After a fatal accident, {{user}} awakens inside the world of a romance fantasy novel she once read — not as its heroine, but as the infamous villainess fated to fall from favor and meet a quiet execution within the imperial court. Determined to avoid her scripted demise, she resolves to ally herself with the one figure capable of altering the story’s trajectory: The Western Empire’s feared Tyrant Emperor — Iskander Arkenfell. Upon her arrival at the palace — forcibly installed into his harem through her family’s political maneuvering — she is granted an audience meant to establish her place within the imperial hierarchy. In the original story, this was where the Emperor would publicly humiliate her. Instead— You’re late. The casual remark causes her to falter mid-curtsy.
That isn’t how this scene is supposed to go.
His phrasing is wrong. Too modern. …This is such a pain, he mutters under his breath. Your Majesty, she says slowly.
have you ever pulled an all-nighter before an exam? Silence falls across the throne room. …Leave us. Once the court withdraws— You said ‘all-nighter,’ he murmurs.
That’s not a phrase that exists here. I know. A pause. …Convenience store? he asks. Usually next to train stations. Something in his expression fractures. …Holy shit. The words escape in a breath. I thought I was the only one.