How To Win My Husband Over

Chapter 1: My New Life

“I’ve finally found a worthy groom for you, darling,” announced Father, as he wiped off his lips with a napkin.

Sitting on the knees of my eldest brother Cesare, I felt the urge to run back to my bedroom and throw up all the food I’d just eaten.

My second brother Enzo, who had been busy devouring an awfully smelly quenelle, slammed his fork down and cried out in protest, “Not again! Father, how many times has it been already?”

“Enzo…”

“It hasn’t even been three months since her last engagement was called off! Regardless of what our family would gain from this marriage, shouldn’t you at least try to consider her feelings?”

“What a surprise to see you side with your little sister. Then, would you rather battle the barbarians yourself instead of accepting Britannia’s support?”

“What are you talking about? Those savage barbarians up north wouldn’t stand a chance against the likes of me, the greatest, most noble soldier to ha—”

“Shut your trap, boy.”

The greatest, most noble soldier took the rest of the quenelle on his plate and shoved it into his mouth, aggressively chewing out of spite.

The marriage proposal wasn’t any surprise to me though. I knew that it would come sooner or later.

“Who is it, Father?” I asked cheerfully.

My father, who had been staring disapprovingly at Enzo, looked back my way and smiled.

“He is Britannia’s hero. The king’s beloved nephew and famous knight of the North. He is very handsome, I’m sure you’ll like him.”

“What! Father, do you know how bad his reputation is?!”

“Boy, was I talking to you?”

Enzo became quiet again.

None of them had any idea that this handsome knight of the North would one day massacre our entire family. Oh you poor idiots…

“Ruby?”

As I pretended to hesitate for a moment, Cesare, who had been stroking my head, called for me again. His long fingers groped the back of my head and I shuddered in revulsion. It felt like a cold snake slithering up my neck.

I slowly raised my head and locked eyes with Cesare. After glancing at his eerie azure eyes, I shifted my gaze to Enzo who was frowning discontentedly, and then to Lady Julia and my father beside her, both seated upright, poised and dignified as always.

“Thank you, Father. I’m grateful that I can at least be of some service to you with this marriage.”

Cesare curled his lips into a rare gentle smile and pressed them up against the top of my forehead.

“Perfect as always, our sweet little angel,” he whispered.

Now I really wanted to puke.

But I had more pressing matters to attend to than throwing up. After all, the handsome knight of the North was out to kill me too.

***

I had thought that with that untimely helicopter crash, my tiresome life had finally come to an end and that I could finally rest. But if I’d known that I would be reincarnated as a lady in the Renaissance Era, and as a character in a novel that I’d read long ago, and, to make matters worse, forced to survive in an environment that was just as vile as my previous life, would I still have thought the same?

If I was going to be reincarnated as a character in this novel, couldn’t I have at least been born into a decent family?

“Ugh!”

I could feel my stomach tense up and my eyes begin to water. I’d gotten good enough at throwing up silently that I didn’t need to worry about being caught by the maids, but, nevertheless, it was still excruciating every time.

One thing in common between my old and new life was my eating habits, or as I should really call it, my anorexia. Before I became Rudbeckia de Borgia—I mean, before I died—I was the adopted daughter of an upper-class family in Spain. I guess you could say I was a child of charity.

Having been adopted at a very young age, I knew nothing about the so-called ‘Korean Peninsula’ where I was born. Like my adoptive siblings, I attended a prestigious private school in Madrid and lived a life full of ballet classes, tennis clubs, horseback riding, and charity events.

I think the first time I felt different than the kids around me was sometime around fourth grade, when a boy in my class laughed at me while pulling back his eyes. At first I didn’t understand what it meant, so I just laughed along with the rest of the kids in my class. I thought that my eyes were round like everyone else’s, so I had no idea that he was mocking me.

Over time, I grew numb to the racism that I faced at school, but as for my life at home, despite the sophisticated, welcoming facade of my adoptive family, there was always an unspoken rule that I was to be treated differently, that I was an outsider.

Each of my adoptive parents had separate lovers, and my second brother, who was a rising tennis star, was publicly exposed for his promiscuous private life and drug addiction. The only one in my adoptive family who would sometimes treat me nicely was my older sister, and she committed suicide at age twenty-one. As for my eldest brother, I quickly learned that he was a monster, just like his father.

So it became a habit for me to play the role of a smart, cheerful, and obedient daughter, since if I ever brought the smallest bit of shame to my family or offended them in the slightest, there was hell to pay. And when I woke up here in this world, life was exactly the same.

At first, I thought I was just hallucinating before l passed away. But when I looked in the mirror, instead of seeing my face, there was a beautiful western girl staring back at me.

It took me a few days to realize that I’d become Rudbeckia de Borgia, a character in the fantasy novel Sodom and the Holy Grail that I used to read as a teenager.

The novel was set in the Renaissance Era and revolved around the tale of a vile, corrupt Pope who abused his power to oppress others. It was a story about the countries of the North and the clergy bravely rising up and banding together to overthrow the wicked Pope, his supporters, and the entirety of the house of Borgia.

The name ‘Sodom’ in the title referred to the people of the northern Romagna region of Italy, and ‘Holy Grail’ was a metaphor for the holy site of the Vatican City. And as for lucky me, I was reincarnated as Rudbeckia, the Pope’s only daughter.

I, Rudbeckia, was destined to die, and to die no less than at the hands of my future husband.

My father and older brother, in an attempt to gain even more political influence, were hell-bent on marrying off Rudbeckia, and after three unsuccessful engagements and another last minute cancellation, she ended up being married off to Izek van Omerta of Britannia.

As to why someone as noble and austere as Izek would lose his mind and decide to murder his wife’s entire family after only being married for six months, it was Rudbeckia who had made him go crazy.

It wasn’t love that made him lose his mind, it was hatred—hatred of Rudbeckia, who’d poisoned his little sister. Cesare had miscalculated the severity of Izek’s rage when he ordered Rudbeckia to assassinate her.

When I think about it though, more than being mad about Rudbeckia murdering his little sister, it seems like Izek just got fed up with his backstabbing b*tch of a wife and ended up killing her.

