I Become the Villain's Bride - Chapter 42

Chapter 42

The cause of Freesia Devlanc’s memory loss is a matter of some debate within the manor.

The only certainty is that it must never be revealed to anyone.

Rose Devlanc was brought in just in case, but Freesia had completely forgotten her sister, even the one who meant so much to her.

“Freesia, it’s me. Your sister, Rose!”

“Honey.”

As Freesia’s voice rose, she immediately sought her husband as if seeking solace. Seeing Rose in shock, the Duke said nothing.

Thankfully, she recovered her vitality fairly quickly. When she was told he was conscious, she rushed to his side, only to hear an unexpected scream from inside the room.

“I don’t remember anything. Not even marrying him, or who I am.”

“That can’t be. How could such a…”

“It must mean you trusted and followed the Viscountess of Naphier that much.”

They decided not to mention the incident involving the Viscountess of Naphier. Not out of sympathy, but for Freesia’s honor. However, on that day, the Princess wanted to meet Freesia, saying she wanted to see her.

No matter how much they tried to understand, this incident had crossed the line. Although the Duke was angry at the shocked Freesia, he tried to calm her down.

“Will.”

“Yes, Freesia.”

Having forgotten everything, she quickly began to trust and rely on the Duke.

With evidence scattered everywhere that they were married, Freesia accepted without a doubt that he was her husband.

“This person is your sister. Someone you really liked and cherished.”

“My sister?”

“Freesia, what’s going on…”

As Rose’s despairing voice grew louder, Freesia quickly grabbed onto the Duke’s sleeve in fear.

“Honey, I want to rest.”

“…I see.”

Freesia, who was more afraid than not recognizing herself, tightly grasped her husband’s sleeve with a wary look.

Like a lost child, she had nowhere to turn but to her husband, the first person she met.

“It’s just a temporary phenomenon, so don’t worry too much.”

There’s no pain. Just a big shock that temporarily caused this.

Even if the attending physician came and explained it himself, Rose’s shock had nowhere to go.

“I’ll just go back to …….”

Seeing her sister, who couldn’t recognize herself, let alone become afraid, Rose couldn’t bring herself to say anything and left the mansion.

Watching Rose leave in a hurry, Freesia, still not remembering anything, stayed by her husband’s side.

“What did I do wrong?”

“No, it’s not like you’ve done anything wrong.”

It’s just a little pain, there’s nothing else wrong. Whispering several times, he smiled faintly.

“Even if you’ve lost your memory, the fact that you’re my wife hasn’t changed at all.”

She used to freeze easily, but Freesia quickly lowered her head in embarrassment.

“I wish you wouldn’t look at me like that.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s embarrassing!”

Without any process, she suddenly got married one day, and Freesia is known to be a superficial beauty recognized by the Council of Elders.

Whether it’s because of her own notoriety or bad memories, Freesia was visibly cautious and fearful like someone who had known about Crowford’s reputation all along. But after all those memories disappeared, Freesia was quite different.

“You seem genuinely happy right now.”

“…Well.”

“‘Well’ is not an answer. You’re clearly excited.”

“Will, where are you!”

At Freesia’s call to find himself, the Duke didn’t even bother to respond to Madame Benoit and hurriedly ran to her.

If he’s not feeling good right now, it’s a lie. The endearing term of endearment “honey” and the distance and fear are now gone as well.

“You look beautiful. Truly.”

“I remember everything like dresses and etiquette. My name, Freesia Devlanc Crowford, sounds familiar too.”

“You look as splendid as ever. With this level, there should be no problem even in front of the Princess.”

“That’s what they say.”

As if the bad memories had been completely removed, Freesia’s condition is not as bad as she thought. Her almost daily refusal to meet with the empress has caused her to go into full-scale counterattack mode.

“The evil duke has imprisoned a wife who refuses him.”

“And now that we’ve kept Naphier’s affairs quiet, he’s brazenly trying to tug at your golden threads.”

“Funny.”

That wouldn’t have worked on the old Freesia.

With her memory gone, the Duke felt a little more confident.

“Well, I have no intention of lying about anything.”

“…Look at that. You’re really happy about it.”

Seeing Freesia running fearlessly to him and embracing him, Madame Benoit pondered in concern.

***

When Freesia first woke up, all she remembered was her name, Freesia.

