Chapter 1 - Chapter 1

Translator: Nox

Chapter 1Chapter 1

“Ugh, my head…”

Is it morning already?

Lobelyn Dines forced her bleary eyes open.

Her head felt like it was splitting from the aftereffects of a hangover. To make matters worse, her entire body ached intensely. It felt as if she had been beaten black and blue.

“Oof.”

As she tried to sit up, a groan escaped her lips involuntarily.

Lobelyn waited a moment for the pain in her waist to subside before finally pushing herself upright. The cheerful chirping of birds reached her ears, and the warm spring sunlight was flooding into the room.

Up to this point, everything was perfectly peaceful.

Except for one single problem.

“…Where on earth am I?”

Judging by the spacious room and the high-end furniture surrounding her, this was clearly a noble’s mansion. Lobelyn searched her memories of the previous night with a bewildered expression.

‘My last memory was definitely the banquet hall…’

Last night, Lobelyn had attended a banquet at Count Cale’s estate with her friend, Cornelia. She had spent a long time struggling to ward off the persistent gazes directed at her friend from all sides. To protect Connie, she had intercepted every drink those lecherous, leech-like men tried to push on her, and then…

‘Oh my god. So I actually passed out from drinking?’

This appeared to be the guest annex of Count Cale’s estate. It wasn’t unusual for a hosting noble family to let guests rest in the annex before leaving. Of course, an unmarried young lady staying alone was a different story entirely.

“Sigh.”

Lobelyn let out a heavy, ground-shaking sigh. Her head throbbed at the mere thought of the stinging glares she would receive from high society for a while. Once she got back, she’d have to stay cooped up at home for the time being—

“…What the hell?”

As she reflexively started to get out of bed, Lobelyn let out an audible curse. Only then did she realize she was stark naked, without a single stitch of clothing on.

Panicked, Lobelyn hurriedly scrambled to pull the duvet around her. But there was a much bigger problem than being naked.

‘That’s… a chest!’

Lobelyn almost screamed in shock the moment she pulled back the covers. Right next to where she had been lying just a moment ago was a massive chest. The sturdy build, firm muscles, and sculpted lines of the shoulders and waist were entirely different from her own.

Lobelyn froze like a statue, covering her mouth with both hands.

“…N-no way, this person too?”

The man was still asleep and had his head turned the other way, so she couldn’t see his face. However, he was in the exact same state of undress as she was.

‘Agh, my eyes!’

Having reflexively lifted the duvet to check underneath, Lobelyn let go of the fabric instantly, looking as if she’d seen something she shouldn’t have.

‘What was I thinking, looking under there!’

The duvet settled back down in an instant, covering the man’s body, but the mental shock didn’t fade for quite some time. Regardless, one thing was certain: the person lying next to her was a man, not a woman.

‘What on earth happened?’

Lobelyn desperately tried to recall what had transpired with this man. But no matter how hard she thought, she had no memories after she had snatched Cornelia’s rose wine and gulped it down.

Yet, her intuition told her everything she needed to know.

A disheveled bed, two naked people, and her own drunken state from the night before… Even just laying out these provocative clues led to only one conclusion.

‘I’ve really done it now…’

Lobelyn was flabbergasted. Not only had she woken up in a strange house after passing out, but she had also spent the night with a stranger! Never in her life had she done something like this—not in this life, nor in her previous one.

Most importantly, she had strictly vowed to stay away from men after being reincarnated into this novel’s world!

‘Dammit, Lobelyn, you idiot. Are you really going to become the original story’s promiscuous villainess at this rate?’

Lobelyn clutched her head in self-loathing. At that moment, a dull ache in her waist served as fresh evidence of what had happened during the night. It was frustrating that she couldn’t remember a single shred of it, but Lobelyn decided to pull herself together.

‘What’s done is done.’

It was something she couldn’t take back anyway. Lobelyn calmly rose from the bed. The man still showed no signs of waking up.

‘It’s not like we agreed to date or anything, right? Not remembering is driving me crazy.’

She absolutely refused to do something as old-fashioned as dating or promising a future to a man she’d just met because of an incident she didn’t even remember.

‘Wouldn’t it be better to just talk it out with this man and bury it as a one-night secret?’

After all, if he was a noble, he wouldn’t be able to ignore his own reputation either. He would be just as troubled if a scandal broke out with a young lady he’d never even met.

Resolved to talk it through, Lobelyn leaned slightly toward the man. He was still in a deep sleep, his brilliant blond hair a complete mess.

“Excuse me, please wake up… Ack!”

But the moment Lobelyn saw the man’s face, her own turned pale with horror.

