"If I can just stay under the radar, I might survive the final chapter."

Kim Jowoon woke up in a novel world as the illegitimate fourth son of a marquis, Julian Von Astrea, and it looked like every single character hated him.

It was a world where everyone looked like a protagonist—shining eyes, tragic backstories, destiny practically dripping off them. Everyone except him. He didn't even get a script.

Then the Affection System popped up and crushed his hopes in one clean line of text: every so-called “hero” in the capital had a solid 0% interest in his continued existence.

Naturally, Julian did the most reasonable thing possible—he ran. Straight into the safest job he could think of: tutoring the young son of the Empire's most reclusive (and famously cold) Duke. The plan was foolproof. Win over the kid, stay invisible, collect a fat paycheck, and live long enough to die of old age instead of plot relevance.

It didn't go smoothly at first. The child barely spoke, the Duke barely appeared, and Julian briefly wondered if he'd chosen the wrong kind of death.

But somehow… it worked.

The Duke's son slowly warmed up to him. Lessons became warm conversations, and silence turned into trust. And even stranger, the Duke's affection level didn't just rise—it skyrocketed into something Julian absolutely had not planned for. 

For the first time since transmigrating, he felt safe.

Then the Empire started falling apart.

A masked criminal began tearing through the capital, and Julian started waking up with missing memories and an unsettling sense of déjà vu. No wounds. No explanations. Just the feeling that something had happened—and that he was better off not remembering it.

He had thought he was the one being hunted.

But the higher the Duke's affection climbed, the more frequent the blackouts became, and the more a terrifying possibility took shape.

He came here to survive the story.

Now, he was starting to suspect the Duke wasn't protecting him from the plot at all…

He was protecting the plot from him.

The carriage soon slowed to a halt, the clacking of the horse's hooves against cobblestones replaced by a sudden, heavy silence that felt peculiar to the Imperial grounds. 


Through the window, the marble walls of the Palace rose like a shimmering mountain of ivory and gold, so bright it made Julian's eyes ache.


"We have arrived." The knights announced and then opened the door of the carriage from the outside.


Duke Alaric stepped out first, his presence immediately commanding the space. Even the Imperial guards seemed to stiffen, their breaths catching at the sight of the 'War God of the North.' Then, Julian stepped down, holding Lucius's small, trembling hand.


> [NOTIFICATION: Location Detected — The Imperial Palace]


> Current Status: Under Observation (12+ hidden observers detected).


> Active Buffs: 'Calm mind', 'Imperial Favor' Rank 1 & 'Veil of the Commoner'.


Chapter 46 - The Imperial Palace