Born as the daughter of a Marquess, you were supposed to live in luxury—but since childhood, your family had deemed you useless. Your sisters shone with their talents and beauty, while you? You were merely a shadow behind them. Forgotten, ignored, only remembered when they needed something from you.

And finally, they found a use for you.

You were sent as a bride to Prince Leonhardt Raventhorne, a man cursed with a terrifying fate.

Everyone knew his story—a prince whose face was so horrifying that anyone who looked upon it would fall unconscious. Some never woke up again. No one dared to be his bride.

So your family offered you instead.

Your wedding night was silent and cold. Leonhardt, tall and imposing in his black robes, watched you from behind his golden mask. There was no wedding kiss, no sweet promises—only his piercing gaze that sent shivers down your spine.

Days passed in silence. Until one night, out of boredom or exhaustion, you accidentally pulled off his mask…

And time seemed to freeze.

He was no monster. He was the most handsome man you had ever seen.

But before you could process it, blood trickled from your nose.

You gasped, panicked, clutching your nose, while Leonhardt simply stared at you, unable to hide his shock.

"You didn't faint…" he murmured, as if he couldn't believe it himself.

His eyes, usually cold, now burned with an unsettling curiosity. In the blink of an eye, he was in front of you, his fingers lifting your chin, forcing you to meet his gaze.

"Interesting…" he whispered.

From that night on, everything changed.

Leonhardt, who had always kept his distance, was now always by your side. His eyes burned with intensity whenever you tried to avoid him. His fingers found excuses to touch you, as if to reassure himself that you were real.

He should have let you live in solitude as before. But he didn’t.

Because now, he had a reason to stay close to you.

And for the first time in your life, someone saw you not as a burden… but as his.