One day, I opened my eyes and found myself possessed into a romance fantasy novel.
I didn’t fully realize it until I was eight years old.
Memories came flooding in like a flash, and I understood that Kim Soo-yeon had become Espin Samuel.
The beloved only daughter of the Samuel earldom. Thoughts about “me” surfaced unbidden.
Even then, I hadn’t grasped that I’d been possessed into a romance fantasy novel.
I didn’t know who Espin Samuel was, after all.
‘What is this? What’s going on?’
I was just bewildered by the sudden situation of being a child again.
There I was, in the middle of a Western-style garden party, surrounded by people in dresses straight out of a novel.
‘What on earth is happening?’
Several children who looked about my age caught my eye. In my confusion, I pinched my own cheek.
It hurt so much.
But since I didn’t wake up, it didn’t seem like a dream. I sat there dazed, trying to make sense of reality.
Then, I heard people gathering and whispering.
“Will it happen again this time? You know, that thing.”
“Ah, that? Won’t it?”
‘That? What’s that?’
The voices mixed curiosity and mockery, and I found myself eavesdropping without meaning to.
“What is it?”
Fortunately, I wasn’t the only one in the dark—someone asked on my behalf.
But the questioner got mocking looks from the others, as if to say, “You don’t know that?”
The person who’d asked bowed their head in embarrassment, and the one who’d started the conversation graciously explained.
“It’s about finding a playmate for Prince Luciano.”
“Ah…”
Seeing the others nod with expressions like, ‘Oh, that,’ I realized I was the only one clueless.
But Prince Luciano—that name rang a bell, out of nowhere.
“Of course it will happen. Everyone knows that’s why this tea party is being held.”
“Come to think of it, Empress Isabel is really too much…”
“Shh! You’ll get us in trouble.”
“Oops!”
The person who’d reflexively complained about Empress Isabel’s excessiveness jumped in alarm at the urgent warning and clamped a hand over their mouth.
They turned their head, scanning the surroundings. That’s when our eyes met squarely.
I flinched, caught eavesdropping. But they must have decided a child like me wasn’t worth worrying about, because they sighed in relief and looked away.
“Ahem, ahem… Please keep it a secret that I said that.”
“We’ve got enough sense for that.”
“I didn’t hear a thing.”
It seemed they were in cahoots, as the conversation shifted to covering up the slip.
Then, they resumed talking, their voices even lower than before.
“More importantly, who would step up to be Prince Luciano’s playmate?”
“Exactly. Everyone knows it’s not good to get too close to Prince Luciano.”
“But you never know. A desperate family might. Like the Simon marquisate, for example…”
“The Simon marquisate? You mean Briana? She’s holding out hope of becoming a mage, so she probably won’t.”
“The Simon marquisate is in a pitiful state. They’ve lost all their old glory and have to grasp at any thread to survive.”
“Then wouldn’t they avoid Prince Luciano even more? They wouldn’t want to go down with him.”
“They’d need someone to take them in first. Prince Stephen won’t even give them the time of day.”
“To survive, you have to gamble.”
I didn’t understand everything they were saying.
But as I listened to the ladies’ gossip, the names felt incredibly familiar.
‘I definitely know those names. Where have I heard them?’
They weren’t strange to me, so I racked my brain until a flash of memory hit.
They were the names of characters from a romance fantasy novel I’d read just a few days ago.
Hold on!
Finding a playmate for the prince?
This was exactly like the plot of that novel. So the conclusion I could draw was obvious.
‘I’ve been possessed into a romance fantasy novel!’
Sure enough, as I calmly listened to the others, it became clear.
The situation matched the content of the novel [Your Majesty, Please Don’t Obsess!].
[Your Majesty, Please Don’t Obsess!] wasn’t a famous novel.
It was too clichéd to be popular, I suppose?
The heroine Briana’s family, the Simon marquisate, had once been renowned for magic.
They’d produced great mages generation after generation, reaching the pinnacle of power at one time.
