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chapter 01
Frequent coincidences are never coincidences.
If the subject was a handsome man, then Yu-ae was even more convinced—it was fate.
Putting aside his good looks, there were several other reasons why she had to catch this man.
She reminded herself again of the reason for her second life.
The reason she had been reborn was for a genre change.
If her previous life’s genre had been a grueling office drama, then this one was most definitely romance.
And if it came with a bright red 19+ label? Even better.
But then—an arranged marriage?
Fine, she could accept that much.
After all, in most transmigration or regression stories, arranged marriages were practically the default.
But her marriage candidate turned out to be none other than the imperial crown prince—who looked barely thirteen.
This was just too much.
Which meant she absolutely had to snatch up a romantic partner tonight, here at this ball she hadn’t even been invited to.
With newspapers already blasting her as the disloyal young lady who had rejected the imperial proposal, there was nothing left she couldn’t dare to do.
Hic.
No, there was no way she’d go through another life without experiencing proper romance before dying again.
Fueled by alcohol and firm determination—as though casting the male lead of her love story—Yu-ae approached him.
“…So pretty.”
Her voice rang clearly through the cool spring night air.
Are all men in this world this beautiful?
She found herself smiling foolishly at his striking face, then quickly shook her head hard.
No, definitely not.
It hadn’t been long since she’d awakened in Minuette’s body, but she was sure she had never seen a man like him anywhere.
She mentally ran through the few men she’d met since arriving here—coachman Irving, gardener Cain, some other servants…
Sorry, but none of them could compare.
Yes, she was certain—she had never seen a man so beautiful he looked like he’d been painted.
Yu-ae gazed at the man before her as though she’d discovered a new species of humanity.
Under the terrace’s moonlight, his pale skin seemed to glow. Smooth and luminous, it sharpened the already fine lines of his features until he looked like a living masterpiece.
“Haven’t we… met before? At that café, maybe…?”
The alcohol burned through her body, loosening her tongue.
Horrified by her own words, Yu-ae flailed awkwardly—only to meet his stormy gray eyes.
His hair was dark, like the night sky, while his eyes seemed to hold the glow of moonlight. The combination was unreal.
Yu-ae’s breath caught at the cool, refined aura he radiated.
“No, that’s… not what I meant.”
She dropped her gaze to escape his eyes, and the alcohol hit her even harder.
She’d been deceived.
The pretty, strawberry-scented pink cocktail was far stronger than it looked.
Of course, it wasn’t just the drink’s fault—downing several glasses in quick succession hadn’t helped.
Hic.
The man frowned, clearly displeased at this unexpected situation.
But to Yu-ae, drunk as she was, none of that mattered. All she could see was the slight sheen of his lips.
How dangerous could those beautiful lips be…
“Step away, my lady.”
His low voice blended with the sweet night breeze, settling across the terrace floor.
Even his voice was handsome.
Enchanted, Yu-ae reached out and touched his face.
Her cool, slender fingers brushed his skin. He froze, startled, then looked downright unsettled.
“That’s enough. No matter who you are, I won’t tolerate such disrespect.”
Just as he pushed her hand away, voices rang out from the far end of the terrace.
“Your Highness, Crown Prince Onyx! Are you out here?”
“Your Highness! We were told you came this way!”
Yu-ae froze.
The Crown Prince?
Startled by the search, she pressed him closer between the marble columns. She had been avoiding the prince all this time—there was no way she could be caught now. And as their bodies closed the distance, she promptly forgot all about the voices calling for him.
“What on earth are you doing? Don’t tell me you truly don’t know who I am, Lady Levine?”
His voice shook slightly, sharp but urgent.
It was as though he was calling her back to her senses.
Yu-ae blinked wide, dazed.
“Y-you know me?”
“Minuette Levine.”
Oh my.
She actually knew such a gorgeous man?
Yu-ae felt a rush of confusion at his words, struggling to find a proper response. She wanted to sound sober, but the embroidered patterns on his clothes kept swimming in her vision.
“Your Highness! Crown Prince! Where are you?”
The voices grew nearer. Onyx quickly pulled her deeper into hiding.
He clearly didn’t want gossip spreading about them being seen together—and certainly not about him carrying what was practically dead weight.
His hand wrapped around her waist, pulling her close. Her skirts flared and bent like reeds under his firm hold.
“…!”
Between pulling her back, steadying himself, and minding her heavy skirts—
Even a skilled acrobat would have stumbled.
He lost his balance and fell backward.
“Ah! I know—you saw me in the papers, didn’t you?”
Now perched atop him, Yu-ae looked down from her billowing skirts with an expression like she’d just made a great discovery.
Meanwhile, their pursuers’ voices drifted away again.
The man, clearly unwilling to remain tangled in such a compromising position, said coolly:
“Now, if you would kindly get off me.”
The shock in his eyes was gone, replaced once again with icy disdain.
That expression, too, suited him absurdly well.
Even as his gaze condemned her, Yu-ae internally worshipped every detail of his handsomeness.
Her drunken eyes burned brightly, as though memorizing every facet of his face.
“You read the article about my marriage, didn’t you? But if rumors spread that I’m seeing someone else… that marriage would be canceled, wouldn’t it?”
Flushed red like the strawberry cocktail she’d drowned in, Minuette babbled her heart out.
“My lady?”
Fine then.
If that was how it had to be, she’d become a scandalous lady.
Why her thoughts always spiraled this way, she didn’t know. But as a fresh spring breeze brushed past, she suddenly pictured a wild, messy future with the man before her.
“No… I really… I don’t want to marry the Crown Prince.”
He stared at her in shock as her trembling voice spilled the confession. Her lips parted slowly, warm with intoxication.
“I want to be with… you instead.”
She was drunk.
She had been reborn.
So what?
As his whiskey-scented breath mingled with his angelic looks, Yu-ae finally let go of her last thread of reason.
“…I want to date you.”
She pulled his face close, and the scents of whiskey and strawberries tangled together in the air.
While Yu-ae silently shouted Thank God I died and reincarnated! the man’s face twisted in horror.
At the debutante ball meant to celebrate the sparkling futures of young nobles—
The very person everyone was searching for, the one meant to bless the evening…
Onyx Tromaline, Crown Prince of the Bisk Empire…
…had just run into a crazy young lady.
And he’d been caught.
The scene then flashes back to Yu-ae’s first life—her career as a corporate team leader, the stormy night when the building collapsed during her overtime, and her death. She wakes in a luxurious bed, in the body of Minuette Levine, surrounded by strangers calling her name.
Thus begins her new life.
