Chapter 1
Titania stared blankly ahead.
Countless words wandered in her head, but at this moment, none seemed right to say.
What exactly could she say to make that man give up?
I do not love you.
I cannot love you.
I will never be able to love you.
Her face was expressionless, like someone whose emotions had been stripped away.
Still, Titania was a mess—her past memories clung stubbornly to her ankles, refusing to let go.
Could this marriage—this love—really last?
Was the “love” he spoke of truly something eternal?
“Damn it. If I’d known you’d be this unbearable, I wouldn’t have married you either! Let’s divorce.”
“And who would that benefit? You just want to run to that woman, don’t you?”
“Then why should I live with you? You can’t even have children! No, you know what—let me live my life! I can’t take your mother’s constant nagging anymore either!”
Titania squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them again.
The emotions surging inside her were dragging her down into hell.
It wasn’t eternal.
Now that the man had fallen in love with her, it meant the end of this marriage was approaching. When love ended, so would the marriage. Before that happened—before Titania ended up loving him back—it was best to end it herself.
“Let’s get a divorce.”
“Titania. I have now been served my tenth divorce notice by my wife. On my birthday, no less.”
Fernandes ruffled his wife’s messy hair, carefully concealing his wounded feelings.
She was a woman who could wake up from sleep just to announce she wanted a divorce.
Even the fact that they had just spent a sweet wedding night together—on his birthday—didn’t seem to stir her in the slightest.
“What is it this time? Did I burn your magic formulas? Or maybe spill the chemicals you’ve been working on? I’ll say it again, all of that was an accident…”
“That’s not it, Fernandes.”
“If it’s not that, then there’s even less reason for me to hear it.”
He tried to speak lightly, but in truth, he had never been so desperate in his entire life. If only he could stop her from speaking—he felt he would do anything.
Titania always had divorce on her lips, but today she seemed… different. More unsettling. If he gave her even the slightest opening, she would fly away like a bird escaping its cage. Struggling to hide his anxiety, Fernandes kissed her palm.
“Titania, I’m still…”
She bit her lip, pulled her hand away, and shook her head fiercely, stepping back from his embrace. Her eyes darted around. The pale, rigid face of Fernandes stood out sharply in her vision.
Even the sharp scent of acacia drifting in through the slightly open balcony door felt distant. She steadied her breathing before speaking.
“…I’ll be like this my whole life. I can’t believe in love, and I won’t speak of forever. I can’t be like other people. I know it makes me look strange.”
There was no reason a normal noblewoman should be so cynical about love.
“In the end, we’ll get divorced.”
Because you’ll get tired of me too.
Her weary tone was soaked with bitter self-mockery.
Emotions were vague and shapeless. Titania had decided never again to be swept away by them.
“I married you because it was a loveless marriage of convenience.”
Fernandes’s heart plummeted into hellfire.
It was like his whole body was being wrung out—he could barely breathe. Gasping as though dragged from underwater, he grabbed her.
Titania liked kind people. She’d once told him she found his smile beautiful.
With a mask-like smile, Fernandes spoke urgently.
“It’s fine. You just… just… just stay here by my side.”
“You’ll get tired of me eventually. So let’s stop before that happens.”
She brushed her hand against his pale cheek.
“Let’s… get a divorce now.”
She had thought she would be calm about it. That, as always, it wouldn’t affect her. That her broken heart—like a machine with one part missing—would never be able to accept this man’s love. That’s what she believed.
Fernandes’s hand gently stroked her cheek.
But inside that touch was a storm of desperation and something darker. His hand moved to her chin. Titania didn’t push away the grip that tightened there—she simply closed her eyes. Lowering his face beside hers, Fernandes whispered:
“Then kill me. If you’re going to leave me like this, just kill me.”
His voice was rough, like metal scraping.
At those words, tears slid down Titania’s cheek. She had thought she felt nothing—so why was she crying? She didn’t know the meaning of these tears. No, she didn’t want to know.
The only thing she was sure of was that she needed to leave before she came to love him.
Fernandes finally broke down, crying bitterly. And faced with his tears—the first she had ever seen—Titania couldn’t push his hand away.
Titania had never chosen to be born the only daughter of the Count of Venezia.
Likewise, she had never chosen to become the bride of the Duke of Agapilia. Resting her head against the carriage window, she sighed deeply.
Of all things, I had to be reborn like this…
She puffed out her cheeks. Would it have been better if she had been born the daughter of a tenant farmer or a poor family? Then maybe she could have lived a life far removed from political marriages.
She had been reborn with all her past life’s memories intact—only to find herself once again the Count’s only daughter. And remembering the past was not necessarily a blessing.
A long finger brushed a red strand of hair from her cheek.
“You’re thinking strange thoughts again, aren’t you?”
Sara shot her a sharp look.
Sara had been assigned as her maid when Titania was eight years old, but she was less a maid and more a watchful guard.
Most of what she said to Titania was about what she must not do and what was forbidden.
She could pass for Mother’s daughter, Titania grumbled inwardly, turning her gaze out the window.
“No. I was just… thinking how much I’m looking forward to seeing my groom’s face.”
“Not at all. The young lady I know would never think that.”
Sara stated it with certainty.
“You can’t be so sure. Do you think you know me completely?”
“At least I know what you’re thinking right now. Stop looking at the wind. You can’t turn into wind yourself, after all. There’s no way you can run away from here.”
Titania widened her eyes.
How on earth did she know?
Sara just smiled faintly at her denial, exuding confidence that needed no further words.
As Sara kept talking, Titania reluctantly turned toward her. In truth, Sara had an uncanny talent for drawing out replies from Titania, who generally disliked conversation.
The Countess of Venezia valued that skill highly.
“…I’m unhappy.”
“Pardon?”
“I was born into a rich family, I have money, and yet I’m being sold off like this. I must be the only one. This is the downside of power-worship…”
“Young lady!”
Sara cut her off with a flat expression.
“Ow, my ears!”
Sara exhaled sharply and asked,
“You’re not planning to say things like that in front of your in-laws when you meet them for the first time, are you?”
“What do you take me for?”
“For you, my lady… Your mother left a message for you.”
“My mother?”
“…Who else would it be? My mother?”
Sara gave her a look of disbelief. Titania ignored it and asked,
“What did she say?”
“She said—before you speak, think once about whether it makes sense to others, then think twice more.”
“Not whether it makes sense to me?”
“No. Not to you.”
Sara smiled sweetly.
Haa…
It feels less like I’m leaving my mother behind to get married, and more like I’m bringing her with me.
Turning her head back to the window, Titania felt not comforted, but wounded.
The passing scenery was so indifferent it seemed to crush her delicate sensibilities.
“Sorry, but even if you pretend to cry, the carriage won’t turn back. The Countess said you’re an Agapilia woman now, even if you die.”
So cold.
Life rarely goes as one wishes—especially not with parents.
Titania began considering the hundreds of ways she could wreck this marriage.
The cleanest way would be to understand the Duke of Agapilia and then propose divorce with terms he found favorable.
A divorce will do just fine.
She rested her forehead against the window.
The only thing she could truly trust was the promise her mother had given her:
“Not that it will come to this, but if you ever do get divorced, I’ll accept it. Just as you say, marriage doesn’t have to be the reason for happiness.”
She was genuinely curious about the Duke of Agapilia’s taste in divorce.
