How to Get My Husband on My Side

“I’ve finally found a worthy groom for you, darling,” announced Father, as he wiped off his lips with a napkin.

Laying on the knees of my oldest brother Cesare, I felt the urge to run back to my bedroom and throw up all the food I’d just eaten.

My second brother Enzo, who had been busily chowing down on an awfully smelly quenelle, slammed his fork down and cried out in protest.

“Not again! Father, how many times has it been already?”

“Enzo.”

“It hasn’t even been three months since her last engagement was called off! Regardless of what our family would gain from this marriage, shouldn’t you at least try to consider her feelings?”

“What a surprise to see you side with your little sister. Then would you rather battle the barbarians yourself instead of accepting Britannia’s support?”

“What are you talking about? Those savage barbarians up north wouldn’t stand a chance against the likes of me, the greatest, most noble soldier to ha—”

“Shut your trap, boy.”

The great noble soldier took the rest of the quenelle on his plate and shoved it into his mouth, aggressively chewing in protest.

The marriage proposal wasn’t any surprise to me though. I knew that it would come sooner or later.

“Who is it, Father?”, I asked cheerfully.

My father, who had been staring disapprovingly at Enzo, looked back my way and smiled.

“He’s Britannia’s hero. The king’s beloved nephew and famous knight of the South. He’s very handsome, I’m sure you’ll like him.”

“What! Father, do you know how bad his reputation is?!”

“Boy, was I talking to you?”

Enzo became quiet again.

this handsome knight would one day

“Ruby?”

hesitate for a moment, Cesare, who had been stroking my head, called for me again. This time his long fingers groped the back of my head. I shuddered in revulsion. It felt like a cold snake slithering

glancing at his eerie azure eyes, I shifted my gaze to Enzo who was frowning discontentedly, and then to Lady Julia and my father beside her, both seated upright, poised and dignified as

least be of some service

rare gentle smile and pressed them up

sweet little angel,” he

really wanted to

I had more pressing matters to attend to than throwing up. After all, the handsome knight

***

Renaissance Era, and as a character in a novel that I’d read long ago, and, to make matters

going to be reincarnated as a character in this novel, couldn’t I have at least been

“Ugh!”

tense up and my eyes begin to water. I’d gotten good enough at throwing up silently that I didn’t need to worry

an eating disorder. Before I became Rudbeckia de Borgia—I

knew nothing about the so-called ‘Korean Peninsula’ where I was born. Like my adoptive siblings, I attended a prestigious private school in Madrid

sometime around 4th grade, when a boy in my class laughed at me while pulling back his eyes. At first I didn’t understand what it meant, so I just laughed along with the rest of the kids in my class. I thought that my eyes were round like everyone else’s, so I had no idea that he

but as for my life at home, despite the sophisticated, welcoming facade of my adoptive family, there was always

and my second brother, who was a rising tennis star, was publicly exposed for his promiscuous private life and drug addiction. The only one in my adoptive family who would sometimes treat me nicely was my older sister, and she committed suicide at age twenty-one. As for my oldest brother, I quickly learned that he

me to play the role of a smart, cheerful, and obedient daughter, since if I ever brought the smallest bit of shame to my family or offended them in the slightest, there was hell

was just hallucinating before l passed away. But when I looked in the mirror, instead of seeing my face, there was a beautiful western girl

me a few days to realize that I’d become Rudbeckia de Borgia, a character in the fantasy novel Sodom and the Holy

about the countries of the North and the clergy bravely rising up and banding together to overthrow the wicked

a metaphor for the holy site

Rudbeckia, was destined to die, and to die no less than at the

political influence, were hellbent on marrying off Rudbeckia, and after three unsuccessful engagements and another last minute cancellation, she ended up being married off to Izek van Omerta of

his mind and decide to murder his wife’s entire family after only being

was hatred—hatred of Rudbeckia,

about Rudbeckia killing his little sister, it seems like Izek just got fed up with his backstabbing b*tch of a wife and