Chapter 1

Prologue

Q: Describe the embarrassment one should feel when lying in the same bed with a childhood friend who has seen every embarrassing side of you since you were little, in a situation where it feels like you must do something.

A: ……(Impossible to describe)

Lea Flynn was feeling exactly that way.

Of course, she was the one who had accepted the marriage proposal without hesitation, and she was also the one who had rushed the marriage.

But now that she was actually facing this situation, she felt unbearably embarrassed.

It felt like she was crossing a line she should never cross, committing a forbidden act.

Lea unknowingly muttered.

“It’s kind of weird.”

“What is?”

“I mean…… there is only one bed.”

It was not just an ordinary “one bed.”

It was a huge bed wide enough to roll around on several times, with pillars standing on all four sides and lace decorations hanging from them.

And that was not all.

Rose petals were scattered across the silk blanket.

Several candles flickered inside luxurious silver candle holders placed on the table.

The scene looked like it was blessing the happy beginning of a newlywed couple, and it was enough to give Lea goosebumps.

Unlike Lea, Kevin Tillman, the opposite-sex friend of ten years who had spent his teenage years with her, reacted casually.

“Of course there is only one bed. This is the bed where newlyweds spend their first night.”

“Th-that’s true.”

“Why? Are you nervous now?”

Kevin gave a small laugh, and Lea shook her head.

“No, well, it’s not like I’ve never slept with you before.”

“Anyone who hears that would misunderstand. Back then, we went on a trip with those idiots and everyone slept together.”

“Still, we slept in the same room.”

“Get on first.”

“……Huh?”

When Lea stuttered and could not answer, Kevin replied with a playful expression.

“What? Are you expecting me to carry you up?”

“N-no way!”

Lea became more flustered than necessary and climbed onto the bed.

The thin nightgown she was wearing brushed against the silk blanket, making a strange sound.

‘The fact that my clothes are so thin is already bothering me.’

Of course, Kevin lay down beside her without showing the slightest concern.

Maybe she was just overreacting.

Lea deliberately looked at the ceiling, trying not to notice the warmth coming from the person beside her.

The ceiling of the bed was painted with a sacred mythological scene, as if the greatest artist of the era had poured his entire soul into creating it.

‘As expected of the Tillman family. Even the bed isn’t just a bed but a work of art……’

Thanks to staring blankly at the ceiling painting, Lea felt like her mind was calming down.

Until—

“I didn’t know you liked paintings like that, Lea.”

“Paintings like that?”

Lea opened her eyes a little wider.

The ceiling painting no longer looked sacred.

Sacred, my foot.

It was a painting of the first man and woman following their natural instincts.

“That kind of taste isn’t bad, though.”

“N-no! That’s not it! I was only interested from a purely artistic perspective……”

Kevin burst into laughter.

Lea stared at his face quietly.

Under his black hair with a slight blue tint was flawless white skin like porcelain, and beautiful features as if carved by a sculptor.

His blue eyes, deep like a lake, looked especially mysterious.

Long, delicate eyelashes cast shadows over them.

And those lips.

Those red lips, colored like flower petals holding blood, were the finest feature decorating Kevin’s face—the man called the greatest beauty in the McLean Kingdom.

“……Why are you looking at me like that?”

At Kevin’s low voice, Lea was startled and answered.

“Ah, no. Just.”

“Seeing me up close, you think I’m even more handsome?”

“Hmm, it’s true, but…… hearing you say it yourself makes you a little annoying.”

Kevin laughed again.

After joking around for a while, Lea thought she had been foolish for being nervous.

She and Kevin were each other’s best friends.

Their relationship would not easily change just because they got married.

‘Maybe what I felt at the wedding earlier was just unnecessary worry.’

“Then I’ll turn off the lights.”

The moment Lea said that and tried to turn around with relief, Kevin moved toward her with a rustling sound.

“Don’t turn them off yet.”

“Hm?”

“We still haven’t done what we have to do.”

“What we have to do……?”

Kevin slowly raised his body.

Under the pale blue moonlight coming through the window, the strong body of a man whose nightgown had fallen away was revealed.

His black hair still slightly wet, his sharp neck line and collarbones, broad shoulders, impressive chest muscles, and firm abdomen divided into clear lines.

Perhaps noticing her gaze tracing over him, Kevin raised one corner of his lips.

“Because we are husband and wife now.”

Kevin slowly moved over her.

Lea, trapped between his two arms, saw his dangerously charming face whisper.

“We should do something fitting for that.”

‘W-what does that even mean?!’

