pores of his skin, the shadow of stubble on his jaw. "Did you think I wouldn't notice the arsenic in the Earl Grey? Or did you just want to see if I'd die before the divorce papers were signed tomorrow morning?"
System Initializing...
User Identity Confirmed: 'The Villainess Who Wants to Retire'
Host Soul Synchronisation: 98%
A translucent blue screen flickered in the corner of my vision. It was silent, hovering like a ghost.
[Current Objective: Survive the next 60 seconds.]
[Reward: Permanent Soul Binding.]
[Penalty for Failure: Immediate Death.]
The timer began to tick down in glowing red numbers. 59... 58... 57...
The original Evelyn would have screamed. She would have clawed at his face, denied everything, and then begged for mercy on her knees. But I knew how that ended: a clean decapitation in the palace courtyard.
I swallowed hard, the movement causing the blade to nick my skin. A single, hot bead of blood trickled down my neck, disappearing into the lace of my nightgown.
Instead of shrinking back, I did something the Duke didn't expect. I reached up, my fingers trembling only slightly, and gripped the cold, lethal steel of the blade.
Alaric's eyes widened. A flash of genuine shock broke through his icy mask.
"What are you doing?" he demanded, his grip on the hilt tightening.
"Helping you," I whispered, my voice sounding raspy and strange to my own ears. I pulled the sword closer, the tip biting deeper into my skin. I could feel my own pulse thudding against the metal. "If you think I'm that pathetic, Alaric... if you truly believe I'd rather kill you than live a single day without your love... then do it. End this pathetic farce right now."
The timer hit 30 seconds.
"Are you mocking me?" His voice was a low growl, his face now inches from mine. I could feel the heat radiating from his body, a stark contrast to the cold steel at my neck.
"No," I said, a bitter, hollow laugh escaping my lips. I looked him straight in those stormy eyes, refusing to blink. "I'm giving you what you've wanted for three years. Freedom. But if you're too much of a 'Monster' to finish the job, then put the sword down. Bring me the divorce papers. And I promise you, by sunrise, you will never have to see my face again."
Silence stretched between us, thick and heavy like a physical weight. The only sound was the crackling of the fireplace and the frantic beating of my heart.
10... 9... 8...
The Duke's gaze searched mine, looking for the madness, the obsession, the lies. But he found nothing but cold, hard exhaustion.
3... 2... 1...
[Objective SUCCESS!]
[Reward Granted: Passive Skill 'Poker Face' (LV. 1)]
[Duke Alaric's Interest Level: +15% (Current: Curious)]
With a sudden, violent motion, Alaric ripped the sword away. He sheathed it in one fluid movement, the shring of metal echoing in the silent room.
"The divorce papers were supposed to be signed tomorrow," he said, his voice now dangerously quiet as he smoothed the blood-stained lace of his cuff. "But you want them tonight? Fine. I'll have my secretary bring them. But know this, Evelyn—if this is another one of your schemes to get into my bed or gain my sympathy, I won't use a sword next time."
He turned on his heel, his heavy black cloak billowing behind him like the wings of a predatory bird.
"I'll use my bare hands."
The heavy oak door slammed shut, the sound vibrating through the floorboards. I collapsed back onto the chaise lounge, my legs shaking so hard I couldn't stand.
I was alive. For now.
But as I looked at the blue screen still hovering in the air, a new message appeared that made my blood run cold.
[New Main Quest: 'The Villainess's Grand Escape']
[Condition: You must successfully divorce the Duke within 7 days.]
[Warning: The Male Lead's 'Obsession' meter is currently rising.]
Obsession? My heart skipped a beat. No, no, no. He's supposed to hate me!
I looked at the door, then at the blood on my fingers. The story was already changing, and I had a sinking feeling that surviving the Duke was going to be the easy part. The real challenge would be getting him to let me go.