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Chapter 2
Of all days, that was the day I ended up completely drunk while waiting for Demon.
“You’re rich, you have a house, and you never have to worry about the future, so why make yourself suffer on purpose? Let’s have a child, raise a dog, and live happily together. I’ll do my best. Okay?”
I forced a dreamy smile onto my face, imagining how wonderful it would be if we could really live that way.
Then suddenly, miserable sobs burst out of me.
Before I possessed this world, I had been abandoned as an orphan and raised in a children’s home.
After becoming an adult and moving out on my own, I struggled desperately just to survive, juggling two or three part-time jobs at once.
Maybe because I had lived such a lonely and exhausting life in my previous world, I wanted to build a happy family.
If Demon changed his mind, it wasn’t an impossible dream.
“Demon, please…”
Without even bothering to wipe away my tears, I begged him desperately.
“Have you forgotten why I married someone like you already?”
After glaring at me with eyes full of contempt, Demon abruptly turned his back. A cold breeze brushed past my nose, and my heart crumbled.
“You were the one who cried and begged, saying you’d do anything if I married you. If you’re not going to fulfill your role properly, then go back to your family, you mongrel Mercium.”
Clarissa’s Mercium family had served as butlers to the empire’s one and only Duke Racton household for generations.
To Demon, who had dedicated his life to destroying the ducal family, Clarissa had value.
That was the only reason he showed interest in her, but naïve Clarissa misunderstood and thought he genuinely cared for her. Before she realized it, she had fallen hopelessly in love.
Clarissa’s love for Demon was pure devotion itself.
He never whispered sweet words of love to her. He didn’t care whether she was hurt or dying.
Even though they were husband and wife, he refused to share a bedroom with her, and he wouldn’t even hold her hand when they attended parties together.
Yet Clarissa still gave up her life for him.
Even after possessing Clarissa, I absolutely did not want to live that way.
Even in my previous life, I never clung too desperately to things I could never have.
To put it bluntly, I gave up easily—but if I didn’t, I ended up getting hurt too much.
So even after being transported into another world, if I wanted to protect myself, I had to give up on Demon.
‘I may have fangirled over him for a while, but I’m not so in love that I’d die for him. Before things get any worse, I should divorce him.’
“Demon. Let’s get divorced!”
It was late at night.
I had finally managed to catch Demon, who was never home long enough to meet, and knowing I couldn’t miss this chance, I shoved the divorce papers toward him without even greeting him first.
Demon’s face twisted instantly into a scowl.
“Have you finally gone insane?”
“Of course not. W-Well, I know it must be shocking for you to suddenly hear me talk about divorce when you just got home after so long. But I never know when I’ll see you again, so I had no choice.”
Demon disappearing overnight without notice was normal, and even when he did come home, he would only change clothes before immediately leaving again.
Clarissa used to cling to the window and wait endlessly for his return, worrying herself sick over him.
But I knew perfectly well what he was doing.
Because of his contract with Duke Racton, he worked tirelessly as the duke’s hunting dog.
Many of the duke’s orders were dangerous enough to risk his life.
Yet for the sake of his grand revenge plan, Demon never once complained.
To keep Duke Racton completely unsuspecting, he obediently carried out all kinds of filthy work.
Of course his stress levels were unimaginable, considering he had to serve the very man he desperately wanted to kill.
That was why Demon always returned to the mansion sharp and irritable after completing missions.
And now that I suddenly shoved divorce papers at him, he looked ready to explode from annoyance.
“So in the end, your complaint is that I don’t come home? How tiresome.”
Ignoring me completely, Demon brushed past me.
The divorce papers fluttered helplessly from my hand and fell to the floor.
“Demon, don’t go. I couldn’t even sleep properly because I was waiting for you.”
“I never asked you to wait.”
“I needed to see you. Please divorce me.”
“Stop bothering me, Clarissa. I’m already exhausted enough.”
His tone made it clear he wasn’t tired from work—he was tired of Clarissa’s obsession.
“Then let’s divorce.”
“Millon, escort Madam away.”
Demon’s personal servant, Millon, stepped in front of me.
“Millon. Move.”
I glared at him sternly.
After awkwardly reading the atmosphere, Millon apparently decided he shouldn’t interfere in a marital argument and quietly stepped aside.
“Demon.”
Without responding, he kept walking away.
I picked up the divorce papers and chased after him.
“Wait! I’m not finished talking yet. I spent half the day riding a carriage all the way to the temple just to get these papers. Do you think I went through all that because I had nothing better to do?”
“So?”
“What do you mean, ‘so’? That’s how desperately I want this divorce!”
“Desperately?”
As if the idea of divorce being that important was absurd, Demon sneered and furrowed his brow.
