The Archduke's Fabulous Fake Marriage

Once a humble art student, she awakens one day to find herself inhabiting the body of Shaye, the fourth-ranking villainess in a fantasy novel she once read. Worse, she has inherited not only a tarnished reputation but also a terrifying new reality—she is about to be put up for sale at a squalid slave auction. Yet in this strange new world, her mundane artistic training has transformed into genuine magical power, a twist that may be her only saving grace. Her rescue comes in the formidable form of Archduke Lacius de Schubeiden, but his intervention is far from a simple act of chivalry. The Archduke has a practical proposition: he will pay her handsomely to play the part of his fiercely jealous wife, a role designed to scare off the relentless stalkers who plague his daily life. It is a calculated arrangement, one Shaye accepts without hesitation—after all, it is a lifeline. Nevertheless, stepping into the persona of a possessive duchess while navigating the treacherous politics of high society is no easy feat. With Lacius's enigmatic motives and Shaye's precarious grip on her newfound identity, their performance could easily unravel. Whether their contract will lead to freedom or disaster remains a gamble, and the line between pretense and reality might just blur before they know it.