The Archduke’s Gorgeous Wedding Was a Fraud

It felt a little unfair. The book was quite popular, so there were probably thousands of people who read it. So why did it have to be me? 

I even only got through less than halfway of the story. I was so disappointed over the ending of my favorite character, villainess no. 4, who was found dead in prison, that I just slept after reaching that part.

“Why the hell?”

I asked myself that but got no answer, and soon the scent of sleeping candles spread and my consciousness drifted somewhere far away. When I opened my eyes again, I was already in the auction house.

‘Phew, I mean, I guess it’s still better to be villainess no. 4 …. Right?’ 

Villainess no. 4, Shay.

She was the one who hung onto the male lead more desperately than anyone else. 

She hated the original female lead who always stood by the male lead. In the end, she became the villain who stayed still as she watched the original female lead fall off a cliff.

And so, after witnessing the whole situation, the male protagonist ended up imprisoning villainess no.4.

Then, without even receiving a trial, she met a terrible death.

It was true that villainess no. 4 did evil things, but she was actually falsely accused of the crime of pushing the female lead.

Unfortunately, she stupidly got entangled in villainess no. 1’s trap.

The role of villainess no. 4 had to be the most pitiful because she was hated by the other three villainesses. Therefore, it was only natural that she had such an ending.

‘And the reason why villainess no. 4 was hated so much was…’

It was because she was pretty. She wasn’t just pretty, but undeniably pretty.

It’s an anachronistic and old-fashioned reason. Normally, if someone is pretty, you would want to be close with them… So why did all of the characters want to kill her?

All the villainesses had their own charms, but villainess no.4 was a particular character with fatal charm.

I was absolutely amazed  by the descriptions that emphasized her extremely fatal beauty, reading them over and over again.

How can a woman like this exist? She can seduce any man just by batting her eyelashes, how? 

As soon as I thought about it… I remembered the author of the book.

The author used otherworldly exaggerations several times to contest that villainess no. 4 was extremely beautiful. I was actually quite excited even though I thought it was ridiculous and waited for villainess no.4’s appearance. And now I can see why villainess no. 4 was treated like a devilish woman. 

”This is crazy!” 

Before I had a proper conversation with the man who bought me, Archduke Schweiden, I was forced to bathe first. I stood in front of the mirror with water dripping down my hair, and screamed,

“Unnie, take me*!”

*( 날 가져요/Take me/You can have me= I’ll be yours or sometimes can mean ‘Marry me’)

Thump.

I hit my forehead on the mirror, causing it to ache. I couldn’t hide my big smile as I gazed at the face before me.

Pretty. In layman’s terms, f*cking pretty.

That’s good enough to describe it— Uhm, well, it’s acceptable.

The red hair now rid of dirt looks as fresh as if it was made of rose petals. Fox-like long eyes, lush eyelashes, and jade white skin. A slight rise of the corners of her mouth would make anyone want to stare. On top of that, her body is perfect. I barely managed to grasp my quivering rationality as I examined my body.

Villainess no. 4 wasn’t a delicate woman, who looked like she’d break at a single tap. Instead, she was a healthy beauty, like a mare.

It’s the sexy big sister type!

I’m skinny maybe because I haven’t been eating much now, but even if I gain a little weight, I’ll still have a very sensual vibe. I was sure I would.

‘Oh my God. This is me. This is me…!’

Humans are normally vain, so I forgot the situation for a moment and almost cried out  ‘hooray’ for possessing this body.

Her silver eyes with a bluish tint, shimmered enchantingly. The collarbone, one of the most beautiful I had ever seen, had a flat and straight shape as if sculpted. In addition to her great beauty, she even had a secret lineage belonging to the ‘Painting Wizard,’ so why is villainess no. 4 not the heroine?

I sighed for a moment at this world who pushed a weak and innocent woman to be the female lead. 

If the owner of this body was the female lead, I’m sure the plot would be quite interesting and fun without frustrating situations!

“My Lady, the Archduke wants to have a meal with you downstairs.”

At that time, I heard a voice that pulled my soul, which had escaped far away, back to my body.

It was Theobalt, the butler.

“I see.”

The butler was the one who placed indoor clothes in the closet earlier.

After being calmed down to some extent, I just went out and chose not to speak informally. After all, the butler was a grandpa.

