chapter 01
“…Blake.”
A stern voice woke me up.
Did I fall asleep in the research building again after staying up all night?
With my eyes still closed, I tried to understand the situation.
Everything around me felt quiet and muffled, like I was underwater.
It seemed the staff had found me sleeping with my face on the desk and were being careful not to make noise.
Ha… I should get up before everyone comes to work and at least wash my face.
If Dr. Kang saw me like this, he would definitely smack my back and shout, “You crazy brat! Do you want to die young at this age?”
But unlike my thoughts, my body wouldn’t move.
I want to lie down just a little longer…
Wait. Lie down?
Something suddenly felt strange.
Just then, I heard the voice that had woken me again, faint and distant.
“The deceased, during her lifetime… made many efforts… we will remember and honor her achievements…”
The voice was broken, as if someone were whispering through a wall.
The deceased? Who?
One word I clearly heard made me fully awake.
“…We pray that she, who has now become another star, may cast off all the sorrow and tears she experienced in this world…”
When I focused, I could hear more clearly.
It sounded like some kind of funeral service.
Who died?
Usually, when an employee or their family member passed away, I was the one who gave the speech at the memorial.
Because I was the director of the research institute.
But I wasn’t religious, so I never prayed.
A strange feeling crept over me.
Maybe it was because my senses were slowly returning.
A strong scent of flowers filled my nose.
It was the same smell I first noticed at my mother’s funeral—the smell of death.
Did I come to a funeral?
I suddenly opened my eyes.
“…Huh?”
But even though my eyes were open, everything was dark.
“What the…”
It took a moment for my eyes to adjust.
When I could finally see, I realized I was trapped in a dark, narrow space.
“…Ah!”
Thud.
I tried to sit up, but my head hit something soft above me, and I fell back down flat.
Only then did I realize I was blocked on all sides.
I looked around in fear.
If this place felt exactly like a coffin, was that just my imagination?
“E-Excuse me! There’s someone in here!”
I reached up and felt around the cushioned surface that seemed to be a lid, shouting as loud as I could.
Ding, deeng…
Somewhere, a bell began to ring.
“…Ahem. The wind is rather strong today. We should proceed quickly for the sake of the deceased.”
Could they not hear me?
The chanting, which had paused briefly, began again.
I shouted even louder.
“Hello! Can’t you hear me? Please let me out!”
“For the eternal rest of Lady Edith Blake, let us all pray.”
Edith Blake?
I froze and closed my mouth.
I knew that name. It was the villain’s name in the novel I had stayed up all night reading.
Why is that name being mentioned here…?
While I was breathing heavily in confusion—
“The coffin will be carried by her closest friend, Count Dylan Frederick. Now, it is time to say your final goodbyes…”
When I heard another familiar name, my mind snapped into focus.
The Dylan Frederick I knew was an awakened person who could control fire.
And in that damn novel I read yesterday, there was a rule: all corpses were burned to remove evil energy.
Which meant, if I was really in a coffin, I might be burned alive by Dylan Frederick.
There was no time to calmly understand the situation.
“Hey! Open this right now! There’s someone inside!”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
I pushed and pounded the lid with all my strength.
But whatever it was made of, it didn’t move at all.
Still, it wasn’t useless.
Ding! Ding! Deeng!
Every time I hit the lid, the bell rang.
“…!”
At the same time, the memorial speech suddenly stopped.
That’s when I noticed a rope tied around my right wrist.
I remembered a superstition—sometimes a bell was tied to a corpse to prevent someone from being buried alive by mistake.
“There’s no one else outside? Please, get me out! Help!”
Now certain I was ringing the bell, I shook my wrist frantically.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
The bell rang so loudly that no one could ignore it.
If I could hear it clearly inside the coffin, it must be much louder outside.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
Deeeeeeng—!
After shaking my right hand nonstop—
Creak, creeeak—
Finally, with a heavy sound, the lid moved.
A line of cool air and bright light slipped through the gap.
Soon, my view was completely open.
At the same time, I locked eyes with the man opening the coffin.
“Gasp!”
His face turned pale as he stumbled back in horror.
I didn’t care. I quickly sat up.
“Are you people insane?”
Deeng!
The bell rang again.
Ignoring it, I shouted,
“Why the hell would you put a perfectly alive person in a coffin?!”
“….”
“Who’s the doctor?! Can’t you even check someone’s vital signs properly?!”
Ding! Ding, deeng…
In the heavy silence, my shouting and the clear sound of the bell echoed back and forth.
After yelling for a while, my racing heart slowly calmed down.
Only then did I look around.
The funeral was being held outdoors in a quiet area.
Strangers wearing gloomy black clothes.
They stared at me in shock, as if they had seen a ghost.
Who should really be shocked here?
Just then—
“Ah…! Th-the corpse…! The corpse sat up!”
Someone pointed at me and screamed.
That was the trigger.
“Aaaah!”
“Th-the lady has come back to life!”
“A monster! It might be a monster! Get back!”
People fell over each other screaming.
Some shrieked loudly, some stumbled backward and fell, others cried and ran away.
The place was in total chaos.
I stared blankly at the ruined funeral scene.
Everyone looked so shocked that I had no idea who to grab and demand an explanation from.
“Edith Blake has resurrected!”
Some people pointed at me and shouted terrifying things.
I tried moving aside slightly, but their fingers kept following me.
At that moment, a gentle breeze blew, and long hair slid over my shoulder.
“Ha…”
When I saw the smooth golden hair, I let out a hollow laugh.
I had never dyed my hair in my life. As an adult, I had always kept it cut short.
So then, whose waist-length blonde hair was this?
Whose thin, delicate wrist?
Whose fingers covered in sparkling gemstone rings?
This is a dream, right?
I instinctively denied it.
I mean, doesn’t it sound ridiculous? Being possessed into a villain from a novel?
And what was this crazy funeral?
Why was I trapped in a coffin?
“Ow…”
I pinched my face in several places, hoping to wake up.
But slowly, I realized this was reality.
And as I looked at the terrified people losing their minds at the sight of me, I screamed along with them.
“Aaaaaah!”
Ding, ding, ding…
