Prologue 01

“Come here, Roznia. You promised you’d help me.”

The dazzlingly beautiful man reached out a hand toward me as he spoke.

Even in the darkness, illuminated only by the dim glow of an oil lamp, his beauty remained vivid and undiminished.

His soft platinum-blond hair gleamed with a silvery-white sheen, and his brilliant emerald eyes sparkled like precious jewels. He was as beautiful as a flower blooming in the heavens.

I knew I absolutely must not fall for this man.

Yet my heart pounded helplessly.

Sneaking a glance at him, I timidly took a single step forward.

A sigh, full of longing, escaped his lips.

“Rose, come closer. Otherwise, we can’t make contact.”

“…Wouldn’t it be enough if we just held hands this time?”

After hesitating for a moment, I made my request.

The corners of his handsome lips curled upward ever so slightly.

“You only want to hold my hand? Really?”

…No. Of course not.

How could anyone possibly want to only hold hands with someone as beautiful as the Duke?

But getting any closer to you here would be a huge problem…!

Because you’re the protagonist of this world…

And I’m the younger sister of the villainous Master of the Magic Tower!

Unable to voice those words aloud, I merely shook my head.

Whatever he took that reaction to mean, he smiled in relief.

“I see. That’s a relief. So I’m not the only one who’s in love with you, Rose.”

“…What?”

Did I hear that wrong?

Who was in love with whom?

I stared at him with wide eyes.

Tilting his head in confusion, he asked,

“Don’t tell me… you still didn’t know? About my feelings?”

His voice was filled with genuine disbelief.

I could only stare back at him in stunned silence.

Then… does that mean everything he said was sincere?

“Ah… I like you so much…”

“Roznia… I love you…”

The countless nights we’d spent together over the past several days…

Every whisper he had murmured to me during those moments…

I thought he was just saying those things because he got carried away by the mood…?

“…I don’t know what misunderstanding you’ve had, but I’m not the kind of person who casually tells someone I love them if I only intend for it to be a one-night relationship.”

He let out an exasperated sigh.

I blinked blankly before finally regaining my senses and asking quietly,

“Then…?”

“Then?”

“I mean… does that mean… we aren’t just… the kind of relationship that ends after this?”

“…Ends after this?”

The atmosphere around him suddenly turned as cold as the middle of winter.

Instinctively shrinking back from the chill, I took a step away.

He sighed once more before rising from his seat.

Walking toward me, he spoke with deliberate clarity.

“Our relationship, Rose…”

“Yes…?”

“Once it’s begun… there’s no turning back.”

“That means…”

By the time he finished speaking, he was standing right in front of me.

With a crooked smile, he grabbed my arm and pulled me sharply toward him.

I stumbled straight into his embrace.

My eyes widened as I looked up at him.

His platinum-blond hair glowed gently like moonlight.

His clear, brilliant emerald eyes shone like the finest gemstones.

The man, beautiful enough to seem like the incarnation of a god, looked down at me with indescribable affection and smiled softly.

“Rose, from now on… keep holding me.”

“…”

“I’ll only ever let myself be held by you.”

Slowly lowering his head, he pressed a gentle kiss to my cheek.

His lips brushed against my ear, his warm breath tickling it as he whispered,

“So from now on… keep kissing only me…”

“Ah… w-wait…”

“And touch me… as much as you want.”

His verdant eyes met mine, overflowing with bliss.

Entranced, I gazed back at him.

Then, in a tiny voice,

“Yes…”

I answered.

As though he had heard exactly the response he’d hoped for, his face lit up with a radiant smile.

Lowering his head once more, he kissed me.

The soft rustle of clothing being removed echoed through the room.

His lips pressed gently against each newly bared patch of skin, and each touch made me tremble involuntarily.

His hands caressed me with practiced ease.

Leaving everything in his care, I couldn’t help but think…

How on earth did things end up like this?

It was the twentieth year since I had transmigrated into the novel The Duke’s One and Only Companion.