MHOW 01

Chapter 01

“I love you, Herina. Thank you for deciding to marry me.”
Herina smiled contentedly in the arms of Ares, who would become her husband in two days.
More than his broad chest, she was excited for the wealth, honor, and stable life that the duke would grant her in the future.

“Ares, there’s only you for me. You are my salvation, my life. Thank you for choosing me.”
It wasn’t entirely insincere.
Herina Obelia, suddenly facing the threat of her family’s annihilation, had no other way to survive but to seduce the Havinent Duke, one of the empire’s five sacred noble houses.
The process had been painful, but she had succeeded. In just two days, everything he offered would be hers.

“I love you, Ares.”
I love everything you will give me.
Whether it’s you or what you possess, isn’t the essence the same?
It was the satisfying ending that Kang Yeri—the original vessel—hadn’t been able to create, but now Herina had.

When she opened her eyes with a satisfied expression, bright sunlight brushed across them. It felt as if all the beings in the world were blessing her future.

“Ugh, hm? Huh?”
Her arms wouldn’t move as she tried to stretch.
Herina looked around, still unable to grasp the situation.

“So, finally awake. Who sent you?”
“Ares?”
The husband who had just hours ago been looking at her lovingly, brushing her hair, now held a sword from the wall and walked toward her.

“Ares? What are you doing? Won’t you take that away?”
Bound on the bed like a freshly caught fish, she struggled.
Before shame could even hit her, the tip of the sword pressed against her throat.

“Identify yourself. How dare you enter the duke’s bedroom under someone’s orders?”
Ha! Herina couldn’t help but let out a laugh of disbelief.

“Are you trying to joke with me? Who? Who do you think I am! I’m the woman who will be your wife tomorrow! Did you drink poison instead of stew yesterday or something?”
Ares frowned as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Why not try your lies with a bit of sincerity? Marry me? Who, me? You?”
That irritating face.
It was the expression she had seen often before he had fallen for her after their first meeting.
Seeing it again after so long, Herina couldn’t help but feel anger surge.

“Well, who else would it be! If this is a joke, you’ll regret it big time. I could even cancel the marriage—”
She quickly swallowed the words she had almost spat out in anger.
No matter how upset she was, the marriage had to happen. That had been her goal ever since opening her eyes here, and it couldn’t be undone.

“Anyway! If this is a joke, stop it. I’m giving you one last chance.”
Ares smirked, lifting the sword he had briefly put down.

“The last chance is mine to give. If you don’t answer properly, that useless brain of yours, spouting nonsense, will be cut off. So you’d better answer correctly.”
Herina, examining Ares’ face, finally realized this was no joke. She gasped in fear.
At this rate, she thought, her neck might get cut on the bridal bed, something even the guillotine hadn’t managed.

“No, Ares! Put that sword down! I thought it was decorative, but why is the blade so sharp?!”
Even pleading, Ares only aimed the tip at her neck, expressionless.

“Really! I don’t know why you’re acting like this! Look at my hand! The ring on your left ring finger! It’s the same! And here—my neck! Look!”
She twisted to shake off the necklace hidden beneath her nightgown lace.
Finally, Ares’ expression changed.

“You said it was passed down from the late duchess. If I were truly suspicious, would you still be wearing something from your mother? You put this on me yourself!”
Ares lowered his sword and snatched the necklace for inspection.

“The late duchess? How dare you speak so lightly! Who dares discuss a duchess’s life or death?”
Herina, noticing something odd, examined Ares.
The duchess had been dead for over five years—what was he talking about?

Knock-knock—
At that moment, a knock came from outside.

“Your Grace, are you awake? This is the Knight Commander.”
Ares smiled at the arrival of the Knight Commander, someone he could entrust his life to.

“There’s an intruder in the duke’s room! Call the knights immediately!”
The commander, risking rudeness, flung the door open.

“Are you alright, Your Grace? Summon the knights!”
The commotion outside grew.

“‘Your Grace’…?”
Hearing the loyal commander’s words confused Ares.

“What’s wrong, Your Grace!”
This was neither the commander he knew nor the familiar title.
Suppressing his confusion, Ares readjusted his grip on the sword.

“Who are you? Are you in league with them?”
Herina, realizing things had truly gone awry, spoke over her fear.

“Roleplay! It’s roleplay! A game between a couple!”
A man claiming to be the Knight Commander, and a woman on her bed, bound.
Ares couldn’t respond, so Herina, still tied up, wriggled closer to him and whispered:

“Who’s more dangerous—the man with a sword or me, bound? Let’s let one of us go first.”
Ares, glancing between the necklace around her neck and the sword-wielding “commander,” let the commander leave.
Once he was gone, Ares turned the blade toward Herina.

“Now, speak. Who are you?”
“I told you before. I’m the woman who will be your wife. What nonsense are you speaking?”

Ares asked again, still confused:
“Let’s continue. The duchess is dead? You mean our mother?”
Herina nodded, puzzled.

“The duchess died, and a year later the late duke couldn’t bear the grief and passed as well… so you inherited the dukedom. Don’t you remember? Even the Knight Commander who just came in doesn’t remember?”

Ares’ face, completely confused, looked unfamiliar.
Now that she noticed, he seemed shorter than yesterday, his body slimmer than the tightly built muscles she had seen daily.
Subtle changes only someone sharing a bed every day could notice, but it was definitely different.

“Ares…”
“You’re saying my mother died, and I’m the duke? Father’s gone too?”
She hadn’t noticed before due to anger and confusion, but Ares’ emotional expression now seemed oddly young.

“Ares, how old are you… right now?”
No way. Surely not. Even if this is a fantasy world… even if she, as the vessel, succeeded in seducing the protagonist, the hero suddenly getting younger?
And tomorrow is the wedding. Normally, this should be the last page of a happy ending.

Before she could even plead, the final blow hit:
“I turned seventeen a few months ago. Why are you asking?”

Ding-ding-ding—
Herina could only laugh.
They say people laugh in extreme situations, and she was exactly that.
Some say a bell rings at a first kiss—she felt the bells were marking the end of her life.

“Seventeen… wow… my husband, on the eve of our wedding, has become a kid…”
Even Ares’ suspicious gaze couldn’t be answered. She was clinging desperately, about to lose her lifeline.

“This is impossible!!! This can’t happen! The world can’t do this to me!”
Herina collapsed on the bed, screaming.

“Are you crazy? Right now?”
Her eyes wide, she opened them and replied:

“Yes! Crazy! I’ve lost it!”

It was twenty hours before the marriage of Herina Obelia and Ares Havinent.