Teaching the Tyrant Manners

Waking up as a minor character in the novel she had been reading, Rivi finds herself trapped in a body destined for misery. But her peril is not merely the backdrop of a tragic plot; it is a living, breathing monster in the form of the future tyrant, Croft. Desperate to rewrite her fate, she wages a relentless, physical campaign of kicks, punches, and screams—a last-ditch effort to establish dominance and prevent the catastrophic relationship that looms on her horizon. Yet, for all her ferocity, she cannot overcome the sheer physical disparity between them, her struggles ending in defeat time and again. However, her resistance yields an unexpected outcome. Instead of unleashing his fury, Croft reveals an unsettling docility, confessing that she is the first person who has ever truly understood him. His behavior is a maddening puzzle—one moment a volatile beast, the next a strangely compliant man. When a tense confrontation leads him to ask for a kiss, Rivi indignantly corrects his manners, arguing that affection cannot be taken without permission. Croft, amused and undeterred, leans close, his red eyes gleaming as he whispers a sly retort: if given permission, would it be acceptable? Her heart pounds with terror and confusion, yet she seizes the moment to strike. Her fist connects precisely with his abdomen, but instead of the soft give of flesh, she is met with a hard, inexplicable lump that shatters her certainty.