After Linking the Villainess and Male Lead (5 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 31
From afar, I hadn’t noticed clearly, but the Emperor gave a much warmer impression than I had imagined.
In contrast, though the Empress possessed a beautiful appearance, she radiated sharpness and sensitivity.
Despite being husband and wife, they exuded completely opposite auras—even setting aside their noticeable age difference.
It was then.
While I was looking at the Empress, our eyes suddenly met.
I instantly sensed her gazing at me with curiosity.
Startled, I hastily lowered my eyes and stood still where I was.
“Duke of Lavellion.”
When the Emperor called out to Kaern, I carefully raised my head, which had been pointed downward.
Glancing sideways toward the Empress, I saw to my relief that she was now looking at Kaern, not me.
“Yes, Your Majesty the Emperor.”
“It is truly most gratifying that you will once again lead the army for us.”
“Not at all. I am merely fulfilling my duty.”
“The people of the Empire believe Duke Lavellion steadfastly protects the realm. You won’t disappoint their faith this time either, will you?”
The Empress interjected from beside him.
Yet, for some reason, those words sounded less like encouragement and more like sarcasm.
If I had noticed it, there was no way Kaern hadn’t.
Yet Kaern showed no change in expression whatsoever—
as if such remarks could never wound him in the slightest.
“I shall do my utmost to ensure that faith endures.”
He even coolly and confidently responded to the Empress’s remark.
“Then that is truly fortunate. Wouldn’t you agree, Your Majesty?”
“Indeed. As long as you are here, defeat is unthinkable for the Loyden Empire. I trust your abilities without the slightest doubt.”
The Emperor smiled benevolently as he encouraged Kaern.
‘How strange.’
The atmosphere was unexpectedly different from what I’d assumed.
Until now, I had believed the Emperor regarded Kaern with suspicion and kept him at arm’s length.
But the two men before me showed no sign of that at all.
On the contrary…
It wasn’t the Emperor who was wary of Kaern—it was the Empress beside him.
‘Which noble house did the Empress come from again?’
Just as I was racking my brain to recall new information—
“Is this the Duke’s fiancée?”
Startled by the Empress’s sudden question, I snapped out of my private thoughts.
“Yes. This is my fiancée, Lady Helena Rosentia.”
“I am honored to make your acquaintance. My name is Helena Rosentia.”
Immediately after Kaern finished speaking, I introduced myself to the Emperor and Empress.
“The Rosentia family… Ah, now I remember. You’re the daughter of the late Viscount and Viscountess Rosentia, who died in an accident several years ago, correct?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Unpleasant memories I’d long buried resurfaced, souring my mood—but I concealed it.
The person before me was none other than imperial royalty.
And since it was still uncertain whether she had asked that question deliberately, revealing my feelings would have been unbecoming of a noble.
Thus, I answered the Empress’s inquiry without showing any emotion.
“Oh dear, that is truly unfortunate.”
The Empress spoke the words with an expression that betrayed no sorrow whatsoever.
Watching her, I slowly began to grasp what kind of person she was.
“Then, did your engagement begin after that incident?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“So Duke Lavellion became the fiancé of a girl left completely alone after losing her parents.”
“…Yes.”
“Now that I think of it, I recall hearing that before the accident, the late Duke and Duchess Lavellion were very close with the Viscount and Viscountess Rosentia—and that your younger sister was friends with her as well… So it turned out just as I suspected, then?”
The Empress smiled knowingly, her eyes gleaming with certainty.
That didn’t sit well with me either.
But once again, I couldn’t react.
Because I knew better than anyone that her conjecture was close to the truth.
‘Her younger sister’s request—and sympathy.’
This was already the third time.
Three people had now openly referenced my engagement to Kaern: at the tea party, Lucas, and now the Empress.
Yet, unlike before, I couldn’t confidently declare it wasn’t so.
“That’s…”
As I stood silently listening, the Empress’s words shifted from me to Kaern.
I opened my mouth to say something—anything—to stop that—but Kaern spoke before I could.
“Even had the Rosentia family not suffered that tragedy, I would still have gladly become engaged to her.”
“Hm? Is that so?”
The Empress asked with clear disbelief.
“Yes. Therefore, please cease spreading unfounded rumors.”
Kaern answered the Empress firmly and decisively, and the atmosphere instantly turned icy.
Uncertain how to respond, I looked helplessly toward the only person who could possibly mediate the situation.
