_CHAPTER~01_
“What am I supposed to do?”
I lowered the hand I’d been anxiously chewing on over and over.
It was only natural for me to panic.
Today was the most significant conjugal night in the entire history of House Decart.
The Red Moon, the very source of House Decart’s power, had been hidden behind thick fog for years due to a devastating drought and the Curse of Disharmony.
Yet, of all years, it had finally risen tonight.
People went into a frenzy, insisting that married couples had to consummate their marriages to break the curse.
Eventually, the day was even proclaimed Married Couples’ Day.
There had always been such a holiday, of course.
Just… never to this extent.
Simply put, every married couple was expected to spend the night together.
Since it was considered a day blessed by the heavens, people claimed it greatly increased the chances of conceiving a child.
The problem was, I never imagined that rule would also apply to couples who had divorced and then remarried.
Everyone makes mistakes in life, both big and small.
Mine was a little different.
To put it simply… I had remarried the husband I’d worked so hard to divorce.
Worse, I’d painstakingly altered the original story just to survive, only to end up putting everything back where it belonged.
This wasn’t merely a mistake.
It was a complete disaster.
I looked out the window.
The moon, utterly oblivious to my predicament, glowed a deep crimson.
As if that weren’t enough, colorful roses had been arranged into a giant heart in the middle of the bed to celebrate the occasion.
It was infuriatingly beautiful.
A sweet fragrance of scented oil filled the room.
To hell with consummation.
If I kept breathing in that scent, I was sure I’d become dizzy.
This room might as well have existed for the sole purpose of sending married couples to bed together.
“I can’t believe I’m wearing this again.”
“…What was I thinking?”
If there was one thing even more excessive than the room itself, it was my nightdress.
It was a thin chemise the color of the midnight sky.
Made especially for nights like this, it became faintly translucent beneath the moonlight.
“What’s with this ribbon?”
“Did this thing always have one?”
A ribbon had been tied across the upper chest.
Apparently, the dress couldn’t even be removed unless that ribbon was untied.
Whoever designed this thing had clearly lost their mind.
I can’t believe I married into this miserable family twice.
I glared resentfully into empty space when a familiar deep voice drifted into the room.
“What are you doing in the dark all by yourself?”
It was my damned husband.
Duke Frezen Decart.
A faint, refreshing scent lingered around him, as though he’d just finished bathing.
Unlike other men who reeked of dirt, sweat, and blood, Frezen always smelled remarkably pleasant.
If I had to compare it to something…
Black roses.
With just a hint of wood.
The combination shouldn’t have worked.
Yet somehow it created a unique, mysterious fragrance with surprising depth.
Wearing nothing but a night robe, Frezen stood with the moonlight behind him.
Perhaps because of that, he looked dangerously alluring.
I barely managed to stop my eyes from drifting toward the opening of his robe beneath his thick neck before forcing myself to stand.
That was close.
Honestly, there’s nothing to criticize about that face.
Trying to hide the fact that I’d been staring, I answered more curtly than usual.
“Surely Your Grace could have refused something like this.”
“So why did you agree to it?”
Frezen lazily leaned back against the sofa.
“Who knows.”
“We’re husband and wife, aren’t we?”
He answered without the slightest hesitation.
I was speechless.
Of all people, hearing the word husband and wife come from Frezen’s mouth was almost laughable.
Anyone listening would think we were a real married couple.
Maybe we had been once.
But not anymore.
He knew that better than anyone.
Something about his usual smug expression irritated me, and the words escaped before I could stop them.
“Yes, we’re married.”
“A fake married couple.”
“Pretending to be husband and wife is one thing, but sharing a bed?”
“Especially when there’s already a child—”
At once, Frezen’s narrow crimson eyes curved even more sharply.
It was almost as though he’d been waiting for me to say exactly that.
Realizing my mistake, I hurriedly corrected myself.
“Of course, she’s not my biological daughter.”
“Anyway!”
“You promised that even if we remarried, we’d never actually sleep together!”
Frezen answered with maddening ease.
His red eyes seemed especially teasing tonight.
“I know.”
“We have Mela.”
“Naturally, she’s neither my biological daughter nor yours.”
“You’re mocking me on purpose, aren’t you?”
“Why would I?”
Despite his words, his eyes told a different story.
They clearly didn’t believe me.
“Is she really not my daughter, Evelyn?”
He’d been the same when we’d met again.
These days he pretended to accept my repeated denials.
But it was only an act.
“You know how loose-lipped the elders are.”
“They certainly love to gossip.”
“Exactly.”
“If we’re going to fool them properly, we need to act like a real married couple.”
“Everyone already believes we’re hopelessly in love.”
“Sharing a bed is simply part of the performance.”
“Nothing more.”
“…Hah.”
Judging by Frezen’s explanation, the elders had undoubtedly been whispering behind our backs about Mela and me.
The former Duchess had reappeared five years after the divorce with a little girl in tow.
As if my return alone weren’t enough to offend them, I had brought back a child as well.
To them, it must have been the scandal of the century.
Continuing to argue would only make matters worse.
I gave in and walked toward the bed.
“Fine.”
“If we’re not allowed to leave this room anyway, then we might as well put on a convincing show.”
