In the novel , there was mention of Ascan escaping from the laboratory, but there was no explanation that he had lived as a slave in the Brellof household.
‘Could I have missed something?’
I quickly retraced my memory, but nothing specific came to mind.
Only then did I realize that was not yet a completed novel. Unless I was the author, there was no way I could know every detail of the story.
‘Unbelievable….’
My head was spinning.
I had intended to search for Ascan after he fled to the Arwen Empire, but I couldn’t tell whether his sudden appearance right before my eyes was truly a good thing.
Seeing me stand rigidly silent, Ascan took the initiative, slightly bowing his head.
“If there is nothing further you wish to command, may I withdraw?”
“Y, yes.”
There was no reason to keep him here. Especially since I myself needed time to think.
As soon as I gave permission, Ascan swiftly exited the room—as if fleeing before I could change my mind.
Click—
The moment the door closed and Ascan vanished from sight, the maid who had been watching beside me spoke up, sounding puzzled.
“Huh? Miss, you’re letting him go so easily?”
“Hm?”
What was that supposed to mean?
When I looked at her with a confused expression, the maid, apparently thinking she’d made a mistake, continued in a flustered tone.
“Oh, no, it’s nothing. It’s just that you usually keep Ascan longer, so I absentmindedly asked.”
“I did that?”
“Yes. Don’t you remember?”
Of course I didn’t remember. That had happened before I possessed this body.
Moreover, since revolved entirely around the protagonist Noxia Brellof, there was no way to know what Tanashia had been doing during scenes where she didn’t appear.
“I… why did I do that?”
When I asked with a genuinely bewildered expression, the maid replied with deep concern.
“Miss, are you still unwell?”
“Ah, yes. Everything else is fine, but my recent memories feel strangely hazy.”
“Oh dear, perhaps it’s because you hit your head during the horseback riding accident. Shall I call the personal physician right away?”
“No, that’s unnecessary. Instead, finish telling me what we were discussing earlier. What exactly did I do to Ascan?”
At my question, the maids hesitated, glancing at each other—apparently unsure whether it was safe to tell the truth.
“Whatever you say, I won’t get angry. Just be honest. It’ll help me recover my memories.”
“Well… Miss, you’ve always intensely disliked Ascan from the very beginning.”
Not just disliked—he said intensely disliked?
That didn’t make sense. After a brief pause, another maid, sensing the hesitation, added an explanation.
“You often complained that his black hair was unpleasant to look at. That’s probably why you’d constantly summon him and pile him with chores—even inventing unnecessary tasks.”
“Me?”
“Don’t you remember at all? You frequently whipped Ascan.”
“Wh, whipped him?!”
I blurted out without thinking. Ascan wasn’t the only one with black hair—I myself had deep black hair too.
‘Could I have been tormenting poor Ascan simply because I resented my own hair, which differed from Noxia’s?’
This was something I’d never imagined.
At first, I thought I could just abandon the villainess role. I planned to live my own life without getting entangled in pointless drama…
‘I’m doomed.’
It seemed the death flag had already been firmly planted.
‘Could that be why Ascan killed me?’
I didn’t know much else, but Ascan clearly regarded his past in the Arwen Empire with horror. And now… could the reason possibly be…
I wanted to believe it had nothing to do with me, but the reality unfolding before my eyes made denial impossible.
For a moment, everything went dark before my eyes.
I almost saw a vision of Ascan approaching me in the future, sword drawn.
The newly realized truth alone was enough to make me lose my mind, yet the maids’ revelations kept coming.
“The bathwater currently filled in the tub? You ordered Ascan to fetch it personally every day.”
“I ordered that? Why not just turn on the tap…?”
I suddenly fell silent, recalling what the maids had just said—about me inventing unnecessary tasks to assign him.
That was right. I had done everything imaginable just to torment Ascan.
In short, I had been diligently digging my own grave.
‘Surely I wasn’t the one who sent Ascan back to the Kalua Empire?’
Ascan had escaped the Kalua Empire’s laboratory and crossed into the Arwen Empire, but later in the story, he was recaptured and sent back.
I vaguely remembered a brief explanation for why, but couldn’t recall the details.
