I Become the Villain's Bride - Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Fieldram always faithfully served the duke and often took the lead in tormenting the protagonist to the point of being a bit severe.

Because he was always suspicious, he was the best at poking around, but his nagging only fueled delusions.

Motioning for the duke to come closer on purpose, Freesia whispered to him in a kind voice.

“It’s rare to see someone as honest and upright as Mr. Fieldram these days. It’s really nice to see.”

He didn’t realize she was flattering him, but he was burning up, and he could only look forward to what was to come.

“Are you feeling alright?”

Just then, Rashita, who was confirming the progress of the party, arrived.

Since the opportunity to escape had come, Freesia diligently planted seeds of suspicion and soon left.

“I actually have a bit of a headache. I’ll go take some medicine.”

“It’s okay if you don’t force yourself to come back.”

Leaving the visibly upset duke alone, Freesia hummed a tune and left.

If Fieldram starts gossiping like that, trouble will surely arise.

Since he’s an important character over there, Freesia will eventually be pushed out.

If she divorces and returns home like this, it will be perfect.

“Oh, Freesia!”

“Mrs. Sohee?”

Today’s gathering was centered around bureaucrats, so Freesia thought she wouldn’t know anyone, but when she saw Lady Sohee, the wife of Viscount Blado, who came with her husband, she happily shook hands.

“Lily cried so much her eyes swelled up.”

Lily, who usually boasts the universe’s greatest beauty, gets swollen eyes like a frog if she cries all night. With the sad Freesia in front of her, Lady Sohee bravely held her hand.

“But still, I support Freesia. That’s how love is supposed to be.”

It’s clear she’s misunderstanding something, but in front of Lady Sohee, who smiles kindly like a Buddha, there’s nothing to say.

Still, when she glanced around and saw Fieldram approaching the duke and starting to say something, Lady Sohee urged her to go, saying not to worry.

“It’s okay. I was just going to change my dress.”

Everything seemed to be going well as expected, but why did the duke seem much more uncomfortable than Fieldram?

To cut to the chase, Freesia’s expectations were completely off.

* * *

It was clear that he had heard the gossip, because the next morning, at breakfast, the Duke of Crowford broke the news of Fildram’s death with a very nonchalant face.

“Did you go on an expedition?”

“They said there are dragons flying around the western Winston Fortress.”

They hadn’t even returned for a day, and yet they were being sent out to catch dragons again. Moreover, there was no way to refuse the duke’s demands.

“While you’re at it, he also said to catch about ten wyverns alive. Prepare one for the duchess’s personal mount.”

In the original work, the protagonist went through nearly 20 volumes just to obtain one wyvern, but even that seemed like a trivial matter at the command of the duke.

Watching him being so nonchalant, Freesia felt a bit of anger rising inside, but she forced a fake smile and swallowed the pancake in front of her.

As the somewhat awkward meal was ending, he spoke first.

“I’ll be busy for a while. There won’t be time to face each other, so feel free to spend your time as you please.”

“Can I invite my family then?”

Even if her sister is busy, Lily can be called upon at any time.

It would be nice to call Sohee and spend time together, but unfortunately, the villain is just a villain after all. He glanced at the seemingly happy Freesia and casually struck her with a backhanded compliment.

“Of course, the duchess needs to have the appropriate grace. Once all the homework is done, we can consider that.”

If she could just finish the homework somehow, everything would be fine – or so she thought, but that was a perfect misconception.

“I’ve heard that you’ve already acquired all the grace of a hostess, but there are still some graces needed for a Crawford.”

Of all people, the one who taught that lesson was Benoit Crawford, who was now her mother-in-law by registry, the former duchess of Crawford.

Facing the platinum blonde fairy-like lady who looked nothing like the Duke of Crawford, Freesia briefly panicked.

“I thought I heard you’d actually turned sixty this year.”

“I look a little young, don’t I?”

Even if she looks older, at most she’s in her own generation, and she looks much younger than the super old lady owner of Sandie, even younger than thirty-year-old Rashita. Freesia was speechless in front of her.

“It’s said that there’s elven blood in our ancestors.”

Since she had no children of her own, she readily took on the role of judging the successor race after her husband died.

She, who had no one to support her, gladly handed over the position of Crawford’s head to the ultimate winner, Wilfred.

“Until about forty years ago, I thought I was getting senile.”

Honestly, she looks younger than Rose, but still, she’s the former head of Crawford.

Freesia maintained a composed attitude without relaxing and focused on the lesson.

“Since today is the first day, I’ll end the class early. But there’s a bit of homework. Do you think you can handle it all?”

“Of course. Leave it to me.”

“Hmm. Is that so?”

She shouldn’t have been fooled by that kind-looking face.

Leaving behind a pile of homework, Benoit cheerfully said it was okay to postpone it until tomorrow.

