#1.
The scenery outside the carriage was like another world.
From the distant Magic Tower, purple clouds billowed skyward, and the path to the imperial palace was lined with flowers of dazzling colors, all conjured through magic.
“Hoo…”
Even as I looked upon this strange and beautiful landscape, I felt no particular emotion.
Because this might very well be the last time I saw this view… or the sunlight.
“No, what am I even thinking…!”
Die? Me, destined to die?
‘No matter what, I’m going to survive. Just watch.’
But before I could even fully steel my resolve, the carriage came to a halt before the Crown Prince’s palace. I stepped down onto the ground and looked toward the main gate.
Just then, a radiant light burst forth from within the gate.
Even without anyone telling me, I instinctively knew.
‘That’s Vincent Arthur Fitzroy… the Crown Prince.’
That light could only belong to the male lead. And today, of all days, he just had to be dressed in white.
As he approached, I quickly cast my gaze downward and offered a polite greeting.
“Your Royal Highness, the Crown Prince of the Empire—”
“Welcome, Amelia.”
Before I could finish my formal greeting, Prince Vincent closed the distance and gently took my hand, pressing a kiss to the back of it.
Beep—
The first warning alarm blared in my mind, and my heartbeat quickened.
Whether it was due to the thrill of facing a stunningly handsome man, or the fear of stepping one foot closer to death—I couldn’t tell.
‘This much… it could just be a gentleman’s courtesy. Yes, manners toward a lady.’
I tried my hardest to rationalize it, but I couldn’t suppress the creeping suspicion.
“Y-Your Highness?”
Now that he was close, I could see how strikingly handsome he was. Not a single visible pore on his flawless skin, his features sculpted as if a god had shaped them by hand, and even his hair shone with an almost divine luster.
‘Ugh, get a grip. What if I fall for him right here?’
Vincent’s lips curved into a soft smile.
“Amelia, seeing you again like this feels like a dream.”
“I heard you’ve recovered. How is your health? I should have come sooner—”
“Amelia.”
Once again, he didn’t let me finish. Instead, he took my hand and pulled me closer.
At a distance where I could feel his breath, his emerald eyes curved into a gentle smile.
“I missed you so much.”
As I stared at his bashful expression, another warning blared in my head.
Beep—
The second alarm.
‘There’s no way this can still be called mere courtesy.’
In Amelia’s past memories, there was no such scene.
But in the novel—there was. That was the problem.
I subtly stepped back, trying not to appear too wary.
“Your Highness, why are you acting this way so suddenly?”
“Ah… it wasn’t until I collapsed that I realized… just how important you are to me.”
“……”
It was getting harder and harder to maintain my composure.
Why? Why did Amelia only become ‘important’ after he collapsed?
“And so, Amelia… I think it would be best if you moved into the Crown Prince’s palace and lived with me.”
“That’s not possible, Your Highness. I couldn’t possibly…”
“No, do it. We’re engaged anyway, aren’t we?”
His voice was soft, but the firmness within it left no room for refusal. In other words, it was an imperial command.
“I don’t want to be apart from you, not even for a moment.”
‘No. Oh please, not those words.’
I already knew it was too late, but with the last ounce of hope, I desperately prayed to every god I’d ever heard of.
But my prayers were in vain.
With those same gentle emerald eyes, he leaned in and softly pressed his lips to my forehead.
As if telling me—try to withstand even this.
“I love you, Amelia.”
With that single, sweet declaration, I was finally certain. And utterly devastated.
‘No doubt about it. He’s… the Crown Prince who regressed.’
My mind reeled and my legs gave way.
Vincent reached out to support me, but I instinctively swatted his hand away.
“Amelia?”
“…Ah.”
He stood there, hand extended, a puzzled look on his face. Judging by that expression alone, he truly seemed to be offering his hand out of kindness.
“I’m… sorry. I just felt a bit dizzy.”
“Oh dear, you must not be feeling well.”
“No, it’s all right now.”
“That’s a relief then. Come.”
I gingerly placed my hand on the arm he offered in escort. He smiled at me with a beauty that looked like it belonged in a painting.
But I saw it.
‘His eyes… they’re not smiling at all.’
