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Chapter 1: The Sold Bride
December 3, 2021
The woman had disappeared.
“Estelle?”
The man searched for any trace of her like a madman. But there was no answer. And that meant only one thing. The man clenched his fist so hard the blue veins stood out.
“This can’t be true.”
The woman had abandoned him and vanished. The memory of that unbelievable moment flashed vividly in his mind. Yet the man, though broken, wandered searching for her. The room she often stayed in, the rose garden where she smiled in the sunlight, the private space where she shyly smiled at him—
“Everything seems just as it was.”
Now, even her life or death was unknown. The possibility that she might be dead gripped his heart painfully. His handsome face stiffened into an expressionless mask.
“No matter how much I do, my wife won’t come back.”
Even if the woman was dead, he had to find her body and keep it by his side. A dark madness began moving with one purpose.
“Even if I don’t know exactly how she disappeared…”
If there was a way she ran away, there must be a way to catch and imprison her.
“Estelle.”
His beloved wife, with light pink platinum hair that shone like spring flowers, and mysterious navy blue eyes.
“So it has come to this.”
It was all the man’s fault. He was the reason that beautiful smile had completely faded.
“But still, I can’t live without you.”
Even as morning dawned, the whole world felt as dark as night. The happiness she had given him became the soil for another kind of hell. His cold eyes turned to the wedding ring. A graceful platinum band inlaid with a deep blue sapphire. The man wanted a gem resembling her blue eyes, and she wanted one like his eyes, red in color. But in the end, the wedding ring was chosen according to his decision. That ring became the only trace left of her in his hand. Closing his eyes, the man reverently kissed the ring. Somehow, through this ring, he still felt connected to the woman. A fragile voice quivered like a sob in his ear.
“Goodbye, Johan.”
He would definitely bring her back. And even if he had to crush her ankle, he would imprison her.
“We will always be together.”
The man, Johan Blanchet, opened his eyes with a noble air, a languid smile on his lips. It was the same smile the woman occasionally gazed at as if hypnotized.
“Forever.”
Estelle was an orphan adopted by the Liberthan Ducal family. The simple reason a nobody orphan could be adopted by such a prestigious house was clear: the death of the Ducal daughter, Estella.
Estella was a lovely girl with sun-like shining blonde hair and deep blue eyes. People loved the angel born into the devilish Liberthan Ducal family as if giving their souls. When Estella passed away young from an incurable disease, no one could bear the emptiness she left behind. They tried to fill that terrible loss with something similar. And the girl chosen to be the closest substitute was Estelle. Her blue eyes reminded them of little Estella, they met fatefully at the orphanage, and she was sweet and lovely like a sugar doll—unusually so for an orphan. For all these vague reasons, Estelle was miraculously adopted as the Ducal daughter of the Liberthan family. But no one realized this wasn’t truly luck. The Liberthan Duke and Duchess, who were supposed to be strong parents, abused Estelle after adopting her. They had adopted her only as a living memory of their lost daughter. So whenever Estelle acted out of role, they starved her for days or locked her in a small space. To hide the abuse, she was rarely allowed outside the mansion, which was sugar-coated as “love.” This went on until the Liberthan family was drowned in debt and ruined.
Honestly, I knew a day like this would come.
“They really went bankrupt.”
I had suspected it when they recklessly expanded their business, but I actually knew of the Liberthan family’s downfall even before that.
“Because I saw it in the book.”
Years ago, when I was locked in a closet unconscious, I learned a shocking truth: this was a novel, and I was its heroine.
“No wonder life has been so hard.”
According to the story, a deal came like a ray of salvation for the debt-ridden Liberthan family.
“They would erase all the debts if I married.”
The other party was the Blanchet Ducal family, their mortal enemies, but selling a useless daughter was a profitable deal for them anyway. So, I married the Blanchet Duke, unaware I was a sold fake bride, secretly in love with the villainous husband, and betrayed. Though I ran away with the male lead for a while, I was caught and cruelly killed.
“I can’t just die like that.”
Having failed repeatedly to run from the Liberthan family, I had only one option left.
“Build trust and then escape.”
Luckily, unlike the original, I at least knew the villain hated the Liberthan family. At that moment, the butler suddenly burst through the door.
“Miss, the master is calling you.”
The day I had been waiting for had come. The day I would be sold to the villain as a bride.
I quietly closed my eyes. The villain, strictly keeping secrecy, blindfolded me and took me by carriage.
“So far, this is as the original.”
Suddenly, the Liberthan Duke who called me said the words I had hoped for.
“Now it’s your turn to repay the love the family gave Estella.”
“If you understand gratitude, you know what you must do.”
And now is that moment. The carriage stopped moving. As I heard footsteps, the blindfold covering my eyes was slowly removed. Because I had worn it so long, my sight didn’t immediately return. Blinking calmly, my eyes adjusted. Right in front of me was a man. So handsome my breath nearly stopped. His noble black hair, elegant aristocratic features, and especially his blood-red eyes glittered unusually. Johan Blanchet. The young duke who restored his fallen house and became the empire’s most sought-after groom.
His face was a perfect blend of languor and neatness, but his muscular body alone was enough to make people nervous.
“Hello, wife.”
When he smiled gently, a deep dimple appeared on his left cheek. His previously cold face instantly became fresh and boyish.
“This is your first time seeing me up close, right?”
“……”
“Were you scared on the way here?”
His languid voice sounded genuinely concerned. His handsome appearance made my heart unknowingly pound. A truly dangerous man.
“That’s all a lie. Calm down.”
This charming man’s goal was to toy with me until his grudge was satisfied, ruining me completely.
“You can never run away.”
