# 2
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You ruined my life.
She thought about it calmly about ten times, but she was truly devastated.
"What is this?!"
I slammed my hand on the full-length mirror in front of me.
“Does this make sense? It would have been better if I was reincarnated as a nameless extra. No, even if I was reincarnated as a pebble in the street that would be a hundred times better, no, a thousand times!”
A cry of frustration erupted.
Of all the characters in the novel, how could I end up reincarnated as Ian Cloud's ex-wife?!
“This can't be happening...”
I was hitting the innocent mirror hard when a thought suddenly occurred to me, making me raise my head.
“Wait, maybe… maybe this was before the marriage?”
Yes, it's too early to draw conclusions.
It's true that I've reincarnated as Eloise, but if I haven't gotten married yet, there's still a way to fix this.
As I clenched my fist, I caught a glimpse of a curtain reflected in the mirror.
It bore the family crest of a ferocious falcon with its wings spread wide.
“Damn…”
The tension in my clenched fists slowly began to dissipate.
The blue hawk was a symbol of Duke Cloud's family, a very detailed description in the novel.
“So it's already over.”
Yes, it's over.
It's over.
I have finished.
At this point, reality hit me hard.
This is not a dream. I reincarnated as Eloise, who's already married to Ian Cloud, and all because I got hit by a reincarnation truck or a cursed truck or something.
Fate sure has a cruel sense of humor!
If you were going to reincarnate me, could you have at least made me Diana's first friend after I died or something? Would that have been so bad?
'Fuck...'
“Ma’am?”
As I was banging my head on the mirror, a small voice came from the slightly open door.
The brown-haired maid, who caught my attention, sighed and quickly lowered her head.
"I didn't see anything! I just arrived, really."
She's seen it all.
“…What’s wrong?”
I adjusted my voice and asked quietly.
Normally, I couldn't imagine myf acting like this, but since I was in Eloise's body, my voice and demeanor naturally exuded elegance.
'Ah, so this is what it feels like to take on another character?'
The hesitant maid began to speak cautiously.
“It's almost time for breakfast. You should be down soon.”
“Breakfast? Ah.”
I remembered the original story after a moment.
Before the divorce, Ian and Eloise's married life was as dry as a desert.
Honestly, they were more like housemates – really antagonistic.
The unusual part was that despite everything, they always had breakfast together.
The reason was simple: Ian thought this was the most efficient way to handle all the necessary communications.
It was also the only time they met face to face in the palace.
'The more I thought about it, they were a great couple.'
After finishing my thought, I clicked my tongue.
'I guess... I should get off?'
“Let them know I'll be coming down soon.”
“N-yes!” concept."
The maid nodded so forcefully that it seemed as if her head might fall off, quietly closed the door and left.
She was so careful that I couldn't even hear the heavy wooden door closing.
I looked in the mirror.
Eloise's calm and precise face reflected.
I sighed quietly.
Eloise, you've had bad luck with men too.
With that face, why did you have to marry Ian?
“If you had met someone else, your life would have been happier.”
Ian, who has buried his feelings, and Eloise, who have dried up—of course, they won't end well.
Ian, after realizing his feelings for Diana, coldly demands a divorce, and the House of Marquis Alpheus, the Eloise family, almost becomes enemies of Duke Cloud.
Come to think of it, Eloise was a pathetic person too.
“Eloise was a loner, but deep down she was not a bad person.”
It turned out that Ian was a troublemaker, causing trouble everywhere he went. It wasn't just Diana who suffered from his actions—this man was a walking disaster.
‘…Anyway, it looks like I have to meet that bastard Ian now.’
I looked at the door. Of course, I didn't want to see even a single hair on Ian's head now, but I couldn't help but feel a little curious.
The author of this novel has spent an inordinate amount of time describing Ian's appearance throughout the story. Silky silver hair, eyes like a mixture of the depths of the sea and dawn, a graceful nose carved by a master, pale skin as if carved from ice, full, attractive lips… the list goes on.
Even for the protagonist, it was too much. The author described Ian's beauty so much that by the time I got to the later chapters, I started skipping those parts entirely.
“I told you, the author is obsessed with the male hero,” she muttered, though this obsession certainly helped boost the novel's popularity.
But now, instead of reading about Ian, I was about to see him in person. The idea was more tempting than I wanted to admit. After a moment of contemplation, I clenched my fists resolutely.
“Okay, let's see what it's really like. No matter how handsome he is, the first thing I will do is spit in his face.”
❖ ❖ ❖
…or so I decided, just 30 minutes ago.
Is this person a human? Really?
The moment I entered the main dining hall on the first floor, I froze in place like a statue.
Sitting inside the vast hall was a man so handsome that he almost made me dizzy.
His silver hair shone wonderfully under the light, and his pale skin seemed to glow in the streaming sunlight.
His half-closed eyes, a mesmerizing mixture of dark blue and purple, were dull and mesmerizing.
Below those eyes, his straight nose and full red lips were bold and gorgeous, giving him an eye-catching yet sophisticated appearance. Every movement he made was graceful, like a living statue.
'This is crazy...'
I haven't lived a long life, but I can confidently say that no matter how many handsome men I saw, they would all pale in comparison to him. Honestly, I felt like I was looking at an anime character.
‘…So this is Ian Cloud.’
Seeing it in person made me somewhat understand why the author spent so much time praising his appearance. I found myf so impressed that instead of spitting in his face, I had to remind myf not to open my mouth in surprise.
While I was immersed in admiration, Ian looked up and our eyes met. He stared at me intently before tilting his head slightly.
“What's wrong?”
“Huh?”
“Are you planning to eat standing up?”
In that moment, the fascination I felt as if someone had slapped me in the head disappeared. This was the first time I realized that someone could ruin another person's mood while speaking in polite language.
‘That’s right… This man’s title was also Poison Duke. 'Duke of poisonous words'
Ian did not become popular with Diana just because he ignored and abused her. He was actually a truly insufferable person.
He had no morals at all. Since he approached everything dispassionately, he always communicated in a frank and direct manner, and had a habit of being sharp and condescending in everything he did.
Just look at him now. He was the type to ask, “What’s going on?” Suddenly, first thing in the morning. How charming.
As I was lamenting my condition, Ian glanced at me and then resumed eating as if he didn't care whether I was standing there or not.
“If you're not interested in breakfast, you're free to go back upstairs.”
“No, I'll take it.”
However, his voice was so gentle that it made me even angrier. If he's going to be an idiot, the least the universe can do is give him an annoying, whiny voice.
Annoyed, I walked across the hall, pulled out a chair and sat down. Then she made sure to stare directly at him.
When Ian noticed my gaze, his hand, which had been moving steadily, slowed.
"my lady."
"Yes?"
“No matter how much you stare, it won't burn a hole in someone.”
...give me that sound if you don't intend to use it properly.