I Become the Villain's Bride - Chapter 50

Chapter 50

“Big sister!”

As Freesia hurried to the lobby, excited to see her sister, she was met with an unexpected sight: Rose was seething with anger, and Matthew looked visibly uncomfortable.

“Freesia, wait here for a moment.”

Though Rose was usually overjoyed to see her sister, today she simply gave Freesia a brief hug and immediately asked about Wilfred’s whereabouts.

“If you’re looking for our Duke, he’s probably in the main hall, working.”

“Matthew, stay here with Freesia.”

After asking Rashita to guide her, Rose left without looking back.

“What’s going on? Why is she acting like that?”

“Why else would Rose act like that?”

Matthew, who was the cause of this, tried his best to avoid the sharp, watchful eyes directed at him.

“I’ll escort you to the drawing room.”

“Sister!!!”

Just as Freesia was about to follow, Lily arrived, tears welling up in her eyes, and quickly embraced her.

“My dear Lily, were you very upset because of me yesterday?”

“How could you forget about me? Of all people, you!”

Tears streaming down her face, Lily clung to Freesia while glaring fiercely at Matthew, who stood there awkwardly.

Freesia, feeling both uncomfortable and sympathetic, wanted to ask Matthew something too.

“Why are you here?”

“I had no choice but to come because of Rose.”

“Because of her?”

“I’m sorry, Freesia.”

Matthew, feeling guilty due to his mother’s actions, couldn’t even raise his head, consumed by shame.

Seeing him like this made Frigia’s heart soften a little.

Sensing this, Lily quickly clung to Freesia’s arm, seeking comfort.

“Since brother-in-law isn’t here, why don’t we chat? There’s so much I want to talk about, like the recent tea parties.”

“Alright, let’s talk in the drawing room. Matthew, you come too.”

“Sister!!”

Lily seemed intent on treating Matthew like he was invisible, but Freesia knew that such behavior would only harm Lily in the long run.

With a gentle pinch to her sister’s nose, Freesia offered a helping hand to the dejected Matthew.

“You can’t just stand there.”

“Freesia, I…”

“Let’s go upstairs. I’ll have tea brought in.”

Thanks to Ada’s timely interruption, Matthew could only mouth a few words before quietly following Freesia.

Once they were settled in the drawing room, Freesia asked, “What happened to my sister?”

“Well…”

Matthew let out a heavy sigh and recounted what had happened earlier. He explained that a messenger from the princess had angered Rose. He also mentioned that Viscountess had tried to break off Freesia’s marriage and that Rose had been used to help with that effort—all orchestrated by the magician sent by the princess.

“It was Serial who filled my mother’s head with nonsense.”

Freesia was shocked to hear Seriel’s name. She never expected Matthew to know about him.

“Lily, could you give us a moment alone?”

She couldn’t afford to miss out on this lead. It seemed like it was time to have a serious conversation.

***

Princess Hyacinth was the eldest daughter born between the current Emperor, back when he was still the Crown Prince, and his consort, who is now the Empress.

“You must become the pillar of the royal family.”

She received the best education and achieved the highest accomplishments.

Until then, she believed that all the praise and love from the royal family would always be hers.

That was until her younger brother was born.

Confident in her superior abilities, she had no doubt that the position of the next Emperor would rightfully be hers.

But for some reason, both the royal family and the Emperor designated her endlessly lacking and inadequate younger brother as the next Emperor instead.

“Sister!”

Unaware of Hyacinth’s crumbling heart, her simple and kind brother grabbed her hand with an innocent smile.

“You don’t look well. Is something wrong?”

“It’s nothing.”

Unlike herself, who would stop at nothing to get what she wanted, her brother, the Crown Prince, was excessively kind-hearted, unable even to suspect others of malice—a pure soul.

With such a weak temperament, how could he possibly endure being Emperor?

He lacked everything necessary to trample on his subjects and reign at the pinnacle of power.

“I heard that the Duchess of Crowford entered the palace yesterday.”

“Yes, she did.”

“I hear that the ruthless Duke of Crowford is utterly smitten with her. Didn’t you already meet her?”

“Well, yes.”

Recalling the audacious lie from that man, the Princess smiled bitterly.

Her innocent brother, who was too kind to suspect others, might not have noticed, but Hyacinth vividly remembered what happened that day.

Seeing her frightened face, they were certain it was their first meeting. But even that was an act.

“She’s a terrifying woman.”

“Terrifying?”

“She’s scarier because she doesn’t look at it at all.”

She was summoned under the pretense of protecting her husband’s secret, yet she took control of the conversation as if she were the hostess of a social club.

Although Hyacinth was the actual hostess of that gathering, she ended up merely elevating the Duchess’s position, whom she had intended to use as a pawn.

