I Become the Villain's Bride - Chapter 41

Chapter 41

In the carriage, Freesia fell asleep in Ada’s arms.

Her eyes, which had swollen and become a mess around the eyes. The Duke, summoning the perplexed Luca, inquired about the matter.

“My pitiful girl. Even the heavens are indifferent. Despite all the kindness I have shown, you forget and dare to defy me!” he said.

“And?”

Luca repeated the conversation word for word, without adding any emotion or interpretation.

After patting him on the head, saying it was quite useful, the Duke instructed him to thoroughly disregard today’s events.

“I will take care of it myself. I am sorry to cause you concern.”

“It seems Lady Nephier is quite worried.”

They might have tried to deceive Freesia’s value in any way possible until now, but that was only possible when the gem was still raw or when deception was possible.

What is a gem in my eyes is also a gem in others’ eyes.

Moreover, Freesia’s value, which began to shine even more after coming to Crowford, had become so clear that it could no longer be obscured by a few insignificant words.

“Is she asleep?”

“She stayed up all night preparing gifts yesterday.”

Just by looking at the brownies, which were as well-baked as the ones she sent to the author Alster, one could easily see what kind of person that woman was to Freesia.

Placing her on his lap, the Duke gently wiped her tear-stained eyes with tears.

“Foolishly. For being so good.”

“That’s what makes her even more lovely.”

“…Lovely.”

Even Ada, who had always kept a ceremonial distance, couldn’t hide her bitterness at what had happened to the person she had followed so wholeheartedly.

Despite being excited to see a familiar face after a long time, Freesia returned to Crowford Manor, nestled in the Duke’s arms, the back of her hand marked with a vivid handprint.

“What on earth is going on? What happened to our youngest?”

“It seems Lady Nephier had a delusion. SShe’s been trying to scare Freesia away from this marriage since she doesn’t have a child yet.”

“What?”

Madame Benoit growled as she looked at the red mark on her hand.

Despite still looking as graceful as the woman Freesia had admired as a grateful benefactor, she never expected her to be so boldly deceived.

“It seems like a joke from the royal family.”

“From the perspective of wanting to raise Hyacinth Princess, she would undoubtedly be a stumbling block.”

Even if they didn’t consider the throne, it wasn’t common for the princess to intervene directly.

Although they had planned to somehow drag Freesia into their scheme, the situation had turned out completely different from Freesia’s expectations.

“Requests to visit Freesia’s study have increased. I heard there have been quite a few requests to talk about her book preferences at the next gathering.”

“It’s easier than horseback riding, and if they’re going to cater to her tastes anyway, it would be more convenient for them to align themselves with us,” he said.

Among the so-called noble families, the daughter of the relatively inconspicuous Lavalle family, simply because she owned the first edition of “Lady Margaret,” could have fairly long conversations with Freesia.

The Mustering’s crying sound, saying that work was at a standstill because of the frenzy of inquiries flooding in from publishers, was not at all a consideration. However, if this could strengthen Freesia’s position, even a mere black mark in history could be gladly overlooked.

“It seems the princess somehow wanted to stand at the top of Freesia’s head by any means necessary.”

“But our Freesia wasn’t interested in that in the first place.”

Since the last incident, Madame Benoit’s attitude had noticeably changed. Even the scent coming from the black specks on her lips. It was easy to notice what she had just eaten.

“Brownies, did you get them?”

“Yes. I got them this morning, and she was so attentive that she made enough for each of her employees to go home with a piece.”

“…..”

“Why didn’t Freesia give them to you?”

I’d already tasted the one that came for Alster, but I didn’t realize she’d already given it to so many people.

“Jade, did you get one too?”

“That… yes.”

Madame Benoit pursed her lips at the visibly displeased Duke.

“It seems you’re quite upset.”

It seems he was quite upset because he didn’t receive the brownies.

Madame Benoit watched the scene with interest as she ate a piece of the brownie that Freesia had baked.

—

“The next station is Sadang. Sadang station.”

“Oh, it was a dream.”

The usual commute as always. Luckily, I managed to get a seat and dozed off.

Lately, because I’ve been reading “Level Up Because of the Villain” almost every day until dawn, I didn’t even expect to see the contents of the novel when I dozed off on the subway.

“I wonder why I had that dream.”

Checking the latest episode that hadn’t been uploaded yet, I opened the first few chapters just in case.

What was the big deal about the Duke of Crowford and the heroine?

“You’re married.”

The Duke took off his wedding ring and shook his head mournfully.

Burning with unforgivable vengeance, unable to repay the deep-seated grudge even with his life, he cradled the precious wedding ring in his arms, tears streaming down his face.

