Chapter 1
She had a dream.
Not about her current life, but her previous life.
On a dark night, she got on the bus and glanced at the open window. The airy breeze mingled with her escaped sigh. Then, she lowered her head and looked at her phone.
[The Heroine Tamed the Cold Male Lead. A highly popular series!]
‘This novel is popular, you say? It’s a novel I read and dropped halfway before.’
I went to the novel’s site and clicked on the first chapter again.
I still had no intention to finish the novel, but I was curious.
“How can he be the male lead? At first, I wasn’t sure if he was a black curtain, but it was revealed as the story progressed!”
My next comment moved on to other characters.
“The little ones are so adorable when they smile and when they walk, their wits, taste, and heart are so pretty, and Tyler’s-”
I didn’t like the housekeeper and the chef. The Crown Prince’s first left arm injury, second right leg injury, and his third rescue as well.
Wasn’t the Crown Prince only an extra? Was this novel so good that I analyzed it deeply while I read it?
“Wow. I read it so diligently.”
As I came nearer to the end, I could see the latest comments filled with overwhelming emotions. I should’ve got off the bus, but I just read the comments.
Just then, I saw a comment with a lot of likes.
“I can’t believe there’s a novel like this. The writer is amazing in different means. The male lead should go on de-”
Death route? Are you going to tell him to walk on a death route? As soon as I thought about it, my body became relaxed.
I missed the bus handle I was holding on to and bang! I hit my head hard. When I opened my eyes, I was already lying on the ground.
Everything had become blurry.
That was the end of her past life.
***
Death from overwork! I lived diligently, but every day, I worked overtime until 12 am or even until dawn, but I didn’t expect to die that way.
‘On second thought, I think I’ve strained my body too much.’
Looking back on it, my sudden death was still unfair, but it wasn’t that bad.
‘At least I didn’t go to hell.’
She was rather realistic.
It has been six months since she adjusted to the life of the supporting character in the novel [The Heroine Tamed the Cold Male Lead]. Her life as an aristocratic lady was quite nice.
‘I’ve already avoided the death flag from marrying the male lead. “I’m never going to get married. I want to find my fated love” is what I said.’
My parents seemed surprised by my sudden declaration, but they eventually nodded.
They even supported me. Everything went smoothly.
I could just stay as a supporting character, no, as an extra, and live up the spirit of ‘Does a nice guy even exist?’
That was what I thought.
Unfortunately, it didn’t work.
“Daisy, not long ago, Duke Jean said he wanted to welcome you as the bride of his second son. He even wrote the letter personally.”
This was already expected.
However, my parents would reject them just as much as they pressured us.
‘They should refuse it. But what’s wrong with their response? Why are they nervous?’
My mother burst into tears and rubbed her nose. At her unusual behavior, Daisy instinctively leaned her upper body.
Excuse me, wait a minute.
“….I didn’t mean to disregard your wishes.”
The conversation flowed strangely.
They avoided her gaze. They bowed their head as if they had committed a great sin.
Now, a drop of cold sweat was about to fall.
“Truthfully, the business I recently invested in has been scammed. If you don’t marry into this family, you’ll have to marry Count Duster at this rate.”
Scammed? That part wasn’t explained in the novel!
In this sudden situation, I wanted to grab the writer in the collar and shook him.
Daisy’s mother held her hand and spoke in a sorrowful voice.
“Count Duster pressured us because we don’t have any property and we weren’t active in the social world either.”
I didn’t think their motive was nonsensical.
Rather, I found it absurd that Count Duster was an old man who was 30 years older than me.
My father smacked his lips with a gloomy face.
“You know, that second son, it’s true that he’s bad, cursed, and scary…but I think he’s better than Count Duster.”
“We actually thought a lot about it, too. Which one would be better, Count Duster or Marquis Jean? I met Duke Jean in person and made this decision.”
(T/N: Usually the first son of the duke becomes a young duke, and the second would be granted a title as a marquis, which is probably why Duke Jean’s second son is Marquis Jean.)
It seemed like Duke Jean was more courteous.
“Both of them are a divorcee, but there are many rumors that Count Duster’s ex-wife died after she fell out of favor with him. Meanwhile, Marquis Jean’s ex-wife is still alive.”
“Both of them have children, but at least Marquis Jean’s children are not older than you like Count Duster’s children.”
There was nothing wrong with that they said.
Count Duster actually had the worst personality, enough to kill a man. He clearly had two wives, but they weren’t in this world anymore.
‘Marquis Jean divorced his ex-wife because of a feud, and she also agreed to divorce.’
My parents, who said they had finalized their decision, did not have a comfortable expression either.
They seemed to be agonizing over whether their choice was right.
Count Duster and Marquis Jean. Both of them were bad in their own way.
However, when I imagined Count Duster with a sly smile, I hurriedly shook my head.
