Strategic Marriage with the Mad Villain - Chapter 18

Was it too obvious? My heart pounded in my ears, as if it were beating there. However, Father soon burst into laughter.

“My goodness… I was worried you were acting like a little lady when meeting Casien.”

“Did I do that?”

“Do you know how surprised I was when I heard it was you, Roel, who sent the letter of annulment?”

“Haha…”

“But it turned out well in the end. It would have been a shame to leave the eldest daughter of Ibelre only to Casien.”

I was just as surprised.

‘I was thinking of running away and leaving this place before…’

Somehow, the wedding suddenly came close. Not with Casien, whom I had been seeing for over 4 years, but with the Grand Duke… the original villain, Reus.

Anyway, it was fortunate. Father seemed to have no idea that he had fallen into a trap.

“I never knew you would cause a big incident and catch such a big fish as the Grand Duke… Anyhow, the Grand Duke must be the type to fall head over heels for a docile woman like you. If I had known this would happen, I should have put in the effort from the beginning.”

“……”

“Well, the affection may not last long, but…”

Father, who laughed as if it couldn’t be helped, continued.

“Anyway, it will be of great help to the family, so isn’t it fortunate! Always do your best for the Grand Duke.”

“…I’m glad I can help the family, Father.”

“Yes. When you go to the Grand Duke, don’t be narrow-minded like your mother. Understood? Ah, I mean Feria, not Julia. Of course, I trust you will keep this a secret from your wife.”

“Yes, of course, Father…”

A father who treats women like objects, this is the end. Just endure a little longer.

“Then I will follow your will and decide in a way that will help Ibelre as much as possible. Tsk… We need to get rid of the northern forest at this opportunity. I was worried about what to do with that tax-eating thing anyway.”

‘The northern forest…!’

It was the Forest of Tranquility that Reus wanted so much. Barely suppressing the urge to shout with joy, I waited for the next words. Father lightly stroked his chin and muttered.

“It’s connected to the Grand Duchy, so there’s an excuse. It wouldn’t be bad at all.”

‘Things are going easier than I thought today.’

I nodded with a brighter smile than ever before while staying at the Count’s residence.

“If that’s what Father thinks, then that’s what we should do. The Grand Duke won’t know anyway. Even if he finds out, he won’t care much.”

“Haha, your marriage is bringing many benefits in various ways. Roel, my pretty one.”

Father couldn’t hide his satisfaction, not knowing what would happen to him in the future.

It was the first time that the end of a conversation with Father, which always left a strange discomfort, felt so exhilarating.

* * *

Humming softly, I headed not to the warehouse stuck in the corner of the annex, but to my room prepared in the main building.

Of course, it wasn’t that I was genuinely happy that Feria allowed me to have a room in the main building.

I was just pleased with the changed flow of the original story. Because things were going more smoothly than I had thought.

When Reus found out about the Forest of Tranquility, I was only worried, but somehow I was able to leave the Empire with a large sum of money without losing anything, so it would be stranger not to be happy.

‘If I can get married safely like this, stay comfortably in the Grand Duke’s castle, and then leave for Beliata with a big share, that would be good, right?’

As I was moving with light steps, someone roughly turned me around.

It was Briella who grabbed me.

“Now that I see it, you rejected me that day because you had someone to trust, right?”

She had been grinding her teeth throughout the meal.

‘Yes, there’s no way you’d let this go quietly…’

I don’t know what she’s trying to say, but her face was already full of sneers.

“How did you seduce him?”

“…What?”

“I’m asking how someone like you seduced someone like the Grand Duke.”

‘But come to think of it, wasn’t it Reus who did the seducing? I didn’t do it.’

But Briella, who couldn’t see inside me, seemed satisfied as if she had scored a point against me, twisting her lips.

“That’s right. How could the Grand Duke propose to you if you didn’t give yourself to him? What’s so good about a cheap thing like you?”

“……”

“Ah, right. The Grand Duke doesn’t know that you were born as a commoner, a cheap thing? Sorry, sorry. I forgot about that.”

“…Briella, stop…”

“Why? Did you approach him in an embarrassing way? Is that why you want me to stop talking…?”

“You’re crossing the line, Briella.”

“Oh my? You can’t say it, so I guess it’s true. Did you act like your mother?”

“What…?”

“Did you cling to him vulgarly like your mother…”

Slap!

My hand moved without me realizing it because she brought up my late mother. But I had no regrets about my action.

Everyone knew how Father crushed the weak. Briella was one of the people who knew that fact best, just like me.

“You… You hit me just now?”

“You’re the one who spoke recklessly. Didn’t you say that knowing this much?”

“Have you really gone crazy? Do you think you’ve become something just because you’re marrying the Grand Duke? Even so, you’re a commoner! You’re a being less than a bug, nothing more, nothing less! You arrogant thing, not knowing your place−!”

Briella, furious, raised her arm to slap my cheek, and at that moment,

−Tak!

Someone appeared and blocked that hand.

Slowly turning my head along the hand that stopped Briella’s violence, there was…

“Why are you here…”

Casien was there.

