Everyone is looking at me…

Her heart was pounding wildly at the sight of countless glances pouring at her from all directions. It was the first time she had gotten this kind of attention, she thought she would lose her mind if this continued, but she could not just sneak behind someone’s back to hide or leave her position as usual.

Because today was a wedding, not just any wedding, it was hers and she was the bride, the star of the event.

I was told that the ceremony would be over in thirty minutes…

To prepare for the wedding, she searched and read all kinds of etiquette books, since she did not want to be humiliated for making a mistake in the guests’ presence.

Perhaps for that reason, she did not make any notable mistakes, but she was not aware that unforeseen variables would occur.

The groom hasn’t shown up for over an hour.

As she stood at the end of the aisle and handled all the stares alone, she could feel the cold sweat all over her body. Fortunately, the gentleman who was the groom’s subordinate, had claimed to be the proxy in his stead, and thanks to that, she was able to avoid any more embarrassing situations.

The priest in charge of the wedding clasped his hands together and offered a brief prayer, and then began to read the marriage vows so that everyone in the wedding hall could hear them. It was a blessing for two people who would spend the rest of their lives together as a couple.

“The bride and groom’s representative. Do you swear to be faithful to the marriage pledge?”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

The high priest then came forward and presented the marriage pledge in front of the groom’s substitute .

“You will see an empty space below. If you two sign there, a marriage will be established.”

As the priest said, an empty space was left at the very end of the pledge filled with letters, where the bride and groom’s signature would be placed.

“First, the priest, as the witness of God, will sign it.”

At the Father’s words, a young priest, who had been quietly waiting next to him, handed him a pen. With this signature procedure, the ceremony would be over, and she could finally be free from the people’s eyes.

But later on, people would mock and laugh at me — a bride without her groom at the wedding.

She glanced anxiously at the entrance, wondering if the door would suddenly swing open and the groom would appear right here and now, but the door was still firmly shut. She imprinted her name on the given blank space with a gloomy heart.

Nadia Vine.

Starting today, she would be using her husband’s last name, so this would be the last signature she signed under this name.

She was worried that the letters were wavy because her hands were shaking from nervousness, but the high priest and the groom’s subordinate did not seem to reprove her too much. They were really kind people.

“Now, the bridegroom’s representative will sign it.”

After the young priest retrieved the pen she had used, he approached the groom’s assistant, Jorre.

He signing it will be the confirmation of the bride being abandoned by the groom on their wedding day.

But the moment the groom’s aide reached his hand out to pick up the pen…

A ray of bright light poured in from the entrance with a “Squeak-!” sound.

When she turned her head towards the entrance, the door, which had been tightly closed, was wide open.

“I must be very late.”

A man’s voice rang out from the blinding light. It was a low, resonant voice.

The man slowly made his way in along the carpeted path.

All she could see was a silhouette, but his figure seemed quite well-built.

As he approached little by little, the light that was pouring in like a halo began to fade and the man’s shape became clear, at the same time, a peculiar odor flooded in and stimulated the tip of her nose. It was a smell she had never scented before.

What is this smell?

However, there was no need to deduce the identity of the smell for long. The answer was found right in the appearance which finally appeared in the midst of the gradually dimming light.

Ugh!

The repulsive smell came from no one else besides that man, his whole suit was stained with blood.

(Gasp!)

As the strange man, who was covered in inadequate substance, approached, the strength of her whole body was drained and her hands began to tremble.

Blood… blood… !

She had a phobia of fainting whenever she saw blood. However, she could not bring herself to pass out in this place, right in the midst of the ceremony, and in front of hundreds of eyes.

She used the little remaining strength to keep her balance on both feet, forcing herself to stay conscious at the responsibility of finishing the wedding somehow, but her vision was repeatedly dyed black and then brightened, it was a dizzy and overwhelming sensation.

In between the flickering sight, the silently moving figure of a man with dark hair, red eyes, and expressionless face, as he was giving off a deadly vibe, which was literal in this situation as it was particularly bloody, like that of the Satan — the embodiment of death, was vividly engraved on her eyes.

“My Lord!”

The man who claimed to be the groom’s proxy let out a scream of astonishment.

Lord?

Could it be that this shady man was the very lord of this land, who would be her husband?

My meant-to-be future husband, the one who was said to be crippled and couldn’t walk properly…?

That rumour was completely wrong.

With every step the man took, she felt a sense of immense pressure weighing down on her and as it was only getting heavier, her heart raced.

She was so dumbfounded observing the man in dismay, that once she came to her senses, he had arrived in front of her, carelessly wiping the blood off his face with his gloved hand.

It was then that the man’s face caught her eyes. A small mole under his left eye especially captured her attention.

Although his demeanor was cold and fierce, he was a very handsome man. He had an outstanding look that she herself would have admired if she had not met him like this, but she was not in a situation to evaluate the other party’s appearance leisurely.

She gulped at the tension.

But why do I feel like I’m getting a sense of deja vu? I’ve never seen him before, but I think I’ve encountered this figure somewhere.

However, before further doubts could arise, the groom’s representative handed him a pen.

“It’s not too late. Please sign it yourself, My Lord.”

“Is that so.”

The man calmly took the pen and filled his name in the only blank left.

Altair Aylesford.

As she was reading along the line, she turned to look at the man in shock.

When the black hair, red eyes, and the tiny mole came back to mind, she quickly realised the source of the mysterious sense of familiarity.

Now, wait a minute…!

If his name was Altair, and he had dark black hair, crimson red eyes, and a mole under his left eye…

He is that crazy villain duke! Wh-why is he here?!

❈❈❈

She was reincarnated in the world of a novel. No, would it be more precise to say that she possessed a character?

Actually, she did not realise this right away in the first place.

Before she was reborn, she had a very timid and vulnerable personality. In particular, dealing with people was the most difficult.

