🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter : 01
Prologue
“Marianne.”
Huh…?
Marianne blinked blankly. But the man who had suddenly burst in after smashing the door did not disappear.
No—far from disappearing, he called her name again in a pleasant voice.
The name she herself had abandoned five years ago.
“An intruder!”
“Protect the guild master!”
The mercenaries guarding the Trophé Trading Company hurriedly surrounded the man. His face was hidden beneath a deeply pulled hood, but Marianne thought he didn’t look troubled in the slightest.
“Marie, are you all right? Let’s step back.”
Abelard Trophé tried to lead Marianne away. But the man would not allow her to retreat with Abelard.
At a speed too fast to properly see, he swung his sword. In an instant, the mercenaries collapsed.
“…Move.”
Step, step. The man approached, growling in a voice that had sunk low in an instant.
“I don’t know who you are, but the city guard will arrive soon. If you don’t want a harsher punishment, turn back now. If you want money—”
Abelard stepped forward. He didn’t sense killing intent from the man, and the mercenaries weren’t dead, so he thought he might be able to negotiate.
But the moment he opened his mouth, the thick killing intent that saturated the air made him unable to finish his sentence.
The man spoke without sparing even a glance at the pale-faced Abelard.
“I won’t say it twice.”
It was a warning. A warning that meant he would kill if they didn’t move aside. Marianne bit her lower lip once and called out to Abelard.
“Abelard, I’ll talk to him.”
“But, Marie—”
Marianne shook her head and stepped forward. The moment the man saw her approaching, the killing intent vanished as if it had been washed away—but Marianne’s body trembled in small shakes. Honestly, it would have been a lie to say she wasn’t afraid of this unknown opponent.
But the man had come looking for her. That meant she had to deal with it herself.
Huff. Taking a deep breath inwardly, Marianne glared at the man. Then she froze in surprise.
Because the man’s jewel-like red eyes, set high above her, were wet with moisture as they stared at her.
Those eyes held an intense longing, relief, and a faint anger all mixed together.
“You said you’d stay by my side forever, Marianne.”
The man stepped closer and whispered desperately, grabbing her hand. He was so close that she could feel his breath; his face was painfully clear.
Looking at him, Marianne opened her mouth without realizing it.
“…Cedric?”
Then she frowned. There was no way Cedric would remember her.
“Yeah.”
But unbelievably, the man nodded.
“That’s right. It’s me, Marianne.”
…What?
Marianne doubted her ears.
But when Cedric smiled sweetly—eyes curving gently, as if he had gained the entire world—and whispered again, she could no longer doubt it.
That bright smile was far too familiar.
“Let’s go back together.”
And so Marianne panicked.
‘No, wait—go back where? How on earth does this male lead even remember me?!’
Chapter 1
Five years ago.
‘How did things end up like this?’
Marianne sat in a carriage racing toward the North, her heart weighed down with gloom.
The carriage she rode in was incredibly spacious, boasting a ride smoother than a KTX.
On top of that, the interior decorations sparkled so brilliantly they made her eyes ache.
Marianne lifted her head slightly.
Who in the world thought it was a good idea to hang a chandelier inside a carriage?
The small, dazzling chandelier looked like it might fall at any moment. Just yesterday, Marianne had been an ordinary civilian, terrified at the thought.
“Your Highness.”
“Yes—uh, yes.”
She had lived her whole life as a Confucian-raised girl who never imagined she’d have to speak casually to an elderly man.
‘I should’ve stopped reading those novels when Mom told me to.’
If she had, she wouldn’t have been distracted by a notification announcing the latest chapter update of the romance fantasy novel she was reading while walking down the street.
Of course, even if she had been watching the road, could she really have avoided the truck that suddenly charged into the crosswalk…? Who knows.
Marianne slumped her shoulders. Still, she never expected to transmigrate into a novel.
Getting hit by a truck and waking up in another world—she never thought that cliché actually existed.
“We will arrive at the Duke of Calais’s estate shortly. Would you like to have lunch at the manor?”
“Ah, yes. Let’s do that.”
Marianne nodded absentmindedly.
The other person—Ben, a veteran attendant—looked puzzled, though he quickly hid his expression.
He was probably wondering why the unruly princess was being dragged to the North so quietly and obediently.
‘That’s because I’m not the real Marianne.’
Marianne sighed deeply as she looked out the window.
In the novel Flower of the North, “Marianne Claire Le Havre” wasn’t even a proper supporting character—just an extra villainess.
