The Villain is Being Suspiciously Kind - Chapter 101

Chapter 101

Citrina clearly said the sooner the better in regards to volunteering.
But this…
‘Even if it’s fast, it’s too fast!’
She hadn’t expected a visit to the poorhouse to be scheduled for the very next day.
The relationship between Desian and Citrina wasn’t a secret. It’s just that Desian was such a dangerous factor in high society that everyone was trying to keep it hush-hush.
Desian seemed to have already prepared her schedule. In the middle of it all, Citrina was dressed by her maid and wore a brimmed hat.

Citrina joined Desian at the poorhouse. She’d heard it was a new establishment created by Duke Pietro. The huge white house topped by a blue roof was full of life.
The poorhouse was clean, neat, and shining. Citrina walked inside, concealing her admiration.
The poorhouse was meant to provide relief to the destitute in the city. It became their home and also provided them with work.
‘From my recollection, it was definitely a place crawling with cockroaches and mice.’
Yes, from her memories it was a place where boys and girls lived on the fringes of society. Yet the people who occasionally wandered in seemed happy. Some of them looked to be selling newspapers, while others sold flowers.
Looking at them, Citrina carefully called out to Desian.

“Del.”
“Yeah, Rina.”
“It’s amazing.”
“How so?”
Citrina spoke in a hushed voice.
“It’s so clean and everyone looks happy.”
“I built a new one. The people were suffering.
“…Yeah?”
“It…hurt my heart.”

Desian glanced around the poorhouse rather than at Citrina and whispered. There was strength in his normally drowsy voice.
Citrina could tell the difference now.
‘The eyes that look at me and the eyes that look at these other people are completely different.’
And neither voice sounded hurt.
She wondered why she hadn’t realized it before. His voice didn’t sound very convincing. However, she decided to pretend not to notice. Instead, she responded to his words.

“I’m sorry to hear that, Del.”

Desian briefly squeezed her hand that was held to escort her. It seemed his hand had strength in it.
“That’s a relief. It looks like it’s making people happy.”
Citrina marveled, her eyes darting here and there with wonder. Desian’s face remained expressionless, but he was obviously very pleased.

“Are you also…happy?”
Desian was still a bad guy. Nevertheless, Citrina was able to deal with him effectively.
She just needed one answer.
She stopped in her tracks. When she stopped, Desian stopped too. Desian and Citrina stood still in the center of the poorhouse. Now that they had arrived, the place was eerily quiet.
Desian’s question.
Citrina looked at the hem of her dress and nodded lightly.
“Yeah.”

Then she looked up at Desian. Desian always looked at her with an indulgent expression.
Their eyes met clearly in the center. Citrina looked into his dark eyes and opened her lips.
“I’m also happy. I’m glad you did something good.”
With that response, Citrina saw a genuine smile spread at the corners of his mouth.
There were times when she didn’t know what Desian was thinking.
Like now, being this kind it was as obvious as the palm of her hand.
Citrina squeezed his hand a little tighter. So that not a shred of his or her heart would leak out.
They walked a little further inside the poorhouse. Soon they met the director of the poorhouse. The director seemed to be a good person. Citrina was relieved to see such a person in the director’s position.
But no one would dare to steal Duke Pietro’s goods.

“It’s wonderful to meet you, Your Excellency, Flang-nim.” [T.L. Note: The director is saying hello to both Desian and Citrina. ]
“Nice to meet you too.”
Citrina didn’t have to speak respectfully to him. [T.L. Note: Citrina is using respectful language (jondeamal) to the director, even though she is a noble and he is a commoner.] But she also didn’t have the lack of conscience to speak casually to this grey-haired man. She smiled and nodded her head.
“I’d like to tell you a little about our poorhouse.”
“Yes. Please tell me.”

Expecting it to be short, Citrina nodded in agreement.
However, the poorhouse director was much more talkative than she expected. Citrina listened attentively. But at some point, the director’s face reminded her of Adilac’s.
Still, she heard a lot of good stories from him. It was like a biography sponsored by Duke Pietro.
He had a network of orphanages throughout the empire. He also sponsored an academy, and if you worked hard enough, he might even accept you as one of his servants.
‘Even though he’s a duke…isn’t the scale too grand?”
In general, welfare was administered directly by the empire. However, it was rare for aristocrats to interfere in the private affairs of commoners.
‘I can tell why there were fewer rumors going around about Desian. I live among commoners, so everything is hush-hush.’
To the aristocrats, Desian’s bad reputation was no secret. But to commoners, they didn’t care if Desian was a good or bad man. That’s because he’s responsible for their livelihood.
While Citrina was lost in thought, Desian’s face eventually showed a hint of irritation at the poorhouse director’s chatter. Desian cut him off coldly.

