I Killed the Male Lead

 'That corpse from earlier was Russell Bolev?'

I wanted to deny that it was nonsense, but the thought that once came to my mind continued to branch out.

Black hair, red eyes, and even a white shirt that was always untied. The body's appearance perfectly matched Russell Bolev's description in the novel.

The fact that his room was on the third floor of the duke's residence and that the red drapery came down from the ceiling and covered the bed were the same as in the novel.

'So you're saying that this place is in a novel?'

The grave voices in my head surfaced, and the possibilities for those speculations increased. Are you saying that someone is reading 『The Trap and the Swamp』? I can hear that voice?

'Nonsense.'

Russell Bolev was the male lead. It didn't make sense for him to die even if this was really the world in a novel, and I was listening to the text of the novel.

Where is the romance if the male protagonist dies in the novel?

Moving forward again, I thoughtfully recalled the plot of 『The Trap and the Swamp』.

『The Trap and the Swamp』 was, in a word, a terrible, exhausting novel. The female lead married her husband at a young age, and her husband was madly obsessed with her.

It wasn't just an obsession, it was accompanied by confinement, assault, and brainwashing. It was to the extent that there were comments saying that this novel would only have a happy ending if the male protagonist died.

'Come to think of it, did it have an ending?'

I was definitely close to the ending. I remember seeing the scene where the female lead gave up everything and accepted the male lead.

However, the atmosphere was just like that, but I don't remember exactly when it ended.

'So you're saying that the male lead will die right before the end? From an extra like me?'

Before I knew it, I was convinced that I was an extra in this novel. I didn't remember seeing the name Julia Reitz in the novel, so at least it wasn't a lead role.

My head was full of unanswered questions. What role did Julia Reitz play in the novel, why did she kill the male lead, and why did I come into this woman's body?

What is that voice, why is it heard by me, and what is its purpose?

'One last thing.'

I was definitely a reader who had only read 『The Trap and the Swamp』roughly once. I didn't even have a special attachment to the novel.

How could I remember such details?

In particular, the description of Russell Bolev's appearance and his room was overly vivid. It's like remembering something that happened in the past.

It was also strange that I accepted the absurd situation of entering the world of the novel strangely and quickly.

I didn't think I was crazy or caught in a dream or fantasy. This is reality. That was one thing I could say for sure.

***

How long have I been moving in this pathway? At last, a light began to be seen in the distance.

I wiped the sweat from my face. I felt tremendous fatigue from crawling constantly in an uncomfortable position in a confined area.

As I slowly approached the end, I could see the stone floor through the dense iron bars. There was no sound, no one passing by.

Outside the window was a narrow alley. The sun had already set, and it was already dark, and only a dim streetlight was illuminating the street.

The roadside was visible at the end of the alleyway, but no one was seen there either. I noticed and quickly removed the iron bars and got out. Perhaps it was originally made for that purpose, the iron bars moved lightly, contrary to their appearance.

"Ha…”

I finally took a deep breath of the fresh air I encountered. It was fortunate that I was wearing a dark dress with the sun set. No one would be able to see the blood on my dress.

'Anyways, what should I do now?'

It was fortunate that I got out of the mansion safely, but I didn't know what to do from now on. I don't even know who I am, so it’s not like there’s a place I can head to tonight.

'I haven't heard that voice at all since then.'

I looked around and came out to the side of the road, pretending to be natural. When I came out of the mansion, I could see more clearly that this place was not a built-in set.

Shops were lined up on both sides of the road. Because of the time, I saw quite a few places with doors closed, but there were also places with lights on. It was mainly restaurants and inns that sold alcohol.

As soon as I saw the inn, the thought of wanting to wash up dominated my whole body.

'I must need money, right?'

However, even when I felt around with my arms, only the dagger I had brought came out.

Frustration came over the fact that my body was tired, but I had no place to lie down.

I let out a big sigh and started groping all over my body. It was because of the thought that if there was a decorative jewel or brooch attached to the dress, I might be able to get money by selling it.

Then I suddenly realized that something was dangling around my neck.

I hurriedly untied my necklace. The necklace had a simple design with transparent jewels hanging from a gold string, but the glitter was unusual.

'Wouldn't this make money?'

As if it had been waiting for this moment, I saw a pawn shop as soon as I turned the corner. I went there without hesitation.

“…Excuse me."

It was the first time I had spoken to someone since entering this body, so I opened my mouth awkwardly and a stern-looking woman appeared from inside the pawnshop.

She looked me up and down in silence. Before noticing bloodstains on my dress and suspecting me, I quickly put the necklace on the table.

“I want to entrust this to you.”

The woman lifted my necklace with her thick hands and looked around in the bright light. Then she took out a gold coin and put it on the table.

“Is this all?”

"Then?"

It was a face that told me to leave if I was dissatisfied.

I didn't know the value of the necklace or the value of a single gold coin. However, I knew one thing for sure, and it was that these merchants did not show all their cards from the beginning.

"Then I’ll go somewhere else.”

The woman’s eyebrows twitched as I snatched the necklace from her thick fingers. Without hesitation, I turned my back and was about to leave the pawnshop-

“Fine.”

A few gold coins fell on the table with the sound of clicking her tongue.

"Six. I can't give you any more.”

“…Fine."

"The lady doesn't know much about the world."

“Of course not.”

When I stepped away again, another gold coin was added. I looked back at that women with a smile.

***

“Ah, I will live.”

I thought I would only live after washing and changing into new clothes.

I stretched in the middle of a small inn room. It was the cheapest room in this inn, but it was cozy in its own way. There was a soft bed and a small bedside table.

The total amount of money obtained at the pawnshop was eight gold coins and three silver coins. It was the result of a long struggle.

'It must have been an expensive item.'

For one gold coin, I could stay in this inn room for ten days. The price included two meals a day. If I do a simple calculation, it means that I don't have to worry about eating well for more than two months.

I picked up an armful of clothes scattered on the floor. It was an old dress I had been wearing all along, which I had taken off while taking a bath.

I was going to wash it before the blood completely stained it. Maybe this dress will make money, and even if not, it'll be a hint of who I am.

I dipped the dress in the leftover bath water and started to wash it, but no matter how I looked at it, the fabric seemed to be much better than the new one I was wearing. It might be natural, since it was a cheap dress I bought in a hurry on the way here.

‘The dress and even that necklace. Could it be that I was rich? Something like the nobility of this world?'

But even so, it was clear that it was all in the past. It was because the fabric was good, the dress was too old, and the appearance of me when I washed it was not easy.

From the tousled hair to the haggard face to the dripping soup. It wasn't just because I had been walking down a dark passage for half a day. The accumulated poverty was felt in every part of this body.

After wringing out the dress with all the bloodstains removed and hanging it up, I finally lay down on the bed.

‘What should I do tomorrow? After ten days, no, if all the gold coins run out...’

As soon as I closed my eyes, countless thoughts ran through my head. But before I could get an answer to my worries, fatiguelessness overtook me. I soon fainted and fell asleep.

My eyes shook randomly, and the soft bed turned into the hard floor. I, who had been lying down until just now, was staring straight ahead.

There was only one thing clearly visible in front of my eyes, as if everything else was foggy. It was the corpse of Russell Bolev, lying with his eyes wide open.

The corpse came right in front of my nose in an instant. I stabbed him mercilessly with a dagger in my hand. A bone could be felt at the end of the knife with a thud and a breaking sound.

The moment blood splattered toward my eyes and my eyes turn red-

“Haa!”

I woke up from a nightmare