1. I am dead.

1. I am dead.

“Well, the Viscount Verdi told me to bring in the government while blatantly accusing my in-laws of not being able to have children.”

“Oh my God, I heard it too. But the one who can’t really play a role is the husband.”

“Is that enough? A close acquaintance of mine told me that when we got married, she did her husband's balm hair like this, like that, meddling!”

“Oh my!”

ballroom. The wives who covered their mouths with fans were passionate about one topic. I accidentally got caught in the middle, sipping only champagne.

“I have been married for five years and I still have my dress checked every day. You come every morning to check that you must not demean the count.”

“I have to report the amount of food the Count eats every day. In the meantime, sooner or later you will have to check how many grams of sauce you put on the meat.”

Under the colourful chandelier. The beautifully decorated wives looked at each other and let out a long sigh. The faces covered in dark clouds were all about to die. Two men and women met and fell in love and got married, but there was something that love alone could not overcome. in-law's house. They are family, but they can never be as close as family. The wife, who was taking a deep breath, looked at me, who had not said a word before.

“By the way, Raphi Leon has nothing to say.”

Everyone looked at me with their eyes twinkling as if those words had been the trigger. The gleaming eyes seemed to have the meaning of 'you should get one too'.

“Have you just been married for a year?”

Has it been a year already? I didn't know either.

“There is Gloria-sama, the former Grand Duchess, in the Rapyreon family.”

“Hey, are you still correct?”

Even though they only heard the name Gloria, everyone trembled as if they had seen a ghost.

“Even the Grand Duke is blunt. It's fortunate that our husbands are overflowing with affection... … .”

“The Archduke and Gloria-sama… … .”

“Huh, come to think of it, isn’t Sersia-sama in the Rapyreon family too?”

"ah! Your Grand Duke's sister... … !”

Hey. I haven't said a word yet. Why is everyone looking at you with such pitiful eyes already? I looked slowly at the wives who were writing their own stories. Then, after putting down the empty champagne glass, he opened his mouth.

“It is true that Gloria-sama and Sersia-sama are there, and that the Archduke is blunt.”

Everyone licked their tongues and spit out shouts of pity. Smiles of relief, saying, 'Still, I'm better than her' bloomed on the faces of the wives. People who feel superior only by having someone under them. People who look at the misfortunes of others and feel relieved in their own situation. It was normal for a meeting like this. As I was about to open my mouth, I felt a hand wrapped around my waist.

“I was here, madam.”

Black hair tickled his cheeks with a familiar scent.

“I see you, Grand Duke, Heo Eok… … !”

All the wives rushed to greet the appearance of my blunt husband. But without looking at them, my husband, Terdeo dein Raphileon, just hugged me tightly in his arms.

“I’ve been looking for you for a while. If I can’t see you even for a moment, I’m anxious and I have to be able to breathe.”

Despite the calm fight, I was used to pushing his cheek with the palm of my hand.

“It’s tickling. And because there are many eyes to see, they fall.”

Then a small child popped out from the right.

"dismissal! Your mom is ticklish! Come quickly!”

It was the heir of the Grand Duchess of Raphileon and on paper my son, Sultan Raphireon of Selfius. The child tugged on Terdeo's uniform, trying to pull him away from me.

“Yeah, what kind of crap is that? Theo.”

Then, a woman with waving red hair gently pulled Terdeo off and clicked her tongue. She then smiled broadly as she stretched out her arms towards me.

“Hello, Sasha! I'm here."

“… … three o'clock sister. My sister is falling too, it tickles me.”

It was Terdeo's older sister Sercia Jane Raphileon.

“Where are you tickling? I'll scratch you!"

A girl, much smaller than Selfieus, jumped out from behind Sersia, who hugged me tightly.

“Oh, my sister. Hug me too!”

Islet Rapireon, the only surviving collateral of Terdeo.

“Ailet, did I say that I should call you vision, not my sister?”

And Terdeo's uncle, Phineas Gunn Rapyreon. Finally… … .

“Why are you making so much noise in the ballroom?”

“Written, Gloria-sama!”

Grand Duchess Gloria M. Raphileon, who had a straight hair to the point of being colorless, appeared. The wives who were present at the sudden gathering of the Raphi Leon family could not raise their heads with their faces turned white.

“At this age, it is difficult to attend a ballroom.”

Gloria naturally came to my side, grabbed my arm, and sighed heavily. I lifted Gloria, who trembled at her, and smiled at her sullenly.

“You’re still like this.”

“Everyone is so busy shivering like that when I come out. What is this old man afraid of?”

Gloria pointed to the wives who had bowed her head in front of them and clicked her tongue. Indeed, as soon as she appeared, everyone in the ballroom was paying attention to us.

“Sasha.”

Gloria called me in a voice full of affection.

“So, before you follow me around like this, go ahead and pick it up.”

With a soft smile, Gloria continued.

“Will you give me the land of the Rapyreons or the mines? You said you saved us, so you'll give us what we want."

“I really don’t need anything.”

“If you don’t keep choosing that way, I can give you everything from the Rapyreon family.”