‘Why on earth is he here?’

Lobelyn’s hands trembled violently. It was only natural, for the man she had spent the night with was none other than…

‘Crown Prince Ian Heriet!’

In the original novel, he was the man who became entangled with Lobelyn in a very messy, scandalous affair. In short, he was the worst man possible, the one who would lead her life to ruin!

She had ended up rolling around in bed with the very person she was supposed to avoid at all costs. It was a total disaster.

“Ugh…”

While Lobelyn remained frozen like a stone, Ian groaned and furrowed his brows. His voice was deep and husky, which might have been charming under other circumstances, but Lobelyn had no room for such thoughts.

“…Who’s there?”

Opening his eyes blearily, Ian turned his head toward the presence beside him. He, too, was far from sober due to his hangover. Ian tried to sit up but slumped back onto the bed. Apparently finding the sunlight too bright, he raised his right hand to cover his eyes.

“Dammit, what happened yesterday? Give me an explanation.”

“T-that is…”

Lobelyn started to speak but shut her mouth. Looking at the rambling, disoriented Ian, it felt as though a lightbulb had flickered on in her head.

‘Ian doesn’t remember either!’

Wasn’t this a god-given opportunity? If she could just get out of here right now…

‘I might actually be able to hide the fact that I spent the night with Ian!’

Lobelyn quickly scanned her surroundings. There were too many eyes around, so leaving through the door was too risky. What about the window?

‘Yes, this is it!’

Lobelyn’s eyes sparkled. Fortunately, this room was on the first floor. Since it was still early morning, there weren’t even any servants out working in the garden yet.

‘Let’s get dressed first.’

Lobelyn swiftly gathered her clothes scattered by the bed and put them on. Since there was no maid, she couldn’t tie the ribbons on her back, but she decided to be satisfied with just covering herself up. Time was of the essence.

“Ugh…”

Turning back after haphazardly throwing on her clothes, she saw Ian still groaning with his eyes covered. The hangover seemed to be hitting him hard.

‘He must have drunk like a fish. I guess that scoundrel from the original story hasn’t changed a bit.’

She had heard he didn’t even look at banquets anymore and wondered if he had changed from the original, but his current behavior proved otherwise. Tsking at him, Lobelyn hoisted her leg over the railing.

Just as she was about to carefully climb over…

“Hey! What are you doing there!”

“Gah!”

Before she knew it, Ian had sat up in bed and was staring her way with a look of pure shock. He looked like he hadn’t quite processed what was happening yet. Even so, he lunged out of bed and came staggering toward her to stop her.

“Are you crazy? Are you trying to kill yourself by falling?”

“Aah! Don’t come over here! I said don’t come any closer!”

Confronted with his naked form again without any time to prepare, Lobelyn let out a sharp scream.

‘Dammit, no more time to dawdle!’

If she caused a scene here, the Count’s servants would come rushing in immediately. Lobelyn took a deep breath and jumped straight down.

Riiip.

Of all things, her skirt caught on the railing and tore, but she didn’t have the luxury to care.

“It’s danger—”

Ian, who had hurriedly pulled on his trousers, came rushing out onto the balcony shouting. Having landed on the ground, Lobelyn ran toward the exit without looking back.

‘What’s with that woman?’

Ian stood with his hands on the balcony railing, staring blankly at her retreating figure. The fluttering hem of her skirt gradually grew distant before finally vanishing from his sight. He felt as if he had been bewitched by a ghost.

The moment he turned back around in bewilderment, memories of the previous night began to surface in Ian’s mind. They weren’t complete, but these fragmented pieces of memory were definitely—

“…My God.”

Recalling the heated scenes from the night before made him feel a sudden flush of warmth. The heavily crumpled sheets and scattered clothing supported the memory. No, he didn’t even need to look at the sheets. The vivid heat and the warmth of their skin pressed together amidst the thick, heavy moans were still fresh.

“Ha.”

Ian let out a hollow laugh of disbelief. As a Crown Prince who was always the center of public attention, he had lived his life strictly managing his affairs with women. To think that he had gotten completely wasted and bedded a woman last night.

“…!”

Wiping his face with his hand, Ian suddenly paused at the change in his own body. Even fragments of the memory easily stirred him, proving just how ecstatic the previous night had been. At the same time, the fact that he couldn’t properly remember her face only added to his sense of self-loathing. It had happened so fast that even the hair color he’d just seen was a blur in his mind.

However, a clue remained.

“…….”

Ian silently picked up a torn piece of white fabric caught on the railing. It was the only trace the woman had left behind.