I Become the Villain's Bride - Chapter 66

Chapter 66

“Excuse me?”  

“It was a joke.”  

What’s the point of expecting anything from this naive child?  

It’s enough to shudder to realize she’ll never be interested.

“Absolutely, absolutely not Lily Devlanc.”  

To think that, after already securing the Duke of Crowford, her sister could become the crown princess—such a thing could never be allowed.  

“Remember this: If you get entangled with that woman, your life will surely be ruined.”  

“Sister.”  

“You must be tired. You should head back now.”  

By warning him enough to prevent him from falling into that vile woman’s grasp, She has fulfilled her duty as family.  

“The princess is truly an incredible person.”  

After the crown prince left, Serial clapped his hands and offered polite words to the princess.  

“I didn’t do it to earn your praise.”  

Unaware of the true meaning behind her words, Princess Hyacinth arrogantly crossed her legs and gazed into the distance, at the silhouette of Crowford Manor.  

After living her entire life comfortably, sheltered without any worries or struggles, now she’s hiding behind the duke and picking out only the good things for herself. One day, her life needs to be ruined too—for the sake of fairness.  

Without any sense of guilt, the princess rationalized her every action.  

—

There were so many things she had thought to say when she saw him again, yet our awkward reunion ended surprisingly anticlimactically.  

“Welcome back, Your Grace.”  

“…I’m back, My lady.”  

Despite her return, the duke didn’t show much reaction.  

After all the times he had urged her so desperately to come back, his attitude now felt strangely cold. She couldn’t help but feel a little hurt.  

“Wilfred!”  

Unlike the awkward tension between the couple, Luca greeted him with a bright smile.  

“Sorry I couldn’t spend time with you properly today. Work kept me busy.”  

“That’s okay! I finished all my homework and I’m confident about tomorrow’s test, too!”  

At the sight of the duke affectionately patting Luca’s head, Freesia’s heart fluttered for some reason, as if on instinct.  

The duke, looking at the innocent child with such warm eyes, gently ruffled his hair.  

This heartwarming scene between the two felt almost surreal, as if witnessing a moment that could never have appeared in the original story.  

Their interaction stirred old memories, evoking the feeling of distant nostalgia.  

“You two have really grown close, haven’t you?”  

“Over the past few days, His Grace has even been personally teaching me swordsmanship.”  

“That’s wonderful, Luca.”  

Seeing the child’s joyful smile, Freesia couldn’t help but feel a little grateful toward her husband for the effort he had made while she was away.  

“What’s gotten into you? You’re always so busy.”  

“Since I am Luca’s guardian, it’s my duty to care for him.”  

“Duty?”  

“Yes. As both your husband and Luca’s guardian, I intend to fulfill all my responsibilities to the best of my ability.”  

The duke’s use of formal speech was merely a show of respect to an elder, yet today it felt oddly deliberate, as if he was intentionally expressing his displeasure.  

If he had something to say, he should just come out with it. But instead, he left Freesia standing there, took Luca’s hand, and headed straight to the dining room.  

“Try not to pick out the broccoli anymore.”  

“I’ll keep that in mind, Your Grace.”  

“Good boy.”  

For a man who never used to give compliments, it was strange how much affection he was showering on Luca today.  

Feeling like a complete outsider, Freesia sat at the dinner table with a sulking expression.  

“Where is everyone else?”  

“Madame Benoit retired early, saying she was tired. Rashita is still training, and Fieldram left after finishing his meal.”  

“When did Madame Benoit return?”  

“She came by earlier when Viscountess Blado stopped by briefly. I think it was sometime in the afternoon.”  

“The Viscountess of Blado, huh.”  

With that, the conversation drifted into silence again.  

Even as the sherbet dessert was served, Wilfred remained engrossed in a discussion about swordsmanship with Luca.  

It seemed she had been completely forgotten, as if punished for her one misstep in running away.  

‘I should’ve stayed away a few more days if I knew it would be like this. 

How irritating, considering how urgently he had asked me to come back.’ 

But at least it’s Luca, and their beautiful interaction softened her wounded heart a little.  

“I’ll head up first. You two take your time.”  

She made a point of showing my annoyance, but it seemed to have no effect.  

After brushing her teeth with frustration, she found myself bored and lonely back in her room. In the end, she went to knock on Madame Benoit’s door.  

“What brings my darling to my room at this hour?”  

“…The duke seems a bit strange.”  

“Strange?”  

“Not in a bad way. It’s a really good sign, but for some reason, it still makes me feel so upset.”  

