SMC 03

Chapter 03

(3) The Rejected Wedding Night

-How could you do that? We were friends for so long. And I thought we shared our feelings for so long. Was that just my misunderstanding?

Before Roan regained consciousness, what came to her mind was the painful feeling of heartbreak. Startled by this unfamiliar emotion, she snapped her eyes open.

At the same time, a cream-colored ceiling came into view, and tears streamed down her wet eyes.

‘This is… Roan’s emotion.’

Although the original Roan had already left for the other world, her emotions seemed to remain like sharp fragments, embedding themselves in this body and surfacing one by one.

Roan sat up, wiped her wet face, and looked around. Since living again in the body of Roan Eleanor Hartwood, this was the second time she had lost consciousness and then checked her surroundings.

‘This place…’

It was an unfamiliar room, yet extremely luxurious. She had thought her own room was already excessive, but this place was on a completely different level. Surrounded by overwhelming splendor, Roan felt dazed as she woke up in the middle of it.

“You must be quite a pitiful stray yourself.”

At that moment, a mocking voice came from somewhere.

‘That impressive voice!’

Roan’s head turned instinctively. When she looked back, she saw Alexis leaning against the window, a cigarette in his mouth, standing in a crooked posture.

“They just tossed aside a daughter who fainted in the middle of her wedding.”

He let out a dry laugh and slowly took a drag. That languid motion was strangely alluring and decadent, making Roan blush without realizing it.

‘His looks really are something else.’

However, unlike his handsome appearance, the words and attitude coming from him were sharp and twisted. Roan took a breath and spoke as calmly as she could.

“Where am I?”

“The bridal room.”

“Oh my.”

Roan turned her head shyly.

‘I’m not that clueless.’

Misinterpreting her reaction, Alexis continued lazily.

“No need to worry. I was planning to leave after confirming you woke up.”

At those words, Roan felt her head ring.

‘What are you talking about? We just got married—you don’t have to leave!’

But she couldn’t bring herself to say that out loud, so she simply sat there with her head lowered.

“You must have hated it so much to faint twice.”

That wasn’t my intention!

Roan wanted to protest, but she couldn’t think of an excuse, so she only opened and closed her mouth silently.

“Then rest.”

“W-wait!”

As Alexis crushed out his cigarette and tried to leave, Roan desperately grabbed him. His brows immediately furrowed. Startled by his reaction, she quickly pulled her hand back. The moment their bodies touched, a strong sense of disgust spread across his face.

“E-even so, we’re married… if you leave like this…”

Flustered, she stammered, but Alexis let out a cold laugh.

“Marriage? Don’t be ridiculous.”

It felt as if cold air was emanating from him.

‘Ah, that presence again.’

Roan felt dizzy once more. This strange and overwhelming aura—what was it? Something indescribable radiated from him.

“We’re both abandoned anyway. No need to make life more tiring.”

One corner of his lips twisted upward.

“You probably got married to survive in your own way. I’ll handle myself too—”

Then, looking straight into her eyes, he murmured,

“Let’s each survive on our own.”

With those words, Alexis walked out without looking back even once. Left alone, Roan bit her nails anxiously and pulled her knees close, trying to gather her thoughts.

‘What a jerk.’

No matter what, she had to survive in this new place. Wouldn’t it be better to get along and overcome things together?

‘We’re married—there’s no need to be distant!’

In truth, being left alone in this unfamiliar room was far more frightening than anything else. Even if it was just a nominal marriage, perhaps she had hoped they could endure things together, being in similar situations.

‘Guess I should give up on that dream.’

Life was something one faced alone anyway. For a moment, she had felt weak and wanted to rely on that incredibly handsome man, but with his attitude, there was no way.

Not wanting to dwell on it, Roan looked around the room and soon noticed the food prepared on the table.

‘Yes, this is it!’

The best part of being transmigrated into another world in someone else’s body was this—being able to enjoy luxurious food every day. The meal prepared for the newlywed couple was filled with sweet delicacies.

‘Alcohol!’

And of course, the perfect tool to mark the beginning of newlywed life—alcohol—was also there.

‘That bottle looks expensive.’

At a glance, it was clearly a high-end wine. Having only ever tasted alcohol occasionally at work gatherings in her previous life, Roan excitedly opened the bottle and poured herself a generous glass.

“Mm…”

It smelled nice.

Thinking it was expensive made her even more excited. She took a bite of a finger food topped with salmon and caviar on soft white bread and sipped the wine.

“Mm… since it’s expensive, it must be good for the body too.”

Without any thought of pacing herself, Roan kept drinking.

“Mm…”

Though she didn’t really understand it, she imitated what she had seen on TV—smelling the wine first, then pretending to savor it—while devouring all the food by herself.

‘Am I full, or just drunk?’

Soon, she staggered to the bed and collapsed onto it. The soft texture and pleasant scent wrapped around her.

‘Ah, this is nice.’

In her previous life, she could never have imagined such luxury.

She rubbed her flushed cheeks against the pillow.

‘With a comfortable body and good food… this is heaven for me.’

Having lived a poor and unfortunate life, Roan didn’t think being thrown into this unknown world was so bad. Even if this new life wasn’t easy, compared to her past struggles, it felt like paradise.

‘Anyway, today passed safely…’

Gradually, she drifted off to sleep under the influence of alcohol.

‘I’ll think about tomorrow tomorrow.’

Like Scarlett O’Hara—tomorrow is another day.

However, what awaited her the next day was a terrible hangover.

‘Please… save me…’

It was a kind of pain she had never experienced before. Hearing a cautious knock, Roan forced herself up. She was being summoned to attend a breakfast gathering with all the members of the count’s family.

‘Of all times… now…’

With a pale and exhausted face, she nodded and, with the help of maids, barely changed into a new dress before heading to the dining hall. Only then did she truly realize just how vast and magnificent this mansion was compared to the Hartwood baron household she came from.

‘Did my status go up at least?’

If only the groom weren’t a complete mess…

Suppressing a small laugh, Roan entered the dining room and quickly observed the people already seated.

‘They said all the count’s family members would be here…’

But her groom was nowhere to be seen. Keeping her head lowered in the strict atmosphere, she followed a servant’s guidance and took her seat.

“Good morning, Miss Hartwood.”

An older lady seated at the head of the table spoke.

“Ah, no. You are now Alex’s bride, a member of the Glister family. My mistake. May I call you Roan?”

“Yes, of course.”

Roan responded politely. The one who first spoke to her was the Countess of Glister. Seeing Roan’s composed attitude, the countess’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Roan quickly scanned the people at the table.

Including herself, there were five people. At the head sat the count and countess. Across from her sat a young man and woman side by side.

‘If I had to guess… those two are…’

Her mind worked quickly.

“Allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Francis, Alexis’s older brother.”

The gentle-looking man greeted her. Roan smiled kindly in return and then shifted her gaze to the woman beside him.

The woman, with a cold expression, simply lifted her glass of water.