Chapter 1: Mellisa Collins

The villa, reminiscent of a palace, was filled with mellow melodies. A grand charity ball hosted by Leopold was in full swing.

The wealth and honour accumulated by Leopald, the kingdom’s number one businessman, were truly remarkable. There was no one in the whole kingdom who did not look up to that name. Even the Royal Family paid their respect to them.

“Sir Allan is as dazzling as always”

A voice of admiration was suddenly heard. As quietly drank the champagne in the corner, I slowly raised my head.

Mr. Leopold was busy greeting, and a cold-looking young man stood next to him. It was Allan Leopold, the only son of the great Leopold.

Perhaps because of his pitch-black hair, skin like white snow, and noticeably tall height, he stood out from a distance.

(T/N: in the description it’s said that Allan has blonde hair and here it’s black hair, idk why the author said it like this but I crossed check with the raws and it showed the same)

“My goodness, he’s like a black swan.”

“I know.”

The women chatted with red faces as they headed towards me. I was forced to focus my gaze on their dresses. It was so colourful and sophisticated that it was incomparable to my worn-out dress.

“I can’t believe there’s such a beautiful man like him. He turned twenty this year, right?”

I quietly stepped back a couple of steps with my shoulders curled up. Originally, I was not a sociable person, but today it was particularly difficult. Tíme passed slowly, and the empty seat of my one and only friend was too large,

“He isn’t going to dance today?”

“Oh, I wish we could dance together, just once.”

“Me too, me too.”

Women’s fuss continued. My dazed gaze, counting the small bubbles in the glass, returned helplessly to the object of praise.

Allan stood by his father in an upright position. Perhaps because of the unique cool atmosphere, only his surroundings looked cold like winter in the north. Like he is warning you not to come closer.

Like everyone else, I thought even that aspect of him was cool. I seemed to know the mind of Pygmalion, who passionately worshipped the cold statue.

(T/N- In Greek mythology Pygmalion is a legendary figure of Cyprus, who was a king and a sculptor. He was a sculptor who fell in love with a statue he had carved.)

Somehow I was thirsty to see him. My hands crumpled helplessly at the hem of my old dress.

“Ha..”

I have a crush on Allan Leopold.

“Melissa!”

I heard my mother calling me from the first floor. Melissa Collins. It’s my name here.

I was possessed by <Prejudice and Pride>, a liberal arts and romance novel. I was so surprised when I first opened my eyes in the body of a 10-year-old girl.

The Collins couple approached me and told me that this was Florin, the capital of the Sourn Kingdom. It was the moment I learned that I was possessed by the world in <Prejudice and Pride>

With brown cilantro hair and brown eyes, I was the daughter of an ordinary family just like my appearance. Since I turned twenty this year, this life has already been for ten years.

Having lived as Melissa for ten years, my memories and names in Korea now seem unfamiliar to me as if they belonged to someone else. I even have the illusion that I belong here from the beginning.

In fact, I am an extra whose name does not even appear in the novel, and I have never met the main characters. Because they don’t live in the capital city in the first place, Since it’s a calm novel without a twist or a villain, I guess will live peacefully as it is in the original story.

Even though the environment has changed, I was still an introvert and ordinary myself, which was frustrating at first. But over time I have come to truly love this life, so now I know. That I am the only protagonist in the novel called Life.

Thinking this far, I heard my mother’s cry once again.

“Mel!”

“I-I’ll go down!”

I sat in front of my mother with an awkward face. Because I already knew what I would hear.

“Did something happen at the Leopold charity ball?”

“.. There wasn’t.”

“There must be something special!”

My mother made a loud roar, causing microscopic ripples on the water surface in the teacup. I’m just saying this just in case, but she is not a bad person.

“Viola hurt her leg so she couldn’t come... quietly listened, to music.”

“Viola, viola! How long are you going to talk about friends, Mel! Are you going to get married with friends? Yes? Phew, It’s frustrating!”

My mother pounded on her chest. Again I’m repeating, she is not a bad person. She is a little hot-tempered and has a unique voice. If I hadn’t possessed, Melissa would have grown up to be a brave woman who resembled Mrs. Collins.

“You’re an adult now, too. You know what I’m saying, right? By the way, women must..”

Must have to get married well.

“Must have to get married well!”

There’s a reason why I still abide to my mother’s words. This is because the society here is obsessed with marriage. My mother’s hysteria, which had been getting worse year by year, peaked this year when I became an adult,

Recently, people here have begun to open their eyes to women’s rights, but it feels like it’s still a hundred years early. Most people still think that ‘women’s life is only successful if they get married well’.

However, it is not an unfortunate world to live as a woman, but women here are too passive. I was timid and quiet in Korea, so I said everything if I felt that way.

“Women need to be able to captivate men sometimes, Mel. The older they get, the less likely they are to get married.”