Of course, even after being reborn, such a temperament did not change at all, and she often avoided crowded places. She also hated proms and tea parties, which were usually enjoyed by noble ladies.

Fortunately, her parents were generous and understanding enough toward their shy daughter, who did not participate in any social activities at all.

However, when she reached adulthood, she could not avoid the debutant, in which it was a tradition to greet the emperor and empress and made her official appearance to the social world. Therefore, she swallowed tears and reluctantly attended the imperial ball, and there she saw Abelina, the heroine, shining brighter than anyone else.

Only then did it hit her that this is the world inside the novel ‘Treachery of the Black Rose’!

This book, which was unusual from the title, was a famous devastating novel, known for the tragic death of all the major characters.

Still, the heroine would survive. Because it’s the power of the main character’s aura, of course! It was the very work that was said to strike the readers with an insane twist when they least expected.

And of all things, she had to be reborn as Nadia Vine, the supporting character in that novel!

She just read the popular devastating novel with the intention of challenging herself to build up some decent courage, even a little bit, because she thought she could no longer live such a coward life anymore! There were several scenes that were hard to bear in the story plot, but she forced herself to read it about fifty times with her eyes wide open though her hands were trembling nonstop!

To be reincarnated in a devastating novel… Of course, I did wish to fix my timidity, but I didn’t mean to develop my courage this way…

This book featured a terrible villain.

The character she was particularly afraid of while reading the novel was the Mad Duke, Altair, the so-called ‘Grim Reaper’.

He mercilessly purges and chops off all the aristocratic members’ heads belonging to families that opposed the commands of his master, the third prince, who dreamt of treason. The author’s description was so realistic that she was thrilled to the point she could feel Altair’s menacing gaze even when she was reading the story.

However, at the end of the novel, Duke Altair was also killed at the hands of the third prince, who was trying to shake off the filthy deeds. But before his last breath, he clenched his teeth as he endured the excruciating pain all over his injured body and gathered all his leftover strength to swing his sword, aiming at a fatal point on the prince’s body. That being said, the prince was also beheaded.

Thus, the legendary ending, in which all the main characters were murdered, was created.

There were a multitude of protests about this crazy ending.

‘Nadia Vine’ was also one of the characters who died at Altair’s hands.

The villain slashed her throat with his own hand, blood splattered and a minute later, all that was left was her head rolling on the floor…

In fact, Nadia was not that much of an important person.

She played a supporting role that occupied a position among the three friends of Rubiche, the female lead’s rival. There was no description other than her striking pink hair because she was an insignificant parrot-like character who always blindly sympathised with Rubiche’s words.

If I had been the heroine Abelina, no, if I had been Rubiche at the very least, I would have noticed right away that this was fiction.

When she belatedly realised that this was a fictional world, she began to recall that there was always a silly pink-haired girl sticking behind Rubiche.

She would not have known that she appeared in the novel, let alone in a supporting role, if she had not possessed this outstanding feature. And yet, she would still be decapitated because she was a character in a gruesome novel!

Usually at times like this, the reincarnated protagonists in books make smart moves, saying that they will change their fates.

It was all fiction, so it was feasible. But how could she, who was trembling by merely reading the novel, prevent the tragedy that would strike the capital city?

This may sound a bit cowardly, but it would be best to avoid it!

With that in mind, it was clear to her what to do next.

Let’s leave the capital, the background of the incident, that way I will be able to save my own life.

But at the time, her circumstances were not so favourable, so she was not in the position to do whatever she wanted. She was living with her uncle, who had an awful personality as she had lost her beloved family. After her debut, her parents died in a sudden accident, so the title was transferred to her uncle, and in an instant, everything was taken away from her.

Her uncle held great fortunes as the Marquis of Vine, but he was so stingy that he would never give her a single penny for her own independence.

She pondered over and over how she could somehow escape the capital and thus save herself from the destined death.

But the poor, aristocratic young lady who had just become an adult was not left with many choices.

Except for the option of ‘marriage’.

Marriage was also terrifying as she had to be married off to a stranger and her financial status would not change much either since she had no rights over her husband’s possession. Nonetheless, compared to staying in the capital and having her throat slit, it would be a hundred times better. After all, for a woman to survive in this world, it would be a matter of time before she settled down with a family as it was quite difficult to make an independent living.

When she announced that she wanted to get married and leave the mansion, her uncle, who thought she was nothing but a leech that only ate, was excited that he could finally get rid of his burden and immediately selected a suitable man for her. The man he had chosen was Baron Aylesford.

According to her uncle, he was around her age whose only property was a poor estate in a rural village on the eastern edge of the empire.

But it’s the same with me anyway as I have nothing to offer on my own.

On the contrary, she should be grateful that he offered to accept the marriage with her with a small dowry. However, according to her uncle’s daughter, her cousin Melissa…

“He is totally broke. His territory is so poor and run-down that people refer to him as the Beggar Baron. Maybe that is why there has been no one who wanted to get married to that guy. I mean, who would want to marry Beggar Baron and become Beggar Baroness?”

…she said.

“I understand. It must have been hard to build wealth on the eastern border because it was rumoured to be a barren land. It’s just that my heart feels heavy that you, who grew up comfortably in the capital, would marry into such a place. Besides, your partner… is said to be an ugly crippled man!”

…she added.

“Oh, don’t be so heartbroken. Come to think of it, it may turn out to be a relief. You don’t have to spend the night with your ugly husband as he is apparently disabled and cannot walk properly… And he doesn’t seem to be in good health, so he might die early. After that, you can freely enjoy life with your dead husband’s legacy… Oops! Your husband is the Beggar Baron, right? I forgot, my bad. Oh ho ho!”

…It seemed that her uncle had sent her to a much worse place than she had imagined, but it was more important to get out of the capital anyway. So she proceeded with the marriage ceremony hastily without any complaints.

By the way…

Everything Melissa said was nothing close to reality, it was all fraud.

