Indeed, it was a perfect day for matchmaking.

I clenched my fists tightly and stared straight ahead with wide eyes. Sitting across the table from me was a man.

Dark hair like strands of night woven together. Eyes as blue as the deep sea.

The man was breathtakingly delicate and beautiful, like a frost-covered ice sculpture. Yet he did not appear fragile in the least.

The natural dignity emanating from his entire being, the overwhelming aura that ordinary people would not dare to meet eyes with, the innate spirit of one born to rule – all of this made him seem like a massive snow-capped mountain.

And that mountain-like man was now…

“…”

…brewing tea with the most serious expression in the world.

“!”

As soon as all the sand fell to the bottom of the hourglass that had been flipped after filling the teapot with water, the man swiftly moved to pour the strongly brewed tea into the cup.

Then, with a grave look, he reached out to pick up something.

‘Wha-what?!’

The moment I confirmed the identity of that ‘something’, I had to struggle to swallow a silent scream.

Because what was held in his enormous hand was none other than… an extremely adorable white milk jug.

“Y-Your Majesty.”

“…”

The man did not respond. Instead, he began to move solemnly, as if performing a sacred ritual.

With utmost delicacy, he poured warm milk into the teacup filled with black tea. The ratio of tea to milk was exactly 1:1.

Having poured the desired amount of milk, the man precisely cut off the milk stream. After setting down the milk jug, he then picked up the sugar bowl.

Three sugar cubes, no more, no less. Any less would be bland, any more would be too sweet.

After stirring well…

“Here, drink.”

…a delicious milk tea perfectly suited to my taste was complete.

The man stared at me intently with a subtly proud expression.

Unable to withstand his gaze, I picked up the teacup with trembling hands. Though it wasn’t the first time he had made milk tea for me, I couldn’t help feeling flustered every time I saw it.

And for good reason – this man, Aspeiran Roakin, the ruler of the Roakin Kingdom and my favorite character, was… supposed to be the typical cold and aloof northern duke character.

‘To think our Asp would make such sweet milk tea!’

And this from someone who, just a few months ago, had asked why anyone would bother drinking such a thing!

To shake off the awkwardness, I took a sip of the tea. Thanks to the bergamot-blended tea leaves, there was a pleasant tanginess to the brew.

Forgetting my initial unease, I exclaimed sincerely:

“It’s really delicious!”

“Mm.”

Aspeiran nodded with satisfaction. Watching him, I swallowed hard.

‘Indeed, it seems the time has finally come.’

The time to realize the final stage of my ultimate goal.

The countless efforts I had made over the past few months to gain Aspeiran’s trust and favor flashed quickly through my mind.

The position of the ruler’s closest confidant that I had obtained through those efforts could be said to be a stepping stone for this very moment.

Namely, to promote Aspeiran’s marriage!

I leaned forward and asked solemnly:

“Your Majesty, may I ask you one thing? It might be a bit impertinent, but…”

“Go ahead.”

“Yes, then.”

I took a small breath to calm my nerves. Then I blurted out quickly:

“Your Majesty, have you ever thought about getting married?”

“What about you?”

A question came back instead of an answer as soon as I asked. I replied glumly:

“Um… I’d like to?”

“…I see.”

Aspeiran stroked his chin. I’m not sure if it was my imagination, but he somehow looked pleased.

“Me too.”

“Oh!”

I was worried because he was as cold as stone when it came to dealing with the opposite sex, but it turns out he did want to get married after all?

My mood soared at the positive response. This might work out more easily than I thought. In that case, should I push a little further now?

I fumbled to pull out a book. It was a book I had found in the royal library before coming here. I casually held it out to Aspeiran.

“Speaking of which, there’s a book I’ve been interested in lately. Would you like to take a look at it, Your Majesty?”

Aspeiran took the book. His blue eyes scanned the cover. The cover read:

“452 Roakin Unmarried Nobility Portrait Collection – Women’s Edition”

“I want to find my ideal type!”

I explained with a pleased smile. I planned to learn about his preferences in appearance by looking at this book and discussing it with him.

However, after staring at the book cover for a long while, Aspeiran asked in a chillingly cold voice:

“…Ideal type?”

“Huh?”

Whoosh.

Before I could answer, the book suddenly caught fire.

“Ah!”

I hurriedly jumped to my feet. But before I could do anything, the book burned away in an instant, leaving not even a speck of ash.

“Why, whyyy…”

My body trembled involuntarily. I was dumbfounded. Since there’s no way a book would spontaneously combust out of nowhere, it must have been Aspeiran using magic.

…Though he was playing innocent about it.

‘What upset him this time.’

Then suddenly, a thought occurred to me.

‘Ah! Could it be because it’s the women’s edition?’

So that was it! I hastily pulled out another book.

“I’m sorry! I was too narrow-minded. Here, there’s also a men’s edition…”

Before I could fully take it out, “452 Roakin Unmarried Nobility Portrait Collection – Men’s Edition” also burned away.

