Spring in My Grasp - Chapter 3

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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(3) A Rejected Wedding Night

—How could this happen? We were friends for so long. I thought we had shared our hearts for years. Was it all just my delusion?
Before I could fully regain consciousness, a sharp, agonizing sensation of heartbreak washed over me. Startled by this unfamiliar emotion, I snapped my eyes open.
In that same instant, a cream-colored ceiling came into view, and tears streamed down my damp cheeks.
‘This is… Rowan’s emotion.’
Though she had already departed to the Afterlife, her feelings pierced through this body like jagged shards, surfacing one by one.
I rose from the bed and wiped my wet face, surveying my surroundings. Since I had begun living in Roan Eleanor Hartwood’s body, this was only the second time I had lost consciousness and found myself in an unfamiliar situation.
‘Where am I…?’
A strange room, yet one decorated with extraordinary opulence. Though I had thought my own chamber lavish, this place was incomparably more splendid. Dazzling and glittering to the point of overwhelming the senses, I felt disoriented as I opened my eyes in the center of this resplendent space.
“You seem to be quite the unwelcome guest.”
Then, from somewhere, came a mocking voice.
‘That captivating tone!’
My head turned reflexively. As I looked back, I saw Alexis leaning against the window frame, a cigarette between his lips, standing in a languid, defiant posture.
“To simply dispose of your daughter like this, fainting during the wedding ceremony itself.”
He let out a hollow laugh and slowly inhaled from the cigarette. That languid motion was utterly captivating and decadent, and without realizing it, my face flushed.
‘His appearance is truly extraordinary.’
Yet despite his refined beauty, the sharp tongue and attitude emanating from that face were deeply twisted. I took a breath and forced myself to speak calmly.
“Where am I?”
“The Bridal Chamber.”
“Oh my.”
I turned my head away, feigning embarrassment.
‘I’m not that oblivious.’
Misinterpreting the meaning behind my turned head, Alexis continued slowly.
“Don’t worry. I was only planning to leave once I saw you wake up.”
At those words, my head throbbed.
‘What is he saying? We just got married—there’s no need for him to leave!’
Yet I couldn’t bring myself to voice those words aloud. I simply sat there with my head bowed, at a loss.
“You must hate this so much to faint twice.”
That wasn’t my intention!
I wanted to protest, but I didn’t know what excuse to offer, so my mouth merely gaped open. No, don’t misunderstand. That’s not what happened.
“Then rest.”
“Wait, please!”
I desperately grabbed Alexis as he moved to extinguish his cigarette and leave. In that instant, his brow furrowed. Though I had seized him without thinking, his reaction made me shrink back, and I quickly withdrew my hand. The moment my touch left his skin, a look of deep disgust spread across his face.
“B-but we just got married. If you leave like this…”
Flustered, I stammered, and Alexis laughed coldly.
“Marriage, you say.”
A chill seemed to emanate from his very being.
‘Ah, this aura again.’
I felt another wave of dizziness threatening to overtake me. This strange, overwhelming presence—what was it? This inexplicable aura radiating from him was something I couldn’t put into words.
“Since we’re both abandoned anyway, there’s no point in exhausting ourselves living together.”
One corner of his mouth twisted upward.
“You married to survive, I’m sure. I need to fend for myself too—”
Then, holding my gaze steadily, he spoke in a low voice.
“Let’s each fend for ourselves.”
With those words, Alexis strode out of the room without once looking back at me. Left alone, I gnawed at my fingernails in anxiety and restlessness, curling my legs against my chest as I tried to gather my thoughts.
‘What a terrible man.’
Even so, I had to escape my original circumstances and survive. Wouldn’t it be better if we could navigate this together amicably?
‘There’s no reason for us to be distant when we’re married!’
In truth, being left alone in this unfamiliar room terrified me far more than his touch ever could. Despite what they called a marriage in name only, perhaps I had wanted to endure this together, since we were in the same predicament—just as he’d said.
‘I need to wake up from that dream.’