But in recent generations, no one with magical talent had emerged, and the family was in decline.
The heroine, too, was revealed to have no magical aptitude, so she approached the male lead to save her family.
The male lead was Luciano Frederick.
As the first prince, he was technically first in line for succession, but his mother, the former empress, had died early, and he lived a precarious life due to the schemes of the second consort, whom the emperor favored.
Then he met the heroine and found emotional salvation.
Of course, along the way, there was plenty of back-and-forth between them, with villains and hidden antagonists appearing, leading to various incidents.
But as a romance fantasy, it ended with Briana and Luciano becoming incredibly overpowered and living happily ever after.
Having read the novel, I knew Espin Samuel wasn’t even mentioned.
From my long experience as a romance fantasy reader,
If I’d been possessed into a novel,
And become an extra whose name didn’t even appear, what conclusion would I draw?
This is one of those extra possession stories!
‘I’ve become the protagonist of the novel!’
It was only natural to think that. Truly, I believed without a shred of doubt that I was the main character.
Given the romance fantasy genre, romance was essential.
So who would be my counterpart as the protagonist?
Romance fantasy trends changed so quickly these days that I couldn’t guess.
In extra possession stories, for a while the true male lead was popular, then it was the sub-male lead, and next, stories where the antagonist was the true male lead trended.
Not knowing who my man would be, I decided to meet them all.
I reached all these conclusions just thirty minutes after possession.
By then, as I assessed the situation, I fully recognized what kind of tea party this was.
Finding ‘Prince Luciano’s playmate’ was a part from before the novel officially began, briefly appearing in a side story from the prince’s perspective.
『Empress Isabel deliberately hosted these spring tea parties from time to time.
And Luciano hated these tea parties.
“Thank you all for coming. We’ve got quite a turnout again this time.”
“Hahaha, of course we had to come. We’re the ones grateful that you host these gatherings every time.”
“Bonding among the noble children is so important. Hosting such events is part of the imperial family’s duty, isn’t it?”
On the surface, it was billed as a gathering to foster friendships among the noble offspring.
But no one was unaware that there was another motive beneath it.
Empress Isabel glanced at the table where her son, Prince Stephen, sat.
She smiled contentedly at the sight of him surrounded by noble children.
Then she checked the opposite side, where Luciano sat alone.
He looked so shabby for a first prince that Empress Isabel raised her fan to cover her mouth.
It was impossible not to notice the satisfied smile hidden behind that fan.
Empress Isabel composed a kindly expression.
“Prince Luciano, are you alone again this year?”
“Yes.”
“Oh dear, with such poor social skills. As a prince, being so introverted leaves me no choice but to worry and step in.”
At Empress Isabel’s feigned concern, Luciano’s fists clenched.
Knowing what she was about to bring up, Luciano’s gaze cooled sharply.
But that chill vanished quickly, unnoticed by others.
“Is there no one who’d like to be friends with Prince Luciano? He seems so lonely that I’m beside myself with worry.”
Empress Isabel casually voiced insults toward Luciano.
She’d orchestrated the whole situation, yet she humiliated him by broadcasting how few people he had around him, despite being a prince.
This moment of degradation, meant to remind him of his place, was what people whispered about as ‘finding Prince Luciano’s playmate.’
He’d anticipated it, and it wasn’t the first or second time, but receiving pitying looks from all the nobles made Luciano feel wretched each time.
Still, he outwardly composed himself, suppressing his emotions.
He endured and endured, waiting for the day that would come someday.』
The content of that side story came back to me so vividly that I wondered if my memory had always been this sharp.
The reason it stuck with me so much was simple.
I empathized with how humiliating it must have been at such a young age, how deeply it would wound the heart.
In this world, princes typically had nobles as attendants, not servants.
They kept them close, building them into confidants from childhood to solidify power.
But Prince Luciano had not a single attendant.
As royalty, he was in the unique position of being served only by maids and servants.
It was all Empress Isabel’s doing.
