Chapter 1 – Prologue
<The Wedding of the Century! The Blessed Bride’s Radiant Smile
<Exclusive Interview with the Saintess’s Closest Aide! Full Coverage of the Greatest Wedding of the Era
The years of endurance had been long. Very long.
“So all that hell… was just so I could see this one article.”
Edelene pressed a finger to the corner of her damp eye. Like someone watching their life flash before their death, her hardships swept past her in a single breath.
The wedding of the century, splashed across the newspaper’s front page, was buried in flowery praise. The saintess in the photo was smiling brilliantly.
A flawless smile.
Edelene almost felt like kissing the paper.
It was worth it.
She had given her life for this article.
‘Well, the world thinks I did. That’s close enough.’
A social death, at least.
Smiling faintly, Edelene folded the newspaper.
“Edelene Bertrand” had died five years ago.
More precisely, she had faked her death.
She abandoned everything she was born with and lived in hiding, all for the sake of making this wedding of the century happen.
‘Reborn into a world that turns out to be a novel I once read, and I’m cast as the villainess. Typical.’
She hadn’t realized at first that this world was a novel. In the beginning, she only knew she had been reborn.
When she was about three or four, memories of her previous life returned as casually as recalling last night’s dinner. She didn’t remember exactly how she died, but she understood naturally that she had lived before.
And she wasn’t particularly shocked.
Well, sometimes people remember past lives. If you have a good memory, maybe that just happens.
Her new parents were capable and intelligent people. Their only flaw was that they doted excessively on their youngest daughter.
They believed she deserved everything she wanted and the most dazzling life possible. They did everything they could to ensure that future, including arranging her engagement to the handsome and wealthy eldest son of a duke.
They never imagined that decision would ruin her life.
‘Neither did I.’
She never expected that the pretty young duke would one day become the male lead, the man the saintess would fall in love with at first sight and share a legendary romance with.
At age nine, she realized the truth about this world.
She still wasn’t shocked.
If you live long enough, you might remember a past life.
If your memory’s good enough, it happens.
Even knowing she was destined to die… well, that was unsettling.
But she was still alive.
And—
‘I’m a veteran romance-fantasy reader! And this is my second life!’
In her previous life, Edelene had devoured every romance fantasy novel she could find. Transmigration and reincarnation stories were popular then. The protagonist was often a villainess or a side character.
From hundreds of novels, she learned one critical lesson:
Never fall into a pointless romance.
That was the biggest trap. Countless transmigrators and reincarnators had fallen into it and been swallowed whole.
Determined not to repeat their mistakes, Edelene worked hard.
She couldn’t avoid the engagement, so instead she made it clear she would step aside at any time.
“If it’s for true love, we shouldn’t cling to meaningless formalities, Shane. Don’t forget—our engagement is only about mutual benefit.”
She treated the saintess with utmost devotion when the girl suddenly appeared.
“What do power and status matter before a savior? Please, protect this world.”
She cleaned up the chaos around them and even saved a child who was about to die.
“Come with me. I’ll be the place you belong. I’ll never abandon you.”
She even pretended to sacrifice herself to save the saintess.
“No, Edelene! Don’t die!”
“Goodbye…”
And thus, she exited the stage.
Her performance that day could have swept every Best Actress award.
All for the sake of seeing the story’s ending.
The end.
A happy ending.
And they lived happily ever after.
That single line.
Be happy, everyone! I’ll be on my way now!
While I’m gone, fall in love, bear the fruits of your affection, and reach the light of your ending!
Fighting!
“Lloyd.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Can you stop calling me that?”
“No.”
Edelene looked at the servant she had personally taken in.
He called her “Master,” but never behaved obediently. In the original story, he was meant to be picked up by the boss of an underground crime organization and grow into an assassin who would one day target her life.
He used to be quiet and compliant. How had he turned out like this?
“Let’s drink a toast. Today is the day I’ve waited for my whole life.”
“You said you’ve waited your whole life for the saintess’s wedding.”
“Yeah. I’m finally free!”
“I wonder about that…”
“What?”
“Nothing. If you say so, Master.”
Lloyd glanced at the newspaper.
The saintess is smiling brightly. The exaggerated headline about the wedding of the century.
And the man standing beside her, smiling quietly.
Edelene had said again and again that all that mattered was that those two ended up together. She had even faked her death for it.
A predetermined fate. A happy ending.
‘Really?’
Lloyd stared at the man’s face in the photo.
Was that truly the beginning of the happy ending Edelene believed in?
‘With those crazy eyes?’
***
Since she had finally reached her long-awaited “happy ending,” Edelene decided to return to the imperial capital, Delmez, for the first time in years.
It was because of a letter.
<Obituary: Emma Bertrand>
No matter how unfilial she had been, she couldn’t skip her mother’s funeral.
If the ending hadn’t happened yet, she wouldn’t have been able to go even if she wanted to. But now everything was over. She wanted to fulfill at least that minimal duty as a daughter.
But then—
“It’s time to wake up, Edelene.”
“Gasp.”
Why was she kidnapped?
‘By the male lead, of all people.’
In front of her, Shane smiled gently. His black hair was much longer than she remembered.
He looked older. More mature.
Edelene blinked, cutting off the thought.
His blue eyes were still beautiful, but they shone strangely. For a moment, they seemed to ripple like the sea.
A blue tangled with emotions she couldn’t name—despair or hope.
“Huh?”
“It’s been a while, my beloved fiancée.”
“Beloved fiancée? You’re married.”
Instead of answering, Shane smiled.
It felt unfamiliar.
Not just warm—there was something cold beneath it.
A chilling madness.
“If I’d known you’d fall for something as simple as an obituary, I would’ve sent one sooner.”
“What…?”
Edelene inhaled sharply. She didn’t know where she was, but she knew she couldn’t just stay still.
As she tried to sit up, Shane moved closer.
His shadow fell over her, and she instinctively leaned back against the headboard.
“Shh. Calm down.”
“You kidnapped me, and you’re telling me to calm down?! Does that make sense?!”
“If I hadn’t, I was afraid you’d disappear again.”
His voice was still gentle. His smile is still pretty. But something was wrong. He didn’t look away from her for even a second.
He wasn’t sane.
Shane smiled softly. His blue eyes were murky.
A large hand cupped her cheek. His palm was warm, rougher than she remembered.
Edelene frowned slightly.
His hand was trembling.
Was she imagining it? After doing something like this, why would he be the one trembling?
She should be the one shaking.
Yet strangely, even knowing she was trapped, she didn’t feel like this hand would hurt her.
Shane wouldn’t do that.
She believed that.
“It feels like I’m dreaming. That you’re really alive and moving.”
“Really? This feels more like a nightmare to me.”
“Does it? For me, it finally feels real. Unlike you.”
His words had an edge.
“Where are we? Let’s go outside and talk. I’ll explain everything, okay?”
It felt like they needed a conversation.
Shane’s lips curved sideways, as if amused by her foolishness.
“You’d just run away again.”
“…No…”
“You’re such a good liar, my beautiful fiancée.”
“……”
“You’re not going anywhere now.”
Fuck.
I’m screwed.
