‘I was a self-proclaimed, widely-acknowledged heavy drinker in my past life. Everyone seems to have no business with me anyway, so I should try what the alcohol in this world is like.’

A pleased smile bloomed on Rayenne’s lips as she saw the various shaped glasses arranged in the banquet hall and the diverse colors of alcohol filling them.

Judging by the atmosphere, it seemed the reception still had a long way to go before ending.

In other words, she had plenty of time to slowly taste and enjoy the various alcohols lined up before her.

Rayenne’s eyes shone with unprecedented brightness as she lifted the wine glass that now had only one sip left and savored it slowly.

Rayenne chose red wine as her next target.

“Now that I’ve tasted white, it’s time to taste red.”

Her gestures carried the leisure of someone about to enjoy a feast.

Rayenne looked fondly at the servants who cleared away the empty glass and filled a new one, then gently wrapped her hand around the glass containing red wine.

That moment.

“Huh?”

A low voice tinged with bewilderment burst out.

She felt dizzy, like blood rushing to her face, and hot breath poured from her mouth like she’d caught a cold. Rayenne’s eyes widened.

Her hand had already left the glass and was gripping the table.

‘No way… No way…!’

Rayenne straightened her back in case anyone noticed, but closed her eyes tightly at her spinning vision.

Opening her eyes again immediately, Rayenne hurried inconspicuously toward the terrace.

Fortunately, thanks to its nearby location, Rayenne quickly made it out to the terrace and leaned against the closed door, exhaling deeply.

“Haah…”

A long, languid breath cut through the cool air, and the scent of alcohol spread sharply.

Rayenne lowered her now-relaxed eyes and muttered quietly.

Her faint voice made it hard to distinguish whether she was exhaling or speaking.

“I’m, I’m…! A lightweight!”

It was a desperate cry mixed with both bewilderment and despair.

That’s right. Mocking Rayenne, who had proudly called herself a heavy drinker in her past life, her body was alcohol trash that got drunk from a single glass of wine.

Walking heavily toward the terrace railing to catch the cold wind and leaning against it sprawled out, Rayenne began lamenting her situation.

“I’d rather die. I’d rather die than deal with this.”

She’d come out to the terrace before anyone noticed as soon as she felt the buzz hit, but it would probably take a good thirty minutes for the alcohol to wear off.

If there was any silver lining, it was that she’d noticed the buzz coming on before drinking more wine.

Rayenne looked down below while waiting for the alcohol to wear off.

Thanks to the lights illuminating every corner of the garden, the view from the terrace was incredibly beautiful.

When her gaze happened to move to a shadowed part of the garden, Rayenne saw two men and women pressed closely together and blushed slightly.

Thanks to that, an unwarranted worry quietly raised its head.

“There probably won’t be anything special anyway…”

In the original story, the wedding night consisted entirely of going to the room assigned to Rayenne and falling asleep alone.

That was fortunate, but still, since Rayenne was acting differently from the original, she had to stay alert until the end, considering variables.

“Even if you enter a tiger’s den, you’ll survive if you just keep your wits about you.”

Rayenne made a resolution to herself and slapped her cheek with a ‘smack!’

Thanks to that, her already slightly flushed cheeks now turned bright red.

“Kup!”

A strange, intense sound suddenly burst out from behind her, and Rayenne sucked in a sharp breath.

Whipping around, she saw a man who hadn’t been visible when she came in, bent at the waist in a shadowed corner.

Rayenne glared suspiciously at the man’s faintly trembling back.

“Hahahaha!”

The man, whose body had been shaking violently from laughter, finally burst into hearty laughter.

Even after that, he couldn’t stop laughing for quite a while before barely calming down and wiping the corners of his eyes with his palm.

“A tiger… I don’t know what that is, but someone who became a duchess today is acting like they’ve entered a demon’s den.”

She didn’t know why he was speaking so informally right off the bat, but since she’d shown him something she shouldn’t have, she reacted cautiously.

Rayenne straightened her body and looked steadily at the man.

As emotionlessly as possible, to avoid giving unnecessary provocation.

The man, who had been standing stained by darkness, slowly revealed himself step by step under the light coming through the door.

“It’s nice to unintentionally learn another side of you…”

The man’s voice was as warm and sentimental as a spring breeze.

It was a pleasant voice to hear, with appropriately low tones and cleanly falling pronunciation, but Rayenne, who had unintentionally shown an unseemly side, had no leisure to appreciate that voice.

“Who are you?”

Whoever he was, Rayenne couldn’t know him, but since she now held the position of duchess, it was a question meant to intimidate the other party as much as possible.

It was like a warning to size up your opponent before attacking.

“Ha.”

The man let out a sigh of unclear meaning, and his lips curved crookedly upward.

“Dante Droit.”

Before she could even process the name he’d quietly given, he approached and stood before Rayenne.

Much taller than her by more than a head, he stopped firmly one step ahead.

