Chapter 2: The Fastest Way to Become a Successful Fan (2)

The history of my stanning began in my early teens when I was starting to get curious about boys. My first love, like many of my peers, was the center member of a boy idol band.

I’d always been easily fixated on things. Even as a kid, I wasn’t the type to keep my stanning to a minimum. I devoted all my time to visiting music shows and fan signings, participating in fan-organized fundraisers, and running fan sites. I was always scheming to lure more people into the fandom. My sole reason for living was to satiate my stanning needs, and my sole reason for working was to make enough money to offer to my bias.

Of course, some people found my obsession unfathomable, but what could I say? Fangirling was the only thing that brought me true joy in this world. So, it was only natural that I ended up becoming a hardcore stan for the lead of the novel that made me shed rivers of tears.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that Abel Louvremont, the main protagonist of the record-breaking romantic fantasy novel <Persona>, meant everything to me in my mid-twenties. I strived to learn anything and everything about my newly found obsession.

However, to my disappointment, there was nothing left to discover about a character from a completed novel.

Thus, my obsession with Abel shifted to the author instead. On the day of the book signing event hosted by the author of <Persona>, I left home early with a heart full of anticipation. I was dying to meet Abel’s creator, who’d been shrouded in mystery for so long.

Little did I know that would become the last trip of my life.

Screeeech-!

The last thing I could remember was the dawning sky, the yellow headlights approaching me, and the screams of the fans who arrived early at the signing just like me.

I didn’t notice then, but thinking about it now, I could see that my death was very cliché.

Perhaps too cliché, like an overused excuse for the beginning of a mediocre romantic fantasy novel.

* * *

Gaaaaasp!

My new life began with quite an uproar.

Actually, calling it a ‘start’ might be misleading.

Aisha Heathcliff. She was the only daughter of a baron who was a baron only in name. She died at the age of eighteen but came back to life seconds before the lid to her coffin was closed.

Yup, that was me.

“By the ancestors…, Aisha?!”

“Good heavens! What’s going on?”

“H-hold! My daughter came back from the dead!”

It didn’t take too long for me to adapt to my new body. The memory of my death was still vivid in my mind, and it helped me accept that I’d been reborn into another universe.

Although she was the daughter of a relatively poor family, Aisha was still a noblewoman blessed with loving parents and breathtaking beauty — honestly, this was what I liked the most about my new body — as well as a maid named Anne, whom she was very close to.

I learned that she used to be a shy and kind young lady before I took her role.

With smooth, sky blue hair that sways like the waves of the ocean, blue eyes that sparkled like gems, bright skin, and a delicate figure, Aisha was a rare beauty. I didn’t immediately realize I was inside a novel because I never thought such beauty would only be a supporting character and not the main character of a story.

However, as I slowly got accustomed to my life as Lady Aisha Heathcliff, I found out that I was in a place called the ‘Crescenta Empire’. I also kept overhearing the name 'Louvremont.'

Ultimately, when I found on my body the same strange symbol that is characteristic of the people of this world, I finally yelled, “Eureka!”

I realized I was in the world of <Persona>. And at that time, according to the timeline, Abel was an adorable 7-year-old boy!

I was super hyped since I got the chance to see my favorite character in real life. A character from a book I was obsessing over day and night in my previous life. Not only that, I could also learn about Abel's childhood, which the book never elaborated in detail.

It helped that I read <Persona> so many times to the point of memorizing it. I knew where Abel would be at any given point in time, and I had the means to prepare what he needed in advance.

Hence, my life as a stan began anew in the Crescenta Empire.

* * *

“So, does this mean that you’ll be marrying Duke Louvremont? I mean, marriage is great news and all….”

I was staying in the Louvremont duchy, inside a guest room assigned to me that was extremely extravagant. It had already been eleven days since I first arrived here under the pretext of a research trip.

Anne continued to braid my hair as she made eye contact with me through the mirror. Her red hair, freckles, and name were reminiscent of the famous protagonist from a classic children's novel. That was probably why I found her so familiar, despite my confusion after rising from the dead.

I answered Anne’s question with a look of detest, “Are you crazy? I may be obsessed with Abel, but how could I possibly marry a guy that I just met?”

