HPMC 01

Chapter 01

‘So this marriage really was a scam.’

Dust rose around the travel bag that had been thrown out onto the luxurious porch.

The dull thud it made as it hit the ground echoed her sense of emptiness.

Only now did she realize that even a ducal family could collapse overnight.

“This is all your fault for coming into our family!”

Her mother-in-law’s baseless shouting faded like fog in her ears.

‘No, you were the ones who persuaded me it was a perfect match…’

She had been deceived.

How many times had she been stabbed in the back since marrying her husband?

“We’re sorry. We should have served the Grand Lady, His Grace, and Madam until the very end, but if we don’t obey His Majesty the Emperor’s orders, our lives…”

The butler, housekeeper, and head maid all wore troubled expressions, as if attending a funeral.

They had been such loyal people.

Unable to hold them back, she blankly looked up at the exterior of the historic mansion.

The Brent Ducal House, which she had married into three years ago, had suddenly been destroyed.

Their title was stripped away, and they were left penniless.

“This is all because of my brother!”

As the servants fled one by one, Eloy, her husband’s younger sister, screamed.

She slowly turned her head toward where her husband stood.

The moment he came into view, she instinctively frowned and raised a hand to shield her eyes.

‘Ah… so dazzling…’

He was too handsome.

Even though he wasn’t the only one standing in sunlight, he always seemed to radiate brilliance.

That man—awkwardly hunched, unable to even meet his sister’s gaze—

Her husband.

He possessed a perfect appearance that made his timid personality all the more frustrating.

Tall enough to stand out anywhere, with broad, firm shoulders like he wore armor.

His skin was flawless, like carved marble, and his loosely flowing black hair looked as though it had spilled from dark moonlight.

But above all, it was his features—so perfect they seemed beyond human—that truly shone.

Even now, when they had lost their title, estate, land, and wealth, and were about to be thrown into the streets, his appearance was still divine.

‘People don’t know how nosebleed-inducing his body must be under those tightly wrapped clothes…’

“S-sorry. E-Eloy. It’s b-because of me…”

“Take responsibility, brother! You have to take responsibility!”

As Eloy screamed, their mother snapped sharply.

“Eloy! Don’t worry. Surely our relatives won’t turn their backs on us. Do you know how much we’ve supported them all this time…!”

“What? Relatives? You mean cousins? I’d rather die on the streets than grovel to them!”

“….”

Her husband remained silent, head lowered.

Even after marrying him, she hadn’t thought there were still things left to surprise her.

Yet once again, reality exceeded her expectations.

‘That man… is my husband? How did that happen? Oh God, thank you…’

She still vividly remembered how shocked she had been when she first saw his face on their wedding day.

It had felt like hitting the jackpot.

Everything about him was breathtaking, but especially his lips.

Even at rest, the corners curved slightly upward in a subtle, alluring way that stole her soul.

But…

She might be the only bride who felt such deep disappointment on her wedding night.

That was when she realized she had been scammed.

Her husband had many issues she hadn’t been told about.

Despite his impressive build, he was utterly inexperienced in bed.

Even for a first time, his aversion to women was extreme.

He couldn’t properly undress her, couldn’t touch her, and couldn’t even maintain eye contact.

She had spent her first wedding night wide awake in confusion.

Even after three years of marriage, he had never properly moved inside her.

In fact… had he ever gone deep enough to even try?

Still, she believed things could improve with effort.

Thankfully, after their marriage, he tried his best to fix his condition.

But all efforts failed, and each time he would apologize miserably—at a painfully slow pace.

‘A-a useless m-me… h-how could I… b-be y-your h-husband… I’m s-sorry…’

‘It’s okay, Alec. I’m really okay… but… you’re not into men, are you?’

‘…’

Fortunately, he wasn’t.

She comforted him outwardly, but inside she cried endlessly.

‘Oh God… why did you make him so extreme in strengths and weaknesses…’

But that wasn’t the end of his problems.

He couldn’t even speak a full sentence properly—he stuttered severely.

At first she thought it was just nerves from meeting his wife, but it wasn’t.

He had stuttered since he first learned to speak.

Still, she could accept that.

‘So what if he stutters? Some people can’t use chopsticks well—speaking clearly isn’t everything.’