My mother gulped down her tea as of she was frustrated from her only daughter

“It’s a small family, so you have to compete with others. You don’t look so attractive.”

“When you were young you wanted to marry a prince. want to know what happened to you who was confident.”

Melissa’s childhood memories inside her mother seem to, have been left intact despite all these years. How old, would I be to think that the prince would be a handsome boy without ever seeing him?

“Are you listening? Property is basic, and you have to look carefully at whether or not he is a person who’s going to screw up the house like your father.”

“Yes..”

I answered right away. This is because it is obvious that the mother’s complaint will continue for a long time when the story of her father’s youth begins. They’re two good people, but..

“Your eyes can’t be too high. If you waste time on a tree that you can’t climb, you can’t eat porridge and just get old. Do you get it?”

But this time, I couldn’t answer. My crush is Allan of the great Leopold. It would never be an illusion to think that it would be easier to marry a prince.

“I’m asking if you got it, Mel! Please think about your mom’s blood pressure.”

Not answering is the only way to keep your blood pressure from rising, Mother.

“So, Mel? What’s next?”

The protagonist of this unique voice is my only best friend, Viola Graham. As the same age as me, we became friends while studying under the same tutor.

It’s out of the blue, but if it weren’t for my mother, we wouldn’t be friends. Because it was my mother who gave Graham a small amount of money and asked him to take classes together. She was the one who gave me courage to face my shame in a difficult situation.

I deeply agree with the saying that every mother is great. can only thank my father for allowing me to accumulate knowledge comparable to other young children despite the difficult circumstances of getting fraud.

That was about eight years ago, so my friendship with Viola has already entered the ninth year.

I replied back to my old friend with a dead voice.

“What else can I say? It’s all about looking at his face from afar.”

“But I’m still jealous...”

Viola stretched her words with her unique voice. Her ankles, wrapped in bandages, floundered in the air.

“I wanted to see sir Allan’s face, too!”

“I hope you get well soon, Viola. The social world without you is hell.”

“You always say that, whether I’m there or not. There’s not enough desperation.”

“That’s true, but.... Without you, it’s not just hell, it’s fire, hell.”

Viola laughed at what I said.

“Then Sir Allan must be an angel, a snow angel.”

“....what snow angel?”

“Because he will put off the hell fire with his cold beauty. It’s perfect, right?”

At the playful question, I nodded continuously. Viola admired Allan like me and other young nobles. When we started talking about Allan, our conversation would continue endlessly.

“Viola.”

I momentarily hardened my expression.

“Come to think of it, you’re dating someone. Missing Sir Allan....”

“Hey, it’s Sir Allan, not anyone else. Jacob will understand.”

Viola recently started dating. Jacob, her significant other, is an aristocrat, a year older than her and it is said that he was handed down his great-grandfather’s land which is quite large.

He doesn’t live in the capital, so I haven’t met him yet.

“I don’t think he’ll get angry because there’s nothing going on in the first place. Who would be jealous of flowers or dresses?”

“.... That’s true.”

Viola’s metaphor was so appropriate that I smiled.

“Mrs. Collins might have said something because of me, Mel.”

“Mom must be frustrated too..... She’d feel better if I were in a relationship like you.”

“What? You can’t date.”

The viola answered immediately.

Do you think we don’t know that you don’t like to meet someone you don’t like?

“....It’s disrespectful to the other person to meet them if you don’t like it. I’m also frustrated with myself because I’m like this.”

“Oh! I don’t think that’s a bad thing about you. It’s good to have convictions, well. You’re smart, so you’ll live well without relying on men.”

Thanks for the words, but I was not confident in living as she said, so I quietly blinked my eyes. Viola spoke in a low voice.

“But you know, I want you to confess.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I mean your heart. To Sir Allan.”

“W, what am I doing to whom?”

There is a loud noise coming out. That’s a joke...

“It’s been years since you liked Sir Allan.”

“Even so.....”

“Since Sir Allan is an adult, he will slowly find his significant other. There is no way that Leopold’s only successor will not have a spouse.”

“Spouse?”

I was full of energy. I could say more than ten reasons why I couldn’t even reach his toes.

“Viola. I don’t have a lot of family, I’m not blonde like you, and I have such a normal appearance that people can forget when turned around”

“I don’t know!”

Viola cut me off bravely

“Do you think Allan of Leopold will ask about the family? And you’re pretty, why?”

“Your brown hair and brown eyes are so cute. Like a puppy.”

“Is it a compliment?”

“Let’s give it a try, Mel. It’s a piece of cake! After being rejected, you may want to meet someone else.”

I had no disagreement with what the viola said. Because it’s true that I’ve been obsessed with Allan for too long.

....It is bittersweet that rejection is a premise, but there is no disagreement.

“What should I do?”

I asked nervously during the day. Viola turned her head toward me, and her lips drew a cool arc.

“I’ll teach you the method I used on Jacob.”