Chapter 1

Tick-tock, tick-tock—the pocket watch’s second hand flowed on relentlessly. Before she knew it, there were not even ten minutes left until the wedding procession.

No matter how desperate one’s heart might be, there was no stopping time as it charged forward.

Lachesis Deate let out a sigh and tore her gaze from the pocket watch clenched in her hand. She was staring awkwardly at her own reflection in the mirror opposite—herself in a wedding dress.

Knock, knock. A neat, measured rap sounded. From that alone, it felt as though whoever stood beyond the door could be seen through it, transparent and plain.

Lachesis did not answer. Even so, after a brief interval, the large door opened without hesitation.

“You were here. You didn’t answer, so.”

Kadenic Marutia strode toward her in long steps.

“I thought you might have run away.”

Despite his words, there was not even the slightest suspicion in his tone.

Only the same calm manner of speaking as always, sleepy eyes, a smooth smile, and a face that looked faintly tired.

Lachesis silently lifted her gaze to Kadenic, grown into a striking figure in a white tuxedo.

A gentle secondary male lead.

The kind who, for a long time, harbored an unwavering love for the female lead, and who—when she was in danger—would throw himself in without hesitation, a portrait of pure devotion and sacrifice.

That had certainly been Kadenic Marutia’s established setting in the original novel <There, Their Will Exists>.

And yet, the Kadenic she had been sketching in her mind since eight years ago—since the day she recalled her past life—and the man standing before her now felt like entirely different people.

‘He was unexpected from the very first time they met, but still…….’

Kadenic, catching the heaviness on her face, arched one eyebrow.

“Are you angry with me?”

“No.”

“Then… you still don’t like this marriage?”

“How could that be? I like it very much. Especially the part where, in a contract marriage made by mutual agreement, I’m the only one who benefits.”

She wanted to say it evenly, but in the end her voice caught at the tail of the sentence.

It was Kadenic who had first proposed the contract marriage. And yet, for him, the marriage brought no benefit at all.

From the beginning until now, that fact had made Lachesis deeply uncomfortable. It felt like a stone she could never digest, sitting heavy inside her.

‘If it weren’t for Father’s matter, I wouldn’t have accepted his offer.’

After the contract marriage was settled, she asked Kadenic for his purpose again and again, but she had never once received a clear answer. That, too, was unbearably stifling.

All Lachesis could come up with was a far-fetched guess—‘Did he lose his mind because the female lead and the male lead are getting married?’

“Even today, you’re not saying anything about the purpose of this marriage.”

“Did you not expect that?”

Kadenic shrugged, utterly unbothered.

“I expected you’d ask the same question today, too.”

“Because at this point, I can’t back out of the marriage—no, the contract. I thought if you were serious, Your Grace, it would be different from before.”

“Hmm.”

Kadenic, murmuring lowly, stepped closer and reached out. When his large hand gently lifted Lachesis’s chin, her face—half lowered—was fully revealed beneath his gaze.

The track of his blue-green eyes was thick enough to feel as if it might be carved into her skin.

“So that’s why you’re making that face.”

“My face…… what about it?”

“A face that’s bracing for something terrible.”

Or is it not? It’s the first time I’ve seen it, so I’m getting confused. 

Kadenic’s near-mutter of self-talk brushed her ears. He was close enough that his heat seemed to carry over.

Perhaps from tension, her neck—tilted up to match his height—felt stiff. Just as her breathing threatened to falter, Kadenic let out a light laugh, scattering the sunken air.

“My. It’s getting worse. You don’t need to make that face, Chess. Nothing terrible is going to happen.”

His hand fell away cleanly, leaving behind not even a trace of warmth.

“Only, this time, everything will be different.”

……This time? Different?

Lachesis, whose mind had been briefly snared by the retreating fingers, let a puzzled look rise across her face.

It was the first answer Kadenic had ever given—Kadenic, who always smiled and only dodged her questions. Lachesis tried, somehow, to interpret his words, but it was not easy.

