🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 01
Isn’t there a story like that?
You open your eyes and find yourself in another world.
A protagonist who enters the book they were reading, uses knowledge of the future to make a fortune, and falls in love with a cold yet irresistibly kind and handsome northern grand duke—there are plenty of stories like that.
Yes. Being inside a novel was exactly what happened to Yumi when she opened her eyes.
There were two problems.
First, she had fallen asleep before finishing the book, so she didn’t know how the plot would unfold in the middle or end.
The second problem was that the original owner of this body had married the Grand Duke of the North almost as if she had been sold off.
The only consolation was that the soul Yumi had entered was Selene, the heroine of the novel, meaning she wouldn’t die.
As long as one ignored the fact that this was a dark, torture-heavy story where the heroine is imprisoned and endlessly worn down, her position wasn’t too bad.
Ah. There was one more important issue she almost forgot.
The timing of her possession.
It was right after the wedding ceremony, when she had returned to the bedroom after marrying the Grand Duke.
[Day 1]
Selene had changed into a comfortable chemise right after the wedding and was now in a warm room.
With all the maids gone, she stood alone and slowly walked to the mirror.
The unfamiliar face staring back at her, pale blonde hair falling messily to her waist, and light blue eyes all felt unreal.
As she traced her reflection with trembling fingers, she suddenly thought the woman in the book she had read yesterday looked similar to the person in the mirror.
It was an absurd thought.
But was anything about this situation normal? She had been undressed from a wedding gown with help from servants and left alone in an unfamiliar bedroom, staring at a face that didn’t feel like hers.
Her mind was too chaotic to form coherent thoughts.
Exhausted, she crawled into bed. The softness of the blankets quickly drained her strength, and before she knew it, she had fallen asleep.
How much time had passed?
A sudden sound of the door made her snap her eyes open.
Someone had entered the room.
Even in the darkness, she could feel a terrifying presence—so intense it was almost suffocating.
Instinctively, she realized this was the “Monster Duke” from the book.
All the thoughts she had dismissed as nonsense before were now proven real by his presence.
The wedding had ended late, so he must have returned after attending to guests.
Footsteps moved slowly across the room, the sound of fabric shifting heavy and oppressive.
In the dim light filtering through the curtains, only his silhouette was visible.
Even from a glance, his height and build made it hard not to feel intimidated.
Selene clutched the blanket tightly, swallowing nervously.
She couldn’t make out his face.
The weak light wasn’t enough.
At least, she thought, he didn’t look like some fully beastly man covered in hair.
She had always preferred tall men… maybe this wouldn’t be so bad?
But the original description from the novel came to mind.
“One of his eyes had lost its sight, the iris faded white. The other burned red like a demon’s. His sharp gaze and crooked lips made him look even more beast-like.”
Every description of him was monstrous.
Not ugly or handsome—simply terrifying.
In the original story, Selene had even fainted upon seeing him for the first time. After that, the duke imprisons her, as expected in a depraved, poorly reasoned dark romance.
While Selene struggled to see his face, the Duke—Baras Velias—was observing her.
Darkness was no obstacle for him, so her curious expression was clearly visible.
She seemed unaware of the rumors about him. She looked almost innocent.
He had observed her from a distance since a week before the wedding. Yet now, she felt different.
Her attitude was completely unlike the woman who had gone through the wedding like a funeral.
For a moment, he wondered if the bride had been replaced.
She kept shifting her gaze nervously, like a frightened rabbit.
Still… perhaps they could coexist peacefully.
But then he dismissed the thought, remembering his scarred face and lost eye.
He walked to the window and drew the curtains shut, blocking out the faint light.
“Sleep.”
His voice was rough, and he briefly wondered if it sounded too harsh.
Before entering this room, he had no intention of getting along with his wife. She was merely the illegitimate daughter of a declining noble house, practically sold off.
He needed an heir.
That was all.
Selene, listening to him, thought something was strange.
In the original story, how did she faint just from seeing his face? I can’t see anything.
“Sleep.”
His voice drifted through the darkness.
Thinking the consummation would likely not happen tonight, Selene cautiously lay down.
Even as she did, her eyes kept searching the direction where he stood.
She fell asleep without ever seeing his face.
[Day 2]
Selene woke up late and slowly sat up.
The empty space beside her showed that the duke had likely slept elsewhere.
She pulled back the curtains.
Bright light filled the room—and there he was, sitting in a chair by the window.
Startled, she flinched.
Their eyes met.
His left eye—milky white, clearly blind—and the long scar above it made him look even more intimidating.
He had a cold, expressionless face that was hard to approach.
Selene quickly averted her gaze.
Only then did she realize what she was wearing.
A thin chemise suitable for the wedding night.
Her face turned red as she rushed back under the blanket in embarrassment.
After a while, she heard him leave the room.
Baras had watched her every reaction.
When she flinched at the light, he thought, “As expected.”
But then he realized she hadn’t been reacting to his appearance at all.
Most people feared him instinctively—his face, his battlefield reputation, his “War Demon” title.
Yet she seemed… different.
Almost shy. Even a little endearing.
But that was impossible.
No one would see him that way.
Selene quickly dressed after confirming the room was empty.
But she couldn’t fasten the back laces of her dress alone.
While she was searching the wardrobe, the door opened again.
Baras entered.
Without looking at her, he took a leather pouch and poured its contents onto the bed.
Blood.
Selene almost screamed.
The metallic smell filled the room.
Baras casually removed the blood-stained sheets as if nothing had happened.
Then he approached her.
He offered his hand.
She hesitated but used it to stand.
Her legs were weak.
He studied her carefully.
Her dress hung awkwardly from her shoulders.
Then he moved behind her.
The loose laces of her dress were visible.
Her pale, soft back peeked through the opening.
His hands hovered.
Should he touch her?
Then he noticed his own hands—large, scarred, rough.
Would such hands be acceptable on her skin?
Selene felt uneasy with him standing so close behind her.
She had never been this close to a man before.
Then—
Knock knock.
“Anna here.”
Baras quickly tied her laces, careful not to touch her too much.
A middle-aged maid entered, placed breakfast, and left with the bedding.
When the door closed again, Baras found himself thinking:
Maybe I should lock that door.
His eyes drifted to her delicate neck.
She smelled faintly sweet.