The first thing she did after giving birth to Prince Stephen was isolate Prince Luciano.
She’d impose unreasonable tasks on anyone who got close to him or fabricate incidents to ensnare them.
The nobles were masters of political intrigue.
No one failed to notice what Empress Isabel wanted from the string of events.
From their perspective, it was an obvious setup.
The first prince with legitimacy but no backing, versus the son of the empress favored by the emperor.
The emperor’s indifference to Isabel’s obvious maneuvers.
So if they had to choose between the two princes, naturally they’d pick the second.
The nobles even kept their own children from getting close to Prince Luciano.
Gradually, people around him dwindled, and from last year, not a single attendant remained.
The intent was to broadcast that Prince Luciano was abandoned and to engrain in him knowledge of his lowly place.
Such a base-purpose tea party was unfolding right now.
It was the perfect time to approach the male lead, Prince Luciano.
‘Let’s get close to the male lead before the heroine appears.’
No sooner had I decided that than the atmosphere shifted.
The stars of this tea party—Empress Isabel, Prince Luciano, and Prince Stephen—made their entrance.
“It is an honor to behold Your Highnesses.”
The nobles and their children, who’d been passing the time separately, greeted the royals in unison as if rehearsed.
Still not adapted to this world, I followed suit a beat late.
That’s when my eyes met Prince Luciano’s squarely.
Startled, I hastily bowed my head.
But curiosity got the better of me, and as I peeked up, I spotted his red eyes still fixed on me, so I stared back at the ground.
My heart pounded.
‘Why is he looking at me?’
Glancing again, he wasn’t looking anymore.
‘Was it my imagination?’
Thinking that, I kept stealing glances at Prince Luciano.
As befitting a male lead, he already showed budding good looks.
His radiant golden hair and red eyes combined for a strikingly glamorous appearance.
If not for the unchildlike chill in his expression, he might have been so pretty I’d stare in awe.
“Are we a bit late?”
“Not at all. Your timing is perfect.”
“Hehe, shall we all take our seats comfortably?”
At Empress Isabel’s words, everyone quickly settled in.
Empress Isabel took the best seat at the head, surrounded by her confidants.
At the adjacent table sat Prince Stephen, with all the children my age flocking around him.
Prince Luciano’s table had only him.
To think they’d ostracize him so blatantly.
“Thank you all for coming. We’ve got quite a turnout again this time.”
“Hahaha, of course we had to come. We’re the ones grateful that you host these gatherings every time.”
“Bonding among the noble children is so important. Hosting such events is part of the imperial family’s duty, isn’t it?”
I could hear the conversation between Empress Isabel and the nobles.
It was identical to the novel.
“Prince Luciano, are you alone again this year?”
“Yes.”
“Oh dear, with such poor social skills. As a prince, being so introverted leaves me no choice but to worry and step in.”
Even this dialogue was exactly the same.
Without realizing it, I glanced at Prince Luciano and saw his rigid posture.
In the side story, it said he’d thought he hid it well, but to others, his emotions were plain to see. Just like now.
Malicious satisfaction filled Empress Isabel’s eyes.
I could predict what words would come from her lips next.
“Is there no one who’d like to be friends with Prince Luciano? He seems so lonely that I’m beside myself with worry.”
She said it like that, but confident no one would, Empress Isabel smiled as she scanned the surroundings.
Silence spread.
The adults awkwardly averted their eyes, and the children pretended not to notice.
There were many people in the space, but no one stepped forward.
Having read the novel, I knew this was how it would go, but it was really too much.
I worried for the victim, Prince Luciano.
He’d been holding his back stiffly, but unable to endure any longer, his gaze slowly dropped.
Desolation.
Resignation.
Unable to bear watching his expression—a mix of everything—I raised my hand high.
“Me!”
It was so quiet that all eyes turned to me.
It must have been too abrupt, as everyone looked at me in confusion.
So I beamed brightly and shouted.
“I’ll be Your Highness’s friend!”
