I Become the Villain's Bride - Chapter 17
Chapter 17
Before the impending marriage of Freesia, Matthew is also feeling anxious.
He would only lower his head in front of his mother, who lamented every night, asking how they could let this happen to our Matthew. In his mind, the events of that day remained unforgettable.
Sohee had already heard about Matthew’s long-time crush. Although she thought time would naturally bring the two together, she remarked,
“Love is like a carriage accident that happens without warning.”
Unlike the festive mood at the cathedral where the wedding ceremony was held, the atmosphere at Deveron Mansion was laden with a heavy energy.
The reason behind it was none other than Rose. The sister who had lost her beloved sibling sighed despondently, her spirit partly shattered.
“Come on, we need to go. It’s the only special day in Freesia’s life, and we’re going like this?”
“I don’t like it.”
Thanks to Sohee’s assistance, both finally got ready.
Rose wore a suit, and Lily wore a blush-colored dress chosen by Freesia for today.
“Freesia….”
Even in the carriage, Lily tried to hold back the tears that threatened to spill over.
She doesn’t know what to say to her face.
The moment they arrived at the bridal suite in the cathedral where the ceremony was to take place and opened the door, Lily involuntarily covered her mouth.
The sight of her sister in her white wedding dress, her head bowed under a shimmering cotton veil, is terribly unfamiliar.
“Freesia is…….”
For the first time since Freesia regained consciousness, Rose was momentarily speechless.
Freesia had always had the reputation of being average looking, but at least today, there was only one person in this room.
As Rose moved closer to the gracefully closed eyes of the contemplative Freesia , a suspicious sound caught her ear.
“Is she really sleeping like this?”
“The preparation time was so tight.”
Even in this situation, the snoring sounds were oddly delightful.
Laughing softly, Rose, in front of her peacefully sleeping sister, was filled with a helpless smile.
“It can’t be helped this way.”
If she had said she didn’t like it now, she would have grabbed her hand and left this place.
Even now, holding the hand of the drowsy Freesia, Rose gently woke her sister up.
“You should wake up now. Today is the wedding day.”
“I can’t change anymore, Rose!”
Facing the just-awakened Freesia, Rose gathered her courage.
“Congratulations on your marriage. You must live happily.”
“Rose! Actually, I…”
“It’s okay. As long as you’re happy, everything is fine.”
For once, Rashita the Axe King’s watch was off.
While Freesia, who was barely awake, mumbled her true feelings, the sisters sincerely wished for the happiness of their second sister, who was now independent for the first time.
* * *
Ultimately, resolving the misunderstanding with Rose also failed.
Despairing, Freesia touched the hem of her dress and silently gazed at the exit of the cathedral.
Majestic bells resonated throughout the entire city. As she listened to the choir’s singing, Freesia glanced at the Duke standing in the distance.
‘Should I escape now?’
Despite the numerous efforts throughout the week to overturn the wedding, everything had ultimately ended in failure. Having called in twenty tailors and staying up late, she had exhausted her strength by changing clothes twenty times a day.
Why is getting married so difficult? Moreover, with sleepless nights and wounds still not fully healed, her vision was spinning.
“You should be happy, Freesia.”
In Rose’s eyes, who stood by her side instead of her parents, bloodshot lines were evident. Lily, trying not to show her feelings, also had lingering puffiness under her eyes.
As per Freesia’s request, her parents did not attend.
Perhaps because of Rose’s declaration that she didn’t want to see parents who repeatedly drove nails into her heart, Rose Devlanc officially received the title of a countess three days before the wedding.
“Sister, don’t overwork yourself anymore. Be lenient even if Lily messes up.”
“Of course. You should handle things well even without me.”
Rose, who seemed like she might cry again at any moment, forced a smile while biting her lip.
The ability to live worry-free in this unfamiliar world was all thanks to their family. Holding hands tightly, Freesia also fought back tears that seemed about to burst.
“Duke Crawford, please keep your promise.”
In response to Rose’s urgency, the Duke replied with a serious expression.
“Of course. I swear to devote my life to only Freesia.”
“There’s no need to be so serious…”
It seemed inappropriate to say that, but the solemn atmosphere made it hard to speak.
Freesia glanced at the Duke’s seemingly indifferent face and respectfully lowered her head.
This was all because of Viscount Gondair. If she hadn’t been hit by an arrow, he wouldn’t have appeared so authoritative.
While walking towards the Archbishop who was overseeing the ceremony, Freesia quietly whispered words that only he could hear.
“You don’t have to feel so responsible.”
He clearly had every intention of making this conversation a complete blank slate. He would have lied when he said he would help Marquis Gonder, if only he hadn’t been shot with an arrow.
She was confident that he had no reason to rush the marriage like this, at least not now.
“What does that mean?”
“I wanted to say that you don’t have to be grateful. Anyway, for someone like me who is not a big deal, it doesn’t matter what happens. But for you, Duke, it’s different.”
In the development of the story, the death of an extra was always a common occurrence.
However, if the main villain died at a point in the story where the main character hadn’t even appeared yet, it could potentially lead to a significant crisis for the entire world.
In reality, because Freesia took the arrow for him, the Duke was able to come out unscathed. That alone meant the extra had done its job properly.
“It sounds like you’re saying it’s okay no matter what happens.”
