After Linking the Villainess and Male Lead (5 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 32
“Since my fiancé seems uncomfortable, please release me now, Marquess Warren.”
“Your fiancé? Ah, I recall—the two of you have been betrothed for quite some time.”
At Kaern’s icy tone, Blake finally let go of my hand and asked,
“Yes. As Your Lordship has already mentioned, we have been engaged for a long time. Therefore, I ask that you refrain from showing excessive interest in or making contact with my fiancé.”
“My apologies. I’ve been discourteous. I’ll be more careful from now on.”
With those words, Blake turned toward me and gave a cheerful, friendly smile.
‘He certainly doesn’t look like someone who’d gossip or slander others behind their back.’
Most people probably believed his bright demeanor was genuine, but knowing his true nature from the original story, I wasn’t fooled.
‘I need to stay sharp.’
But now, I just wanted to leave this place.
So I glanced subtly at Kaern—and as if sharing my thoughts, he spoke up even before I could open my mouth.
“Your Majesty the Emperor, then we shall take our leave.”
“Ah, by all means. You’d best rest well if you’re departing at dawn tomorrow. Go ahead without hesitation.”
“Thank you.”
After bowing to both the Emperor and Empress alongside Kaern, I looked up—and once again, my eyes met Blake’s, who had been staring at me.
I gave him a slight nod in greeting and followed Kaern out of the banquet hall.
“Are you acquainted with Marquess Warren?”
Kaern asked about the earlier incident as soon as we stepped into the carriage.
“No. Today was the first time I’ve formally met him.”
“Then why did Marquess Warren speak as though he knew you well?”
Kaern frowned slightly, looking uneasy about something.
“I don’t know either. I truly met him for the first time today.”
I, too, couldn’t understand why Blake had acted that way.
I combed through my memories thoroughly, but still found no recollection of ever meeting him.
After that, Kaern fell silent, deep in thought, and said nothing more.
Both of us had tangled thoughts swirling in our heads, so I decided against introducing a new topic—it was better to stay quiet for now.
Thus, the carriage sped swiftly through the night as if nothing had happened, arriving home in no time.
“Thank you again for seeing me home today.”
I thanked him and tried to step into the mansion, but my feet wouldn’t move.
“You said you’ll be leaving at dawn tomorrow?”
Kaern nodded.
“I won’t see you for a while. Of course, if I end up going abroad for studies or if the war drags on…”
Just how long would it be before I saw him again?
It hadn’t been like this before.
Not seeing him had felt natural then, so the sense of loss had been lesser.
But now, the mere thought of parting from him made my chest ache.
“This war won’t last long. We’ll be taking a large number of troops, and I’ll be fighting at the very front.”
“Isn’t it a bit dangerous for you to be at the front? You’re a commander, after all.”
“There’s never been a war without danger. And behind me… Helena, you’ll be…”
Kaern’s final words somehow faded away inside his mouth before they could escape.
“While I’m away…”
Kaern let out a deep sigh and ran a hand through his hair.
He stayed silent for a long while, as if lost in thought.
I quietly waited for him.
The fact that he wasn’t leaving right away and was lingering here was, for me, a good thing.
After a moment had passed,
Kaern spoke again, his expression still tense.
“Take care of yourself while I’m gone. Just as you always have, just as you’ve done until now.”
“…Yes. I will.”
Even though I knew I couldn’t truly do that anymore, I answered as if I could.
“About your studies abroad…”
“If you need anything, tell the butler. Isn’t that right?”
I repeated Kaern’s words exactly to show I remembered his earnest instructions.
“Yes. That’s right.”
“Is there anything else you’d like to say?”
“…Do you have nothing more to say?”
“I…”
I had so much I wanted to say.
But among all those words, there was almost nothing I could actually voice.
“You still have the sachet I gave you, right?”
“Right here.”
He pulled the sachet from his inner pocket and showed it to me.
“You must keep it with you always.”
“I will.”
“And… please take care of yourself. Come back safely.”
“Yes. You stay safe as well.”
“…Okay.”
We were both hiding the words we truly longed to say, making the conversation feel hollow and superficial.
Yet neither of us spoke a word about it.
“I should go now.”
Kaern climbed back into his carriage.
“Kaern!”
As the carriage began to move, I called out to him in a hurry.
He opened the window and showed his face.
“Thank you—really, truly, thank you for everything.”
And I’m sorry.
At my words, he said nothing more.
Instead, he gave me his third smile of the day and departed.
As expected, I stood there watching the carriage until it vanished from sight—and even longer than that.
[This is the timeline separator]At the break of dawn the next day, a majestic horn blast echoed throughout the capital city.
It was the signal announcing the army’s departure to defend the Empire’s territory.
I woke at first light and hurried straight to the square where the send-off ceremony was held.
Though we’d already said our goodbyes yesterday, I still wanted to see Kaern one last time before he left.
By the time I arrived, countless citizens had already filled the square.
