The Extra’s Misfortune

“Evelyn.”

Please.

Please, please.

I prayed that this handsome man in front of me would just refrain from saying ‘those words.’

“Evelyn?”

“Yes? Oh, I’m sorry.”

◎ Likability increased by 1%! ◎

As if mocking my desperation, the gauge above the man’s head flashed red.

“Damn it.”

What on earth did I even do to make his likability go up?

With a look of utter despair, I slumped down onto the sofa.

“Evelyn, what’s wrong?”

“……I’m fine. What was it you wanted to say?”

I stood back up while pressing firmly against my left temple.

He was a man of exquisite beauty. Tall stature, crystal-clear blue eyes, and golden hair that served as proof of his imperial blood.

He was the kind of rare handsome man that any woman would be forced to look back at.

“Ahem, there is something I must tell you.”

“Yes, yes……”

He was clearing his throat with flushed cheeks, looking exactly like a ‘male lead’ who had fallen in love.

I have a bad feeling about this.

Would it be okay if I just pretended to faint and collapsed?

Jumping out the window and breaking the glass is probably off the table too, right?

The man cleared his throat a couple more times before reaching his hand out toward me as if he had made up his mind.

“Become my Crown Princess, Evelyn.”

“…….”

This is the third time.

This is already the third time I’ve received a confession that was supposed to go to the ‘female protagonist.’

“…….”

“Evelyn?”

The first confession was from a young nobleman of a Viscounty I met at a banquet.

He had some stalker tendencies, so I had quite a hard time shaking him off.

In the original story, it was a main event where the male lead builds likability by dealing with him instead, but I had to suffer through it all by myself.

The second confession was from a foreign noble I met at the Imperial Palace.

In the original story, he showers the female lead with rare gifts worth the price of an island to win her heart, but there was nothing like that for me.

Instead, I had a rough time stopping my brother from going on a rampage, claiming he would annihilate that noble’s entire family.

And the third one is this man.

“You’re saying you want to make me the Crown Princess, not Amy?”

“Amy?”

He looked quite flustered, as if he hadn’t expected that name to come out of my mouth.

He hurried to stack up excuses.

“It’s true that Amy and I once shared good feelings. But the one I love now is……”

“Does that even make sense?”

“……Evelyn?”

The third confession. The owner of that grand name, Johann Ateven Hyperion.

One of the male leads of this trashy game and the first in line for the throne.

“Why me all of a sudden?”

“Huh?”

The important point is that I am not the heroine of this game.

Am I the villainess then?

No, I’m not even a character with that much significance.

“The male lead isn’t supposed to like anyone other than the female protagonist. Why on earth are you……”

“Evelyn, what have you been talking about for a while now?”

“I’m just…… an extra. What am I supposed to do if you like me?”

I looked up at the male lead with a resentful gaze.

Not the female lead, not the villainess, but just a simple extra.

That is the body I have possessed.

If you live in South Korea, you’ve probably heard this advertisement at least once.

[Play now! The romance of your dreams comes true in <Heart-Thumping! Love in the Imperial Palace>!]

A reverse harem simulation game set in a medieval romance fantasy world.

It was a game about Amy, a lonely orphan who gets adopted by a Baronial couple, falls in love with Johann, and eventually rises to the position of Empress.

‘Is that really that fun?’

<Heart-Thumping! Love in the Imperial Palace>, hereafter referred to as , was the subject of conversation and attention everywhere.

To exaggerate just a little, it felt like every woman in a single subway car was playing .

Of course, this genre wasn’t my taste.

‘The topic of the group project just had to be an analysis of this game.’

It means I would never have even downloaded it in my life if I hadn’t met a group leader who was obsessed with .

The main screen loaded as I pressed the game icon with my thumb.

“Why is there only one male lead?”

Crown Prince Johann was positioned in the center of the screen. To his sides, two black silhouettes were visible, their appearances hidden.

◎ Developer: Other male leads are still under development ^-^ ◎

To think they released the game having completed only one person. Just as I was thinking they had a lot of nerve, the screen shifted along with a cheerful background track.

◎ ep.1 A Lovely Girl ◎

‘Oh, the illustration is pretty.’

I pressed the play button as ‘Amy’ without setting a separate name.

Let’s just play a little bit for the sake of research.

I have other assignments to do and I have to go to my part-time job in the morning, so really, just a little bit.

……And just like that, I ended up staying up the entire night.

[Ji-sik-in: When will the rest of the male leads for Heart-Pal be updated?]

To be honest, the game’s story wasn’t much. You could say that Amy’s loveliness and Johann’s kindness carried the plot by the throat.