She was the emperor’s illegitimate daughter, born to a mistress, and the cause of the male lead’s family’s complete ruin. Spoiled and adored since childhood, she even became a princess—and her personality was utterly vicious.
‘She didn’t even know she’d become the ugly duckling once the emperor fell bedridden.’
When everyone turned their backs on the self-willed Marianne, a revelation descended.
[The imperial family must help the young duke to prevent the fall of the Empire.]
Louis, the first prince and Marianne’s half-brother who had always despised her, seized this revelation as an opportunity.
He decided to dispose of the useless half-princess by sending her to the family ruined by the emperor. Even though he didn’t believe the revelation, he hastily twisted it to mean that Marianne would become the young duke’s mentor and help him.
—
A god delivered a revelation before all the citizens of the Empire. It can’t be covered up, so we must reveal it clearly and take all the credit for the imperial family. Fulfill your duty as royalty, Marianne.
—
‘What rotten luck.’
Marianne erased Louis’s low-voiced warning from her mind.
Right now, the steadily approaching manor was a much bigger problem than Louis ever was.
“We have arrived, Your Highness.”
At last, the carriage came to a stop.
Listening to Ben’s emotionless report, Marianne sighed. Her heart pounded irregularly.
If she’d had just a little more time, she might have escaped somehow and run away.
That thought was only natural.
In the novel, Marianne dies here.
She comes to this old, dreary manor because of the male lead, Cedric—harasses him, then gets swallowed by his rampaging magic and dies on the spot.
‘They said not even a body was left.’
Of course, she wouldn’t do anything evil like the real Marianne—but knowing that her original self died here still made her uneasy.
“I will escort you.”
“…No.”
As she stood lost in thought, Ben gently urged her to get out of the carriage. Unable to delay any longer, Marianne stepped down onto the temporary stairs.
‘…?’
Then she stared at the manor and doubted her own eyes.
This is really a ducal estate?
The building was large, but its blackened outer walls and worn-down doors made it look more like a derelict ruin.
“Welcome, Your Highness. I am Amelie, the head butler serving Young Duke Calais. Though lacking, I will do my utmost to serve you.”
The servants who came to greet her—Amelie included—numbered only four.
Judging by their respectful attitude, they weren’t slighting Marianne; there were simply only four servants in the estate.
Well, unless they had a death wish, no one would openly oppose the mad princess sent from the imperial family.
“Thank you for the welcome.”
Marianne forced a smile.
Cedric’s childhood wasn’t described in much detail in the novel.
When he was young, Calais fell from a grand duchy to a duchy, and his parents died in the process.
Cedric witnessed it and went mad from the shock. After that, his madness worsened because of Marianne—that was all the novel said.
She’d skimmed over those lines, thinking of them as setup for the heroine Estelle’s salvation arc. But seeing the scenery with her own eyes made her feel heavy-hearted.
“Where should the imperial gifts be stored?”
“There is a small annex this way. Once the supply carriage is moved there—”
“I’d like to meet the young duke.”
Perhaps that was why she impulsively said she wanted to see Cedric, refusing even a meal or a tour of her quarters.
“Th-the young duke… is not well.”
A shadow crossed Amelie’s composed face as she spoke with Ben.
“I still want to greet him.”
At Marianne’s insistence, no further objections were raised.
“Then, Your Highness, I will return after ensuring the gifts are properly stored.”
“Do as you like.”
As if the emperor had personally sent anything valuable in the first place—yet he sure put on a show.
Waving Ben away dismissively, Marianne followed Amelie down the hall.
The corridor was spotless, as if cleaned daily, though a patchwork carpet covered the floor.
The half-drawn curtains were faded, making the place look rather dreary.
“This is the room. Will you enter?”
Amelie stopped in front of a black door and studied Marianne’s face.
Her dark expression was full of worry for Cedric, as if she hoped Marianne would turn back even now.
‘Well… considering the real Marianne, that’s understandable.’
But Marianne was simply curious about Cedric’s current condition.
Instead of answering, she walked up and grasped the doorknob.
“Y-Your Highness!”
Before Amelie could stop her, the entirely black door slowly opened.
Marianne looked into the room—and unconsciously widened her eyes.
“Uh…”
Cedric Calais.
The future iron-blooded Grand Duke of the North, the sword that would protect the Empire—currently known as a mad monster of a male lead…
…was way too small and adorable.
