Chapter 02

Luciana—Lucy—regained her memories the previous evening.

“C-Cough…! Cough, cough!”

“I told you not to wolf it down, you idiot!”

After starving for three straight days, she had finally been given a piece of moldy bread.

She devoured it so quickly that she choked.

For a moment, she thought she was actually going to die.

Then—

As her life flashed before her eyes, the memories of her previous life returned.

‘I’m screwed.’

That was how she realized where she had reincarnated.

The Last Dragon’s Bride was a tragic romance between the last remaining Dragon Incarnation and the novel’s heroine.

To sum it up in one sentence…

‘It was a complete train wreck where both the male and female leads suffered endlessly before everything fell apart.’

The male lead, the only Dragon Incarnation left in the world, spent years searching for the mate destined to purify him.

Eventually, he met Sepina at the temple.

Believing she was his destined mate, he found relief from his suffering and even spent nights with her.

But…

‘It was all a lie.’

Like many romance fantasy novels, the temple was secretly one of the true villains.

The power Sepina used to purify the Duke…

“What? She choked?”

“Tell her to be careful! Do you know how hard it is to find another replacement if she dies?”

“Children born with holy power are becoming rarer these days!”

…was created by squeezing every last drop of holy power out of countless children—

Lucy included.

‘The month before last it was Rena. Last month it was John. Last week… Cecil.’

With bitter eyes, Lucy looked around the empty prison cells surrounding her.

Fragments of the body’s memories flowed into her mind.

Those cells had once been occupied by children like herself.

Children who had been captured…

Only to disappear.

Disposable sacrifices.

Purifying a Dragon Incarnation required an enormous amount of holy power.

So the temple kidnapped every child who possessed even a trace of holy power, using them as the source of Sepina’s abilities.

And eventually…

‘They even stole his true mate.’

When a destined mate came of age, a mark known as the Holy Mark would appear somewhere on their body.

The location differed from person to person.

This time…

It had appeared in the worst possible place.

‘The back of her hand, wasn’t it?’

Because it was so visible, the temple’s High Priest happened to discover the true mate before the Duke ever could.

He saw the newly appeared Holy Mark on the back of her hand while she was drawing water from a village well.

She was abducted by force.

Just like Lucy, she was imprisoned beneath the temple, tortured while waiting for the Duke to rescue her…

Only to…

‘Have her Holy Mark stolen… and die.’

After carving the Holy Mark from the true mate’s body and transplanting it onto herself, Sepina began impersonating the Duke’s destined partner.

‘But even then, she still couldn’t perform proper purification. Eventually everyone realized she was a fake.’

And in the end…

The Duke failed to overcome his berserk state.

The world was destroyed.

…

Despite having such a dark setting…

“There sure were a ridiculous number of scenes between Sepina and the male lead.”

After all, the setting itself stated that Dragon Incarnations could only be purified through physical contact.

It was practically a premise designed entirely for an adults-only romance.

Because of that, the novel’s comment section was constantly at war.

Who was the real heroine?

Sepina, who shared intimate moments with the male lead?

Or the true mate, who barely even got to meet him?

‘It was fun watching those arguments back then.’

Now that she was the one living inside the story…

There was nothing amusing about it.

“What did I ever do to deserve this?”

She had died miserably in her previous life through sheer bad luck.

Now, after being given another chance…

She had ended up like this.

‘If I had to reincarnate, couldn’t I at least have been some background noble lady?’

Instead…

She became disposable fuel.

The name Luciana never even appeared in the original novel.

She was probably nothing more than an unnamed extra whose holy power would be drained dry by Sepina before dying unnoticed.

Accept that fate?

Like hell I will!

There was one more thing she absolutely hated.

“Ow… that’s hot!”

Every time Sepina used holy power to purify the Duke…

Lucy’s own body heated up as well.

That could only mean one thing.

The Duke had arrived at the temple again.

‘It wasn’t this intense when the other children were still alive.’

Now that everyone else had died…

The backlash from using holy power must have been falling entirely on her.