Regardless, it’s clear that Rudbeckia was following Cesare’s orders, and, if my vague memories were correct, Rudbeckia didn’t exactly have the greatest of personalities either.

As a matter of fact, I remember that after she moved to the North, she was known by those around her as the Pope’s evil spy, and was notoriously disliked for disregarding basic etiquette and treating other women like maids. That included her husband’s precious little sister and even the girl’s childhood friends.

But now that I’ve lived as Rudbeckia for three years, I’ve started to understand why she acted the way she did. ‘The beloved Princess of Romagna’, ‘the Angel of Sistine’—it was all just an act, just like my previous life in Spain.

“Ruby?”

Hearing his knock, I shoved my mint candy pouch into a drawer and stood up. He opened the door before I’d even answered, like he always did.

“Brother.”

Cesare, known formally as Cardinal Valentino, still had on the black robes he was wearing at dinner. He had his father’s jet-black hair and deep azure eyes, and although people described him as devilishly handsome, to me he seemed closer to the devil. It was a small comfort to me that the two of us didn’t look anything alike.

“You looked upset earlier, so I got worried and came to check on you.”

I played along like usual.

“Oh Cesare, you know me too well.”

“Are you unhappy about the marriage proposal? You can be honest with me.”

As Cesare approached me, he paused, turning his head towards the small turtle statue on my nightstand. He seemed to stare at it with a kind of deep affection. It was a closely guarded secret of mine that I absolutely despised turtles.

“It’s not that… I don’t know, it’s just that the North is so far away. I won’t be able to see you much while I’m there. I’m worried I’ll be terribly lonely.”

“Why would you be lonely? You’ll be with your husband.”

“That doesn’t mean anything to me. If I could have it my way, I would stay here and live with you forever, Cesare.”

“I’m honored that the most beautiful woman of Romagna cares for me so much.”

Cesare came beside me and placed his hand on top of my head, his lips curled into a smile of satisfaction. I had given him the answer he had wanted to hear.

He slid his hand down to my cheek and I continued to play along, closing my eyes like a stray kitten being petted.

There was no telling when the hand that stroked me so gently would turn violent. Although I had managed to keep him and the rest of the family on my side so far, I knew better than anyone that, if they saw it fit, the people around me would turn against me in an instant.

Chapter 2: The strange man Cesare

Whichever way you looked at it, Cesare was undoubtedly a strange man.

Despite the way he obsessed over me and clung to me, he never showed the slightest hesitation in using me as a pawn in his political schemes. For all I know, maybe he just thought of me as another one of his objects.

Three years ago, when I’d just gotten accustomed to the fact that I’d become fifteen year-old Rudbeckia, I made the mistake of refusing my arranged marriage to the Duke of Rembrandt.

With the foreknowledge that the duke would later become a key figure in the demise of my family, I invalidated our marriage right before the wedding was scheduled to happen using the humiliating pretense of physical impotence.

I wanted to do whatever I could to protect my new family that had treated me so well and stop whichever enemies would later plot against them.

But as soon as I expressed my unwillingness to marry him, Father’s usual warm expression morphed into an ice-cold frown that made my body tremble with fear in a way I was all too familiar with. That night, I was locked in my room and beaten by Cesare until I nearly passed out from the pain.

It was after those events repeated themselves a couple of times that I realized there was no difference between my old and my new life. Maybe, in part, that was also because I knew that Rudbeckia wasn’t actually the Pope’s biological daughter.

Rudbeckia’s biological mother, my mother, was killed as soon as she gave birth, before the Pope met his second official lover, Carmen. Most people around me were already suspicious that I wasn’t the Pope’s legitimate child, and, well, since I’d already read the story myself, I knew their suspicions were correct.

Putting on a facade and pretending to be family with people that didn’t share a single drop of blood with me, it was identical to my previous life. And after I became Rudbeckia, my anorexia manifested itself again as well.

“It hurts me to see you go too. This’ll be the last time something like this happens, I promise,” said Cesare.

“But I heard it’s dangerous there…”

“Dangerous? You’ll be guarded around-the-clock by a legion of elite knights, you have nothing to worry about. I’ll try to come visit you as often as I can too. It won’t be that bad, every place has something to like about it. Just think of it as a six-month-long vacation.”

“Six months? It’s really going to be six months?” I already knew exactly how long it was going to be but I pretended to be surprised anyway.

He chuckled and wrapped a lock of my hair around his finger, pulling it up to his nose.

“Yes, you just have to make it six months. He won’t do anything to you regardless, so you don’t need to worry.”

That wasn’t what I was worried about.

“You’ll really come visit me often?”

“Yes.”

I prayed that he wouldn’t.

Trying to convince the knight who’d become my husband to not kill me was going to be difficult enough as it was. Even if I refused to poison his little sister, someone else would be ordered to do it and I would still end up being blamed.

If I was going to stop my husband’s little sister from being poisoned in six months, I had to start by convincing my husband and the people in Britannia, all of whom passionately hated me, that I was harmless, that I was their ally.

At least it wouldn’t be any different from how I’d been forced to act with my previous families.

***

Izek van Omerta.

As the successor of his father’s legendary martial arts technique, he was given the title of knight at fifteen years old and was crowned the kingdom’s youngest champion of the famed triannual Gladiatorial Match at age seventeen.

He became even more renowned and celebrated amongst the people through his heroic feats as a Paladin, but, because of his stubborn and headstrong personality, he refused every single one of the marriage proposals he received, much to the displeasure of his father.

The only females he was close with were his younger sister, Ellenia van Omerta, and his childhood friend, Freya van Furiana. If I remember correctly, his standoffish personality was, in large part, due to his mother’s death.

His mother, once a young princess, was passionately in love with the duke, but after she became the Duchess of Omerta and gave birth, she ended up killing herself while her children were still young. Her death had a profound impact on both Izek and Ellenia.

People believed that a soul who committed suicide was destined for eternal damnation, so their mother’s death consequently became a taboo subject.