No matter how she thought about it, given that they had known each other for barely two weeks, the word “this time” did not feel appropriate.

Likewise, with no comparable situation to measure against, she could not tell what, exactly, was supposed to “change.”

It was back to the starting point.

***

The first time Lachesis came face-to-face with Kadenic and the other original protagonists was at the original story’s ending scene. It was, in a sense, very late—eight years after she realized she had been reincarnated.

That day, the brilliant lights of the imperial palace banquet hall did not fade even after the sun went down. It was a dazzling reception, befitting a grand state wedding.

A perfect day to bless the protagonists’ sacred union—and to congratulate herself on the new future that would now unfold before her.

Lachesis, alone in one corner of the reception hall, tipped back a glass of wine. It was a course wholly unlike the other nobles, who gathered in small clusters. Inevitably, one or two glances began to drift her way.

“Who is that young lady? I’ve never once seen her in high society. There’s no way I wouldn’t remember that face…….”

“It’s my first time seeing her as well. Only invited nobles can attend—so we should have seen her at least once somewhere. How strange.”

“Could she be a distant relative of the imperial family? That blond hair, like spun gold—that’s a trait of the Asher Empire’s imperial family, isn’t it?”

Of course, it was not only because she was acting alone that she drew attention.

Bright blond hair like lemon light, and honey-dark golden eyes shining beneath sleek brows.

On top of that, her fresh, clean features—unburied by such a beautiful combination of colors—stood out all the more, even within the glittering banquet hall.

The nobles whispered as they scrutinized her down to the tiny beauty mark stamped just beneath the outer line of her right eye.

‘Good. All that effort since morning to dress up was worth it.’

With an indifferent face and ears pricked, Lachesis lifted her wine glass to hide the pleased smile spreading at her lips. Her maid presented a small plate of finger food and whispered.

“Stop just smiling and try talking to them. It’s your very first banquet, isn’t it?”

“I can’t make my high-society debut that mundane. Just wait a little, Marel.”

Smiling, Lachesis plucked a single olive from the plate Marel offered and popped it into her mouth.

The opaque veil covering Marel’s face trembled slightly. She must have sighed, unable to hold back her frustration.

To a loyal maid, it was only natural to feel upset watching her master do nothing but avoid those who approached first. But it could not be helped.

Greetings required introductions—and the surname “Deate” was nothing more and nothing less than an obstacle to a debut in society.

To the point that it was a relief no one here knew her at all, since she had kept to herself until now without even holding a debutante ceremony.

With such a disadvantageous background on her shoulders, she had to carry herself carefully to enter high society without trouble. Even more so if she meant to put behind her eight-year history of seclusion—spent staying home solely to avoid disrupting the original story’s flow.

‘The original story is over, so now it’s time for me to try having a social life.’

To do that, successfully debuting in high society was the essential gate to pass.

Resolve flared, and Lachesis’s hand clenched tight. There was one more “task” she had to accomplish besides this, but…… for now, she decided not to think about it.

Then, suddenly, a resounding burst of applause struck her ears. At the same time, the original male lead and female lead appeared in the reception hall, having changed clothes.

Lachesis snapped out of her thoughts, eyes sharpening.

“Marel. It feels like the time has come.”

The decisive moment Lachesis had awaited.

It was time to present the wedding congratulation gifts prepared by those invited to the banquet—for the Crown Prince and his consort.

“Oh my. Look at the jewels Count Finton brought. Aren’t those the gemstone set that was the most popular at the Continental Union auction not long ago?”

“The winning bid was, what—hundreds of millions of lor?”

“Exactly 137 million lor. Hmm. What Marchioness Bilder brought is a statue of the god Bonatan. The surface has such a gentle glow—it must be a sacred object blessed by the High Priest over several generations.”

“My goodness. My tapestry feels embarrassing…….”

Yet even the tapestry Baron Meisel spoke of was a rare work worth several thousand lor, made over months with dozens of artisans bent to it.