chapter 1
One deep night, a married couple crossing a snowy mountain lost their means of transportation in an accident and faced death.
At the moment they desperately prayed for divine salvation amidst the darkness and cold, a monster appeared before the trembling pair.
With a satisfied smile, the monster said:
“I shall grant that wish. But in exchange…”
If dying was what everyone wanted, then perhaps it would be better to die gladly.
There was nothing left to regret anyway. Her entire life had apparently been leading to this moment from the start.
As she climbed the path toward her death without pause, Ivenia resolved to die with every passing second.
The white dress that had been torn and dirtied while forcing her way through the forest was now so ruined that its original appearance could barely be guessed.
A bride covered in dirt and cold sweat.
It was laughable.
It would have been better not to wear such a hollow outfit in the first place.
If the fiancé she was about to meet saw her like this, how ridiculous would he think she looked?
That monster would sneer at the foolish human sacrifice and her family before swallowing her whole in a single bite.
It was an ending that would satisfy everyone.
The only victim—the bride—would melt away inside the monster’s stomach and never again be able to voice any complaints.
“So die in my place, Eve. Isn’t that better? Even if you die… there won’t be anyone who’ll mourn you.”
Pushed onward again and again by the voice endlessly repeating in her mind, Ivenia finally arrived at the main gate.
The entrance to the dilapidated ancient castle was rusted and peeling, just like the walls she had passed earlier.
When she pulled hard on the handle, a pitch-black interior revealed itself through the gap.
Though it was still daytime outside, not a single ray of light entered the castle, as if some invisible boundary had been drawn around it.
Without hesitation, Ivenia stepped into the darkness where she could not see even an inch ahead.
There was no need to tidy her appearance or catch her breath.
No matter how calmly she behaved, she knew this could never be called a dignified death.
“O eternal master of the land of Ritberg, I have come to fulfill the ancient contract. Claim the price that was promised!”
The moment both her feet crossed the threshold, the doors slammed shut behind her with a chilling noise, as though they had been waiting for it.
Hearing her final words echo through the air, Ivenia closed her eyes in resignation.
Then she waited for the monster to swallow her whole.
How much time had passed?
A thunderous roar crashed down over her head.
“Foolish human! Even knowing countless of your kind have died here, you still came all this way to sell your life for mere gold?”
Startled by the booming voice, Ivenia instinctively shrank her shoulders.
So her ancestors had not only borrowed their lives from the monster, but also received gold from it?
To save two people in exchange for one sacrifice—and even provide gold on top of that.
For a deal with a monster, it sounded excessively generous.
“As payment for that pitiful greed, your limbs shall soon be torn apart! The sword you wielded for plunder will point toward your own neck, the helmet that protected you will become a basin for your blood, and the armor you trusted— no, the dress, the dre—”
“……”
“……Dress?”
The voice, correcting itself several times like an actor who had forgotten his lines, suddenly cut off.
Ivenia cautiously opened her eyes.
The pitch-black interior was flashing with a crimson glow reminiscent of hellfire, but strangely, she did not feel much fear.
Before she could even grasp what she was seeing, the surroundings suddenly brightened like broad daylight.
At the center of it all, someone appeared with the sound of an enormous firework exploding.
Caught off guard by the bizarre spectacle, Ivenia stared blankly at the figure.
Emerging from the thick smoke was a man wearing an exaggerated mask like a performer in a stage play.
As if to show he was not the master of the castle, he wore a formal uniform one might expect of a butler.
The man silently looked her up and down for a moment before abruptly saying:
“You’re wearing a wedding dress. Like a bride.”
His voice was so elegant that it was hard to believe he was the same person who had just been hurling curses moments earlier.
Under his questioning gaze, Ivenia answered hesitantly.
“Because… I am a bride?”
“I definitely didn’t hear a carriage arriving… Only the uncouth footsteps of rats sneaking in to steal treasure.”
“That’s… I’m sorry. It’s my first time walking through a forest like this, so it was difficult…”
The sudden criticism made Ivenia’s cheeks burn with embarrassment.
The man flicked his finger uncertainly. At the same time, the tightly shut doors swung wide open, revealing an empty entrance hall.
Pointing toward the gloomy outdoors, he asked:
“And where are the carriage and driver? Or at least the luggage? And where are the maids?”
Dazed, Ivenia pondered the meaning of the question.
Were they planning to snack on the people the bride brought along too?
In a damp voice, she answered:
“They ran away.”
“Then you really walked all the way here on your own two feet? That entire distance, dressed like that, a newlywed bride, alone?”
“Yes.”
“Without even a maid?”
The man emphasized the word maid in particular.
She had originally brought one maid from her household, but only with the intention of sending her back eventually.
Even if the others had not abandoned her and fled at the edge of the forest, that girl was never meant to remain here.
There was no reason for a woman about to die to need a servant.
Breathing softly, Ivenia answered once more.
“Yes.”
At that, the man’s voice suddenly grew serious.
“Hmm, this is troubling. Forget the coachman, but I assumed you’d bring attendants with you, so I only hired one maid…”
“You hired a maid?”
“Yes.”
“...Why?”
Ivenia asked with complete confusion.
The masked man adjusted his mask as though he were the one baffled.
“I’ve been shut away in this backwater for about two hundred years now, so perhaps things have changed… Is it fashionable in high society these days for ladies to live independently without servants?”
She could not understand a word he was saying.
Deciding to end this bewildering conversation, Ivenia dismissed the matter.
Whatever this situation was, once the monster devoured her, such trivial questions would no longer matter.
It did not matter anymore.
“...First, I’d like to meet Lord Ram.”
“Ah, of course. Since the new bride has arrived, it’s only proper that she sees the groom first. Please forgive the misunderstanding and the mistake I made because of it.”
After politely apologizing to her request, the man gestured toward the second floor as if inviting her to follow.
Though he was noticeably kinder now than before, Ivenia did not forget her role.
Just look at how skillfully he had threatened an intruder earlier.
He was merely holding back so as not to disturb his master’s meal.
If there was any difference between her and the previous victims, it was only that they had been killed by the monster’s servant at the front gate, while she would be eaten directly in the monster’s chambers.
The process had merely become more elaborate—the result would be the same.
“My master is inside. Please, go in.”
The man stopped before a room located at the center of the second floor.
As he extended a hand toward the destination, the enormous double doors opened by themselves.
Feeling strangely relieved, Ivenia walked inside.
If she was going to offer up her life anyway, she wanted to die without ever looking back.
Before the resolve she had painstakingly built began to waver.
Before useless thoughts made her afraid.
Before, pathetically, she started wanting to live again.
‘At last… now I can finally die for real.’
With determined eyes, Ivenia surveyed the room.
Compared to its size, the furnishings inside were surprisingly sparse, so it did not take long for her to spot the one she had been searching for on the bed.
But instead of approaching him, she suddenly halted in her tracks.
She had boldly stepped forward at first, but now she could not help wondering whether the thing before her was truly the one she had come seeking.
And honestly… it was understandable why.
The master of the room was curled up in the corner of the bed, wrapped tightly in white blankets like a cocoon.
