woke up chapter 1

Chapter 0 – I Accidentally Woke Up the Obsessive Male Lead

It was a night faintly illuminated by the blue moonlight. Ariel’s eyes snapped open, piercing the heavy silence. Marble pillars reminiscent of an ancient temple and a floor tinged with blue met her gaze. This wasn’t where she’d been. Had I time-slipped again? Ariel glanced at the hourglass hanging around her neck. Sand trickled from the red jewel within. She looked around, sighing deeply. It seemed she’d been transported to another time. Past or future, the travel itself is fine, but I wish I could choose the destination. The first time this happened, she’d panicked, unsure of what was going on. Now, however, she was quite used to it and knew exactly what to check first.

One: confirm the time period. She examined her reflection in a marble pillar. Hmm, I haven’t changed much. Is it the same time? Looking at her twenty-year-old self, Ariel tilted her head. It doesn’t seem like I’ve deviated much from my original time.

Two: examine the location. She surveyed her surroundings. She had a rough idea of the time period, but the location was uncertain. Have I been here before? The place felt strangely familiar, similar to the ancient ruins she often visited. No, it’s definitely not that place.

As Ariel’s gaze drifted to the center of the hall, a pair of violet-pink eyes fluttered open. Atop a blue altar, the same color as the floor, lay a man, asleep as if dead. Slowly approaching, Ariel’s fists clenched as she recognized his face. It’s finally happened. From the moment she realized she’d been reincarnated into a novel, she knew this day would come. But she never thought it would come so soon. 

“I’m doomed,” she muttered, burying her face in her hands. This entire situation was a scene she knew well. Or rather, a scene she had read in her past life. She didn’t know why she was here, but she knew where she was. 

The First Tower, where time stood still. The magic tower where Etheldred Yel Ezekiel Steffen, the lord of the tower and the male lead of The Sleeping Witch’s Time, was sealed. According to the original story, the heroine would awaken the sealed male lead with a kiss, after which she would be subjected to his intense, obsessive, and rather toxic affections. However, the crucial point was that Etheldred hadn’t woken up yet. That means this is before the original story begins! In other words, Etheldred was sealed in a darkened state, seeing nothing but red. He even tried to kill the heroine, so what chance did a mere extra like her have?

Ariel tried to recall the details of the novel to find a way to survive, but she sighed deeply. She’d only focused on the steamy bits, so nothing useful came to mind. Why am I here before the heroine?! Ariel tugged at her hair in frustration. A few strands of her pink hair, streaked with gold, came loose in her fingers, but she didn’t care. She had to figure out how to escape. 

What do I do? To return to my time, I need to kiss him, but what if he wakes up? No, I’m not the heroine! Wait, heroine…? A forgotten fact brightened her face. Etheldred wasn’t just asleep; he was sealed. He couldn’t be awakened without a kiss from the heroine, the one who would break the seal. That meant she could do cartwheels or kick down pillars, and he wouldn’t wake up. 

Because I’m not the heroine! Just like Sleeping Beauty could only be awakened by the prince’s kiss! If anyone could do it, her mother, the queen, would have woken her up. Ariel was overjoyed that she wasn’t the heroine. Long live the extras! Long live the insignificant existence! Grateful for her insignificance, she looked at the hourglass around her neck. Since I’ll return to reality after some time, I’ll just wait patiently. It might be a bit boring, though.