“Yes! You don’t even treat me like your wife. I know I’m the one who begged for this marriage. But that doesn’t mean you can completely neglect your role as a husband. Since getting married, have we ever once truly been husband and wife?”
“…”
“We may be married, but we live like strangers. This relationship is wrong. It has to end.”
Who would dare speak so directly to Demon Craig?
As expected, Demon looked displeased at being criticized and brushed back his hair.
Then he fixed me with cold golden eyes sharp as a drawn blade.
Fear surged through me, but I steeled myself and continued.
“I know you don’t like me at all. I know you find me annoying and troublesome.”
Without realizing it, my shoulders shrank inward.
Anyone would become timid in front of a man who hated them.
My eyes started to sting.
“You only forced yourself to marry me because I’m the daughter of a servant family from the ducal house you hate and thought I might help with your revenge. But I’m completely useless. I’m sorry. When I said I’d help you somehow, I was lying.”
“…”
“I’ll never be any help to your revenge. So let’s divorce.”
My pleading voice trembled pitifully.
“If you divorce me, I’ll never bother you again. Considering how often you visit the ducal estate, I won’t even return to my family home. It’s fine. I can endure that much.”
“…”
“Of course, for that to work, you’ll need to give me a fairly generous settlement. But considering your financial situation, it won’t hurt you at all. In return, you’ll get rid of an utterly useless and bothersome woman, so it’ll still be a profitable deal for you.”
I politely held out the divorce papers.
Demon took them from my hand and skimmed through them before letting out a short laugh.
“So you’ve changed your strategy now?”
“…What strategy?”
“Trying to get my attention. Didn’t you recently beg me to have a child with you?”
Remembering that incident made my face flush bright red.
‘That was right after I possessed this body! I still didn’t understand the situation properly!’
I had been completely captivated by handsome, sexy Demon, and I admired his strength.
And after suddenly becoming the lady of a wealthy household, I think greed I’d never known before started growing inside me.
The desire for a warm, happy family I could never have in my previous life.
The alcohol had made me emotional too.
“I really am sorry about that. A child between you and me… it was ridiculous. You hate even brushing against me.”
Even though Clarissa was only a supporting villainess, she had innocent eyes and a delicate figure that naturally stirred protective instincts.
When I first saw my reflection—with my luxurious blonde hair and violet eyes—I’d been stunned.
I’d even wondered if it was really okay for someone who wasn’t the heroine to be this beautiful.
And yet Demon ignored and mistreated his beautiful wife who looked only at him. Worse, he even mocked her.
“So you thought suggesting divorce would make me interested in you? Did you think I’d suddenly embrace you?”
Laughing softly at the divorce papers as though refusing to fall for such a shallow trick, Demon slowly lifted his gaze toward me.
His black hair, damp from the night dew, shimmered beneath the candlelight.
With his chin slightly lowered and eyes tilted upward as he looked at me, his gaze was so seductive it nearly stole my breath.
‘He looks just like a vampire!’
The moment I imagined a beautiful, alluring vampire, my neck tingled painfully.
At the same time, icy fear raced down my spine and spread through my entire body.
“Clarissa.”
He parted his red lips and called my name in a low, husky voice.
It felt like a spell that completely overpowered my body, leaving me frozen in place.
All I could do was stare up at him with frightened eyes.
“Come here.”
He raised his long pale fingers and beckoned me closer.
When I hesitated, Demon reached out, grabbed the back of my head, and pulled me toward him.
Holding me against his chest, he whispered beside my ear.
“There are only two ways to get my attention.”
His voice sliding into my ears was dangerously sweet and unbearably seductive.
“Bring me the duke’s head, or find the magic tome that bastard hid away. If you can’t do either, then live as though you don’t exist. Understood?”
In other words, if I couldn’t give him what he wanted, then I should stop bothering him.
Not only was he threatening and dismissing a wife asking for divorce, he was deliberately crushing my spirit too.
I wanted to escape from his arms immediately, but Demon was gripping the back of my head so tightly that I couldn’t even move my neck.
After struggling helplessly for a while, I finally went limp.
I realized that unless he released me himself, I couldn’t do anything.
Pleased by my surrender, Demon pressed his face closer.
“You should be grateful I’m even allowing someone as useless as you to stay alive, Clarissa.”
“…!”
“And don’t ever think of bringing this kind of paper to me again. Understood? Say it properly. ‘I understand.’ Hurry.”
As his grip tightened, my lips parted involuntarily.
His gaze slowly dropped to my mouth.
His savage stare lingered on my lips as though he might devour them at any moment.
Because of that, I couldn’t even breathe properly. My chest only rose and fell unevenly.
At that moment, one word flashed through my mind.
Revenge!
‘One day, I’m absolutely going to get revenge for this helpless humiliation I’m feeling today!’
