06: Acceptance

The Tyrant's Beloved. It was the novel that Kalliste owned for over a century. Though she read it countless of times in the past, she gradually forgot about it when the war started. As a child, Kalliste almost memorised every details of the book, but now, even the names of the characters faded out of her memory.

'How in the hell was this even possible?'

Kalliste stared at Rowan. His dark hair, reddish eyes, long lashes, and kissable lips suddenly reminded her of one of the most important characters. A child who grew up to be devilishly handsome, yet became a cold blooded and merciless Emperor in the future. His trade mark was the way he spoke when he grew up.

"You are the male protagonist of the story!" Kalliste suddenly blurted out as she gasped in realisation. Her eyes were as wide as saucer plates when she slowly backed away from him.

'I knew it! I should have been dead, but how in the world did I end up in the fictional world inside a novel? Of all places!' Kalliste grabbed her hair, and tried to figure out how and why her. However, she was only met with a splitting headache.

"Kally, what's wrong? Are you hurt somewhere? Tell me!" Rowan could not help, but ask. The way she reacted got him off guard.

"Are you okay?" He was about reach for her, but she suddenly backed away even more.

"Did I said something wrong?" Rowan asked once more. Seeing her like this somehow made his heart clenched. If he knew that she would react like this, then he should have shut his mouth closed.

It took a while before Kalliste came back to her senses. She stared at the boy, who at the moment was confused, and probably had so many questions for her. The boy had no faults, though. However, she needed some time to accept this reality. She quickly composed herself.

"I'm alright. Just, stay here and rest for now, darling. I shall be outside for some fresh air." Without looking back, Kalliste began to crawl towards the small hole, but Rowan suddenly grabbed her arms.

"Then I shall accompany you, Kally."

"No!"

Rowan was taken aback when she suddenly shouted. His eyes widened, and his grip losened. He just could not believe his ears. Just awhile ago, she was gentle towards him. This would be the first time that she reacted this way. The murderous glint in her eyes said everything that her mouth can't, and it sent shivers down his spine.

Rowan slowly backed away. Her gaze went through him like a blast of ice.

Though it disappeared with a blink of his eye, he noticed it nonetheless.

"I apologise, child. But I would like to be alone for the moment. Don't worry about me and go to rest."

There it was again. Rowan noticed that her tone sounded like she was speaking to a child that was much younger than her. Though he wanted to say something, no words came out of his mouth. Rowan could only watch as she finally got out of the hole.

****************

It was already dark when Kalliste got out. However, the darkness did not stopped her. She ran as fast as she could. She had no idea to where she was going. She only knew that she had to let out her frustrations. Due to her small body, she fell to the ground for a couple of times.

It took awhile before she reached a small cliff. She was huffing so hard and was almost out of breath, but she managed to calm herself down. She immediately sat on a small trunk and pondered at what Rowan had said. She needed to analyse her situation first before planning her next move.

If this was indeed the world inside a novel, then the boy that had been with him for almost two days was none other than the 3rd prince of the Credia Empire. The future tyrant Emperor who ended the thousand year old war, and united the six kingdoms. Later on, discovered the second continent.

"But he was only a child right now, and the story began when he was barely seventeen years old. Does this mean that I entered the story years before the actual beginning?" Kalliste frowned at her own thoughts. But she felt like a bucket of cold water washed down on her when she realised something.

"Beginning of the story? Am I forgetting something important?" Kalliste's eyes snapped open in shock. Her jaws almost dropped to the ground, and her breath picked up rapidly when a new light finally illuminated the confusion and darkness within her. She could only shook her head in disbelief.

"No! What have I done?" she whispered, however, it sounded like thunder in her ears. That was when an important line from the first chapter of the book flooded her mind.

"A bitter wind swept the battlefield that was now dust and dirt, all baked under the unforgiving rays of the bloody sun. The ground glistened with the blood of all the monsters that were massacred on their own playground. Their corpse piled up like a small mountain.

Though it was a narrow victory, the three men who contributed greatly were forever embedded in the mind of the third Prince, Rowan Lacarus Clevario. That event earned him the rights to inherit the Emperor's throne."

Kalliste slumped to the ground at her own memories. Her mind still in disbelief.

