cohabitation

After a long period of unrequited love, I ended up as a duchess in name only.

I endured a cold marriage, hoping that one day Ains would finally notice me…

“Please… let’s get divorced.”

I was exhausted from a love that would never be returned. The conclusion of a one-sided love could only be disastrous.

“But I have a condition. I want a substantial amount of alimony.”

More than anything, facing death, I needed money to cure my illness. So, I decided to get a divorce.

* * *

Though there were lingering effects, my illness was treated, and I was ready to live my life.

“Cecilia, why did you hide the fact that you were sick from me?”

But for some reason, the once indifferent Ains started clinging to me.

“You don’t need to worry about the illness. It’s already been treated.”

“Treated? Do you think someone who’s fully healed would cough up blood?”

“That’s just a lingering effect.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Do you think I’ll believe that?”

His once arrogant eyes now showed signs of anxiety and unease. It was the same look I had seen countless times before, right before I decided to leave him.

“Congratulations. You’re going to marry me. You’ll become the Duchess.”

Lexion Ernst needed a suitable woman to avoid marriage with the Princess and to deceive the Emperor.

“A fake, huh.”

In her past life, Adelina’s nickname was ‘fake.’
Lexion forcibly pulled her out of the peaceful life she led after being sucked into the mirror.

“You don’t have to do anything.”

Lexion clearly said she didn’t have to do anything.

“This seems like a good spot. To kiss.”
“You said I didn’t have to do anything…”
“You don’t have to do anything. I’ll take care of everything.”

Even though he said she didn’t have to do anything, they had to keep kissing and engaging in intimate skinship.

“You don’t have to do anything. Just lie down.”
“When will you give me the mirror?”
“Soon. Once you bear my child.”

Lexion, this guy! He keeps breaking the contract without giving the promised mirror.

“I hate war, I’m a pacifist!”

Eventually, Adelina got caught up in a war. Now, even her life is in danger.
Can Adelina receive the mirror and return inside it?

I possessed the villainess in a typical dark romance novel.
The fiancée of a duke who torments the heroine and gets executed for it, Ravenne Rischefeld.
Moreover, her fiancé falls for the heroine and commits treason, only to be beheaded by the emperor!

I have no intention of holding hands with you and getting beheaded together!

To get out of this engagement as soon as possible, I decided to act as the ‘romance novel addict young lady who knows nothing about the world and only has flowers in her head’—the type the duke despises most.
Additionally, I plan to squander the family fortune with that pure brain.

But why is everything I do turning out like this? Why is everything going wrong?

“As expected, lady, you had a plan all along. I was worried you might be really sick somewhere. But it turns out you had a purpose.”

No, I didn’t have any such purpose!

“Lady, your eye for things is truly remarkable.”

What nonsense is this? My eyes are just decorations!
In the meantime, it seems the duke has caught on to my plan.

“You’d better not think of running away from me.”
“It sounds like you’re threatening me.”
“Well. Let’s call it a plea instead. Isn’t that more to your taste?”

Why are you doing this?
Weren’t we on good terms enough to break off the engagement just a while ago?

“You’ve sorted things out, you’ll do the right thing. So now…I guess it’s time to do something bad.”

Hwang Dojun, CEO of Hanseong Hotel.
Yoon Seoyeon was appointed by Hwang Dojun to be his personal shopper.
The job duration is only for three months until Dojun moves to Hanseong Department Store.
It was an unwelcome proposal for Seoyeon, who Dojun caught and witnessed the scene where her fiancée demanded a breakup.
But it was something unavoidable.
Well, when you think about it, it’s just three months.

“Let’s just sleep. Together.”

Nothing else.
Just bodies intertwining.

Seoyeon requested it, and Dojun willingly accepted.

—-

*Male lead: Hwang Dojun – CEO of Hanseong Hotel. A VVIP customer of Heritage. After witnessing Yoon Seoyeon breaking up with her fiancé, he appoints Yoon Seoyeon as his personal shopper to pick out his outfits.

*Female lead: Yoon Seoyeon – Manager of Heritage at Hanseong Hotel Branch. Her fiancé cheated on her with her sister, and her life has become tiring, but she keeps getting involved with Hwang Dojun, a man she is uncomfortable with in many ways.

