Prologue
Dazzling sunshine poured in under the gorgeous windows decorated with colorful stained glass.
Inside the huge banquet hall, where hundreds of people could comfortably stay, the Duke and Duchess of Alberton and their two daughters, Marianne and Grace, were dining at a table, which was so long that they couldn't see the people at the far end.
"Grace, I have something to tell you....."
The Duke of Alberton, who had been eating without a word of conversation, unexpectedly spoke to his second daughter Grace.
Unlike her sister Marianne, who was sitting close to the Duke and Duchess of Alberton in the upper seat, Grace, who was quietly eating at the far end of the table, turned to his voice.
"Yes, go ahead, father."
"A marriage proposal has come in. It was arranged by the Emperor."
Grace stared at her father, the Duke of Alberton, who spoke to her in the kindest voice she had ever heard.
It was her first marriage at the age of 20, and it was arranged by the Emperor. It was a surprising situation, but she replied back as if she wasn't surprised at all.
"......... Is that so? What kind of person is the other party?"
The Duke of Alberton raised his eyebrows at Grace's reaction, which was so heartless and numb, but he quickly smiled and answered.
"It's the Emperor's cousin, Duke Arthur Felix."
"...Oh my!"
"Oh my God. Duke Felix, the greatest knight of the empire and owner of the largest Felix estate in the empire?"
"Grace, this is great for you!"
As if they had been waiting for the Duke's words, the Duchess of Alberton and Marianne reacted in an exaggerated manner.
Grace scoffed inwardly at the sight of them looking at her with excited voices and faces, as if they couldn't be happier for her.
"Congratulations."
There was a curse that all women who are tied to him will die or go crazy.Therefore, could she really call her marriage to him, the "cursed monster duke," a matter of congratulations?
Grace stared numbly at the expectant faces of her family who were waiting for her response.
With friendly smiles on their faces, they were asking her to accept the political marriage.
Grace didn't realize it at the time. Like a fool, she thought she could refuse this marriage. Yes, she thought at the time that they would still consider her their family no matter what she decided. In her first life, little did she know, it was only two days after she refused to marry and snuck into the convent, she was killed by the poison they had sent her.
But she came back to life, and now she could understand everything. The reason why the Albertsons had raised her as a family so far without giving up their "ordinary" confidence was because she was a daughter who "may bear children with magical abilities in the future".They didn't want abandon her in order to create a soul vein with nobles and royalty who wanted to give their heirs magical abilities.
However, since she was only worth that much to them and she refused to have a "political marriage," they had no reason to keep her alive any longer since she was no longer useful to them.
Moreover, if she died, they wouldn't have to be angry with her for daring to refuse the emperor's marriage proposal.
It was either political marriage or death.
After the miraculous return, Grace smiled quietly as she faced the crossroads of choice that lay before her once again.
"Yes. That would make me very happy."
"May I take that to mean that you accept the marriage proposal?"
The Duke of Alberton asked to confirm her decision, and Grace smiled and answered him.
"Yes, I'll marry the Duke."
Grace smiled softly.
The girlish smile that bloomed on her face, which had always been only doll-like and expressionless under the scorn of her family, was filled with joy. It could only be built by those who had finally escaped the fate of death and started their second life.
