Chapter 1

"Some stories are remembered because of their heroes.
Others... because of their villains.
But what about the people history forgets?"
"...No."
She stared blankly at the last page of the novel.
"...No, no, no."
Her fingers tightened around the book until the pages crumpled beneath her grip.
The room was silent except for the ticking of the clock on the wall.
"...That's it?"
After nearly eight hundred chapters...
That was how it ended.
The heroine married the Crown Prince.
The empire celebrated peace.
The villains were defeated.
Everyone lived happily ever after.
...Everyone except one person.
Lady Seraphina Arden.
A side villain whose name appeared only when the story needed someone to blame.
She wasn't the mastermind.
She wasn't the strongest enemy.
She wasn't even important enough to receive a proper ending.
She was simply...
Discarded.
The final chapter replayed vividly in her mind.
Seraphina standing alone before the Imperial Court.
Her father lowering his head.
"Everything my daughter did was of her own will."
Her mother remained silent.
Her brother...
Didn't even look at her.
The judges declared her guilty.
The heroine pitied her.
The Crown Prince never once spoke her name.
And then...



The story moved on.
As if Lady Seraphina had never existed.
"...That's so unfair."
She gently closed the novel and rested it against her chest.
Her eyes burned.
She had expected to cry for the heroine.
Instead...
She cried for the girl everyone hated.
"...She wasn't evil."
"She was lonely."
The apartment remained quiet.
Outside, rain tapped softly against the window.
She looked around the tiny room she had called home for years.
A single bookshelf.
A worn sofa.
A kettle slowly boiling in the kitchen.
Nothing luxurious.
Nothing extraordinary.
Just enough.
Growing up in an orphanage had taught her to treasure simple things.
A warm meal.
A roof over her head.
A friend who stayed.
Perhaps that was why she couldn't understand Seraphina's family.
How could parents throw away a daughter who spent her entire life trying to earn their love?
"...If I were you..."
She smiled sadly.
"...I'd choose myself."
Her phone buzzed.
A reminder appeared on the screen.
!!Tomorrow!!
**Volunteer at St. Maris Children's Home**
*9:00 A.M.*
A small smile found its way onto her lips.
"Right..."
"I should sleep."
She placed the novel on the bedside table.
The cover caught the moonlight.



//"The Heroine's Eternal Love"//
"...Good night, Seraphina."
She switched off the lamp.
Darkness embraced the room.
Outside...
Lightning flashed across the night sky.
For a brief second...
The novel glowed.
Its pages turned on their own.
One.Two.Three.
Until they stopped on a single sentence.
*"If only someone had chosen me..."*
The words shimmered with silver light.
The wind howled.
The room trembled.
"...What?"
Before she could move...
The light burst from the pages.
Her vision turned completely white.
The last thing she heard was a gentle whisper.
*"Then... become her."*