"I'M TOO dumb and too tacky to enter a fantasy novel and have a political fight with sly nobles to save the abandoned Crown Princess," Zoe said without pausing to breathe, then she stopped speaking to let out a few hiccups. After catching her breath, she raised three fingers from her left hand. She had a soju bottle in her right hand after all. "I'm only good at three things: cooking, fighting, and flirting."

"Great! You're meeting all the criteria," Liane, the heroine that literally came out of the pages of the fantasy novel that she was reading, said brightly. "Lady Zoe, you're really perfect for the role that I'm offering you!"

Woah, she was straight but she almost turned gay for the lovely heroine.

How can someone be so pretty and innocent-looking?

Liane had a pair of big and round blue eyes sparkling like a piece of jewelry. Her long, blonde hair looked shiny. It wouldn't be a lie to say that her god-tier face was doing a good job in distracting anyone from focusing on the heroine's outfit: a red glamorous dress that only an empress in a medieval fantasy novel would wear.

It didn't look too weird though. In fact, the fictitious lady looked like an A-list actress taking a break from shooting a Hollywood fantasy movie.

No! I can't be swayed by a beautiful face!

"Miss, I'm going to die at Chapter One if I entered the novel that you came from because I act before I think," she said firmly, guarding her heart well before the heroine stole it. After all, she was a sucker for pretty faces. "I only have two brain cells left and they're not the brightest."

"I know that Lady Zoe is smart," the heroine said, her voice still cheerful. It seemed like she had too much positivity in her that she hadn't gotten disheartened yet despite her lack of interest in her 'job offer.' "Moreover, you've read the novel. You'll be fine!"

Ah, now I understand why the male leads in romance fantasy novels find it hard to turn down a stubborn and bubbly female lead: the heroine's god-tier face is so mesmerizing!

To be honest, she didn't know if she was too drunk that she was seeing hallucinations now or if she just had gone crazy. But it was clear that she currently shared a table with the heroine of the novel called 'The Empress of Light.'

It's the prequel of the hit webnovel called 'Raised as a Tyrant Empress.'

A while ago, after she closed her Korean barbecue restaurant called Z's Meat All You Can, she began her little 'self-pity party' and drank to her heart's content. She wasn't in the mood to go home yet since it was raining heavily outside. Thus, she decided to stay in the restaurant alone and get drunk. Only the light in the counter area was on so it was dim inside.

Just perfect for my gloominess.

She was a heavy drinker but since she was a little down these days, she easily felt wasted after chugging down seven bottles of soju. When she stood up to get her eighth bottle of soju, her hip accidentally bumped the table– causing her smartphone to fall on the floor.

Then, boom!

Her smartphone was hit by a flash of lightning that literally came out of nowhere. She said that because her restaurant's roof was fine and she wasn't hurt. Only one strange thing happened after the lightning struck her smartphone: Liane appeared where her toasted smartphone should have been.

["Do you want to be the new heroine of 'Raised as a Tyrant Empress?'] was the first thing that Liane said to her.

["Sure, if I get drunk enough,"] was her response to the heroine, thinking that she was just hallucinating because her mental health wasn't in its best condition lately.

After that, they exchanged introductions.

And here we are now.

"Lady Zoe, you're the only one who can help me," Liane said, then she held her hand and squeezed it gently. For someone who just came out of a webnovel, the heroine's hand was soft and warm. "Please enter the novel and save my daughter."

Ah, right.

The abandoned Crown Princess who would eventually grow up as a tyrant was Liane's daughter.

And yeah, Liane died after she gave birth to the Crown Princess.

Cliché, right?

"Miss, I'm unhinged," she warned the lady while pulling her hand from her grasp. Then, she poured soju into her shot glass. "I'm the craziest bitch in the neighborhood. I don't know the proper etiquettes and shit expected from a noble lady– the role that you want me to take." She chugged the soju in one gulp. "I'm not proud of this but…" She scratched her cheek before she continued speaking. "I used to be a delinquent before I turned over a new leaf and began my career as a chef."

She wasted two years of her life hanging out with the "bad kids" after she graduated from high school. But after coming back to her senses, she went to a culinary school for two years. Then, she was fortunate enough to be accepted in a professional kitchen as a prep cook– an entry-level position.

She dedicated three years of her life to that restaurant until she became a sous chef.

Eventually, she realized that she wanted to have her own restaurant. Since she loved Korean beef so much, she opened Z's Meat All You Can. Her restaurant just had its first anniversary and it used to be the most famous samgyeopsal restaurant in the area.

Until a recent 'scandal' ruined her business.

"What if I tell you that I'll grant you one wish if you accept my offer?"

She smirked before she told the heroine her impossible wish. "There's only one thing that I desire right now, Miss. And it's to turn back time and stop my crazy assistant chef from poisoning my customers."

Yes, that was the tragic event that happened just a few weeks ago.

Jeong-hoon, her assistant chef, wasn't in his right mind after being betrayed by his girlfriend and best friend. When Jeong-hoon discovered the two's affair, he invited them to her restaurant. And that scum served mushroom kimbap to his guests.

But instead of shiitake mushroom, Jeong-hoon used some poisonous mushrooms that even the experts couldn't identify. Even Jeong-hoon didn't know what kind of mushrooms those were. Apparently, a 'friend' that he met in a subway gave the mushrooms to him.

That idiot…

Unfortunately, Jeong-hoon's girlfriend and best friend died after consuming too much of the unknown mushrooms.

Jeong-hoon was arrested and her restaurant was shut down while the investigation was ongoing. After that case was closed, the authorities allowed her to reopen her restaurant. But the case was unfortunately sensationalized nationwide.

Thus, she lost her patrons and customers.

I just want to return to the time where my restaurant is thriving.

"Is that your final wish, Lady Zoe?"

"Yes," she said without missing a beat. "I hate it when food is used to hurt or kill people. I want to turn back time not just to save my restaurant but to save my customers as well." She clenched her hands when she remembered that crazy kid. "I won't let that crazy Jeong-hoon step foot in my kitchen ever."

"Then, your wish is my command," Liane said, then she snapped her fingers while giving her a warm, bright smile. "I will turn back time for you, Lady Zoe."

Zoe laughed, of course. "Yeah, right."

***

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