MHS | CH 01

~Chapter 1~

“What in the world…”

I grabbed my head, looking at the man sleeping soundly on the bed. No matter how many times I checked, he had black hair. And someone this handsome, tall, and injured could only be one person.

Cedric Monteroz.

Duke Cedric of the North, the tragic male lead, was constantly summoned to the battlefield as the Emperor’s sword. So, did that mean I, lying in bed next to him, was the female lead? No.

If I were, I’d be shouting with joy, thinking I hit the jackpot. But this was all my fault for being in such a rush that I didn’t even check his face properly.

Even if it was a runaway marriage, I should’ve at least looked at the groom’s face!

I should’ve realized something was wrong when an absurdly sexy man was tied to the bed, practically begging, “Please, eat me up.”

“Looks like you slept well.”

A cold voice, laced with a faint smile, made me slowly turn my head.

It wasn’t until the bright light hit his face that I could clearly see him.

Jet-black hair and eyes bluer than any sky.

Why on earth was he in bed with me?

“…You weren’t supposed to be my husband.”

“You’re saying strange things. From the beginning, my bride was meant to be Claire Anne Rose.”

He spoke my name exactly.

Claire Anne Rose, the villainess. Half-sister to the female lead, Princess Isabel Gwen Talia. In the story, I get abandoned after losing my husband to Isabel. Claire Anne Rose, the villainess. Half-sister to the female lead, Princess Isabel Gwen Talia. In the story, I get abandoned after losing my husband to Isabel.

Clearly, there was some misunderstanding.

Why was the man supposed to marry Isabel lying next to me?

No matter how much I thought about it, this didn’t make sense.

I had gone through with this marriage to avoid him.

…It seems like someone switched my husband.

***

To explain my story, we need to go back a few days.

Or maybe I should start from the day I got transported into this world?

This is the crazy story of the novel The Golden Birdcage of the Princess.

Princess Isabel Gwen Talia, my half-sister, and the female lead. So, who am I?

Out of all the characters, I ended up as Claire Anne Rose. The role of the wife, whose husband cheats on her with the female lead, then turns dark.

It’s bad enough to be abandoned by a cheating husband, but in his rage, he even kills me.

“Ugh, it’s so unfair!”

Children born from the Emperor’s blood are given special powers, and Isabel’s ability is to control the weather.

“If I had just married Cedric from the start, none of this would’ve happened! First, she didn’t want to marry him and dumped him on me, but then the moment she saw him, she seduced him!?”

Isabel has the perfect power for the North, so what did Claire do to deserve this? If they were going to write it this way, why didn’t they just stick to the female lead and forget about the side characters?

‘Ah, my life.’

I was born to a woman the Emperor once loved. Because of my golden eyes, I was bound to the royal family. Golden eyes meant you had special powers.

Anyone born with powers had to be tied to the royal family. It was the same as being used as a tool for the empire and the royal family.

But whether it was good or bad luck, no obvious powers had shown up in me.

Actually, my power had appeared a long time ago, but it was so useless that people treated me as if I didn’t have any.

“Chirp, chirp.”

“I know, I’m weird.”

“Chirp, chirp, chirp.”

“You think I’m crazy? Yeah, maybe. So can you leave me alone?”

That’s right. I can communicate with animals. Honestly, I was lucky not to be mocked for having such a useless power.

No one knew this ability could let me communicate with divine beasts, so their reaction was understandable. I also had the ability to heal animals.

There was one drawback though—using this power always came with a cost. I don’t know yet how that cost will come, but I expect it will be proportional to the power used. There was one drawback though—using this power always came with a cost. I don’t know yet how that cost will come, but I expect it will be proportional to the power used.

Anyway, for now, I had one goal: survival and escaping the royal family safely.

And that meant I needed to make sure Cedric Monteroz married Isabel, not me.

My day was busy as usual. Luckily, Duke Cedric had just returned from the battlefield not too long ago. That meant the marriage between him and me hadn’t been pushed forward yet!

