The peak of a sheer cliff.
A woman stood precariously at its edge, reaching her hand toward the sky.
As if answering her call, a massive dragon lowered its head. It was a magnificent creature with smooth black scales and golden eyes. Through ancient speech, the dragon conveyed its pact with the woman.
[Queen Laphiere Kerast. As the guardian dragon of Kerast, I vow to bind myself to you and protect this land.]“This pact, I accept with joy. Please remain the guardian of the Kerast Empire for ages to come.”
With the radiant smile of the woman called Laphiere, every living being in the empire raised triumphant cheers toward the guardian dragon.
The guardian dragon soon scattered golden light, gradually shrinking in size, until it took the form of a man standing upon a pedestal at the center of the castle.
Floating in midair with a translucent body, Yerpi looked down upon the empire filled with cheers, silently witnessing their pact.
‘…Laphiere Kerast?’
This scene was the moment when the first queen of Kerast forged a contract with the ancient dragon.
Strangely, their faces bore an uncanny resemblance to people Yerpi knew.
‘Charlotte and Raymond.’
Yulha and Ian.
And besides Yerpi, there was one more person observing the queen’s and dragon’s pact.
Elsia, the Primordial Spice and the only mate of the ancient dragon. Elsia approached the queen and the dragon after their pact, offering them a bright smile.
“Congratulations on reaching the pinnacle of the empire, Laphiere.”
“Thank you, Elsia.”
Elsia embraced Laphiere. The ancient dragon Oblivus wrapped his arms around Elsia from behind.
One dragon and two girls had been together since childhood.
Two orphaned girls met a dragon born from magic, and together they dreamed of a new world.
When they came of age, one girl became queen, while the other became the dragon’s mate, standing side by side.
Before Yerpi’s eyes unfolded the history of the empire. Beyond past lives. It was also her very first life.
A life she had believed to be entirely peaceful.
Until she was poisoned to death by her dearest friend, Laphiere.
After that, memories not belonging to Elsia began to intrude—memories belonging to Queen Laphiere, the one who had murdered her closest friend.
Laphiere, hiding her crime, consoled the dragon who had lost his mate. Soon, she sought to take Elsia’s place.
But Oblivus, unable to bear the loss of his mate, wailed in agony and ultimately chose to end his own life.
The queen, who had killed her friend and tried to claim the dragon, was left with nothing.
The death of the dragon, origin of magic, left behind a massive concentration of power.
That power passed into Queen Laphiere, the one who had killed Elsia. With this power, Laphiere gazed into the principles of the universe.
The world of her first life collapsed.
Yet, through Laphiere’s hands, the entwined fate of two women and one dragon did not end.
That fate belonged to her past self, Yulha, and Ian.
‘Why? Wasn’t I just reincarnated into a novel?’
Her first life, her second life.
Now, the memories of her current life—reincarnated into another body—swirled chaotically in Yerpi’s mind.
At that moment, a forgotten memory resurfaced—she remembered who had written the novel she had reincarnated into.
‘The original author of “Dragon and Spice” was Yulha.’
She even recalled that Yulha had been reading her own serialized web novel when she had the accident. But she hadn’t died then—on the second attempt, she died from an allergic reaction.
Yulha had never forgotten her first life.
The woman who had kept the dragon’s power within her soul soon began writing her own story.
Even in her second life, Yulha failed to win Ian’s heart.
This world was indeed fabricated.
More precisely, it was a world created by a single soul—Laphiere and Yulha, who had lived through the first life and the past life.
The queen loved the empire. Thus, she turned the timeline where she never betrayed her friend into the history within the book.
First, she placed her own soul into the role of the female protagonist. Then, she placed the soul of Oblivus—namely Ian—into the role of the male protagonist.
Finally, into the role of the male protagonist’s first wife, she placed the soul of Elsia, the Primordial Spice and the only mate of the first dragon, thereby creating the world.
[Dragon and Spice.]A story about a male protagonist who neglects his first wife and becomes obsessed with the female lead.
It was meant to conclude exactly as she had originally written—until Yerpi remembered her past life.
‘…What is this?’
All memories had ended. Beyond past lives, to her first life, even bearing the memories of others—her mind was filled only with confusion.
But there was no time to sort her thoughts. A sticky darkness crawled toward Yerpi.
At that moment, the autumnal pattern drawn on the back of Yerpi’s hand shone brightly. Crimson light wrapped around her, shielding her from the darkness.
The living darkness let out a pained groan as it burned upon contact with the light.
Though the world within the book was created by Laphiere’s soul, the source of its power belonged to the ancient dragon.
Thus, it sought to protect Yerpi, not Charlotte, the original author.
Even in the primordial memory, she had been killed by her own friend.