Given that it wasn’t even clearly stated he worked for the Brellof family, there was no way the story elaborated on that process.
I could only hope I wasn’t involved in that part. No—I had to avoid any connection to it at all costs.
I couldn’t just give up my life here.
Unnoticed by anyone, I clenched both fists tightly.
Oblivious to my resolve, one of the maids suddenly remembered something.
“Oh, by the way, didn’t you say earlier you’d visit the slave market? Shall I schedule it for tomorrow?”
“No, cancel the slave market.”
They say if you keep your wits about you, you can survive even in a tiger’s den. I couldn’t just sit here doing nothing.
I had to find a way—somehow.
That night, for the first time since falling into the world of the book, I had a dream.
A dream in which I discovered Ascan at the slave market.
I instantly recognized the ancient script tattooed on his nape. Not only that—I also saw the dozens of magical formulas inscribed across his body.
These were traces of forced experiments, meant to turn him into a human weapon.
An ordinary person might mistake them for rare tattoos, but I clearly understood their meaning.
Implanting special abilities into an ordinary human body.
In the dream, I shuddered with excitement upon this discovery.
『If I can obtain Noxia’s supernatural power… people’s perception of me will change.』
I had lived my whole life constantly being compared to others.
Among all comparisons, the one thing Tanashia could never surpass was the water-manipulating ability—virtually vanished from our family lineage.
If I could decipher the ancient script and magical formulas on Ascan’s body, perhaps I could replicate Noxia’s water-manipulating ability onto myself.
I bought the enslaved Ascan, brought him into my home, and began secret research, unknown to anyone.
Whether successful or not, since this was never a legal method, every detail was kept strictly confidential.
The first thing I did was determine what his ability was.
『No use denying it. Show me your hidden power. The formulas on your body prove you’re no longer an ordinary human.』
Ascan remained silent. Having risked his life to escape the laboratory, he would never reveal his past.
To force him to speak, I did everything imaginable.
It was true I disliked his black hair—the same as mine—but tormenting him wasn’t entirely without reason.
Crack!
A long lash mark remained across Ascan’s bare upper torso, where I had swung the whip.
Crack! Crack!
After repeating this dozens of times…
Unexpectedly, a moment arrived when no wounds remained on Ascan’s body.
I approached his writhing form and touched the unblemished skin.
It was hard.
Like steel.
The moment I realized Ascan’s ability, I smiled maniacally.
『So this is it?』
The power to turn his entire body into steel.
Even without wielding a sword, his whole body was already a weapon—impervious to ordinary attacks.
The power one person could wield was immense. He could single-handedly cut down dozens, even hundreds.
This was the true nature of the human weapon the Kalua Empire was creating.
I already knew this from reading , but I never imagined the story’s Tanashia knew it too.
While dream-me was filled with ecstasy, real-me was covered in goosebumps.
‘What is this? I want to wake up now.’
I struggled violently, as if pinned down by sleep paralysis.
At first, my body refused to move, but gradually, it began responding to my will.
Once I managed to twitch a single finger, the rest became easier.
Suddenly, my eyes flew open—and bright morning sunlight streamed in.
“Hah, hah.”
My breathing was ragged, as if I’d just sprinted a marathon.
I could feel the bed I’d been lying on was soaked in sweat.
‘What did I just see?’
It wasn’t just a dream. Something this vivid couldn’t be dismissed as mere fantasy.
Until now, I’d only imagined what I’d read in —but what I’d just experienced felt like glimpsing Tanashia’s past firsthand.
Yes, as if I’d directly lived it myself.
It felt as though the novel’s Tanashia and I were merging into one person.
‘What on earth is happening?’
The novel contained far too many hidden stories I didn’t know. This was exactly why you shouldn’t read unfinished novels!
But regret came too late.
My current reality was too desperate to waste time sitting around lamenting.
‘If this is true, I didn’t merely torment Ascan—I experimented on him like the Kalua Empire!’
If I’d tormented him this badly, there was no way I could rehabilitate my image.
In short, the probability that Ascan would cut off my head in the future was extremely high.
‘How is any of this possible? Landmines everywhere!’
At first, I thought simply not tormenting him would be enough—but not only had I relentlessly bullied Ascan, the ultimate final villain, I’d also secretly experimented on him.
