I Become the Villain's Bride - Chapter 45

Chapter 45

After closing the book she had been reading, Freesia tried to endure the pouring headache. It felt like she had read the contents somewhere before, but perhaps due to the dust, her head throbbed relentlessly.

“Freesia?”

“Luca, would you please escort Lady Benoit here?”

Suddenly, a memory seemed to resurface, making her stomach churn. While Luca rushed out, someone entered the library.

The remarkably beautiful woman, who seemed otherworldly, bore a striking resemblance to Freesia.

“…Why are you acting like this?”

Was she visited by an angel in her final moments? But strangely, the supposed angel charged towards Freesia with an angry expression, throwing herself into Freesia’s embrace.

“You fool!!”

Witnessing her sobbing like the world was ending, Freesia’s heart ached instinctively. The subtle emotions she felt every time she saw Luca must have been for this child.

“……You must be Lily.”

“You fool. Why did you forget me! You’re my sister, why did you forget me too!!!”

Had it not been for Rose, Freesia might not have realized this so quickly.

Luca, followed by Madam Benoit, arrived belatedly and watched Lily, who was sobbing as if she would run out of tears, being held in Freesia’s arms.

“This is quite a troublesome situation.”

“Well, it’s not exactly… that….”

“I had a little hand in it. You’re safe around here, so don’t worry too much.”

Lily’s ability to come here was thanks to the influence of Madam Sohee, a close friend and influential figure.

“Are you sure you don’t remember anything, or have I forgotten?”

“….But I recognize your face. He said so.  He said that if I searched the whole empire, my Lily would be the prettiest.”

Although it wasn’t meant in a positive way, Lily didn’t seem to dislike the comment.

“My, did your husband really say that?”

“Yes. Apparently, I used to say that all the time.”

“Sister!”

Even though her memories were gone, her habits hadn’t changed. Holding her beloved sister tightly, Freesia tried desperately to recall her memories.

“It’s not appropriate to do this here.”

In the library, now turned into a sea of tears, the official showed displeasure.

“Oh, please, just let this one slide?”

Madam Benoit, dressed as a maid, extended valuable jewels, while behind her, the Countess Blado wore a hidden smile.

“Take your time reading it.”

With the full support of the two, Freesia decided to read the remaining part of “Lady Margaret” with Lily.

Alster’s first work.

The content was highly anticipated as a legendary masterpiece, yet the development was rather tragic.

“It’s quite different from what I expected.”

Freesia nodded in agreement with Lily’s words.

In the opening of the novel, the husband, in front of his cold wife’s corpse, unfolded the story of their past.

They had married for their own purposes.

The man needed to solidify his position, and the woman needed someone to repay her parents’ massive debt.

However, they fell in love at their first meeting.

That was the beginning of all tragedy.

The husband didn’t understand true love.

He believed that restraint, oppression, and coercion were love without a doubt.

Locked away in a room without even meeting their families, she endured agonizing days like a bird in a cage. One day, a young boy appeared before her.

“He looks like the little sister you left at home. That’s where the problem lies.”

The boy idolized Lady Margaret, reminiscent of his deceased mother, while she regarded the young boy as her own brother in place of her lost sibling.

The shared grief of losing their families was the central theme of the novel, but officials who disliked Alster’s work seized on this aspect to impose extensive regulations on “Lady Margaret.”

“They said it was about a young boy’s love affair with an adult. It’s not fair to make a big deal out of it.”

“It is. I thought it was so bad that they burned all the books.”

Lady Margaret withered away day by day under her husband’s intense love.

Though she didn’t desire his love, she pleaded for him to stop, but her husband remained oblivious to his own feelings.

The moment he saw her smiling brightly in front of the young boy, unlike when she was with him, he was consumed by explosive jealousy.

Blinded by jealousy, the husband destroyed the boy, and in that shock, Lady Margaret lost the child she had barely managed to protect.

Driven to madness, he blamed the boy for all of this, saying it was his fault.

Why couldn’t her husband love her? With deep regret, she decided to risk her life to help the young boy escape.

“You must live. Please survive for my sake too.”

Lady Margaret, now completely worn out, collapsed after rescuing the child from the flames.

In her final moments, she finally faced her husband, who was repentant.

“Marriages are made in heaven, they say. So, let’s meet again in our next lives, in a better relationship.”

“Margaret, I…”

“Forgive me for not being able to hate you. And remember this. No matter how much you hate me, I truly loved you.”

Only at the moment everything ended did Lady Margaret finally obtain her husband’s eternal love. Her sincere confession became a curse, condemning her husband, now alone, to hell.