“I didn’t know the second daughter of Ibelre had such a foul mouth. It seems you have no dignity at all.”

“Wha-, what did you say?”

“Roel, let’s go.”

* * *

I was dragged like that because Casien wouldn’t let go of my hand. Casien only released my hand when we reached a corner of the garden where people couldn’t easily find us.

But he grabbed my arm and pulled it tight, making me unable to move again.

“This…!”

“Roel, it’s not…?”

I didn’t know earlier, but Casien’s face was quite hurt, unlike usual. His eyes were red and bloodshot as if he hadn’t slept, and he seemed to have lost some weight.

I was a bit surprised by his haggard appearance, but…

Casien and I were now officially annulled.

‘There’s no reason for me to care.’

I spoke as coldly as possible.

“Why are you here?”

“……”

“Go back, Casien. This is no longer a place where you can come freely.”

Casien, who had been staring at me blankly, barely opened his mouth.

“You said… to wait…”

“I never told you to wait.”

“…Roel.”

“I don’t know what you were hoping for and waiting for, but my thoughts are still the same.”

“……”

“We’ve annulled our engagement. We’re really over.”

Shock flashed across Casien’s stiffened face.

Still, because he was someone with whom I had envisioned an eternal future, even if only for a while, my heart didn’t feel entirely good.

But… that was all.

Perhaps my feelings for Casien had been gradually sorted out for a very long time.

“I… I was wrong.”

“…Casien, how many times do I have to say it for you to understand? We’re now−.”

“I reflected a lot.”

A tear fell from Casien’s eye.

“I really did. I… I reflected a lot. Roel…”

I don’t know how much sincerity was contained in those tears, but I was certainly surprised.

Casien only showed tears in front of Iris, and even in the novel, it was content that appeared much later.

Casien, who uncannily noticed that I was startled, approached and knelt down.

“It’s all my fault… I won’t do the things you hate anymore. What should I do, huh? What should I do for you to treat me like before…?”

“……”

“I can do anything, Roel. No, anything… I’ll do anything. I really can. So please don’t abandon me like this, please…”

The tears that started with one drop quickly soaked Casien’s face. The desperate touch holding my hand also began to tremble with strength.

My head was dizzy.

I was bewildered by Casien’s behavior, as if he had ever loved me. And I felt pity, even if only slightly. Also, it was hateful and sad…

All kinds of emotions swirled.

Among them, what made me most distressed was the fact that I had been shaken, even if only for a moment.

“Roel… Please… Please don’t do this… I’ll do better from now on.”

“……”

“I… I can explain everything, Roel. I’ll explain everything so you can understand, I… Huh? Don’t go like this. Don’t go, please…”

What could he explain?

That he met this woman and that woman while having me? Or that he deliberately troubled me with an ambiguous attitude, as if he would get caught but not quite?

Or that he never told me he loved me? That he postponed the annulment every time? That he blatantly came with traces of other women?

No matter what the reason was among these, there was nothing to be done to someone you love.

But he’s trying to hold onto me with excuses that won’t even make sense.

It’s not even funny.

‘I can’t believe I was shaken for a moment by this jerk.’

Casien’s hand, which had been slowly rising, was now intertwined between my fingers. Casien, who desperately held my hand, looked up at me with reddened eyes.

“Believe me, Roel… Please…”

“…Let go.”

“I can’t let you go. Don’t go… Don’t go, Roel!”

I had never found Casien so hateful, even though it was hard meeting him.

I pulled my hand out with all my strength and stepped back. But my back hit something with a thud, and I couldn’t go back any further.

“Who dares to let go and hold someone else’s fiancée as they please?”

An Indifferent Woman is the One Men Desire the Most

One-line summary: The female lead is actually cold-hearted and extremely rational. She has stage-by-stage relationships and won’t two-time, but there will always be someone who secretly likes her.

This novel has the following triggers, so if you’re sensitive to these, please don’t read:

1. The female lead has had many relationships, but she treated each one seriously and broke up properly.

It’s just that the men unilaterally pestered her incessantly. For the female lead, when she doesn’t like someone anymore, she simply doesn’t like them.

(This applies to her relationships with Male Lead 1, 2, 3, and 4 as well, but she’s loyal in each 1-on-1 relationship!)

2. In this novel, Male Lead 2 and the female lead kiss in a car, and Male Lead 1 sees it and beats up Male Lead 2.

The female lead calls the police and sends both Male Lead 1 and 2 to the police station! Male Lead 1 begs the female lead not to break up with him.

3. Male Lead 1 has a gentle appearance but an obsessive personality.

Male Lead 2 has a delicate and soft appearance, slightly green tea-like (two-faced).

Male Lead 3 is a youthful college student and a smart person who has secretly liked the female lead for a long time.

Male Lead 4 is the female lead’s father’s special assistant, a business elite with deep, hidden thoughts.

4. At the beginning of this novel, the female lead has already broken up with Male Lead 1 (Chapter 4) and gotten back together with Male Lead 2 (ex-boyfriend).

5. Enter with caution if you have triggers!!!