“Your entire family must suffer to the ends of hell like I did.”
Remembering the man’s revenge I read about helped me shake off the shock of his handsomeness. But he wasn’t finished yet. His gloved hand covered mine. His big hand engulfed mine completely. I tensed at the sudden touch. He whispered softly in my ear.
“Are you perhaps scared of me, wife?”
The Estelle in the original had been stunned by her husband’s looks at first, but after hearing this, she was frightened and cried.
“I understand.”
Though his whisper was tender, he still exuded intimidation. It felt like being crushed by a threatening beast.
“No, I’m not scared.”
But I couldn’t show it. His red eyes narrowed slightly as he watched how I would react.
“What does the villain want?”
I imagined what he thought of me. Estelle was an orphan adopted to replace the late Estella of the Liberthan family. A blessed adopted daughter who lived happily with the enemy Liberthan Duke. In reality, she was abused, but no one knew. I slowly smiled while holding his hand.
“I was just surprised to meet you for the first time.”
“Is that so?”
“It’s strange for a wife to be scared of her husband when they meet for the first time.”
“Strange?”
The man watching me smiled slyly.
“Many people have been scared when they saw me first. Actually, you have plenty of reasons to be.”
“Why?”
My reflection in his red eyes looked harmless.
“You were abandoned by your family and sold to me.”
He added slowly,
“And all for money.”
His red eyes smiled chillingly like a beast eyeing prey. I felt his breath on my neck. Goosebumps rose.
“Don’t you feel betrayed by your parents?”
Johan looked at his new wife, Estelle Liberthan. To him, she was merely a tool for revenge. Honestly, Estelle wasn’t really guilty—she wasn’t the true daughter of the Liberthan family. But since the Liberthan Duke and Duchess cherished her like their own, she became a key piece in his great revenge.
“Hello, wife.”
Her soft pale pink platinum hair and carefully crafted, lovely doll-like features. Her slightly frightened reaction was exactly what he wanted. He even blindfolded her for that purpose.
“Are you scared of me, wife?”
She was being sold away by the very family she trusted. She must be in a perfect state of confusion and anxiety. But Estelle’s answer was unusual.
“It’s strange for a wife to be scared of the husband she meets first.”
The fearful look was gone, replaced by clear, bright eyes like a baby rabbit staring at him with curiosity. That gaze strangely stirred desire.
“You were abandoned by your family and sold to me.”
So Johan decided to provoke her more.
“And all for money.”
Ripples appeared quietly in Estelle’s navy eyes.
“Don’t you feel betrayed by your parents?”
“I don’t feel betrayed…”
Her white eyelashes, looking more silver than platinum blonde, lowered as she spoke carefully.
“I’m just grateful they adopted an orphan like me and raised me.”
Unexpected yet exemplary words.
“I’m past the age to be cared for by parents, so I have a duty to fulfill.”
“What duty?”
“I don’t know exactly, but I will do my best to help since we’re married.”
Only now did Johan realize why she could be so innocent.
“She really was raised well, just like the rumors said.”
Because of that, she didn’t fully grasp the situation and believed this marriage was normal.
“Really…”
She looked perfect for toying with. Johan slowly reached toward her face. His fingertips wrapped delicately around her cheek, tickling her ear. Estelle flinched as if she noticed.
“You say you’ll do your best?”
He smirked.
“That’s not something you can just decide.”
“Then…”
“Then what?”
Johan tilted his head to match her puzzled look.
“What do you think the Duke wants you to do?”
The pure innocence in her answer was strangely captivating. Suddenly he recalled the moment he had bargained for her. The Liberthan Duke, overwhelmed with debt, had proposed:
“She’s pretty enough to please the Duke’s heart.”
“I can do whatever I want until my grudge is satisfied. After all, she’s the one who carries the Liberthan family name. Surely there’s deep resentment.”
They sacrificed the adopted daughter they raised with love.
“Does it mean the daughter he loved so much doesn’t matter?”
“…Everything useful must be used. She will understand if it’s for the sake of the Liberthan family’s survival.”
He probably felt bold making this offer because he considered the girl only a distant relative, not the Blanchet family’s heir. And so, Liberthan abandoned this woman. Worse, they handed her over themselves to soothe their anger. Sold and abandoned by even her family—a fake bride. Supporting this was that she held no resentment toward her family at all. Her strangely devoted attitude stirred memories so pitiful that Johan lost the desire to mock her.
“This is strange.”
He had long awaited this moment of revenge. He should savor the sweet vengeance, but something nagged at his heart.
“Problems like these are truly difficult.”
Estelle nodded and smiled slightly.
“But I will try my best to help the Duke.”
Maybe she was even more innocent and pure than he thought. Maybe because she was abandoned by everyone, she reminded him of his darkest days. But that was all. There was no reason to change his plan. He still intended to make this foolish woman learn about the sins of his adoptive parents and ruin her utterly.
The villain left me alone in a room in the mansion. After Johan closed the door and all signs of life vanished, I finally took a breath.
“Did I say something strange?”
I had no expectations from the Liberthan Duke and Duchess, so I felt no betrayal. Still, I worried if that made me suspicious.
“But I handled it well.”
One more thing reassuring me was that, unlike the original, I shared a separate room from the villain. It wasn’t always good when things went exactly as the original, but at least I could sleep peacefully at night. Knock, knock. As soon as I sat on the bed, a maid knocked and greeted me. She had brown hair and a calm appearance, but felt oddly familiar.
“Hello, mistress. I’m Betty, assigned to serve you starting today. It’s an honor to serve you.”
“I remember.”
She was the maid who betrayed me under Johan’s orders in the original story.