It was just a small prank out of spite, but now Rashita had come to the palace herself, even brandishing an axe before her.

“Did something happen?”

“Be careful of the Duchess of Crowford. Don’t let her innocent appearance fool you. Ever.”

If even her impressionable brother were to fall under the Duchess’s influence, Hyacinth’s situation would become even more precarious.

So it’s best to prevent any friendship from forming from the start.

Her brother, who was more naive than kind, believed anything his sister told him.

“Sister…”

Seeing his sister turn away in anger made the Crown Prince sad as well.

No matter how powerful the Crowford family was, Hyacinth was the Emperor’s eldest daughter and, aside from the Empress, held the most noble status.

“I think I must meet the Duchess of Crowford myself.”

“But, Your Highness…”

“I can’t just stand by while someone makes my sister sad.”

He clenched his fist, engraving his sister’s advice not to be fooled by appearances into his heart, and headed straight for the Crowford estate.

Arriving without prior notice, the Crown Prince hid his identity and posed as a messenger.

As a result, the head maid asked him to wait for a moment and led him to a secluded garden.

“Please wait here for a moment as the lady is currently in conversation with a guest.”

The top leaves of the ornamental trees in the Crowford estate’s garden had an oddly deformed appearance.

Curious about this unconventional landscaping that was so different from the palace, the Crown Prince decided to take a stroll through the garden.

“How could this be…”

In contrast to the neatly arranged trees, there were large, gaping holes as if some gigantic beast had chewed through them. This radical deviation from the traditional landscaping style showcased the essence of the emerging deconstructivist architectural style.

As he marveled at this unprecedented and shocking display, a lady walking toward him caught his eye.

With her softly tousled warm strawberry blonde hair, she was undoubtedly the Duchess of Crowford.

Though he had heard that the Duke fell in love at first sight, Duchess Freesia Crowford was a beauty that exceeded public opinion’s perception of her as ordinary.

“Excuse me, do we know each other? You seem oddly familiar.”

“I am…”

Overwhelmed by her breathtaking beauty, which stopped people in their tracks even in everyday situations, the Crown Prince was left speechless.

He had seen her from afar at the wedding, but he had never had a formal conversation with the Duchess. Moreover, as she was dressed in casual clothes today, it seemed she had not yet recognized him as the Crown Prince.

“I have come on the Emperor’s command to see the Duchess of Crowford.”

“Why are there so many visitors looking for the Duchess today? I barely have time to talk with my sister.”

He had already heard that Rose Devlanc was here.

Trying to stay as calm as possible in front of her open complaint, the Crown Prince spoke.

“Princess Hyacinth is quite disappointed that she could not have a proper conversation with the Duchess yesterday.”

“What should we do? It seems the Duchess won’t be entering the palace for a while.”

Speaking as if it were someone else’s concern, the Duchess glared sharply at him, who had posed as a messenger.

With her strikingly bright purple eyes shimmering in the sunlight and her cherry-red lips moving busily, she was indeed the most beautiful person he had ever seen. Despite knowing she was someone else’s wife, his heart raced uncontrollably.

“Does the royal family always send people to come between couples like this?”

“Excuse me?”

“I don’t understand why they would target someone who is already married. Could it be that you have fallen for me?”

“Wh-what! How could I ever!!”

Startled by the direct hit to his feelings, he took a deep breath.

The Duchess scoffed, as if finding his reaction absurd.

“Who would think such a thing about you?”

“No, I mean what I was trying to say was…”

“Think about it logically. I’m beautiful, capable, and kind. Isn’t it odd that the royal family wouldn’t covet someone who’s perfect in every way?”

Not only did she refer to herself in the third person, but she also indulged in self-praise.

While he absolutely agreed that she was beautiful enough to make even the Duke fall in love at first sight, the self-praise was excessive.

It was no wonder his sister had been sighing heavily.

“…Kind-hearted, you say?”

“Of course. The whole world loves Freesia.”

Her baseless confidence seemed to have crossed the line. It must be the reason why his sister’s face showed such worry despite her usual fearlessness.

“Don’t worry. I assure you that the Crown Prince would never have any romantic interest in the Duchess.”

No matter how beautiful someone was, a personality like that was a deal-breaker.

Facing the Crown Prince who shook his head, the lady proudly leaned in closer.

“Can you guarantee that?”

With her long eyelashes and full lips, she seemed to be the most perfect creation of the gods.

He was certain it wasn’t the case. He was absolutely sure there was no infatuation involved.

“I guarantee it. It will definitely be so!”

“What do you know? You’re such a strange person, ugh!”

“Be careful!”

The lady, having missed her footing, quickly corrected her stance, but the hand reaching out to save her only cut through the air as her body leaned.

“Hey!!”

Ignoring the desperate cry, the Crown Prince’s body tumbled down into the pond below.