After Linking the Villainess and Male Lead (5 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 21
“I…”
Kaern let out another short sigh before speaking again.
“Yes, it seems clear now that I’ve left you alone for far too long.”
“Huh?”
Why was he suddenly bringing that up again?
When he repeated the same words he’d said at the banquet before, I tilted my head in confusion and asked him.
“I can’t stand by any longer while such things happen to my fiancée.”
Instead of answering me, he simply said what he wanted to say and abruptly stood up.
“Let’s have tea another time.”
“Huh? But Amy will bring it right away.”
“I have urgent business—I must go.”
With that, he suddenly announced his departure and bade me farewell.
The tea and cookies were incredibly delicious.
A wave of regret washed over me because Kaern had to leave without tasting what I’d prepared.
But I couldn’t possibly hold back someone as busy as he was over something so trivial.
Shaking off my disappointment, I rose to see him out.
“You don’t need to come out.”
“No, you’re a guest in our home.”
With those words, I walked side by side with him out of the room.
Outside the mansion, as I’d anticipated, a horse—not a carriage—was waiting for him.
Adelia had told me he cherished his black horse above all others, and this one seemed to be it.
Kaern glanced at me once, then swiftly walked toward the horse and mounted it in one fluid motion.
I couldn’t help but inwardly admire the effortless grace of his movement.
Indeed, he carried himself with natural elegance in everything he did.
“Then I shall take my leave now.”
“Please take care, Your Grace.”
At my final farewell, he gave a brief nod and soon departed the estate with his horse.
Only after Kaern had left did I realize I hadn’t managed to say a single word I’d intended to tell him.
‘I’ll have to visit him soon.’
He’d just returned to the capital and would surely be busy for a while, so it seemed better to wait a bit before going.
‘I’ll bring the tea and cookies we couldn’t finish today.’
Determined to finally speak my mind this time, I stepped back inside the mansion.
[This is the timeline separator]Several days passed after Kaern’s visit.
I’d been worried Lucas might come again, but fortunately, he hadn’t set foot near the place since.
‘Could something have happened?’
Though I was curious why Lucas hadn’t come, I didn’t feel like reaching out to him first.
After all, things were better exactly as they were now—with him absent.
Well, I supposed he must have some urgent matter.
Brushing it off as unimportant, I focused solely on the matter of the student exchange program Evelyn had mentioned.
Then, right about a week later,
the announcement Evelyn had described began appearing all over the capital, quickly becoming the talk of the town.
‘It really is a great opportunity.’
The more I thought about it, the stronger my desire to study abroad grew.
That’s right.
I can’t afford to waste any more time.
After calmly considering the practical issues and expenses over the past week, I made up my mind and decided I’d meet Kaern today—without further delay.
‘He’s probably finished the busiest part of his work by now.’
Having sent word through Amy that I’d be visiting the Lavellion Ducal residence, I immediately boarded a carriage and headed toward the bustling district.
If I were to leave for studies abroad, today might be my last chance to see him.
So, before departing, I wanted to give him a small but heartfelt gift.
What should I buy?
He was the kind of man who could afford anything in the world if he so desired.
Thus, an expensive gift wouldn’t carry much meaning for him—and besides, I didn’t have that kind of money to begin with.
No matter how much I thought it over, I couldn’t figure out what to get him.
By the time I arrived in the bustling district, I still hadn’t decided on a gift.
As soon as I stepped down from the carriage, I quickly scanned the rows of shops lining both sides of the street.
Yet still, nothing struck me as quite right.
It would’ve been easier if Adelia had been with me.
‘Well, nothing for it.’
Shaking off my disappointment, I decided to simply browse around for a bit and stepped into the bustling district.
But as expected, buying a gift for Kaern wasn’t easy.
Considering his taste and discernment, I couldn’t just pick anything carelessly.
I wandered through shop after shop, yet nothing truly caught my eye.
How long had I been pacing the streets like this?
Just as I was passing by a shop, feeling slightly worn out,
‘Hm?’
A handkerchief displayed in the store caught my attention.
The moment I saw it, I remembered the white handkerchief he’d handed me at Adelia’s wedding.
‘A handkerchief would be perfect.’