Dante slowly stroked his chin with his fingertips, wearing an intrigued expression.

“So it’s an unwanted marriage? But then what did House Daihan see in House Count Shellon to push for this marriage?”

Unlike his amused, smiling expression, the eyes she met were chilly.

Even at his quite rude words, Rayenne only faced Dante without any particular response.

Meeting those cold, dark eyes—different from Jin’s emotionless gaze—Rayenne slowly raised the corners of her mouth.

At that smile, a small ripple stirred in Dante’s chilly eyes.

“It’s not such a great fact to call it a secret.”

“That remains to be seen.”

“It’s also a fact you’ll learn soon enough.”

Rayenne said this while simultaneously shifting her gaze away from where they’d been meeting. A person’s shadow had fallen on the door leading to the banquet hall.

Though Dante noticed this too, he showed no sign of moving away from Rayenne, who had held her ceremony today.

Even though it was a situation sufficient to cause misunderstanding if someone saw the two people pressed close together.

Rayenne looked up at Dante, who was staring only at her, with displeasure.

“Do you want to receive compensation in exchange for keeping quiet about what you saw here?”

“Compensation I could receive from the duchess.”

Dante’s crooked lips curved up beautifully.

“After all, secrets are meant to be shared between friends.”

When Rayenne frowned, thinking what nonsense this was, Dante smiled more deeply and raised his hand.

Then he pressed firmly, without hesitation, on her slightly wrinkled brow.

“How about offering the position of the duchess’s close friend as compensation for keeping the secret?”

“What?”

At the same moment Rayenne let out an absurd question, the terrace door opened and someone entered.

With quite quick, striding steps at that.

“What are you doing here?”

It was Jin, his face even chillier than usual.

But even at Jin’s sudden appearance, Dante wasn’t shaken at all.

Rather, with an even more relaxed face, he gently caressed Rayenne’s brow.

“Don’t worry so much that you ruin your pretty face.”

It was a quick change of position.

She hadn’t even answered, yet the shamelessness of acting like they were already close friends was enough to make her frown automatically. Rayenne barely managed to put on a bright expression.

“…Fine. Don’t worry too much either.”

The last words were a warning, but whether Dante didn’t understand or not, he smiled faintly.

“That depends… on how affectionate a husband Duke Daihan becomes to my friend.”

Dante, who hadn’t even acknowledged Jin, said this and only then looked at Jin.

Jin’s expression was still emotionless, but he also seemed quietly angry.

“You seemed to be away from your seat for too long, so I came.”

Rayenne had expected Jin not to answer Dante’s words, but she hadn’t expected him to blatantly ignore him, so her eyes widened.

She glanced at Dante too, but the one who’d been ignored actually seemed to be in a good mood.

Jin took Rayenne’s hand without caring about Dante and led the way to the banquet hall.

Dante, left alone behind them, waved his hand gently in farewell.

***

Having brought Rayenne into the banquet hall, Jin called for Stark, who had been waiting nearby.

In a voice so quiet that Rayenne, standing close by, couldn’t hear—

‘Of course. He’s someone who’s the textbook definition of an indifferent male lead.’

Since she’d been feeling he was rather warm until now, it felt like she was seeing the real him from the original story for the first time.

Knowing how he’d treated Rayenne in the original, Rayenne was disappointed in herself for mistaking it for jealousy, even momentarily.

“This is why being perpetually single is no good.”

“Pardon? What did you say?”

Stark, who had been guiding Rayenne on Jin’s instructions, stopped walking down the corridor—which unlike the bright-as-day banquet hall had only soft lighting—and turned around.

“It’s nothing.”

When Rayenne smiled brightly and shook her head, Stark turned back around and continued guiding her.

The place Stark brought Rayenne to was in front of a large, splendid door with magnificent decorations carved in relief.

“Who am I here to meet?”

Stark opened the door, bowed his head, and gestured inside.

“This is the room where you’ll be staying from now on, my lady.”

Perhaps because it was a ducal house, the room that had been passed over without description in the original was excessively nice.

The room, the bed, even the desk were large.

So much so that Rayenne thought she could sleep on top of the desk.

“I’ll call servants to assist with your bath.”

“No! I’ll do it myself.”

Since she’d bathed all morning, and she was already tired, she had no desire to take another burdensome bath while receiving such attentive treatment.

At Rayenne’s refusal, Stark bowed deeply.

“Nightclothes and bathwater have been prepared in advance. Then, have a comfortable night.”

With a statement somehow reminiscent of a hotelier, Stark closed the door and left.

Even after Stark left, Rayenne couldn’t even think of sitting down, overwhelmed by the unfamiliar room’s scenery.

Slowly examining the room, Rayenne suddenly tilted her head.

“Did someone use this and vacate it in a hurry?”

Given Jin’s personality, he probably wouldn’t have handled things so hastily, but strangely, there was an oddly lived-in feeling.