This handsome man beside me—he doesn’t like me.
No. It’s far worse than that.
He wants me dead.
—
*
“Did it suit your taste?”
“It was… delicious, Your Highness.”
I didn’t even know whether the food had gone into my mouth or nose, but it was true that the meal was perfect.
Throughout dinner, Crown Prince Vincent doted on me—Amelia—to an excessive degree.
I sat in that uncomfortable, almost oppressive seat, ruminating over my absurd situation.
‘How on earth did I end up here… in a place like this…’
This world was from a romance fantasy novel called .
I had no idea how I ended up possessing a character in it, and before I could even adjust to this reality, I was dragged to this very place.
But I couldn’t afford to fumble around cluelessly.
If I was someone who possessed another’s body, then he was someone who had returned from the future.
A terrifying regressor, consumed entirely by vengeance.
‘Of all people to possess… why did it have to be Amelia?’
—
The name of the body I possessed is Amelia Wentworth.
The Crown Prince’s fiancée.
And—
The very person who poisoned and killed the Crown Prince before his regression.
Which means, to the Crown Prince who has returned, Amelia is target number one for revenge.
As a villainous supporting character, Amelia is destroyed by the Crown Prince’s vengeance and disappears midway through the novel.
He smiled at me constantly. Treated me gently. And yet, there were moments when he looked at me as if scrutinizing every move I made.
His gaze, lowered over the rim of a teacup, gave nothing away.
‘No, I know exactly what that look means.’
He’s calculating. Weighing his options. Wondering what kind of revenge would leave the deepest impression.
My palms grew damp with nervous sweat.
Haa…
I let out a sigh without realizing, and Vincent responded to it.
“Amelia. Are you bored?”
“Not at all, Your Highness.”
“Is it because we haven’t seen each other in a while? You don’t seem like yourself today.”
His comment startled me, and I nearly dropped my teacup.
The truth is, in the original story, Amelia harbored unrequited love for the Crown Prince—both before and after his regression—right up until the moment she poisoned him.
So, for her, this kind of meeting would have made her heart flutter. She would’ve tried her best to win the Crown Prince’s favor, starting conversations, trying to make him smile.
But me? My head was already too full. I could barely keep myself composed, let alone imitate her behavior.
“That’s true… But the same could be said for you, Your Highness.”
“Is that so.”
Vincent replied in a low voice, setting down his empty teacup. His gaze drifted toward the teapot.
“The tea has a lovely aroma. I’ve already finished mine. Amelia, would you mind pouring me another?”
“Ah—yes, of course.”
This was the first time Vincent had asked me to do something. Until now, he’d been the one to serve me personally.
I reached for the teapot sitting to the side. And just then, a scene from the novel surfaced in my mind.
When Amelia poisoned the pre-regression Crown Prince… she put the poison in his tea.
Could it be… that he’s asking me to do this on purpose?
As that thought struck me, my hand holding the teapot began to tremble uncontrollably.
As expected, Vincent was watching me closely, the corners of his lips faintly raised.
“Amelia. You seem a little too nervous.”
“Haha… I must be trembling from excitement. Being with Your Highness has that effect.”
I forced a laugh, trying to play it off, but Vincent tilted his head slightly.
“Is that so? But, Amelia—if you shake like that, people might start to suspect you’ve poisoned the tea.”
Out of nowhere, he dropped the killing blow—without so much as a twitch of his expression.
My heart lurched, and I nearly dropped the teapot.
Stay calm. The original Amelia doesn’t know a thing about the regression.
I made a deliberately confused face and let out a slight, awkward smile.
“Your Highness… what a dreadful thing to say.”
Vincent, too, smiled as if nothing had happened.
“Right. I went too far with that joke. Still, let me take that. You’ll spill it at this rate.”
I carefully masked my shaking hands and held out the handle of the teapot to him.
The moment Vincent’s long fingers wrapped around it, and I let go—
Thunk.
CLATTER—!
Suddenly, the porcelain teapot slipped and crashed to the floor, shattering into pieces.
I stared at him in a daze, and Vincent, his beautiful green eyes curved gently, said with utter nonchalance—
“Oh dear. My hand slipped.”
This bastard…
He did that on purpose. No question.
