I Become the Villain's Bride - Chapter 33

Chapter 32

Despite trying to act casual every time, they had even kissed. So, it was only natural to have the impulse to touch him when sleeping beside him.

As he undid his cravat, revealing his neckline and the strong chest underneath, Freesia felt her cheeks grow even hotter.

“It’s, it’s really hot.”

She fanned herself vigorously and tried to move away, but the duke reached out and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

“Try saying something nice to me, too. It’s strange that you can easily compliment Madame Benoit but not me.”

While she knew he was handsome, she hadn’t expected him to demand praise so confidently.

“Well, my husband is the most handsome.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“Do you want me to bow down to you?”

Even though she had only said it because he had asked her to, the duke looked pleased, as if he had genuinely received a compliment.

“It’s not unpleasant to receive a bow. Just let Madame Benoit know if your family is coming.”

“Is it okay if my sister and I sleep in my room for just one night?”

As Freesia took a step closer, the duke’s gaze became more intense. It’s so similar to the look in Rose’s eyes when Lily asks to buy a new necklace.

While there was an implicit warning not to cross the line, Freesia couldn’t back down now.

Seeing his discomfort, Freesia waved the carrot at him with all her might, trying to soothe him.

“I don’t feel comfortable sleeping alone anymore, and even last night I felt lonely and scared because no one was here.”

About 90% of it was to appease him, but about 10% of it was genuine.

At first, she was uncomfortable with the idea of sharing a bed with another person, but in the early morning hours, she would panic even more if there was no warmth next to me.

Judging by the neatly arranged pillows, he hadn’t even stopped by the bedroom, and judging by the stack of mysterious papers in his study, he must have been really busy, but she’s not sure how relieved she was to realize that.

“Of course, you don’t want a wife who’s a drunkard.”

“No, it’s my fault for leaving you lonely.”

For some reason, the duke’s mood improved drastically, and he looked at Freesia with an infinitely forgiving smile.

As their eyes met, Freesia’s heart began to race uncontrollably.

“Close your eyes.”

His gentle whisper was intoxicating.

Despite the danger, Freesia found herself unable to pretend not to see him. He was just too beautiful.

“You have to face each other when you kiss.”

It was in Lady Benoit’s etiquette manual, but it was still embarrassing.

Before she knew it, the duke leaned in, covering Freesia with his shadow.

“Can I really invite my family over?”

“Sure, why not?”

Now that one condition was accepted, it was time to present the next.

“I also want to visit the royal library. I promised to meet the princess there.”

“Hmm, that’s something I’ll have to think about.”

She doesn’t even have time to open her mouth to say anything before the baptism of kisses begins.

As his lips crashed down on hers like an animal, she stared into the duke’s shaking eyes. She sees herself reflected in those metallic blue eyes, disheveled.

It wasn’t as if she hadn’t planned to come this far, but the Duke’s aggressive behavior had brought her back to her senses.

“We agreed to give it a year, a probation period.”

“Why should we do that?”

“Because!”

She couldn’t come up with a decent excuse.

As she looked into his clear eyes, tears welled up in hers.

“I wanted to feel what it’s like to be in love.”

“In love?”

“That’s what the other ladies at the party said. They wanted to know how it felt to secretly build a love relationship.”

For someone who was scrambling for an excuse, it sounded quite plausible.

After sitting up, still on his knees, Freesia cautiously spoke.

“She fell in love with someone of a different status, and they had to meet in secret because of family opposition.”

“What does that have to do with us?”

“I’m jealous!”

After loudly proclaiming her thoughts on love, she realized something.

In fact, she had a secret that people didn’t know about.

Despite being known for her fiery temperament and being called a master of adult content, she had never actually experienced any of it.

“It’s my first time doing anything like this!”

Unlike the embarrassed Freesia, the duke couldn’t easily believe her words.

“I heard there were talks of engagement between you and Lord Naphier’s son?”

“Who said that? Matthew is just like any other brother, why would there be such rumors!”

Due to her noticeable presence, people often forget about Freesia, especially since her sisters were always in the spotlight. In contrast, Lady Naphier, the wife of Lord Naphier, had always been particularly fond of Freesia since childhood.

“Lady Naphier has always treated me like her own daughter. Even when taking care of Lily, Matthew helped a lot.”