To be honest, it was a long time ago since I had read the novel, so my memory of a lot of the story was vague at best. I wish I could’ve remembered more…

The reason why Izek had obediently accepted his marriage with Rudbeckia wasn’t due to any sort of coercion from his father. It was because Ellenia had originally been arranged to marry the Pope’s second son, Enzo.

The Vatican was struggling to fight off barbarians on their northern border, and with the added difficulty of internal conflict in the country, they were severely in need of reinforcements.

Receiving the aid of Britannia’s elite knights, that was the point of these political marriages.

After his announcement of the marriage at dinner, Father worked at lightning speed to prepare the wedding. A huge dowry and an assortment of elaborate gifts were sent to Britannia, and after my marriage was made official with a representative from the kingdom, Father began to make arrangements for me to leave for the North immediately.

***

I thought that after three years I would eventually get used to it, but every time I looked in the mirror, I was still startled by the unfamiliar woman I saw.

Her hair was a cascade of spiraling golden threads. Her eyes were like shining cerulean lakes. Her supple cheeks and tender lips didn’t resemble my original body in the slightest. The only thing even remotely similar between my two bodies was my long hair and small figure.

When I was a child, I was always sensitive about how I looked different from the other kids around me, but, funny enough, there were still times when I missed my old body.

“My beautiful daughter,” said Father with a warm smile, pulling me towards him and hugging me.

I was eighteen years old and, by the standards of this world, a fully-grown adult, but I was still considered and treated like a child in many ways. Like how Cesare would always sit me on his lap and pat my head like I was some kind of pet.

“You’re going to make a wonderful bride, my darling. The North will love you.”

“Father…”

“There’s no need to be upset. Don’t cry, my dear. We won’t be apart forever.”

If anything, I wished that this would be the last time we ever saw each other. Of course I cried though, that was part of my job after all.

My father chuckled seeing my delicate face covered in tears.

“I’m going to miss you all.”

“We’re going to miss you too, so much, my dear. I would send your brother to accompany you on the trip if I could, but it’s impossible right now, sadly.”

How grateful I was that it was impossible. It was scary enough seeing the visitors from the North watch our family like hawks. Did Father really not care about the rumors they would spread about me and Cesare?

“Wuaah! I can’t accept this bullsh*t! Am I the only one who’s upset by this? Waaah!”

“Enzo.”

“Wuaaah… Come here you idiot!”

Enzo, who’d been kicking the dirt and sulking by himself, hugged me tightly. Despite Enzo’s fiery temper and all the mischief he caused, I never felt uncomfortable around him. In a way, he really was the only normal one in this family.

“I’ll miss you.”

“And I’ll miss you too, stupid.”

Still grumbling, he hugged me so tight that I could barely breathe.

As he hugged me, Cesare, who’d been watching us, approached and wriggled his way between us. “That’s enough, Enzo. We don’t want to suffocate her.”

Six months.

It was unclear what would happen after that, but the one thing I was certain about was that I wouldn’t shed any tears if Cesare were to end up dying.

Even if the entire Borgia family were massacred, I wasn’t sure how upset I’d be.

“Ruby.”

Stroking my tear-stained cheeks, the back of Cesare’s hand sent a cold shiver down my spine. I could feel his eyes staring into my soul, as if two vipers were trying to strangle me.

It was those vipers that I feared. They were the ones that scared me into obeying Cesare. In a lot of ways, he reminded me of my oldest brother from my previous life.

“Brother, you have to come visit me.”

“Of course, of course. I promise. Make sure to behave yourself until then, all right?”

How laughable the human instinct for survival is sometimes… That was what I thought of myself in this moment.

Despite having been reincarnated into an even more miserable life than my previous one, I was still doing everything in my power to survive as best as I could. Funny, right?

***

Although the people of the South believed otherwise, the North did, in fact, have weather besides constant rain and snow.

During the summer, the sun shone brilliantly, and the weather wasn’t excessively hot or humid like in the South. The problem was that summer was the only season you could ever see the sun.

Every three years, the country’s borders were opened and soldiers from neighboring lands were invited to participate in a grand dueling tournament, called the Gladiatorial Match.

On this clear, sunny summer weekend, crowds of children gathered to watch the groaning, dust-covered men battle it out.

Sir Ivan glared at his peers, both with pity and contempt, and then approached the man leading them. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

The man dropped his sword on the ground and took off his helmet, lowering his head.

His sharp jawline and long eyelashes were delicate, almost angelic, a stark contrast from the hot-blooded stare of his scarlet red eyes.

His gleaming, sweat-covered face. His jet-black, dust-covered armor. Standing at two meters tall, he looked like a demon that had just crawled out of the pits of Hell.

Chapter 3: Lord Izek

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because Ellen said so.”

“Ugh, seriously, why do you try to get on my nerves every time we talk?”

“It’s not my fault that you have a thing for my little sister, you weirdo.”

Ivan knew that it was pointless to try and argue with him so he chose his next words carefully.

“What I’m trying to say is that, while you’ve been screwing around over here, your wife arrived from the South. I’m not telling you to go run and greet her, but at least have dinner with her on her first night here…”

“Judging by the looks of you, it seems like there are plenty of people willing to meet with her while I’m screwing around.”

Ivan let out a long sigh of defeat.

Izek smirked at him while untying his gauntlet straps. “Am I wrong?”

“As a Paladin of the North, I felt it was my duty to go and monitor Borgia’s spy—”

“Enough of your bullsh*t.”

“F*ck, fine, I admit it. I went and saw her because I was curious. Curious what the Pope’s famous daughter looks like in person. Is that so wrong? If you’re so irritated by me going then why didn’t you go yourself, huh? Izek van Omerta, you rude little sh*thead!”

The rude little sh*thead only gave him a blank look in response.

“Sorry… I guess I got a little carried away.”

“Yeah.”

Despite his delicate appearance, which earned him the nickname ‘The Flower Knight’, Ivan was, to put it bluntly, incredibly short-tempered.

“You’re not gonna ask?”

“Ask what?”

“You know, if she really looks like her portrait, how her personality is, that kind of stuff. You’re not curious at all?”

“Not really.”

