Killian reached out his arm and opened the secret window.  

It was a sliding window the size of a palm that was painted like a wall to prevent it from being noticed from the outside. 

“Already…”  

Two military police officers were entering through the main gate of the Grand Duke’s residence. 

Killian trembled as he wrapped a bandage around his waist. 

He pressed a handkerchief firmly against the wounded area to prevent as much blood as possible from showing.  

Then he left the blood-stained clothes, towel, and white mask on the desk and left the hiding place.  

After closing the bookshelf door back to its original position, he hurriedly returned to the bedroom connected to the study. 

Before leaving, he put on the white gown he had taken off. 

At the same time, a knocking sound came from the bedroom door.  

“Master, someone from the military police force has arrived.” 

It was a report from Garfield. 

It was a close call. 

Killian checked himself again to make sure that no blood was leaking from his waist. 

“Master, are you asleep?” 

With no response, Garfield asked again in a slightly louder voice. 

After finishing the check, Killian took a deep breath and opened his mouth. 

“No, I’ll be out soon.”  

Beside the mirror, his pale figure was reflected, adorned with a police uniform.  

* * *  

(T/L : From here it keeps switching from Sophia’s Pov to the third Pov)   

As soon as Sophia entered the room, she sank to the floor as if melting.  

Her legs gave out, and she trembled.  

“I remember… now.”  

Only now did she realize what this novel was about.  

It had a title like ‘Withered Flowers Bloom Again’. The title was roughly like this.   

The male protagonist of the novel, called Blossom of a Wildflower for short, was not Kilian. (T/L: Over here, the author used an abbreviation of the novel’s name, so I put it like this.) 

Even with his perfect beauty based on black hair and red eyes and the status of Grand Duke of the North, he could not become the main character.  

Despite possessing that proud height, an arrogant demeanour, and the cheat-like name of Killian, he couldn’t win the heart of the female protagonist.   

Because he was a ‘villain.’   

Several murder cases were happening in the capital, and the culprit known as the ‘Black Moon’ was none other than Killian Viprons Rivelon.  

In front of people, he appeared completely normal, even the head of the military police force chasing the ‘Black Moon’. But at night, he transformed into a mad killer who took lives.  

The epitome of duplicity—an intelligent psychopath!  

And his fiancée, Sophia Fraus.  

‘She will die. And it will be at the hands of Killian.’   

Isn’t book transmigration a common plot?  

The development of desperately struggling to live on as an extra or a villainess destined to die soon  

Killian, due to feeling obstructed in his love for the female protagonist, Estelle, kills his fiancée, Sophia.  

He believed that Estelle rejected his love because he had a fiancée.  

Killian seemed to think that if he didn’t have a fiancée, Estelle would love him in return.  

Thus, the ruthless killer disguises his worthless fiancée’s death as a carriage accident and murders her.  

He pretends to mourn his fiancée’s death, gaining sympathy from Estelle.   

However, Estelle’s true love is Prince Mikhail von Orhel.   

Failing to win Estelle’s heart until the end, Killian finally loses his sanity.   

He betrays his brotherly figure, Prince Mikhail, kills the emperor and empress, and sparks a rebellion.  

Since he had complete control over the military and police forces.  

Because he was righteous on the outside, many knights and members of the police force followed him.  

Labelling the emperor and empress as villains, he usurps the throne and aims to possess Estelle.   

However, the true protagonist of this novel is Mikhail.   

Mikhail, who fled to the deserted land, returns to the territory after increasing his power.   

Killian, whose evil deeds were revealed by Mikhail, loses his power base and collapses helplessly.  

Left alone, he meets his end at the hands of Mikhail in front of the imperial throne.  

Thus, Mikhail regains the throne, Estelle becomes the empress, and a happy ending ensues.  

‘To think that I finally remember this…!’   

To be honest, it’s quite surprising that I even managed to remember it now, but ‘Withered Flowers Bloom Again’, wasn’t very enjoyable.  

There were several parts that didn’t make sense in terms of coherence, and it received a lot of criticism for them.  

Especially the parts where Killian’s true nature as a villain was revealed. The depiction of Killian’s obsession with the female lead, Estelle, was so dry that it didn’t even seem like he truly loved her.  

It felt like watching a bad actor’s performance.   

Furthermore, the sudden development that Sophia, who had a negligible presence, died in a carriage accident sparked a flood of negative comments in the comment section.  

‘It felt like a failed attempt to portray an intriguing obsession that ended up with a worthless human remaining…’ 

She also skipped a few chapters when she got bored while reading the lines, leaving only the big events vaguely in her head.  

‘I can’t even recall any memorable lines or sentences’.   

She tried to recall the original content as much as she could, but it failed.   

‘I can’t even remember how many people Killian killed or who the victim was’.   