I planned to convince Isabel to marry Duke Cedric and then run away from the palace. The Emperor would probably try to marry me off somewhere strange anyway since I was a useless existence, a pawn in his political games.

When I spotted Isabel, I immediately ran to her.

Like a salesperson approaching a client, I put on my best business smile and said to her, “Did you hear the news? Duke Monteroz is back, right?”

“…Yes. I’m actually on my way to see Father right now.”

“To see Father?”

I had a bad feeling about this. I stood in front of her and blinked.

“Don’t tell me you’re planning to refuse to marry the Duke?”

“Yes, that’s right! Since you’re here, you should come with me and help talk to Father.”

“If I go, won’t Father just get angrier?”

The Emperor hated Claire. He thought she was useless, except for her golden eyes, which were a sign of royal power. I was grateful that he ignored me most of the time.

“Isabel, are you really rejecting this marriage? You have to go through with it.”

“I don’t want to. I want to marry someone I love. I don’t want a forced, barbaric marriage.”

Well, Cedric is a bit barbaric with that rugged, wild body of his. I found myself nodding absentmindedly before snapping back to reality.

“You’ll regret it.”

I narrowed my eyes at her.

“Why are you so eager for me to marry him, anyway?” she asked.

“Well, because Duke Monteroz is handsome and would only love you?”

“How would you know that? A man who’s constantly at war wouldn’t have time to love me.”

“…I just know. Trust me.”

“If you want him so badly, why don’t you marry him? I’m waiting for my destined love.”

Destined love? Yeah, right. Her “destined love” would end up being a married man, my husband to be exact!

I wanted to avoid clashing with her at all costs. After all, what good would it do to go up against the female lead?

“You’re really going to regret this.”

I was serious. Cedric really was the kind of man who only loved one woman. The problem was, that woman was Isabel. I couldn’t just let things play out like they did in the novel.

If Isabel didn’t marry Cedric, I would end up being his wife. I didn’t want to be selfish, but… honestly, if the two of them wanted to be together, I could always divorce him later.

The problem was the public’s opinion. Even though we were half sisters, we still shared the same blood. What would people say about a man who married his sister-in-law?

‘That’s the classic villain move.’

In the original story, Isabel spreads a ridiculous rumor that Claire, who secretly loved Cedric, broke them apart and married him instead.

That’s why I was so determined to make sure the two of them got married.

I just wanted to survive.

“Hmph! I won’t regret it! I wouldn’t marry a man like that even if you gave him to me!”

…Well, I would take him if he were given to me.

***

I hid behind a pillar and watched Duke Monteroz closely. If I had a camera, I would’ve taken a picture and shown it to Isabel. After hearing he had returned, I immediately slipped into his path.

And now, I finally got to see him. It was different from just imagining his face based on the novel’s description.

“He must be at least 190 cm tall, maybe even more?”

As I observed Cedric, he kept walking with long, steady strides. His legs were so long it was hard to keep up.

It looked like he was heading to the audience chamber to meet my father. He was probably going to confirm his engagement to Isabel. After all, Isabel’s powers would be perfect for filling the North’s needs.

Father would probably agree to the marriage, even if he didn’t like it. That’s how royal promises worked.

“Why are his legs so long?” I muttered as I hurried after him. But then suddenly, he turned around, and I quickly hid.

My heart was pounding, and I held my breath, squeezing my eyes shut.

‘Please don’t tell me he saw me!’

Anyone who saw me would think I was acting suspicious. If he misunderstood, that would be a problem.

I carefully peeked out. Luckily, he was gone. I let out a sigh of relief and collapsed to the floor.

“I’m really doing everything I can to survive.”

“Do you need help?”

Suddenly, a shadow fell over me, and I heard a voice I definitely didn’t want to hear.

Slowly, I looked up. The man standing in front of me, offering his hand, was none other than Cedric, the very person I’d been chasing.

“Ah!” I gasped, pressing myself against the pillar in shock.

“It’s nothing!” I shook my head wildly at the Duke, and, worried he might remember my face, I turned and ran away as fast as I could.

That was my first meeting with him.