Chapter 1: 1

Chapter 1. Why is he here?

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’!

<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’.

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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 collapsed. Her vision blacked out and 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.”

_____________________

Portraits of the characters that appear in this chapter

Nadia

Altair

Melissa

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