The Male Lead I Raised Is Obsessed With Me — Chapter 1

EVER SINCE I WAS LITTLE, I DREAMED OF OWNING MY OWN SHOP.

I WAS AN ORPHAN WHO GREW UP IN POVERTY,

AND I THOUGHT THAT HAVING A SHOP WOULD LET ME BUY ANYTHING I WANTED.

OF COURSE, AS I GREW OLDER, I REALIZED IT WASN'T THAT SIMPLE.

BUT MY DREAM NEVER CHANGED.

THEN, ON THE DAY I FINALLY OPENED MY SHOP WITH THE MONEY I'D WORKED SO HARD TO SAVE...

WORSE YET, THE CAUSE WAS A HEART ATTACK FROM OVERWORK.

I DIED.

WHAT WAS THE POINT OF WORKING MYSELF TO THE BONE IF I WAS JUST GOING TO DIE?!

I'D ONLY JUST OPENED MY SHOP!!

MY DREAM WAS FINALLY ABOUT TO COME TRUE...!! And I still had novels I hadn't finished reading...!!

And I still had novels I hadn't finished reading...!!

A MYSTERIOUS BLACK LIGHT APPEARED AND SWALLOWED MY SOUL.

WHEN I OPENED MY EYES AGAIN...

PINK HAIR...

DON'T TELL ME...

DID I TRANSMIGRATE?!

Into a romance fantasy, of all things?!

i'd ended up in the body of a 15-year-old girl.

UH, SO...

YOU WANT ME TO SIGN HERE?

YES.

A THUMBPRINT WILL SUFFICE AS WELL.

Treon Ivaropa butler of House Walpurga.

UM... EXCUSE ME...

COULD I... NOT DO THIS?

FELIA! WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?!

WHY ARE YOU HESITATING? WHEN WILL YOU EVER GET ANOTHER CHANCE LIKE THIS?!

DO YOU THINK ANYONE WOULD ADOPT A GIRL AS OLD AS YOU?

YOU KNOW YOU'LL HAVE TO LEAVE THE ORPHANAGE SOON, DON'T YOU?

IF YOU DON'T GO, YOU'LL END UP ON THE STREETS WITHOUT A PENNY TO YOUR NAME!

HAHA... TH-THAT'S TRUE, BUT...

FELIA FOLDVISH.

THAT'S MY NAME NOW.

AND IT WASN'T UNTIL I WAS HANDED THE MARRIAGE REGISTRATION FORM THAT I REALIZED...

WHERE I WAS, AND WHICH STORY I'D LANDED IN.

Taming the Beastly Man

IT WAS THE ROMANCE FANTASY NOVEL I'D BEEN READING RIGHT UP UNTIL THE NIGHT BEFORE I DIED.

AND I, "FELIA," WAS ONE OF ITS CHARACTERS.

UNFORTUNATELY, "FELIA" WASN'T THE FEMALE LEAD.

SHE WAS A SUPPORTING CHARACTER, AND PRACTICALLY A VILLAIN AT THAT...

LIKE ME, FELIA WAS AN ORPHAN RAISED IN AN ORPHANAGE.

THE YEAR SHE TURNED 15,

SHE MARRIED THE 10-YEAR-OLD MALE LEAD,

LUCIUS WALPURGA.

BUT THAT MARRIAGE WAS ENTIRELY FOR HIS BENEFIT.

HAVING LOST HIS PARENTS AT THE AGE OF TEN,

HE WAS TOO YOUNG TO INHERIT HIS TITLE RIGHT AWAY.

BUT IMPERIAL LAW DECLARED: [MARRIED INDIVIDUALS ARE CONSIDERED ADULTS AND MAY INHERIT THEIR FAMILY ESTATE.]

BY EXPLOITING THAT LOOPHOLE,

HE MARRIED "FELIA" AND INHERITED THE DUKEDOM.

FELIA AND THE YOUNG MALE LEAD NEVER HAD A REAL MARRIED LIFE.

THEY NEVER EVEN SAW EACH OTHER AND LIVED SEPARATELY.

THEN 15 YEARS PASSED.

THE MALE LEAD TURNED 25,

BUT HE AND FELIA WERE STILL HUSBAND AND WIFE IN NAME ONLY.

AND THEN,

AS IF BY FATE, HE MET THE FEMALE LEAD AND FELL IN LOVE.

AFTERWARD, HE ASKED FELIA FOR A DIVORCE.

BUT WHEN FELIA SAW HIM AS A GROWN MAN FOR THE FIRST TIME,

SHE FELL HEAD OVER HEELS FOR HIM.

BLINDED BY LOVE, FELIA TRIED TO TEAR THE TWO OF THEM APART

BY PLOTTING TO GET RID OF THE FEMALE LEAD,

BUT HER SCHEME FAILED...

IN THE END, FELIA FACED THE WRATH OF THE FURIOUS MALE LEAD

AND MET HER END.

AND THE MALE AND FEMALE LEADS LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER, WITH NO ONE LEFT TO INTERFERE.

A HAPPY ENDING JUST FOR THEM. HOW LOVELY...

EXCEPT IT'S A BAD ENDING FOR ME...

