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.

them had any idea that this handsome knight would one day massacre their entire family. Oh poor,

“Ruby?”

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

After glancing at his eerie azure eyes, I shifted my gaze to Enzo who was frowning discontentedly,

can at least be of some service to you with

gentle smile and pressed them up against the

as always, our sweet little angel,” he

really

throwing up. After all, the handsome knight of the South was out to

***

that untimely helicopter crash that my tiresome life had at last come to an end and I could finally rest. But if I’d known that I would be reincarnated as a lady in the Renaissance Era, and as a character in a novel that I’d read long ago, and, to make matters worse, forced to survive in an environment that was just as vile as my previous life, would I

I was going to be reincarnated as a character in this

“Ugh!”

to water. I’d gotten good enough at throwing up silently that I

Before I became Rudbeckia de Borgia—I mean before I died—I was an adopted daughter of an upper-class family in Spain. I

adoptive siblings, I attended a prestigious private school in Madrid and lived a life full of ballet classes, tennis club, horseback

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

sophisticated, welcoming facade of my adoptive family, there was always an unspoken rule that I was to be treated differently, that I

in my adoptive family who would sometimes treat me nicely was my older sister, and she committed suicide at

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

first I thought I was just hallucinating before l passed away. But when I looked in the mirror, instead of seeing my face,

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

the tale of a vile, corrupt pope who abused his power to subjugate others. It was a story about the countries of the North and the clergy bravely rising up and banding together

to the people of the northern Romagna region of Italy, and ‘Holy Grail’ was a metaphor for the holy site of the Vatican City. And as for

no

in an attempt to gain even more political influence, were hellbent on marrying off Rudbeckia, and after three unsuccessful engagements and another last minute cancellation, she ended up being

and decide to murder his

was hatred—hatred of Rudbeckia, who’d poisoned his little sister.

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