0&1 Ch 1.2

The protagonist of the game[Love Trap Marriage], Idella, is a noble girl with a practical personality. From the moment she was born, her family was already in decline. Though she bore the title of nobility, she grew up without a single servant and did all the household chores herself.

Her dream was to graduate from the academy as soon as possible and find a job that can support her family. But one day, her father issued a shocking command:

“As soon as you graduate from the academy, you must marry for the sake of our family.”

The partner chosen for her was a merchant older than her father, with children at least ten years older than Idella herself.

Determined to avoid such a fate, she made a resolution. She would find a husband at the academy and marry him first.

There were five men Idella could meet at the academy. Two of them were princes: First Prince Edward and Second Prince Joffrey.

Edward had blond hair and blue eyes, the very embodiment of a prince. He excelled academically, was skilled in swordsmanship, and gave off a perfect, flawless impression.

In contrast, Joffrey was ordinary in every way, but his friendly personality allowed him to get along well with many people.

When playing as Idella, I went after Edward. His stats seemed the strongest. I mean, wasn’t he the one destined to be King?

But after I raised Edward’s affection level, Joffrey approached me.

Unlike the aloof Edward, Joffrey was kind-hearted. A prince who had grown up constantly compared to his outstanding brother knew how to comfort Idella’s inferiority complex and weaknesses. Maybe what she needed wasn’t success, but someone who loved her?

I felt sorry for the heroine, so after seeing a few of Joffrey’s events, I switched targets to him.

And then my heroine was killed by Edward. At the ending, Edward held the dying Idella in his arms and said:

[Why did you leave me? You said you’d stay by my side.

[It’s okay now, Idella. You won’t be able to leave anymore. Don’t make me lonely. Don’t leave me alone. You can do that for me, right? You don’t need to promise. I’ll make sure of it. Let’s stay together.]

Where on earth am I?

I got the answer to that question the very next day.

Even though I passed out and woke up several times through the night, I was still there. Every time I opened my eyes, I hoped I would wake up in reality.

I thought I might’ve heard the sounds of machines in my sleep. Maybe I really was in a hospital bed, still unconscious, dreaming all this.

I was in trouble. What about my part-time job? Would Mom have the presence of mind to contact my boss? Probably not. I didn’t want to cause any trouble.

I must have been frowning without realizing, because a servant asked, “Are you in pain?”

“No.”
“Is the wet towel too cold?”
“No. I’m fine.”
“Then, may I bring you some tea?”

The servant seemed really eager to be helpful.

“Yes. Please.”
“Yes!”

He rushed into the next room but nearly tripped over the carpet.

“Careful.”
“Oh, I’m sorry!”

He sprang up quickly.

“No, you don’t have to apologize to me.”

Thinking about it, that attendant had stayed by my side all night. Every time I woke up, he’d jump in surprise and ask if I was alright.

So this is what my subconscious wanted?

When I was sick, I always wished someone would stay by my side. I’d even wished one day I’d suddenly get rich. But I guess my real wish wasn’t to win the lottery. It was to become a nobleman.

Did I want someone to wait on me?

On top of that, my body was younger, so I could even cry properly, playing the part of a sick little kid. Since I was in pain, I didn’t even have to try. The tears flowed naturally, soaking my hair.

The attendant called me ‘Prince,’ and the woman who’d held me and cried was called ‘Your Majesty.’

Since it was a dream, everyone looked like foreigners but spoke fluent Korean. They even understood idioms.

It was a mess of a dream.

“Your Highness, Lord Grey Cracker has come to visit you. Shall I let him in?” asked the attendant.

“Who?”
“Pardon? Lord Grey Cracker. You study together…”

What a ridiculously detailed dream setting.

“Let him in.”

The attendant opened the door and a boy with neatly styled black hair entered. He looked about ten years old.

“I heard you fell off your horse. I’m glad it wasn’t serious,” said Grey Cracker.

What a funny name. It sounded kind of familiar.

“I fell off my horse?”
“That’s what I heard. Is that not true?”

So a car accident got reinterpreted as a horse fall? That made sense.

“Yes. Um… That’s right. Thank you for coming.”
“I didn’t have anything else to do.”

So you came because you were bored?

“Prince Edward is under house arrest, so I can’t see him. Our classes were canceled too.” Grey started giving me more details.

“Ah… I see. Why is he under house arrest?”
“Because he carelessly put Prince Joffrey on a horse and caused him to fall off.”
“Ah. I see.”

