Chapter 2 …
There was someone waiting desperately for Rea in the reception room on the first floor—Raymond Flynn.
“Why the hell is that girl Rea not coming down yet? Oscar Donon will be here any moment.”
He tapped his leg impatiently while waiting, and then Rea came down the stairs. Instead of the cream-colored dress he had instructed Paula to dress her in, she was wearing a completely worn-out outfit.
Raymond’s expression of relief quickly turned into shock. Unless something had happened to Rea’s head, she couldn’t possibly have forgotten that today she was supposed to receive a marriage proposal from Oscar Donon.
“Rea! What is that outfit?!”
Rea, who noticed her brother, frowned.
“……Raymond.”
Raymond Flynn, the eldest son of the Flynn family and Rea’s older brother by three years.
He boasts outstanding looks and an impressive physique, but only his appearance is decent.
He is a good-for-nothing who has no proper job or income, and lives off his younger sister while draining her resources. Worse, he has even incurred gambling debts, worsening the family’s already difficult financial situation.
The reason Rea Flynn, once a promising battle mage on a smooth path to success, had entered the harsh realities of survival was because of him.
During the day, she worked as a researcher at the Magic Tower for a pitiful salary, and at night and on weekends, she took guild requests to make ends meet. She had barely managed to prevent the mansion from being seized.
But—
‘Hey, if you can’t repay it by next month, you both will be dragged off as slaves, got it?’
This time, the situation was far more serious.
Raymond had secretly taken out illegal loans that had snowballed like a giant avalanche. By the time Rea realized what was happening, it was already beyond repair.
In this desperate situation, it was the Donon family who extended a hand of salvation.
‘We would like to make Miss Rea Flynn the bride of our heir, Oscar Donon.’
What the Donon family wanted was a bride with strong magical power.
In exchange, they offered to wipe out all of the Flynn family’s debts—a proposal no different from a transactional marriage.
In this country, magical power was an essential requirement for becoming part of the upper class. Moreover, magical ability was inherited through the maternal line.
Because of that, Rea—who had graduated top of the elite Magic Academy—had often received such proposals in the past. She had always rejected them without hesitation.
‘Back then, I needed to grab onto any lifeline I could find.’
She never imagined it was a rotten rope.
Rea clenched her teeth while looking at Raymond.
“Rea, are you out of your mind? Sir Oscar is arriving! Hurry upstairs and change your clothes—”
“You damn bastard!”
Rea’s fist slammed directly into Raymond’s solar plexus. A groan escaped his mouth.
“Y-you… what is this about…?”
“Do you even know what I went through because of you?!”
“W-what are you talking about?!”
“You useless obstacle in my life! You walking disaster!”
As Rea raised her fist again, Raymond quickly flinched away.
“C-calm down! I said calm down!”
“Miss Rea?”
Paula, who had entered the reception room, widened her eyes.
Rea was breathing heavily, still furious.
“Sir… Sir Oscar has arrived.”
As soon as those words were spoken, Oscar Donon entered the reception room with steady steps.
He had fiery red hair, dark tanned skin, thick eyebrows, and sharp eyes beneath them. His well-built physique made his masculine appearance even more striking.
“Oh my, he looks even more handsome today.”
At Paula’s mutter, Rea bitterly smiled inwardly.
‘Well, he does look like a man who came here to propose.’
He wore a white shirt with a light gray vest and frock coat, a gold pocket watch chain hanging visibly. He looked like a gentleman among gentlemen, even holding a bouquet of Adonis flowers—Rea’s birth flower.
Even Rea, who was used to her brother and childhood friend Kevin’s striking looks, usually remained unfazed by most men—
But Oscar’s gentle smile and soft eyes had a disarming power even over her.
Moreover, his impression was not fake. Sir Oscar Donon truly had a warm personality and a deeply respectful attitude toward others.
‘So why on earth am I supposed to refuse such a perfect man’s proposal…?’
He had a fatal secret.
As Rea stood stiff-faced, Oscar approached her with a bright smile.
“Rea, it’s been a while.”
“Yes, it has.”
Rea steadied her breathing and awkwardly accepted the bouquet.