“Are you really my husband?”

“Indeed. I even received an official marriage certificate from the Emperor.”

With his honey-like golden hair, blue eyes, well-built shoulders, and upright posture, the stunningly handsome man sat beside her, gently touching her forehead.

“Is there anywhere uncomfortable?”

“Um, um, no…uh…”

She hesitated for a moment about whether to let go of his words, but when she saw her appearance reflected in the mirror, she looked a few years older on that side.

She added “uh” at the end in case he might be offended, but the self-proclaimed husband just smiled gently and said it’s okay not to do so.

“Feel free to ask. I’ll do the same.”

“Um, then…what’s your name?”

“My name?”

“I need to know your name to address you.”

“Wilfred. Close friends call me Will.”

“Will?”

“Yes, Freesia.”

Despite just calling him by his name once, the Duke continued with an excited voice. His hand gently touching hers and his soft lips felt strangely familiar.

“We kissed too?”

“Every day. Even multiple times a day. We were newlyweds, you know.”

The memory of their first kiss had completely disappeared. But if it was everyday like that…

Freesia glanced at the slightly disheveled Duke with rolled eyes, who continued his response with enthusiasm.

“Um, um, well… we, we…”

“Hmm?”

“Oh, it’s nothing!”

It had been several months since they got married, and the staff all spoke of how well the two got along.

While her husband was briefly away, the maids would entertain Freesia with various stories.

“The atmosphere of the mansion has changed since you arrived.”

“Me?”

“The master has become much gentler. If it were before, we would have all been scolded, but whenever he did, you would always intervene, and we could breathe easier.”

“Is that so?”

Judging by the size of the mansion and the way everyone cared for Freesia, it didn’t seem ordinary at all.

As she waited for her husband to return, Freesia pondered deeply.

“She called me sister.”

Looking at her reflection in the mirror and seeing the striking resemblance in her eyes, she was certain she was referred to as a close sister. However, for some reason, she couldn’t remember anything about her family. How to hold a cup, how to walk, even how to waltz, were all so vivid, yet…

“I don’t know.”

Clinging to her pillow, Freesia looked over at the empty space next to her husband. She had never imagined a handsome man like him, with his affectionate words and touch, would ever be by her side.

She didn’t know if this was really a dream or a vision, but she closed her eyes and tried to recall. Suddenly, she heard the sound of a door creaking.

“Are you asleep?”

Freesia held her breath at her husband’s voice.

It had already been three months since their marriage, and they were known as a loving couple who had nurtured their love through secret meetings.

In a society where status and wealth were the top priorities in choosing a spouse, the probability of a love marriage was extremely rare. But she did it, and how did she end up marrying such a wonderful man?

Although it was embarrassing to share a bed with a stranger, her heart was pounding with excitement.

Freesia made an effort to pretend to be asleep, curling her body.

“What should I do…”

The man’s cold hand touched her cheek, brushing away her hair, and his warm breath gently nibbled on her ear.

“Ugh…”

“I know you’re not sleeping.”

“How did you know?”

“I see you every day; I can’t not recognize you. I already know everything, even your small habits.”

It seemed that before losing her memory, Freesia had a good relationship with this man.

Even though he approached her so naturally, touching her cheek and kissing her, she accepted it all so naturally, as if it were familiar to her.

“How did we meet?”

“When I was in trouble, you came and rescued me.”

“I rescued you?”

He reached out his arms, but who would he rescue? Observing Freesia’s confused expression, Wilfred continued his story.

“I was in trouble because someone higher than me found a weakness.”

“Did they threaten you with that?”

“Yeah. They asked me to marry her in exchange for keeping my secret.”

“How did I rescue you?”

“I fell for you at first sight and came to propose, but I’m so bad at handwriting that when I proposed, you misunderstood my words and got scared, trembling in fear.”

“…I don’t quite understand.”

“I had quite a reputation, you see. It’s understandable.”

It was hard to understand how a man who narrated his situation so gently could have a bad reputation.

Sitting side by side on the bed, leaning against each other, her husband held Freesia’s hand tightly and poured out sweet words multiple times.

“Smile Love”

“I was really happy when you kissed me first.”

“You really like me, don’t you?”

At the casually thrown remark, he smiled with a sad look in his eyes.

“I do. I can’t even imagine a world without you.”