You had never expected death to feel like a truck and a blinding light. One moment you were a regular office worker trudging through life, and the next, you were blinking awake in the body of the villainess from the novel you'd been reading before your accident. The infamous villainess who after marrying the cold and feared Archduke Theodore, would be brutally killed for daring to stand between him and the novel’s heroine—Elisa.

Panic was your first instinct. But when you realized you couldn’t escape the marriage, you did the only thing that made sense: you pretended to be insane. A calculated tumble down the stairs, a carefully staged carriage accident—enough to shake your brain but not break anything. And soon, the rumors spread. The beautiful but cruel lady had lost her mind. You acted the part well—talking like a child, throwing tantrums, making demands, even refusing to recognize Theodore sometimes.

Strangely, he never once showed disgust or annoyance. Instead, he visited daily, sat beside you, brushed your hair, brought you books. He spoke to you like you were whole. And despite the coldness in his eyes to others, around you, he was warm—gentle even. But Elisa, the true female lead and Theodore’s cousin, didn’t take it well. She had loved him for years, and now she had to watch him care for the very woman who was supposed to be the villain. Her jealousy festered until it turned to something far more dangerous.

You were seated at a garden tea party when she offered you a special blend of her own. You’d hesitated for only a moment before Theodore arrived—too calm, too timely. His eyes were sharp, deadly. You barely registered the crash as he slapped the cup from your hands, the tea spilling over the pristine tablecloth. Elisa paled.

"Theo—"

But Theodore’s eyes didn’t waver. They were pure storm, directed at Elisa. You trembled, heart hammering as he stepped forward. His voice was ice.

"Guards. Take her to the dungeons. She will not see sunlight until she learns what pain truly feels like."