1 Chapter 1

"Isn't that Lady Katherine?" a voice said and I perked up my ears because that was my name- I mean, that was the name of the person I had woken up as. "Should she be out like this?"

"I know right. Last I heard, she still wasn't okay."

I came to a stop, glancing at the two women that had been talking about me, and they immediately snapped their mouths shut before quickly walking away. I frowned. I had woken up in an inn a while ago and the woman I had seen in it had said something similar to what I just heard, but I was confused because who the heck was Katherine? And where was this? How did I get here?

I had fallen asleep in my hospital ward last night, but when I woke up, I was in a strange place and in the body of a woman who had bubblegum pink hair, creamy smooth skin, and eyes that were the silver-blue of clouds drifting through moonlight. I had thought I was dreaming at first, but that didn't seem to be the case now because everything was so realistic.

'What is going on?'

I glanced around, taking in the decorations that hung from buildings as I walked down the deserted road till I came upon a bench that had a newspaper on it.

[THE WEDDING OF THE HEIR TO THE THRONE OF THE KALEGAN EMPIRE "CROWN PRINCE MIVAL CALDWELL" AND THE DAUGHTER OF BARON BOSTEL "RAVEN BOSTEL"!]

Those were the words at the top of the newspaper's front page and I slightly tipped my head to the side because those names sounded familiar. I picked up the newspaper, reading the words again as I racked my brain, and it only took me several moments to figure out why they sounded familiar.

"No way!" I blurted out, my eyes widening while I tightened my hold on the paper.

'Roses And Thorns' was a novel about how the female lead, a baron's illegitimate daughter, catches the eye of the possessive and extremely handsome male lead, the Crown Prince. They run into each other several times till they become friends and end up falling in love with each other, but several nobles were against their relationship because the female lead was born out of wedlock. The Emperor couldn't ignore their disapproval and he decided to hold a competition to decide who would be the best fit for the prince. Before the final stage of the competition, jealousy drove the villainess to try to kill the female lead, but the male lead saved her. The male lead then called off the competition and he and the female lead eventually got married.

It was one of my favorite novels and it also happened to be the novel I read before falling asleep last night.

'Am I in… a novel right now? …That can't be right.'

"Lady Katherine!"

I jolted at the sudden call before lifting my gaze from the paper to see a woman running towards me, and I just stood there and stared, not knowing what to do, till she got to me.

"Lady Katherine!" she repeated as she came to a stop, but this time she sounded a bit upset, and I raised my brows. "Where have you been, my lady? We've all been so worried. Why did you leave like that? Are you okay?"

"I…" I didn't know what to say. I didn't know who she was and I didn't know who this Katherine was despite the fact that I had read the novel several times.

The woman's gaze dropped to the newspaper in my hands and she gave me a pitiful look before collecting it from me. "You shouldn't be reading this, my lady. You shouldn't be out here. You promised Lord Henrik that you wouldn't do this after the crown prince called off the competition, but here you are. Did you watch the wedding parade, my lady?"

"I…" I trailed off again, but this time, it wasn't because I didn't know what to say. It was because I had remembered who Katherine was.

Lady Katherine Mallory, the only daughter of Duke Mallory, was an extra in the novel. She was also one of the ladies that had been in competition the Emperor held to choose a bride for the crown prince, and she had once been the villainess' close friend. When the crown prince called off the competition, Katherine didn't take the news well and she broke down before throwing a fit in the hall.

I remembered feeling embarrassed for her when she was escorted out of the hall in the novel. Now, I was her.

'What the-'

"We should head back to the estate, my lady. Your brother is waiting."

****

I had read a couple of books in which a person woke up in a novel, but I had never thought that would apply to me. No matter how much I thought about it and tried to make sense of my situation, the fact that I was in a novel didn't change.

…And I loved it!

Before possessing Katherine, I had lived a sheltered life and at the age of twenty, I became terminally ill. I found it unfair. My overprotective parents had carefully controlled everything I did ever since I was born and when I was finally months away from being free, I had been diagnosed with that illness. I didn't want to die just like that, so I had desperately prayed for this to happen- well, not exactly this, but I had prayed to get a second chance at life. And now, I got that.

I absolutely didn't mind that it was in my favorite novel! And seeing as the novel had already ended, I didn't have to worry about accidentally changing the plot. I could do anything I wanted.

Thankfully, I woke up as the daughter of a duke, so I didn't have to worry about money, and I already knew the first thing I wanted to do in this world. I wanted to meet my favorite character, the second male lead in the novel.

His name was Lander Van Hyden and he was the female lead's best friend. He had green hair and gray eyes, and was an intelligent man. Unlike the male lead, he was too honest for his own good, and that was the first thing I liked about him. He didn't hesitate to stand up for the female lead whenever she was getting bullied by other nobles, and I always felt sad whenever he had to watch the female lead leave to go spend time with the male lead.

He loved her to no end, but unfortunately, it was unrequited.

"Katherine!" a voice called out from behind me, snapping me out of my thoughts, and I turned around to see the woman that had found me in the street and a man who I assumed was Henrik, the brother, standing in the doorway. He walked into the room with worry evident on his face, and abruptly pulled me into a hug.

My brows shot up a bit in surprise and I stayed still for several moments before awkwardly patting his back. "Hi. Um, I…" I felt out of place. "I didn't mean to make you worried."

"Then you shouldn't have snuck out like that," he stated while pulling away from me, and he gently grabbed my arms. "Where did you go? Your maid said she found you in Millwick."

'Oh, she's my maid,' I thought, glancing at the woman close to the door just before two other women walked into the room. One was wearing the same dress that my maid was in while the other was wearing an obviously expensive dress and jewelry which made me sure that she was a noblewoman.

"Katherine!" Henrik called, lightly shaking me, and my eyes snapped back to his while the noblewoman spoke.

"Oh, stop fussing over her. She's not a child."

Henrik paused and a muscle in his jaw twitched before he turned around. "What do you want, mother?" he replied and I immediately plastered a small smile on my face as I returned my attention to her. I still felt out of place, so I decided to keep quiet for now and fiddled with my fingers.

"Can't I come to check on her?" she replied with a frown before glancing at me. "Was that your way of rebelling?" she asked and I raised my brows.

'Rebelling?'

"...I'm sorry, mother." That was the response I settled on since I didn't know anything about Katherine or what she had been doing before I woke up as her.

Henrik turned to look at me with a puzzled expression as surprise washed over the noblewoman's face before she burst into laughter.

'What's wrong?'

"I see," she said, wiping the corner of her eyes when she finally managed to get her laughter under control. "You're acting up because your father isn't here. He'll be back soon. Don't worry," she added and Henrik clenched his jaw before she turned to face my maid. "Get her ready for the wedding banquet."

"No!" he burst out, startling me, and the duchess narrowed her eyes at him.

"It's not debatable. She already missed the wedding because she ran off. I won't let her miss the banquet too."

"Mother-"

"You'll go with me, right, daughter?" she asked me with a sweet smile and I nodded, making her smile grow wider while Henrik frowned at me. "We'll leave for it once you're ready."