Because of my k-blood* embedded in my memories, I found it unacceptable to use informal speech to him unlike the nobles in the book. Plus, I don’t know whether or not villainess no. 4’s real identity was that of a noble.

(* K-blood means Korean blood. Some of you may already know but Koreans are really strict with using formal speech when talking to the elders or even just someone older.) 

If these people were bad guys, the story would be different, but so far, they didn’t do anything suspicious. At the least, I believed they wouldn’t do anything to me.

While washing, I remained alert and tried to sense any movement outside, but I didn’t hear anyone’s footsteps.

‘This beauty can make men and women go crazy regardless of their age, but seeing that they didn’t…’

The people in this mansion seemed to be people, not dogs. I pulled my hair back and stepped away from the mirror.

“I guess you’ve calmed down a bit now.” 

After a while, I went down to the dining room and saw him reading a newspaper.

Come to think of it, this world seems like a mix of the Middle Ages, when knights rode horses while wielding their swords, and an industrialized period when trains already existed. I peered at the headline of the newspaper he put down.

“You’re dating a beautiful woman, Archduke Schweiden?”

I’m sure the Archduke Schweiden mentioned was him, but if I remember correctly the novel only has one female lead.

“It’s Wembu.”

“Wembu?”

“A collection of useless rumors or unconfirmed information.”

Oh, gossips.

He then cut the topic off with a displeased expression, so I decided to let it go. 

As soon as I sat down, Maynard tramped in and brought the tableware. Then he took one glance at my face and disappeared, blushing down to his neck.

Oh, good. Innocent. Very innocent.

“Listen. It’s a watery clam soup, so it’ll be easy to swallow.”

“It’s good.”

No, the food was great. The soup has a deep, creamy flavor that moistens the tongue. Tasting this, I think they call it clam chowder?

Because this was my first meal since I possessed this body, I barely held myself back from scarfing it all down at once.

If I end up with an upset stomach, I’ll just suffer. At least, that much rationality was still with me. 

“It’d be better to introduce myself first. My name is Lacius De Schweiden.”

Mid-meal, the silent man suddenly opened his mouth. Of course, I already knew his name. While reading the book, I always thought that the name fits his character well.

“Shay.”

I answered a little coyly.

He didn’t point out my way of speaking. Instead, he gently wiped his mouth with a napkin and asked,

“How did you get caught?”

I almost submerged my nose into the dish just so I could buy some time before I answered.

‘Uh, so… what was the setting for villainess no. 4 again?’

Villainess no. 4 was born in a small magical kingdom called the Edmund Kingdom with an incredibly rare bloodline known as the “Painting Wizard”. They possess a magical ability that allows a drawing to become reality, and this power could only be transferred from the parents to their children.

So, it’s the miracle of 2D becoming 4D. If you drew pictures of hundreds of billions of gautes, it could actually turn into real money.

Of course, one would quickly find out that money is counterfeit because of the issurance number printed on each gold coin, so no one would actually perform such a stupid act, but from a theoretical point of view, this was a plausible scenario.

In addition, there are endless kinds of things that one can create besides money. 

There was no limit to a painting wizard’s power. So naturally, a lot of powerful people covet them; that’s why painting wizards desperately hide their identities. If caught, you would be confined and be made to constantly paint. Eventually, you’ll end up being forced to bear a child. The better ending would be just to bite your tongue off and die.

“…… I got caught. I’m a painting wizard.”

After organizing my thoughts, I replied with a low voice. Then, Archduke Schweiden nodded his head as if signaling he understood.

“You must have been chased.”

“I ran to the desert, but I didn’t have any paper or pen.”

“Oh, there was such a restriction.”

Magic by painting means that there should be paper no matter how cheap it is. It didn’t matter whether you used a pen, brush, or charcoal. But, there should be paper, cloth, or canvas. And I survived such a predicament. 

I internally praised myself for my excellent summarization of villainess no. 4’s past and then turned my attention to the fresh salad.

“So you currently have nowhere to go back to, right?”

Archduke Schweiden asked in a low voice when I pulled the whole bowl in front of me. He used such a subtle tone that I raised my eyebrows and stared at him questioningly?

I’m planning to leave as soon as I get better, so why are you asking? I’m scared.