1 The Story Begins

"'Revealing a sharp dagger from his sleeve, Declan took a longing glance at the face of the corpse that rested on his lap. Sucking in a breath, he plunged the dagger deep into his heart. A mouthful of blood spurted from his lips. Reaching down, he softly planted a kiss on the dead girl's lips. Both their mouths were painted crimson by the blood. Exerting all the strength he had left, he hugged her still-warm body close to him, before he toppled over, dead.'" Chloe read from her glowing phone screen.

The webnovel that she had been following for months, "I Was Actually the Princess," had just updated its final chapter at midnight. Although she was drowsy from waiting, Chloe had excitedly opened the link and begun eagerly reading. But, not even halfway through the chapter of five thousand words, her favorite character had died.

Died! And with only a short paragraph to describe his death! She couldn't believe her eyes and scrolled back up to reread the passage.

"Dead." Chloe slowly enunciated the word over and over, her eyes widening. "Dead. Dead. Dead."

Actually, Declan wasn't the male lead of the story. He wasn't even one of the many second male leads present in the female lead's harem of followers. In Chloe's eyes, none of those men could compare to Declan, who just happened to be the villain's most faithful servant.

As a side character, he wasn't mentioned much. His appearance wasn't even fully described. But when he did appear, he was always by the villainess's side, serving her dutifully no matter how wickedly or outrageously she acted. It was obviously that he had deeper feelings for her, but she always showed him a cold shoulder. Other readers called him foolish for following such a dishonest master, but I thought he was loyal.

Declan was born to an enslaved mother who died early. His father was unknown. Parentless, he had a childhood full of hardships, being dragged from country to country by an illegal slave trader, shackles and chains always around his hands and ankles. After being showcased at many auctions, he was never purchased by anyone, or his story might have ended differently.

After twelve years of suffering, a ray of light shone into his dark life. The Athlan Empire's crown princess, Charis Morgana de Athla, happened to be attending an auction he was brought to. The slave trader was tired of bringing Declan around and intended to finally sell him off at the auction. Hearing that the princess was in attendance and seeing the boy's pretty and delicate features that couldn't be covered even by the grime on his body, the slave trader had an idea.

The boy's body was cleaned and he was brought to the princess. Just as the slave trader had hoped, the young girl immediately took a liking to Declan's face and bought his freedom for the cheap price of fifteen silvers. To Declan, the princess was his savior who he had to work hard to repay. To the princess, he was just eye candy that she had bought on impulse.

Thus, the boy moved into the princess's vast palace to do menial labor. For years, he never saw a strand of her hair or a corner of her dress, but he never forgot her strong gaze that looked down at him that fateful day.

So when the crown princess was exposed for being a child of unknown origin replaced with the Empress's real daughter at birth and her title was taken away, Declan was one of the only people to remain faithful to her throughout everything, even after she continuously took out her anger on him.

Then, who was the real crown princess? Of course, it was the virtuous, good, and pure heroine of "I Was Actually the Princess," Diana. Compared to the proud and aloof Charis, the people much more adored Diana, who was raised by a humble soup-stand owner.

While curses were being hurled at Charis by the entire empire, Diana was living her best life. Doted on by the Empress, beloved by her subjects, and surrounded by countless pretty boys who vied for her attention, she was the epitome of a Mary Sue.

Charis, whose title as the future Empress of the Athlan Empire had been taken away abruptly, was filled with contempt for Diana. As a result, she plotted multiple schemes against her–that were all unsuccessful, of course. The heroine's halo was truly powerful.

In the end, after hundreds of thousands of words describing the heroine's journey in finding herself, bonding with her male companions, and saving the world from destruction, Diana became the Empress while Charis was killed in the final fight by one of Diana's lovers.

Declan had rushed to the scene of the battle just in time to see a sword plunge through Charis's bosom. Stunned, he rushed to her side, but she had already stopped breathing. It a fit of grief, he committed suicide and went over to the afterlife with her.

After thinking about Declan's tragic life throughout the novel, Chloe felt a wave of sadness rush over her. She had spent enough hours rereading his scenes to consider him her own child, of sorts. Before she knew it, tears started to slip down her cheeks.

Declan was devoted, sweet, and gentle–exactly her type. How come he had to meet such a tragic ending? Why did he stay loyal to Charis through everything she did to him?

Teardrops fell onto her lap as she clutched her phone tightly to her chest.

'I know it's just a character in a story...but why do I feel like I just lost something much more important?'

Chloe wasn't a sentimental person. She hadn't shown such strong emotions since her parents passed away. Some even called her a statue because of how emotionless she had become. This was the first time where she felt like her emotions were out of her control.

'Let me check the update again.' Chloe had the sudden urge to reread every passage where Declan appeared. Maybe then her heart would finally feel at ease.

Who would have guessed that when she went to unlock her phone, what greeted her was not the text of the novel's latest update, but a blinding flash of white light that enveloped her body.

--

Chloe's head pounded like mad. She was extremely dizzy, although she seemed to be lying down on something soft and warm. She winced and shook her head from side to side.

In the midst of her confusion, she heard someone calling from far away: "Princess, are you alright?"

Chloe shuddered a bit and used all her strength to force her eyes open. It took a while before her blurry vision cleared and focused on a colorful frescoed ceiling.

She lay in a large circular bed, covered by a white duvet. She was dressed in a thin cotton nightgown with puffy sleeves. The fabric brushed against her skin ever so slightly every time she moved.

"Princess, is there something wrong?" A voice drew her attention to the right. It was the same one that had called her earlier. A woman who seemed to be in her mid-twenties stood by the bed, her deep brown eyes filled with worry.

Chloe's head began hurting again as she tried to identify the strange woman. She bent over in pain and clutched her head. Memories that didn't belong to her began appearing alongside her own, like a film reel.

Memories of a young princess, loved by all, whose name was...Charis. Charis Morgana de Athla.

It was the same name as the villainess destined to die in the novel she had just finished reading.