Breeding Marriage - Chapter 1

Beauty comes at a cost.

Naive Melissa hadn’t believed in that saying in the past.

As a young lady of one of the Empire’s most prominent noble families, she’d never had to be careful or wary of anything.

But now, she knew. Ever since her life had been thrown into the gutter, she didn’t need anyone to tell her—she understood it all too well.

What beauty meant to those without power.

“This time, the man you’ll marry is young. He’s forty-five.”

Marita Loge twirled a flower-decorated pen in her hand and smiled brightly.

It was moments before the trial. The woman, sitting across from her niece, hummed in a casual tone.

“Melissa. The man said that if you just agree to marry him, he’ll have a good word with the judge. Apparently, today’s presiding judge is his cousin.”

The court allowed a final visitation with her guardian, and Melissa, desperate to cling to any straw, had agreed to the meeting.

But the only thing Marita had to say was… to marry. Again.

Melissa stared silently at her aunt’s face, holding her breath as if even that had been stolen from her. It was clear Marita didn’t care what Melissa’s reaction was.

“You know, if you’d just listened to me from the start, like Rael did, none of this troublesome nonsense would’ve happened.”

That grumbling face resembled Melissa’s but didn’t.

Even though her family had fallen and she’d been framed for murder, Melissa Grey had never lived as shamelessly as that woman.

The one who’d committed murder wasn’t her—it was her twin sister, Rael.

After the fall of the Grey ducal family, Rael had been blinded by money and sold her body.

Once noblewomen, their radiant beauty had once held the capital in the palm of their hands.

But when women like that donned dresses exposing their chests and danced in bars, spectators flocked from all over the country to see them.

They climbed onto the stage, groped Rael’s chest as she danced, and stripped off her clothes.

Some unzipped their pants and rubbed themselves against her, and eventually, they dragged her down from the stage.

By the end of the overnight performance, Rael’s body was covered in slippery s*men. When the doors were opened for cleaning, a sour stench filled the air.

The girl was drunk on money until morning. Hugging a bundle of crumpled blue bills to her chest, she stared into the air and giggled.

Melissa remembered those moments vividly.

The stinging smell of alcohol, Rael laughing endlessly with unfocused eyes. The milky white liquid smeared on her cheeks flowed down like tears. It was horrifying.

“Sis, I love this life. I’m so happy. Really. I mean it.”

Rael, with mascara smudged under her eyes, looked at Melissa and smiled like a mirror reflecting her.

Melissa couldn’t live like that. No matter how much Marita beat or threatened her, she just couldn’t live that way.

Instead, she chose marriage.

She even eloped one night with the second son of a count’s family who claimed to love her. But that didn’t last long either.

“For a woman from a ruined family, where do you get the nerve to act so high and mighty? Did you think I wouldn’t know you spread your legs for any man every night?”

Any man who merely passed by Melissa, saw her from afar, or sold her something on the street—all of them fell in love with her.

Even when she simply exchanged greetings, men confessed to her.

Her husband couldn’t stand it, and when Melissa refused to sleep with him, he locked her up and beat her every night.

She struggled through the mud, barely surviving, until she truly thought she might die and ran away.

But because of her face, famous for being identical to her twin’s, she couldn’t find freedom even outside.

In the end, she was kidnapped, beaten, and nearly sold off to a foreign land, only to be bought back by Marita with money.

Seeing Melissa dragged back to the bar in rags, Marita Loge said:

“If you were going to come back, why did you run away? Ha, well, it worked out. There are so many men who want to marry Rael.”

You’ll marry in Rael’s place.

That was how the marriage business began.

Melissa was sold off here and there, while Rael became a vulgar woman who stripped and danced in bars.

Beauty comes at a cost.

Melissa Grey now understood that saying all too well.

Three marriages.

With every repeated and horrifying marriage deal, Melissa’s eyes gradually lost their light. She was like a living doll.

Men lusted after her simply because she shared the same shell as Rael.

And that wasn’t enough—they were even about to pin a murder charge on her in Rael’s place.

The reception room was filled with a heavy silence.

If she said she would marry a new man, as Marita suggested, she might avoid rotting in prison for the rest of her life. But. But…

“Melissa.”

Marita, who had cornered her into agreeing to another marriage, grabbed Melissa’s hands with eyes full of hope.

“Please, stop being so stubborn. It’s not like this is your first or second marriage, right? Whether it’s three times or four times, it doesn’t really make a difference, does it? Hm?”

That twitching mouth, so clearly delighted by the thought of money coming in, was disgusting. Melissa felt like vomiting as she shook off Marita’s hand and covered her mouth.

“It’s time to leave.”

Thankfully, the visitation time was short. Melissa didn’t utter a single word until the end.

Growing impatient, Marita kept talking even as she was dragged out by the guards.

“Melissa, you know, right? You’ve heard how cold and terrible the prison in Sorbet is, haven’t you? You must do it, okay? You just have to say one thing, just one sentence, that you’ll ‘get married’ no matter what the judge says! Got it?”

Marita hadn’t even bothered to hire a lawyer.

Rumors abounded that she had amassed a fortune thanks to Rael in the capital, so it wasn’t because she lacked money. No, it was because she didn’t want to give Melissa any choice.

“……”

Once Marita was gone, the reception room fell silent. The old room was so quiet it felt like her ears were ringing.

