I May Be A Villainess, But I Won't Live My Life That Way - Chapter 20

Chapter 20

“What did you just say?”

With a slight frown, Ricardo asked.

“I want to break the engagement.”

As he wished, I repeated the words I had just spoken.

“…”

As he wished, Ricardo remained silent, just looking at me without saying a word. No, he stared at me.

“Why?”

After a while, Ricardo’s words were short.

“In my memory, it was you, Bianca, who wanted this engagement, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. Ten years ago, when I was very young, it was the engagement I wanted.”

“Are you now speaking as if you don’t want it?”

“Because I don’t want it, let’s break it.”

“Why?”

Once again, Ricardo asked for the reason.

I couldn’t tell him the real reason.

Because you’ll strangle me. Because you’ll fall in love with another woman.

How could I know that? It was written in a book.

“Ricardo.”

I simply called his name calmly.

“We got engaged when we were too young. We didn’t know each other back then.”

“But?”

“Like any decision made by a child, my decision at that time was too hasty. I was obsessed with what was in front of me.”

“What did you see?”

You.

To young me, you were too cool.

“The position of the Duchess. To the little daughter of the Viscount who wanted to become a perfect lady, how attractive would that position have been? ”

I lied.

It hadn’t been that hard. All I had to do was smile coyly and say,

“I love the necklace you’re wearing today, Marquise, and it really matches your eyes.

Even if the necklace of that lady looked cheap, even if the eyes of that lady were not truly beautiful, even if the necklace and the lady’s eyes did not match at all, I could say that as much as I wanted.

“But recently, I’ve realized that there are much more precious things than that. So, I thought I should correct the mistakes of the past, even now.”

“Mistakes?”

Ricardo’s eyebrows twitched.

“Do you want to say that our engagement is a mistake?”

He seemed angry.

Of course, it’s never pleasant to be told by your fiancé that you’re breaking up with him, but I hadn’t expected Ricardo to be angry.

I just thought he would respond indifferently, as always, with indifferent eyes and an indifferent tone, saying, ‘Do as you please.’

“Rather than saying it’s a mistake…”

Could it be that my tone sounded like a reproach to him?

In an attempt to choose more gentle words, I tried to modify what I had said before.

“No.”

But Ricardo was faster.

He cut off my words before I could choose different words.

As if there was nothing more to hear.

“As you said, the position of the Winkaiser Duchess is indeed an attractive one. It’s visible enough in the eyes of the young Viscountess. You don’t really think it’s a position that a child can get just by begging for it, do you?”

“I understand. It’s because of the promises between families, right?”

I knew too.

If the person I wanted to marry when I was young was not Ricardo but just a common Viscount’s son, my father wouldn’t have readily pushed for it.

Or that if it had been a commoner, not the heir to the Duke of Winkaiser, whom I had courted, the marriage would not have been consummated, no matter how hard I tried.

And it would have been the same for the Duke of Winkaiser.

If the person who came for the marriage proposal wasn’t the woman named ‘Bianca’ but just a daughter of the Croft family, it wouldn’t have been accepted.

“I see.”

Ricardo looked at me with cold eyes.

“A commitment between families that has lasted for 10 years cannot be broken because of your momentary whim.”

Perhaps Ricardo’s words now might not align with what he had been saying all along.

A commitment between families meant marriage.

A commitment between families meant no divorce.

What did I expect?

“If there is a valid reason for divorce, then it’s not a whim.”

“A valid reason?”

“If there’s a valid reason for divorce, no matter how strong the pact between families is, divorce should be possible, right?”

“What are you talking about? A valid reason for divorce? Are you thinking of cheating or something?”

Even after saying it himself, Ricardo seemed dumbfounded, as if he couldn’t believe it.

“You mean……. Bianca?”

Narrowing his gaze, he spoke suspiciously.

“Do you have another man?”

“If I have another man, would that be a valid reason for divorce?”

“Are you really saying there’s another man, Bianca?”

Ricardo’s narrowed gaze intensified. His black eyes looked at me with confusion and surprise.

If I say there’s another man now, could it be a valid reason for divorce?

For a moment, I was tempted to say just that.