But strangely, even the Emperor seemed to be watching someone else’s reaction.
‘Why is the Emperor deferring to the Empress?’
From what I saw, no one present seemed capable of defusing the tension between Kaern and the Empress.
Just as I inwardly sighed in resignation and prepared to endure the awkwardness—
“Your Majesty the Empress.”
A man approached her side and softly called out to her.
He was tall—nearly as tall as Kaern—and appeared young and handsome, around the same age.
‘Who is he?’
I searched my memory while studying his appearance.
With gleaming silver hair of obvious noble quality and violet eyes like my own…
‘Ah!’
It suddenly clicked.
It was Blake Warren.
‘I never expected to see Blake Warren here.’
Since the original story had been completely altered, I’d assumed I’d never encounter him so closely.
Yet meeting him like this filled me with such curiosity that I must have stared at him intently without realizing it.
Blake Warren noticed my gaze and turned toward me, offering a smile.
Flustered by his look, I quickly averted my eyes.
In the meantime, Blake Warren bowed respectfully to the Emperor and Empress.
“I humbly greet His Majesty Benedict Loyden, the radiant sun of the Loyden Empire, and Her Majesty Monica Loyden, the noble moon of the realm.”
“Blake!”
The Empress greeted him with an entirely different expression than the one she’d shown us.
“You’re finally here. Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited for you?”
“Marquess Warren, why have you arrived only now?”
“I was delayed finishing urgent matters. My apologies.”
“Well, you’re here now, so it’s fine. Tell me, was your journey difficult?”
“No, it was quite all right. Have you been well during my absence?”
“I couldn’t be well without you.”
“Haha, is that so?”
The Empress and Blake seemed remarkably at ease with each other.
What’s going on?
What is the relationship between the Empress and the Marquess?
Still unable to recall anything clearly, I was lost in thought when Blake suddenly acknowledged Kaern.
“Duke Lavellion. It has been a while.”
“Indeed it has, Marquess Warren.”
So they knew each other as well.
Then again, one can only feel inferior toward someone they know.
My mind was in turmoil.
Characters and their connections—previously unknown to me—were flooding in chaotically.
“And who is this beautiful young lady beside you?”
Clearly referring to me, I glanced quickly at Kaern before bowing politely to Blake.
“Hello. My name is Helena Rosentia.”
“In truth, I already knew who the young lady was. Helena Rosentia… the heir of the Viscount Rosentia family, correct?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Surprised to hear he knew me, I quickly masked my expression.
“I am Blake Warren. A pleasure to meet you.”
As he said this, Blake extended his hand toward me.
I didn’t know how he knew of me, but I already knew who he was.
And knowing exactly what kind of person Blake Warren was, I honestly didn’t wish to shake his hand.
But refusing his gesture here would have looked terribly improper.
“Marquess Warren. The pleasure is mine as well.”
So I concealed my true feelings and took his hand.
“You still enjoy tending to plants, I see.”
“Hmm? Ah, yes.”
I wasn’t sure how he knew that—but in high society, such tidbits were commonly overheard in passing, so Blake must have picked it up from someone.
Still, the timing of his comment felt odd, and it left me slightly unsettled.
When yandere male lead believes she loves him — but she never did
“How dare you!”
“How dare you make me love you, only to cast me aside as nothing more than a friend?!?
“I will never accept that.”
“I will never let you return to him.”
“Even if I have to burn myself to ashes.”
“Even if I must shatter my purity, my dignity, my very soul.”
“I will never let you escape me!”
This was the first novel that introduced me to the matriarchal genre. I’ve read it three times already!
At first, the male lead despised the female lead. Later, he misunderstood that she liked him, so he condescendingly and reluctantly reciprocated her feelings.
Then, he suddenly discovered that she was kind to everyone in the same way, and there was already someone she cherished in her heart, and that person was not him.
The male lead couldn’t believe it, he became angry and crazy. He was determined to capture her body and heart by any means necessary.
Synopsis:
Want to see how a green tea bitch male lead falls in love with the female lead?
Want to see how he flirtatiously pursues the female lead?
Want to see how he gets slapped in the face repeatedly?
The male lead is a green tea bitch, a poisonous lotus, jealous, ruthless, unscrupulous, with a venomous heart, and he’s also a delusional maniac.
The female lead is righteous, positive energy-filled, kind, a holy mother.
Let’s see how two people with extreme personalities come together~
_____
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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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