At Gloria's words, everyone around them breathed in their breath. And I could feel him looking at me with respectful eyes. I looked at the people of my in-laws who stood strong as if the Red Sea was splitting in both sides with a ruined expression.

'… … I need a divorce.'

My in-laws are so obsessed with me.

*** In the spring when all living things come alive\, I was dying. Sif\, my husband\, who sat in the chair next to the bed\, muttered in a worried voice.

"It hurts?"

As if waiting for this day only.

“If you think you are going to die, you must die. Why are you still breathing to live?”

My husband, who said he loved me. My love that I confessed to make me happy. You, who used to smile shyly in front of me, are nowhere to be found.

“Sasha.”

Sif's lips that always brought me happiness.

“Stop dying.”

Killed me

“You must die for the inheritance to come to me. A pile of backlogged debts. You love me, So can you do something about dying for me?”

Sif, drenched in sweat, swept my hair from my forehead. I wanted to get up right away and slap that thick face. But strangely, the body did not listen at all.

“Can’t you move?”

Sif smiled, as if looking through me.

“It is because of the curse. They say I can kill you with a curse. It was expensive, but they said this is the best way to kill without evidence.”

Neither the brown hair nor the fresh green eyes have changed. You have changed, tears of despair that had been dangling from the corners of his eyes fell down. Then the bedroom door opened.

“Are you still alive?”

And I heard a voice disappointed that I was still alive. I had goosebumps all over my body.

'Why are you here?'

As I turned my eyes in amazement, I saw the smiling face of my stepmother and my bloodless sister, Reina.

“You look like your father, and your name is long.”

“… ….”

“Don’t look at me like that. Your leash was urged by your father.”

It was my family who always smiled kindly to me. My one and only family who cried together when I was having a hard time and laughed together when I was happy.

“If I hadn’t written a will to leave a legacy to you, this wouldn’t have happened. … … I’m sorry.”

Her red lips, stained with greed, were grinning like a snake, unlike usual.

“Maybe I could have been a good mother and daughter with you.”

“Mom, are we going to get rich now?”

Reina chuckled. She was a child whom her stepmother had brought from outside her, but she really looked like her real brother. Sif approached Reina and gently wrapped her arms around her waist. And she put her lips to Reina's left cheek, as if lovingly.

“Of course, my princess. Have you been through a lot of trouble? It all ends today.”

“It’s okay, Sif. I trusted you.”

What? Reina called my husband's name affectionately. Her lower lip trembled finely, like a convulsion. The sound of her heart beating echoed through her body.

'Isn't it? Then… … That's what I think, isn't it?'

Reina turned her head to look at me as if she had read my mind. Then she tilted her head back and laughed out loud at her.

“Did you really think Sif was your husband?”

“… … !”

“Sif married you at my request, stupid sister. I was pretending to love you!”

She pressed her lips to Reina's neck, as if Sif was licking sweet honey. Laughing, as if supporting Reina's words. Reina smirked, pulling Sif's head hard.

"It’s stupid. You don't even know you're waiting for the day you die."

I can't. Obviously you love me... … ! However, I did not put myself in the eyes of his hugging Reina as if coveting.

'Have you ever had a play with three people?'

The husband I loved, the stepmother who loved me, and the kind sister. Everything? Her heart was pounding. It was stuffy, as if it were clogged up, and his anger soared to the point where he wanted to bite his tongue and die.

“After you die.”

My stepmother approached me immobile with a small cushion.

"Don't worry, we'll put your inheritance to good use."

Stepmother pressed my nose and mouth with a cushion without changing the color of her face. Her breath was choked. In my breathless eyes, I saw Sif smiling, Reina almost lying on the sofa, and stepmother killing me without the slightest guilt.

'Even if I die, I won't forget it.'

Tears of anger flowed. It was getting dark in front of my eyes. And I died the last time I heard Reina's laughter in pain.... I'm dead. No, I just thought he was dead. But I came back to life. It also returned to the past before marrying Sif after inheriting the inheritance. I don't know why I came back to life, but if this was an opportunity that came to me, I couldn't miss it.

'I have to protect my life and heritage.'

You can't report the three people for something that hasn't happened yet. But in this life, they won't behave the way they want.

'I'm going to take what they want, trample it thoroughly, and make it fall flat at my feet.'

To do that, I needed someone who would protect me and my legacy, and someone who would give me enough power.

“I came here to make a suggestion to you.”

"Proposal?"

“… … Exactly one year. You will only marry me for one year.”

It was a soft voice for talking about marriage. It was a random proposal to the other party, but to me, it was nothing short of a last resort.

“Fun.”

A man with a jaw-droppingly gorgeous appearance looked at me on the opposite sofa with his chin clenched. Dark black hair that engulfs everything and red eyes that resemble blood. I was tall enough to have to look up with my shoes on, and the shoulders of an inverted triangle wide enough to be a threat just by looking at it. Forearms and thighs that look tight enough to make the uniform tight.

“What do you want?”

He was the Archduke Terdeo Dain Rapireon of 'Rumor'. The Raphileon family was the first to be awarded the title of Grand Duke in recognition of their contribution to helping the former emperor and making the present Castor Empire a great empire. Since then, the imperial family has been the closest confidant, and it is the family that takes the lead in suppressing wars and rebels. Yeah, I decided to use this guy to get what I wanted. As he leaned over, his muscles threatened to rip through his uniform.

“Since we met for the first time, he probably didn’t come here to marry me because he loved me. You heard the rumors about me in the social world, so you probably didn’t come here looking for love.”

'The eyes are terribly fast.'

“You came to me because you wanted something, so don’t waste your time and tell me.”

If he had been able to kill people with his eyes, he looked like he would have killed a hundred more times.

'Why am I here?'

I shuddered at the memory that came to my mind and then clenched my fists.

“… … My stepmother, my sister, and the man I loved will kill me.”

“You must have had a nightmare, Young-ae.”

I'm sure it's just No, let's calm down. I need that man.

“You’re going to kill me and take the legacy that belongs to me.”

Terdeo scoffed at my confident answer.

“There is nothing to worry about in advance of things that haven’t happened yet. I've heard that you've inherited a great fortune, but you must be worried. Those worries are nothing more than a hoax.”

Yes, how good would it be if it was nothing more than rain? But for me, it wasn't rain, it was actually the past.

“It’s an interesting proposal, but let’s pretend we haven’t heard of it.”

A blood and slaughter-crazed war maniac, Archduke Raphi Leon. The current Archduke Rafi Leon was a man who was rumored to be a barbarian because he sent his successor, Selpius Sultan Rafi Leon, to the countryside in the name of recuperation and did not take good care of it. He was forced to marry Young-ae, who had been following him in the past, but divorced within two months. The ex-wife, who received a huge alimony, disappeared with the statement that Archduke Rapyreon was the worst man. Rumor has it that he had never even visited her wife's bedroom. Because he even said he didn't even take the first night.

'A man who is not interested in wealth enough to not need to be greedy for my inheritance, and is not interested in women enough to not spend the night.'

“When you go back to the mansion, you should drink warm milk and go to sleep.”

He was just the man I needed.

'I like the fact that he has an open personality.'

Terdeo mocked me and got up from the sofa to pull the string. Yes, I already knew you were such a bastard. Widely. I held Terdeo's hand, indifferent to his ridicule.

“Your Majesty the Grand Duke will need a second wife now.”

The reason he left the Grand Duchy and stayed at the Grand Duchy of Raphi Leon in the capital was simple. In order to save the second wife, who is only a fake.

'It must have been difficult for the emperor to marry a young princess around this time.'

Terdeo wrinkled his face as he looked down at the hand he was holding. And he hurriedly pulled out his hand. He hastily removed his hand, so that my ring was scratched, and his finger bled shallowly. But Terdeo seemed unaware that the ring had been scratched and bleeding.

'It's not that you don't like women, it's that you hate kinship?'

I looked at Terdeo's faintly weary face and handed him an apology.

“I’m sorry I caught you carelessly.”

“… … Any further conversation is a waste of time. Go back, baby.”

Terdeo's gaze flashed wildly like a predator, but it wasn't strangely scary.

'Even if I resign from here anyway, it's only death for me.'

I smiled softly, unconsciously fiddling with the ring that had hurt Terdeo's finger.

“Does the Emperor think so?”

"What?"

“Is the emperor pushing the marriage of the young seven princesses? Otherwise, I would have to marry a young princess who is still attending the academy, are you okay?”

Terdeo's eyes narrowed long.

“How does Young-ae know that?”

How do you know, I know it because I've heard and experienced it all in the past.

“Do you still want me to go back and drink warm milk and go to bed?”

I smiled shyly and pointed to the sofa across from me. Terdeo's face hardened like a stone statue. He stared at me hard for a long time and then sat back down on the sofa.

'Yeah, I thought you would agree to my proposal if you talked about the princess.'

In the past, he hated marriage to the imperial family to death. I laughed softly at Terdeo behaving exactly as I expected.

“What fucking bastard spread the rumors. I have to sew the snout.”

Terdeo nervously loosened the button that tightened his neck. Hearing his lively voice, his shoulders shrug.

“Don’t correct it. To be precise, it is not the seven young princesses, but the four princesses.”

"Yeah?"

“The person the emperor pushes for marriage is Princess Sa and Princess Dodolea.”

"… … Yeah?"

Huh? She must have been a young seven princesses in the past? She's called Princess Dodolea? If she's a princess of Dodolea, isn't she a princess born weak and unable to get out of her bed? She is a misfortune princess who even died without being able to shake off her illness in the past. As I put on a puzzled expression on my face, Terdeo nodded as if he understood.

“He said he got up with a bottle.”

Not really. She was obviously a young seventeen princess. I still have memories of crying when a young princess came out to a social party and said, 'I don't want to marry such a scary man.' I pondered the memory and passed it on without a second thought. After all, what matters to me is not how many princesses Terdeo marries.

“Then you will need me even more.”

As the long eyelashes cast the shade, a shadow was cast on the red eyes. Looking at Terdeo's contemplative face, I stretched out my index finger, unlike the first time, with a bold attitude.

"One year."

“… … ”

“After that, you will get a clean divorce.”

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