CHAPTER~01
“What Should I Do?”
“What should I really do?”
I put down my hands, which had been nervously clenching and unclenching.
It was understandable. Today was the most special cohabitation day in Decart history.
The “Red Moon,” the source of the Decart family’s power, had not risen for years due to severe droughts and the curse of harmony, but this year it had risen.
So people went mad, saying that cohabitation was necessary to break the curse, eventually declaring it “Couple’s Day.”
Of course, “Couple’s Day” had existed before, though not like this.
In short, couples were required to engage in cohabitation.
Since it was a day officially blessed by the heavens, everything was supposed to go smoothly.
I didn’t expect this to apply even to divorced couples who had reunited.
Everyone makes mistakes in life, but mine was a little different.
Simply put, I had reunited with a divorced husband.
On top of that, I had carefully restored the original story, which I had twisted to survive.
This wasn’t just a mistake—it was a disaster.
The Red Moon outside the window glowed red, oblivious to human troubles.
And that wasn’t all. The bed was decorated with colorful roses in the shape of a heart, supposedly to encourage the cohabitation.
Infuriatingly beautiful.
Furthermore, the sweet scent of perfume lingered in the air.
Cohabitation? More like a guaranteed dizziness if I stayed here too long.
This room existed solely for the purpose of couple’s cohabitation, and it certainly felt that way.
“I never thought I’d have to wear this again, ha. I must be crazy.”
Among all the extravagances of the room, the one most excessive was my sleepwear.
It was a thin slip, perfectly mirroring the night sky, made specifically for cohabitation.
“And this ribbon? Was this always here?”
A ribbon was attached to the top of the chest, which had to be untied to remove the garment.
It was clearly a mad dress.
I had married into this wretched family twice. Fuming, I stared at the empty air, when a familiar deep voice reached my ears.
“What are you doing alone in the dark?”
My damn husband, Frezen Decart, the Duke of Decart.
He carried a subtle, freshly-bathed scent.
Compared to other men covered in dirt, sweat, and blood, he was unusually fragrant.
If one described it in plants, it would be black roses with a hint of wood.
It seemed oddly harmonious, giving a mysterious, heavy scent.
Frezen, wearing only a nightgown, appeared with the moon behind him, creating an alluring effect.
I struggled to keep my gaze from dropping to the slightly open chest beneath his thick neck.
I almost got mesmerized. At least I couldn’t fault his face.
I tried to mask my awareness and replied more brusquely than usual.
“You could have refused this cohabitation, yet why did you accept it?”
Frezen leaned lazily against the sofa.
“Well. Because we’re a couple?”
He seemed to answer without hesitation or doubt.
I was stunned.
Not anyone else, but Frezen said the word “couple.”
Anyone seeing this would think we were really married. Even though the past was different, he knew we weren’t now.
Frezen’s usual slyness somehow irritated me, and a sharp retort slipped out.
“Yes, we’re a couple. A fake couple. Even if we pretend to be married… cohabitation! And even with a child…!”
At that moment, Frezen’s sharp eyes curved even more.
As if he had been waiting for me to say that. I hurriedly corrected myself.
“Of course, she’s not my biological daughter. Anyway! Even after reuniting, there shouldn’t be cohabitation!”
Frezen took my words lightly, his red eyes gleaming annoyingly.
“I know we have Mela. She’s obviously neither my daughter nor yours.”
“Are you deliberately mocking me?”
“Of course not.”
Yet his gaze betrayed him.
He seemed to not believe that she wasn’t really my daughter.
‘Is she really my daughter, Evlyen?’
True, even when we first met again. Now, I denied it firmly, and he seemed to accept it—but only as a façade.
“You know how loose-lipped the elders are.”
“They talk too much for no reason.”
“Then we must act as a couple as convincingly as possible. Others already think we’re inseparable. Cohabitation is just a part of that. Nothing more.”
…I guessed from his words that the elders had been gossiping about me and Mela behind the scenes.