She anxiously chewed on the tips of her nails.  

The fact that Sophia Fraus was just an extra-level supporting character isn’t a problem. If there isn’t another transmigrator in this world, the protagonist of the transmigration novel remains Estelle.   

It was also not an issue that Sophia Fraus was destined to die.  

In a transmigration story, fate can be changed.  

You don’t remember the specific details of the novel’s content. It doesn’t matter, since the plot will change anyway.  

If you grasp the major developments and characters, it’s not a problem.  

The problem lies elsewhere.  

Right, I made a mistake from the start. I should have properly established the direction of the male lead as soon as the possession occurred, but I got it wrong.  

The male lead she desired was a typical cliché of a northern duke. Rough and taciturn in appearance, but a pure-hearted romantic man who only has eyes for one woman. A devoted man who would do anything for the woman he loves  

“But here, the northern duke is not like that…!”  

Of course, Killian is someone who can do anything for the woman he loves. However, the fact that his “anything” truly means “anything” is the problem.  

He is different from characters who inevitably clash with the protagonist on a political level or those who may appear as tyrants but are reformist leaders.  

A criminal who doesn’t hesitate to commit murder, conduct investigations, and engage in stalking, all to possess the woman he loves, with a Scoville Index of a million in terms of crimes  

In an all-age novel, he stands alone as a 19-rated genre, as a serial killer. (T/L: I think she is trying to say that he is the only R-19 thing in the all-ages novel.)  

I’ve been diligently trying to tame him all this time.  

“It’s okay, Sophia. It’s natural to tame the lunatic in the novel.”  

Sophia reassured herself, reciting clichés.  

You just need to tighten the leash on the villain.  

Everyone does it that way and succeeds in the end.  

So, it’s okay.  

It’s not okay!  

“That’s not my taste…!”  

This is both an environmental and ethical issue.  

She grew up in a household plagued by domestic violence from an early age. (T/L: She is talking about her past life.)  

An older brother who learned violence by witnessing their father easily raising his hand.  

And trapped in outdated thinking, her grandmother defended her father and brother.  

In the midst of all that, her busy mother struggled to survive on her own.  

That’s why men who are hypocritical, violent, and self-centred were her number one object to avoid.  

Who would want to live with a man who goes around committing murders in the first place? If even a favourite celebrity is found to have committed a crime, a thousand years of love would extinguish instantly. (T/L: I agree with her.)  

People aren’t supposed to be fixed.  

Even if it were possible to fix someone, the time and effort required to do so would be too much of a waste.  

‘I think I’m screwed…’  

Just then, the sound of hooves could be heard from outside.  

Sophia stood up quickly and looked out the window with a cold expression.  

Two individuals dressed in military police uniforms were entering the Grand Duke’s Garden. Sophia stuck her head out of the terrace and listened attentively to the conversation between the military police officer and Garfield.  

Fortunately, the dawn was quiet, allowing her to faintly hear their conversation.  

“Viscount Percel has passed away. Your Excellency should go quickly.”  

“Oh no!”   

Garfield hurriedly went to call Kilian upon receiving the urgent report from the military police officer.  

With Viscount Percel’s death and Kilian returning injured, all the pieces fell into place.  

At that moment, a different thought flashed through Sophia’s mind.  

‘What if I go to the military police officers and tell them the truth?’   

What if she could remove the seeds of destruction in this world by revealing the truth?  

‘They might not easily believe me, but with Kilian’s injured waist, they might realize he’s the culprit.  

Sophia carefully considered her options and nodded her head.  

With courage in her heart, she stepped out of her room.  

But…   

“Sophia, were you still awake?”  

“Eek!”   

As soon as she went out into the hallway, she ran into Killian coming out from the other side.  

Sophia’s heart skipped a beat.  

He had managed to change into a military police uniform and casually walk down the corridor. Despite the deep wound on his waist, he moved without any sign of difficulty, walking as steadily as ever.   

His face remained expressionless, showing no trace of emotion.   

‘But… He must have a wound on his waist, right?’   

Sophia was taken aback by his seemingly unharmed appearance.  

However, she noticed sweat trickling down his neck, and his tightly sealed lips were different from his usual self.  

It was undeniable that the events earlier were not a dream.  

There’s no way he could have properly treated that injury in such a short time.  

“yo… you’re going out?”    

‘With that body?’   

Sophia stammered, expressing her disbelief and concern.  

With surprise evident in her voice, Sophia questioned Kilian’s intention, considering his condition.   

Kilian nodded in response to Sophia’s question and explained, “It seems something has happened at the military police.”  

“Oh, I see…”  

Sophia was speechless at the sight of him pretending not to know anything and replying shamelessly.   

“It’s late at night, so you should go inside and get some rest.”  

From his words, Sophia felt an unspoken pressure weighing on her.