She said he was ugly, but he was a handsome man, she said he could not walk properly, but he was obviously standing before her, soaked in blood that was seemingly not his, staring at her indifferently.

She knew nothing but lies would come from Melissa every time she opened her mouth, yet, she believed her again!

She looked at the intimidating being in front of her as she quivered in cold sweat.

She had read it dozens of times, so she knew for sure. The man now held the name Baron Aylesford, would later make a great contribution to the battlefield and would be bestowed the title ‘Duke Zetland’. After that, he became the limbs and vessels of the third prince as they fought together on the battlefields and began to wipe out the major aristocratic families.

I was in a hurry to get married, so I completely forgot that the villain was originally a marginal nobleman, but he made a contribution in the war and became a duke.

No, it would not have made a big difference even if she had known it.

Who would have known that Baron Aylesford, the Beggar Baron, is the future evil duke!

She was so screwed, everything was completely ruined. It was like walking into a tiger’s den while trying to avoid the tiger itself.

How could she be this misfortunate, finding her way to death on her own, even when no one pushed her to?

The first life is destined to die in a car accident, and the second is to be sabotaged at the hands of a mad villain?

She did not want anything else, she just wished to live a normal life like everyone else and die in a normal way, maybe passing away naturally because of old age would be nice…!

No, Nadia Vine, c-calm down.

She nervously cast her eyes around, restlessly sweeping through different spots on the colourful stained glass.

There’s no way he was born a villain. Since the original story has not yet started, if I could just somehow regenerate his nature so that he does not become a villain…

She looked at Altair whilst she was contemplating, trying to keep her thoughts as positive and hopeful as possible.

Perhaps he felt her gaze towards him, Altair turned to glared at her with sinking cold eyes, like a true promising future villain. His eyes indicated that he would draw his sword and cut her neck at any moment. It was even more traumatising because he was covered in blood. She was terrified, all her hope shattered in a blink of an eye.

Heek!

As she recalled the description she saw in the novel, she was appalled by how much his appearance matched it. What’s more, when she thought about it, wasn’t this just weird?

Why is everyone so quiet? Didn’t the Lord just show up with his attire dyed red with blood? Don’t they have any problem with that?

No one was surprised, they were rather calm as they remained still in their seats, she was expecting a more frantic response. From the reaction, it was as if something like this happened on a daily basis. The already existing crack in her hopeful thoughts got bigger.

“Did you wipe them all out, My Lord?”

“I certainly killed some of them.”

At the profound conversation, she felt as if her legs had loosened, as if they had turned into gelatin, she was ready to collapse on the spot any moment now.

“I spared one of them, so let him speak in moderation, keep him in check, if he dares to spout nonsense, you know what to do.”

The corner of Altair’s mouth went up into a sinister smirk as he was giving orders to his men. His gaze then shifted to her, the look in his eyes was still frosty as ever.

“You. Take care in the future.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m telling you to behave. If you act stupidly, your neck will no longer be attached as it is now. Don’t make me clean my wife’s corpse with my own hands, okay?”

Oh my God.

Is that another way of saying that if I act thoughtlessly, you will rip my head off…?

Turns out, he was already a vicious villain even before the novel began.

The moment her final ray of hope came crashing down was also when her endurance reached its limit, her nervous system could not withstand that much and it snapped.

Her body, which lost all its power in an instant, eventually fell to the ground. The cold floor was the last thing she felt before her vision blacked out. Her memories ended there.

❈❈❈

“What is the problem?”

Altair looked down at motionless Nadia lying on the bed and urged the doctor.

The new bride, whose complexion abruptly turned pale as if she was running out of breath, had collapsed in the middle of the wedding. Seeing the doctor’s nonchalance, the situation seemed to not be that serious, but to Altair, who had lived his whole life without knowing what fainting was, she appeared to be on the verge of death.

“The road from the capital to the eastern border is quite long and rough. She must have been exhausted. It’s no big deal, so don’t worry.”

“Huh.”

Altair smirked in disbelief.

“Do people faint when they are tired? This is the first time I have ever heard of such a ridiculous thing.”

The doctor scratched his cheek with a troubled face.

“Well…that is what ordinary people do. Your wife seems to be especially vulnerable, so you have to take extra care of her.”

“…looks like I have gotten myself a very demanding bride.”

When Altair’s eyebrows furrowed as he muttered, the doctor quickly rose from his seat in fear of the chilly air that arose around him.

“A-anyway, I’m going to prescribe some medicine for your wife to maintain her health’s condition.”

The doctor’s gaze was not fixed on Altair, but on Blan, the man behind him. He was the one who stood beside Nadia as Altair’s lieutenant at the wedding.

The appearances of Altair and Blan were as different as the night from the day. Unlike Altaire, who had dark hair and always wore a cold demeanor, he was a young man with bright blonde hair, plus a cheerful expression was always hung on his face, making it much easier to talk to.

“You have worked hard.”

Blan seemed quite familiar with this kind of situation, he calmly gave the doctor the money he had prepared in Altair’s stead. The doctor, whose complexion had slightly turned pale, immediately regained its initial harmonious colour, he greeted them with a happy mood and hurriedly left.

“My Lord.”

Blan narrowed his eyes and poked Altair’s side with his elbow.

“You need to fix that tone of yours.”

“What’s wrong with my tone?”

“The poor man just now was already sweating at the mere sight of you frowning with that ferocious tone. Not to mention the Lady, a woman, saw you show up covered in blood, no wonder she was staggered, she must have been shocked to the core.”

“What nonsense, I spoke as kindly as I could. You didn’t hear I swear, did you?”

“No, the standard of the ordinary,…it’s not…urgh!”

Blan ran his hand through his hair frustratedly, he was helpless before his insensitive superior.

Because of the barren conditions of the Eastern land, making it a difficult place to survive, the attitude of people within the Aylesford territory got affected a whole lot. Among them, Altair was particularly a pain in the neck.