“Whatever. Either way, you should still meet her. After all, it’s your obligation as her husband. And I’m only telling you this because I can’t stand to see you turn out like that duke, Rembrandt whatever-his-name-is, and become an international mockery. Lord knows what would happen if you were to get on the Pope’s bad side.”

In reality, no one believed that this marriage was going to last. Izek’s obsession with his work and Rudbeckia’s supposed unpleasant personality were an obvious recipe for disaster. Some people were already betting on the number of weeks left before the marriage fell apart.

Ivan restrained himself from suggesting that Izek just marry Freya instead. He knew that it was next to impossible and Izek was too naive to understand anyway.

But after seeing Rudbeckia, who had travelled all the way from the Port of Elmos to Omerta Castle, Ivan had mixed feelings.

According to Lord Evanste, who had acted as a representative at the Vatican’s marriage ceremony, she suffered from seasickness the entire journey. Yet, in spite of that, all he could think about was her radiant smile as she stepped off the boat. She really was as beautiful as the rumors made her out to be.

Her silky, wavy golden hair and round, shimmering blue eyes—her face was as beautiful as a porcelain doll. She looked so fragile, so delicate. Like she would shatter from a single touch.

For reasons even he could not comprehend, Ivan felt responsible for her.

“She’s small,” he said quietly.

“Huh?”

“She’s small. Really small.”

“Are you saying she’s a dwarf?”

“I’m saying she looks so fragile that one dirty glare from you would be enough to kill her. It’s not like I don’t understand where you’re coming from, but try to think about it from her perspective. She’s been forced to come all the way here basically as a hostage. It must be incredibly frightening and lonely for her.”

Izek, who was about to pick up his sword, paused and stared at Ivan. “Seriously, who are you?”

“I’m a knight of the North. A Paladin, too. And the Pope’s daughter, the Angel of Sistine, is now my comrade’s wife. So you better get your *ss over there and meet he—”

“You know, there was once a time when you swore you would slay the Pope.”

“My little sister cried when she heard the news that you were getting married. Evil b*stard.”

Ivan’s little sister was six years old.

“Tell her to forget about a bad guy like me.”

“That’s what I told her but she won’t give up, and now I’m jealous that she cares more about you than me.”

“I see she’s already capable of manipulating you, hahaha.”

“Anyway, what I was trying to say is that your wi—”

“I knew that the Borgias were famous for their shiny exterior, but did you seriously fall for her after looking at her once and now you’re planning on selling off your country?!” A shrill, high-pitched voice cried out from behind them.

Short-tempered Ivan spun around and pulled out his sword, pointing it straight at the approaching boy. The blade’s sharp edge glimmered.

“Aaaaah! S-Sorry, I’m really sorry, sir, aaaah!”

“Maybe I should cut off this ear, eh?”

“Aaaaah! P-Please don’t, sir!”

To those who didn’t know what was going on, it must have looked like a knight harassing an innocent boy.

Only after making him let out another shriek did Ivan finally let go of the fifteen year-old rookie’s ear.

“What is it? Why’re you bothering us again, Lorenzo?”

Eyes teary, Lorenzo frantically checked to make sure both his ears were still attached.

Izek, with his arms crossed, glanced at the young boy absentmindedly. To Lorenzo, he looked no different from a frost wolf that had just escaped from Hell.

“M-My older sister…”

“What?”

“W-With my sister… After your current marriage ends, I think it’d be great if you married her, b-but for the time being, I beg you to pretend like you don’t know her at all!”

Izek didn’t react. It seemed like he didn’t even understand what Lorenzo was talking about. So Ivan snapped at him instead. “What the hell are you rambling on about now?! Kids these days…”

“S-Sorry, what I meant is that, until your current marriage is over, please stay away from my sister! If you don’t, that Borgia witch will kill her!”

“You really have no shame, huh? You haven’t even met her once and your big, fat head is already full of prejudice.”

“It’s not prejudice! If it was prejudice, then why did my sister lock herself in her room crying right after visiting Omerta Castle? She’s never done anything like that before…”

“Where’d you say she went?”

“Omerta Castle, sir. That witch… Lady Rudbeckia, it’s all because my sister visited her when she arrived.”

Aha. Ivan knew that Freya had plenty of reasons to be upset about this sudden marriage, reasons her airheaded little brother would never understand.

How Lorenzo even managed to come up with such an absurd conclusion was beyond Ivan’s understanding.

Still not comprehending the slew of words coming out of Lorenzo’s busy mouth, Izek tilted his head in confusion and then proceeded to turn around and walk away.

Too busy squabbling with each other, it took the two a few moments before they realized that Izek had snuck away.

“Lord Izek?”

“Hey, Izek! Where the hell are you going? Hey!”

“L-Lord Izek, I still haven’t finished my—aaaaah!”

“For God’s sake, it’s the Sabbath. Stop bothering me, you two.”

Why someone who didn’t know a single line of the Lord’s Prayer was talking about the Sabbath perplexed both of them.

Ivan glared at the knights sprawled out on the ground that had been secretly listening in on their entire conversation.

They looked back at him with devious grins.

***

“I heard you suffered terrible seasickness on your way here. I hope you’re feeling all right.”

At least one nice thing about the long journey was that my excuse of seasickness let me avoid meals and throw up whenever I needed to.

Getting away from my family was nice too.

After arriving in Britannia’s capital city of Elendale and partaking in the welcoming procession, I was escorted to Omerta Castle to meet with Ellenia van Omerta.

“I think it was because it was my first time on a long trip like this. It’s a little embarrassing to say, but this is actually my first time leaving the South.”

“You have nothing to be embarrassed about. As a matter of fact, I myself have never had the chance to leave Elendale,” Ellenia replied softly.

Ellenia was, in all honesty, gorgeous beyond belief. I didn’t understand how anyone could actually look like her. The beautiful people I was surrounded by in both of my lifetimes were no match for her.

She was like a marble statue. I stared openly at her long, model-like physique, her cascading silver hair, and, most stunningly, her brilliant red eyes which glistened like gemstones.

