Became the Step-Mother of the Rabbit Female Lead (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 1

Have you ever seen a man who only holds your hand tightly and sleeps on your wedding night?

Right now, I’m witnessing it.

“…….”

‘No, this is so absurd I can’t even speak anymore….’

Past midnight, in a pitch-black bedroom.

Lying next to an astonishingly handsome man, holding only his hand.

I glanced sideways, sneaking a peek at him. His damp black hair fell neatly over his straight forehead. A sharp nose, a jawline as if carved by a sculptor, pale lips pressed firmly in a straight line, and long, jet-black eyelashes.

‘He’s genuinely handsome. Like a living statue.’

Moreover, this man was a wolf—not metaphorically, but literally a wolf shifter.

The alpha of all wolves, Duke Grayan Salisbury.

My heart had been racing ever since I saw him at the wedding ceremony earlier. His silver eyes, when we met face to face, radiated an otherworldly allure, and his languid voice answering the officiant’s questions made my chest tremble.

But now that we were alone together, I realized something. This wolf… had absolutely no interest in me!

‘Then again, Grayan was always like this in the original story.’

He’d never cared for romance or marriage—his affection was reserved solely for his adopted daughter, April.

An incredibly handsome, supremely capable, wealthy, and gentle father who showered love only on the female lead—this was precisely what readers adored!

‘And it hit my personal tastes right on target too. A wolf shifter with such magnetism who’s also kind-hearted as a father—best character ever…!’

Overwhelmed by sudden fangirling, I clutched my chest and swallowed a sigh. Then I sneaked another sidelong glance.

‘I knew he was this kind of character, but still…!’

Wasn’t this going a bit too far? How could anyone possibly just sleep while someone as stunning as me lay right beside him?

Unable to bear just peeking, I shot him a sharp, irritated glare.

That’s when it happened—Grayan abruptly opened his eyes.

‘Gah! You scared me!’

Panicked, I whipped my head away as if I’d never glared at him in the first place. My heart pounded thunderously—so loudly I feared Grayan could hear it with his sharp ears. Ughh, please calm down, my heart!

“…Aren’t you sleeping?”

His voice, dripping with decadent charm and sexiness, came from beside me. For a moment, I almost fainted without even realizing it. Was he insane? What kind of voice was that…?

‘If I make eye contact, I’m doomed.’

Unable to turn toward him, I kept my eyes fixed firmly on the ceiling as I replied.

“I can’t sleep.”

Surprisingly composed for someone so flustered, the words slipped smoothly from my lips. Not bad, my acting skills.

“You must be tired. I heard your journey here from the Einstein Kingdom was extremely exhausting.”

“…….”

Ah, right. I had no memory of that. Why? Because I’d just possessed this body five minutes before the wedding!

‘Of all times to get possessed—right before the wedding! Now there’s no chance to run away. Ugh.’

I let out a silent sigh inwardly. Since no further words came, Grayan must have drifted back to sleep—still clutching my hand tightly.

Wait, why was he holding my hand while sleeping…? Wasn’t it even weirder to just hold hands and sleep…?

‘I give up… I can’t understand this.’

I swallowed another sigh threatening to escape. Honestly, no matter how many times I thought about it, this reality was unbelievable.

‘I’ve been possessed into the female lead’s stepmother.’

As the very term “stepmother” implied, this body was a villain—one exceptionally cruel at that.

Utterly selfish and self-centered, constantly envious and tormenting others. Though raised as a princess of a kingdom with every luxury, her greed knew no bounds—she wouldn’t rest until she got whatever she wanted.

Since the author gave this stepmother no backstory at all, she couldn’t even qualify as a “tragic villain.” She was simply human trash.

Well, I guess I understood why the author made this character so flat.

Because this character existed solely as a sacrificial lamb for that cathartic plot where the male leads exact brutal revenge on behalf of the female lead!

After all, the more despicable the villain’s karma, the more refreshing the revenge!

Thus, this stepmother character inevitably had to commit one-dimensional, brainless evil deeds…

‘Fortunately, I haven’t accrued any karma toward the female lead yet…’

But so what? This “Gloria Einstein” must have already committed countless atrocities in her life.

‘Still, I have a chance to avoid the death flag.’