“You mean you’re like brother and sister, nothing more?”

“Yes, exactly. How could such a thing happen? Rose and Lily know it too. It’s absolutely not like that.”

If Crowford acted however he pleased, it wouldn’t matter, but the precious son of Lord Naphier being involved in a scandal would be a significant obstacle in finding a suitable marriage partner.

Especially this year, Lady Naphier had been particularly keen on marrying Matthew off. Freesia couldn’t help, but she couldn’t interfere either.

“So, for now, are we keeping some distance and pretending to be in love?”

“Well, there’s something like that. Even just holding hands makes my heart race, so anything more feels too stimulating.”

She hadn’t expected her impromptu excuse to be believed, but unexpectedly, the Duke seemed convinced and took a step back.

He had seemed so intimidating a moment ago, like he might pounce on her at any second. But strangely, his response didn’t feel so bad.

“Stimulating, huh?”

Suppressing the words that rose to her lips, she swallowed them down.

“If the Duke were to meet someone you truly liked, you might regret this.”

If his temporary wife became a nuisance, he could easily erase her from existence as if using an eraser. In his mind, there was only the thought of eliminating the protagonist.

Could intense hatred for someone really not be love? She had interpreted it that way, but…

“The new stimulation was quite sufficient.”

With a face full of disappointment, he gazed at Freesia.

Trying to maintain her composure was difficult; it was too embarrassing. As she tried to discreetly move away, the Duke reached out and suddenly furrowed his brow.

“There are many books in the Crowford Library.”

“But they won’t have what I want to see.”

The law requires that for every book published in this country, one copy must be donated to the Imperial Library. And since the library is inside the imperial palace, stealing a book from there is practically risking your life.

Therefore, the first edition of Lady Margaret is probably in the imperial library as well.

Of course, the acquaintance with the empress is important, and the magic mirror is important, but the most important thing is to read the original, untouched version of the book.

“What book are you talking about?”

“Uh, there’s just a book I’m interested in.”

She couldn’t possibly tell him what “Lady Margaret” was about.

As she attempted to slip away quietly and brushed against his left arm, the Duke’s forehead furrowed deeply.

“Ouch!”

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“My arm…”

As she hurriedly removed his sleeve, there was a bruise on his arm.

“I didn’t touch you that hard! I swear! It wasn’t me…”

“It seems like I won’t be able to use my left arm for a while.”

During Lady Rose’s time in the knight’s order, she had seen her fair share of battle scars. It was strange for such a deep bruise to appear on his arm, which had been perfectly fine until just now.

“Does it hurt a lot?”

“It hurts too much; I don’t think I’ll be able to use my left arm for a while.”

Seeing him genuinely in pain made Freesia lose her composure too. Maybe she had hit him too hard in her drunken state.

“It’s fortunate that it’s not my right hand. We need to take care of that hand so it can still work. Until my arm heals, you’ll be my left arm until it heals.”

“Is that really necessary?”

Freesia responded sensibly, but the duke provocatively retorted, tapping his fingers impatiently.

“I need something to support my left arm. Your shoulder size seems just right for that.”

Pointing to a few books by Alster hanging on the wall, he dared Freesia to sit on his lap. Just read a book she liked and sit on his lap; it was that simple.

“I’ll have to ask you for a favor soon. I’ll be busy from now on, so before that, call your sisters.”

Although this one was a bit obvious, it was necessary to choose practicality over morality.

“Well, if that’s the case, I suppose I have no choice.”

Since the kiss earlier had made her feel really good.

Freesia willingly decided to play along and pretend she didn’t know.

‘By the way, when will the protagonist appear?’

The story of the author’s favoritism toward the antagonist began with the protagonist’s setting. Unlike the duke, who had everything, he was a pitiful boy with a secret birth. Now that he was already twelve years old, it was time for him to be brought into the duke’s mansion.

“I plan to assign you a guard soon. Someone who can accompany you anywhere and ensure your safety without attracting attention from anyone.”

“Does that mean I can go anywhere as long as I’m with that person?”

It seemed like our duke had already seen through everything and prepared for it all.

Nodding vigorously, Freesia willingly offered her arm to the duke as a support.

“Smile Love”