"I really fucked up. Big time!" Kalliste pulled her hair in frustration. She unknowingly destroyed the most important event that marked the beginning of the story.

"How am I going to fix this mess?" Only the stars in the vast sky, as well as the gentle emerald giants witnessed how she rocked her brain in order to find a solution. However, nothing worked. Kalliste could only massage her throbbing temples as she slowly got up.

"Though I could no longer change what happened, I must not involve myself in all of the future events. I might need to make a small summary of the story." With a new determination burning in her eyes, she quickly gathered her wits.

Rowan Lacarus Clevario. According to the book, Rowan was described as a perfect character who had no flows, or even a weakness. She always frowned whenever he was mentioned, or when his name popped out in the middle of the a dialogue.

"Though he was the main male lead of the story, I actually prefered the second and third male lead over him."

The second male lead, Malik Arnovia Rusiant, as well as the third male lead whose name she already forgot. The two have surreal flows that made them looked like normal humans, not like Rowan. Another thing that she had to think about was the female lead of the story. Like every cliché love story, the female lead was also described as an almost perfect character.

"Does the author of that novel had a perfectionist complex? They just had to make the main characters perfect in every way. I even liked the villains in the story than the protagonists." Kalliste sighed. The only reason that she read the book was because of the other two male leads. She sympathised with them, and fell in love with their characters. They had their own ups and downs. But the thing that really made them her favourite was how they slowly overcame their fears, and used it to become even stronger.

If she remembered correctly, then the two cliché characters met at an equally cliché events. Then wallah. They fell in love and lived happily ever after. But what got under Kalliste's skin was when the third and second male lead died while sacrificing their lives for her. The bitch did not even spared a glance at them as she threw herself at her lover who did not even do anything to save her as he was late.

At the end of the story, the two married and lived their lives without even thinking about all the sacrifices that was made for them to live happily. Sure, they felt sorry for those that fell during the great war, however, for someone like Kalliste who was an avid fan of the two sub male leads, she loathed the protagonists. For her, she was only a bitch who did not know anything, but look pretty and used her charm to get what she wanted. A literal damsel in distress who was always in need of a knight in shining armour. While the male lead was a merciless tyrant who always thought of himself as a superior being.

However, there was only one thing that confused Kalliste to the core.

"What the hell was I even doing here? Shouldn't I have been reborn as a character of the book? I am not even the villainess, or even an extra! What was I supposed to do in this world?"

Kalliste stayed silent for a few moments as she pondered about everything.

"Ah! I don't care anymore!" Kalliste gritted her teeth. It never crossed her mind that she would experience something like this.

Kalliste inhaled deeply, letting the ferociously cold wind smash her face. The scintillating moon that hung on the horizon somehow blinded her. At that moment, it was like walking into a fresh page of her life as the fibres were being laid down, threatening to make her part of the beautiful scenery instead of a person in her own right.

With determination burning in her eyes, Kalliste now knew what to do. She decided to live her life the way she wanted to. She had a whole life ahead and this time, she would stop at nothing to finally achieve her dreams.

"Kalliste? What's wrong? You suddenly ran away. Did I do something wrong? Please tell me."

Kalliste's heart almost jumped out of her chest when she suddenly heard a voice. She quickly turned around and saw Rowan. His brows were pulled closer together, while his lips drawn tightly in a pout. A pitiful appearance.

Instead of answering, Kalliste gave out a tired sigh. But of course. The boy would not listen to her.

'I almost forgot about him!' she thought.

Kalliste could only caress her nape as she focused her attention to him. If she wanted to be free and have her own life, then the first thing she would have to do is to get rid… no… is to stay away from any characters from now on. It was a mistake that she hang around the boy, however, she was not to blame. She had no idea then. But now, she must find a way to separate herself from him.

"Kally? Is everything alright?"

"Nothing. I just thought about something so I wanted to take a breather. But what are you doing here? I thought I told you to rest?" Kalliste diverted the conversation. She must act normal for her plans to come to fruitation.

"You were not there so how could I sleep?" Rowan said as he walked closer to Kalliste.

He was really shocked when she suddenly acted that way. Though he wanted to ask, he held himself. He did not want to pry. Maybe she had a deep reason that she did not want him to know. He would respect her decision. If she wanted to say something, then he would be all ears.

"Hey! What are you kids doing in a place like this?"