“That’s not the case. I was just asking if you think that would be a valid reason for divorce.”

But soon, I held back, thinking about my reputation.

Being a divorcée was acceptable, but being labeled an unfaithful woman was out of the question.

Moreover, if he were to ask who the man was right away, I wouldn’t be able to answer.

Leaving a family that dared to break the engagement with the heir of the Winkaiser Duchy wasn’t something I could ignore.

It was better not to quickly tell a lie that would soon be exposed.

“If having another man is a valid reason for divorce, the opposite must also be possible.”

“The opposite?”

“Yes. If you have another woman, if that happens, I can also demand a divorce from you, right?”

Instead of answering my question, Ricardo just looked at me in disbelief.

He even laughed at the absurdity of my question.

“Yeah. If I were to have another woman, your request for a divorce would be valid.”

Finally, those words came out of Ricardo’s mouth. If I waited a bit longer and observed any signs of affection between Ricardo and Maria…

“But that won’t happen.”

Ricardo’s firm statement cut through my calculations. It was as if he conveyed that there was no need for such calculations.

“Why are you so sure?”

I found Ricardo’s assurance amusing, considering I knew what would happen in the future. The man who emphasized the importance of family commitments had no idea that he would eventually break that commitment and demand a divorce from me for the sake of love.

“I have no interest in other women.”

Ricardo stated this as if it were obvious.

No interest in other women? Saying that made it sound as if he had an interest in me. Wait a minute.

“I am currently deeply interested in a jewel that I didn’t know existed in my pocket. So, I don’t have time to pay attention to other pebbles.”

Ricardo slowly articulated his words, confirming the thought I had just considered.

“I’ve been neglectful until now, and now that I’m aware, I’m focusing on it.”

Ricardo shrugged his shoulder.

God, he shrugged one shoulder.

The man, whose expression didn’t change much no matter what he said, was now talking with a gesture.

“I may have been a fool who didn’t recognize the jewel in my pocket before, but now that I know it’s a jewel, I’m not foolish enough to throw it away.”

Ricardo looked at me thoughtfully.

Baffled by his sudden change.

“Ricardo.”

“Yes.”

“So what you’re saying is that you’re happy with our relationship?”

I asked him calmly.

“No.”

Again. It’s not like he’s fundamentally changed…….

“I want us to take the next step in our relationship.”

“What?”

“I was thinking we could start getting ready to get married.”

“…”

The suddenness of Ricardo’s words left me speechless.

It was always me who wanted to get married. I was the one who wanted to officially stand by his side.

But not now.

Just as I was about to abandon my long-held dream, Ricardo was telling me that he would make it come true.

“You don’t like it.”

Ricardo said it in a hushed voice after a moment of silence.

“Do you think you brought up the breakup just to hear me say that I’m going through with the marriage?”

“…….”

“Do you really want to break up with me?”

Ricardo’s face, which had seemed somewhat relaxed before, was slowly losing its composure.

Instead, a coldness was creeping into his face.

The sound of his voice and the frozen look on his face lowered the temperature in the room.

“Then I’ll have to tell you again.”

A sharp voice cut through the silence.

“There will be no breakup.”

With that, Ricardo scrambled to his feet.

I didn’t even try to grab him.

I knew that even if I did, there would be no conversation between us now.

“Oh, I forgot something.”

Turning to leave, Ricardo trudged back and stood in front of me.

With his hands in his pockets, he set something down on the table, almost as if tossing it.

“A gift.”

With those last words, Ricardo walked out of the room. This time, he didn’t stop or look back.

“This is…….”

After he left, I glanced at the table and saw a wrapped lollipop on it.

It was white with a crude red rose drawn on it.

It looked like something you’d find at a festival stand.

No, it had to be from that stall.

There was no way a pastry chef from the Winkaiser family could have made something like this, and it was the only place Ricardo would have come across such a bauble.

It wasn’t like the expensive dresses and jewelry he’d been sending me for my birthday for the past decade, or the expensive dresses and jewelry that I didn’t know who at Winkiaser had picked out for me.

It was cheap candy that Ricardo would have picked out and paid for himself.

“Smile Love”