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☾ thirteen ☾

She was right in front of his very eyes.

_

A sudden thirst woke me up from my slumber.

My throat was dry and parched, making me speculate that I had caught a cold.

'I'll have to check it out in the morning.'

I opened my eyes with the intention of getting a glass of water.

'Hm, what's that?'

When I saw a dark figure staring down at me, I honestly thought I was in a state of sleep paralysis but the slight chill coming through the open windows were telling me that this wasn't a dream.

There were only two possible reasons for someone to trespass into another's room at such a late hour.

It was either a robbery or...

'Don't tell me...am I going to be assassinated?'

I quickly came to the worst-case scenario and took a moment to contemplate over who might've been behind it.

Damn it.

It was useless, there were too many candidates.

Why did I live so immorally?

'Oh younger me, why did you live your life so thoughtlessly?'

I was having a moment of self-reflection but then I suddenly remembered – I was not just some minor character in this novel.

'That's right, I still have many more scenes left to appear in...'

All fictional novels had a rule.

The rule that the main and supporting characters, as well as the villain, never died in the beginning of the story.

In other words, I, the main villainess, would not die before the incident at the Princess' coming-of-age ceremony.

'This might have been something that was supposed to happen in the original story anyway. Don't be scared.'

Smothering my apprehension, I narrowed my eyes at the suspicious shadow in front of me.

'I feel like I've seen that figure before. Who is this person?'

Trespassing at a late hour like this, this intruder was most likely either an assassin or a thief.

But what was more certain was that regardless of the profession, this person was definitely not sane.

A normal person would never aim for the house of my father, the strongest person in the empire.

"I don't know who you are, but I believe you've come to the wrong house. This is the residence of the Duke of Floyen."

"No, I came to the right place."

I had asked just to make sure but his answer made it clear.

He was either crazy or just recklessly bold.

"Is that so? How about you change your mind? I think you'll regret it if you don't..."

Feeling sorry for him, I I tried to get him to change his mind, but the man didn't answer and remained silent.

I let out a small sigh while mumbling something quietly to myself.

"I still have a year left before I'm supposed to die."

Of course, I didn't intend on giving up and dying here, even if he was planning on killing me, nevertheless, I was still relieved.

It was a blessing that I still had a chance to improve and change my fate.