If stuttering were a disease, then who in this world would be truly healthy?

But his father, the Grand Duke of Brent, considered him the greatest disgrace of the family.

Before Alec was born, the Brent family had been untouchable.

They were descendants of the empire’s only holy knight, respected even by the imperial palace.

That made the Grand Duke’s shock at his son’s condition even greater.

‘You are the stain and disaster of my life and this family.’

The Grand Duke never accepted Alec as his son until his death.

Alec grew increasingly withdrawn, unable to lift his head or speak in front of others.

After the Grand Duke died three years ago, the Emperor began openly mocking and despising him.

A tyrant—violent and cruel beyond precedent.

The same man who had bullied Alec since childhood.

He would drag Alec to social gatherings just to humiliate him.

Because Alec, a distant relative of the imperial family, “tainted” their honor.

‘A fool like you being the head of the Brent family—what a disgrace to the empire.’

No one dared oppose the Emperor.

The nobles followed him, mocking Alec to stay in his favor.

An old noble who defended Alec even had his arm cut off.

No one protected him.

Alec blamed himself for everything, unable to react.

He became the laughingstock of high society.

Eventually, he was known as the “pathetically kind duke.”

With the fearsome Grand Duke gone, no one feared the Brent family anymore.

It was almost a miracle Alec hadn’t ended his life already.

Still, she thought the Emperor’s cruelty would go no further.

‘Have you heard that people change after shock? I’ll prescribe something for you, Duke Brent. Shock therapy—how about curing your stutter that way?’

‘…’

‘I’ll give you the greatest shock of your life.’

No…

Not that…

She had known the Emperor was cruel, but never imagined he would destroy the Brent family.

Yet now it had become reality.

The family collapsed overnight.

A tyrant was called a tyrant for a reason.

* * *

‘Who do you think you are? Get lost!’

After being turned away by their relatives, the only place left was a common inn.

As they walked to their assigned room, her mother-in-law muttered darkly, and Eloy cried.

“I will never forget this humiliation…”

“How am I supposed to sleep in a dump like this…”

She looked worriedly at her husband, who had fallen silent.

He already blamed himself for everything—how must he feel now?

‘He’s probably in a despair I can’t even imagine.’

Ah…

Her life.

She swallowed her dizziness.

They might stay here tonight, but what about tomorrow? The day after?

For the first time, she deeply questioned this marriage.

Even without marital intimacy, even with him being a powerless duke, it hadn’t felt this hopeless.

But now… they were completely penniless.

“Alec.”

Inside the small, simple room, she softly called his name.

His broad, sturdy back looked smaller than ever.

He lowered his head, unable to face her.

Even in sorrow, his appearance was beautiful—like suffering turned into art.

His melancholic eyes deepened, radiating tragic beauty.

‘What am I even thinking right now…’

Shaking off her thoughts, she approached and gently patted his arm.

“It will be okay. Don’t lose heart.”

“….”

His thin, sensual lips trembled.

He strained to hold back tears.

Though she comforted him outwardly, inwardly she resented the Brent family that had deceived her and fallen into ruin.

The fact that he was blameless made it worse.

“L-Luise.”

At last, he spoke.

“I-I’m s-sorry. G-go back to y-your c-country. D-divorce… y-you m-must d-divorce me…”

“….”

What?

Divorce?

Tears fell from his eyes onto the wooden floor.

His throat strained as he held back sobs.

Such a fragile 모습 from someone who looked so strong.

“Alec.”

She tried to respond—but suddenly he pulled her into a tight embrace.

What was this… this boldness?

“Luise.”

He held her as if in pain.

“I-if I’m r-reborn… I’ll l-love you… p-perfectly…”

At the time, she didn’t understand what he meant.

She was only stunned to hear the word love for the first time.

“I’ll be reborn again and again… until I can become a perfect husband for you…”

“….”

It was the first time she felt such strong resolve from him.

She didn’t know how he intended to become “perfect,” but she waited for him to continue.

His determination felt sharp and intense.

“S-so I can g-get revenge on whoever did this to us… and b-become strong enough to p-protect you…”

The next morning, he was found not in their room, but another.

An empty bottle of rat poison lay under the bed.

Thankfully—

he didn’t die.

He just…

became a little strange.