Chapter 1: My Second Husband Was His Highness the Grand Duke
**I Ended Up Living Next Door to My Ex-Husband**
Damn wishing fountain.
I'd always taken the same route to work, yet this was the first time I'd ever noticed a fountain along the way.
*When did this get here? I never saw any construction.*
Hoping it was a good omen, I tossed in a 500-won coin and made a wish.
*Please help my husband become a wonderful person.*
But when I returned home...
"Babe! This is all a misunderstanding!"
"Yes, Jae-hee! Let me explain everything!"
This bastard was in my bedroom, screwing my best friend.
"...What? A misunderstanding?"
"Yes, a misunderstanding! We... No, wait! I'll explain everything! Just—just calm down first and hear me out..."
My husband scrambled toward me, hastily snatching up his underwear and pulling it on.
Exactly three days ago, my husband had failed yet again in his bid to become a film director. Those were the luxury boxers I'd bought him as a gift to lift his spirits. Never did I imagine he'd be taking them off in front of my best friend.
I trusted him as a husband. Without a single complaint, I brought home the money, cooked the meals, and provided endless emotional support. This was my reward for working so hard to support his dream.
Rage surged from deep within my chest.
"You said you wanted to become a film director, but I guess what you really wanted to make was pornography?"
"Honey, I understand you're upset. But why do you have to talk like that? You know I'm working hard toward becoming a director with a ten-million-viewer hit. All I did was make a little mistake that hurt your feelings—"
"What director? You haven't earned even ten million won in five years of marriage!"
Even now, he was trying to manipulate me with empty promises. I was so sick of it my teeth ground together.
"You bastard! Even if you can't make a masterpiece like *Parasite*, at least you shouldn't live like a parasite!"
As I spat the words, my husband's face twisted.
"Hey! Are you done? You act so high and mighty just because you make some money, but when I hit it big, I'll pay back every cent! Why are you being like this?"
"Jae-hee, I understand you're angry, but aren't you being too harsh on Won-ho?"
That was the sound of my last thread of sanity snapping.
*It would be unreasonable to treat animals from a nature documentary as human beings.*
Without hesitation, I dropped my civilized mask and grabbed my husband by the hair.
"Ow! Hey! What are you doing, you crazy—let go!"
"Oh, so *you're* the cultured one, sleeping with your wife's friend?"
"Stop it! If you keep this up, we're really going to divorce!"
"Divorce?"
I laughed out loud. My anger had already hit its peak. Gripping his hair with one hand, I raised the other high.
This would be the last thing I ever gave him—a slap he'd never forget.
"Fine, let's divorce! You son of a bitch!"
I swung with such force that my whole body spun halfway around. I took a deep breath and opened my eyes.
*Am I so shocked I'm seeing things?*
The first thing I noticed was an ivory marble floor. Then luxurious medieval furniture and a fireplace. Portraits of unknown nobles lined the walls.
*What... is this?*
I must have fainted from the shock. This had to be a hallucination.
*No! I need to wake up and punch that woman too!*
Panic gripped me. I shook my head, trying to snap out of the dream. That's when I heard an unfamiliar male voice—low and magnetic.
"I had no idea. I didn't realize your hand was this strong."
The voice carried a hint of menace. Slowly, I turned toward its source.
Black hair slicked back with pomade. Flawless features. Broad shoulders. A sharply tailored black suit reminiscent of medieval nobility, accented by what had to be an expensive silk pocket square. A stunningly handsome man stood directly before me.
He looked down at me with cold eyes, touched his cheek, and sneered.
"This is the end of my tolerance for your behavior."
His cheek was red and swollen, as if he'd just been struck. Who had hurt that face—
Wait.
*Did I just hit him?*
I did my best to avoid his piercing gaze while assessing the situation.
*Is he saying I slapped him?*
That couldn't be right. The person I hit was my cheating husband.
*Why am I even here?*
No matter how I looked at it, nothing made sense. Questions swirled in my mind. Lost in confusion, I remembered something.
*Oh, right. I fainted.*
This had to be a dream. Had God taken pity on me and granted me the chance to see this impossibly handsome man, even if only in my sleep? But how did they know my taste well enough to send someone with the air of a medieval duke?
*Thank you very much, but I still have unfinished business in real life.*
When my schedule cleared up, please send this man to my dreams again tonight. Any other time, I would have prayed never to wake up—but not now. I'd just witnessed my husband naked in bed with my best friend.
Reigniting my fighting spirit, I addressed the man.
"I'm a bit busy right now, so I'll be going. See you again tonight."
The man stared at me as if I were insane.