“True, but this could be a great opportunity for you. Milady, you’re well past the marriageable age, after all. Duke Louvremont is very good-looking and wealthy. He is way out of Heathcliff barony’s league in fact. …Oh, my apologies.”

“That’s okay. It’s not like you’re wrong.” I nodded in agreement at what Anne couldn’t say out loud.

Duke Hades Louvremont seemed to have concluded that I was stalking his family because I had fallen madly and deeply in love with him.

I couldn’t deny after our confrontation that, although he was no match for Abel, Hades was indeed charming in his own way.

Though, what came as a complete surprise to me was how much of a narcissist he was.

‘But I guess that’s the only plausible explanation he could come up with.’

It was a fairly reasonable conclusion on his part. I must have looked like I had some sort of agenda, and of course, he couldn’t possibly imagine that I was chasing after his 10-year-old son.

Even so, why marriage? That was still questionable on my part.

Wealth, power, influence… he had them all. He was the head of the Louvremont duchy, which is the leading house of the empire. Yet, instead of punishing the daughter of an insignificant house for her impertinence, he is moved by her devotion so much that he’s willing to marrying her?

Assuming he hadn’t gone completely insane, the only possible explanation would be….

“Could it be that Duke Louvremont is secretly my stan?”

“I’d say that’s highly unlikely.”

Anne, who was already familiar with the term 'stan,' quickly shook her head in disapproval.

“Hmm…. Yeah, I guess not. Then what do you think the reason is?”

“There’s no point in worrying about it. You should just accept it as it is. It’s possible that milady’s utmost devotion of stalking him completely moved him to tears and prompted him to propose. I actually heard that Duke Louvremont was having some trouble for leaving the duchess position empty.”

“Trouble?”

“Yes, after all, Louvremont isn’t your ordinary house now, is it? Don’t you find it strange that there’s still no lady of the house?”

“Oh, that’s….”

I read the entire novel, so I already knew why.

Duke Hades Louvremont first met Abel, an orphan, on the battlefield. After witnessing the boy’s rare abilities, the duke chose Abel as his successor right then and there.

However, considering that Duke Louvremont was one of the most powerful men in the whole Empire, he knew his decision to adopt a child of indistinguishable origins to be his successor would be met with fierce opposition from both his family and his vassals.

To preemptively quell such ruse and confer legitimacy, the duke announced that Abel was his child by blood and brought him to the duchy.

The seat of the duchess remained empty, and it was unknown to the world who Abel’s mother was. So it became known that Abel was Duke Louvremont’s love child.

Well. At least that was better than being found to be an orphan without a single drop of Louvremont blood in his veins.

However, it soon became painfully apparent that the loyal subjects of the duchy would always look down with disdain for the bastard child who came out of nowhere. Despite Hades’ best effort to protect him from others’ judgements, Abel was never truly free from the malicious gazes that fell upon him, more so because he knew he wasn’t Hades’s biological son.

Being constantly aware of these cruel, watchful glares, Abel was forced to mature much quicker than other children around his age due to his relatively unhappy childhood.

Oh, my poor Abel!

Hold on, let me wipe my tears off for a moment.

“Perhaps the duke is in a position where he has to get married for show as soon as possible.”

I nodded my head in agreement with Anne’s point. The most troublesome part was that the position of the lady of the house remained vacant.

While Hades reluctantly agreed to look for a bride, he stood firm in his declaration that Abel would be the sole successor to the duchy, no matter how many children he may have in the future.

Noble houses large enough to make ties with House Louvremont never wanted to send their daughters with such a risk at hand. It hardly mattered to them that Duke Louvremont was the most influential man in the whole empire.

Of course, there were many women from families of lesser wealth and reputation who were drawn to the honor and prestige of the Louvremont name. They decided they’d put up with Abel in the hopes of reaching a higher status.

But these proposals were turned down immediately, considered unworthy by the duke’s vassals. They thought it was dishonorable to make ties with houses of such low caliber, no matter how scarce the options may be.

Thanks to the prideful vassals quarreling among themselves, he could get away without a wife for some time. The seat of duchess would be filled in due time, but the future I knew had no such thing.

Hades would never bring home a wife.

Why, you ask?

‘I do feel kind of bad for the duke….’

Because on Abel’s eleventh birthday, Duke Hades Louvremont would heroically sacrifice himself for Abel, dying as a devoted father.