I Became the Substitute for the Runaway Heroine

“Tomorrow is the day!”

At the southernmost port city of the empire, Napolitan.

Here, only twice a year, a passenger ship departs for the Eastern Continent.

Odette had fled straight to Napolitan.

As long as she could board the ship to the Eastern Continent, she could escape Caesar’s grasp forever.

Caesar Maes. The god of war, the empire’s hero.

“He was almost my husband.”

The oppressive aura he exuded was terrifying, but what frightened her even more was how she was slowly becoming accustomed to him.

It felt as if she were being conquered—just like the northern cities Caesar had razed to the ground.

Left so broken that she would never again have the strength to resist him.

And then, perhaps one day, she would find herself begging for his affection.

“I couldn’t throw myself into such obvious misery.”

Swallowing both regret and fear, Odette fled south—to the very edge of the empire.

But by the time she reached the port, the tickets had already sold out.

She couldn’t give up just yet. Odette turned to her escort knight, Jacques.

“Find out if there’s another ship leaving the empire.”

“Yes, Lady Odette.”

As Jacques was about to head back to the ticket booth, a pair of sisters approached them.

“E-Excuse me… Would you like to buy this ticket?”

“Oh my! Miss, this is a ticket to the Eastern Continent!”

Emma, who had followed Odette all the way here, nearly jumped for joy.

But instead of focusing on the ticket, Odette found herself unable to look away from the woman holding it.

“Why is her hand trembling so much?”

The sisters were visibly anxious, their faces pale as if someone were watching them.

Odette’s gaze flickered around the area with growing unease.

“It’s too quiet.”

The port was bustling with people, with crowds filling every alleyway.

Yet, the alley where Odette stood was eerily empty.

She lifted her head to look at the inn she had chosen as her lodging.

Built on a cliffside overlooking the sea, the inn was known as one of Napolitan’s prime locations.

But the path leading up to the inn was deserted. Not a single soul—not even an ant—was in sight.

“…Run.”

Odette barely managed to whisper, her voice strained like someone being choked.

“What? Run?”

Emma and Jacques exchanged bewildered glances.

“Caesar is watching us.”

He must have bribed the sisters through his adjutant, Aiden, wanting to see just how far she would go.

And if Odette bought the ticket, Caesar would make up his mind.

That she would never be allowed to escape again. That he would lock her away in a place where no light could reach.

“He’s crazy enough to do it.”

Keeping her head low, allowing her hair to conceal her face, Odette murmured,

“Don’t look back. Don’t look to the sides. Leave the port as naturally as possible and ask Princess Trisha for help. I’ll buy you some time. Go, now. Please… hurry!”

Without hesitation, Odette turned and began ascending the hill toward the inn.

Her legs trembled, and fear clogged her throat, but she forced herself to walk at a steady pace, feigning composure.

She prayed—prayed with all her heart—that Emma and Jacques would make it out safely.

“D-Did you have a good time at the port?”

All the curtains were drawn, leaving the inn’s interior shrouded in darkness.

The innkeeper, pale as a sheet, was drenched in sweat despite the mild weather.

“…Was someone looking for me?”

“Y-Yes…”

As she climbed the hill, she had desperately hoped she was wrong.

But the dizziness washing over her and the blurring of her vision told her otherwise.

Steadying herself, Odette asked,

“Where is he now?”

“B-Behind you…”

The innkeeper, ashen-faced, pointed past her shoulder before scurrying away.

A piercing gaze bore into her back.

Odette clenched her lips to stifle a scream.

The air behind her shifted.

A presence she knew all too well approached without a sound.

“C-Caesar.”

Slowly, Odette turned around.

“What took you so long? I’ve been waiting forever.”

Dressed in a crisp white shirt and fitted black leather pants, Caesar stood before her, his expression one of sheer boredom.

A faint scent of black tea lingered in the air around him.

Caesar must have been drinking tea while looking down from the hill.

Had one of them been dragged away by his adjutant, Aiden, and beaten?

Sweat pooled in her palms.

The forced smile on her lips trembled uncontrollably.

“You shouldn’t have just waited. You should have sent Sir Aiden to let me know you had arrived. That way, I would have hurried back.”

“Pfft!”

Caesar burst into laughter, as if amused by the sheer absurdity of her words.

His dangerously beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, curving into crescents.

Despite his laughter, a storm raged within his blue irises.

A dangerous determination burned behind them—the will to punish her for deceiving him and running away.

“Caesar, please don’t misunderstand me. Just listen to what I have to say. The reason I came all the way to Napolitan is… because I love you.”

“Oh, really?”

A scoff twisted his lips into a mocking smirk.

Believe it or not, Odette forced herself to speak, her shoulders drawn inward as she trembled.

“It doesn’t make sense for us to get married. I am not the one who should be your wife.”

“Then who should be? Who is meant to marry me?”

Caesar stepped closer, his fingers brushing through her hair.

His touch was gentle, yet it was more terrifying than any threat.

It felt as though he had already decided how to punish her—by finally claiming her in bed.

If she succumbed to his allure even once, her will to escape would crumble entirely.

“P-Princess Trisha has always had her eyes on you. For the sake of your revenge, for the empire… it’s only right that you marry her. So please…”

Let me go.

But before she could finish, Caesar pulled her into his arms, his breath brushing against her ear as he whispered,

“I already told you—I’m only marrying you. I’ll take my revenge with you, and I’ll have children only with you. If you hate it so much, take the dagger I bought you and stab me in my sleep. That’s the only way you’ll ever be free.”

“I-I have to kill you for this to end?”

“That’s right. So if you ever want to run again, don’t hesitate—just kill me.”

Declaring that he would never let her go as long as he lived, Caesar captured her lips.

The Reason Odette Got Involved with Caesar

The only reason Odette had ever crossed paths with Caesar—someone she never should have met in her lifetime—was because Amelia ran away.

“Who did Amelia run off with?”

The disappearance of Count’s daughter, Amelia, sent the household into chaos.

Immediately, Odette, Amelia’s personal maid, was dragged before the Count.

“Tell me the name of that bastard she ran away with!”

“I… I only became her personal maid a week ago, so I…”

A loud smack rang out, and Odette saw a flash of white as her head snapped to the side.

The left side of her face burned, as if she had been scalded.

“I will keep punishing you until you give me the answer I want. Where did Amelia say she was going?”

“She never told me anything. I swear.”

Another slap, this time on the other cheek.

The metallic taste of blood filled her mouth as her split lip throbbed.

Even after she collapsed onto the marble floor, the merciless beating continued.

“Why? Why do I have to go through this?”

Odette clenched her teeth, swallowing the pained whimpers that slipped between her lips.

Even if she cried and begged, it was clear he had no intention of letting her off.

This was no longer mere anger—it was punishment meant to see her broken completely.

Fists and kicks rained down on her as if they wouldn’t stop until she was unrecognizable.

“I… I can’t take this anymore.”

Just as she was about to lose consciousness, the butler, Jovern, spoke in a sinister whisper, his tongue flicking like a snake’s.

“Master, kill her. She has the same golden hair and green eyes as Lady Amelia. If you kill her and claim she was your daughter, Amelia’s disgrace will be buried forever.”

“I was already thinking the same thing.”

The Count wrapped his hands around Odette’s throat.

So that was it. This was never just about punishment.

“Ngh…! Kha…!”

Struggling in vain, she felt the strength drain from her body as her airway was crushed.

She thought she was going to die.

But then—

“Huh? Where… am I?”

Somehow, she found herself standing on a terrace railing.