“That’s all I can do. So please use me as a shield whenever you need to. The priest will heal me, so it won’t hurt much, and I’ll recover quickly.”
At least in the original work, threats to Duke Crawford’s life were so common that they couldn’t be counted on fingers.
As the protagonist’s influence grew, organizations, groups, and various factions threatening the Duke’s life also increased. As the story progressed, there were even episodes where the characters fought over who would assassinate the Duke first, and the protagonist would intervene to stop them.
So, at least until that point, playing the role of a punching bag and coming up with a decent excuse to escape might not be a bad idea.
“<Please divorce me, as I’m scared of constant threats to my life.>”
As she constructed a perfect scenario and nodded her head with inner satisfaction, the grip on her hand, being escorted, somehow started to tighten.
“Ouch.”
Fortunately, saying it hurts loosened the grip on her tightly-held hand. Trying to discreetly slip her hand out during this moment, however, resulted in another failure.
Somehow, his hand, which seemed to be tightening more seriously than before, was now starting to hurt.
“Sorry.”
For some reason, he looked so upset that Freesia, with a troubled expression, stood in front of the wrinkled Archbishop.
“On this sunny day, full of life, gathered before these numerous guests to bless the newly formed family….”
The Archbishop’s sermon was truly long and verbose, filled with lengthy words of blessing.
Somewhere around the part where stories related to the origin of the word “couple” began and Suma, who had been suppressed with great effort, began to overflow, she felt the grip on her hand, which had been bobbing her head in a doze, tighten.
Listening to a story even more boring than the principal’s lecture inevitably made her sleepy.
With her head deeply bowed, just as she was about to nod off, she suddenly regained her senses at the touch of the gripping hand.
“…Is that so?”
“Yes?”
Although it was a casual response, applause poured in from the surroundings. Soon after, as the choir began to sing, she realized.
With just that one response, this marriage had been established.
“I hereby declare that the union of these two has been solemnized.”
Although she was amazed by the unexpected response in her drowsiness, the Duke, who was her counterpart, remained nonchalant.
Staring at her in surprise, he casually met her gaze and lifted her veil. The Duke pushed his face right in front of Freesia’s nose.
“From today, I will entrust myself to you, my lady.”
The moment she faced that face, her heart raced involuntarily.
In that first kiss, which she wasn’t fully conscious of, there was a slightly refreshing taste of mint.
* * *
The festivities of the first day unexpectedly ended early.
Freesia, still wearing the same dress for the fourth time, collapsed onto the bed and closed her eyes.
“My Lady, you should change your clothes first.”
Without the energy to respond, she pretended not to hear and huddled her body.
After the wedding procedures, which progressed like being swept away by waves, were over, reality began to come into focus.
“Hu, huhuhu….”
Originally, bridal makeup was said to make a person look different, but under the guidance of Rashita and transformed by Crawford’s army of maids, Freesia had successfully turned into a stunning beauty, not inferior to Lily.
There were even discussions suggesting that Lily was deliberately put forward to hide Freesia during the wedding ceremony.
Now, she decided not to say anything more.
“I’ll excuse myself for a moment.”
Completely limp and motionless, the maids removed her makeup as she lay down.
It would have been great if she could be born with this face, but the thick makeup applied to her warm skin had vanished without a trace.
“My eyes hurt.”
“It’s probably because of the makeup. Please wait a moment.”
As they placed a cool ice pack on her throbbing eyes, she finally felt a bit revived. With a refreshing feeling, fatigue washed away, and now, she could only think of falling asleep.
“I want to take off my clothes….”
She wanted to untie the knots by wriggling around, but it was impossible in her lying position.
Fortunately, the knots in places her hands couldn’t reach were undone, and Freesia, with closed eyes, managed to wriggle out of the burdensome dress.
“If I knew it would be like this, I should have just run away secretly.”
“Madam…”
“I didn’t actually do anything wrong. It’s just a tired monologue.”
Undoing the knots of the underwear while fixing the stockings, Freesia, with legs groaning, massaged her legs several times.
Her soles hurt, her waist hurt, her head hurt, and she just felt sleepy.
Feeling exhausted like a mountain, she resented the Duke even more.
“I just want to sleep for a while. Ah, it’s cool there.”
As the large maid placed an ice pack on her throbbing legs, she felt much better. With a refreshing feeling and the release of fatigue, all she wanted now was to fall asleep. Freesia closed her eyes and surveyed the people she’d met today, one by one.
“With so many people congratulating us, how many are truly on the Duke’s side?”
‘What would have happened if I had fled on the spot to save my own life among people who could turn against me at any moment?’
Surely the Duke’s men would have disgraced Devlanc for tarnishing their master’s honor, and Rose and Lily would have been horribly killed.
But at least your sister is now a countess, and they can be happy together.
So there’s only one goal left. To somehow be deemed unworthy of the Duchess and sent away, at least until the main character shows up.
Or at the very least, get a safe divorce with a generous alimony payment.
“My lady,please wake up. You need to prepare for the evening banquet.”
“What evening banquet.”
The only thing the Duke needed was a fake wife.
It may have been hatred at first, but after 500 episodes, the relationship between the protagonist and the main villain has added depth to the vague hatred.
“I’m not the one the Duke will ever really love.”
Cancer, indeed. Who the dastardly Duke of Crowford would end up with was one of the fiercest battles among Level Up for Villainy fans.
“Smile Love”