After Linking the Villainess and Male Lead (5 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 20
“Oh, I got some other flowers this time too—would it be alright if I went again soon?”
“You don’t need my permission for every little thing. As I told the young master earlier, you’re my fiancée.”
“Yes, I understand. But I was worried Duke might find it inconvenient if I just showed up whenever I pleased…”
“Do you think I’d find you a bother?”
“Well… it’s just that… we’ve hardly ever been alone like this before, and Adelia was always with you at the manor, so I’m not really sure.”
I hesitated, unable to answer right away, and finally just blurted out exactly what was on my mind.
Kaern stared at me silently for a moment before opening his mouth.
“No, not at all.”
“Huh?”
“Not once have I ever found you inconvenient.”
“Oh…”
“So go ahead and do as you please. I don’t mind.”
As he said that, his gaze felt strangely gentle.
“But surely you don’t find me more bothersome than Lucas Aiker, do you?”
But that warmth vanished in an instant—Kaern’s eyes suddenly sharpened as he asked me.
“No! Of course not!”
Afraid he might misunderstand, I quickly denied it in alarm.
“Don’t misunderstand—it’s absolutely not like that at all.”
I shook my head vigorously to emphasize my point.
“Lucas, well, Lucas… No, never mind.”
I almost mentioned his confession at the banquet but quickly bit my tongue.
I didn’t want to inadvertently make Kaern worry about it.
Just as I tried to brush it off vaguely, Kaern gave me a knowing look, his eyes sharp, and spoke meaningfully.
“Didn’t you clearly tell me at the banquet that Lucas Aiker never confessed to you?”
“Huh?”
Caught off guard, I just stared at him, unable to deny it.
“Did you lie to me?”
“No, no! It’s not that… It’s just…”
Since everything he’d said was true, I couldn’t say anything more and instead nervously bit my lip.
“Since when has Lucas Aiker been coming here?”
“…A few times since the imperial prince’s birthday banquet.”
“Since the banquet?”
“Yes. Lucas had been staying at the Aiker family estate until then, and only returned to the capital to join the Imperial Guard. After that, he said he was bored and visited me a few times.”
I added the explanation in detail, worried Kaern might think Lucas and I had been meeting for a long time.
“Because we’re friends…”
“Hah—friends?”
Kaern let out a hollow chuckle, looking utterly incredulous.
To me, it was just an attempt to explain myself, but the word “friends” only seemed to sharpen his mood further.
“Does Lucas Aiker really see you as a friend?”
“Huh?”
“He doesn’t seem to, from where I’m standing.”
I had no idea when or how he’d figured it out, but he’d clearly seen through everything.
“How did you…?”
In the end, I couldn’t hide it anymore and let the words slip out.
“Since when?”
“Huh?”
“Since when did he say he’d held feelings for you?”
Kaern narrowed his eyes as he asked.
From his behavior so far, even a passing dog could tell he didn’t like Lucas at all.
It was obvious he’d be displeased to learn that Adelia had ever crossed Lucas’s heart, even briefly.
Afraid my lie had already soured his mood even more, I finally confessed honestly.
“He said it was since he confessed to Adelia.”
“What did he say exactly?”
“At the time, I comforted Lucas briefly after Adelia rejected him.”
“You comforted him? You? Why?”
His voice was icy, clearly unable to comprehend.
“He was humiliated in front of so many people because of that confession, and I just felt sorry for him…”
“Hah…”
He exhaled deeply, as if completely baffled.
Truthfully, I felt just as absurd about it now—and deeply regretted my actions back then.
If only I hadn’t done that, Lucas never would’ve started clinging to me like this.
But back then, I really couldn’t help it.
Unable to say anything more, I quietly averted my eyes from his.
I could feel his intense gaze burning into me.
At that moment, a strange sense of déjà vu washed over me.
It felt as if I’d received this exact look before.
When was it?
I strained my memory, trying to recall.
‘Ah, right.’
The banquet.
Yes, that’s it.
The one I recently attended with Kaern.
Not long after we’d parted ways that day, I’d kept feeling someone’s gaze on me.
It wasn’t the usual curiosity from the crowd or the jealous glares from other young ladies.
It was far more persistent—almost suffocating, just like now.
‘It was Kaern.’
I’d wondered who’d been staring at me like that.
With that sudden realization, I looked up and met his eyes.
Seeing the burning intensity in his gaze, my suspicion instantly turned to certainty.
