Chapter 1

Ch 1

"Blessing in disguise," as they say, there's no law that says people must always die. Can there be a more perfect word than this right now?

Shuer felt touched in the somewhat rustic reception room. How many people in this world get to see a character from a novel right before their eyes?

"From the South, and Lady Netri no less, what brings you all the way to the North?"

Cool eyes held her gaze. Seeing herself reflected in those blue eyes, she choked up slightly, her lips trembling.

In contrast, not a trace of emotion was visible on his face. Fitting his expression, the monochrome northern landscape outside the window felt almost desolate. Of course, even such a background was no different from a flower garden to Shuer.

Clutching the chicken that poked its head out from under her robe, she opened her mouth, filled with emotion.

"It's really, really you, Grand Duke Reygrain Blen, isn't it?"

She couldn't believe that the image she had always imagined was unfolding right before her eyes. He, whom she had only seen as letters in a novel, had become reality.

As Shuer's mouth widened, a deep voice answered.

"That's right."

Though she had appeared abruptly, he received the uninvited guest without surprise or discomposure. His face was as straight as if drawn, and even his sitting posture was perfectly upright.

With trembling hands, Shuer pulled the chicken from under her robe, held it up, and asked.

"Do you perhaps like eggs?"

"...Since when do roosters lay eggs?"

"Then do you like chicken dishes?"

"..."

"Oh, you don't have to worry. A merchant I hitched a ride with gave it to me as a gift on the way."

He remained silent despite Shuer's questions.

In the momentary silence, only the faint clucking of the chicken echoed.

Her beloved favorite maintained a cool expression even in this situation. To say he had excellent patience would be an understatement, as he didn't seem to have been disturbed at all. His face, frozen like the northern winter, felt strangely alien, not like a person with body temperature.

However, perhaps due to Reygrain's handsome appearance, even his coldness seemed perfect in Shuer's eyes.

She put the chicken down and rubbed her hands together.

"Grand Duke, can I just hold your hand once?"

"What are you trying to do now?"

"Or an autograph. A handprint would be even better. I'll keep it as a family heirloom."

Reygrain remained still, like a statue. Instead, a sharp gaze swept over her entire body.

She winked nonchalantly, but there wasn't even a subtle change on Reygrain's face.

He simply observed her quietly. Shuer twisted her body slightly, as if embarrassed, and said.

"Since when has our Grand Duke been so beautiful? I'd die happy if I could just hug him once."

"Remove her."

Clang. The knights waiting behind her grabbed her.

As the startled Shuer flailed her arms, the chicken, which had escaped from her embrace and was wandering on the rug, also flapped its wings and flew up with her.

"Wait, wait! Just a moment! Okay, okay. I'll really get straight to the point!"

Shuer urgently pulled a ring from her robe and held it out to him.

"Grand Duke, please marry me!"

At her words, Reygrain's eyelids twitched.-----The guest room of the Blen family was warm, unsuited to the northern weather. However, the hospitality itself was at the same temperature as outside.

"Seriously, I even proposed, and he didn't even pretend to be surprised."

She had expected it to be difficult, but...

Shuer subtly glanced at the window connected to the hallway.

She was trapped in this splendid room with the chicken. Although there was no explicit mention of her being held captive, the two knights guarding the door were certainly not just decorations. Shuer held up the ring she had carefully kept in her pocket again.

"He didn't like it?"

She threw the ring carelessly onto the bed with a sigh of disappointment.

The journey from the South to this distant North required far more patience than she had imagined. Especially for Shuer, who had left her family with nothing.

She closed her eyes and recalled the events leading up to her arrival here.

About two weeks ago.

She had surely died. To be precise, she, who lived in South Korea, had died.

A time when friends were better than family, and being outside was more enjoyable than being home.

Her parents' worries sounded like nagging, and their interference felt bothersome to her immature 20-year-old self. A traffic accident instantly took her parents away.

It didn't feel real. Not even when she saw her parents' photos hanging side by side at the funeral home.

"A 20-year-old is still a child. They need adult protection. So let's go with your uncle."

"You know Aunt's house is closer to school, right?"

Not even when her relatives fought over who would take her in, eyeing her parents' life insurance money.

When she returned to the large house and realized no one was there.

"I'm ho..."

She belatedly realized the reality as her voice echoed alone and broke down. There was no one left to nag her or wait up for her when she came home late at night.

After the breakwater of family disappeared, all that remained were people flocking for the large insurance payout.

No one truly embraced her.

It didn't take long for her to realize that all the things she had found so annoying were actually attention and love.

Each day was a repetition of regret. If only I had done better. If only I had said 'I love you'.

Why did I hold back such simple expressions? She then cut off all ties and chose isolation.

For a year, she stayed cooped up at home, meeting no one. One day, immersed in lethargy, she chanced upon the popular novel <The Lady Who Makes Flowers Bloom>, which instantly changed her life.

It was a story of a knight commander with beautiful looks, intelligence, and skill, who was always alone, and a crown prince who embraced her. They overcame family conflicts to save the empire and find love.

It was a rather unremarkable romance fantasy novel. However, the Grand Duke Reygrain Blen from the North, who appeared in the novel.

The sub-male lead who inherited the Blen family's ability to use emotions as sword energy but lost all emotions due to frequent monster subjugations.

Grand Duke Reygrain, with his unchanging stoic expression and ability to remain unaffected by any emotion, drew attention from his very concept and soon captured her heart.

At first, it was envy.

'I wish I could feel no emotions, like him.'

What a blessed ability! To be able to escape regret and sorrow just by using that ability, without even trying.

However, the more she read, the more she began to pity him. She felt that his situation, isolated in the North and rarely appearing before people, was similar to her own.

But unlike her, who wanted to abandon all emotions, he valued even the fleeting emotions he felt for the female lead, Erina.

From then on, she subconsciously searched for him in the novel, and before she knew it, she was rooting for Reygrain.

She read the parts with him until the characters were practically worn out. She had never realized she could immerse herself in something so deeply. She imagined his face every day, to the point where she was reading the novel even in her dreams.

Not being able to feel emotions must mean living without knowing such joy or happiness.

Such thoughts made her heart ache.

She eagerly awaited the sequel, hoping that he would quickly regain his emotions through the female lead, Erina. After she began to wish for his happiness, many things changed.

First, she walked out of her home, which had felt as cold as the North, after a year, met people, and started studying again.

Thus, her life, which had been stagnant for a year, began to move again. However, unlike her who had regained her emotions, Reygrain in the novel died.

The female lead, Erina, was the only person who could stir his emotions, but in the end, she did not accept him.