MHWS 01

Chapter 1

“What is this…?”

I stared at the man sleeping soundly on the bed and clutched my head. No matter how many times I looked, that black hair was unmistakable. On top of that, there was only one man with such a handsome face, such a large build, and so many scars.

Cedric Monteroz.

The Grand Duke of the North, Cedric, was the tragic male lead who was constantly sent to the battlefield as the Emperor’s sword. So, if I was lying in the same bed as him, did that make me the female lead?

No.

If it did, I would have jumped up shouting that I’d hit the jackpot.

This was all my fault for being in such a hurry that I hadn’t even properly checked his face.

Even if it was a stolen marriage, I should have at least confirmed the groom’s identity!

I should have realized something was wrong the moment I found an absurdly sexy man tied to the bed in the dark, practically saying, Come and have your way with me.

“You seem to have slept well.”

At his cool voice, tinged with faint amusement, I slowly turned my head.

The bright light finally revealed his face clearly.

Pitch-black hair and blue eyes brighter than any sky.

Why on earth was he in the same bed as me?

“…I don’t think I was supposed to be your marriage partner.”

“You’re saying something strange. From the beginning, the woman who was meant to become my wife was Claire Ann Rose.”

He said my name without hesitation.

Claire Ann Rose, the female lead’s half-sister. The villainess whose husband would be stolen by Princess Isabel Gwen Talia before being abandoned.

There had to be some misunderstanding.

Why was the man who was supposed to marry Isabel sitting beside me?

No matter how I thought about it, it made no sense.

I got married specifically to avoid him.

…It seemed my husband had somehow been switched.

To explain what happened, I had to go back a few days.

No… perhaps I should start from the day I transmigrated into this world.

This was the world of the outrageous novel The Princess’s Golden Cage.

Princess Isabel Gwen Talia was the female lead—and my half-sister.

As for me?

Out of all the countless people I could have become, I ended up as Claire Ann Rose.

The villainess whose husband cheated on her with the female lead, driving her into madness.

Being abandoned by her cheating husband was already unfair enough, but after becoming consumed by darkness, she was eventually murdered by that very same husband.

“This is so unfair!”

The Emperor’s bloodline granted each child a special ability.

Isabel’s ability was the power to control the weather.

“If you’d just married Cedric from the beginning, none of this would have happened! You shoved him onto me because you didn’t want to marry him, but the moment you saw him, you fell in love and seduced him!”

Isabel possessed the exact ability the North desperately needed.

So what crime had Claire committed?

If that was how the story was going to go, why not just leave the female lead as the only character? Why even create a supporting character like Claire?

“Ah… my life.”

I was born to a mistress whom the Emperor had once loved.

Simply because I possessed golden eyes, I was bound to the Imperial Palace.

Golden eyes signified that one possessed a special ability.

Anyone born with such powers had to belong to the Imperial Family.

In other words, they were nothing more than tools to be used for the Empire and the Imperial House.

Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—my ability never appeared to manifest.

In truth, it had awakened long ago.

It was simply so useless that even if I revealed it, people would probably treat it as though I had no ability at all.

“Chirp.”

“I know. I’m weird.”

“Chirp, chirp, chirp.”

“You think I’ve lost my mind? You’re right, so could you not bother me?”

That was right.

I could communicate with animals.

What possible use was that?

I’d be lucky if people merely mocked me for it.

None of them knew that this ability also allowed me to communicate with divine beasts.

I even possessed the power to heal animals.

There was only one drawback.

Every time I used my ability, I had to pay a price.

I still didn’t know what form that payment would take.

I could only assume that the greater the power I used, the greater the cost would be.

For now, there was only one thing I had to do if I wanted to survive and escape the Imperial Palace.

I had to make sure my future husband, Cedric Monteroz, successfully married Isabel.

My days became incredibly busy.

Fortunately, Grand Duke Cedric had only recently returned from the battlefield.

That meant his marriage to me hadn’t been arranged yet.

If I could change Isabel’s mind and make her marry Cedric, I’d run away from the palace the moment it was settled.

The Emperor would undoubtedly marry me off somewhere undesirable.

As someone he considered unnecessary, I was nothing more than a political pawn.

Just then, I spotted Isabel and immediately hurried over.

Putting on the perfect salesperson’s smile, I greeted her.

“I heard the news. Grand Duke Monteroz has returned, hasn’t he?”