Despite what I had assumed, her red eyes were, if anything, more fascinating than scary. I was captivated by her cold, controlled exterior. For someone to try and murder this creation was a crime against humanity.

“Is the food not to your liking?” Ellenia turned her head towards me. She was the same age as me, but she seemed much more mature in every single way.

I’d always been good at reading people’s emotions, but Ellenia’s poker face was impossible to read.

Chapter 4: The Demon

“I asked them to make the dishes light since I thought you might have an upset stomach.”

“No, everything is delicious. I guess I was just really nervous. Thank you for your concern.”

What here didn’t suit my taste?

The scent of cherry jam applied smoothly on thin bread, hot onion soup, and fish meat covered with a sauce I’d never heard of were all definitely very tempting.

I was always madly hungry.

It’s not that I never wanted to eat, but that I ate at places where I had no choice but to throw up. In that sense, a ball-like occasion was more comfortable. No one cared about who ate what in those events.

The only person who could control me was myself, after all.

Ellenia, who stared at me for a while, gave a tight smile, and soon told me to finish up.

After a while, the empty plates were taken away. A fragrant tea and simple dessert came out.

“As you know, here in Elendale, it’s busy every summer, so I ask for your understanding that my brother might be a little late. My father will not return to the capital until the end of the month due to issues with the fief. I’m sorry for the lack of hospitality.”

“Oh, no, I’m fine, I do not mind it.”

“I have been living in this mansion since my mother’s death. I hold the duty of managing household affairs, but I shall keep the Lady’s preference in mind. If there is anything that displeases you or if you are uncomfortable, feel free to give the head maid any orders.”

Ah, ‘the Lady’. A strange and awkward title.

I pretended to fiddle with the teacup, my eyes gazing downwards. “Thank you for your consideration, but I’d rather things stay the same for now. I’m not familiar with the customs here yet and I’m afraid I’ll cause trouble if I go too far.”

With that impassive look on her face, Ellenia, who had put the teacup down, looked straight into my eyes again. “There is nothing to worry about. No one would dare think of you like that.”

Formal words. Businesslike reactions.

Nevertheless, there were signs of her being surprised and anxious. I smiled innocently as if I didn’t know anything and changed the subject. “More importantly, I’d like to ask you something else.”

“Feel free to ask me anything.”

“Could you please call me Ruby for the time being?”

Ellenia did not reply immediately.

I looked carefully at her perfect poker face and pretended to swallow in nervousness. “As you know, I’m a stranger here, and even though I knew what was coming, I’m honestly clueless on how to adjust. If I had someone like you as a friend, I’d have a lot of courage…”

“All right.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Uwah, thank you!”

As I leaned forward and held her hands with a wide smile, I felt her trembling. I quickly let go and moved away, stuttering with embarrassment, “I’m sorry, I’m being rude.”

“It’s fine.”

“T-Then can I call you Ellen?”

“It would be nice to be comfortable with each other.”

I couldn’t imagine this cold beauty being comfortable with anyone. She calmly lowered her eyes. Then, she added, as if she was sighing, “It’s not good to act too kind. Too much humility can cause misunderstanding.”

She didn’t mean it out of concern for me.

It was an implicit suggestion that if we both were hiding our true colors, we should overlook it and get to know each other as far as we were comfortable with.

I also didn’t expect her to let go of her guard against me so soon, but I think I succeeded in making an unexpected impression. I didn’t want people here to like me anyway, including Ellenia.

My purpose was to come off as harmless as possible. A fool who is not like the others in the house of Borgia. A mild-mannered idiot, unlike the rumors circulating about me around the world.

“I’m used to being misunderstood. I’ll try hard so that I don’t become a burden.”

Ellenia gazed at me silently.

I suddenly remembered my sister. What she looked like at the end. Dried blood stuck to her frail wrist.

“I will guide you to the room where you’ll be staying.”

With the curtains drawn, I could see the shimmering sea clearly through the window.

The sunset, which painted the horizon red, extended all the way to my feet and warmed the white room.

Ellenia approached me from behind and looked at where I was gazing. “I tried my best to decorate the room, but I don’t know if you like it.”

“I like it very much.”

“I’ll show you around the mansion tomorrow. If you would like another room…”

“No, I really like it the way it is. I like the view. I’ve always wanted a room with a view of the sea.”

Ellenia didn’t flinch when I held her hand this time.

Instead, she lowered her eyes as if she was caught off-guard, and stared at the hand I was touching. She spoke in a slightly subdued tone, “You must be tired today, so it’s best to rest early. My brother might be late because of his schedule…”

“It’s fine, Ellen,” I reassured her. I just wanted to sleep, anyway. I knew that it would be like this from the first day, so there was nothing to be hurt about.

No, rather, I felt relieved.

Either way, my goal was not to win his love. Probably not even his compassion.

I could see a tall maid staring silently at me over Ellenia’s shoulder. To describe her expression… It was a mixture of ridicule and contempt, but it didn’t matter.

Being considered insignificant was familiar to me anyway.

***

Cold.

I woke up to notice my teeth chattering on their own.

I heard it was a little cold in Britannia at dawn even if it was summer, but I didn’t think this counted as just a little cold.

Holding on to the blanket tightly and trembling, I soon found out that the fire in the fireplace had died out.

In northern countries like Britannia, hearths held green flames and were lit everywhere at night in aristocratic houses, because of the monsters dwelling in the region. These flames were not just for warmth, though.

They were a vital part of living in the North and could only be lit by an official priest or someone higher in rank. When the sun sets, the fire’s light would permeate every nook and cranny and ward off the monsters looking for humans at night.

I knew very well that these green flames couldn’t die out on their own unless someone did it on purpose.

Who would do such a childish thing? The maid from before?

I tried to go back to sleep, but it was so cold that I couldn’t bear it. I shivered and sneezed, and got up out of bed, creeping up to the fireplace, wondering if there were any embers left.

This kind of bullying really was childish.

Shuuuu— Shuuuuuu—

At first, I thought it was the sound of the wind rattling the windows.

But it wasn’t the cold, empty night view that greeted me through the window. Half frozen in front of the fireplace, I slowly turned my head.

