After Linking the Villainess and Male Lead (5 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 11
It was because not a single word he had spoken was wrong.
What he had just said was one of the very things I had told myself over and over to steel my resolve.
My engagement to Kaern is a political arrangement, so I must not let things go any further.
He holds no feelings for me, so I should step back.
Hearing from someone else the very words I’d used to suppress my own heart left me unsettled—and not just a little, but deeply saddened.
‘So it really does look that way to everyone else too.’
Yet even so, Lucas shouldn’t have said those things to me.
The reason I’d never heard such words before was simply that no one had ever dared say them directly to my face.
Commenting openly about someone else’s engagement was not only impolite for a noble but also offensive—and no one had the right to do it.
Thus, I had absolutely no intention of accepting Lucas’s rude words and actions.
Though his words might soon prove true, I refused to acknowledge them—not now, not ever.
“No, that’s not it at all.”
“…What did you say?”
“Who said it’s a political marriage? Who said he has no feelings? That’s absolutely not true.”
“…Then is it real?”
“I don’t know what the Duke feels, but for me—it’s real. So I have no intention whatsoever of giving you my heart.”
This was my one and only truth, completely free of falsehood—the very feelings I’d never dared reveal to anyone.
Because it was the first time I’d voiced these emotions aloud, my words tumbled out more fervently than I’d intended.
Still, I quickly steadied my mind and, anticipating possible future consequences, swiftly drew a clear boundary regarding Kaern’s own feelings.
“Ha….”
Apparently, my approach had worked—Lucas let out a deep sigh, his expression utterly deflated.
Since I, too, was caught in unrequited love, I found myself staring at him with shared sorrow—until I snapped back to my senses.
In that moment, I suddenly realized how much time had passed.
“Shall we head back inside now? I think we’ve been away from our seats far too long.”
“Huh? Oh, but—”
“Just as your feelings matter to you, Lucas, my feelings matter to me too. So let’s end this conversation here.”
“I… I…”
He seemed so shaken by my confession of feelings for Kaern that Lucas couldn’t even form coherent words.
“Next time we meet, I hope we can greet each other as friends again, just like before.”
“Oh—uh, Helena!”
Seizing the opening, I turned to leave quickly, but Lucas urgently called out to me.
I stopped mid-step and looked back at him.
“I don’t know when it might happen, but… if your feelings for Duke Lavellion ever fade, could you at least consider my confession then—just once?”
‘My feelings for Kaern will never fade.’
Without uttering a word in reply, I simply turned and walked out of the garden.
I didn’t want to give him an answer—only to end up entangled in more words.
‘This is exhausting.’
I’d come out here to rest, yet I felt all the energy draining from my body.
I just want to go home and rest.
Today had been especially draining, mentally.
I should tell Kaern I’m not feeling well and need to leave.
If I say I’m tired, he’ll surely let me go.
Technically, I didn’t need his permission—but since he’d accompanied me, it wouldn’t feel right to leave without saying anything.
So I decided to properly bid him farewell and headed back toward the banquet hall to find him.
Just as I approached the entrance—
“Helena? Is that really you?”
‘That voice…’
It was a familiar, welcome sound I hadn’t heard in a long while.
Recognizing who had called me, I turned toward the source of the voice.
“Evelyn?”
“It really is you! Have you been well?”
Evelyn greeted me warmly with a cheerful smile.
“Yes, I’ve been well. And you, Evelyn? It’s been so long.”
“I’ve been doing great too! This is the first time we’ve seen each other since graduating from the academy, right?”
“That’s right. I heard you left on a long journey right after graduation, so I couldn’t even reach out.”
“That’s understandable. Even if you’d sent a letter, I probably couldn’t have replied—I barely managed to receive letters from my own family! But luckily, I returned just in time for the banquet, so at least we could see each other.”
“True—it’s nice to meet like this, even by chance.”
As we exchanged news of our lives, Evelyn suddenly grinned as if remembering something amusing.
“By the way, didn’t Adelia get married?”
“Yes. Just as she’d always wanted… to Calix Crayton.”
“I knew it! So they really did end up together.”
Seeing Evelyn’s bright, happy smile stirred a faint pang of guilt in me.
According to the original story, Calix was destined to be with Evelyn, the novel’s heroine.
But because of my tiny intervention, everything had changed utterly.
Calix had fallen for Adelia—not Evelyn.
And so, every time I saw Evelyn, an uneasy feeling lingered in my heart.
‘I’m sorry, Evelyn.’
As always, I silently offered her my apology inwardly,
while wishing with all my heart that she would find someone even better.
“All that effort Adelia put in finally paid off. I wish I could’ve seen it myself. But Helena—what about you?”
“Huh?”
“I mean, how’s it going with that person you’ve held in your heart all this time?”
I must have been lost too deeply in thought, standing right in front of her.