Life is solitary after all. For a moment, my resolve had weakened, and I’d wanted to lean on this devastatingly handsome man. But with him acting so coldly, there was nothing I could do.
Unwilling to dwell on the matter, I surveyed the room and suddenly discovered food laid out on the table.
‘Yes, that’s exactly it!’
The best thing about inhabiting another body in this otherworld was the delicacies I could now enjoy every day. The food prepared for a newlywed couple on their wedding night was arranged with an abundance of sweet delights.
‘Wine!’
And there it was—the perfect instrument to mark the beginning of a newlywed couple’s life together: wine.
‘Look at that elegant bottle.’
An expensive wine bottle displayed itself prominently. I, who had only ever received drinks from my boss at company gatherings during my part-time jobs, grew excited and uncorked the bottle, pouring it generously into a glass.
“Mmm…”
The aroma was lovely.
Thrilled at the thought of tasting something so expensive, I popped a finger sandwich topped with salmon and caviar onto fluffy white bread into my mouth and moistened my lips with wine.
“Mmm… since it’s expensive, it must be good for my health too.”
I drank without any thought of moderation.
“Mmm…”
Without truly understanding what I was doing, I mimicked what I’d seen on television—savoring the aroma first before each sip, then affecting an air of appreciation afterward—as I monopolized the table’s offerings all by myself.
‘Whether I’m full from eating or drunk from wine.’
Soon I stumbled toward the bed and collapsed onto it. The plush sensation, the fragrant scent enveloped my entire body.
‘Ah, this is wonderful.’
In my previous life, I could never have imagined such luxury. No matter how much I earned, I could never have dreamed of rubbing my cheek against bedding like this.
Flushed from the wine, I rubbed my cheeks against the pillow repeatedly.
‘My body is comfortable, the food is delicious, my belly is full—this is heaven for me.’
Having lived such a destitute and unlucky life, falling into this incomprehensible world didn’t seem so terrible. Though the life of this Roan whose body I inhabited didn’t appear particularly easy, compared to the desperate struggle for survival I’d endured, it was paradise itself.
‘Yes, I’ve made it through today safely…’
Gradually, I surrendered to the wine’s embrace and drifted into sleep.
‘I’ll worry about tomorrow when it comes.’
Like Scarlett O’Hara. Tomorrow will bring its own sun.
***
Yet what awaited her the following morning was a merciless hangover.
‘Please… make it stop….’
It was a kind of suffering I had never experienced in my entire life. I forced myself to rise at the sound of a gentle knock on the door. It was an order from the household staff that I attend breakfast immediately, as everyone from the Glister family had gathered.
‘Of all times… why now….’
With a thoroughly haggard complexion, I nodded and, with the assistance of the maids, managed to change into a fresh dress before descending to the Dining Room. Only then did I truly grasp how incomparably vast and magnificent this mansion was compared to the Hartwood Earldom where I had been living.
‘So I have risen in station after all?’
As long as the Groom isn’t a complete scoundrel… I entered the Dining Room with a quiet chuckle. Upon stepping inside, I quickly surveyed the seated figures.
‘Everyone from the Glister family is supposed to be gathered here….’
Yet my Groom was nowhere to be found. I lowered my head in the blade-sharp atmosphere and took my seat as directed by the attendant.
“Good morning, Miss Hartwood.”
An elderly woman seated at the head of the table spoke.
“No, forgive me—you’ve become Alexis’s bride, so you’re one of us now. I misspoke. May I call you Rowan?”
“Of course.”
I responded readily. The Countess Glister was the first to address me. At my unexpectedly composed demeanor, the Countess Glister’s eyes narrowed slightly. I quickly assessed the others present with subtle discretion.
There were five of us in total, including myself. At the head of the table sat Count Glister and Countess Glister, while across from me sat two young people side by side.
‘If my intuition serves me correctly, those people are….’
My mind was working rapidly.
“I apologize for the late introduction. I am Francis, Alexis’s elder brother.”
A man with a quiet demeanor greeted me. I turned to face him with a gentle smile, then quietly shifted my gaze to the woman beside him. She held a water glass with a cold expression.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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