※ This work is simultaneously serviced as a 19+ and 15+ work with the same title on Ridibooks. Some scenes and story development may differ depending on the age group, so please select the age group before reading. ※

The sudden death of his brother and sister-in-law.
His life, as dull and boring as a black-and-white silent movie, is interrupted by the unbridled energy of a six-year-old girl who could roll anywhere.
Baek Taejun, who had never lost his cool composure, crumbled spectacularly.

[Would you be willing to be Rose’s live-in tutor until the end of this semester?]

Taejun proposed to Miss Minnie, a kindergarten assistant teacher whom Rose obeyed so well.

[The base salary is $100,000 for about four months. I promise a $50,000 signing bonus as soon as you sign the contract, and a $50,000 success bonus at the end of June].

But.
‘Have I finally lost my mind?’
The red cheeks, skin so white it looked transparent, cherry-colored lips, purple bruises on her kneeling inner thighs, the feeling of soft hands, and the voice that tickled his ears strangely.
Without warning, his stomach clenched at the images that flashed through his mind.
He was lusting after Rose’s teacher, Miss Minnie.

*

Due to the complexity that arose during her sensitive adolescence and the trauma during her college years, Minnie became an expert in unrequited love.

“Can I experience sex before I die? It would be nice if there was someone I could practice on for seducing men. At this rate, I’m scared that I’ll never have a real relationship, and I’ll end up living and dying as a wrinkled, skinny, grandmother with only a cat. Huhu.”
“Do you have a cat?”
“No. Sob.”

Taejun quickly sensed the opening he was about to exploit.

“Don’t cry. Instead, practice seducing men on me.”

NOTE:

[…] Conversation in English, as the novel takes place in Manhattan.
“…” Conversation in Korean, as the protagonists are Koreans.

She thought she was dead until she opened her eyes again and met him.

“Where am I?”

And she realized this wasn’t the place she had lived her entire life.
A body endlessly weakened; a whole new world that felt entirely unfamiliar.
The only place she could lean on in that unfamiliar place was,

“Ria, save her, my wife.”

He was the one that kept her alive.

However, before she could even sort out her confused feelings, three men approached her.

“I want you to know that everything I do is out of love and my desire to possess you.”

Another Duke confessed to her with a seductive, dangerous smile.

“Use me to get everything you want, take everything you desire, it doesn’t matter what it is, I can give it all to you.”

A Knight who claims to have cherished her from the beginning.

And then,

“I want to touch you. Let me touch you, Ria.”
Even the passionate prince, whispering with his golden eyes that she couldn’t look away from.

As they offer their own leash to her hand.

She could no longer stand on her two legs.
Her heartless family sold her off to a noble,
And she no longer shed tears even from the beatings of the man who was supposed to be her husband.
Just waiting to be beaten to death,
A miracle happened.

She returned to the time before she was sold off in a marriage deal.

*

She had perfectly functioning legs.
Now…she thought of changing the future.
She decided,
To escape from this hell.
To the embrace of the ‘devil’ who could protect her.

“I know how to break your curse.”

Duke Fernan Keallad.
Surrounded by rumors of being cursed by the devil, with his crimson eyes,
He had become an object of fear that no one could approach.
But he was the only one who could save her.

“What do you want?”
“Please propose to me.”

The man laughed as if entertained by the absurd proposal.
She came here to survive, but it was impossible not to fear the devil.

Would I be able to endure here?

But then…

“Madam! I told you not to overexert yourself! I’m worried you might hurt your precious body!”

The servants fussed over her every time they saw her,

“An angel, an angel has come!”

The residents of the estate exclaimed embarrassingly every time they saw her.

And moreover,

“How could I possibly defy you? Do whatever you wish, my wife.”

Why is this man so affectionate?
Wasn’t he supposed to be the devil?

This is a contract marriage, but it seems I’m being loved too much!

“I’m quitting.”

Vivian, who has been in love with Louis for 9 years since the year they first met when she was 10 years old, declared that she would quit her unrequited love.
Of course, she didn’t mean it.

*

“Dump him?”
“Yeah. Puff up your chest arrogantly, stick out your nose, and say, ‘I won’t love you anymore!’ The prince will roll around in regret, desperately clinging to you to win back your heart.”

