Chapter 1
“Miss, good morning!”
I opened my eyes to Dana’s cheerful greeting.
“Morning, Dana…”
As I pushed away the soft blanket and sat up, a dull headache hit me.
“Oh no, please get up slowly! Here, some warm tea.”
I had low blood pressure, so waking up in the morning was always hard.
I took the warm tea Dana handed me, sipped it, and let out a deep sigh.
I once got up too quickly, blacked out, and fell—twisting my ankle. So I couldn’t ignore my low blood pressure.
“Ugh, stupid low blood pressure…”
After finishing the tea, I slowly got out of bed.
I slipped my smooth, delicate feet into soft slippers and washed my face with the water Dana had prepared.
“Here’s the mirror!”
“Thanks.”
“Hehe, no problem!”
I held the round mirror and examined my face from different angles.
It had already been three years since I died in a hit-and-run accident and woke up in this storybook world.
I had died as a successful hunter, only to wake up in a cliché novel-like world—something I’d seen countless times in stories.
Maybe it looked vain to check my face every morning, but since I suddenly became someone else, I couldn’t help it.
“…Phew.”
Whether lucky or not, my reflection still showed the same woman with blue hair I’d first seen three years ago.
When I blinked, my ocean-colored eyes—mixed with violet—disappeared and reappeared.
‘Wow… With this hair and face, no wonder I look so cold.’
Flora’s late mother had a gentle personality and warm colors, but that gene didn’t pass to either of the Diatri siblings.
It was a shame.
Just then—
“Miss! Are you awake? Oh, you’re already up! The Duke is arriving in a few hours! You need to get ready!”
Lily came in, chattering as she knocked on the door.
Dana joined in.
“Oh no, that’s right! Miss, let’s start with a bath and massage!”
The “Duke” they were talking about was Felix Pechedor, the male lead of the novel The Duke Loves Cecil, the one I had been reincarnated into.
And that male lead…
“Miss, you must be excited! It’s the first time meeting him since your engagement… Ahem, anyway, we’ll make you look stunning!”
…was my fiancé.
Flora Diatri.
The character whose life I had taken over three years ago was originally the villainess in the story.
‘She was seriously annoying.’
She interfered with the main couple early on, frustrating the readers, and popped up again later to cause more chaos.
She was known as the clingy, crazy ex-wife character.
As a huge fan of The Duke Loves Cecil—nicknamed “DukCec”—I had cursed out Flora countless times.
“Ugh, can’t Flora just let Felix and Cecil be happy for once?”
“She’s insane. Why go that far for love?”
If words could hurt, Flora would’ve been shredded to pieces by now.
She was that frustrating.
Raised with a silver spoon, Flora was arrogant and self-centered.
When I first entered her body, I had a hard time because everyone noticed her sudden attitude change.
‘If I hadn’t pretended to have memory loss, I’d have been caught in under an hour.’
Anyway, the original Flora had a terrible personality. Funny enough, that same personality helped me survive here.
Originally, that attitude was supposed to torment the main couple in a few years.
‘…But not anymore.’
After barely accepting the unreal fact that I had possessed someone else, I made a decision the moment I realized I was Flora Diatri.
‘I won’t live like the original Flora.’
When you know something bad is coming, the best way to avoid it is to cut off the cause.
I clearly remembered how much pain my favorite male lead Felix had to endure because of Flora, so I planned to prevent that.
The best way? Don’t marry Felix in the first place.
But that plan failed.
‘I didn’t expect the engagement to be sealed by a binding contract…’
By the time I entered this world, Flora and Felix were already engaged.
It was a promise made by our grandfathers, the previous Duke and Marquis.
‘I mean seriously, who lets their grandparents arrange their marriage?’
But when I saw Flora’s grandfather crying and rushing to see her after hearing about her memory loss, I couldn’t bring myself to say anything.
Even if Flora was awful, the Diatri family had always cherished her after she lost her mother.
‘I’ve already taken over their beloved granddaughter’s body. I can’t be rude to them too.’
I didn’t want this, and it wasn’t something I could control.
To be honest, I did feel a bit sorry for Flora. But when I thought about all the terrible things she had done—and was supposed to do—that guilt faded.
Because Flora later joined the final boss and caused the deaths of many.
She even deeply hurt Felix and Cecil.
“Miss, the Duke has arrived in the drawing room!”
Lily’s excited voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
“Okay, I’ll be there soon.”
I stood up, fully dressed and made up by the maids, and walked through the fancy hallways.
As expected of a high-ranking noble family, the hall was decorated with expensive art.
“Miss, do you know something?”
“What?”
“You look really pretty today!”
“…What are you talking about?”
“It’s true! I swear there’s no one as beautiful as you!”
Lily clung to me with a sweet smile and playful voice.
Thanks to her, my stiff shoulders relaxed a little.
I wasn’t so slow that I couldn’t tell she was trying to cheer me up.
“Thanks, Lily.”
“Hehe, just saying the truth!”
The man I was about to meet was Felix Pechedor.
The male lead of this world—and soon to be my husband.
Right now, he was my fiancé.
‘…It would be weird if I wasn’t nervous.’
Even though I’d lived as Flora for three years, this was the first time I was meeting Felix—my ultimate favorite male lead.
And not just as strangers—but as his fiancée.
‘Okay. Don’t be nervous. Stay calm. Everything is fine.’
The mansion was so big it took a few minutes just to reach the entrance from my room.
I was walking a little slower than usual, too.
By the time I reached the entrance, I had calmed my heart.
‘If Plan A didn’t work, then I’ll go with Plan B.’
If I couldn’t avoid marrying him because of the contract, then I would just divorce him later.
“Oh, Miss Flora. You’re here.”
“Good morning. Where are my father and brother?”
“They’re in the drawing room with the guest. Please follow me.”
The kind-faced butler with wrinkles near his eyes guided me politely.
We soon reached the wooden doors, beautifully carved with vines.
Knock knock.
“Miss Flora has arrived.”
The butler knocked and announced me, then opened the door.
As I stepped inside, three pairs of eyes turned toward me.
* * *
One hour earlier, just as Flora was finishing getting ready—
“Father.”
A handsome young man with blue hair and formal clothes spoke with a disapproving tone.
The Marquis of Diatri sighed, already guessing what his son was about to say.
“What is it, son?”
“Are you really going to let Flora get married?”
As expected.
The Marquis pressed his forehead with a tired expression.
“…You’d think it was you getting married, Kyle.”
“Flora’s still young. And it hasn’t even been three years since she lost her memory!”
Kyle spoke coldly, clearly against his sister’s engagement to the man arriving soon.
“You’ve heard the rumors about the Duke. There’s no way gentle Flora can handle someone who’s lived on the battlefield all his life!”
Duke Pechedor.
Just like Kyle said, the rumors surrounding Felix weren’t very pleasant.
He was known as the Empire’s strongest sword and shield, the ruler of the northern lands.
But people also said he was cold-hearted and bled icy blue blood.
Since he never showed his face in the capital, rumors said he was hideous. Though that wasn’t true.
Still, Kyle’s argument had one big flaw.
Flora wasn’t gentle at all.
Saying that was like saying winter was hot and summer was cold—it made no sense.
“What if she has to move to the cold north? That weak girl can’t stand the cold!”
But Kyle truly believed his sister was delicate.
He’d been overly protective of her ever since childhood. And after three years ago, it only got worse.
The Marquis could only sigh at his son’s completely wrong view of Flora.
“…Don’t ever say Flora is delicate outside. People will think you’re crazy.”