He became a lord at a relatively young age and was soon accustomed to leading subordinates that were much older than him, but even in adulthood, the unpleasant habit of treating people inconsiderately with his heart of stone remained unchanged.

Blan, who had been training as a knight for a long time in the central part of the country, also had a hard time adjusting to it when he first returned. He, a soldier with a mind of steel himself, was like that, let alone a delicate aristocratic lady from the capital city, who grew up with a silver spoon in her mouth. Needless to say, It was undoubtedly a horrendous experience for her.

“Anyway, please be kind. Do you think that it is common for a noble woman to marry a poor baron in the countryside? I can’t be grateful enough about her coming here, but you, you scare the hell out of her with that clearing corpse threat, and now you question how she fainted?”

“Be kind? What now? You know I even killed those who I sensed following me from afar.”

“Isn’t it because of our situation that they followed you in the first place? They must have been sent from the Balhail side.”

As the name ‘Balhail’ was mentioned, Altair’s already cold expression hardened and became even more menacing.

Balhail was Altair’s cousin, the closest heir to the title Baron Aylesford, which at the moment, had no heir. If Altair were to pass away without an heir, the title would automatically be passed on to Balhail.

The territory may be poor, but his title was precious. Balhail had long been aiming for the position of Baron Aylesford.

While he was patiently waiting for his turn, he seemed to have been shaken by the news that Altair, who could hardly find a wife, was getting married.

“Don’t forget why this marriage is necessary. You should have a successor as soon as possible. That way, the Balhail side will give up on false hope. Well, it won’t be easy since you guys have been like this right on the first night.”

Blan glanced at the pale unconscious Nadia, emphasising with a serious face.

“Well, it can’t be helped, so please rest well today and please have dinner together with her tomorrow. Or prepare some food yourself and bring it to her first thing in the morning… Don’t people usually like the person who takes care of them and brings them food? We will prepare dinner for her tomorrow evening to make her feel better, so you’d better attend it with her…”

“…”

Altair remained silent, but Blan knew he would listen to his advice. Altair Aylesford was an assertive man, he would definitely reject from the beginning if he truly despised it.

“You have to make a good impression as a human first, before you get her affection as a husband. That’s the order of how things work.”

“I know, I know, what do you take me for, an idiot?!”

Sure enough, it will not be easy since he had messed up from the start.

“Anyway, cheer up. I will do my best to help you!”

Blan clenched his fists, bringing them to his front and did a cheering gesture as encouragement. Suddenly, something hit him, it seemed like he was reminded of some important issue as he switched to sharing his concern with his master, Altair.

“Oh, by the way, my Lord.”

“…?”

“You know how to spend the night with your wife, right? If I’m not mistaken, isn’t this your first time?”

“Hey, what kind of question are you…”

“Shh! You will wake the lady. I’m sure she would be scared to death if she saw you yelling like that.”

Altair, who was about to shout as usual, immediately shut his mouth at Blan’s words.

Perhaps his reaction was so funny that Blan burst into a fit of laughter.

“…get out.”

Altair gritted his teeth and pushed Blan roughly. However, his voice was much more subdued than before.

Plus, his ears were strangely red…

“Hmm, so it is your first time, my Lord.”

“Shut up!”

❈❈❈

It was morning when she opened her eyes again. The first thing she laid eyes on was an unfamiliar ceiling, she then gradually noticed the weird surroundings, a bed harder than that she usually lay on, a strange looking room which was not as spacious as hers or as any normal noble’s. She was lost, not knowing where she was or what to do. After a while of emotionally panicking, she began to rack her brain, hoping to get a glimpse into her last piece of memory before she got transferred here. Before long, the visage of a man with crimson eyes emerged in her mind, ensued by her vision spinning, and fell to the floor the moment after. There was no need for any further explanation, she could now intuitively tell whose residence was it, it was that person’s. Her facial expression came from perplexed to agitated, then devastated.

After having successfully solved the case, she learnt to accept the reality, reluctantly and despondently. She carefully stepped out of bed and looked in the nearby mirror, she looked terrible. Her hair was disheveled, her lips were dry and the colour was a bit bland, she looked a little haggard but her complexion had been somewhat improved, though her cheeks were not as blush as usual, at least it was not pale and lifeless like yesterday. Her present appearance was far different from the beautiful bride she had been at yesterday’s ceremony.

She was a total mess…just like her future.

She sighed deeply and took a look around the quiet room.

Everything was neat except for the bed at the corner with its rumpled drapery, where she had been lying uncomfortably. No one seemed to have come in and out all night.

It was not intentional, but she was not given that much of a warm welcome from the first day. She herself did not even know whether this was fortunate or unfortunate.

When she decided to get married, she thought a lot about what the first night would be like, she envisaged all kinds of scenarios and came up with plenty of countermeasures, but none of the cases she studied were like this.

At least now she did not have to worry about that.

Rumbling.

A loud noise came from her lower half. Her stomach was growling.

I’m hungry…

She travelled a long way in a carriage and attended a wedding, she was so exhausted that she thought she was going to die because of hunger. She was starved to the point that she felt her inside emptied and the system had started to devour itself, and what was left was her skin and flesh wrapped around her bones.

She found it funny to see herself feeling hungry even in this situation.

No, what’s so funny about that?

Being hungry means she was still alive.

Yesterday she collapsed like the world was over, but she was still alive and nothing had happened that was worth worrying about.

“I need to pull myself together, from now on, I just need to keep a cool head and do well.”

She was the one who decided to leave the capital.

That was how she arrived at the decision to get married.

And it was her who accepted the husband that her uncle had picked.

It is the consequence left by your rash decisions, so how much longer are you going to be shivering? The world hasn’t collapsed yet, Nadia Vine.