I stared blankly at my empty hands. Suddenly, a large, firm hand entered my field of vision. It was Aspeiran’s hand.

His cold hand gently lifted my face.

And Aspeiran’s blue eyes, which met mine, were blazing so brightly they seemed about to swallow me whole.

“Shuria.”

He called my name in a low voice. I stuttered in response:

“Y-yes.”

“You may do anything you like, and want anything you wish. But remember just one thing.”

“One thing…?”

Aspeiran’s thumb slowly caressed my cheek. His pleasant baritone voice settled softly in my ear.

“Don’t bring up other people in front of me.”

“Pardon?”

“Don’t look at others. Focus only on me.”

“Excuse me?”

I asked back in shock, but Aspeiran’s gaze demanding an answer was persistently intense. In the end, I found myself nodding reflexively.

“Y-yes…”

“Good.”

Finally satisfied, Aspeiran sat back down on the sofa.

He then cut a piece of walnut pie into bite-sized pieces and held it out to me. I reflexively opened my mouth and ate the pie.

“Is it delicious?”

Aspeiran asked in a rather affectionate voice.

But I couldn’t answer. While my body was dutifully doing its job, my mind had been on strike since earlier, sprawled out somewhere far away.

‘D-don’t talk about other people.’

Then… how am I supposed to matchmake? How am I supposed to introduce suitable people and see your happy wedding?

‘Damn it!’

A despairing scream spread from within me.

My name is Shuria. In my previous life, I was Jin Noran.

I was destined to die if I couldn’t get this man, Aspeiran Roakin, married within 3 years.

“Trying to Change Fate,” abbreviated as “TCF.”

“TCF” was a romance fantasy novel that had concluded to great acclaim on a free web novel site, and it was the favorite novel of me, a 10-year veteran romance fantasy reader.

To be honest, objectively speaking, the storyline of “TCF” itself wasn’t particularly special.

It was a common “misunderstanding + delusion villainess reincarnation” story where the female protagonist, reincarnated as the villain in a novel after death, tries to be nice to the male protagonist to survive, only to end up being obsessed over by the well-raised male protagonist.

Nevertheless, the reason “TCF” became my favorite novel was because it contained my all-time favorite character.

Aspeiran Roakin. The northern ruler governing the snow kingdom of Roakin, and the cousin of the male protagonist, Yulisis.

With descriptions of his appearance exceeding five lines every time he appeared, he was a perfect character with extreme refreshing abilities to resolve all frustrating situations at once, charming eloquence, and overwhelming charisma.

However… Aspeiran had frustratingly little screen time.

In a novel approaching 300 chapters, episodes where Aspeiran directly appeared were only five.

Compared to other supporting characters who even had romantic scenes with their partners, it was so poor that it made my teeth grind in frustration.

It was heartbreaking, but I couldn’t whine like a nuisance to the author asking for more Aspeiran content.

I had no choice but to swallow my sorrow by rewatching each episode featuring Aspeiran at least 50 times.

However, the discontent I had been suppressing finally exploded on the day the last episode of “TCF” was uploaded.

Can you believe it, even in the final chapter showing the wedding scene of the female and male protagonists, Aspeiran didn’t appear! Despite being the only remaining blood relative of the male protagonist!

I howled and thrashed about in the middle of the night like a puppy whose chew toy had been taken away. Before I knew it, my fingers were frantically moving to leave a comment on the last chapter.

[Author, why is our Asp’s screen time like this? Is it because he’s single? Then please, let our baby get married too. My life’s greatest wish is to sing a congratulatory song at Asp’s wedding!!!]

It was an unseemly act I would never have done in my right mind, but at the time I was slightly off my rocker from frustration and alcohol.

But was I punished for such pathetic, annoying behavior?

The very next day, I ended my short 22-year life by being hit by a truck that ignored a traffic signal.

And on top of that.

“No matter how great Emperor Yulisis is, how could he know about something happening in this rural backwater?”

When I opened my eyes, I found myself dropped into the time after the conclusion of my favorite novel “Trying to Change Fate.”

“So everyone keep your mouths shut. We’ll throw this wench to the monsters the moment the gate fully opens, as I said!”

The body I was possessing was destined to die soon, offered as a sacrifice to monsters.

[Mission! I want to sing a congratulatory song at your wedding!

Get Aspeiran Roakin, the ruler of the Roakin Kingdom, married within 3 years!

Failure: Aspeiran Roakin’s lifelong bachelor ending, permanent obliteration of Jin Noran’s soul.]

Due to some mission window, I suddenly became a person with a time limit on their life.

I stared blankly at the translucent window floating before my eyes.

The mind of a 10-year veteran romance fantasy reader worked quickly. It wasn’t difficult to understand the situation unfolding before me.

Hmm. Still, I should probably scream once here for courtesy’s sake.

“Kyaaaaaaaaah!!!”

“Wh-what? Young master, this wench suddenly found her voice!”

“Q-quickly take her away and lock her up! We have to wait until the gate opens!”

Amidst the piercing scream and the people’s murmuring.

Thus began my second life.