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CHAPTER 02
“Your Highness, Please Become My Husband ”
When she opened her eyes, the ceiling above her was hazy.
She blinked several times to clear her vision, and slowly the world around her came into focus.
There was no one in the room.
Even though she had expected it, a cold emptiness filled the space as if no human lived there at all. Soon after, pain surged through her body.
Her throat burned with thirst. She rang the bell on the bedside table, but no one came.
Of course. She shouldn’t have expected anything.
To this house, Serena was nothing more than an unwelcome guest.
“Ugh….”
Holding her throbbing head, she slowly sat up. The rough texture of bandages on her forehead told her she had been treated.
Every movement made her entire body scream in pain.
“Oh… I fell down the stairs….”
She remembered—she had fallen down the stairs after leaving the Duke’s office.
Clenching her teeth, she forced herself to stand.
At the same time, strange memories that had flooded into her before she lost consciousness drifted through her mind like debris.
A sudden wave of pain struck her, and she collapsed to the floor again, barely suppressing a scream by clutching the carpet.
“No… that can’t be….”
Breathing unevenly, Serena muttered. The image of a small child writhing in pain looked as if it might shatter at any moment.
“This shouldn’t be happening…”
She clenched her tiny hands and writhed in pain as if her head would split open. Finally, she raised her head—and slammed it back into the carpet.
Thud. Thud.
The pain in her head showed no sign of stopping. Or perhaps it wasn’t just the pain—maybe those intrusive memories hurt even more.
Who said the gods were fair?
If they truly loved all humans equally, she should have been included too.
Instead, she had been thrown into a miserable life—told she was merely a supporting character in a book, born only to make the protagonists shine, destined to die soon.
At the very least, such an unfair god should not have given her those memories.
She fell silent.
The room, once filled with her muttering, became eerily quiet—like the eye of a storm.
Her expression twisted, and then she let out a piercing scream.
“AAAAAHH!!”
Her scream echoed through the room, down the halls, perhaps even throughout the entire ducal estate.
A maid rushed in.
“Lady! Please calm yourself!”
Soon, more servants gathered.
“Go fetch a physician!”
But none of them could move properly after seeing her. If someone hadn’t shouted, they might have just stood there frozen.
At that moment, the Duke emerged from his office, his face twisted at the sound of her screams.
He encountered a servant rushing in panic from her room.
“What is going on?”
The servant hesitated. The situation inside was abnormal—but so was the Duke’s temperament.
“Tsk. Go on.”
Deciding to see for himself, the Duke walked forward.
When he entered the crowd gathered in Serena’s room, even he could not hide his shock.
The child looked as though she had been possessed—thrashing like a mad thing. A chill ran down his spine.
But his mind quickly turned.
Is she insane—or not? If insane, she is useless and can be discarded. But even a useless piece could still be used as a bargaining tool. In a house short on heirs, every piece had value.
“The physician?”
He grabbed a maid by the shoulder. Trembling, she said he had just been sent for.
The servant he had just seen running must have been going for the doctor.
The Duke calmly closed the door himself.
“None of you saw this. If word leaks, every one of you will lose your head.”
No one dared speak.
It was easier to stay silent than to risk death.
When Serena opened her eyes again, night had fallen.
Pain still lingered in every bone of her body, confirming that everything had been real.
“Hahaha…”
A hollow laugh escaped her as she raised a bandaged hand.
She stared at it blankly, then forced herself to sit up.
She needed to confirm whether those memories were real—or a dream.
If they were a dream… then was it a prophetic one?
There was one person who might know—her father, the Duke.
Though greedy and unpleasant, he was knowledgeable in magic-related studies.
She needed answers.
Ignoring her appearance, she shoved her feet into slippers and left the room.
The hallway was dark and endless.
Her room was at the far end of the first floor, so she had to climb the stairs to reach the Duke’s office.
Step by step, she ascended.
Thankfully, her eyes had adjusted to the darkness.
At this hour, the Duke would still be in his office.
As expected, light spilled through the crack of the door.
She quickened her pace.
Just as she raised her hand to knock—
“…I don’t have enough money.”
A woman’s voice.
Lower than the Duchess’s sharp tone. Husky, cold.
“I believe I gave you enough.”
“That’s not nearly enough to start a new life after treatment!”
Serena stopped.
“…I can’t give you any more money. And you dare bring me defective goods? Do you want to die?”
“It can’t be! That girl is your daughter!”
“Then why can’t she use magic? She can’t even control mana. And today—she even had a seizure.”
“She was fine in front of me! After you took her, she was no longer my responsibility!”
Serena’s hand froze mid-knock.
She pressed her ear against the door.
Then she understood.
A familiar voice echoed in her mind.
‘My child… I’m sorry.’
Her mother’s voice.
Warm. Gentle.
And now—
“I suffered so much raising that thing!”
The same voice inside, now twisted and venomous.
Serena stood still.
…What had she been struggling for all this time?
Her bandaged hand trembled violently.
Her mind went blank.
Something inside her shattered.
That day, her world collapsed.
The day she realized she had been fighting for something she could never have.
From that moment on, she stopped resenting God.
Instead, she decided to treat even that memory as a gift.
Time passed quickly, like an arrow leaving a bow.
The broken girl became a composed young lady.
“Miss, Marquis Avenne has arrived.”
“Yes. Tell him I’ll be out shortly.”
Serena spoke calmly with her eyes closed.
When the maid finished adjusting her appearance, Serena looked into the mirror.
“I look nice. Thank you.”
She had grown into adulthood.
Her once messy silver hair now flowed smoothly like starlight.
But her violet eyes remained hollow, empty.
A white veil was placed over her head.
A lily decorated it.
“…How long are you going to keep me waiting?”
“You already came in, so stop rushing me, Luke.”
A man’s voice interrupted.
She looked at him through the mirror.
Lucas stood behind her, turquoise eyes shining.
He gently adjusted the flower she had touched.
Anyone who knew him would find his behavior toward her strange. But neither of them found it unusual.
Since the day they met, Lucas had begun following her—and she had accepted it.
“Shall we go, my lady?”
Lucas extended his hand.
Serena stood, placing her gloved hand into his.
They walked in silence until they reached the carriage.
Only after the carriage began moving did they speak.
“What don’t you like this time, my lady?”
Lucas saw through her easily.
“Too much white.”
Everything from head to toe was white. Too pure. Too clean.
“By the way, the letter?”
“Delivered perfectly.”
Serena looked out the window.
The red sunset outside stained the white world inside the carriage.
“What was the point of sending it?”
Lucas asked.
“I was thinking of changing the ending.”
At her indifferent reply, a flicker of interest crossed his eyes.
“You’re interesting, as always.”
He leaned in suddenly, his face close.
Serena lifted her veil slightly and smiled at him.
The most beautiful smile in the world.
Yes.
If a tragic ending was inevitable—
Then she would simply make it so that, at the end of it all, she could still say she had been happy.
She would not be controlled by fate.
Not even if she had to walk through fire to rewrite the ending.
