Chapter : 2
1. The Villainess, Dang Yerin
“…This family is truly hopeless.”
That was the very first thought that crossed Yerin’s mind after regaining consciousness.
How could they keep preparing for the wedding when their own daughter had just collapsed?
Wouldn’t any reasonable family postpone the ceremony?
“Haah…”
She let out a long, weary sigh.
Immediately, the maid standing behind her sneered loud enough for her to hear.
“A mere illegitimate daughter should be grateful you’re becoming the lady of the North Sea Ice Palace. What’s with the sighing?”
…Life.
This damned family showed no mercy, whether their young lady had collapsed or not.
After Yerin fainted, this was what had happened.
Splash!
“Gah!”
First, they threw cold water on her face to wake her up.
Then they simply resumed dressing her as if nothing had happened.
“Honestly. Why did you have to faint? Making everyone else’s job harder!”
The maid’s scolding came free of charge.
And so…
Yerin now stood in a wedding hall so extravagantly decorated that it hurt her eyes, like a sack of barley abandoned in the middle of the room.
Strings of pearls hung from the ceiling, crimson silk draped every corner, and lavish banquet tables overflowed with delicacies.
Everything around her screamed,
“Look how unbelievably rich we are!”
Watching it all, Yerin clicked her tongue inwardly.
How petty. Truly petty.
There had to be a reason they had gone so overboard with the decorations.
If she had to guess…
It’s to crush the spirit of the Lord of the North Sea Ice Palace, Hyun Doyul.
To put it bluntlyā
“Your family doesn’t have anything like this, does it?”
That was the message.
At present, the relationship between the North Sea Ice Palace and the Sichuan Dang Clan was at rock bottom.
More accurately… the North Sea Ice Palace was being completely pushed around by the Dang Clan.
The Northern Sea Province, where winter lasted all year long, suffered from an extreme shortage of food.
Because of that, the North Sea Ice Palace survived by selling rare resources found only in the region and using the profits to buy grain.
Among those resources, the most important was a rare medicinal herb called Seollucho.
Depending on how it was refined, Seollucho could become either a deadly poison or a medicine capable of treating injuries caused by flame arts.
Furthermore, practitioners of ice arts could increase their internal energy by consuming it.
For generations, it had been considered one of the world’s most precious herbs.
And the family that needed Seollucho more than anyone… was the Sichuan Dang Clan.
The Dang Clan was the greatest house of poison under heaven.
For generations they had specialized in poisonous arts, creating terrifying toxins unique to their family.
And one of the indispensable ingredients for those poisons…
…was Seollucho.
Naturally, the Dang Clan could never look kindly upon the North Sea Ice Palace, which monopolized such a valuable herb.
To make matters worse, the Ice Palace had even developed an antidote against the Dang Clan’s deadliest poisons using Seollucho.
No wonder they hated them.
Yerin couldn’t entirely blame them.
There were countless stories surrounding the creation of that antidote…
But that wasn’t important right now.
Returning to the original storyā
The previous Lord of the North Sea Ice Palace had been murdered by the Blood Cult.
His death came so suddenly that he never had the chance to tell his son where the Seollucho fields were located.
Their location was a closely guarded secret passed down only from one Palace Lord to the next.
The former lord had died before he could even meet his son.
Not only the North Sea Ice Palace, but even the Sichuan Dang Clan was thrown into chaos.
Because the disappearance of Seollucho was practically the same as losing the very foundation of the Dang Clan’s secret arts.
Yet the Dang Clan chose to vent its anger elsewhere.
Using food as a weapon, they began manipulating the North Sea Ice Palace, now stripped of its greatest bargaining chip.
That’s just too much. It’s not like the Ice Palace deliberately hid the Seollucho!
Yerin fumed inwardly.
Even after losing a crucial part of their legacy, the Dang Clan still possessed immense power.
Thanks to the vast fertile plains under their control, grain was never in short supply.
Meanwhile, the North Sea Ice Palace grew poorer with every passing day.
Which is why Doyul… eventually had no choice but to accept a marriage with an illegitimate daughter of the Dang Clan.
That illegitimate daughter was Dang Yerin.
The very body she now inhabited.
In the original novel, Hyun Doyul had risen to greatness by obtaining countless opportunities and gathering extraordinary talents.
So how had he ended up in such miserable circumstances now?
Feeling sorry for him, Yerin quietly clicked her tongue.
Just thenā
Creak.
The door opened without warning.
“…”
A young boy slowly walked into the wedding hall.
For a moment, Yerin completely forgot her own miserable situation as she admired his appearance.
Wow.