The primordial murderer. The murderer of the past life. And the woman now trying to kill her—all shared the same soul.
The moment she realized this, Charlotte’s voice echoed from within the darkness.
‘Ah, you’re not dead yet.’
Her muttered words, laced with disappointment, made Yerpi’s insides boil.
She wanted to scream at her to come out immediately, but for some reason, her voice wouldn’t come. Charlotte’s laughter echoed from beyond the darkness.
‘Then I’ll just watch. From within this darkness.’
The darkness covered Yerpi’s entire body.
Though the light of autumn protected her, the sticky darkness continuously burned itself away while blocking her vision.
A nauseating dizziness overwhelmed her, followed by unbearable sleepiness.
‘So sleepy.’
She struggled to keep consciousness, but before the pitch-black darkness that devoured even light, her efforts soon lost their glow and faded.
***
When she opened her eyes again, she lay in a dark, empty space.
With great effort, Yerpi lifted her reluctant body. Before her stretched a massive screen, filling the entire wall, appearing like glass.
‘…Where is this?’
All around was sealed off—only the screen was visible. There was no door, no exit in sight.
She was completely trapped. Just as she thought this, an image appeared on the opaque screen.
A place surrounded by multicolored maple trees, with a colossal tree standing tall at the heart of the forest…
“The Crimson Forest?”
It was exactly where she had stood moments ago. Knights were stationed near Croteria.
Beyond them, the fallen Langrosa hung lifelessly from the roots of the giant tree.
‘Is she dead?’
Seeing the motionless summon, her heart sank.
Yet, she felt relieved that no more victims had appeared.
The screen fluidly shifted, showing the knights. Before long, Raymond’s figure appeared on the screen.
‘So he really was the same person.’
The moment she spotted him beyond the screen, her heart ached. Raymond was her lover—the one she had loved in her first, second, and final life.
Yerpi stepped closer to the screen and placed her hand upon it. The glass screen was not just devoid of warmth—it was bitterly cold.
“I’m right here.”
Trapped in a place no one knew, she called out to Raymond, but his gaze did not turn to her.
Instead, he gave cold, emotionless orders to the knights.
“Search the entire Crimson Forest. Report immediately if you detect any anomalies.”
“At once, Your Grace.”
The knights began their search. Soon, a sorrowful voice came from beyond the screen showing Raymond.
“I’m truly sorry. I should have taken better care of my sister…”
The moment she heard that voice, her heart dropped like a stone.
‘This voice…’
It was unmistakably Charlotte’s. Moisture gathered on the screen, sliding downward. Charlotte was comforting Raymond in a trembling voice.
“You will definitely find my sister.”
Raymond, who had ignored Charlotte all along, suddenly asked her.
“…I’ll ask once more. Are you certain my wife did not enter the Noise?”
At those words, silver hair blocked the screen Yerpi was watching.
“I was too scared then to see clearly. When I came to my senses, my sister was already gone.”
Raymond let out a deep sigh at her words.
“Understood. You’re in the way—return to your tent.”
“…I will.”
Raymond slowly disappeared from the screen.
Thud, thud. With small footsteps, the tent drew closer.
Inside the makeshift tent were a small bed, a bag, and a tiny hand mirror.
Charlotte picked up the hand mirror and looked into it. At that moment, Yerpi understood. She knew exactly where she was trapped.
‘Allosha’s Jewel.’
This was the inside of the necklace Charlotte had always worn.
Male lead is reincarnated to save his wife
I’ve also read this one twice already. The female lead is kinda soft and gets embarrassed easily—not really my type, but the plot is definitely worth reading. Hurry up and read it, y’all!
Intro
When Shen Yuan encountered Su Jin again in his previous life, she had already become the Prime Minister of the current dynasty. As for him, the former top young master of the capital, he had long since fallen into the abyss, becoming a singer on a pleasure boat.
After a song ended, he was redeemed and sent to the Su Residence.
Su Jin respected and cherished him, gave him a roof over his head, and bestowed him with warmth. Shen Yuan fell deeper and deeper, but before he could express his feelings, Su Jin passed away.
Shen Yuan died to follow her in death, but instead, he returned to when he was fifteen years old.
At that time, he was not yet engaged, and Su Jin was just a poor scholar.
Shen Yuan gritted his teeth, casting aside all his pride, and thought of ways to coax and entice her every day.
The colder and more indifferent Su Jin was towards him, the more proactive Shen Yuan became.
He was not afraid of being mocked by the world, only wanting to marry his Wife-master early, to hold her hand and never let go for a lifetime.
[Note: This story will not specifically point out the male lead’s reincarnation time point; it’s all in the details. Whenever you feel that the male lead is acting strangely, he has most likely been reincarnated.]
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