The mere sight of Altair’s face with his blood-shot eyes that came back to her mind when she reminisced that day was enough to make her tremble in fear. It was like she had just woken up from a horrifying nightmare, but the cruel reality once again hit her hard as she knew from this moment onwards, she would be living under the same roof as the devil himself. She wrapped her arms around her shaking body as she felt the chills from before just got worse, she tightened the grips with all her might to hold herself together.

If she was going to die quivering while being paranoid twenty four-seven like a wimp, she might as well just have waited for the doom day in the capital.

But I’ve decided not to.

She closed her eyes tightly and inhaled deeply.

First, let’s fill up the stomach, and recharge the energy. I can’t really think of anything when my stomach is empty.

It was morning, so she expected the breakfast to be ready soon.

However, there was no sign of the door opening even after a long time of waiting. Normally at the Marquis’ estate, this would be the part when she heard a knock on her door, promptly followed by a maid’s voice, asking her to come down for breakfast.

Nonetheless, the situation might be different in each family, so she waited patiently. But no matter how long it took, the maid did not come.

The meal aside, but no one even bothers to help me wash my body and change clothes?

There was never a case of which the maids were insolently disrespectful towards the Madame of the house like this.

Perhaps rumours had already circulated that Altair threatened to send her neck flying at the wedding. There were quite a few people there, so the word of mouth must have spread quickly.

She could not possibly think of another reason. If not, there was no way for the servants to treat their new mistress, who was not welcomed by the headmaster, as a proper Madame.

It’s no different here, my existence is still the same as back then, unwelcomed.

Even back in the Marquis of Vine, she was ‘the ugly duckling’. To be precise, it was from the point her parents passed away in a carriage accident and the title went back to her uncle.

If she had been a son, she would have been able to inherit her father’s title and his legacy. Or at least, she could have brought in a spouse to succeed the title as his son-in-law, that way it would not have been transferred to her selfish uncle given that he was the only legal heir at that time.

Still, the accident was too sudden, she was too young and helpless, plus, with regard to her personality, she would never have calculated that far ahead, especially when she was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

Her resourceful uncle, while she was grieving the loss of her parents as a young child, he naturally took the title and locked her away.

Ever since then, she, who once was the Marquis’ beloved daughter, became a leech niece who only ate, at least that was how her uncle perceived her.

The servants of her family, who used to support and serve her like their goddess, quickly turned their backs, they kissed up to their new ruler and ignored the lonely little girl, who had just become an orphan.

My uncle did not even give me the dowry, which is the right of the daughter of the Vine family.

In the least, she had an amount of property that her mother had personally entrusted to her, allowing her to bring the money as a dowry. Of course, it was a very meager amount, so it was not enough to save her face. Traditionally, the parents, or in this case the guardian, would place a dowry on their daughter, which consisted of a large sum of money, to maintain her dignity. Now that being mentioned, families additionally tended to seek for a political marriage or search for a spouse that would benefit them. Her uncle could not care less to preserve the family’s prestige and just went for the worst and also the easiest option. He must have hated her immensely so as to get rid of her as soon as possible.

The more deeply she dug into it, the more she could understand the attitude of the Aylesford servants. She would not be surprised if the maids were trash-talking about her at some corner of the manor.

The more she thought about it, she could not have been in more disgrace as the bride who with a little dowry, was neglected by her husband since the wedding.

But at least give me something to eat…

Did they discriminate against her so aggressively that they refused to spare her any food? Even a dungeon provides food to the prisoners.

She groaned and walked towards the window.

When she opened the window to get some fresh air, a cool breeze flushed in and the picturesque landscape of the Aylesford estate came into sight. The countryside was indeed far different from the dynamic capital. It was barren all right, but it was neither rugged nor desolate. The vast field could not be described as lush as there were areas exposed with bare dirt and patches of dry hay entwined in the green spaces, but overall they blended with each other harmoniously. As she shrunk the immense view into her sight, waves of rolling hills began to appear from afar, near the horizon. She could barely see the roofs of tiny houses peeking out behind those slope lines of hills as they caught the light as it broke through the clouds. The wind rustled through rows of trees and came caressing her hair, soothing the stirred up emotions inside her.

It’s peaceful.

But the owner of this peaceful estate was a mad villain. Her shoulders drooped at the fact that swept past her mind, she still found it hard to accept, everytime she recalled, it still came to her as a huge bummer, as shocking as it was back when she first knew it.

Then she heard the door open. It seemed that the maid had finally prepared her meal.

It was the first time she had been this glad to hear the door open like this.

She smiled broadly and turned her head, but was soon dumbfounded when she realised that the person who opened the door was not a maid.

Altair was standing in front of the door. In his hand was a tray with a ready-served meal.

“Oh, uh, erm…”

At the appearance of a completely unexpected person, she froze and stuttered like a fool, clutching the hem of her skirt.

Altair’s eyes were as cold as yesterday.

The confrontation continued without any exchange of words. Altair was the first to speak.

“…eat.”

Altair placed the tray down on the table and ordered her.

She calmed her trembling body and looked at the tray.

It was not a grand meal, it was just some steaming hot soup and a little hard bread, but her mouth was watering. Last time she checked, she had been starved for over twenty-four hours.

After a fierce battle between appetite and fear, instinct prevailed in the end.

She glanced at Altair and slowly approached the table, intensely alert of him. When she reached out for the bread, Altair frowned at the sight.

“Will you stand and eat?”

“Oh, no! Of course not! I will sit down to eat properly… “

She quickly settled down in a chair at Altair’s implication.

“Eat. Before it gets cold.”

“Yes…”

She hesitated and took a bite carefully.

Oh?

It tasted good compared to its hard and dry look. Thanks to this, her cautious movements began to speed up little by little as she swallowed the bread delectably.

The soup, which was quickly spooned, was also excellent. The dish seemed to involve few ingredients, but they were soft and flavorful.