Evelyn waved a hand in front of my eyes and tilted her head.
“Huh? Me?”
“Yes—you’ve secretly liked someone since forever, just like Adelia, right? I don’t know who it is, though.”
“Wait—”
‘How does Evelyn even know about that?’
Startled by her words, I jumped—and she lightly tapped my shoulder, as if to ask what was wrong.
“Honestly, even if not as much as you and Adelia, I’ve known you long enough—do you really think I wouldn’t notice? Helena, you treated everyone who showed interest in you at the academy like mere pebbles, all because of that one person, didn’t you?”
“People actually showed interest in me at the academy? In me—not Adelia? Why?”
Her unexpected revelation left me genuinely shocked, and I blurted out my surprise.
Evelyn just shrugged, looking utterly amused by my reaction.
“Adelia was always the dazzling beauty everyone noticed, but as far as I remember, Helena, you weren’t exactly overlooked either. You’re plenty lovely yourself—and you’re kind and warm to everyone, after all.”
Her string of compliments made my face grow steadily warmer, so I began fanning myself vigorously with my hand.
“And that flustered look of yours is just too cute.”
“Don’t tease me! I’m just embarrassed because I never expected to hear that from you, Evelyn.”
Evelyn subtly stepped beside me, careful not to block the pathway, and nudged me gently with her shoulder.
“Helena… you really had no idea?”
“Huh? Um… well…”
Finding my reaction entertaining, Evelyn kept breaking into laughter.
“But Helena, why were you outside the banquet hall? Were you heading home?”
“No, I just stepped out because the hall felt stifling. Adelia isn’t here today, so it’s been a bit dull.”
Her words suddenly brought a strong wave of loneliness crashing over me.
I missed Adelia so much.
I wanted to see her right now—to pour out all the feelings I’d experienced today and talk through the night.
‘I really miss her… should I just go see her?’
No.
If I kept acting like this, I’d never move forward.
As close as we were, I’d been leaning on Adelia far too much lately.
Though it felt a little lonely, this was probably the best chance for me to stand on my own emotionally.
I quickly corrected my thoughts and steeled my resolve.
“But you weren’t actually heading home—just returning to the banquet, right?”
“That’s right. What about you, Evelyn?”
“Yeah, I stepped out because I was feeling stifled too, and was just about to go back in.”
“Then shall we go together?”
“Sure. The breeze made me a bit chilly—let’s have some warm tea.”
We walked back into the banquet hall, chatting lightly.
Inside, the hall remained as noisy and crowded as ever.
“It’s stuffy again the moment we step in.”
“Don’t you like these parties, Evelyn?”
“Not really. Gathering with people I barely know, forcing smiles and hollow conversations—it just doesn’t suit my easygoing nature.”
“That sounds exactly like you.”
I laughed heartily in agreement.
“What about you, Helena? Aren’t you feeling stifled here too?”
“Me? Well… I guess I am, a bit.”
“I knew it!”
“I prefer quiet gatherings in the garden with close friends over chatting comfortably—rather than meeting lots of people all at once like this.”
“I see! So you’re actually a lot like me too.”
“Really?”
“Yeah—places like this aren’t exactly suitable for deep, meaningful conversations, are they?”
“That’s true.”
“Hey, Helena.”
“Hmm?”
“I’m thinking of… again—”
Just as Evelyn began to speak, I focused intently on her words.
Male lead first thought she played hard to get, only to realize she
really disliked him
Short intro:
What she can’t stand the most is the streets full of effeminate men, especially that so-called top beauty whom she avoids at all costs.
Shen Yaoxing looks at Jiang Mingyue, who keeps approaching her with coy shyness.
Shen Yaoxing: Bro, don’t be like this, I’m really about to throw up!
She fears nothing in heaven or earth, except for him getting close to her.
*
At first he thought she was just using the trick of feigning indifference to attract his attention. Later, he learned that she truly despised him.
This dealt a heavy blow to Jiang Mingyue, and he vowed to make her, like everyone else, fall at his feet in worship!
***
Synopsis:
Before transmigrating, Shen Yaoxing only wanted to find a reliable man to spend her life with. Who knew that after transmigrating, she would become a reliable woman herself…
A forced misandrist, highly skilled, and reliable female lead
vs.
An initially aloof and arrogant, later morbid, obsessed male lead
_____
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If there is a person checking these comments. Can you please add a word/letter count to the bottom. Also sometimes the comments don’t stay within the chapter you read but throughout the whole book, please fix that glitch. Another, per book- hour limited to how many comments can earn cookies – it’s better you write that somewhere or give a notification to the commenter about that. The notification about the 3/3 free reads glitch too, sometimes it says 3/1,1/3,1/1 or not work. The cookies glitch sometimes too, id have 10 but when I try to unlock chapter it keeps saying I have none. Love yalls work!
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