Lea wanted to scream, but no words came out.

Her heart sank, and her mind became completely chaotic.

While she only sat there unable to respond, Kevin’s burning hot hand grabbed her shoulder.

Her heart began pounding wildly at the sudden touch.

Just as she was about to lose herself in the sweet scent coming from Kevin, Lea grabbed onto the last bit of her reason.

“W-wait! No, why?”

“We’re that kind of relationship now.”

Kevin narrowed his eyes and gave a sweet smile.

Lea almost fell for that smile again, but barely managed to speak.

“Why would you…… you weren’t interested in this kind of thing……”

Kevin Tillman.

Although he had never admitted it himself, wasn’t he the person widely known by the nickname “either impotent or a homosexual”?

Actually, that was more than half the reason why Lea had accepted the marriage contract without worry.

Lea swallowed and asked the most important question.

The question she had never dared to ask directly until now.

“You…… didn’t you like Pedro?”

Kevin tilted his head as if he had never heard that name before.

“What are you talking about? Who is Pedro?”

“What?”

Lea opened her mouth wide.

“You don’t remember Pedro?”

“Who is that?”

“My former fiancé! You said you liked my man! That’s why my marriage arrangement was ruined!”

It seemed Kevin finally remembered who “Pedro” was.

Kevin frowned and shook his head.

“What nonsense.”

“……”

“I hated that guy.”

Lea became even more confused by his unexpected answer.

Then, Kevin’s lips, slightly red and moist as if covered with water, approached her.

Those lips moved and whispered.

“I want to kiss you.”

Lea’s face instantly turned red.

She could not understand it at all.

‘Why is he suddenly becoming strange because I returned?’

Chapter 1

Was Marriage Really This Easy?

Two months earlier.

Lea Flynn was sleeping in an armchair in her room with a book resting on her knees.

This was the Flynn Mansion, located in the center of the capital.

This old mansion, where traces of past wealth and glory remained, was the last property of the long-standing Flynn family.

The family fortune had already declined more than ten years ago.

The Flynn couple had long since died in a carriage accident, leaving behind only enormous debts.

With only one maid remaining as a servant, there was no way the mansion could be properly maintained.

Sunlight poured through the worn-out curtains surrounding the large windows.

Perhaps because the light was too bright, Lea frowned and groaned.

“Uung.”

Because of that, the book on her knees fell to the floor with a thud.

“Ah!”

She woke up startled and let out a strange scream.

Cold sweat gathered on her forehead.

Looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar surroundings, Lea’s eyes widened.

“Why am I here?”

She jumped up, and her reflection appeared in the mirror across from her.

Her ordinary blonde hair fell long past her shoulders.

Her skin, slightly tanned from the sunlight, was clean and smooth.

Because of her unusually round green eyes, her overall impression looked gentle and innocent.

Her features were fairly balanced, but her appearance was nothing more than pretty.

The familiar face was completely unharmed.

Lea touched her face all over and muttered.

“I’m fine……?”

‘But I’m sure my head was broken and blood was flowing from here.’

At that moment, there was a knock on the door, and maid Paula entered.

“Miss! Miss Lea!”

Lea was happy to hear the familiar voice she had not heard in a long time.

But that happiness only lasted for a moment.

She remembered that her “fiancé” was coming soon.

“Therefore, you must hurry and prepare yourself.”

“No, this is enough.”

Seeing Lea shake her pale face, Paula became flustered and stomped her feet.

“But Miss, Sir Oscar is coming to propose.”

Paula held out a cream-colored bustle dress.

It was a dress that Lea’s mother had worn while she was alive, altered to fit Lea’s body.

Although it was slightly out of fashion, the full shape of the back made it quite beautiful.

“Lord Raymond strongly insisted that you wear this.”

They had even prepared a hat decorated with colorful feathers, a fan, and a parasol in case the two went on a date.

When Raymond’s name was mentioned, Lea gritted her teeth.

“Raymond.”

Ah, right.

Raymond existed.

That damn older brother.

She was truly sick of him now.

“He was always the problem.”

“Miss?”

“Paula, what day is it today?”

Although confused by the sudden question, Paula obediently answered.

“It is April 16th, Year 241 of the Kingdom Calendar.”

“Year 241? Not 242?”

“Why are you asking that?”

When Lea let out a strange scream, Paula widened her eyes in surprise.

‘Even if I returned, I had to return to that day…… that exact day!’

Lea realized.

She had returned exactly one year into the past.

To the day when her “husband” proposed to her.