There was nothing wrong with the two of them getting along.  

No, it wasn’t a problem at all.  

And yet, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had been left out.

“Since when did those two get so close?”

“Oh, yes, my dear Freesia, you must have felt really hurt.”  

“Hey, old hag!”  

Just as Freesia was about to spill all her frustrations, the door suddenly burst open without so much as a knock. In this household, there was only one person rude enough to do such a thing—Fieldram.  

“Fieldram, do you even have the capacity to learn, or are you just hopeless?”  

“What did I do now? Anyway, Madam, what are you doing here?”  

“I don’t want to talk to you, Fieldram.”  

“What? Are you seriously thinking about getting a divorce or something?”  

“Divorce?”  

The sheer absurdity of the misunderstanding left Freesia utterly speechless. How had something she never even said blown up to this extent?  

In front of a genuinely horrified Madame Benoit, Freesia scrambled to defend herself.  

“I never said anything about divorce!”  

“Divorce?”  

Of course, just at that unfortunate moment, the duke appeared at the doorway. Freesia clenched her teeth in frustration.  

“Fildram, what are you saying? I would never do anything like divorce!”

There was no way she was going to let a careless remark like that dictate her fate.  

“W-Wait, Madam! I didn’t mean it like that! I was trying to stop you two from—!”  

Fieldram frantically waved his arms, trying to explain himself, but his efforts were futile. His poor reputation preceded him, and no one seemed inclined to believe him.  

Seizing the opportunity for some playful revenge, Freesia dabbed at her eyes with her sleeve and leaned into Madame Benoit’s arms, feigning tears.  

“I really love my husband. If he’s found someone else to love, I’d gladly step aside, but…”  

“Well, if Madam says so, what does our duke think about all this?”  

“Aida, take the Lady to her chambers,” the duke ordered.  

Without hesitation, the head maid moved to escort the ‘distraught’ Freesia. With a triumphant grin, Freesia stuck her tongue out at Fieldram from behind the duke’s back.  

“You’ve got to be kidding me!”  

“What is going on here?”  

The more outraged Fieldram became, the angrier the duke looked.  

Leaving Fieldram to deal with the aftermath, Freesia left with Aida, feeling surprisingly lighthearted.  

“This isn’t fair! I didn’t do anything wrong!”  

Madame Benoit gave him a knowing look. “Maybe we should start with why Fieldram is playing the role of Freesia’s husband in the first place.”  

Fieldram groaned, his frustration spilling over. “I wasn’t playing her husband! I was just trying to keep her from being humiliated in front of those awful parents of hers!”  

The more he tried to explain himself, the more chaotic things became.  

“So, you never meant to pretend to be her husband?” Madame Benoit interjected calmly.  

“Exactly! I didn’t mean it like that at all!”  

The duke silently stared at the flustered Fieldram, as if sizing him up. Despite his bad manners and lack of tact, Fieldram wasn’t known for lying. Still, something bothered him.  

“What I don’t understand is what Freesia sees in someone like you.”  

“What? No way!”  

“What did you just say?”  

“Don’t get cocky. Even if she likes you, you’ll always be second place.”  

At the duke’s blatant display of jealousy, Fieldram’s jaw dropped. The idea that anyone could even like him was shocking enough—let alone the fact that the person in question was his master’s wife.  

“So you don’t mean to tell me you’re getting a divorce because of me?”

“Divorce?”  

“When she ran away, she left a note saying not to come after her—”  

The moment those words left his mouth, Fieldram knew he had made a grave mistake.  

Before he could backtrack, the duke’s eyes darkened with realization.  

“So you’re the sneaky little squirrel who hid that letter.”  

“I only did it to try and stop you two from splitting up!”  

It was clear that Fieldram was out of his depth. Madame Benoit, feeling pity, stepped in to help.  

“Still, Freesia liking Fieldram? That’s ridiculous.”  

“How can you be so sure?” the duke asked.  

“Isn’t it obvious? She likes you so much that she doesn’t know what to do with herself. The whole runaway fiasco happened because of you.”  

“Because of me?”  

“Yes. You insisted on personally escorting the princess. You’ve never escorted anyone before, yet suddenly you felt the need to accompany her?”  

“That was…”  

The duke trailed off, realizing too late how reckless his actions had seemed.  

Madame Benoit folded her arms knowingly. “Jealousy, huh? Looks like Freesia isn’t the only one affected by it.”  

Quietly, the duke began to piece together everything Freesia had said and done up until now.