I lived alone with my grandmother in a small town before I transmigrated. After my grandmother passed away, I came to Seoul, but a longing for the quiet countryside still remained in a corner of my heart.

I still remember picking up branches with my small hands, putting them in the furnace, cooking rice in a large cauldron, and making a bowl of soup.

I had already completed the plan for the production of the cauldrons inside my head. I would draw the picture for the cauldron and adjust the designs with the blacksmith as they created the prototype. Since I was already experienced in constructing a furnace, assembling a furnace by myself would be a breeze. I would start the project with two cauldrons and possibly increase them in the future. If they asked what the cauldron was and how I thought of it, I could just say that I saw it in a cookbook about the East.

I made up my mind and wandered around the palace to search for a location to place the cauldron. Suddenly, a shadow appeared behind me.

“Oh my god!”

I looked back in surprise.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to surprise you.”

The boy standing behind her smiled.

He was still young, but he was tall and well-built. His face was sharp and defined and he had dark and thick eyebrows, paired with a slightly angular jawline.

Contrary to the mysterious and beautiful-looking Blake, he was a boy with handsome and defined features.

However, his red eyes were full of arrogance.

Wait a minute…

Black hair, red eyes, and a scar on the neck…

Instinctively I had a feeling. This boy was Richard, the male lead of ‘The Beast and the Lady.’

“Richard…?”

Even so, I called his name carefully because there was a possibility that it might not be him. The boy’s arrogant smile deepened.

“Long time no see, Ancia.”

Ah, I must be right.

Richard was the second son of the Emperor’s brother, Duke of Cassil. Since Blake, the Crown Prince, was cursed and destined to not live long, Duke Cassil’s sons were considered to become the next Emperor.

However, Richard was far from obtaining the rights to succeed the throne. After all, his mother was a lowly slave. The Asteric Empire did not discriminate much against illegitimate children, but it was a different story if they were children of slaves.

Moreover, Richard was not born with silver hair, a symbol of the Imperial family. The black hair he had inherited from his mother was also one of Richard’s insecurities.

After Emperor Tenstheon passed away, his younger brother, Arnold Cassil, deposed the Crown Prince Blake and ascended the throne. It was Richard who made the most contributions at that time.

He was the best out of the duke’s three sons, but he was not recognized because of his mother’s blood. Carrying the ambition to become an Emperor, he stepped on his enemies one by one and eventually ascended to the throne. At the end of the novel, He used Diana to get rid of Blake.

This time, I was going to stop those events from happening. Emperor Tenstheon would not have a sudden death nor would Blake be ousted from the throne.

Blake was happy as he was. If the curse is lifted, he would become the next Emperor without any problems. There would be no room for Richard to intervene.

“What can I do for you?”

But, why did the male lead come to see me?

Richard was a calculating man. He wouldn’t do anything that didn’t benefit him. He approached Diana in the original book because he felt she was very valuable since she had lifted Blake’s curse. (Although he realizes his genuine love for the heroine in the end because it is a romance novel.)

He would have found no use of me being the wife of an abandoned prince.

“You made a scene as soon as you got married.”

“A scene?”

“I heard you’ve fired many of the palace’s servants”

“Ah…”

I see… He must have planted a spy among the servants I fired.

Currently, Richard was only 14 years old. Yet, he had already planted a spy at this young age. I already knew from the book.

The maid who usually aided Blake was originally Richard’s maid. What surprised me was that Richard suddenly came to see me face to face.

Wasn’t he very cautious?

Richard was so thorough that he could get rid of his enemies one by one with all sorts of schemes, but he was never to be seen until the last minute.

I didn’t expect him to visit me as soon as I fired a spy. He might as well be blatantly admitting that he had planted a spy in the Crown Prince’s palace.

“So?”

“You acted rashly, so unlike yourself.”

What? He spoke as if he knew me well. Was there a point of contact between Richard and Ancia?

“What do you mean?”

“The family of Marquis Hamel is trusted by the Emperor. It was impudent to imprison the eldest son of the late Marquis. His Majesty himself chose all the other courtiers. It was not right to just fire them.”

Yeah, after all they’re all spies planted by you and your family.

I held back with what I wanted to say and smiled as if I knew nothing.

“You can’t keep people you can’t trust.”

“If you want loyalty, you need generosity. You can’t get that if you fire them so easily like that.”

Why on earth did this guy suddenly appear before me and busy himself with giving me this ridiculous sermon?

“That’s rude. It’s none of young master’s business.

“If you don’t have anything to do with it, you should go now.”

I was curious about the relationship between Richard and Ancia, so I continued the conversation, but I was soon irritated by his nonsense.

I firmly expressed my displeasure and ordered him to go. Richard, however, had a rather haughty smile on his face.

“Are you being sulky?”

“Pardon?”

“Are you upset because I won’t receive your love?”

What is this bullshit?

“You like me, right?”

Richard was a schemer, but he wasn’t the type to just make up a story. It didn’t appear in the original story, but it seems that Ancia liked Richard.

“Ancia, it wasn’t because I wanted to reject your love. But, as you know, I’m the child of a slave. How can I ask for you under the Emperor’s command?”

He looked at me with a mournful gaze. He looked like the hero of a tragic love story who had to break up with his beloved at the height of his status. If I didn’t know he was a schemer, I would have been fooled.

Was this how he used the women that liked him?

In the original story, Richard was a man who, although brilliant, was incredibly arrogant, coercive, full of ambition, and obsessive.

Why is he so popular? Blake is a hundred thousand times better.

“Ancia, you’re nice, so you understand my heart, right? You like me.”

“What? Richard, you’re delusional. Who likes you?”

I couldn’t stand it any longer and got irritated. Richard’s arrogant smile stiffened.

“What…?”

“And Richard Cassil, forget being rude, how dare you say such a thing to the Crown Princess. Are you insulting the Imperial family?”

“Ancia, are you still angry?” He took my hand in embarrassment.

I was about to shake Richard’s hands off, but someone else grabbed his hand first.

“Your Highness…”

It was Blake.

Blake grabbed Richard’s hand and glared at him.

“Ancia said she hates it.”

Richard’s eyes widened, startled by the Crown Prince’s sudden appearance, but the arrogant smile soon returned to his face.

“There seems to be a misunderstanding. Lady Bellacian and I are acquaintances…”

“Richard, she’s no longer a Lady. She’s the Crown Princess.”

Soon, Richard bowed his head in embarrassment.

“Sorry, your Highness. I made a slip of tongue.”

“Be careful. If you disrespect the Crown Princess one more time, you won’t be forgiven.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Richard was white as a paper, sweating heavily and straining his head.

What was wrong with him? At first, Richard ignored Blake. On the surface, he seemed to respect the Crown Prince, but he didn’t care about the Crown Prince’s authority.

“Get lost.”

Blake let go of his hand. Then, Richard fled, with his face pale. What the hell was going on here? Looking at Richard staggering away, Blake carefully tugged my hand.

“Don’t look.”

“What?”

“Ancia, don’t look at him…”

He whispered with a sullen expression.

“I won’t look. Also, he’s a dog, not a man.”

“Dog?”

“He’s a total son of a bitch. He said I like him. He must be crazy.”

“… don’t you like him? Richard is very popular….”

Blake asked carefully.

“Oh, I hate that sort of guy. I like cute guys like you instead.”

“Hehe.”

Blake smiled brightly, rubbing his white cheeks on my hands.

“What kind of girls do you like?”

“Ancia.”

“I mean, which type do you prefer?”

“I like Ancia. All I need is Ancia!”

Blake jumped into my arms and hugged me. I smiled and returned his hug.

“You are all I need too…”