“…That’s right. I’m actually on my way to see Father.”

“To see Father?”

A bad feeling suddenly crept over me.

Stepping in front of her, I blinked.

“Don’t tell me you’re planning to refuse the marriage with the Grand Duke?”

“Yes! Perfect timing! Come with me and help convince Father.”

“Wouldn’t Father just get even angrier if I came?”

I’d be lucky if he didn’t start yelling about how a useless illegitimate daughter had no place interfering.

The Emperor had never liked Claire.

Aside from her golden eyes, he believed she resembled him in no way whatsoever.

Personally, I appreciated being ignored.

“Isabel, you have to go through with this marriage.”

“I don’t want to. I want to marry someone I truly love. I don’t want a forced, barbaric political marriage.”

Well…

The Grand Duke of the North certainly had a barbarically magnificent body.

Wild.

Powerful.

Probably very rough, too.

I found myself nodding unconsciously before snapping back to reality.

“You’ll regret it.”

I narrowed my eyes at Isabel.

“Why are you so determined to support this marriage?”

“Because Grand Duke Monteroz is incredibly handsome… and he’ll only ever love you.”

“How could you possibly know that? A man who’s constantly dragged off to war by Father—how could he ever love me?”

“…I just know. I can’t explain it, but I do.”

“If you want him so badly, then you marry him. I’m going to wait for my fated love.”

A fated love?

Please.

That so-called fated love ended up seducing a married man.

Her own half-sister’s husband, no less.

I wanted to avoid clashing with the female lead as much as possible.

There was nothing to gain from opposing her.

“You’re really going to regret this.”

I meant every word.

Cedric truly loved only one woman.

The problem was that, in the original story, that woman was Isabel.

I couldn’t let the story unfold as written.

If Isabel refused to marry Cedric, then I’d inevitably become his bride.

Even if I wanted to remain kind-hearted, the circumstances wouldn’t allow it.

Honestly, if the two of them truly loved each other, I could always divorce him.

The real problem was public opinion.

Even if we were only half-sisters, we still shared blood.

What would people need to believe in order for a man who had married the older sister to later marry the younger one?

‘A wicked villainess.’

Rumors would spread that Claire had always loved Cedric, deliberately separated the two lovers, and forced him into marriage.

In the novel, it was Isabel herself who spread those ridiculous lies.

That was exactly why I had to make sure those two got married from the very beginning.

First and foremost, I needed to survive.

“Hmph! I won’t regret it! I wouldn’t marry a man like that even if you gave him to me!”

…Well, I’d happily take him if someone offered.

I hid behind a pillar and stared intently at Grand Duke Monteroz.

If only I had a camera, I could take his picture and show it to Isabel.

The moment I heard he was coming, I immediately snuck into the corridor along his route.

Fortunately, I managed to see him.

Reading descriptions of his appearance in the novel was nothing compared to seeing him in person.

“He’s got to be at least 190 centimeters tall. Maybe even taller?”

While I quietly observed Cedric, he continued walking briskly.

His legs were so long that simply keeping up with him was exhausting.

He seemed to be heading toward the audience chamber to meet my father.

He was probably planning to finalize his engagement with Isabel.

After all, her weather-controlling ability could compensate for everything the North lacked.

Even if Father disliked the idea, he’d have no choice but to agree.

A promise made by an Emperor was not something that could be broken.

“Why are his legs so ridiculously long?”

After following him for quite some time, he suddenly turned around.

Startled, I quickly ducked behind a pillar.

My heart pounded wildly as I squeezed my eyes shut and held my breath.

He didn’t notice me… did he?

Anyone would find this suspicious.

If he misunderstood my intentions, I’d be in serious trouble.

Carefully, I peeked around the pillar.

Thankfully, he was nowhere in sight.

Only then did my body relax, and I slumped to the floor with a deep sigh.

“The things I have to do just to stay alive… honestly.”

“Do you require assistance?”

A shadow suddenly fell over me.

It was the one voice I absolutely hadn’t wanted to hear.

Slowly, I raised my head.

Standing before me was Cedric himself—the very man I’d been secretly following only moments ago.

“Ah!”

I jumped in shock and pressed myself tightly against the pillar.

“N-No! It’s nothing!”

I shook my head vigorously.

Afraid he might remember my face, I immediately turned around and fled.

That was my first meeting with him.