[The only sympathizer of the lonely Duke. The goddess of victory, who saved him from danger every moment, fell into a deep sleep and was cursed.]

Focusing too much on the relationship between the protagonist and the villain, I overlooked the original setting with blurred eyes.

Although it wasn’t clearly described, for some reason, the Duke’s wife was in a married state. In the worst case, she may have already died, and the Duke believed the protagonist was the culprit.

“She wouldn’t do that. Madam cherished that child so much!”

The nurse, who sided with the protagonist, had her throat cut, and the Duke’s elite soldiers set fire to the village to catch the fleeing protagonist.

Facing all this tragedy because of her, the protagonist vowed revenge against the Duke.

“To Ada, Marie, and Athene…….”

Just by looking at the familiar descriptions, one could tell who the extras who died were.

The once hated Fieldram, standing at the forefront, tracked down the protagonist, and the genderless Rashita, who had always been mysterious, mercilessly killed everyone who helped the protagonist with a brutal hand.

Amidst the corpses all around, the protagonist bit their lips and shed tears, only seeking a way to survive.

Because they made a promise to ‘her,’ as always.

The protagonist’s first love, who resembled their late mother, became the only beautiful memory left in their miserable and painful past.

“Was that woman the Duke’s wife?”

For some reason, the descriptions in the book mostly seemed distant from Freesia. Although described as a beautiful woman like a goddess and gentle like a mother.

I tried to ignore the unfamiliar descriptions and reread the main character’s monologue.

“It was indeed because Freesia got married, wasn’t it?”

The protagonist was unfairly accused and chased out of Crowford Manor.

Although familiar characters appeared intermittently, the most important protagonist’s role had long been taken over by Luca.

“It really was all just a dream.”

After confirming that the storyline was different, I shook my head and cleared my thoughts.

If Freesia became the Duchess and Luca came instead of the protagonist, there was no need to worry about tragedy in the first place.

“Ugh!”

As usual, I got off the subway and was pushed into the endless crowd. Even the crowded morning commute seemed like a long time ago.

The scene of people swarming around felt oddly welcoming.

“Sh*t!”

Tapping my card to exit, someone grabbed my arm.

“You are…”

It’s a screenwriter from the same company.

“Are you alive?”

With a blank face, amidst the hurried passersby, he held onto my arm with an eager gaze, showing no intention of letting go.

Although I had always avoided talking about novels, for some reason, the face behind the glasses looked strangely familiar.

“You…”

Different hair color and eye color, but this face clearly resembles the Duke of Crowford from my dream.

Then it happened.

Crash, crash! The ground collapsed, my clothes tore, and my body sank into the void. That day, exhausted from overtime, I clearly experienced the same thing.

The horrifying memory of death I didn’t want to recall assaulted me.

“No!!!”

“My Lady, are you awake?”

As if flashing, darkness descended, and distant cries of people were heard. In the dim light, my parched lips felt like they were burning.

Desperately swallowing saliva, someone moistened my lips and kissed me.

The sensation of liquid seeping in. Gulp, after drinking the water, my senses slowly began to return.

“Freesia.”

The moment our eyes met, I realized. The truth was that the dream was on that side, and reality was on this side.

“In the dream…”

Memories mixed together, and a terrible headache struck. Cradling the struggling me in his arms, Wilfred whispered to me repeatedly.

“Don’t worry. Nothing can harm you.”

Reminding me again and again not to try to force myself to remember what I didn’t want to remember, the Duke of Crowford held me wrapped head as tightly as he could.

Despair and joy, delight and sorrow. All these emotions mixed mercilessly in my mind.

“I’m scared…”

Why was I reborn as Freesia again? The terrible memories cluttered my mind.

At that moment, a familiar silhouette in the distance caught my eye.

“Maybe it’s not a bad idea to bury unwanted memories for a while.”

Along with the flowing tears, Freesia lost consciousness.

—

“Freesia!!!”

Upon receiving the news of her sister’s collapse, Rose rushed to Crowford Manor in one step.

“What on earth happened here!”

It had already been two days, but what on earth had happened? Through intense questioning, one story after another emerged.

“From Naphier?”

“It seems that incident had a great impact.”

The true face of the Naphier Viscountess, who had always taken care of Freesia like her own mother, devastated Freesia.

Prepared to comfort her beloved sister, Rose was mentally ready.

“Don’t be surprised.”

“As long as you’re healthy, any condition is okay.”

Because she was her precious sister. So she just wanted to see her safe and sound…

“Who is this person?”

Rose involuntarily grabbed the back of her head when she saw her sister tilting her head as if she was looking at someone she’d never seen before.

“Smile Love”