So this is what the world’s male lead looks like.
Dressed flawlessly in wedding robes, the boy looked like a masterpiece painted by the hands of a legendary artist.
Jet-black hair.
Flawless skin without a single blemish.
Lips tightly closed like a crimson flower bud.
Even the tiny beauty mark beneath his right eye possessed an almost dangerous charm.
He strode toward her before lifting the long eyelashes that had hidden his gaze.
…!
Yerin instinctively stiffened.
The look in his eyes was so murderous it seemed as though he wanted to tear her apart on the spot.
“I am Hyun Doyul.”
After introducing himself in a crisp, emotionless voice, he immediately fell silent.
Yerin suddenly felt incredibly wronged.
Hey! I’m practically your ancestor! How dare you be so rude to me?!
She desperately wanted to shout it.
But she forced herself to swallow the protest.
Calm down. He’s the male lead of this world.
The future of the North Sea Ice Palace depended on him.
It would be wiser not to get on his bad side.
Besides…
In the original story, Dang Yerin is killed by Hyun Doyul!
Considering that little detail…
Keeping a low profile was definitely the right choice.
First things firstā
She had to survive.
Exactly.
“I am Dang Yerin.”
Answering in a gentle voice, she quietly lowered her head, avoiding Doyul’s piercing gaze.
Seriously, stop staring. You’re going to burn a hole through my face.
The maid standing behind her quickly stepped forward.
“Palace Lord, please request the marriage.”
Doyul clenched his teeth tightly before shutting his eyes.
It was the only way he could suppress the rage boiling inside him.
This makes it look as though the North Sea Ice Palace is begging for this marriage.
In truth, the entire arrangement had been forced upon them by the Dang Clan Head.
“I have a daughter. I would like her to become the mistress of the North Sea Ice Palace.”
If he had only been responsible for himself, he would have rejected such an insulting demand without hesitation.
But he was the Lord of the North Sea Ice Palace.
He bore responsibility for the people of the Northern Sea Province and everyone who served under the Ice Palace.
“ā¦Very well.”
Even that humiliation should have been enough.
Yet the Dang Clan Head crossed the line once more.
“Then let us hold the wedding at the Sichuan Dang Clan.”
Traditionally, both families discussed and agreed upon the location of the ceremony together.
The Dang Clan Head skipped that discussion entirely.
More importantly, the Palace Lord was not merely the leader of the North Sea Ice Palace.
He was the ruler of the entire Northern Sea Province.
Knowing full well he could not afford to remain away from the North for long, the Dang Clan Head deliberately summoned him all the way to Sichuan.
His malice couldn’t have been more obvious.
Naturally, the North Sea Ice Palace had erupted in protest.
“You mustn’t, Palace Lord!”
“How can we allow Your Lordship to endure such humiliation?!”
But they could not refuse the proposal of the man who controlled their food supply.
And soā
Now.
When Doyul opened his eyes once again, they were as sharp and cold as blades carved from ice.
“…I, Hyun Doyul, Lord of the North Sea Ice Palace, ask for the hand of Lady Yerin of the Sichuan Dang Clan in marriage.”
…Excuse me, does simply saying the words count as proposing?
His voice was so icy it sounded as though he were about to draw his sword and fight to the death instead.
Yerin sighed inwardly.
“I, Dang Yerin of the Sichuan Dang Clan, accept the Palace Lord’s proposal.”
The instant she finished speaking, the maid announced,
“The two of you will now bow to one another.”
“…”
“…”
The young bride and groom silently looked at each other before bending deeply in a formal bow.
“Finally, please share the ceremonial wine, and the wedding will be complete.”
At those words, Yerin blinked and turned toward the maid.
Ceremonial wine?
She was only twelve years old.
Doyul was merely fifteen.
Normally, children this young weren’t married, but when it did happen, tea usually replaced wine during the ceremony.
Alcohol was too much for children to handle.
But the maid merely glared at her impatiently.
“What are you waiting for? Drink it already.”
…At least she wasn’t shouting.
Probably only because Doyul was standing right there.
An illegitimate daughter and the fallen lord of the North Sea Ice Palace clearly didn’t deserve the courtesy of being served tea instead.
Yerin let out another quiet sigh as she looked down at the cup.
Well… one drink shouldn’t hurt.
In her previous life, Baek Seolryeon had been an extraordinarily heavy drinker.
Which meant she knew from experience that this much alcohol wouldn’t even make a dent.
With a faint scoff, Yerin emptied the ceremonial wine in a single gulp.
Completely unaware that this single cup…
…was about to become one of the greatest black marks in her entire history.
