But before he could ask anything, a sharp pain suddenly shot through his head. Memories, strange memories, flooded his mind all at once. Images flashed rapidly before his eyes: a luxurious mansion, formal dinners, noble gatherings, family crests, an empire, and a name.
Arkin Vale. The pain faded just as suddenly as it appeared. The young man breathed heavily as he held his head. Arkin Vale was the name that now echoed inside his mind, and slowly, a terrifying understanding began to form. This body wasn't his. He had somehow taken over someone else's life. His heart started beating faster, but the shock didn't stop there. Because as more memories surfaced, a horrifying realization followed.
This world, this empire, and these people were all familiar. He had seen them before in the novel he was reading last night. His eyes widened.
"No way…"
His breathing grew uneven because Arkin Vale was not an important hero in that story. He wasn't the crown prince, he wasn't a powerful knight, and he wasn't even a respected noble. Arkin Vale was something far worse. He was the female lead's arranged husband. The useless husband. The man readers laughed at. The man who would be publicly humiliated, divorced, and eventually die alone after losing everything. His fate in the novel had been miserable, and now, that fate belonged to him.
"Are you feeling unwell, Young Master?" one of the servants asked carefully.
He didn't answer because his mind was spinning too fast. He remembered the story clearly. The female lead hated Arkin. The crown prince would appear soon. The divorce arc would follow shortly after. Once that happened, Arkin would lose his family's support and fall into ruin. His entire life would collapse.
"Wait… wait… wait…" He grabbed his head in panic. "This can't be real…"
Just then, a strange mechanical sound suddenly echoed in his mind.
Ding...
A glowing blue screen appeared in front of his eyes. He blinked in shock as the screen floated in the air like a hologram, but the servants around him continued standing calmly. They didn't react at all, which meant only he could see it.
Words slowly appeared across the glowing screen.
[Marriage Domination System Activated]
He froze. More lines appeared beneath it.
[Host Identity Confirmed]
[Host: Arkin Vale]
His mouth slowly fell open.
"What…?"
The screen continued displaying messages.
[Primary Objective: Prevent Divorce]
[Secondary Objective: Increase Wife's Affection]
Another line appeared immediately afterward.
[Failure Result: Loss of status, wealth, and survival probability drastically reduced.]
[Success Reward: Power, wealth, influence.]
The young man stared at the glowing screen in stunned silence. A system. He had actually been given a system. His mind felt completely overwhelmed. Just yesterday, he had been an ordinary office worker complaining about a fictional character, and now, he had become that character.
Before he could even begin to process everything, a knock suddenly sounded from outside the door. One of the servants stepped forward and opened it slightly. A voice came from the hallway.
"Your wife has returned, Young Master."
His heart nearly stopped. Wife. The female lead. The woman who was supposed to abandon him in the story. He slowly turned his head toward the doorway and the door opened wider. A woman stepped into the room. She was beautiful, with long dark hair falling neatly over her shoulders. Her posture was straight and elegant, and her expression remained calm.
But her eyes were cold. Very cold. She looked directly at him and there was no warmth in her gaze, only distance. Silence filled the room for a moment, then she spoke.
"We need to talk about our marriage."
The young man's heart sank because he knew exactly what that meant. If he remembered the novel correctly, this was the beginning of the divorce arc. And if he made one wrong move, his story might end before it even begins.