“Should I scream a little while I’m at it?”
“Maybe then no one will ever bring up consummation again.”
Frezen sat down on the edge of the bed beside me and let out a quiet laugh.
The corner of his lips curled up playfully.
“Should we break the bed again, like last time?”
That was the moment it happened.
Just as I was about to spring to my feet in protest, Frezen caught hold of me and gently pushed me back onto the mattress.
Still smiling to himself, he leaned over me with effortless ease.
Just like he had five years ago.
I was so flustered that I couldn’t even swallow, my eyes darting everywhere except toward him.
“F-Frezen…”
“Do you really think screaming alone will be enough?”
“Last time, we even broke the bed.”
“We…”
“Th-That was…”
I tried to explain, but his next words cut me off before I could.
“Mela.”
“She really resembles you, Evelyn.”
“Even the way she acts is exactly the same.”
“…”
“Are you sure she isn’t my daughter?”
A droplet of water slid from the tip of his black hair and landed softly on the bedsheet.
“Well…”
“Even if she were, I wouldn’t mind.”
He swallowed whatever he had intended to say next and fell silent.
As his fingers gently brushed through my hair, an indescribable bitterness lingered in his touch.
But only for a moment.
His eyes soon filled with a radiance I’d never seen before.
“Because we’re husband and wife again.”
Frezen pressed a light kiss against the end of my hair and smiled lazily.
“F-Frezen, wait!”
“You said we’d only pretend!”
“Don’t tell me you tricked me?”
“Who knows.”
“I just changed my mind.”
“…What?”
“I don’t want to pretend anymore.”
“I genuinely want you.”
He closed the distance between us before I had a chance to respond.
The room blurred around me as my thoughts scattered.
The carefully arranged roses tumbled from the bed onto the floor.
How did everything end up like this?
Right…
It all started because of that little girl…
Or rather, because of her, the girl my infuriating ex-husband stubbornly believed was his biological daughter.
People always say that life changes in the most unexpected ways.
I realized I’d been reincarnated inside a novel exactly five years ago.
It happened shortly after I married my childhood friend, the man destined to become the male lead’s mentor.
Frezen Decart.
In the original story, Evelyn Leella was nothing more than a deceased extra.
The first wife of Duke Frezen Decart.
That was the role I’d been reborn into.
Reincarnation stories might have been everywhere, but being thrown into the body of someone who was already dead in the original plot?
There was no way I was going to accept that fate.
“Let’s get divorced.”
So the very first thing I did was file for divorce.
After all, my character died before the story even began.
I might as well make my exit on my own terms.
Five years passed.
My life had drifted completely away from the original novel.
Well…
Except for one tiny problem.
I was completely broke.
I lowered my head as I stared at the mountain of overdue payment notices covering my desk.
“Why do my debts keep growing no matter how much I pay them, Hubert?”
The head butler, Hubert, stroked his bushy beard as casually as if he were petting an animal.
“Because the family has no money, my lady.”
“I hate how annoyingly accurate that answer is.”
Just as Hubert said, House Leella’s finances had reached rock bottom.
We were drowning in debts left behind by the crimes of the previous Count.
“The more I think about it, the more unfair it feels.”
“My good-for-nothing brother disappeared without a trace!”
That wasn’t even the worst part.
My only remaining blood relative, Russ Leella, vanished after being devastated by our father’s death.
He had been missing ever since.
As a result, my only source of income was the Carencia Merchant Guild, which I operated in secret.
I wish I’d been reincarnated into one of those wholesome family stories instead.
Or maybe as the overpowered heroine of an action fantasy.
An irresistible beauty surrounded by handsome men in a reverse harem wouldn’t have been so bad either.
“Ugh, whatever!”
“If they’re so desperate to collect my debt, they might as well cut off my arm and sell it!”
I shoved the stack of payment notices to the edge of the desk and collapsed face-first onto it, pushing those useless thoughts aside.
Come to think of it, it had already been five years since I was reincarnated into this novel.
The current year was Imperial Year 1509 of the Aberk Empire.
That meant there were exactly five years left before the original story began.
I’ve already survived five years, and there are still five more to go…
Wait a minute.
Doesn’t that mean the heroine should be around five years old by now?
She must be absolutely adorable.
Since I’d already been reincarnated into this world, it would have been nice to meet the heroine at least once.
Then again, that was impossible for an insignificant extra like me.
I dismissed the thought and muttered my usual nonsense instead.
“Ah…”
“Wouldn’t it be nice if expensive jewels just fell from the sky?”
“Or better yet, a pile of money.”
“At least then I could pay off my debts.”
That was when it happened.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion erupted outside the window as something came hurtling toward the mansion.
“Cough! Cough!”
I had no time to understand what was happening.
I could only cough violently while staring at the thick black smoke filling the room.
“What on earth…”
As the smoke gradually cleared, I realized it wasn’t a priceless gemstone.
Nor was it the pile of money I’d wished for.
Instead, a young girl I had never seen before was lying curled up on the floor.
She was clutching a note tightly in one hand.
It contained only a single, threatening word.
“Raise her.”
“…No way.”
The moment I recognized who the child was, my eyes widened in horror.
Because that little girl was none other than…
The heroine of the original novel.
