The Prince's Taste - Chapter 1.1
When I opened my heavy eyelids, a colorful canopy was fluttering above me. Westerners dressed in maid outfits, reminiscent of something from a medieval film, were staring at me.
“Judy, are you awake now?”
A lady who looked to be in her mid-twenties clutched her hand, tears welling in her eyes.
“Who are you?”
“…Judy. I’m your mother. Don’t you recognize me?”
It was hard to believe that a foreigner could be my mother, but as she held my hand tightly while choking back tears, I couldn’t bring myself to pull away.
‘No way, this can’t be one of those book possessions, right?’
Though a common scenario in romance-fantasy novels, I never thought it would happen in reality. Just as I’d outgrown believing in Santa Claus, I wasn’t naïve enough to believe fictional settings at face value.
I pinched my cheek hard, thinking I was dreaming. My sudden action startled the woman, her expression darkening in an instant.
“Sweetheart, why are you doing this?”
“It hurts.”
I could feel the sharp pain in my cheek. Something ridiculous was happening to me.
Judy Esther had fallen into a coma after tumbling down the stairs a week ago. She speculated that perhaps at that moment, her previous soul had exited the body, and her own soul had taken over this one. Maybe she was reincarnated and had only realized her past life through the accident. The important thing was that this world she found herself in was indeed a storybook realm.
At first, she thought she’d time-traveled to the medieval past. But with the existence of magic and people sporting hair colors like red, yellow, green, blue, and purple, it was clear this world could only be possible within a novel.
‘I was living a pretty decent life.’
She had been an ordinary office worker in South Korea, enjoying simple pleasures like beer and chicken after work, reading web novels as a hobby, living comfortably without financial worries with her middle-class parents. She had a stable job with regular paychecks and even a good-looking boyfriend. While others complained about wanting to escape the socio-economic inequity they called ‘Joseon Hell,’ she felt content with her life.
Of course, while reading fantasy novels, she had dreamed of experiencing book transmigration at least once. However, she never wanted to lead a turbulent life like those characters in novels. Unlike other transmigrators who might remember the plot and character names, her mind was completely blank, and this was absolutely unacceptable for her.
She spent several days agonizing over her predicament.
Name: Judy Esther Emers
Status: Daughter of the Marquis of Emers
Family: Father, Mother, Older Brother
Nationality: Kingdom of Adrian
※ Characteristics – Pink hair, green eyes. Although a child, she possesses dazzling beauty. Once she becomes an adult, her looks will likely captivate the world. Based on her appearance, she’s at least a supporting character.
Just from the information she had gathered, no specific novel title came to mind. The transmigrators in the novels she read usually woke up and immediately say things like, “Ah, this is such-and-such novel world. The heroine is so-and-so, and the male lead is such a scoundrel. Oh, if I start this business, it’ll be a huge success!” Yet, nothing came to her.
All she could infer was that she wasn’t the protagonist.
Protagonists typically have a troubled family background, secrets about their birth, and accompanying curses or impactful stories that involve being confined due to some ominous prophecy from the temple. Since she was perfectly privileged, a golden spoon, she was definitely not the protagonist.
She only hoped that she’s just a passing extra and not a villain.
“I need to figure out the title of the novel to know my position and act accordingly…”
She must have been transmigrated by a character in one of the many novels she had read. But in her past life, she had read hundreds of novels. It takes a genius to remember all the names of countries and regions in strange foreign languages, the difficult and long names of the main characters and their families.
If she had known this would happen, she would have focused on just one book. If she had memorized just one novel instead of reading hundreds, she wouldn’t be so lost now.
Judy Esther’s sighs grew deeper and deeper.
“Prince Richard Adrian has been appointed as the Crown Prince.”
“The Queen must be relieved now.”
“Well, Prince Richard has always been far superior to the other princes. His appearance alone sets him apart.”
“Heavenly handsome, indeed.”
Judy Esther’s eyes widened at the gossip of passing maids.
“How old is Richard this year?”
She grabbed one of the maids and asked.
“Oh my, are you interested in His Highness Richard as well? Now that I think about it, there’s only a four-year age difference between you. You two would be a good match.”
“So, he’s nine?”
“Yes, if you want to see him, you could ask the Marquis.”
With his heavenly looks, a genius intellect, and the status of crown prince, it was clear that Richard was one of the main or supporting characters. That made him a key figure to watch out for.
Richard! The name sounded very familiar. Where had she heard it?
Judy Esther bit her nails and wiggled her toes, her pink children’s sandals clicking rhythmically against the marble floor.
“Prince Richard… A prince, huh?”
“Oh my, our young lady seems to have taken an interest in His Highness.”
The maid clapped her hands with a smile. The sound of flesh meeting flesh jogged something in Judy Esther’s memory.