In Romagna, there were few opportunities to encounter a demon. Not only me, but not even a decent noble in the South would ever meet one.

Except for the Screaming Forest and very few outer areas, the Papal States were as clean as a blank sheet of paper, and I never got to see any demons wandering about.

The first time I ever did encounter the existence of a demon was in the late winter of the year I annulled my first marriage.

Cesare had taken me to the basement of the house, saying he would show me something. I didn’t really remember what had gotten under his skin at the time.

In that basement, I was locked up all night with a gargoyle. It had looked at me like it was about to break through the chains and come tear me limb from limb.

I was out of my mind with fear at the time.

At least in my eyes, the gargoyle, exuding a green glow and shrieking all the while, looked less disgusting than a turtle.

‘Go away!’ and ‘Don’t move!’ was all I could scream. I must have given off quite the impression, terrified out of my mind, because the monster had stopped moving at some point. It curled up and stared at me all night long.

Maybe it was just a coincidence.

“Oh, don’t come…”

The demon moved through the window with its massive black wings swinging in the wind, staring at me while floating. Assuming that the green jewels between those bat-like wings were its eyeballs.

I knew that if I screamed or turned around and started running away, it would catch me in an instant.

Even though my knees were shaking, words still managed to come out of my mouth. “Don’t come near me…”

The demon seemed to admire my struggle.

It was quite bizarre to see its wings drooping, even though it was hanging in the air.

Was that its position to attack? It didn’t look very confident.

“Go away.”

“Madam, you have to get u—” The maid, who was about to push through the door, let out a loud scream.

It seemed like she had yelled her throat out. It had such a magnificent and long echo that I had to close off my ears with both hands.

The demon’s drooping black wings instantly spread out and it shot towards the screaming maid.

“Ruby!”

I heard Ellenia’s voice. Then, a loud rumble like a thunderstorm filled my ears and a flash blinded my vision.

Chapter 5: What? Speak up

It wasn’t long before the room became quiet.

I lowered my arms that were wrapped around my head and my eyes grew wide.

The intruder was slowly disintegrating, falling to the floor like a dead moth, black smoke rising from its remains.

A man standing with a shining blue sword turned his body towards me.

My heart pounded. I didn’t know if it was because of what just happened or because of this unexpected first encounter.

Or was it because of the overwhelming aura that flowed from him? His silvery white hair, clear red eyes, sharp jawline, and defined facial features were similar to Ellenia’s.

However, their dispositions were quite different. If Ellenia was like a fairy-like, cool-headed ice goddess, this man felt much more barbaric and dangerous. His gaze directed at me was so overwhelming that it made me inadvertently flinch.

Why are you staring at me like that?

“What’s the reason?”

“W-What?”

“Why did you turn that off?”

Had I been the culprit that had turned off the flames, that tone of voice would have reduced me to a blubbering mess, not even being able to give a proper excuse.

Do you think I made this fuss on purpose?

“I don’t know why…”

“You didn’t even have to do this. Don’t you have enough attention already? Or is this one of your excuses to use for later?”

He seemed to be of the opinion that I was already trying to figure out a way to divorce. I knew he wouldn’t like me, but this was one of the worst first impressions that I had ever made.

Ah, I still have a long way to go.

Ellenia walked up to me and facing the monster of a man, she declared calmly, “Don’t rush her, Brother. We don’t know who did it yet. Even if she did, she wouldn’t have expected this to happen. In Romagna, they wouldn’t have had green flames like we do here.”

I love you, Ellen. Even if I die, I will save you first and then die.

I reached out to Ellenia’s back and clasped her dress. She was wearing casual clothes, not pajamas, to my surprise. It was long past midnight, so what was she doing up?

“It was just so cold that I woke up…”

“What? Speak up.”

He was quite the character.

I took a short breath. It was very natural for tears to form around my eyes. But it was not just acting that made my voice tremble.

Standing there, holding his sword and giving me a heated glare, was my husband. He looked like Satan incarnate who had just crawled his way up from Hell.

Tch, Cesare’s equivalent was right there.

“I woke up from the cold and saw that the fire had died out…”

“Ah, so it was someone else. Who was it? My sister? Me?”

“Brother…”

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I guess I turned it off because it was too hot. I’m sorry for the disturbance. I wasn’t thinking. I won’t let this happen again.” There was a moment of silence as I replied with a sniffle and a pitiful look on my face.

Izek looked at me, biting his bottom lip as if he was searching for something, while Ellenia gently stroked my shoulder.

My face would start bleeding if he stared at me this much.

“There’s something I want to ask you…” he started.

“Yes?”

“… No, leave it.” He left the room, clicking his tongue and giving me one last glance.

What was he trying to ask?

***

After our unexpected first meeting, my husband seemed to have disappeared again.

I had breakfast alone with Ellenia.

It was silent for a while.

Ellenia focused on her meal with an expressionless look, making it hard for me to figure out what she was thinking. I was too conscious of what had happened last night so I ate as quietly as possible.

If I ate, I had a good excuse to throw up anyway…

“It’s not going to happen again,” Ellenia said after a moment.

“Yes?”

“Waking up from the cold.”

I gently lowered my fork and raised my head.

Ellenia was still stirring the mushroom soup with her eyes cast down.

So, she noticed that someone was playing around.

I had never expected for someone to do such a childish thing in the first place, but, I responded with, “Thank you.”

“You’ll be attending the court banquet in four days. Let me know if you need anything by then.”

Right, there was a banquet. As the royal family had arranged this marriage, it was only natural to go to greet the king.

At the same time, it was a banquet to celebrate the wedding anniversary of the king and his wife.

“Ellen, if you do not mind, could you introduce me to a seamstress?”

“Seamstress?”

“Yes. As you know, the only clothes I brought with me are southern ones, so it would stand out too much. I also heard that the summers here are very short.”

A moment passed where no one said anything. Ellenia, looking at my face plastered with a careful smile, turned her eyes away.

Somehow, it felt embarrassing.

“You’re right. I should have thought about it in advance and prepared for it. I’m ashamed of myself.”