"What manner of speech is that? It doesn't suit you."
The man in my dream was committed to his role until the very end. How dedicated. But I really was busy.
"Never mind that. I need to get back to reality."
His expression twisted further at my firm words. Either way, I pinched my cheek hard, hoping to wake up.
"Ow—! *Argh!*"
A scream tore from my throat. I clutched my throbbing cheek, blinking in shock.
It hurt. A lot.
*Strange...*
This was clearly a dream—so why did it hurt?
The pinch had been so hard that even brushing my finger against my cheek stung. As I stood there, dazed by the vivid pain, I heard a low sigh.
"What scheme is this now? Are you pretending to be mad because you think you can't handle the consequences? Or are you trying to earn my sympathy?"
The man lowered his gaze slightly, brushing his eyebrows with a bored expression. Dark brows shifted beneath his fingers. I stared blankly, then realized something strange.
I could see every single eyebrow hair.
*Can a dream be this vivid?*
I studied the man more carefully. Though he was so enchantingly handsome it seemed dreamlike, he was clearly a living, breathing person. His slowly falling eyelashes and distinctive blue eyes were captured in perfect detail.
*Could this... actually not be a dream?*
I needed to be sure. Carefully, I extended my index finger and poked the man's abdomen. His abs were as firm as expected. And more importantly—they were *real*.
*This isn't a dream. This is reality.*
Just as that realization dawned on me, the man's large hand seized my wrist.
"I've told you not to touch my body without permission."
His eyes grew even colder than before.
"Wasn't putting your hand on my cheek enough?"
Frost dripped from his voice. For a moment, I froze, overwhelmed by his intensity.
I tried to calmly assess the situation.
This man was saying I'd slapped him. I didn't know where I was, but it felt real. If I wanted to escape this situation, appeasing him seemed like the top priority. Even I wouldn't let someone go who had suddenly slapped me.
First... I should apologize.
"Well, I don't know how this happened, but... I'm truly sorry for slapping you when we've just met. You have every right to be angry."
"...Just met? 'Sir'?"
"But this is just as absurd to me! Just a moment ago, my *pathetic husband* was right in front of me! So I slapped him to knock some sense into him, but then—"
As my explanation continued, the man's expression grew increasingly strained. He even let out a disbelieving laugh.
*Well, even I wouldn't believe me.*
I was just relieved he wasn't treating me like a complete lunatic.
But what seemed to baffle him was something else entirely.
"...'Pathetic husband.'"
He repeated my words with emphasis, as though he couldn't believe what he'd heard.
He muttered the phrase a few times, then looked down at me with his jaw clenched.
"My wife certainly has creative ways of humiliating her husband."
*My wife?*
Oh my. This man was just as delusional as I was. I burst out laughing and replied as if he were joking.
"Wait—*I'm* your wife?"
The man furrowed his brow, clearly displeased by my reaction.
"Yes. You are still my wife, the Grand Duchess of the Twins Grand Duchy. Unfortunately."
"Ah, yes. The Grand Duke. Of the Twins Grand Duchy...?"
A sudden ominous feeling rendered me speechless. At the same time, a memory flashed through my mind like lightning.
The Twins Grand Duchy was the territory of the male protagonist in the novel *Your Highness the Grand Duke, My Second Husband*—a story I'd been reading with great interest.
*Am I saying I've been transported into the novel? Like in those transmigration stories?*
I considered it for a moment, then shook my head and laughed helplessly.
*What nonsense...* There was no way something like that could happen in my life. Still, that novel really was entertaining. What was the male lead's name again?
"...Ah, Cedric Twins."
I finally recalled it and quietly murmured the name. The man's lips twitched—whether in amusement or displeasure, I couldn't tell.
"You were acting as if you'd lost your memory, yet unfortunately, it seems you haven't forgotten my name."
He spoke as though he wished I had.
*His name? So I really have been transported into the novel?*
I looked around again in disbelief. Everything—the furniture, the décor, the attire of the man before me—was unmistakably medieval.
When I glanced down, I saw a flowing dress draped over my body, and long red hair cascading around my chest. It certainly felt like I'd been possessed by a character in a novel.
*If that man is Cedric, the male lead... then who am I?*
An ominous feeling crept over me. I couldn't be certain, but something told me I wasn't the heroine.
*Besides, if the male lead is glaring at me like this from the very beginning of my transmigration...*
That's when the terrifying name left Cedric's lips.
"Rebecca Twins."
His face, as he looked down at me, grew colder—sharp as a midwinter wind.
"I hope you meant it when you said you wanted a divorce."