The sound of galloping hooves and rough snorting echoed from the direction of the front gate.
Who could be visiting this mansion? Daniela tilted her head in curiosity and listened carefully. Soon, the sound of conversation reached her ears, followed by heavy footsteps that reverberated through the ground, growing closer to the garden where she stood.
‘What… What is this?’
Startled, Daniela hunched her shoulders and turned toward the approaching footsteps. At that moment, a towering man, easily over 190 cm, strode into the garden, his black cloak billowing behind him.
“My goodness…”
With sharp, elongated eyes that exuded a chilling aura, deep navy-blue irises, pale skin that was almost ghostly, a high nose, and a severe, tightly drawn mouth—he was so breathtakingly handsome that Daniela couldn’t help but gasp. She stared at him in a daze as he glanced around, as if searching for something.
‘Why does he seem so familiar?’
She had never seen such an extraordinary man before, yet his face didn’t feel entirely unfamiliar. Then, her eyes widened as she caught sight of the emblem hanging from his black ceremonial attire.
—A golden eagle soaring over an ice-covered mountain.
To Daniela’s knowledge, this was the symbol of none other than Archduke Ashid Carlisle Alberic—the illegitimate older brother of the crown prince and the main antagonist of this novel.
‘Why… Why is the villainous archduke looking for me?’
As Daniela stood frozen in shock, Ashid’s gaze locked onto hers. Without hesitation, he strode toward her. Panicked, Daniela scrambled to her feet.
“Y-Your Grace… What brings you here?”
Before she could properly finish her question, Ashid cut her off.
“I have loved you for a long time. If you wish to take revenge on Adrian for abandoning you, take my hand.”
“W-What are you saying?”
“Can’t you tell? I am proposing to you.”
He proposed—just like that.
Daniela’s mind reeled. The situation was so absurdly unexpected that she felt lightheaded. Memories of his past, as described in the original novel, flooded her mind.
Archduke Ashid Carlisle Alberic.
He was the secondary male lead of I Became the Crown Princess Overnight, as well as the mastermind behind the darkness and the novel’s antagonist.
His past, as depicted in the original novel, was as follows:
Born to the current emperor of the Ashilard Empire and Empress Dowager Julia I, Ashid was ensnared in ruthless palace conspiracies from birth.
The root of all evil, according to the novel’s fans, was Adrian’s mother—Empress Katrin.
While pregnant with Adrian, she viewed Julia I and Ashid as obstacles that had to be eliminated to ensure her son’s ascension to the throne. When Ashid was only five years old, she hired the empire’s most skilled assassin to kill Julia I.
Ashid was forced to watch helplessly as his mother was murdered before his very eyes.
The next day, he pleaded with the emperor to punish the empress, insisting that she was behind the assassination. But Katrin had already erased all evidence and silenced any witnesses. She accused Ashid of fabricating lies to frame her.
The emperor’s investigators failed to uncover proof of Katrin’s involvement. Ultimately, the emperor sided with her.
In a hollow attempt to compensate Ashid, the emperor granted him an empty title—Archduke—while banishing him to the northern fortress until he came of age.
That region was a frozen wasteland where winter reigned all year round, plagued by relentless conflicts with foreign forces. It was a place where survival itself was a struggle.
To stay alive, protect those who remained by his side, and seek revenge against Empress Katrin, Ashid honed his swordsmanship and fought in countless battles.
His life became an endless cycle of bloodshed, vengeance, death, and betrayal. By the time he emerged as the ruler of the brutal northern territories, he had only one goal left.
Revenge against Empress Katrin.
But by the time he returned to the capital as an adult, she was already dead.
Instead, the one who stood before him was his half-brother—Katrin’s son, Adrian.
‘Seeing Adrian, who had been sheltered under Katrin’s protection and had never known hardship, completely broke Ashid. His resentment twisted into an inferiority complex and pure hatred.’
That hatred merged with his thirst for vengeance, transforming into a relentless obsession with destroying Adrian.
From then on, Ashid did everything in his power to strip Adrian of his position as crown prince.
‘In the process, he ruined the lives of countless innocent people, fell for the heroine, Camellia, and ended up kidnapping and imprisoning her—earning himself the title of “truly insane villain” among readers.’
In the end, like any true villain, he lost everything and was executed alongside his closest allies for his crimes.
He was the textbook definition of a “victim-turned-perpetrator” antagonist.
‘And now this man says he loves me? Wants to marry me?’
Just when she had barely escaped disaster by accepting Adrian’s request to break their engagement, the villainous archduke appeared, proposing marriage.
One crisis had passed, only to be replaced by an even greater one.
‘Did I miss something in the novel’s setting? No, that’s impossible.’
Daniela frantically searched her memory. No matter how hard she thought, she couldn’t recall any scene where Ashid expressed interest in her.
Meanwhile, Ashid frowned slightly at Daniela’s prolonged silence.
‘What is she thinking so hard about?’
Her face shifted from red to pale to ghostly white, as if she were lost in some elaborate fantasy. To Ashid, it was quite a ridiculous sight.
Growing impatient, he finally spoke.
“I would like to hear your answer to my proposal soon, Lady Enchanto.”
Daniela flinched at his words. His sharp gaze pinned her in place, his voice dangerously low as he demanded her response. It was utterly terrifying—enough to make her break into a cold sweat.
‘This doesn’t feel like a marriage proposal born out of love at all.’
There was undoubtedly another motive behind his actions.
Just as she reached this conclusion, a detail from the original novel resurfaced in her mind.
‘Now it makes sense.’
Forcing a composed smile, Daniela looked Ashid straight in the eye.
“You say you love me? That’s a lie, isn’t it?”
“What?”
“Because the way you look at me holds no love at all. You must want something from me. That’s why you’re making such an absurd proposal, isn’t it?”
Ashid raised an eyebrow at her sharp observation. Contrary to the common belief that she was foolish and greedy, she was perceptive.
Still, he masked his surprise and feigned ignorance.
“Indeed, I need you. That is why I proposed.”
“I doubt it’s me you need. I think it’s something else… Like, say, the letters my late father exchanged with the former empress.”
Ashid’s expression hardened.
Daniela smirked inwardly. She had been right.
In the original novel, Ashid had searched her late father’s townhouse for incriminating evidence against Empress Katrin.
Now, she understood.
Ashid’s true reason for proposing to her was to legally claim all of Duke Enchanto’s belongings, including those letters.
Daniela met his gaze head-on and continued.
“If you marry me, you’ll gain rightful ownership of those letters. Then you can use them to expose past crimes. And once I’m of no further use to you, you’ll discard me. Isn’t that right?”