When I pretended to understand, Grey stared at me intently.

So Edward had caused Joffrey to fall off a horse? Is falling off a horse a common accident?

But that can’t be right. I remembered the Queen calling me Joffrey. So I’m the one who fell? I’m Prince Joffrey?

Then the Edward under punishment must be that kid I saw yesterday. The one no one paid attention to. This family’s like a trashy drama.

“If he’s under house arrest, does that mean no one can see him?”
“Yes. He’s not allowed to leave his chambers.”
“What about meals?”
“His servants will bring them.”

So he can see his servants. That’s not really no one, is it? That’s what I thought, but I didn’t argue.

The young attendant who had been guarding my room returned with two cups of warm tea. Grey took one without saying thank you.

“Why’d you ride a horse?” Grey asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Really?” His eyes narrowed. “You don’t like physical activity. And you’re afraid of horses.”

“Really?”
“You didn’t take riding lessons with Prince Edward, remember?”
“Is that so? Then why did I ride one yesterday?”
“You’re asking me…? You sound like it’s someone else’s business.”

Well, it is someone else’s business to me, but I remembered the saying that you shouldn’t say ‘this is a dream’ inside a dream.

“I see,” I answered vaguely.

“You’re acting strange today…” Grey tilted his head. “Well, Prince Edward is really good at riding. Maybe watching him got you interested?”

“I suppose so.”

Grey furrowed his brow. “So now you want to learn riding?”
“I’m not sure.”

“Prince Edward has excellent balance and a natural talent for handling horses. Lord Pie even praised him highly. His Majesty might hear about it too.” Grey looked me straight in the eye as he said this.

“Maybe.”

His eyes lit up. With an inexplicable determination, he said: “His Majesty values martial training very highly. Since ancient times, riding, hunting, and archery have been virtues of the nobility. Prince Edward inherited His Majesty’s strong physique and even an interest in swordsmanship. His Majesty must be proud.”

Grey looked like he wanted to provoke me. I could practically hear his inner voice: Get angry. React. 

But I had no idea why I was supposed to be angry.

“But no King ever ruled a country from horseback. Being a warmonger isn’t exactly a royal virtue.” I tried saying something that sounded impressive, just to match the mood. “You may win the world on horseback, but you can’t rule it from there.”

It’s a quote from the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. I memorized it because it has a nice ring to it, though I forget who said it.

Grey looked deflated. He stared at me and, with a strange expression, said, “You’re really acting odd today, Your Highness.”

After Grey left, I lay back down on the bed. I was unbearably tired and still in pain. That car must’ve hit me dead-on. I was hurting so much, I couldn’t even forget the pain in a dream.

I wondered how much debt I was racking up with my hospital bill.

But human brains are weird. Sometimes, problems you’ve been thinking about all day suddenly solve themselves right before sleep.

Grey Cracker. A ridiculous name. If someone named Black Cookie showed up next, I wouldn’t even be surprised. What kind of game character name is that… Grey Cracker…

I sat bolt upright. The servant who had dozed off beside me jumped in surprise.

“Your Highness? Are you alright? What’s wrong?”
“What’s my last name? No, what’s the Prime Minister’s surname in this country?”
“You’re Prince Joffrey Biscotti… The Prime Minister is the Duke Cracker, isn’t he?”
“What about the Montblanc Trading Company?”
“The Montblanc Trading Company, one of the  Kingdom’s top three trading companies? Why do you ask?”
“Wow…”

The dream started making sense.

Prince Edward and Prince Joffrey. The clues had already been there.

I was dreaming that I had become the second prince, one of the capture targets in the game. The one I had tried to pair with my heroine.

All the characters in the game had dessert-themed surnames, like Montblanc and Baumkuchen.

Of course, it was Yoo Yeon-ho who told me those were dessert names.

So this is what lucid dreaming feels like? It was my first time.

A dream that was just as vivid as real life. Honestly, it was starting to get a little scary. How could something so lifelike be a dream?

How do I wake up? I’d heard something about it before, but couldn’t remember.

Well, it’s just a dream anyway. Dreams end eventually. When I open my eyes, I’ll be in the hospital.

I hoped Mom didn’t cry too much. I should tell her I’m sorry and promise not to walk while looking at my phone again. I should tell her she can suspend my phone plan if it worries her.

But the next day, I still woke up in the game’s world