“This is even worse than ‘The Runaway Duchess.'”

As Lily complained that it wasn’t to her taste, Freesia, feeling oddly familiar with the content, continued to skim through it.

“Why is that? It’s almost like a confession.”

The story began with such a sentence, and throughout, the narrator fundamentally criticized the husband’s actions.

In the brutally honest evaluations devoid of any excuses, traces of deep regret remained.

“A confession?”

“…I’m not quite sure of the context, but the person who wrote this seems to be sympathetic towards the husband.”

“Oh, come on.”

Denying Lily’s disbelief, the official at the door informed them of the closing time.

“It’s getting too difficult. You should consider my position too.”

“There’s nothing we can do. We’ll have to come again next time.”

With Madam Benoit’s influence, it seemed that today’s visit had come to an end.

As they wiped away the tears from their eyes and stepped outside, Luca was the first to run up to Freesia and offer her his handkerchief.

“Freesia, why are you crying?”

“My sister has always been prone to tears.”

Luca casually shrugged in response to Lily’s jealousy-fueled remarks.

“Perhaps it’s because Lady Freesia is such an affectionate person.”

“What do you know about my sister?!”

Still unable to shed her childish demeanor, Lily completely fell for Luca’s provocation.

Observing the bickering pair, Sohee asked Madam Benoit, “Who is that boy?”

“He’s the boy our duke has taken under his wing. He’s Luca, the son of Viscount Bailey.”

“Luca?”

Sohee, who always wore a gentle smile and had stepped back, carefully observed the boy standing next to Freesia.

“Did Viscount Bailey also marry someone from the Eastern Continent like me?”

“I doubt it. The first noble in the kingdom to marry someone from the Eastern Continent was probably Viscount Blado.”

Although intercontinental marriages had become more common now, around the time Luca was born, those from the Eastern Continent were few and far between in the kingdom.

The unique features resulting from the Eastern Continent’s heritage subtly distinguished them from the kingdom’s inhabitants.

To the untrained eye, they might not be distinguishable at first glance, but Sohee couldn’t help but notice the contours of the boy’s jawline, cheekbones, and eyes multiple times, unable to hide her astonishment.

“He looks so much like someone I know.”

“Someone you know?”

“My cousin’s sister, who disappeared without a trace long ago. My initial reason for establishing ties with the Western Continent was to find her.”

Though she had met and married Viscount Blado in the process, Sohee ultimately missed any traces of her long-lost family.

Even if she couldn’t meet herself, she desperately wanted to meet her child somehow.

For some reason, the appearance of this child from the Bailey family strongly resembled her missing sister.

“I…”

In place of the hesitating Luca, Freesia responded.

“This child is definitely from the Bailey family. Lady Bailey personally sent me a letter asking for my help.”

“Is that so?”

“I’ve heard stories about it. The youngest of the Bailey family is said to be quite delicate and requires a lot of care.”

Rumours of Lady Bailey’s son returning to the capital had circulated among the young socialites, creating quite a stir.

Although everyone lost interest upon hearing he was only twelve years old, Sohee backed off once Lily chimed in.

“It’s spiteful of you to run wild like that.”

Comforting her young friend, Sohee silently watched Luca’s retreating figure in the distance.

“It’s not just a coincidence that they resemble each other so much.”

“Is something wrong?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

She could ask more later after looking into it.

Holding Lily’s hand firmly, Sohee steadied her wavering heart.

—

The hustle and bustle of the day came to an end.

By the time the carriage arrived at the mansion, the Duke had heard the news early and came out to greet them.

“Freesia.”

“I’m back, Will.”

He willingly extended his large hand to help her safely descend from the carriage.

Handing her lightweight shawl to a maid, Freesia gracefully stepped down and wrapped her arms around his.

“Have you been waiting long?”

“Let’s have dinner first.”

As usual, they affectionately held hands and exchanged light kisses before heading straight to the dining room, where they sat facing each other at a spacious table. Will didn’t hesitate to pull a chair and sit beside Freesia.

“What are you doing?”

“…I like it here.”

With a candle lit in the center, they sat side by side and began to eat.

When she leaned her head back to slurp her food, Wilfred placed a sweet dessert in front of her.

“Seems like you have no appetite.”

“Yeah, not really.”

“Have you read the book?”

Beneath the flickering candlelight, Freesia nodded lightly.

Although she was consumed by deep regret, unlike what she had expected, it didn’t mean that repentance could undo what had happened.

“It sounded like an excuse. Just because you regret it later doesn’t make it disappear.”

“…If only we could know in advance, we could at least prevent it from happening.”

“Smile Love”