Johan, who had been following behind Raymond, suddenly made an unexpected suggestion.
“Your Grace, how about having dinner together with Her Highness?”
“Huh?”
She froze in place, repeating the word in confusion. Seeing her stiffen, Raymond also stopped walking.
An untimely silence fell before the tent. The knight who had caused it only belatedly sensed the stiffened atmosphere and trailed off.
“I mean, since you’ve returned together anyway, wouldn’t it be nice to share a meal…”
As Johan fumbled his words, Yerpi’s expression grew even paler.
‘He’s not just stopping by—he’s actually returning to the castle with me?’
When Yerpi lifted her head in shock, she immediately met Raymond’s gaze.
He must have seen how unsteadily her eyes trembled. Perhaps even that glance was irritating to him—his narrowed pupils looked particularly harsh.
Raymond let out a short sigh, pressing his fingers against his throbbing forehead.
“Do as you like.”
Wiping his brow as if annoyed by his subordinate’s meddling, he immediately strode past the carriage Yerpi was in.
His tall figure, striding away with long steps, soon vanished into the darkness.
Johan, momentarily unsure if he had committed a breach of etiquette, found himself left behind with the Duchess.
Standing together, watching the Duke’s retreating back, Johan awkwardly tried to fulfill his duty at last, wearing a dazed expression.
“Your Highness. You may step down now.”
A footrest was placed before the carriage door.
Only after stepping down onto the ground did Yerpi realize belatedly that she had been sitting in the carriage, looking down at the Duke.
Regret washed over her for having done nothing in that sudden situation.
But that feeling lasted only briefly—she now wanted to know exactly how this sudden turn of events had come to pass.
While Johan was about to lead her elsewhere, Yerpi asked.
“Has His Grace returned completely?”
She thought perhaps the aide had made a mistake.
But reality continued to unfold contrary to Yerpi’s hopes.
“Oh, yes. His Grace has just returned after suppressing the rampant illusions in the domain of fire. You’ll be traveling together for the next ten days until reaching the castle.”
So his earlier words about returning together were truly accurate.
Judging from Johan’s reaction, he had no idea that Raymond had visited the camp yesterday at dawn.
Arriving without a sound, without anyone knowing.
That dawn encounter was a fact known only to her.
But she had thought that was the end of it.
She had considered it fortunate that he didn’t mention last night’s incident, but now an even bigger situation had unfolded.
While Yerpi was troubled by this turn of events, Johan was genuinely delighted by the Duke’s return.
“This is good. It’ll be much better for you to travel back together.”
Johan’s relieved smile seemed to suggest that everything would now be fine.
He felt pity for the Duchess, who last night had signed that unreasonable marriage contract and then gone alone to sleep in her tent.
Yet contrary to Johan’s expectation that she would be pleased by the Duke’s return, Yerpi’s expression grew darker by the moment.
Seeing her distress, a flustered Johan cautiously asked again.
“Is something troubling you?”
“I just don’t understand why he came back midway.”
Hearing her slow murmur, Johan immediately sympathized with the Duchess’s unease and tried to comfort her.
“I’m not entirely certain, but… perhaps he returned out of concern for Your Highness?”
The illusions native to the domain of summer were inherently vicious, and suppressing them was extremely difficult.
For the Duke to not only subdue them all at once but also rush so quickly into the domain of spring—it was clear he was worried about the Duchess having to reach the castle alone.
That was precisely why Johan had earlier taken the initiative to suggest a dinner together.
Though the silence that followed his suggestion made him doubt his judgment, the Duke’s subsequent “Do as you like” implied his guess wasn’t entirely wrong.
After all, wasn’t this a fortunate turn of events?
Yet the Duchess’s expression did not brighten at his words.
Johan mistakenly assumed she was worried about something else.
“The matters in the domain of fire have all been settled, so there’s no need to worry.”
He thought this sweet concern was natural—of course the gentle Duchess would worry about the Duke.
But in Johan’s mind, such concern was entirely unnecessary.
There could be no flaw in an incident personally handled by the head of the Dragon Blood lineage.
Johan wore a firm expression, confident his prediction was correct. Watching him, Yerpi’s eyes grew even more complicated.
“I see.”
“Of course. Then let me escort you to where His Grace is staying.”
Taking her quiet reply as a sign of reassurance, Johan confidently stepped forward, leading the way.
The knight, believing he had calmed her, marched ahead with strong steps.
Under the dark night, beneath a lilac tree, Yerpi followed behind, her inner thoughts thoroughly chaotic.
‘There must be another reason.’
A reason known only to Raymond, unknown even to his retainers.
Of course, Yerpi wouldn’t be part of that reason.
Even if she recalled that dawn known only to her, the cause wouldn’t lie with her.
Yet even in her deep thoughts, her steps continued forward across the soft grass toward their destination.
No matter how hard she tried to convince herself it wasn’t about her, dinner with Raymond now seemed inevitable.
Soon, Johan stopped before a newly erected tent.
Under the torchlight, Raymond’s back was visible. He had even removed his leather suit, now wearing only a light shirt.
With his back to the tent, he was looking at a map while giving orders to another knight.
It had only been the second day since she arrived in Growen’s domain.
Watching him from afar, Yerpi suddenly thought that his back, turned toward her, felt more familiar than his handsome face.
“Her Highness has arrived.”
Raymond stopped what he was doing upon Johan’s announcement.
Placing the map down on the makeshift table, he turned around. Under the flickering flames, his sharpened pupils fixed directly on Yerpi.
A sudden wave of anxiety gripped her, but she couldn’t show it.
Habitually, she began chewing on the inside of her cheek. Without a word, Raymond turned and walked into the tent.
Johan, witnessing this, clicked his tongue inwardly.
If only he’d shown a little kindness.
Even if they were strangers bound by marriage, from an outsider’s perspective, this was going too far.
The knight, his expression clearly showing his thoughts, awkwardly smiled and guided Yerpi to the tent’s entrance.
“You may go in.”
“Alright.”
She knew well that such cold demeanor wasn’t something a mere aide could change.
It would be foolish to be hurt by mere indifference, so Yerpi silently stepped across the threshold where he had disappeared.
Pushing aside the fabric covering the entrance, a scent rose that stirred her hungry stomach.
The smell of stew that had been simmering since before the tent was set up, fresh bread just out of the iron oven.
To her surprise, the food already served on the table was for two people.
Beyond it sat Raymond.
As he leaned back against the chair, the wooden seat groaned and shrieked, barely supporting his large frame.
“Sit.”
Raymond gestured with his eyes toward the empty chair. Reflexively biting the inside of her cheek, Yerpi silently took her seat across from him.
Facing him for the first time since dawn, his features seemed strangely unfamiliar.
Back then, drowsiness had blurred her vision, but now she had to face him completely清醒.
‘Did the original Yerpi… ever eat a meal with him?’
Even though she dreamed of Yerpi every night, she didn’t possess all of her memories.
But one thing was certain.
The original Yerpi was never loved.
And unrequited feelings would lead her toward an even more tragic future.
Yet there was one key difference between the original and herself.
‘I know a way to escape the predetermined ending.’
Still, feeling this uneasy must be due to the excessive emotional alignment she had built up over time.
Unable to bear the anxiety, she bit her cheek again.
Perhaps she bit too hard—the sensation of torn flesh between her teeth seemed almost audible.
Just as she dismissed it as mere illusion, a sharp creak echoed from the wooden chair across from her.
“Stop biting it so much.”
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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