In truth, she could barely remember how close she and Oscar were at this point. After all, it had been a full year.
Oscar looked slightly flustered, perhaps expecting something like, “What are you talking about? We just saw each other last night.” Before he could respond, Raymond quickly cut in.
“Haha, she’s been so out of it she didn’t even have time to dress properly.”
“That’s not true at all. I’ve only ever seen Rea looking fully dressed up before, so this is quite refreshing. I’m reminded once again that Rea is beautiful even without trying.”
Oscar spoke such embarrassing lines without a hint of shame.
‘Incredible.’
As Rea inwardly admired him, the small talk came to an end.
When she casually lifted her head, she saw Oscar kneeling down and slipping one hand into his inner jacket pocket.
‘That—’
Wasn’t that the posture of a proposal?
Rea quickly shouted.
“Wait a moment!”
At her words, Oscar straightened back up. With a tense expression, Rea continued.
“I’m really sorry… but I cannot accept Sir Oscar’s proposal.”
The first to process this shocking declaration was, unexpectedly, Raymond.
He rushed forward and grabbed Rea’s shoulder, but she shot him a murderous glare.
Raymond flinched and quickly let go. Then Oscar, with a shocked expression, spoke.
“Rea… what do you mean by that? Did I… perhaps offend you in some way? No, if there is anything you dislike about me, please speak freely.”
“It’s not that. Sir Oscar, you are a wonderful person. It’s just that…”
Noticing something was off, Paula subtly signaled with her eyes. But Rea, unable to respond, simply sighed.
‘Of course he reacts like that.’
Today’s proposal was merely a formality. Everyone around them had naturally assumed the engagement would go through.
And they weren’t wrong. In her previous life, Rea had accepted Oscar’s proposal on this very day.
‘But now I know I must not marry him. Because…’
Oscar Donon.
One year from now, she would die a meaningless death—all because of this perfect man.
* * *
In her previous life, Rea Flynn had accepted Oscar Donon’s proposal and married him on this very day.
The heir of the Donon family, which ran a large trading company, was the perfect husband in every way. It was almost strange that he had proposed to her.
Her year of married life with him had not been bad. It wasn’t love, but there was affection and gratitude, and her trust in him gradually grew.
However, one day, while organizing his study, she discovered “the item in question.”
‘What is this?’
What Oscar had hidden deep inside a drawer was a “naughty book,” known as a secret pleasure of gentlemen.
Rea’s eyes widened at the explicit and embarrassing illustrations filling its pages.
‘Oscar had this kind of hobby…’
The moment she thought that—
‘Did you see it?’
A terrifyingly serious Oscar entered.
When she instinctively hid the book behind her back, he grabbed her arm.
‘I asked if you saw it!’
Was this his lifelong secret he intended to take to the grave?
In his panic after the secret was discovered, Oscar pushed her. Rea fell backward, hit her head on the corner of the desk— and died instantly.
Then everything went dark… and when it lit up again, she had returned one year before her death—back to the day before marrying her husband.
* * *
Rea steadied herself while looking at Oscar’s bewildered face. If she was going to refuse the proposal, she had to act decisively.
“No, that’s not it.”
“If that’s not it—”
“I have many shortcomings that Sir Oscar does not know about.”
Rea began counting on her fingers.
“First of all, I have an enormous appetite. I’m a woman who goes crazy over food.”
“From my perspective, that’s a good thing. Seeing you enjoy food makes me happy as well.”
Rea pressed on.
“Toes.”
At the sudden word, even Oscar looked confused.
“Pardon?”
“I constantly wiggle my toes without stopping.”
Oscar’s expression stiffened slightly.
“Also, my fourth toe looks like a cobra’s head. You know cobras, right? Those snakes often found in deserts.”
Rea slightly spread her hand and twisted her wrist, mimicking a snake opening its mouth.
Oscar remained silent for a moment before speaking.
“I am somewhat surprised.”
“Only somewhat? You should be very surprised.”
A gentle smile appeared on his lips.
“The more I hear about that fourth toe that resembles a cobra’s head, the more I want to see it with my own eyes.”
“Ah.”
Now it was Rea who was flustered.
‘My repertoire is already running out!’