Returning as the divorced former duchess, and now with a child.
I conceded and headed toward the bed.
“Fine. Since I can’t leave this room anyway, I’ll at least pretend properly. Maybe even scream, so no one dares mention cohabitation again.”
Frezen sat on the bed after me, letting out a chuckle, his lips curling playfully.
“Should we break the bed like last time?”
At that moment, he grabbed me as I tried to rise, laying me back down on the bed.
He chuckled softly and rose over me.
Just like five years ago. I was too shocked to swallow dryly and rolled my eyes around.
“Fr-Frezen…”
“Just yelling won’t be enough. We broke the bed last time, didn’t we?”
“That was—”
Before I could explain, his next words stole my breath away.
“Mela really resembles you, Evlyen. She acts exactly the same.”
“……”
“Are you sure she’s not really my daughter?”
A droplet at the tip of his jet-black hair fell onto the bed sheet.
“Well. It doesn’t matter.”
He swallowed his next words, remaining silent.
His fingertips gently caressed my hair, carrying a subtle bitterness.
But soon his eyes glowed with a light I had never seen.
“Because I became your husband again.”
Frezen kissed the tip of my hair and smiled lazily.
“Fr-Frezen. Wait! We were only supposed to act! You didn’t trick me, did you?”
“Well. I just changed my mind.”
“……What did you say?”
“I don’t want to act anymore. I really want to do it. With you.”
His lips slowly pressed against mine, swallowing my breath in one go.
Our bodies overlapped, the sheets scattered, and rose petals poured below.
In my dazed mind, I thought: why did it come to this?
Yes, it all started after meeting my damn ex-husband and the child he believed to be his own. Or rather, “her.”
***
Everything happens by chance. I realized I had reincarnated into a novel five years ago.
It was when I had just married Frezen Decart, my childhood friend and the future mentor of the male protagonist.
In the original, I was Evelyn Leella, an extra already deceased.
Frezen Decart’s first wife. That was who I had possessed.
No matter how popular reincarnation was, being “deceased” at the story’s point was unacceptable.
*‘We’re getting a divorce.’*
Naturally, I divorced first. In the original, I wouldn’t even appear alive, so I fully exited.
Five years later, my life flowed perfectly, unaffected by the original story.
One exception: no money.
I lowered my head, looking at the pile of overdue bills on my desk.
“Why does debt keep piling up, Hubert?”
The composed-looking butler, Hubert, stroked his scruffy beard like it was animal fur and said:
“Because the family has no money.”
“Annoying, yet I can’t argue with the truth.”
The Leella family’s finances were at their worst due to debts inherited from the previous count.
“It’s unfair. Where is my brother anyway?”
My only remaining sibling, my brother Russ Leella, disappeared after being shocked by our father’s death.
Thus, my only source of income was the secretly operated trade company, Carencia.
How I wished I had been born into a loving family.
Or into a story where the female lead was an overpowered genius, attracting all the handsome men.
“Ah, I don’t care! If I have to repay debt, just cut off my arm!”
I pushed the bills aside and flopped onto the desk.
Five years had already passed since I reincarnated into the story. The current year was 1509 of the Aberk Empire, leaving exactly five years until the original story began.
I survived five years, and five more remained. Wait, the female lead must be about five years old now. So cute.
But since I reincarnated, it might be nice to meet her. Though, as an extra like me, that was impossible.
I dismissed the thought and muttered nonsense like usual.
“Ah. Won’t some expensive jewels fall from the sky? Or money? So I can pay the debt.”
Then it happened.
<KABOOM!>
Something flew from the window, and an explosion followed.
“Cough, cough!”
Before I could understand, I coughed, staring at the black smoke that cleared.
“What on earth…”
Where the smoke cleared, there were no jewels or money.
A strange little girl was curled up on the floor, holding a threatening note saying “Raise her.”
“Impossible.”
When I realized her identity, I was shocked.
That child was… none other than the female lead of the original story!
