#Prologue
The natural feeling of our joined hands was strange.
Is this what it feels like to touch someone I should not touch?
It's ridiculous to think this about the person who will become my husband.
But any woman in this place would probably think the same, no matter who it was.
He already had a woman he loved.
'Rachel Rosemary.'
If you were a noble of the empire, there was no one who didn't know about her.
The love story between the crown prince, Cassius, and his aide Rachel was a frequent subject of many plays.
The reason their love story became such a big topic was simple.
Rachel was merely a viscount's daughter, and it was quite an interesting gossip that the crown prince loved a woman like that.
The Cinderella story was typical enough to catch people's attention.
Many people would make bets about her.
Would the viscount's daughter eventually rise above becoming a crown princess to the throne of empress? Or would she simply end up as his concubine, like the past love affairs of the imperial family?
The outcome... was unfortunately a sad ending.
If it had been a beautiful happy ending, he would not be holding my hand like this.
In the distance, I can see the wolf crest symbolizing the guardian deity of the Ulfdor Empire.
The cruel image of the wolf seems ill-suited for the solemn ceremony, as if depicting the future of this man and me.
A beautiful rain of flower petals befitting a wedding falls slowly along the path we walk.
I look up at the man who will become my husband.
His expressionless face nonetheless flaunts a breathtakingly beautiful profile.
Yet his expression better suits a coffin than a wedding, utterly out of place here.
'Just what were you thinking when you decided to marry me?'
Of course, as a prince who will one day lead Ulfdor, he has a duty to produce an heir whether he has feelings or not. A loveless marriage would be part of that duty.
Like all the imperial princes before him, he cannot escape this obligation either.
Has there ever been an imperial romance that ended in marriage?
If that woman Rachel had been alive, Cassius could have been the exception...
But the woman he loved so dearly, 'Rachel', died 7 years ago.
Or rather, she went missing 7 years ago, but after such a long time with no sign of her, no one thought she was still alive.
Except one person - my husband Cassius.
My husband's love for her was so ardent and heart-wrenching.
I suddenly wondered,
Is she still somewhere in his heart, unable to be buried in a coffin?
Or has he accepted and moved on as people say, finally forgetting her?
While Rachel was depicted as a Cinderella in public, the reality was different.
She was an exceptional talent who fought with all her might and finally broke through the glass ceiling to earn a countship.
And yet the former emperor did not recognize the two of them.
All her efforts were ignored for the sole reason that her status was too low.
Cassius also made great efforts for her.
As the crown prince, he didn't have to risk entering the dangerous battlefield, but he did to protect their love.
It was quite famous that he made a promise to his father the emperor - if he returned victorious, he would allow him to marry her.
Rachel's brilliant mind and the crown prince Cassius's outstanding military power always brought back news of victory, and only a happy ending remained for the two of them.
The reason their ardent ending turned to tragedy... was because of Rachel's disappearance.
To borrow the words of one newspaper, the reason for her baffling disappearance still remains unclear.
Naturally, Cassius could not accept it.
He used all his power to search the entire empire. Solely to find her.
But the happy ending from fairy tales did not happen in reality.
Even after 7 long years until now, he has not been able to find even her body. And likely never will.
I notice the large hand holding mine.
Yes, after 7 years it's time for you to accept this marriage too.
Humans are creatures of forgetfulness, and that is the only blessing set by God. That grace must have reached him as well.
I try hard to calm my uneasy heart.
From now on, I will be his wife and that will not change, so naturally his heart will turn towards me too.
In the distance, I see Emperor Harold Ulfdor who pushed for this marriage.
The emperor had always wished for Cassius to marry the daughter of the venerable Snowfel ducal family.
The lord of Snowfel, Diarov Snowfel, was a powerful force, and the only way to stop his threatening rise was to forge a marriage alliance with his daughter.
Not out of a father's love for his son, but solely as a convenient political tool to maintain equilibrium of power - the emperor's mind was filled with such thoughts regarding this marriage.
As a result, the one holding Cassius's hand now is not Rachel, but Vivian Snowfel.
'That Vivian Snowfel is now me.'
From a situational standpoint, it is a well-matched marriage that benefits all.
It is a marriage that does not lower the dignity of the imperial family.