“That’s enough.”
“Alright. I’ll first write the donation certificate.”
Citrina felt delirious.
Still, she calmly signed her name on the donation certificate.
‘It’s confusing.’
Was Desian…pushing to volunteer? But he was just trying to look nice for her, most likely. That didn’t sound very sincere at all.
After signing, Citrina gave the certificate back to the poorhouse director.

“Thank you. I’m sure the poorhouse will bloom like a beautiful flower.”
“I hope so too. I’m sure it will bloom well.”
As she said that, Citrina glanced at Desian.
Desian’s chilly face was actually visible at a glance. But, Citrina thought he had done a good deed.

‘At this rate, shouldn’t we acknowledge his sincerity?”
Citrina was serious.
His method of hiding his nature was so immaculate.
“Shall we get up now, Rina?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll open the door for you.”
The poorhouse director pushed himself to his feet. Citrina looked at the back of his head before taking Desian’s hand. The feeling of his gloved hand wasn’t unfamiliar to her.

‘I wonder how he’ll react when he finds out I’ve discovered his true nature.’
…Wouldn’t he be a bit embarrassed?
In a way…it was a dark history. [T.L. Note: Similar to how people feel when you talk about their angsty youth.]
Desian had gone this far, what would happen if she kept pretending not to know?
Citrina’s thoughts were somewhat different from what she thought before.

‘If I pretend to be ignorant for too long, I’ll be complicit in creating this dark history…’
In a sense, she should let the situation gradually unfold.
‘When to reveal it…I’ll have to wait and see.’
In other words, when she would say she knew Desian’s true nature.
…It meant seeing when things would change.

Desian and Citrina stepped out into the poorhouse. Now it was just a matter of getting out the door and into the carriage.
There were still only a few people around. Perhaps Duke Pietro had given them a warning in advance to prevent disturbances.
‘I feel like a bad guest of honor.’
She didn’t feel terribly bad, so she just shrugged.
It would be best if her group left quickly. They weren’t here to take pictures or make sure they wound up in the newspapers. It would be better to make the others feel comfortable.

But then it happened. From outside the path, a boy appeared with flowers in his hand. This was probably out of Desian’s control.
“Oh?”

Citrina had already spotted the boy.
So Desian couldn’t get rid of him.
“Do you know that boy?”
Citrina muttered under her breath, even though she knew it couldn’t be true.
“No.”
“Well, he doesn’t look…dangerous.”

If the boy was dangerous, Desian would have sensed it already.
Citrina looked at the boy as he walked up. Dark hair, dark eyes, and pale skin. He looked like Desian Pietro as a child.
‘He looks an awful lot like Desian.’
Everything about him reminded Citrina of Desian as a child, except for his cheeks, which were a little innocent and flushed with color.
Since he was at the poorhouse, his circumstances must not be good.
Citrina chewed her lip.
She couldn’t be the only one who was reminded of a young Desian.

“Hi?”
“Hello, Patron-nim.”
The boy came over and gave a quick bow down to his belly button. Citrina blinked a few times. It was to shake off the afterimage that overlapped with the boy.
“The flowers are pretty. Are you giving them to me?”
“Yes!”
The boy replied, handing Citrina the bouquet. The boy couldn’t have sounded more innocent.
Citrina took the flowers. They were blue, nameless flowers that had not withered.

“Patron-nim is our hero.”
“Really?”
The boy said the word hero with sincerity in his voice.
“Yes! That’s right.”
The boy looked undaunted, even with Desian in front of him. He began telling her how filthy the orphanages, poorhouses, and nursing homes were in the past. And how, thanks to Duke Pietro’s good deeds, everything had been made perfect. It seemed more honest than what the poorhouse director said earlier.

“…That’s so. Is there anything else?”
Desian whispered reluctantly. His voice was unusually gloomy. It was a voice he never used when he was with Citrina.
“Thank you. I’m also going to grow up into a wonderful grown-up.”
Citrina glanced over at Desian, inhaling the scent of flowers in her arms.
Desian’s face was impassive. It was the sort of demeanor she wouldn’t have paid attention to if she was less interested in him.
She tried to squeeze his hand lightly, but his knuckles were already white from being curled in a fist.

“Del.”
His jaw relaxed and the grip on her hand eased. Citrina looked at him and smiled.
“It looks like a lot of people are enjoying themselves because of you.”
Desian stared at her.
“So I’m glad too.”

Desian still wanted to appear as a ‘good person’ in front of Citrina. So the volunteer work at the poorhouse ended more blandly than she expected.
It was the combination of Desian, who still believed he was hiding his true nature, and Citrina, who wanted to tease him about it.