Escaping The Tragedies Of This Family!

Act 1 - My lovely lady Elvina

(ALL ART IN THIS STORY BELONG TO ME - each chapter will have at least an illustration or sketch. Rn Imma focus on writing these chapters and later on i'll include pictures.)

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

(Why am I here?)

(I don't belong in this stupid novel!)

–

"My Lovely Lady Elvina" is a wildly popular fantasy romance web novel series that even has its own manhwa adaptation. The story follows a young woman named Elvina De Frostwyn, who unexpectedly finds herself navigating high society after having lived as a commoner all her life. It's a stereotypical fantasy romance, complete with all the familiar subplots you see in any other story.

The female lead is discovered by the esteemed Duke Frostwyn, a powerful patron of the Imperial family, and claimed Elvina as his long-lost daughter. The narrative then unfolds as she falls in love with the male lead; The Crown Prince who, predictably, is engaged to the villainess, Ezmerelda Lovelace. Meanwhile two other (mostly irrelevant) fish chase after her, they hardly garner any attention.

Well, they probably do, I just don't care enough to remember who was most shipped with Elvina. From what I can recall, there was a sleazy magic tower mage and a Cold Duke Of The North Mad Dog War Hero.

I've never been particularly interested in stories like this after binge-reading far too many in the same genre. I'm basically an expert in this genre, anticipating what happens next in each chapter. The only reason I managed to finish this novel was that my friend Haeyung couldn't stop raving about it every time we hung out.

"Stop reading those tired action manhwas and give this web novel a try! Everyone's talking about it!" My friend practically shoved her phone in my face which I instinctively swatted away. "No way, it looks cliché."

"You haven't even read it yet!" She whined as she plopped back down in her seat, placing her phone beside her. We exchanged glances: hers bright with eagerness and pleading, while mine reflected dull annoyance.

"I don't need to read it to know the plot," I replied. "Oh? Then enlighten me, Ji-na," she shot back, crossing her arms with a huff. I sighed, rolling my eyes. "Let me guess, it's one of those reincarnation stories where a girl possesses the body of the villainess and has to do whatever it takes to survive."

Haeyung stared at me, blinking in surprise before breaking into a sloppy smirk. "Gosh, no! Those stories were so last year."

"Huh?" I raised an eyebrow, watching as she flicked her hair over her shoulder and scrolled to the novel cover on her phone.

"It's about a commoner who has to navigate her way through nobility." Was she serious? How was that any different from those cliché villainess stories? "And?" I pressed.

"Look at all her love interests!"

That's when it clicked. The reason for the story's popularity wasn't its plot; it was the male leads featured on the cover. Haeyung brought her phone to her lips and air-kissed it, leaving me to awkwardly watching her antics unfold.

Later that day, I came home, tossed my bag aside, and changed into comfortable clothes before collapsing onto my bed. With an entire summer break ahead form University, I had time to read web novels and manhwas. As I clicked through different websites in search of an interesting story, an odd urge to read "My Lovely Lady Elvina" nagged at me with each passing scroll.