IF ONLY I'D KNOWN SOONER WHO I'D BECOME AND WHAT WORLD I WAS IN, I COULD'VE AVOIDED THIS!!!

...NO. IT'S TOO EARLY TO DESPAIR.

MORE IMPORTANTLY, I KNOW HOW THE "ORIGINAL STORY" GOES.

THAT MEANS I CAN AVOID THAT MISERABLE FUTURE!

I JUST HAVE TO STAY OUT OF TROUBLE AND QUIETLY STEP ASIDE WHEN THE FEMALE LEAD APPEARS!

Hohoho! I wish you two happiness!!

AND SINCE IT'S A DUCAL FAMILY, I WON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT FOOD OR SHELTER FOR AT LEAST 15 YEARS, UNTIL SHE SHOWS UP!

THAT'S RIGHT!! LIFE BELONGS TO THOSE WHO CARVE THEIR OWN PATH!

THAT'S BEEN MY MOTTO SINCE MY PREVIOUS LIFE!

TRANSMIGRATION?! A DUCAL FAMILY?! I'LL OVERCOME IT ALL!

ARE YOU NOT GOING TO SIGN?

THINK CAREFULLY.

IF YOU REFUSE...

H-HERE YOU GO!!

I WASN'T EVEN THINKING OF REFUSING!!!

I was just Playing hard to get earlier!! Hahaha!

...ALRIGHT THEN.

LET'S HEAD TO THE DUCAL RESIDENCE AT ONCE.

WH-WHAT? WAS HE NEVER PLANNING TO LET ME REFUSE IN THE FIRST PLACE...? Maybe he would've had to silence me, now that we'd discussed it.

Maybe he would've had to silence me, now that we'd discussed it.

ANYWAY,

I'M GETTING OUT OF HERE SAFELY IN 15 YEARS, NO MATTER WHAT!!

AND SO I SET OFF FOR THE NORTHERN PART OF THE CONTINENT,

TO THE LANDS OF HOUSE WALPURGA.

WALPURGA DUCAL RESIDENCE

BUT...

IT'S FREEZING...!

BELLA... WH-WHY IS IT SO COLD IN HERE...?

I'M SORRY, MADAM.

WE COULDN'T AFFORD ANY FIREWOOD.

Bella Felia's maid.

Whaaat?!

I THOUGHT HOUSE WALPURGA HELPED FOUND THE EMPIRE...? IT'S A DUCAL FAMILY!

THEN WHY... WHY CAN'T THEY EVEN AFFORD FIREWOOD? When the rooms are this grand!

WELL...

When the rooms are this grand!

TH-THREE GENERATIONS AGO... THAT IS, THE YOUNG MASTER'S GREAT-GRANDFATHER

WENT DRAGON HUNTING ON HIS MAJESTY THE EMPEROR'S ORDERS... AND LOST THE ENTIRE FAMILY FORTUNE.

WHAT?

B-BUT EVEN SO, THEY SAY A RICH FAMILY'S FORTUNE LASTS THREE GENERATIONS AFTER ITS DOWNFALL. HOW COULD IT GET THIS BAD...?

THAT'S TRUE. THEY SOMEHOW MANAGED TO GET BY UNTIL THE LATE DUKE'S TIME,

BUT THINGS BECAME MUCH HARDER AFTER HE AND THE DUCHESS PASSED AWAY.

AND NOW WE CAN'T EVEN AFFORD FIREWOOD...

AND THIS JUST HAPPENS TO BE THE FOURTH GENERATION...

OH, MADAM!!!

ARE YOU ALRIGHT?! I'LL FETCH MORE BLANKETS!!

THIS MARRIAGE... IS A SCAM!!

I THOUGHT I WOULDN'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT MAKING ENDS MEET, AT LEAST!

SO THAT'S WHY THEY LOOKED FOR AN ORPHAN WITH NO ONE TO PROTECT HER!

RIGHT. NO SANE PARENT WOULD EVER MARRY THEIR DAUGHTER INTO A FAMILY LIKE THIS... And if you marry while you're underage, you can't even get divorced...

And if you marry while you're underage, you can't even get divorced...

BUT...

IN THE ORIGINAL STORY, HOUSE WALPURGA WAS THE STRONGEST DUCAL FAMILY IN THE EMPIRE, POWERFUL ENOUGH TO DOMINATE THE ENTIRE CONTINENT!

AND THE ONE WHO RAISED THAT ONCE-RUINED FAMILY TO SUCH HEIGHTS WAS NONE OTHER THAN THE MALE LEAD,

Lucius Walpurga!

SO THIS FAMILY IS BOUND TO PROSPER SOMEDAY.

BUT I MIGHT FREEZE OR STARVE TO DEATH BEFORE THAT DAY COMES...!

...THEN I'LL SAVE IT.

PARDON?

THIS DUCAL FAMILY...

I'm Going To Save It!

I'LL BRING THE FAMILY BACK FROM RUIN,

RAISE THE MALE LEAD PROPERLY,

AND THEN GET A DIVORCE!

AND WITH THE MONEY I RECEIVE IN THE DIVORCE SETTLEMENT,

I'LL ENJOY A HAPPY SECOND LIFE!!!

it's the perfect plan!!

M-MADAM?