Even so, there’s a reason why clichés are clichés.

“But this is surprisingly fun……”

It was a time when I was seeing the same ending over and over again, even spending money on in-game purchases.

◎ SYSTEM: If you enjoyed the game, please leave a star rating and a review. It is a great source of strength for the developer. ◎

It was the very day I had seen that ending I already knew for the 23rd time exactly.

It was the first system window I had encountered since playing .

“Star rating and review?”

I’m the type of person who doesn’t even leave reviews because it’s a bother. Normally, I would have pressed ‘No’ without a second thought.

But perhaps because I had grown attached to the game over the last few days, my finger was pressing the ‘Yes’ button before I knew it.

“……Why are there no reviews at all?”

It was a game on a syndrome-level hit streak. How could this be when everyone to my left, right, up, and down was playing ?

There were no star ratings, let alone reviews. As if someone had intentionally erased them.

“Did the company delete the reviews?”

I had a strange feeling, but I soon began to write down my evaluation.

yv*****: Please update the other male leads quickly besides Johann. Amy is really cute and great, but the narrative feels a bit lacking. It feels like her past story appears less than Regina’s. ★★★★★

The villainess ‘Regina’ appears in this game. A villainess who picks a fight and torments Amy at every turn.

Though she is eventually executed by Johann.

Anyway, despite being a villain, Regina had a peculiar charm that drew people in with her solid narrative and pitiful past.

“Even so, Amy is the female protagonist after all.”

It was a review I left without much thought.

And how many weeks had passed?

[New Inbox (1)]

“Huh?”

The inbox was flashing.

[Hello. This is the developer of <Heart-Thumping! Love in the Imperial Palace>. I have gratefully read the feedback you left for us.]

“Eh?”

[……(Omitted)…… is a game developed of Amy, by Amy, and for Amy. I have been thinking that I wanted to further strengthen Amy’s narrative, and I am glad to have met a player who shares our vision.]

“What is this? I didn’t write it with that much thought……”

[’s sole goal is Amy’s happiness. Therefore, in version 1.3.2, we plan to introduce a feature that deletes external factors that interfere with the female protagonist’s happiness……. (Omitted)]

So, to summarize the contents of this long-winded email, it was ‘Amy is the best! I love Amy!’

“You’re deleted if you interfere with the heroine’s happiness?”

A certain part gave me a chilling feeling for no reason.

Would things have been different if I had deleted even then?

But there are things that humans fail to realize until they experience them directly.

“Now that I think about it, it’s been a while since I played Heart-Pal. Should I log in after dinner?”

Just like today, when I fell asleep without a thought despite the warning buzzer in my head going off repeatedly.

I ended up falling fast asleep while holding my phone before I could even eat dinner.

“……Miss, Miss!”

“Mmm……”

“Hurry and wake up. It’s morning.”

“Mom, just five more minutes……”

It was when I was waving my right hand and burying my face into the fluffy blanket.

Ding.

“……Huh? Ding?”

Was my alarm sound always like this?

My eyelids naturally fluttered open at the unfamiliar yet cheerful sound. However, what appeared before my eyes was a translucent window even more unfamiliar than the alarm.

◎ Sudden Quest Triggered! ◎

“……What quest?”

◎ Wake up within 1 minute ◎

◎ Reward: ‘A Refreshing Morning’ will be provided. ◎

Soon after, it changed into a stopwatch shaped like a time bomb and began to roll the second hand with a ticking sound.

Tick.

Tick, tick.

Ticktickticktickticktick.

“W-what is this?!”

At that terrifying ticking sound, I clutched my pillow and bolted upright.

◎ Quest Success! ◎

◎ You have welcomed a refreshing morning. ◎

“A refreshing morning? What on earth……”

A moment after I racked my brain to grasp the situation, a familiar logo was floating around in my field of vision instead of the bomb.

◎ <Heart-Thumping! Love in the Imperial Palace> ◎

◎ Playing from ‘Evelyn’s’ perspective. ◎

“……What?”

, why are you appearing here?

“Miss Evelyn, what would you like for breakfast?”

“Evelyn?”

I whipped my head around to look at my surroundings.

“Where on earth is this……”

My gaze stopped at a large mirror above the dressing table.

“Miss, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

“This face is……”

I kept fiddling with my skin while placing my hands on my face. Ebony-black hair. Golden eyes that shone brighter than topaz.

“……Who is this?”</Heart-Thumping!></Heart-Thumping!></Heart-Thumping!></Heart-Thumping!>