Clearly, the agreement with the duke was that they could call their families once all the homework was done. At this rate, calling Lily would be endlessly difficult.

“How am I supposed to finish all this today?”

“There’s no need to force yourself.”

Still, it took three nights of staying up late to finally catch up on all the overdue homework.

And during those few days, the duke never once visited the bedroom.

“He’s willing to share the bedroom whenever he wants, but is he going out every night?”

Since it wasn’t a marriage based on love anyway, and she had rejected his advances, there was nothing to say.

With Freesia, who had dark circles under her eyes from sleeping for several days, Madame Benoit barely checked the last homework.

“I didn’t expect you to finish this quickly.”

“Is there more for next week?”

“Of course not. You’ve done very well.”

As a reward for completing the homework safely, she finally got a day off. It was a golden holiday, so she planned to go straight to Devlanc to see Rose and Lily.

“What the…”

She must have dozed off, and when she woke up, it was already the next morning. The honey-like holiday had completely disappeared.

“Why is he here?”

Moreover, her husband, who usually left early every morning and was hard to catch a glimpse of, was deeply asleep with such a comfortable expression on his face.

He seemed to have visited the bedroom later than Freesia did. She hadn’t even realized that they were sharing a bed because he stayed so briefly.

“You look tired.”

Even his usually stern face looked truly peaceful when he was asleep. Worried that he might catch a cold, she gently pulled the sheet over his shoulders to keep him warm.

“He’s really asleep, right?”

Usually, he always looked a bit chubby and frowned, but for some reason, it’s not easy to admire his beauty unless he’s sleeping like this.

Taking advantage of his deep sleep, Freesia cautiously inspected his eyes, nose, and lips.

“Your face looks familiar.”

Apart from being incredibly handsome, his face seemed quite familiar. As she was about to scrutinize every inch of his face, she instinctively closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep.

And then, with a clever gesture, as if he were lying, the duke opened his eyes.

“You’re awake.”

“I’ll go prepare some warm water in advance.”

It must have been around four in the morning at the earliest. It was too early to start the day.

She was nervously holding her breath, afraid that he might wake up, but then a soft breath approached and touched her lips.

“Get some more sleep.”

He must have already caught her. With a touch of sadness, she opened her eyes and saw the duke smiling at her.

With a very joyful expression, he ruffled Freesia’s hair slightly and left the room gracefully.

* * *

Every day she attempted to go out, a terrifying amount of homework was added. In a situation where her inner thoughts were clearly visible, Freesia proposed a third compromise.

“I want to bring some books from my parents’ house.”

“If you tell us the author and the title, we will prepare them for you.”

There was a study here too, but because of her habit of always reading before going to bed, she also had a small bookshelf next to her bed.

She was doubtful if she could really get them, but she told them the names. Less than a week later, Ada from the library gladly filled her bedside with a new book, even with a hardcover edition of Alster’s complete works with bonus appendices.

“Finally, my darlings are here!”

There were other books, but Alster’s latest complete collection, which she couldn’t afford, caught her eye first.

This time, as a special bonus, a postcard with gold foil and a cute pouch that the protagonist carries around every day came as a gift. But unfortunately, due to the overlapping arrangements with Viscount Gondair, she failed to reserve the purchase.

Just as it hit the shelves, it sold out with a massive premium, and she couldn’t even muster the courage to buy it later. Who would have thought she’d get her hands on such a precious item?

Moreover, Ada took out something from a separately prepared box, calling it a gift.

“Wow, a new release already!”

“Yes. It’s a fresh new release that came out this morning.”

Who could understand that a new release is better than jewels? She had been waiting so long for news of the new release, but no matter how long she waited, there was no news, so she ended up reading only the old works.

Just knowing that a new release was out brought tears of joy to her eyes.

Lost in the sparkling scent of the new book, her mind went blank.

As she diligently wiped her cheeks and read each character carefully, by the time she put down the first volume, the sun had already set.

“When is the next volume coming out?”

The protagonist of the new release, “The Second Daughter of the Plum Family,” is named Lea Plum. It seemed quite similar to someone’s story about a troublemaker notorious for his debts marrying a rich girl out of strategy, but the character of the protagonist is completely different.

Shy Lea loves her husband more than anyone else, but unfortunately, due to her inability to be honest, she suffers alone without even confessing her feelings.

Still, she eagerly waited for the scene of their first night in the first volume, hoping it would come, but Lea disappointingly avoided their first night with various excuses.

“I like you though.”

In truth, while she liked it, she couldn’t be honest yet because the emotion called love was still unfamiliar and even a little scary.

Immersed in Lea’s psychological changes as she falls in love for the first time, before she knew it, her cheeks flushed and her heart raced.

“Smile Love”