She tore the bread into large pieces, soaked it in soup, and shoved the moistened bread into her mouth.

It’s so tasty…

She did not know whether it was because she was suffering from hunger or because the food was delicious, either way, what truly mattered was that it was the taste of joy.

As soon as she reached out for another slice of bread, filled with emotion, her whole body hardened as a minacious source of energy was felt from above her head.

As she raised her head stiffly, there Altair was, looking down at her with his arms folded in front of his chest.

“Cough, cough!”

It was such an intimidating look that she did not dare to touch the food he gave her.

His frightful-looking face even got worse when his forehead crumbled at the sight of her coughing.

“T-the food is quite enjoyable…e-eat…I’m eating well…”

She quickly made an excuse and stuffed the bread in her mouth, as if she was afraid that he would snatch it away from her. Of course, tears unknowingly rolled down her cheeks because she was petrified, her conscience was screaming internally. The bread suddenly became oddly hard to swallow.

I’m afraid I’m going to have a stomachache.

A meal that seemed like heaven just a moment ago turned into hellish torture in a wink.

Altair sat there until she finished all the soup and bread. Her stomach was bloated because she was stuffing food with discomfort.

I feel like vomiting.

She patted her chest with her hand and stole a glance at Altair.

Even after the tray of food had been emptied, he was still looking at her with fearful eyes and arms crossed. The gaze of a hawk looking at its prey might be the best image to describe this tension.

She shuddered as she looked into Altair’s eyes, wondering with a constantly trembling heart whether she had offended him somehow.

I wish he could stop doing that this instant.

Altair showed no sign of moving.

She had a hunch that if she kept looking at those terrifying eyes, the blood pressure in her veins would make them burst before the food could be digested.

“Do you, umm, have something to say?”

She eventually mustered up the courage to ask Altair.

“If that’s not the case, I’m sorry, but you keep staring at me…”

Altair’s shoulders flinched at her question, his cheeks and the corner of his eyes slightly twitched.

She was certain that it was clearly something out of anger.

She jumped out of her seat, knelt back on the chair and shook her head.

“I-I’m terribly sorry! I asked a pointless question…”

Despite her sincere apology, there was no response from Altair. Her shoulders shivered as the silence continued to flow.

“…for dinner.”

After a while, Altair parted his lips.

“Come down to eat.”

“Pardon?”

“They’ve all worked together to prepare a welcome dinner for you.”

Welcome dinner? Prepare? Who?

Questions endlessly popped up in her head.

“…I believe I have made myself clear.”

Perhaps the sight of her sitting absentmindedly was tasteless to see, Altair frowned and vanished with the tray.

Altair’s face was still as emotionless as a statue when he pulled the door open, but it was good that he disappeared from her sight anyway.

“I-I’ll come…”

She slid down from the chair and sat down on the floor, sighing in relief.

Thank God.

Altair Aylesford was a pretty scary guy, but he had the generosity to forgive her if she got down on her knees and apologised.

Fortunately, she had the cheap pride to get down on her knees to beg, so she did not think she would be decapitated any time soon. It was not something to be proud of, in fact, it was quite lowly for a noble woman to do so, but her life was more crucial than her dignity.

Still, if I kneel like this every time, my knees will be swollen.

She was already in trouble, rubbing her tingling knees.

Shall I make a knee protector?

While she was thinking about it, the door opened again.

Was Altair back?

She hastily got down on her knees again and raised her head towards the door direction with a servile posture. And then her eyes met a woman who was tossing at her a questionable look.

“…”

“…”

A brief silence passed as they faced each other awkwardly.

The first to break the ice was the woman who came in without notifying beforehand.

“Uh…Madame…? What are you doing on the floor…?”

_____________________

Her clothes and tone seemed to be that of a handy maid in charge of cleaning.

“Oh, it’s just that, I think the carpet is not that comfortable.”

She was acting as if she was sitting on the floor to check the condition of the carpet, she tried to smile as naturally as she could and tapped the floor a couple of times before rising up.

“It would be better to change the carpet to a softer and more fluffy one. Don’t you think so?”

“Right? You think so too, don’t you?”

She quickly made up a question to avoid the awkward situation, but the maid was rather delighted.

She approached Nadia with a twinkle in her eyes and began to say things that were not even inquired.

“That is exactly what I think as well. Not only carpets, but also curtains, bedding, furniture… no, the whole castle needs to be overhauled! Oh, by the way, my name is Anna, madame! Pavel, oh, Pavel is the butler in charge of the whole castle, and Pavel told me to come and help you.”

The maid kept pouring out the unsolicited words enthusiastically.

It was definitely a rare sight, a maid that talked comfortably with her master, that was yet to include the ungiven permission. Something as such could not be found in the Vine family or in any other noble family. Unknowingly, she was listening with her mouth agape in dismay.

But Anna, the exciting maid, did not even seem to be able to notice her dumbfounded reaction as she went on with her nonstop blabble.

“Anyway, I’ve been thinking that way for a long time, but the lord has no interest in such things, I guess when your heart is as hard as stone, you wouldn’t pay any mind to how important it is to have a decently aesthetic and beautiful appearance, right?”

“I-is that so?”

“Yes! All he says is utility, practicality, and that it is better to get more food for the knights and the people of the estate than to repair the castle, because our estate is poor.”

Anna became sullen for a moment.

Nadia already knew that the Aylesford estate was poor. If Melissa was not mistaken, then sure enough, Baron Aylesford was not called ‘The Baron Beggar’ for no reason.

The actual state of the castle…

She looked around the room quietly.

An old, shabby room.

This time, with closer observation, she could now see that the room was too dull to be that of a nobleman, in fact, it was quite rustic, much similar to the peasants’ style. Maybe it was because she was already used to living an extravagant life, but she felt the room a bit stuffy due to its limited space. Meanwhile, the wallpaper was quite out of date as its colour had started to fade, the window frame was not of fancy aluminum material but of the low quality wood instead. From a positive viewpoint, at least it was not to the point of being called ramshackle, the furniture was still usable and at first glance nothing seemed to be damaged…or so she appeased herself.

