TOKVM Chapter 00

Chapter 1

Late at night, beneath the looming clock tower.

I stood there, nervously chewing on my nails, waiting for a man to arrive.

If things keep going this way… I’ll be forced to marry the crown prince.

Not long ago, the emperor had graciously suggested I wed the male lead of the original story—the crown prince himself.

In the novel, I was the heroine, Vivian. He was the hero, Allen. In this world, such a match would be considered natural.

But—

He’s the regretful male lead.

The kind of man who only realizes what he’s lost after the heroine—me—dies from her illness.

Yes, this was originally a tragic story. The heroine dies. The male lead weeps with regret. The end.

Which is why, ever since I discovered the truth ten years ago, I’ve been bending the story every way I could.

So why, after all that, am I getting dragged toward him again?

I’d kept my distance on purpose. Yet here I was, staring down the possibility of marrying him anyway.

I don’t want to marry someone I don’t love.

I already had someone I’d promised to be with forever—my dearest friend.

It’s true we hadn’t seen each other in nearly a decade, but still—

Our bond hasn’t changed.

After agonizing over it, I finally came up with a solution:

A contract marriage.

A classic trope from the romance novels I devoured in my past life.

Of course, unlike those stories, I’d really divorce after exactly one year.

The problem?

Finding a trustworthy man willing to marry me under those terms.

In the end, I reached out to my old friend Rahel through our magical diary—a rare enchanted item that lets you exchange notes instantly, no matter the distance.

Her reply came almost immediately, as if she’d been waiting.

Rahel: Then how about him?
Me: Who?
Rahel: Lahedis. You two seem to get along. Might as well choose someone you actually like.

Lahedis was the bodyguard Rahel had sent from abroad to keep me safe.

Rahel… wants me to marry Sir Lahedis?

Just thinking about him made my chest flutter, my heartbeat quickening—something that had been happening a lot lately.

Which is why I was here now, waiting to talk to him about it.

The clock tower’s bell tolled the hour.

When the last chime faded, steady footsteps began climbing the stairs.

Then he appeared.

Jet-black hair. Icy blue eyes, cold as a winter lake.

“Vivian,” he said, his deep voice rich and smooth. He was a head taller than me, his presence impossible to ignore.

“Sir Lahedis!”

“What is it? At this hour?”

“Well… did you hear what happened at the royal ball?”

“I heard. The crown prince proposed to you.”

Hearing it again from someone else made my situation feel even heavier.

I hesitated, then carefully began.

“So… could you introduce me to a trustworthy man?”

“…A man?”

“Yes. Preferably a noble from another country. You have so many connections, I thought—”

The air around us seemed to turn cold.

Is it just me, or…?

I rubbed my arms, trying to brush away the goosebumps.

“Because of what happened at the ball, I have to marry or get engaged right away. Otherwise, I might end up with the crown prince.”

“…”

“So I just need someone who’d agree to a one-year contract marriage. Do you know anyone like that?”

“…Ha.”

His short, cold laugh sent a chill down my spine.

“So you really mean to marry some other man under this ‘contract’?”

Startled by the icy edge in his tone, I looked up—and froze. His blue eyes held an ache that made my chest tighten.

“You said you’d spend your life with me,” he said quietly.

“…What?”

“You said you wanted to marry me.”

“…I did?”

When?!

But the pain in his eyes made me feel as if I’d committed some unforgivable sin.

“I never—”

I stopped mid-sentence, because I suddenly remembered someone else who had looked at me that way before.

‘I’ll come back for you.’

The only person I had promised forever to.

Cold to the world, warm only to me.

Someone I hadn’t seen in years, but always missed—my precious friend.

Why did Lahedis’s eyes look just like Rahel’s?

“…Rahel?”

The name slipped from my lips before I could stop it. I clapped a hand over my mouth in shock.

No. That’s impossible. In the original story, Rahel was the villainess!

I shook my head, trying to banish the ridiculous thought, and looked at him, hoping—praying—he would deny it.

Instead, he stepped closer.

“Answer me, Vivian.”

That voice… familiar yet unfamiliar.

“Even if it’s just a contract marriage,” he said, “once we’re married, we’ll hold hands like this.”

He—Rahel—took my hand and laced his fingers through mine.

When we were children, our hands had been the same size. Now, his engulfed mine completely.

I stood frozen as he leaned in, close enough for his breath to brush my cheek.

“And we’ll have to kiss.”

Up close, I could still see faint traces of the boy I once knew—but he was undeniably a man now.

“Could you do that with another man?”

I wanted to cry.

I couldn’t do it with you either!

My lifelong best friend… was actually a man?!

Isn’t that fraud?!