Chapter 1

“I’ve prepared a mansion for you in Endelie. It’s a small town, so no one will recognize you. You shouldn’t have any trouble living there.”

Caldeon spoke calmly.

Enria couldn’t believe her ears.

She had never once imagined that he would abandon her.

“Stay there quietly for the time being. You’ll be provided with whatever you need.”

It all happened right after the news broke that the original heroine was to become the Grand Duchess.

Enria felt as if all the blood in her body had drained away.

“You’ll leave tomorrow, Enria.”

Caldeon’s voice was firm as he looked at the dazed Enria.

Even from his tone alone, she could tell this was not an empty statement—it was an order.

‘Then… what about the rampage?’

If she disappeared, there would be no one left to calm his mana rampage.

There was a suppressant that the original heroine created, but that was something she made long after becoming the Grand Duchess.

‘Could it be that Roseanne has already made it?’

Enria’s face hardened.

It wasn’t impossible.

It had already been over a month since the story of their engagement—the beginning of the original plot—had surfaced, and ever since then, Caldeon had started spending more and more nights away from their shared room.

‘But even so, how could he be so indifferent…’

She couldn’t understand it.

It had been two years since she possessed this body.

For those two years, Caldeon had loved her—at least, that’s what she had believed.

In the original story, even though they shared a bedroom, they had lived like strangers in two separate beds. But things were different now.

Calming his mana rampage wasn’t as simple as holding hands like in the novel.

After an accidental kiss not long after she had possessed the body, everything between Caldeon and Enria had changed completely.

Their relationship was nothing like in the novel anymore, and Enria had fallen into the illusion that surely, since they now shared affection, he would never take Roseanne as his Grand Duchess.

That illusion shattered today—when Caldeon abandoned her.

‘He means it…?’

As she watched his figure disappear from sight, Enria’s dazed expression fRosee.

After standing there blankly for a while, a hollow laugh escaped her lips.

“Ha.”

She had been abandoned.

Unlike in the original story, this time, the male lead had cast her aside.

***

Enria had transmigrated into a regret-filled novel she’d once enjoyed reading—into the role of the male lead’s mistress, Enria Ribenus.

She was the woman who had acted as the lady of the Grand Duke’s estate before the heroine, Roseanne, arrived—bullying her until she met her end at the hands of Roseanne’s brother, Rahar.

But Enria and Caldeon had their own circumstances.

Born a bastard son of the previous Grand Duke and a mother with magical power, Caldeon had inherited his mother’s mana before her death, becoming head of the ducal house.

He was hailed as the strongest for subduing monsters and protecting the northern territories, and because he had so many enemies, his weakness—mana rampage—had to remain a secret.

And the only one capable of calming that rampage, Enria, who possessed sacred power, was an equally vital secret.

So, when Enria realized she had possessed the villainess’s body, her first decision was to leave the ducal estate before Roseanne arrived, determined to avoid the original’s gruesome fate.

But as time passed, that resolve weakened.

The male lead’s charm was overwhelming, and Enria found herself falling helplessly for him.

Caldeon’s attitude toward her also began to change—but purely by chance.

At first, just like in the original, they shared a room but slept in separate beds, and she would only calm his rampages by holding his hand and channeling her sacred power.

Then one day, after drinking a rare royal wine the butler, Dale, had given her, an incident occurred.

Enria had drunkenly pressed her lips against Caldeon’s beautifully shaped mouth.

Maybe it was because his looks were irresistible, but she had thought—just once, she wanted to touch him.

And that foolish wish, fueled by wine and longing, ignited something dangerous.

Startled by her impulsive kiss, Caldeon faltered. Yet, when Enria shyly asked for “one more,” he broke.

Because of his obsessive sense of duty and self-control, Caldeon had never allowed any woman near him after taking Enria into the ducal estate. That sudden encounter shattered the wall he’d built around his own desire.

That night, the innocent kiss deepened into a passionate one, and soon after, they shared their first night together.

After that, everything changed.

Caldeon replaced the twin beds with a single one, and from then on, they slept together every night.

They had become lovers—or so Enria believed.

Unlike the original story, where she was merely a tool to calm his power, this time, she thought they shared genuine love.

She didn’t realize how mistaken she was.

Because the moment the original heroine, Roseanne, was confirmed to be the new Grand Duchess, Caldeon discarded Enria without hesitation.

It felt as though the world had collapsed—but there was nothing she could do.

She knew the story. She had read every part of Caldeon’s descent into regret after marrying Roseanne in a contractual marriage.

No amount of affection from him could alter that fate.

So, when he told her to leave the estate and promised full support, she had no choice but to comply.

‘The ending would be the same anyway.’

When she had first realized whose body she inhabited, she had resolved to leave before her beheading came true.

Whether she left by choice or by rejection, the outcome wouldn’t change once Roseanne became the Grand Duchess.

‘Yes… so it’s fine.’

She tried to console herself, suppressing the tremor in her voice.

With tears threatening to spill, Enria composed her face and departed for Endelie with her maid, Chavel, and the servants Caldeon had assigned to her.

***

Endelie was quieter and more peaceful than she’d imagined.

In a grand mansion overlooking the small town, Enria tried to heal her broken heart day by day.

“The temple in the village will begin the Festival of the Divine tomorrow, my lady. Would you like to attend?”

At Dale’s question, Enria nodded.

Dale was one of the most capable and senior butlers of the Grand Duke’s household, reassigned to a smaller estate due to his health.

It was Caldeon’s consideration not to overwork him, and though Enria didn’t fully understand why such a valuable person was sent with her to this remote place, she was grateful nonetheless.

‘A festival honoring the gods… I’d like to see that.’

Sitting by the sunlit window, Enria thought she would go down to the village with Chavel tomorrow—and perhaps visit a dress shop and jeweler as well.

But the next day, her health suddenly declined so rapidly that she couldn’t even leave her bed, let alone attend the festival.

She had already felt unusually tired and sleepy for two days, but the worsening symptoms came swiftly.

What made it worse was that every scent made her nauseous.

“It might just be indigestion,” Chavel said, worried, offering a cup of herbal tea.

But even the smell was unbearable. Enria covered her nose and gestured weakly for her to take it away.

Chavel quickly set the cup outside, returning with a troubled look.

“You must eat something, my lady. The butler has gone to fetch a physician, but there isn’t one in town—it’ll be at least tomorrow before he arrives…”

“Urgh—”

Before she could finish, Enria gagged again, though nothing came up.

Chavel patted her back with a distressed expression, murmuring that since she hadn’t eaten, there was nothing to throw up.

‘What’s wrong with me?’

Something was definitely off.

‘Did I really just get bad indigestion?’

When the nausea finally eased, Enria lay back down, staring at the ceiling that seemed to slowly spin.

She had no choice but to wait until the physician arrived.

‘I’m not dying, am I? No, there was nothing like this in the original story…’

Still, the thought wouldn’t­ leave her.

Maybe the story’s twist—her not dying by Rahar’s hand—had angered the gods, who now sought to kill her another way.

As she drifted in such absurd thoughts, the physician finally arrived the next day.

After finishing his examination, he said something that made Enria’s eyes widen in shock.

“You’re pregnant.”