Of course she didn’t think about it. Goddamn, they’re all betting on when I’ll go back to Romagna.

Furthermore, as I recall, the original Rudbeckia didn’t care about northern customs anyway.

“I’ll call my own seamstress, but it will be difficult to make new clothes in four days.”

“It can’t be helped this time. Thank you.”

“I’d love to lend you my dress, but it seems like it would be too big for you. To be honest, Ruby, you are quite thin. You need to eat more to survive through Elendale’s winter.”

Indeed, our heights were quite dissimilar. If I wore Ellenia’s clothes, I would probably look like an awkward and immature little girl who stole her big sister’s dress. That would just be sad.

At any rate, since it will be my first time showing my face to Britannia’s aristocracy, I would have to be careful to make a good impression.

On the contrary, my husband, the most important person for my survival, seemed to have the worst impression of me already.

“Then, yesterday, Lord Izek… I mean…”

“I hope you don’t mind what happened last night. He just overreacted because he is particularly sensitive to security. The flames don’t extinguish so easily, so it is very rare for a demon to break in. We were also very surprised.”

Ellenia seemed to have concluded that I was terrified of Izek.

Were his arms bent inside out? He must be a very sensitive fellow.

Haa, what an ideal brother and sister duo.

“I’m not offended. I’m just a little sad because I think he misunderstood me. I’m sure he doesn’t like me, but…”

“Brother doesn’t hate Ruby,” she interjected quickly. It was quite the serious tone for such an empty consolation.

My eyes widened in surprise as Ellenia gave me a troubled look. “He’s a person who avoids people he really hates. You never know when he’ll lash out.”

What an extraordinary and unique personality. Turns out he was even more twisted than I had originally thought.

“But…”

“He just doesn’t like the current situation, so he’s looking at everything in a crooked way. I don’t know about you, but I never could have imagined my brother getting married. Even if it was with anyone other than Ruby. It must be difficult for him.”

It didn’t really make any sense.

He was from an ordinary family, unlike me. But if he were someone ordinary, he wouldn’t have misunderstood that I was already trying to find a way to break us up.

I guess he would have been nicer if I had been his childhood friend.

Nevertheless, if Ellenia’s testimony of Izek’s unusual behavior was true, I felt a little bit relieved. Even if there were endless reasons for why he disapproved of our marriage, there was still hope if his hostility wasn’t directed at me only.

How should I deal with him from now on? First of all, I had to understand his temperament.

“Ellen, I have a favor to ask of you.”

After all, you have to figure out your opponent first to be able to play the game.

My ultimate goal now was to not die at the hands of my husband.

Trying to look as harmless as possible was an insurance policy of some kind. I couldn’t continue to live here if I couldn’t prevent Ellenia’s death.

The history of the Borgia family’s assassinations were an open secret, anyway.

For example, Cardinal Iliope, who came to know the secret of my birth, was officially declared to have been killed through stabbing in a brothel. However, rumor has it that it had been orchestrated by my brother.

Besides, the reason Ellenia was poisoned was because she had become engaged to the Prince of Dorias.

It was inevitable for our family to be suspected, since it was unclear what would have happened to us in the future if the prince of Dorias, famously known to not get along well with the Vatican, and Ellenia, one of the highest-ranking noble ladies of Britannia, had gotten married.

However, I did feel that it was quite absurd for Rudbeckia to recklessly poison Ellenia in such a precarious situation.

Even if we’re the epitome of a crazy family, Cesare was a meticulous man. Still, the Holy Grail was stolen at the last minute, and our defeat just seemed so…

Either way, I couldn’t tell anyone about this story, and who would ever believe the beloved daughter of the Pope?

Even if anyone did believe in me, Father’s spies were planted all throughout Elendale. I couldn’t even talk about it because of that.

I didn’t want to be dragged back home if my father’s spies caught wind of me revealing his plans. So I had to come off as innocent as possible to Izek, the person who was going to kill me.

I didn’t care about anything else.

It would be very difficult for me if he didn’t believe in my facade, or took it in the wrong way. All I need from him is a little bit of favor and compassion, maybe even a little pity…

Maybe that would make him believe in me.

Chapter 6: Personality of a She-Devil

What kind of front would work the best for someone rumored to have the personality of a she-devil? That was the problem.

He was still a man, so if I approached him with a cute and pitiable face, he wouldn’t hit me, right?

The marble stairs glistened white underneath the summer sun. When it came to the Northern Temple, I had imagined a gloomy and dull labyrinth, like in a fantasy game, but the uniquely styled building perfectly showed off its magnificent beauty.

My goal was not to explore the Temple, of course.

I was hiding behind a marble pillar, peeping into the noisy training hall.

I didn’t mean to hide and snoop around, but somehow it came to be like this. The view in front of me was like a medieval fantasy. Tall Paladins in black armor were gathered in twos and threes, wielding swords that glowed a brilliant blue.

Britannia was a region plagued by monsters all of the time, so their knights were much stronger and more aggressive than the knights of Romagna.

Their armor and equipment all looked heavy and massive. How could they move around so easily with those things on?

“Who are you looking for?”

A polite voice resounding through the hall brought me back to my senses and made me stop sneakily looking around.

Without making a sound, a Paladin had appeared behind me.

A sweet, delicate face. A soft and elegant smile. The curly hair resting around his temples was a pretty, pale yellow shade.

The man blinked slowly as I pretended to hesitate. Once, twice. Light green eyes twinkled with something I couldn’t decipher. “Aren’t you Lady Rudbeckia?”

“Oh?”

“Don’t get me wrong. When you arrived at the Port of Elmos, I was a part of the convoy.”

“I see. I’m sorry, I didn’t…”

“No, it’s no wonder that you didn’t recognize me. But what brings you here? Did you stop by to see the Temple?”

“No… Well, I heard my husband’s here,” I answered as I smiled shyly, and the man was silent for a while. He seemed surprised and embarrassed with the way he was blinking his eyes.

I turned my gaze down towards the basket in my hands, not knowing what he was so perplexed by.

“… Just a minute.” He smiled politely and walked past the pillar I was hiding behind.

