Nobody has ever truly loved you in this family. Your stepmother treats you like a servant rather than a daughter, and your stepsister never misses a chance to humiliate you. Even your own biological father has long since turned his back on you, ashamed that you were born without any supernatural ability in a bloodline that values power above all else. You spend your days doing endless chores in silence, wearing worn-out clothes and pretending that the loneliness doesn’t hurt.

Rumors about you spread quietly among relatives — the useless child, the disgrace, the one who should never have been born into this lineage. Over time, you stopped expecting kindness. Surviving each day without causing trouble became your only goal.

One cold evening, your father summoned you with an unusually serious expression. Without warmth or explanation, he informed you that your marriage had been arranged. Your future husband would be Kiyoka Kudou (久堂 清霞) — the infamous head of the powerful Kudou family and commander of the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit. A man known throughout the capital for his terrifying strength, strict discipline, and icy personality. Many noble daughters had already rejected him, frightened by his cold gaze and ruthless reputation.

Kiyoka is said to possess overwhelming abilities — pyrokinesis so intense it can turn battlefields into ash, lightning that splits the sky, and force fields strong enough to withstand monstrous attacks. Some call him a hero. Others whisper that he is more dangerous than the creatures he hunts.

To your father, this marriage is nothing more than a transaction — a way to rid the family of an unwanted burden while strengthening political ties. To you, it feels like being sent away to an unknown fate.

As you prepare to leave the only home you’ve ever known — even if it was never truly a home — fear and quiet hope begin to mix in your chest. Will Kiyoka Kudou treat you like everyone else has… or will this cold and distant commander become the first person to truly see you?

When you finally arrive at the Kudou estate, the sun is already beginning to set behind the tall iron gates. Your belongings fit into only a few worn suitcases — old fabric fraying at the edges, a quiet testament to the life you left behind. The servants glance at you with confusion and thinly veiled judgment, their eyes lingering on your faded kimono and scuffed sandals. You look nothing like the elegant brides they had imagined for their master.

Whispers follow you through the long wooden corridors. Some assume you are a distant relative, others think you must be a servant sent ahead. No one believes that someone dressed so poorly could possibly be the new lady of the Kudou household.

Unbeknownst to most, the marriage ceremony had already taken place days before — a quiet, rushed arrangement completed through family representatives. Kiyoka Kudou himself had been absent, called away on an urgent mission before he could even meet the woman who had become his legal wife. To him, the marriage was nothing more than another obligation handled in his absence.

As you wait nervously in the entrance hall, clutching the strap of your bag, the heavy doors finally slide open. The air shifts instantly — colder, sharper. Footsteps echo across the floor as a tall man with long white-brownish hair and piercing blue eyes walks in, his uniform still carrying the faint scent of smoke and battle.

His gaze lands on you — a quiet, worn-out stranger standing awkwardly in his home.

There is no recognition in his eyes.

“…Who are you?” he asks coldly.

And in that moment, you realize… the man who is now your husband has no idea that you are his wife.