But what is perplexing is the reality:
'That after rejecting so many proposals for 7 years, the hand he finally took was this Vivian's...!'
Currently, the prime suspect behind Rachel's disappearance is the Snowfel family.
The culprit narrows down to two:
The lord of Snowfel, Diarov Snowfel. Or Vivian Snowfel, who had always openly displayed her affection for him.
And yet,
'He marries the daughter of the Snowfel family, who may have killed the woman he loved?'
It was an utterly perplexing situation.
Of course, there must have been pressure from the emperor, but he had enough power to defy the emperor.
He also had many other choices.
Is it really true, as people say, that over the past 7 years he forgot Rachel and came to love Vivian Snowfel?
That his current love is so sweet, he could forget his past first love?
But if that were the case, why is he standing here like this?
Following the officiant's words to face him, things I didn't see before become clear.
His face is half-ruined.
His gaze is hollowed out, as if burnt out.
His complexion is pale as a ghost...
As I slowly lower my gaze, his pale, slender fingers catch my eyes.
No, it was precisely the ring on his finger that drew my attention.
That is certainly the ring he shared with Rachel.
He wears that ring as he marries me. It's not even funny.
I still can't fathom his intentions at all.
But one fact was certain.
He took my hand. He is now my husband.
That fact reassures me.
If Cassius had not taken Vivian's hand, I would not have had a chance to save Cassius.
The contractor's voice echoed in my mind:
'Seduce Cassius within a year. Then I will free him from his curse. But if you fail to seduce him, you too will die.'
Cassius is the one who saved my life when I should have died.
In my past life, he made a contract with the Archmage and forced his way back in time in order to save me and my massacred family. As a result, he became cursed with a limited lifespan, while I lived my life in blissful ignorance built upon his sacrifice.
But now that I know everything,
Risking my life for him is something I am fully prepared for.
'However, you must not reveal to anyone that you are Rachel.'
Yes. I...was Rachel.
Though it is now a truth I can never reveal to anyone.
In any case, the contractor's condition was simple:
If I seduce Cassius within a year while concealing my identity, we both survive. If I fail, we both face death.
A crude condition, but compared to Cassius risking his life, it is a rather merciful contract.
Moreover, the condition seems doable.
How long have I known Cassius? There is nothing about him I don't know. Above all, he loved me.
Just because my shell has changed, his burning love couldn't disappear.
So I accepted all the contract terms easily.
Never considering the future consequences.
***
When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was a familiar ceiling.
An ornate chandelier, walls elegantly imprinted with snowflake patterns, sculptures carved in golden hues...
'Could this be...the Snowfel manor? No, that couldn't be.'
As I shook my head, other scenes flashed through my aching mind like a kaleidoscope.
A girl with cold blue hair looked at me.
Innocent smiles bloomed on our facing expressions.
The blue-haired girl whispered affectionately to me,
"Rachel, you're so beautiful, you'll definitely become the crown princess."
Becoming a crown princess was every noblewoman's dream back then.
In the empire where a partner's status and power became one's own, the crown prince was the greatest catch.
"Who could resist falling for you? So in that spirit, this is a gift of friendship. Don't forget me when you become crown princess."
Her giggling face suddenly transformed from a girl to a woman.
Instead of the tender smile like a spring day, a clear sneer was etched on her face.
At the same time, the colorful world turned monochrome.
Only the curled, rosy lips on the woman's cold gaze were painted red.
"To think you became the crown prince's aide, congratulations."
She spoke with a sunny smile,
"Why don't you let His Highness dally just once? You can never be with him anyway due to your low status."
She spoke those words of impossible love freely, clearly changed from before.
Yet,
"We're friends, aren't we?"
I was deceived again by those words.
"Did you praise me to His Highness today? Did you mention I'd be at this ball?"
That girl, no, her Snowfel family ultimately dragged me and my Rosemary family into the mud.
"Please save my family. You know the truth, that it's not true."
"..."
"If you tell your father, he'll make it like it never happened. Your father loves you dearly."
I kneeled before her.
Even if I was ignorant, my family had to survive.
My loved ones had to live.
But she, no, that woman turned away from my kneeling.
"I'm sorry. I can't do that."
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