I’d figured out who it was—but that didn’t answer everything.
Why had he been watching me like that?
The most likely explanation was that he’d been keeping an eye on me—but that only raised another question.
Why would he monitor me?
Unless I asked him directly, I’d probably never know the answer.
Even if I did ask, if he denied it, I’d have no way to prove anything based on feelings alone.
‘Well, he must have had his reasons.’
I was curious, but it wasn’t what mattered right now.
What truly mattered was that I’d lied to him—and now I had to explain myself to Kaern.
So I waited for him to speak, racking my brain for how to respond.
After a brief pause, just as I’d expected, Kaern asked me point-blank.
“Then why did you lie to me?”
I forced out the excuse I’d rehearsed in my head, trying to sound as natural as possible.
“I was afraid you’d worry over something trivial.”
“Something trivial? You’re calling it trivial that your fiancée received a confession from another man?”
Well, it *was* trivial.
But he clearly saw it differently.
Seeing him react far more sensitively than I’d anticipated left me confused, but I pressed on, determined to make him understand.
“I immediately rejected him on the spot, so I thought it was over.”
“You immediately rejected Lord Aiker’s confession?”
“Yes, of course. I had no obligation to accept Lucas’s confession. I’ve always seen him only as a friend—never felt anything more than that.”
I defended myself earnestly, almost indignantly.
Even as I spoke, I wasn’t sure why I had to go this far—but somehow, it felt necessary.
Right now, the one thing I was absolutely sure of was that I didn’t want him misunderstanding me over something like this.
“Really?”
“Yes. Really.”
I nodded firmly as I answered his question, which sounded like he was verifying the truth.
Seemingly satisfied with my reply, Kaern’s expression softened slightly—though the chill never fully left his eyes.
But that brief thaw vanished instantly, and his face hardened again.
“And yet Lord Aiker keeps coming to this house?”
“He said he’s completely let go of his feelings for me.”
Since I’d already defined our relationship as friendship, I’d taken his words at face value.
If it weren’t true, I would’ve refused his visits outright.
“He said he’s let go? Are you certain he said that explicitly?”
“Well… not exactly, but he did say he wanted us to stay friends.”
This time, I wasn’t lying, so I relayed Lucas’s words to Kaern without hesitation.
“Hah… you really are…”
But somehow, I’d said something wrong again—Kaern sighed in exasperation and tilted his head back.
‘Wow.’
For a split second, I found myself dumbly watching him from the corner of my eye, mesmerized by the picture-perfect motion—until I snapped back to my senses.
“Did I… do something wrong? Was it my fault?”
Then, with a nervous expression, I carefully watched his reaction.
My Ex-Girlfriend Is The Regent In The Female-dominant World (Male lead transmigrates to the matriarchal world)
Two years ago, Gu Sui picked up a homeless woman in ancient costume from the street.
Apart from occasionally claiming to be a princess from a female-dominant country due to illness, her figure, appearance, intelligence, and martial arts skills were impeccable.
Naturally evolving from roommates to girlfriends, as time went on, Gu Sui found it increasingly difficult to tolerate her queen syndrome.
“Mu Jiulu, can you stop controlling me inside and out? Let’s break up.”
Gu Sui made a breakup call, and since then, he couldn’t find any trace of her.
A year later, Gu Sui, who was planning to move, woke up the next day and found himself in a different place.
“Young Master, today is the day you choose your Wife-master through martial arts competition at Jade Dew Pavilion. Please get up quickly.”
Gu Sui: Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?
As the only son of a general’s mansion in a female-dominant dynasty, the young empress personally issued a decree allowing Gu Sui to select his Wife-master through martial arts competition. Whoever could defeat him could marry him.
Gu Sui: “……”
He didn’t inherit the original owner’s martial prowess, so anyone could defeat him! And what the hell is a Wife-master?
Forced to come to Jade Dew Pavilion, the densely packed women below made Gu Sui’s agoraphobia act up, and his face was full of resistance.
Until he saw the Regent sitting on the second floor, with a smile on the corner of her lips, her eyes wicked and nonchalant.
Hmm… she looked a little familiar.
It turned out that the Regent also found him a little familiar.
Mu Jiulu fiddled with her bone clasp, her deep gaze locked on the man who was out of place in this world.
“Finally, I found you.”
Male transmigrates into female-dominant world
One-sentence summary: What goes around comes around, taking turns in the crematorium
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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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