After Linking the Villainess and Male Lead (5 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 24
“Do you like it?”
“Huh? Oh—it’s so clean and tidy, it makes me feel calm.”
“I see.”
“Yes.”
Thinking I’d successfully changed the subject, I smiled at him and kept looking around the office.
I wanted to take in every detail of this place while I had the chance.
“Oh, you placed the flowers I gave you right over there.”
I glanced toward his desk and spotted the flowers I’d gifted him earlier.
“They suit the room much better than the potted plant I brought. They match the atmosphere perfectly.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Huh?”
“The one you brought is better.”
“Is that so?”
What I’d said to him wasn’t empty flattery at all.
I genuinely believed the potted plant I’d brought suited the flowers better than the one currently there.
Yet Kaern insisted the broken pot was better.
‘Could it be because I seemed so disappointed?’
Seeing him care for me so effortlessly made my heart flutter again.
After that, we exchanged a few brief, ordinary words.
Most of it was, as expected, about Adelia—
whether she was doing well, how happy she seemed, and so on.
We also talked about the flowers planted in the garden today.
I briefly considered asking him how best to care for the garden from now on, but quickly dropped the idea.
It would be better to speak to the staff about it separately later.
Just then, while completely absorbed in our conversation—
“Oh, right.”
Though a bit late, I suddenly remembered that I had one more gift for him.
Figuring this was the right moment, I pulled it carefully from my pocket and handed it to him.
“What’s this?”
“A gift for you, Duke.”
“A gift? I thought the flowers were the gift.”
“I prepared this one too, because I wanted to give it to you.”
Avoiding his eyes out of sudden shyness, I quickly steadied myself.
“You lent me your handkerchief once before… so I wanted to give you a new one as a gift.”
“A handkerchief?”
“Yes.”
As soon as I finished speaking, Kaern swiftly unwrapped the gift.
Inside was the white handkerchief I’d bought earlier, and he stared at it intently.
“It’s not as fine as the one you gave me, but I’d be glad if you’d accept it.”
Worried it might not please him, I hurriedly added those words.
He remained silent.
Since the moment I’d handed it to him, he had only stared fixedly at the handkerchief.
“What does this mean? KH?”
Then, lifting his head—which had been slightly bowed—he looked straight at me and pointed to the initials embroidered on the fabric.
“That… that’s your name.”
“My name?”
“Yes. I embroidered the initials of your name.”
“But why KH?”
“Huh?”
Though I’d anticipated the question and prepared an answer, I was still momentarily flustered.
“Why H after K, instead of just K?”
Kaern asked again, as if he knew something.
“Well… I thought just one letter would look a bit plain, so I added the next one too.”
“Is that so?”
Kaern replied, then fixed his intense gaze on me instead of the handkerchief.
Though impossible, I felt as if he might see right through my thoughts, and tension coiled in my chest.
But I absolutely couldn’t let him find out.
Scolding myself for acting so foolishly, I forced a relaxed smile.
“Should I have embroidered just one letter instead?”
I asked him innocently.
“…No. I like it this way. It suits me. Thank you for the gift.”
I was relieved to hear he liked it.
Inwardly, I let out a breath of relief and calmed my racing heart.
Now…
I’d given the gift and finished the light conversation—it was time for my real purpose.
“Duke.”
I carefully spoke up and looked at him.
“There’s something I need to tell you.”
At my words, Kaern gave a small nod, as if urging me to go on.
But my lips wouldn’t move easily.
I needed to speak.
My mind knew I had to, yet my mouth refused to obey.
“If you have a request of me, you may speak freely anytime.”
“Well… it’s just that…”
How would Kaern react once I said it?
I simply couldn’t predict it.
Considering his usual temperament, he might accept it calmly—but given everything over the past few days, he might also get angry.
Either way, I knew for certain it would make things hard for me for a long while.
But that was my burden to bear.
I couldn’t keep postponing it just because I was afraid.
‘I have to do it.’
Go on.
You can do this.
Whipping myself into resolve, I finally forced the words out.
“Actually… I plan to leave soon to study abroad.”
At the mention of studying abroad, he paused briefly in thought before nodding.
“You always wished to study overseas. I’ll send servants to manage the estate while you’re gone. How long will you be away? A month? Two?”
“Well… the country I’ll be going to this time is quite far, so it might take a while. And considering your age, I think our engagement…”
“Our engagement?”
At the mention of the engagement, Kaern’s eyes sharpened.
“What exactly do you want to say about our engagement?”
His tone, too, now felt edged with steel.
Noticing his unfamiliar expression, I pressed on.
“After my parents passed away, you offered to protect and care for me through our engagement—I’m truly grateful for that.”
Kaern’s face had now hardened completely.
Somehow, the more I spoke, the worse the situation seemed to become.
But I couldn’t stop here.
“If I go study abroad, years will pass before I return. Maintaining this engagement, which relies on your kindness alone, wouldn’t be right. I’m now an adult capable of protecting myself, so you needn’t worry about me anymore. I can’t keep depending on you forever.”
Kaern leaned back slightly, crossed his arms, and settled into the sofa.
Though I hesitated at the sight, I steeled my resolve.
The die was cast—there was no turning back now.
“So… I think there’s no need to keep up this formal engagement. You should find a Duchess soon, the sooner the better…”
Before I could finish, Kaern—who had barely moved until now—suddenly stood.
The ominous atmosphere that had been building around him since earlier now reached its peak, and I halted mid-sentence.
My lips dried out under the crushing weight of tension.
He had only stood, yet no further words or movements came from him.
An unbearable silence stretched between us.
Then, our eyes met.
His crimson irises, darker than usual, pierced straight through me.
I couldn’t tell what he wanted to say with that look.
I only knew one thing—he was furious.
‘What do I do?’
But I couldn’t understand why he was so angry.
Without knowing the reason, I couldn’t say anything.
Any rash words might only make him angrier.
So I simply stood there, anxious and still, watching as Kaern moved slowly.
He walked without any urgency.
A moment later, he stopped right in front of me.
Then, his lips—closed until now—parted, and a slightly roughened voice emerged.
“‘Formal’? Since when did anyone say this engagement was merely formal? It seems I’ve greatly misled you. Let me make this clear: no matter how much time passes, we will marry—and you will become Duchess of this estate.”
His voice had dropped to an almost imperceptible register, and his words refused to make sense in my stunned mind.
All I could do was stare at him with a blank expression.
Another heavy silence fell between us.
What on earth did he mean?
I desperately tried to decipher his words in my head.
But my brain, overwhelmed by shock, refused to cooperate.
“…Huh? What do you…?”
After a long while, all that finally escaped my lips was that feeble question.
“So you don’t understand? Then let me say it again…”
At that moment—
Knock knock.
The Villainous Demon Lord Laid an Egg for Her (Female-Dominated)
Several months after transmigrating into a book, Yu Wu found herself facing the demon lord Li You, who could no longer conceal his dragon horns. With one hand on her aching waist and the other gripping a sharp sword, she stared at him.
The demon lord’s eyes were red with fury:
“This is all your doing! Today, I won’t rest until I kill you!”
Yu Wu rubbed her temples. Putting aside the taboo against bloodshed during pregnancy, wasn’t it this very man who willingly walked into her trap that day?!
Warnings:
- Male pregnancy.
- Height ratios are set to mirror typical male-female height proportions.
- Characters include a foot-loving demon lord and an eldest daughter from an immortal family’s concubine lineage.
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!
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!
Thanks for your feedback—we really appreciate it. We’ll review your suggestions to improve the comment feature so it works more smoothly and conveniently. We’ll also look into the issues you mentioned and fix them as soon as possible.