The Villainess Proposed a Contractual Marriage - Chapter 0 [Prologue]

At the end of a quiet street, surrounded by a calm atmosphere. 

An empty yard and a shabby building were all that existed there. 

One day, a noblewoman, who stood in stark contrast to this blandness, came to visit.

“Harte of the Order of the Holy Knights. Right?”

She asks, her dazzling red gown matching her stern face. 

I broke out in a cold sweat as I recalled the intruder’s identity.

Elphysia Luminel.

That’s the name of the young woman who came to visit.

She was the villainess of a romance fantasy novel I’d read in a previous life. Her venomous words and ruthless hands often made me wonder if she had a human heart.

She was so fierce that her presence was enough to make the final boss vanish into thin air. 

She’s so competent for a villainess that might have been better suited for another genre.

At the end of the day, however, a villainess is a villainess.

All that awaits her is the bad ending that the antagonists of this world deserve.

A bad ending… yeah, just like mine.

“It was quite exhausting to investigate. I had a hard time figuring out where this was.”

I’m sure it was…

“Anyway, I found it somehow, and I will give you a proposal.”

“A proposal? To me?”

Elphysia, the forbidden jade of a prominent family and a cold-hearted bookmaker *1.

She shoved the papers in front of me and didn’t bother to make any eye contact.

“We’re getting married.”

“What?”

“Oh, technically, it’s a contract marriage, but these papers are for a mutual agreement.”

“Aha… marriage… a-a contract marriage… huh…”

Honestly, I’m about to collapse due to confusion.

As my mind raced, trying to figure out where to start and how to respond, I caught a glimpse of a pair of wide, confused eyes peeking through the crack in the door.

Finally, I tried my hardest and opened my mouth.

“Uh, let me just get one thing straight… are you out of your mind?? You’ve never even met me before, and we’re getting marr-“

“It’s personal, and besides, I’ve already set my mind to be here.”

“…and you’ve prepared yourself for this?”

I gestured for those with prying eyes outside to come in, and they hesitated for a moment before slowly opening the door.

Two boys and a girl.

One of them, a little girl, tackled me with a big smile on her face.

“Daddy!”

“… Did you just call me- What?”

“Daddy!”

She called me by my new title as if to check in with Elphysia, who presented the papers for the contract marriage.

I stare at her frozen expression and smirk.

“You see, I have a child.”

I think I have my answer, but there’s always a what-if, so I verified her intentions.

“Are you sure… you’re ready for this?”

Those evenly-spaced white teeth were beautiful. Elphysia’s lips were parted in a smile as she thought about it.

In her confusion, she barely managed to get her next words out.

“I… I want you…!”

Perhaps her answer then changed our future.

I slowly recalled that first fateful fork in the road.

The day my life was turned upside down.

T/N

1. A bookmaker takes bets (especially for horse races), calculates odds, and pays out winnings.

Hello! Axiomatic here. 

Welcome to my second translated novel! 

I added this to my list as I wanted to diversify my translation skills, so I went for a romance novel to contrast the life of Lilith Rosewood from ‘I Became the Maid of the Lout Prince.’ I plan to polish my creativity in serious and lighthearted settings, and I’d love for you to join me on this ride.

The goal is still to publish daily chapters for both novels.

That’s all for now, thanks for reading, and see you in the next one!