Melissa stared at the dust floating above the worn wooden table. Still struggling to grasp reality, she blinked slowly.

When she lowered her head, her soft black hair slid off her shoulders like fine sand.

“Sigh.”

A sigh, almost like a groan, escaped her lips, scattering the dust on the table.

Even mere specks of dust could be blown away by the wind. Yet here she was, like a speck stuck in a windless place, left all alone.

Destined to be forgotten, gathering in the shadows beneath the windowsill. That was Melissa Grey’s fate.

‘I should have just died three years ago.’

If she had, she would’ve remained a pristine flower in the garden, knowing nothing, and died clean.

She might have closed her eyes with a soul still sparkling like a star until the moment the coffin was sealed shut…

But now, that was impossible.

Over the past three years, Melissa’s soul had been torn apart, so much so that it had lost its shape, like a corpse bloated from soaking in water.

All that was left was an empty shell, like a seashell tossed around by the waves.

A shell. Yes, that’s all this was—a shell.

Her stomach churned, and her heart felt as though it was being squeezed tight. It was like someone was gripping her throat, cutting off her breath.

She had tried her best to survive, yet here she was, at a dead end. What more could she possibly do? Her eyes reddened, and her dry lips pressed tightly together.

Thinking this was the end, her frail shoulders began to tremble.

At that moment, she wished for just one thing. If the heavens allowed it—or if even a single piece of her soul remained—she wanted to choose her own fate from now on.

Just once in her life, even if it was the last time, she wanted to take a step forward on her own. Even if that step led to death.

“Melissa Grey.”

A guard who had been silently watching her from the side approached, his face flushed.

“You need to leave.”

Melissa slowly rose from her seat.

Looking up at the small window above the reception room, she saw a clear spring sky without a single cloud. A fleeting moment of spring she could never reach.

“…Let’s go.”

Melissa whispered softly and walked out without a sound.

She passed through a long, dark corridor and opened the final door. Blinding light poured in like thunder.

“Melissa Grey! What was your reason for killing David Moore?”

“Miss Grey, please look this way! Is it true you gave false testimony to frame your sister for murder?”

Reporters, who were originally banned from entering the courtroom, swarmed in. The guards tried to stop them, but there were too many to control.

“Miss Grey! Just one word, please!”

Click!

“It’s…”

As the camera shutters clicked, Melissa’s vision flickered. Even with her eyes open, it felt like she wasn’t seeing anything.

In this strange, blotchy world, Melissa Grey stood tall and said, “It’s true. It was false testimony.”

“Are you admitting to the murder charge?”

“…Yes.”

At her words, the judge shouted something and banged his gavel. The murmurs of the jury grew louder, and there were even boos from the crowd.

In the midst of the chaotic noise, Melissa closed her eyes and continued speaking.

“I killed David Moore.”

David Moore’s bereaved family members, who were sitting nearby, screamed and stood up.

David Moore’s mother, her eyes bloodshot, hurled curses too vile to repeat and threw her bag at Melissa.

The sharp decoration on the bag grazed Melissa’s cheek, leaving a red scratch that slowly began to bleed.

“Yes, I killed David Moore, I did!”

But strangely, it didn’t hurt. Instead, she felt liberated.

‘Ah, now I don’t have to get married.’

Yes, liberation.

For the first time, Melissa Grey smiled brightly. It was such a dazzling smile that even those who had been condemning her couldn’t help but be captivated.

Amid the uproar of angry voices, she thought she could hear Marita’s despairing screams.

***

The next day, Melissa’s radiant smile adorned the front page of the newspapers.

[The Poisoned Flower: Melissa Grey’s Two Faces]

The newspaper in the emperor’s hands crumpled like trash.

“How is Moore’s funeral proceeding?”

The emperor’s voice, trembling with anger, was devoid of any dignity. A nobleman nearby, unsure of what to do, cautiously replied, “With the culprit’s confession, the investigation was concluded early. Thanks to that, the funeral will proceed immediately.”

“And? Why did she kill him?”

“She hasn’t revealed her motive yet, but perhaps soon…”

“So you concluded the investigation? Just because the culprit confessed? Do you really believe such nonsense? How could a woman so beautiful kill a knight? Do you all really think this makes sense?”

The nobleman, startled by the emperor’s words, avoided his gaze.

“But… she repeatedly confessed. There’s even an eyewitness who saw the crime scene…”

“Who ordered this case to be closed?”

“Well, that…”

As the emperor’s rage grew, those around him exchanged nervous glances. Eventually, one man, his eyes glinting, whispered into the emperor’s ear.

“It was His Highness Reizen’s command.”

The aging emperor’s face twisted in fury.

Reizen Lowell Zenheiden Kalphenster.

The emperor’s illegitimate child and the man hailed as the perfect sculpture of the Sys Empire.

Golden hair, eyes like rare jewels shimmering blue, a thick neck leading to broad shoulders, and a finely sculpted, muscular physique.

Even just standing near him, people were said to fall in love within seconds—the “Apollo of Sys.”

But he was also the degenerate prince who smeared filth on the imperial family’s reputation with his scandalous lifestyle.

Recalling his face, the emperor’s eyes burned with fury as he flipped over the table in front of him.

Crash!

The table collided with the glassware, creating a sharp, shattering sound.

“Where is that bastard right now?!”