I found a spot where I could see Kaern clearly.
He stood tall beside his horse, clad fully in armor.
‘Kaern…’
I silently repeated his name over and over in my heart.
It wasn’t that I hoped he’d spot me among the crowd.
I just needed to calm my restless, anxious heart by whispering his name to myself.
Then, at that very moment,
Kaern, who had been staring straight ahead, turned his head toward where I stood.
‘Ah.’
Our eyes met—as if he’d known all along I was there.
In that instant, every uneasy feeling within me began to fade.
I gave him a gentle smile, and he responded with a slight nod.
Though we didn’t speak face-to-face, it felt as if every unspoken word between us was perfectly understood.
‘Come back safely.’
‘I’ll return soon—wait for me.’
That was enough to calm my anxious heart.
Soon after, the Emperor appeared on the high platform overlooking the square.
He delivered an impassioned speech, praising and encouraging the knights who were willingly offering their lives for the Empire.
As soon as the Emperor finished speaking, the entire crowd erupted in unison.
“Long live the Loyden Empire!”
“Long live His Majesty Emperor Benedict Loyden!”
Moments later, another powerful horn blast shook the square, signaling the army’s departure.
In response, the entire military force began marching out of the capital.
And at the head of that army stood Kaern Lavellion.
I watched his receding back and silently prayed once more for his victory and safe return.
“…Let’s go home now. Amy.”
“Yes, Miss.”
Once Kaern was out of sight and the horn blasts had nearly ceased, I turned to Amy and told her it was time to return.
“Miss, just a moment—the coachman will bring the carriage shortly.”
“Okay. I understand.”
But contrary to Amy’s words, the carriage never arrived, no matter how long we waited.
“It seems there are too many people—the carriage can’t get through.”
Amy looked around anxiously and spoke in a flustered tone.
“Then let’s walk out.”
“Oh, yes, that’s probably better.”
“Okay.”
“Once we’re past the square, we’ll be able to get right into the carriage.”
So we started moving to exit the crowded square.
But the crowd was so dense it was hard to even take a step.
“Miss, please be careful.”
With the capital’s usually dense population now all gathered in one place, it was easy to get jostled about with the slightest lapse in attention.
Thankfully, we weren’t far from the square’s entrance.
Carefully navigating through the throng, we soon saw the exit right before us.
Perhaps I let my guard down, thinking we were almost there.
“Ah!”
My shoulder collided hard with a man running toward me from the opposite direction, and I staggered violently.
My Arch-enemy Sealed My Memory and Said That He is My Husband
This is an incredibly captivating story that you absolutely shouldn’t miss! I’ll give a brief introduction here, and below you’ll find a detailed synopsis of the plot.
The female lead is a fierce and powerful demon king. The male lead is a once-in-a-millennium celestial lord, admired by the entire cultivation world.
They are equally matched, legendary rivals who have battled for centuries.
In the final duel, the female lead is gravely injured. The male lead saves her, seals her memories, and hides her true identity. He tells her that he is her fiancé. His entire life has been flawless—except for the one thing he never expected, never controlled, and never wanted to control: falling for his greatest enemy. She is his inner demon, his obsession.
When the female lead regains her memories, she is furious at his deception.
She makes his life a living hell.
And somehow, the male lead—possibly a total masochist—doesn’t mind at all. In fact, he’s happy she’s paying attention to him.
Yep, we’re back to my favorite trope: male lead suffering. If you love this kind of story, jump into the pit with me now!!!
Intro
Dong Xia lost her memory.
Her handsome and extremely powerful fiancé Li Qing comforted her: “It’s okay if you can’t remember. I’ll always be with you.”
Everyone thought Dong Xia’s ancestors must have burned incense to get such a perfect fiancé. He was the number one person in the immortal realm, yet he remained chaste and only loved her.
…
The day before marrying her fiancé, Dong Xia finally remembered everything.
She wasn’t suffering from memory loss at all.
Her arch-enemy had made her fake her death, destroyed her cultivation, replaced her memories, and pretended to be her deeply in love fiancé.
No wonder he said, “It’s okay if you can’t remember”!
Dong Xia laughed coldly as she pulled out her long knife: Li Qing, prepare to die 🙂
*
Li Qing, as the supreme being of the immortal realm, was the people’s shining beacon.
The only unknown stain in his life was his affection for Dong Xia, the ruler of the demon realm.
In the final battle of the war between immortals and demons, the sky collapsed and the earth shattered. The ruler of the demon realm was finally slain under the sword of the supreme being of the immortal realm, and everyone in the immortal realm applauded.
The cultivation world lost a ruler of the demon realm.
And in the back mountain of Li Qing’s cave dwelling, he secretly hid away a fiancée.
Notes:
1. The female lead is white on the outside, black on the inside, and the queen of flattery; the male lead repeatedly tests the edge of darkness, a VIP guest at the crematorium.
2. Fantasy cultivation world setting.
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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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