If I can clear my past karma and win favor with the novel’s heroine, some good fortune would surely come my way.

‘From now on, I’ll get along perfectly with the female lead—as her kind and benevolent new mother.’

Yes, that was my resolution for now—but honestly, it still felt unreal.

I’d often fantasized about transmigration myself—escaping dreary reality into a novel’s world. It had been fun.

But experiencing it firsthand, I finally understood—it was fun precisely because it was just a fantasy…!

‘There’s no internet here and absolutely nothing!’

Dear God, why must You trap me in this boring world without webtoons or web novels? How on earth did I end up possessing this body?

Clutching my head, I tried retracing my steps. Just a few hours ago… I’d been in my studio apartment. That much was certain…

I’d been possessed completely out of the blue.

This 19+ depressing novel had breathed life into my mundane days, weighed down by university assignments.

Thrilling, provocative, and though the female lead suffered so much it felt bleak, the author’s pacing was so well-done that I breezed through it effortlessly.

Plus, the unique shifter world-building was intriguing, especially since the female lead was none other than an adorably cute rabbit shifter.

163 chapters total—and it was still unfinished. Since the climax began around chapter 155, I assumed the finale was imminent. But on the day chapter 164 should’ve been posted, instead came an announcement.

[We are discontinuing this series.]

‘Huh???’

Staring disbelievingly at those five words—“We are discontinuing this series”—I clicked the notice. The message was brief: due to unavoidable circumstances, they could no longer continue serialization; they apologized; and—

[Though we cannot show you the ending, we hope this helps. May your future ahead be filled with blessings.]

‘What help? What is this even saying?’

Fuming with a mix of excitement and anger, I opened the comment section. Predictably, the sudden discontinuation announcement had unleashed a flood of hate comments.

But there were also comments worrying about the author’s situation, and soon, supporters and critics clashed, turning the section into chaos.

‘Nope, nope.’

I solemnly shook my head and closed the browser tab. Internet discourse was always like this.

‘It’s a shame I couldn’t see the ending, but it was definitely going to be a happy one—100% sure.’

Truly disappointing, but I decided to find another novel to read. After all, it was a free serialization—I hadn’t paid anything. Anyway, I should focus on exam prep first…

‘Ah… I wish I could take a semester off.’

Dreaming of something I’d never do, I studied until I dozed off at some point.

I’d drunk ten cans of Hot×is to pull an all-nighter, but I probably hadn’t died of heart attack—being only 21, I couldn’t possibly drop dead that easily.

So this must clearly be a dream.

“Your Highness, you must enter now!”

“Your Highness? Why are you spacing out?”

“……?”

…Why was I wearing a wedding dress and holding a bouquet?

And what’s this? “Your Highness”?

“Princess Gloria!”

‘Wait, Gloria?’

That familiar name jolted me awake.

Gloria, Gloria Einstein.

C-could it be…? No, surely not…?

“Princess Gloria, you must enter now! What’s come over you suddenly?”

Dazed, I opened my mouth.

“Who… am I marrying?”

I instantly regretted it. What a brainless thing to say! They’d definitely think I was acting strange!

The brown-haired maid widened her eyes and replied in a trembling voice.

“Your Highness, why are you like this…? Today is your wedding day to Duke Salisbury!”

Salisbury!

Lightning struck my brain. With this many clues, failing to grasp the situation would disqualify me as a pro web novel reader. This was clearly one of the top three web novel tropes—the possession trope!

“Your Highness….”

The maid called me worriedly. I quickly spoke to her, who was watching me anxiously.

“Just five minutes.”

“What?”

“I’m just nervous. I need five minutes alone.”

The maids exchanged confused glances, clearly wondering what was going on, but eventually left me alone in the waiting room.

Yes, this place… no matter how I looked at it, was the bride’s waiting room! And I was wearing a wedding dress.

Swallowing my trembling breath, I stood before the mirror. My reflection…

‘…What? I’m actually really pretty.’

Hair like spun gold, fair and translucent skin, vivid blue sapphire eyes, and delicate, lovable features…

The maids had definitely called me “Princess Gloria.” So this body belonged to Gloria Einstein—

The fourth princess of the Einstein Kingdom, soon to marry Duke Grayan Salisbury and become Duchess of Salisbury: the “stepmother from the original story.”