If it was the baroness’s room, it would be one of the best rooms in the castle, but if the finest room in the castle was like this, it was already clear as daylight how it looked elsewhere.

“But now that you are here, and you come from the capital city, you must have a sophisticated knowledge of beauty, then maybe you can do something about it.”

“Uh…”

Anna seemed to be looking for the appearance of a great baroness from Nadia, but she was only thinking of leaving the capital to survive.

However.

If it’s the role of the baroness…

Altair would not have married out of boredom.

Of course, he would have married because he wanted something in return, and it must be because he needed someone to act as the Lady of the house…In fact, she was confident that she would manage it well without getting in his way or tainting his name in any way.

Because she was timid and spent an abundance of time locking herself in her room reading alone, she had a great amount of knowledge in her head, plus, when she once was the only daughter of the marquis, she learned how to make a living on the estate. With the knowledge she possessed, she would be able to get through the situation somehow.

She might be a hopeless and socially awkward geek on the surface, but she was good at planning secretly behind the public scenes. After all, the only nature of a worrying and timid human being was always having a thorough plan.

But Altair, the villain in the novel, remained single even after becoming duke.

After she came to the Aylesford estate, everything made sense. He was so poor that he would not have any young lady willing to marry him if it weren’t for someone with a weird story like herself.

Although after becoming a duke he gained wealth and honor, he appeared in the capital as a ghastly figure, the ladies were terrified and refused to approach him, let alone to marry him.

Therefore, the future of ‘Madame Altair’s wife’ was unknown as it was never mentioned in the novel. That meant how different the plot would be from the original depended on how she acted.

Of course, thinking of Altair’s face still made her feel like fainting again, but…

Let’s do your best, Nadia!

Although it was not easy to shake off one’s haunting fear, she clenched her fists and tried to erase Altair’s face from her mind while making a firm commitment to herself.

❈❈❈

She carefully opened the door and poked her head out.

She went back to rest after Anna had helped her wash up and get dressed. However, she could not rest in peace because she was anxious to stay still.

There was a bellpull in her room so she eagerly pulled the string to see whether she could get someone to come and show her around. Since she could not relax completely anyway, she thought she might as well use this chance to look around the Aylesford Castle. But in the end, no servant showed up.

Was it because the rope was broken or they intentionally ignored her call?

Eventually, after a long tussle with the string, she decided to go outside on her own and look for a servant instead of waiting idly in her suffocating room.

The hallway was silent, not a shadow of a person was seen.

She left the room and started walking down the hallway. The path was very dark because the sun had started it’s long descent, yet the lights were dim in the hallway. Thanks to this, the gloomy scenery of the castle felt even more bleak.

She guessed it could not be helped when working under a terrifying lord, they must have kept the light low due to the cost issue. But because of it, she could not walk properly.

She had nothing with her, and no one was beside her, so she could only rely one her senses now, her vision, her hearing and touches to navigate where she was heading. If she walked like this, sooner or later she would bump into someone who worked in the castle that could be of some help to her.

Are the people of Aylesford good at walking down dark halls like these?

She started moving forward cautiously, pinning her hands against the wall so as not to fall.

Even the wall at her fingertips was not maintained at all. There were scratches with wallpaper falling off and places with big holes on it.

She turned her head to look out the window through the dreary surroundings, but it was so blurry that she could not see the scenery outside properly, it was probably because of the low-quality glass inserted.

Anna’s words about the entire castle needing to be overhauled were not a mere exaggeration…

Mushy.

She suddenly felt an unfamiliar touch on the tips of her fingers as she fumbled against the wall. It was not entirely soft, and was not very hard either. And it was neither the hard exposed bricks or cement through the unamended holes, nor the indistinct lumpy patterns on the wallpaper. It was…silky, almost as if the wall was covered with fabric.

How could this kind of texture be on the wall?

Confused, she turned her head to the wall. However, it was pitch black in front of her, so no matter how much she narrowed her eyes, it was difficult to confirm the identity of that particular weird spot.

Her eyes could not do their job right, so she had to rely on her hands. She carefully traced up the wall, trying to figure it out.

Until she heard a somber voice above her head.

“What the hell…are you doing?”

It was a voice she knew for sure. Once one had heard a voice like this, they would never forget it.

Huh? Altair’s voice?

As soon as she raised her head toward the direction of the sound, she met a pair of predatory red eyes glowing in the dark. Altair was the only one with such bright red eyes.

Th-that, then, what I groped just now was…

“Argh!”

She was so startled that she screamed.

She was extremely embarrassed and hurriedly stumbled away, but her foot twisted and she began to lean backwards, yet, she never fell on her hips. It was thanks to a strong force pulling her forward before that happened.

That being said, her body bumped into a huge wall called Altair instead of the floor.

“Why are you roaming around alone? Were you planning to run away?”

“Oh, oh no!”

Her voice rose unwittingly due to the absurd misunderstanding. It was very important to correct it because if he mistook it for a fact, she might lose her neck.

Altair stood silently for a while, he did not think she would deny his words so quickly and loudly.

She vigilantly parted her lips, examining the emotions contained in Altair’s crimson eyes, even in the dark she felt like she was slowly becoming familiar to them as those eyes were the first and only thing she looked at with full alert whenever she met him.

“I don’t intend to run away. It was my will to come here. I will never run away.”

If one made a choice, they must take responsibility accordingly. Now that she had chosen what she thought to be the best before the adversity she was bound to face, it was time to take responsibility.

She lowered her head because she could not handle Altair’s cold gaze. Tightening her grip on her dress, she was able to squeeze out the small courage to connect her words together and convey them explicitly.