I was about to peek my head out again.

“Izek! Your wife is here! Izek! Hey! You damn b*stard! Are you ignoring me?! Your wife’s here! Ah, f*ck, this guy isn’t listening!”

I couldn’t believe those words came out of that delicate mouth.

What the hell was wrong with the people in this world?

I leaned against the pillar and stared hard at the statue on the opposite wall. Saint Agnes holding the lamb suddenly made me feel like throwing up again.

Strange… I already threw up today.

“What are you doing?”

That low-pitched voice along with his cold tone sent a shiver down my spine. I lifted my head up and my eyes took him in. Izek stood with one arm leaning on a post and looked down at me with that fierce look of his.

Sweat dripped down his tangled silver hair to his forehead. It would surely be a sight to see if he had a staring contest with Cesare.

“I, uh, this morning—”

“What?”

“I thought you were offended by me. So I was worried…” I pursed the corners of my mouth, pretending to hopelessly look around, mumbling the last of my words, as if I didn’t know what to say. Then I dropped my shoulders, looking meek.

“That’s enough, I’m fine.”

“Wa-Wait a minute!”

He immediately shook off the hand that had grabbed him. I staggered back and dropped the picnic basket on the floor. It fell down with a deafening thud.

Oh, this…

“Ah…”

Ellenia had said that these fruits were precious in this area.

I squatted down and began to pick up the fruits that had fallen out. I expected him to leave, but Izek stopped and stared at what I was doing.

His red, jewel-like eyes flashed with bewilderment. “What are you doing?”

What? I’m picking up precious fruits. You’re so cranky.

“I-I’m sorry. I brought it for you…”

“Who asked you to do that? Why are you picking up something that fell on the floor?”

“… I’m sorry.”

Open up, dam. Flow, river of tears.

Tears rolled down my cheeks as I pulled myself up, trembling helplessly.

I was only doing this for survival, but I think I could get the Best Leading Actress Award at this point. This was a defense mechanism from my past life. Once I started crying, the situation would usually calm down a bit.

Of course there were people on whom it didn’t work at all, like my big brother from my past life.

What kind of a man would Izek be?

“I’m sorry I offended you. I just… I think you’re misunderstanding me, so I’m trying to explain…”

The best knight of the North was still standing there staring at me.

What a consistent fellow. Your eyeballs are going to pop out at this rate.

“What misunderstanding?”

“Well, the misunderstanding that I’ve been trying to find a reason to break up this marriage…”

His silence made me shuffle my feet self-consciously, and I blurted out whatever came to mind.

“I-I know it’s natural for you to take it that way, and I understand if you hate me! I’m sure anyone would in this situation. But I don’t…”

“Who said that I hated you?”

That made me stop for a second.

With his head tilted to the side, a smirk graced Izek’s lips as he approached me.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as my skin broke out in goosebumps.

Far from feeling pity for people that cried, he must have hated it a lot. “I don’t remember telling anyone that I hate you.”

“You mean, you don’t hate me?”

“No, I don’t hate you.”

Look at him. You’re lying, right?

“A-Are you serious?”

“It’s true.”

“Really, really?”

I grabbed his hand and grinned from ear to ear with anticipation.

A moment passed. The smile of the man looking down at me from above slowly faded away. Izek silently stared at my face for a long time, unmoving.

For a second, I thought he was going to hit me. But that did not happen.

As soon as he blinked, the fiery look in his eyes suddenly faded and the usual cold mien returned.

“… Damn it, what the hell am I doing?”

His voice was filled with absurdity, like he couldn’t believe himself. Or rather… embarrassment?

The way he turned his body and swept his hair in an annoyed manner made it seem like he was frustrated.

Ah… ah.

This was it. I had taken a big risk, but I was lucky enough to get this type of reaction.

“Are you all right?” Izek glanced at me after I questioned him.

The next thing he did was pick up the fruit that had fallen at his feet. He threw it into the basket and shoved it into my hands.

Oh my, he’s so aggressive.

“I don’t need this, so don’t do anything useless.”

“But…”

“I’m telling you in advance because I don’t want to be misunderstood, but I don’t care if this clown game ends right now. It’s just that I can’t stand to see someone trying to mess with me. So why don’t you just write a letter and hurry back home, Little Southern Princess?”

I hadn’t seen this side of him before.

I felt more convinced.

I know I’m not the naïve and innocent type, but for a man like him, pretending to be shrewd and smart was rather dangerous. Although, that doesn’t necessarily mean that he was the type to prefer the crying or pitiful ones. But that brief moment where he lowered his guard was a precious clue…

Maybe he thought that I wasn’t worth getting angry at. He would feel like he was being childish if he argued with me.

It was obvious that what I was doing was not worth the vigilance or the suspicion.

Wait… Did this guy who’s only four years older than me call me little? What? Just because he grew up a little sooner?

“But I don’t want to,” I replied resolutely.

“Why? Does this gutter feel like home already?”

Did you think I considered this place the gutter? Thank you for letting me know.

“I’m… I’m in love with you!”

For a moment, I could only hear the sound of the wind passing by.

I dropped my head to hide my red face. At least my acting skills were praiseworthy.

“What?”

“I know you hear that a lot and that there’s no way that you’d like me. But you were the first one to save me from danger like that. I’ll try to fix my flaws as much as I can, and I won’t expect anything in return. So could you please help me out a little? You said you didn’t hate me…”

That’s right, I’m the fangirl type. The most self-explanatory and insignificant type for guys like him.

That’s what he should see me as from now on. There was hope for me too.

I thought I heard a booing sound coming from somewhere. Seems like someone was watching us in this very exciting situation.

Using it like background music, I bravely raised my head and beamed at him. Be as bright as you were before, no room for error.

Izek decided to pretend that he didn’t hear the words I had just boldly poured out. Or did he think that he would feel more ashamed if he faced the knights behind us?

Regardless, it was just downright heartless to turn around like that without saying a word.

I decided to throw another bomb at his back. “I’ll never be a nuisance! I swear!”

Of course there was no reply.

Only silence.