‘I’m truly doomed.’
The death flag wasn’t just planted—it seemed too firmly rooted to avoid easily.
Though I’d denied it until now, it was increasingly clear Ascan’s horror regarding his Arwen Empire past was definitely because of me.
If the story proceeded as written, it was highly likely I—the one who knew Ascan’s true identity—had sold him back to the Kalua Empire’s laboratory.
‘At least thankfully, that hasn’t happened yet.’
Everything was terrible, but I forced myself to find consolation within it.
What had been done was done—I couldn’t undo it. To survive, I had to somehow manage Tanashia’s endless atrocities, layer after layer like an onion.
For the first time, I resented being reincarnated specifically as Tanashia among all possible characters—but I couldn’t afford to dwell on what couldn’t be undone.
I bolted upright from the bed. Just then, a maid entering the room spotted me and greeted me cheerfully.
“Oh my, Miss, you’re already awake?”
Without a word, I walked toward the place I’d seen in my dream. Turning the painting on the wall to the right revealed a hidden space.
Unaware of this, the maid approached to tidy the bedsheets.
“Why are you sweating so much? Are you all right—KYAAA!”
The maid screamed as she belatedly noticed me.
Inside the hidden space between the walls hung various whips—each horrifyingly shaped for torture.
These were the very whips I’d used in my dream to beat Ascan.
This conclusively proved it hadn’t merely been a dream.
“Ah, Miss…”
When I pulled out one whip and gripped it, the maid called out fearfully—apparently terrified I might use it on her.
Shuddering at the whip’s snug grip in my hand, I hastily returned it to its place.
“Get rid of all this.”
“Y, yes?”
“Throw away every single one. I never want to see them again.”
I would never again use a whip on anyone, as I had in my dream.
It seemed urgently necessary to draft my survival plan.
In this world, I could trust nothing.
Ascan stared at me with a look of dread as I suddenly appeared before him.
Though his face still revealed little emotion, somehow, unlike before, I felt I could now sense his mood.
“Have you thought of another task for me?”
It might sound polite at first glance, but upon reflection, his words carried an edge.
Yes, after constantly tormenting him without warning, it was only natural he distrusted me.
But from now on, things would be different.
“Well, nothing special—starting today, you’ll need to move to a new residence.”
“My residence?”
Ascan looked at me with incomprehension.
Behind him lay the dark, cramped room where multiple slaves lived together. Even from afar, mold visibly grew on the walls, and the stench was unbearable.
It was a fragmented glimpse into how harshly he’d lived as a slave.
“Don’t worry about anything from now on. I’ll treat you well.”
“…I don’t understand what you mean.”
“It means your misfortune ends here, and happiness begins.”
After all, wasn’t a completed novel. So I resolved to change the ending however I wished.
“Starting today, you’ll be my personal attendant.”
Absolutely, positively—a happy ending.
Male lead is reincarnated to save his wife
I’ve also read this one twice already. The female lead is kinda soft and gets embarrassed easily—not really my type, but the plot is definitely worth reading. Hurry up and read it, y’all!
Intro
When Shen Yuan encountered Su Jin again in his previous life, she had already become the Prime Minister of the current dynasty. As for him, the former top young master of the capital, he had long since fallen into the abyss, becoming a singer on a pleasure boat.
After a song ended, he was redeemed and sent to the Su Residence.
Su Jin respected and cherished him, gave him a roof over his head, and bestowed him with warmth. Shen Yuan fell deeper and deeper, but before he could express his feelings, Su Jin passed away.
Shen Yuan died to follow her in death, but instead, he returned to when he was fifteen years old.
At that time, he was not yet engaged, and Su Jin was just a poor scholar.
Shen Yuan gritted his teeth, casting aside all his pride, and thought of ways to coax and entice her every day.
The colder and more indifferent Su Jin was towards him, the more proactive Shen Yuan became.
He was not afraid of being mocked by the world, only wanting to marry his Wife-master early, to hold her hand and never let go for a lifetime.
[Note: This story will not specifically point out the male lead’s reincarnation time point; it’s all in the details. Whenever you feel that the male lead is acting strangely, he has most likely been reincarnated.]
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
