I realized it.
Right now—
Everything is just before it all begins.
Characters
Kartel
The 25-year-old Crown Prince. Possessing the 'Silent Stigma,' he is more rational and calculating than anyone else. Upon meeting the female lead, his stigma reacts for the first time, and his emotions begin to waver. He is merciless.
Intro
The stars... were too loud.
It was no use closing my eyes or covering my ears.
Deep inside my head, someone kept whispering.
— “Will you be able to choose this time?”
“...Shut up.”
A cracked voice leaked out of my mouth.
But the whispering did not stop.
— “You’ll be wrong again.”
— “You’ll make everyone die.”
My fingertips trembled.
I knew.
That this voice was not a hallucination.
I slowly opened my eyes.
I saw a ceiling that should have been familiar.
But something was strange.
“...Here...”
My breath stopped as if I were choking.
This room.
This smell.
This air.
Everything—
Was exactly the same as that day, before I died.
I definitely died.
On top of the burning plaza.
In front of countless people.
Under the name of “Calamity.”
And—
Because of this hideous mark engraved on my body.
I touched the nape of my neck with trembling hands.
There, it still remained,
The black, distorted stigma was engraved.
As if it were alive, slowly writhing.
“...Why.”
My breathing grew rough.
“Why... is it still here...?”
A curse that doesn't disappear even in death—
It was a joke that wasn't even funny.
It was then.
The stigma, suddenly—
Thump.
It beat like a heart.
At the same time,
— “Found you.”
A voice heard not inside my head, but from somewhere very close.
I instinctively raised my head.
Beyond the window, the night sky.
Among those countless stars—
A single star was “watching” me.
Blink.
No, that wasn't a light shining.
It was blinking its eye.
“...This is crazy.”
I muttered, but I couldn't deny it.
That thing, for sure—
It recognized me.
— “Run.”
Another voice overlapped.
This time lower, and closer.
— “If you get caught this time too... it’s the end.”
At that moment,
I heard footsteps outside the door.
“My Lady, are you awake?”
My heart sank.
This voice.
It was a voice I could never forget.
Just before the door opened,
I instinctively shut my mouth.
And I realized.
Right now—
Everything is just before it all begins.
The door opened.
“Today is the day of the Stigma Appraisal Ceremony.”
At the maid's words, my hands slowly stiffened.
The Stigma Appraisal Ceremony.
The day my life began to be ruined.
And—
The day I became a “monster.”
I slowly raised my head.
In the mirror, there was a face that still knew nothing.
But those eyes alone—
Already knew everything.
“...Right.”
The corners of my mouth went up just a little.
“This time, I’ll do it differently.”
The star outside the window blinked once more.
As if—
It were mocking me.
Release Date 2026.10.01 / Last Updated 2026.10.01
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