Heat spread through her hands.

‘I don’t want to know what’s happening in someone else’s bedroom!’

And for some reason…

The Duke seemed to have an obsession with hands.

Her hands were always the hottest part of her body whenever the purification took place.

“Seriously… is he some kind of pervert?”

Feeling as though her skin might burn, Lucy rubbed her palms desperately against the cold stone floor.

Then she forced herself to think calmly.

‘What should I do now?’

Now that she remembered her previous life…

She couldn’t keep living like this.

“…Alright.”

After staring at the floor for a long time…

Lucy finally made up her mind.

* * *

“Ah… Duke Edward…”

A trembling, excited voice echoed softly.

“Please…”

Sepina slowly reached out, blinking her long eyelashes.

Though she tried to appear composed, the corners of her lips curled upward, and her body trembled ever so slightly with anticipation.

“Today, at last…”

Just as her pale, delicate hand was about to brush across the Duke’s armored chest—

Grab.

“…Your Grace?”

Without a word, the man caught her wrist.

The atmosphere froze.

Forcing a smile, Sepina spoke gently.

“Are you embarrassed again? There’s no need…”

“Your hand is enough.”

His deep voice echoed coldly from beneath his helmet.

Suppressing the thrill that ran through her, Sepina softly caressed the large hand holding her wrist.

“You always stop at holding hands.”

“…”

“Is it because… I’m not your true mate?”

Edward gave no answer to the sorrowful question.

Quietly, Sepina removed his glove.

The back of his hand came into view, veins standing out beneath his skin.

No matter how many times she saw it…

His large, masculine hand was captivating.

Doing her best not to stare too greedily, she smiled gently.

“Please don’t worry, Your Grace.”

“…”

“I know you wish to preserve your chastity for your true mate. I would never ask for more.”

“…”

“I’m simply grateful that my temporary purification can be of some help…”

“Would you hurry?”

“…Pardon?”

“I need to return to hunting monsters.”

Those words silenced her.

Edward was always like this.

Cold.

Professional.

Even during purification, he never allowed more than holding hands.

Sometimes, she resented that distance.

Still…

Compared to how he treated everyone else…

He was remarkably courteous toward her.

Besides…

‘You won’t be able to keep me at arm’s length much longer, Duke.’

She had already heard the news.

The temple would soon send a marriage proposal to the Duke’s estate.

This time…

They intended to officially make Sepina his mate.

‘They promised they’d obtain the Holy Mark somehow.’

The engagement was almost certain to succeed.

The empire’s most valuable man would soon belong to her.

Until then…

She only needed to hide her true feelings and continue purifying him.

A soft white light gathered at her fingertips.

‘Hm?’

A slight frown crossed Sepina’s face.

Perhaps because all the children supplying holy power had already died…

There was noticeably less holy power than usual.

Still…

If she just pushed a little harder—

Crack!

“Ah!”

Sepina jerked back in surprise.

‘What was that?’

The instant she purified even the tiniest amount of corruption…

The holy power that had always flowed smoothly…

Was suddenly cut off.

‘Huh?’

She didn’t even have time to wonder why.

The Duke had already withdrawn his hand.

“Is today’s purification finished?”

“W-Well…”

“Then I’ll be leaving.”

“W-Wait! Your Grace!”

Sepina hurried to her feet.

But Edward had already stepped outside.

“Your Grace!”

Her desperate cry failed to stop him.

In truth…

Edward was too busy suppressing the corruption raging within his own body just to keep himself from going berserk.

“…Damn it.”

A quiet curse escaped his lips as another wave of pain pierced his head.

At the same time, the priests’ familiar words echoed through his mind.

“Please don’t worry, Your Grace. Lady Sepina will soon awaken as your true mate. Once that happens, your berserk episodes will cease.”

“Once you accept her, everything will be fine.”

“…Nonsense.”

A savage smile spread beneath his helmet.

A true mate…

He didn’t believe in such things.

Cough.

He had no time to think further.

The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth.