#Prologue

The natural touch of our hands felt strange.

Is this what it feels like to be in contact with someone you shouldn’t be?

It’s ridiculous to think this way about the person who’s going to be my husband.

But any woman in this position would think the same, no matter who it was.

He had another woman he loved.

‘Rachel Rosemary.’

There wasn’t a noble in the empire who didn’t know about her.

After all, the love story of the Crown Prince, Casius, and his aide Rachel was a common subject in numerous plays.

The reason their love story became such a hot topic was simple.

Rachel was merely a viscount’s daughter, and the fact that the Crown Prince loved such a woman was quite an interesting piece of gossip.

The Cinderella story, being typical, captured people’s attention.

Many people often placed bets on her.

Would the viscount’s daughter ultimately ascend to the position of Empress beyond that of Crown Princess? Or would she end up as just his mistress, like the passing romantic dalliances of previous royals?

The ending was… unfortunately, a sad one.

If it had been a beautiful happy ending, he wouldn’t be holding my hand like this now.

In the distance, I can see the wolf emblem symbolizing the guardian deity of the Wolfdor Empire.

The cruel image of the wolf, unsuited to the solemnity of the venue, seems to depict the future of this man and myself.

Beautiful flower petals, befitting a wedding, fell like a shower over the slowly advancing aisle.

I lift my head to look at him, my husband-to-be.

Though his face revealed pure indifference, his profile still boasted a piercingly beautiful appearance.

However, his expression, more suitable for a coffin than a wedding, was quite out of place for the occasion.

‘What on earth are you thinking, marrying me?’

Of course, as a royal who must lead Wolfdor in the future, he has a duty to produce an heir, regardless of his feelings. A loveless marriage would also fall under that obligation.

Just as all royals have done so far, he too cannot escape this duty.

Was there ever anyone in the royal family who married after a romantic love affair?

Of course, if that woman had been alive, Casius might have been the exception, but…

That woman he loved so much, ‘Rachel’, died seven years ago.

To be precise, she disappeared seven years ago, but after such a long time, no one thought a woman who hadn’t shown herself was still alive.

Except for one person, Casius.

My husband’s love for her was this passionate and sorrowful.

Suddenly, I wonder.

Is she still somewhere in his heart, unable to be buried in a coffin?

Or has he forgotten her now, as people say it’s time to accept and move on?

Rachel was described as Cinderella in public, but in reality, she wasn’t.

She was a remarkable talent who finally broke through the glass ceiling and earned the title of countess through sheer determination.

Nevertheless, the previous emperor did not approve of their relationship.

All her efforts were disregarded for the sole reason that her background was insignificant.

Casius, too, made great efforts for her sake.

He tried to protect their love by throwing himself into dangerous battlefields that he didn’t need to enter as the Crown Prince.

The anecdote of him obtaining a promise from his father, the emperor, to allow him to marry her if he returned victorious from the battlefield was quite famous.

Rachel’s brilliant mind and Crown Prince Casius’s outstanding military prowess always brought back news of victory, and only a happy ending seemed to remain before them.

The reason why the ending of these two passionate individuals turned into a tragedy was… when Rachel disappeared.

To quote a daily newspaper, the cause of her inexplicable disappearance has still not been uncovered.

Naturally, Casius couldn’t accept it.

He searched the entire empire using all available resources. Solely to find her.

However, the fairy tale happy ending did not occur in reality.

Even now, after seven years have passed, he hasn’t even found her corpse. And he probably never will.

I notice his large hand holding mine.

Yes, seven years is long enough for you to accept this marriage too.

Humans are creatures of forgetfulness, and that is perhaps the only blessing set by God. His blessing must have reached him as well.

I try to compose my anxious heart with these thoughts.

Now I am his wife, and that fact will not change in the future, so his heart will naturally turn to me.

In the distance, I can see Emperor Harald Wolfdor, who had been urging for his marriage to me.

The emperor always wanted Casius to marry the daughter of the long-established Snowfel ducal family.

The head of the Snowfel family, Diarob Snowfel, was a force with immense power, and the only way to stop his threatening advance was to form a marital alliance with his daughter.

The emperor’s heart in this marriage was filled not with a father’s care for his son, but with the convenient political tool of maintaining a balance of power.

As a result, the one holding Casius’s hand now is not Rachel, but Vivian Snowfel.

‘And that Vivian Snowfel is now me.’

Situationally, it’s a marriage that fits all interests.

It’s a marriage that doesn’t lower the royal family’s status.

But it was indeed puzzling.

‘After rejecting countless marriage proposals for seven years, he finally takes the hand of this Vivian…!’

Currently, the most likely suspect in Rachel’s disappearance case was none other than the Snowfel family.

The culprit was narrowed down to two people.

The head of the Snowfel family, Diarob Snowfel. Or Vivian Snowfel, who always showed her affection towards him.

And yet.

‘He’s marrying the daughter of the Snowfel family, who might have killed the woman he loved?’

It was a perplexing matter.

Of course, there must have been pressure from the emperor, but he had enough power to defy the emperor.

He had many other options as well.

Is it true, as people say, that in the past seven years, he has forgotten Rachel and fallen in love with Vivian Snowfel?

Because his current love is so sweet that it makes him forget his past first love.

But if that’s the case, why is he standing here like this?

As I face him following the officiant’s words, things that weren’t visible before become clearly apparent.

A face that’s only half there.

Eyes as empty as if they’ve been burned out.

A complexion so pale it’s almost transparent…

As I slowly lower my gaze, his white, clear fingers catch my attention.

No, to be precise, it was the ring on his finger that did.

That was definitely the ring he had shared with Rachel.

To wear that and marry me… It’s not even funny.

His intentions were still hard to guess.

But one thing was certain.

The fact that he held my hand. The fact that he is now my husband.

That fact brings reassurance to my heart.

If Casius hadn’t taken this Vivian’s hand, I wouldn’t have had the chance to save Casius.

The voice of the contractor echoed in my head.

‘Seduce Casius within a year. If you do, I’ll free him from his terminal illness. But if you fail to seduce him, you too will die.’

It was Casius who saved my life when I should have already been dead.

In his past life, he made a contract with a great magician and forced a regression to save my family and me, who had been massacred. As a result, he became terminally ill, and I had been living a smiling life until now, knowing nothing of the life built on his sacrifice.

But now that I know everything.

Betting my life for someone like him, I’m fully prepared for that.

‘However, you must not reveal to anyone that you are Rachel.’

Yes, I was… Rachel.

Although it’s now a truth I can’t tell anyone.

Anyway, the contractor’s conditions were simple.

If I seduce Casius within a year while hiding my identity, we both survive. If I fail, we will both face inevitable death.

It’s a crude condition, but compared to Casius who bet his life, it’s a fairly merciful contract. Moreover, the condition seems doable.

How long have I known Casius? I knew everything about him. Above all, he loved me.

Just because the shell has changed, the boiling love wouldn’t disappear.

That’s how I carelessly accepted all the terms of the contract.

Without even thinking about the future.

#1. I’m Actually ‘That Woman’

When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was a familiar ceiling.

The luxurious chandelier, the walls embossed with elegant snowflake patterns, the statues crafted in gold…

‘Could this be… Snowfel? No. That can’t be.’

As I shook my head, other scenes flashed through my mind like a kaleidoscope.

A girl with cold blue hair is looking at me.

An innocent smile plays across our faces as we look at each other.

The blue-haired girl whispers to me tenderly.

“Rachel, you’re so pretty, you’re sure to become the Crown Princess.”

Becoming the Crown Princess was every young lady’s dream at that time.

In the empire where the authority and power of one’s partner became one’s own power, the Crown Prince was the best man after all.

“Anyone who sees you can’t help but fall for you, right? So, in that spirit, this is a gift of friendship. Don’t forget me when you become Crown Princess.”

The giggling face suddenly changes from that of a girl to an adult.

The warm smile that was as gentle as any spring day was replaced with a clear sneer.

At the same time, the colorful world turned monochrome.

Only the rose-colored corners of her mouth, curled upwards, were painted red over the woman’s cold eyes.

“Congratulations on becoming the Crown Prince’s aide.”

She said with a sunny smile.

“Could you introduce me to the Crown Prince just once? You can’t be with His Highness anyway because of your low status.”

She who said without hesitation that I couldn’t be with him due to my low status was clearly different from before.

Nevertheless.

“We’re friends, aren’t we?”

I was fooled again and again by that one sentence.

“Did you praise me to His Highness today? Did you tell him I’m coming to this banquet?”

She, no, her family ‘Snowfel’ eventually pushed me and my family, the Rosemary, into the mud.

“Please save our family. You know everything. You know it’s not true.”

“…”

“If you talk to your father, he’ll make it all go away. Your father loves you very much.”

I knelt before her.

Because even if I couldn’t survive, the family had to.

The family had to survive.

But she, no, that woman turned away from me as I knelt.

“I’m sorry. I can’t do that.”