He always carried one, so it would be genuinely useful.
Relieved at last to have found a gift for Kaern, I hurried into the shop.
“Welcome, miss. What can I help you find?”
The shopkeeper greeted me politely.
“I’d like to buy a handkerchief.”
“Are you planning to use it yourself?”
“No, it’s a gift.”
“For whom, might I ask?”
“For a gentleman.”
“Ah, I see. Then perhaps take a look over here?”
Following the shopkeeper’s guidance, I browsed through various handkerchiefs.
“This one is made from fine fabric imported from the west…”
After hearing the shopkeeper’s description, every handkerchief looked appealing.
After much deliberation over which one suited Kaern best, I finally chose one that stood out for its exceptional softness and pure whiteness.
“I’ll take this one.”
Somehow, anything with patterns or colors didn’t feel right for him.
“Your taste is excellent, miss. Would you perhaps like embroidery added?”
“Embroidery?”
“Yes. If we embroider the recipient’s name or family crest, it’ll become a one-of-a-kind handkerchief, made just for him.”
“Embroidery… Alright. Will it take long?”
“It depends on the design and size, but we have a skilled artisan here—it won’t take long at all. What would you like embroidered?”
“Just a moment.”
What should I embroider?
I’d agreed immediately, but now I couldn’t think of what to put.
Should I use his initials?
That would be the safest choice.
Or perhaps the Lavellion family crest?
But that felt too complicated—and the shopkeeper might guess whom I was giving it to, which would be embarrassing.
Initials really were the best option.
“Please embroider a ‘K’.”
“Understood.”
“Wait—actually, make it ‘KH’.”
“‘KH’? Very well. That shouldn’t take long at all. I’ll have it embroidered and wrapped for you shortly. Feel free to sit here or take a stroll around while you wait.”
“Alright.”
I’d almost gone with just ‘K’—his initial—but quickly changed it to ‘KH’.
Though ‘KH’ could represent the first two initials of his name, that wasn’t my real intention.
It actually stood for ‘K’ from Kaern and ‘H’ from Helena—my name.
‘If I just say it’s his name, he’ll never guess the truth.’
It might have been nothing more than a foolish attachment.
Clearly, it was clinging—that’s what this was.
But even so, I wanted to leave behind at least one small trace showing that I’d cared for him.
While waiting for the embroidery, I browsed the shop.
Besides handkerchiefs, they mostly sold items for men—ties, belts, and the like.
“The embroidery is finished. See here?”
Soon afterward, the shopkeeper brought over the handkerchief and showed it to me.
Seeing his initials delicately stitched in the bottom right corner, I felt satisfied—this truly was one of a kind.
“It’s lovely.”
“Isn’t it? I’ll go ahead and wrap it for you.”
“Yes, please.”
After receiving the neatly wrapped handkerchief, I paid immediately.
Though the price was rather steep for a handkerchief—likely due to the fine fabric—I felt no regret.
“Please visit us again. Thank you.”
Now that I had the gift, it was time to head to the Lavellion Ducal residence.
Humming a light tune, I walked with a spring in my step back to the carriage.
I was in a good mood, pleased with the gift I’d chosen.
Just as I reached the carriage,
“Huh? Lucas?”
I felt someone watching me from a distant alleyway and instinctively looked in that direction.
To my surprise, it was Lucas.
“It really does look like Lucas.”
When I moved a little closer to confirm, the figure—who indeed resembled Lucas—visibly startled, took a step back,
and then, as if in a great hurry, vanished from sight in an instant.
My Step-brother Is Obsessed With Me (Female-dominant)
A gentle female protagonist vs pitiful in the early stage, and a sick male protagonist in the later stage
Cheng Songer transmigrated into the body of a vicious cannon fodder female supporting character with the same name as her in a female-dominant novel.
In the original story, the cannon fodder female supporting character was inhumane, committing domestic violence, gambling excessively, being lustful, and even wanting to sell her stepbrother to a brothel for money.
As luck would have it, she just happened to transmigrate at this time.
Seeing Cheng Qingzhi biting his lip, enduring the tears in his eyes, looking pitiful, her heart softened.
She stuffed the money back into the Madam’s hand and reached out to him.
“Brother, come home with me.”
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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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