‘As expected, my life won’t be easy.’
Still, I could just live quietly and get divorced after some time, right?
By then, Count Duster would have a new wife.
I was about to relax the stiff corner of my mouth, but my mother added with tears flowing down her cheeks.
“Count Duster says that you are his destiny. He won’t marry anyone if it’s not you.”
What kind of nonsense…..?
At that moment, Daisy’s expression became puzzled. It was the moment when her composed poker face completely collapsed.
“No, he said he’ll wait for you until he dies, no matter what title the man you’re about to marry has. Hic, hic-.”
“We are sorry. Hic.” Not only my mother, but my father also shed tears.
He grabbed my hand tightly. Including my mother’s hand that was already placed on mine, their hands stacked up like children.
Both my father and mother spoke in a trembling voice.
“You should never divorce.”
“As much as you can, never divorce.”
Daisy tried to loosen up her stiff facial muscle and lift the corner of her mouth.
‘Even this life will not be easy.’
Now that this happened, I need to plot a new plan.
I should gain as much power and wealth by building my reputation as Marquis Jean’s wife.
‘So I won’t become an aristocrat who is inferior to Count Duster, I’ll have to do a great job in Jean Marquisate.’
Even though the male lead was trashy, he was rational and had the ability to compromise as far as she remembered. There would be a great price to pay to get a good result.
‘Until the wedding comes, I need to study and investigate like crazy.’
I must survive somehow.
* * *
Daisy looked completely different in her elegant dress. She was wearing a light blue frill dress.
“Hello, I’m Daisy Colin.”
“I’m Carlyx Jean.”
“Yes, I know.”
It was their first meeting before the marriage.
The strange atmosphere subsided, but both of them regarded that unfamiliarity as something natural. No one pushed themself to lead the conversation.
If anyone saw this, they would probably form an opinion as such;
‘Aren’t they just like a famous painting?’
A woman with wave-like blue eyes that harmonize well with her brilliant blonde hair. In front of her was a man with black hair and purple eyes.
It was a striking appearance. Especially in this empire, black hair was considered like that.
The male lead of the novel that Daisy read right before her death, Carlyx.
He looked at the watch he put on the table and said in a dry voice.
“I heard you have something to say.”
He sounded like he wouldn’t come out if it wasn’t for that.
Unfazed by his attitude, Daisy opened her mouth.
“I want to write a contract before our marriage.”
“What kind of contract are you talking about?”
“A divorce contract. Please divorce me later.”
“….I don’t think that’s what a person who’s about to get married soon would say.”
Carlyx glanced at her with a cold gaze. His eyes were full of doubts. Naturally avoiding his gaze, Daisy took a sip of tea.
She answered calmly.
“I think that’s exactly what a person who’s about to have a marriage of convenience can say.”
“You don’t seem very pleased with this marriage.”
“Yes.”
There was no lie behind her word.
‘Who would be pleased to be a wife of a man who would cheat on you later?’
It was getting uncomfortable to get such a look from a scary person.
Eventually, Daisy added an explanation to get out of his gaze.
“It’s not like I have someone I love. It’s just a marriage driven by my parents’ wishes that is not favorable.”
Did you need more reasons? With that in mind, Daisy decided to lie a little bit.
“I believe in fateful love.”
Of course, there were many other reasons, but this was the easiest way.
Whether it was in my past world or this world, ‘love’ had saved people from giving an explanation. I dare to say it would be the same even in the future.
Daisy folded her fingers one by one every time she spoke.
“Cinderella. Beauty and the Beast. Rapunzel. Snow White. I want to have this kind of love.”
I couldn’t dream of a future with a man who would cheat on me with the heroine later.
Although she didn’t finish the novel, Daisy’s death, which was driven by jealousy, was quite miserable.
‘She lost everything. If she hadn’t died, she would have been able to survive in the aristocracy by revealing her competence. But she couldn’t hold on.’
For Daisy, who was a supporting character in the novel, Carlyx was her whole world.
When he disappeared, her world collapsed. Her value was also reduced to nothing.
“Divorce me in two years.”
It was two years later when he went to war for the third time and returned with a victory.
“You even thought about the exact time.”
Carlyx took Daisy’s proposal lightly.
Rather than a proposal, the overall conversation itself was stringent. First impression: intense.
‘She’s out of her mind.’
He couldn’t believe that she babbled about love from fairy tales.
In many ways, she seemed like a peculiar and immature person, which he hated to get involved with.
‘Tyler won’t like her.’
Tyler, the butler who wanted a capable madam, won’t like her. However, it was enough for him who just needed the role of a ‘wife’.
Carlyx lowered his gaze to make eye contact with Daisy.
He fiddled with the watch and showed no emotion.
Soon, a short answer rang.
“Sure.”
They set up a big foundation for the contract with a short conversation. And they signed the contract right away.