Episode 1

Episode 1. “Meaningless, You Say?”

What would you do if you woke up inside a romance-fantasy novel?

What if, on top of that, you found yourself as the villainess—destined to torment the female lead, only to get slapped down by the hero?

No problem.

I can handle this level of hardship.

In short: I just need to stop bullying the heroine, right?

Actually, Helena—the character I’ve possessed—had a pretty good position in the original story. A proper duke’s daughter, and even the empire’s empress. No meddling in-laws, either, though she’s stuck with a cold husband and his imperial concubine.

But I can just ignore them. After all, he’s not my real husband, and I have the power and money in my hands. Let the hero and heroine fall in love however they want—this villainess is clocking out of this fiery melodrama!

I decided to tell Jerome—my contractual husband and the original male lead:

“From now on, I won’t harass your consort any longer.”

Jerome said nothing, just furrowed his brow at the announcement. I met his gaze evenly.

Silver-white hair, red eyes, sharp features—he’s a handsome male lead, no question. He was clearly suspicious of me—and for good reason.

“I know what you’re thinking: ‘What scheme is she plotting now?’ I know it’s hard to believe I’ve changed.”

…And of course, trust doesn’t come easy, especially not with the way Helena had behaved in the past. But I decided to offer proof of my good intentions:

“If you want, I’ll sign a contract. Even seal it as empress.”

“Why?” He finally spoke.

“Why…what?” I faltered. Why why? It sounded like he was asking, “Why would you bother with such a pointless stunt? What does it get you?”

“Maybe you don’t understand what I mean,” I ventured politely. His expression shifted at my tone from suspicion to resignation.

“You mean, ‘I won’t dump tea on the heroine’s dress, won’t humiliate her, won’t have someone threaten her,’” he replied cooly.

“Yes, exactly.”

He already knew all the villainous deeds Helena had done up to this point. My offer must have felt like a trick. So his question again, quietly articulated:

“Why make such a meaningless gesture?”

“Meaningless?”

The concept baffled me.

The novel was a friend’s favorite—classic setup: female lead saves male lead, they fall in love… but this one turned extra dramatic.

My friend had told me about how over-the-top it was:

“Even if you run away, even if you scream in despair, he’ll never let you go. Helena became empress just to be near him.”

Helena, the duke’s daughter, gained imperial favor to wed the male lead—and then torments the heroine out of jealousy until the emperor himself punishes her in public.

And at the point where I’ve awakened as Helena, the heroine already fears me severely.

So when I told Jerome I’d stop harassing her, I expected something… but that reaction?

‘Why make such a meaningless gesture?’

It was colder than suspicion—I felt like I’d hit an unexpected ice floe.

So what was the solution I came up with after pacing all night?

Just stop doing the bad things.

In the original story, every problem stemmed from Helena’s obsession with the emperor and her jealousy of the heroine. I—new Helena—don’t love the emperor. So where’s the motivation for jealousy?

The next morning, I was handed a report by Mary, my youngest lady-in-waiting:

“5:30 AM – His Majesty awoke, asked about the Imperial Concubine twice.”
“5:35 – Took cold shower.”
“5:55 – Checked schedule with Finance Minister; showed interest in Imperial Concubine’s security.”
…and on and on.

Every minute of his morning was chronicled—with my permission, apparently. I didn’t remember asking for this.

When I tried to get to the bottom of it, the head lady-in-waiting confirmed:

“You told me to prepare the daily report, Your Majesty, ages ago.”

So Helena had ordered it—and I had the chance to stop it. I told them:

“Don’t do this anymore.”

They all froze—shocked at my sudden change. But it wasn’t ordered because Helena wanted to romance the emperor—it was just unnecessary snooping.

They agreed to stop. I sighed, realizing this meant that the past me had weaponized my household to act as spies. Yet another web to untangle without arousing suspicion.

The rest of the day went smoothly despite that news—until Mary came rushing to me in a flurry of excitement.

“Your Majesty, I did it! I took all of the imperial concubine’s new dresses for the banquet and cut them all up!”

“…You what?”

Mary proudly produced the offending scissors and showed them to me. I stared, drained of color, my stomach sinking like a rock as she continued to speak—she’d truly done this thing with no shame or malice.

“I snipped and snipped until every last gown was ruined!”