Vivian looked at her friend with a suspicious glance, her chin set in a defiant manner.

“What if Louis is actually happy about it? He might even laugh and say it’s a relief.”
“Oh. No way. Then you’ll have to really push him.”
“Push him? Where?”
“Off a cliff.”

*

Vivian, who took on the coaching of her friend’s love advice, set a goal to seduce him with a haughty and charming appearance after declaring that she would no longer love him.
However…

“I didn’t give you permission to say you stop loving me.”

Louis, with his breathtakingly handsome face, tore apart her plans from the beginning.

“Louis shouldn’t have reacted that way…”

Vivian wrapped her head around the plan that had gone wrong from the start.
Studying was easier than love.
The unrequited love story of the intelligent Lady Vivian.

“Come into my house.”

A man with looks, family background, and even a brilliant mind.
People around me keep saying. That man is my husband.

“Since when did you become my husband?”
“Just go with it. I’m your husband.”

I was left speechless by his audacity.

*

“Let’s meet tomorrow.”

Appointments that keep happening.

“Let’s eat.”

Meals together.

“I’ll do it.”

Before I knew it, I was waiting for him.

“Why are you doing this to me?”
“Why do you think I’m doing this?”

Haji’s mouth closed tightly at his counter-question.
Seojin’s lips curved, having already anticipated such a reaction.
The distance between the two slowly narrowed. When his breath tickled her round forehead.

“It’s exactly what you’re thinking. So don’t avoid it.”

This man’s scheme, who wanted only me from the beginning.
Will I be able to handle this man?

After graduating from the academy, Rienn and Dian lived a peaceful life.

Suddenly, Dian fell ill and was on the brink of death. They sought solace at the Temple of Healing…

“For a fortnight, from sunrise to sunset, take a virgin’s milk.”
“A virgin’s… milk? Can a virgin produce milk?”
“There’s a magic potion. If ingested, virgins can p… produce it.”
“Oh, my……. Then we’ll have to find someone. A virgin.”
“Yes, I’ve discreetly started seeking volunteers. It’s something we can’t force on anyone.”
“Oh, you’ve already…….”

While Rienn was panicking, Dian coughed up blood after a long cough.

“Dian!!!”
“I’m… fine. We found a way. As soon as we get a volunteer…”
“I’ll do it.”

Rienn volunteers to heal Dian.

***

“Dian, you can now…….”
“Yeah.”

He almost closed his eyes completely and slowly turned his body towards her.

She lowered the arm that covered her chest.
She stood by the bed as casually as possible.
Dian closed his eyes tightly and found her chest.

“H-here.”

Seeing him struggle to find it, she moved.
Placing her right n*pple between his red lips, Dian froze in place.

“…….”

Soon, he cautiously kissed it. A moist tongue touched her n*pple.

Song Wooyoung is a woman who doesn’t want to get married.

“I’ll say it again, I have no intention of getting married.”

Jang Tae Jin, who ended up in a situation where he had to confront his mother’s threat of cutting off his allowance if he didn’t break off his relationship, meets eyes filled with strangely interested hostility from the other side.

“Give me a reason.”

She doesn’t want to be forced into marriage, but she also doesn’t want to sacrifice herself for the other person’s sexual preferences.

“I don’t think I can do that.”
“Are you talking about sex?”
“Why are you asking when you know?”
“If you want confirmation, I could do it. Conveniently, we’re in a hotel.”

She’s heard the rumors, but him acting like an ordinary man for the sake of marriage? Yeah, this is what they call shameless.

In the end, Wooyoung ends up finding a hotel room in response to Tae Jin’s provocation.

“Sir Cedric Edelgard, have intercourse with me.”

Cedric barely moved his stiff lips.
That woman is suggesting something so inappropriate right now..

“What did you just say?”

For 17 years, Lillian has harbored an unrequited love for Cedric.
Blinded by her intense first love and infatuation, Lillian decided to become pregnant with his child.
After that, she planned to quietly disappear from his life…

“Have you been having indecent thoughts about me every night? Did I appear in those fantasies?”

For some reason, he seemed a bit strange.
He’s an aspiring Knight of the Silver Cross, about to be ordained a priest.

“Did you indulge in lustful thoughts because of me every night?”
“…”

His demonic and corrupted side began to reveal itself.