‘…Why?’

Why a stepmother? Why specifically this? Couldn’t I have possessed someone else? Why not transmigrate into a contemporary or hunter novel instead of romance?

‘If I’d transmigrated into a hunter novel, I could’ve used my original story knowledge to thrive—but how am I supposed to survive as a romance novel’s evil stepmother?!’

“Your Highness! Five minutes are up!”

A maid called urgently from outside. Dazed, I let myself be led into the corridor.

…This is a dream, it has to be—possession like this can’t actually exist! Wait, if I’ve possessed this body, where did the original owner go? Where’s the logic in this?

“The bride enters!”

Startled by the booming announcement, I jerked my head up. My mental state shattered, so everything entering my vision looked abstract.

But amidst the blur, one figure stood out distinctly—radiating an overwhelming aura. That face, those eyes, that perfect physique—clearly labeled “Main Character!”

‘Grayan Salisbury…!’

The adoptive father of the rabbit female lead. Duke Salisbury—and alpha of all wolf shifters.

His silvery-gray eyes, holding a quiet gleam, locked onto me. As expected of the “wolf among wolves,” his gaze exuded wildness. Wow. Handsome enough to outshine any male lead. Truly worthy of being the female lead’s father.

“Now then, bride and groom, please join hands…”

Grayan extended his hand to me. Surprisingly calm, considering he was marrying a woman infamous for her villainy. Then again, that was just his character.

‘He’s too handsome—my heart’s racing… What’s with that gaze…? It’s melting me completely.’

And so, I married Grayan Salisbury.

Afterward, anticipating our wedding night with a mix of excitement and confusion, heart pounding—I ended up just holding hands to sleep.

Wait, are you even a wolf?!

‘Abandoned.’

When I woke up in the morning, the spot beside me was empty—I was alone.

A passage from the original suddenly came to mind…

[From their wedding night, Grayan treated Gloria coldly. He didn’t consummate the marriage properly and left the bedroom early in the morning, abandoning her alone.] [Humiliation and fury surged in Gloria’s heart. How dare this lowly shifter treat her this way…? She would never forgive him. Only when he knelt completely beneath her feet would her rage be satisfied.]

Right, that’s how it went. Gloria, princess of the human kingdom, utterly despised shifters as a race—but married Grayan for political reasons.

Yet upon seeing Grayan’s real appearance, his overwhelming handsomeness made her heart flutter… and secretly hoping for their wedding night, she’d been met with his indifference.

Proud Gloria felt deeply humiliated, and from that moment, her obsession and cruelty toward Grayan began…

‘Ah, I’m hungry.’

Rubbing my stomach, I got out of bed. Whether Grayan treated me coldly or not… who cared? I wasn’t Gloria, trembling over such trifles.

‘Right, let’s just get some food.’

I craved warm rice topped with a slice of spam, eaten with kimchi.

But of course, that kind of meal wouldn’t appear here…

After finishing a breakfast closer to British cuisine, I bathed, changed clothes, and stepped outside.

Now what? Should I gather information first? This was my first time possessing someone—it felt harder than retaking the college entrance exam.

Just then—

“Miss!”

“Miss, where are you!”

Maids were running wildly down the corridor, shouting in all directions.

Why so chaotic? Frowning, I walked toward them. “Miss”—in Salisbury Castle, only one person could be called that…

At that moment—

Hop!

A white fluffball suddenly leapt into my arms, as if begging me to hide it.

Startled, I remained calm and examined the fluffball.

But up close… this wasn’t just fluff—it was a white rabbit!

‘What rabbit is this…?’

“Miss!”

At the maid’s voice, the rabbit perked its ears. Its black eyes gazed at me, wide and bright.

My mind spun rapidly. Miss, rabbit, Miss, rabbit…

‘…This rabbit, could it be…?’

“…Hey, are you April?”

The rabbit blinked twice affirmatively.

Unbelievable.

Weren’t you the heroine? Why are you in rabbit form?! Yes, you’re a rabbit shifter—but normally, you’d be in human form, right?

‘How can you have romance scenes with male leads in rabbit form?!’