“Since I first met you at the wedding, I still don’t know what role you want me to play as your wife. But since I’m married, I will do my best. If you tell me, I can work hard on anything. I know a lot more than you think, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.”

Altair remained still despite her prolonged remarks. She became anxious at the overflowed silence and lifted her head gently to see his reaction. Of course, there was no way for her to back out now so she continued to persuade him with sincerity.

“So if you could just tell me what I’m supposed to do…My Lord?”

Altair, who was staring deep into her eyes, was covering his face with his large firm hand.

“You don’t even know what the hell I want, yet you said you will work hard?”

It seemed like he was muttering to himself, but at the same time it sounded like a question.

As she pondered whether to answer or not, Altair lowered the hand that was covering his face. His face reddened as if in anger.

The moment when her eyes were about to go back to glueing to the floor again, wondering if he was dissatisfied with her answer…

“If you want to do something decently, try to start with getting rid of the habit of calling me Lord.”

She did not quite get it.

But everyone called him Lord.

She was certain because I listened carefully so as not to make a mistake. Confused, she asked cautiously.

“But if it’s not the Lord, how should I address you…”

“You said you know more than I think, shouldn’t you be able to figure that out yourself?”

“I-I understand.”

Was it some kind of test? A test to confirm whether she was competent enough to take on the role that he had for her…!

If that was the case, then it meant he was willing to give her a chance. Suddenly, the light of hope within her seemed to brighten again.

“I will definitely find out. After I have found the right answer, will you tell me what you want from me?”

“…yes.”

“I will do my best as promised.”

As she pledged once again, Altair frowned and placed a hand on his forehead.

“…I bet you will never know what I really want.”

“You may be right, but if I don’t know, I’ll study. I can either read a book or ask someone who knows you well.”

“Asking a person that knows me well…it won’t be easy…”

Eventually, Altair sighed deeply, as if he was already fed up with it, and came closer to her.

“As you can see, the sun has already gone down, so you won’t be able to see anything, it’s best to ask Pavel, the butler, to guide you tomorrow. No one has used the bellpull so far, so I will tell them to repair it. And the way back…”

Altair paused for a moment and glanced alternately at the place where she was standing and where her room was, he then wrapped one hand around her waist and lifted her lightly.

“Kya!”

Unexpectedly, her legs left the ground and seconds later she found herself floating in the air, she thrashed around restlessly in a mix of embarrassment and bewilderment, making Altair click his tongue.

“You’re the most energetic person I’ve ever seen.”

The thought of being swept up into Altair’s arm and was made to stay put will her body hanging loosely and her legs dangling in mid-air made she feel like she was going to pass out again soon.

“P-p-ple-please put me down!”

Of course he simply ignored her request.

“Can’t you see it’s completely dark? You can’t go back to your room alone.”

“If I can’t see, then the Lord…”

“I can.”

Seeing him moving forward without hesitation, it seemed that he could really see ahead. She casted her eyes around nervously, trying to make up another excuse.

“Oh, even if I can’t see, I can just walk along the wall!”

“What if you fall and break your bone?”

“It won’t break. There is no way it would break. Who would have a broken bone from just a mere fall?”

“Normally, that would be the case, but you are an exception that collapsed just because of fatigue. I don’t want to see anyone get hurt in my castle, so stop with the useless struggle.”

No… I’m perfectly normal though… it is your common sense that is not normal…!

She swallowed tears inwardly along with the words that she could not bring herself to utter.

(Sobbed).

❈❈❈

Altair, the villain, never wanted to see anyone get hurt in the castle.

As she was contemplating the newly acquired information in her head, the door opened without notice and Anna came in.

“Madame!”

“What’s the matter?”

“It’s dinner time, madame. Everyone is waiting for you!”

Anna approached her with a bright smile.

Her words reminded Nadia of Altair’s frown, telling her to attend the dinner.

Heek!

As soon as she remembered his face, she jumped to her feet.

He’s going to kill me if I’m late.

Although he did mention not wanting anyone to get hurt, who knew if she could really trust him. The thing about a madman was that they were quite impulsive and unpredictable. She had yet to come up with a proper plan. Before that, she could not have her head cut off owing to the villain’s temper.

“Oh, yes, we should go. Can you help me get ready for dinner? Or should I go wearing this? Is it too late?”

Anna tilted her head as she saw Nadia’s sudden panic.

“You don’t have to rush too much. Even if you are a little late, who would dare to judge the Madame?”

“Evil…no, the Lord…”

“Our lord? What would he have to say to the Madame? That’s nonsense!”

Anna burst out laughing as if she had heard the funniest thing ever. Anna did not seem to be afraid of Altair at all.

Could it be that she was this carefree because she did not expect him to turn into a crazy villain later on?

But even in the presence, just looking into the villain’s eyes makes my whole body quiver.

At that moment, Anna suddenly became a respectable figure in Nadia’s eyes. She herself did not know whether the maid was bold or overly dull, but either way she was admirable.

“…I’ll just go like this.”

Nadia gave it some thought and eventually arrived at that conclusion.

I did not think Anna could help her to prepare properly anyway, and looking at the atmosphere in Aylesford, she thought that it was not necessary to do much hair care or make-up.

Let’s not do anything rude.

And so, she made up her mind and moved on.

❈❈❈

Is this the feeling of a soldier going to war?

Nadia took a deep breath as she stood at the entrance to the banquet hall, where Anna had guided her to with a lantern.

Now, all she had to do was open the door and enter, but the thought of facing Altair did not allow her feet to move.

It seemed that the banquet had already begun, she could hear the knights chattering beyond the door. Some laughed and some sang.

I can’t sing very well.

She let out a light chuckle at the dissonant sound that she could not even call a song, but thanks to this, her tension was relieved a little.

After taking one last deep breath, she glanced at Anna to signal her.

As soon as she stepped past the door Anna had pushed open, the bustling interior became dead silent as if it was splashed with cold water.