Strategic Marriage with the Mad Villain - Chapter 58

After returning to the Grand Duchy, I was fine for a while, but then anger would suddenly surge up without warning, to the point where it interfered with my daily life for some time.

Sometimes, tears would suddenly well up, and other times, I would belatedly remember the words I couldn’t bring myself to say, and my chest would feel suffocated with frustration.

I had to stop eating and calm my mind quite often.

‘Is this how it usually is?’

I wanted to open up my heart to someone and ask what to do in these situations.

Sadly, there was no one in the Grand Duchy with whom I could share these complicated feelings.

If Roshan, Emily, and Eni were here, they would surely listen to what happened that day and be outraged with me, but there were no such friends here… And no matter how comfortable I was, I couldn’t tell the servants, could I?

Especially, there was nothing more absurd than confiding these feelings to Reus.

‘He would probably ask why I’m telling him such things…?’

He had been blatantly avoiding mentioning that day since then, so perhaps he would even get a little angry.

Yes, Reus always considers and worries about me, his benefactor, in any situation, but it was obvious that he wouldn’t be curious about my very personal feelings.

In the end, I had to suffer alone for days.

After being in a state of confusion for a while, it suddenly occurred to me that acting like this seemed to be exactly what Casien wanted. So, in order to not be consumed by thoughts of that damn guy, I spent as much time as possible with the servants while wandering around the Grand Duchy.

Somehow, the time I spent with Reus was drastically reduced, but I thought it was rather fortunate. There were already many days when he took up my time by making me worry about trivial things, but this time, I could pass it quietly.

As I melted into my daily life, my anger naturally subsided a bit. I thought I had overcome this matter in my own way, but recently, I had a different concern.

Today, after lunch, I left the main castle for a light walk.

‘Why does he keep following me from behind like that?’

At some point, Reus stopped talking to me much, and these days, he often followed me a few steps behind. I know this expression doesn’t suit that man, but there was no other word to describe it.

‘If he wants to take a walk, he can just come next to me and walk side by side.’

But come to think of it, it seemed that Reus started acting like this not long after we returned to the Grand Duchy.

Could it be that he was concerned about what happened with Casien?

He must have heard about that day from the knights. He knows well what the relationship between Casien and me is like, so he would roughly know what kind of conversation took place.

‘Hmm… I don’t think that’s it. Reus never asks or wonders about anything related to Casien.’

Yes, if he was really curious, he would have asked long ago.

Then why is he doing this? Although I’ve gotten a little closer to Reus, it’s impossible to know what he’s thinking when he does things he doesn’t usually do.

Then, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

‘Oh, could it be… because I slapped him?’

At that time, Reus definitely stared at my palm. And right after that, he looked at Casien.

‘Why did I do that…?’

To be honest, I didn’t know I was such a violent person. I never thought my hand would come out just because I was angry.

At that time, I was so angry that I didn’t think about anything, but now that I think about it, I feel a little ashamed, as if I had made a spectacle of myself.

‘Ah, let’s not think about this either. I’m going to completely forget about Casien now.’

But Casien aside, how long is that man going to follow me from a distance like that?

I stopped abruptly, thinking I should at least have a conversation with him. Then, funnily enough, Reus also stopped right there.

“Hey, Reus.”

But when I called his name, he approached me right away as if he had been waiting for it.

“If it’s okay, shall we walk together? I think it might look a little strange in other people’s eyes.”

“Is it okay to walk together?”

“What?”

What kind of question is that?

“Of course. What reason would there be for it not to be okay?”

I said it was okay to do so, as if asking for permission, but his attitude was still cautious.

Actually, I also said let’s walk together in case he would say something to me. But Reus really walked without saying anything. No, to be precise, he seemed to be hesitating to speak constantly.

In the end, I couldn’t stand it and asked quite blatantly.

“Reus, do you have something to say to me?”

“…No. I don’t.”

You do, you do. It seems he has something quite specific he wants to ask.

Then, Reus called out to me in a somewhat heavy voice.

“Roel.”

“Yes, Reus.”

“These days, why…”

I stared intently, wondering what he was going to say, but Reus only moved his lips and eventually gave up saying it.

“Never mind.”

“…”

Reus seemed to hesitate several times about whether to speak or not, but in the end, he didn’t open his mouth.

* * *

On a deep night with not much moonlight, only a small lamp dimly illuminated the dark office.

Reus lifted his head, suddenly feeling a gaze. Across from him, Theron was sitting on the sofa in a somewhat crooked posture.

“How long are you going to be like this?”

As soon as Reus heard the sharp voice, he realized what Theron was trying to say.

Perhaps he was pointing out that after Countess Ibelre visited the Grand Duchy, the focus of his daily life had shifted from revenge to Roel.

However, Reus threw a glance without answering, telling him to simply state his business. Theron let out a sneer at that.

‘That crazy bastard…’

Theron had been negative about this contract marriage from the beginning.

No matter how nicely he packaged Roel Ibelre, to Reus, she was the daughter of Count Ibelre, the enemy whose blood flowed through her veins.

What the hell did that man do to his parents, and he’s bringing in his bloodline?

That alone was incomprehensible, but what was even more incomprehensible was Reus, who directly brought the woman despite knowing the huge risk that had to be taken when carrying out the contract.

The Silent Forest? He admits it wouldn’t be bad to have it in his possession.

But what if, by any chance, the Ibelre bloodline changes her mind and runs to her father to tell him everything? What if she accidentally leaks information before the rebellion?

There were more than enough reasons to oppose the contract marriage.

However, Reus stubbornly brought the woman to the Grand Duchy and unilaterally forced the marriage.

Until then, Theron’s headache was Roel Ibelre.

But now that he looked at it, there was something else he really needed to worry about. He shouldn’t have been worrying about an innocent woman who knows nothing, but should have been keeping an eye on the guy who had gone completely insane.

“Why aren’t you answering? I’m asking how long you’re going to be immersed in this ridiculous child’s play.”

“…”

That’s right, that bastard who had feelings for the daughter of the enemy.

What was even more ridiculous was that the woman did nothing, but that fool was already acting as if he would give her his liver and gall bladder.

Putting everything else aside, just the fact that Reus, who had never revealed his healing power to anyone, didn’t do so only to Roel, made it easy to know.

“Ah, are you ignoring me now?”

Then, Reus, who had been silent for a long time, opened his mouth.

“There’s no need to rush things that won’t work out if we move hastily.”

“So you’re just going to sit back and do nothing? I thought you’d gone a little crazy lately, but did you decide to completely lose your mind while you’re at it?”

Even at the blatant sarcasm, Reus didn’t budge.

The reason Theron was so irritated was precisely because of the Silent Forest.

Until Roel Ibelre and Reus got married, the two of them had been scouring the forest every dawn unless something big happened.

But a little while after the marriage, more precisely, after returning from the battlefield, Reus’ news became scarce, and after that, he was stuck in the Grand Duchy and didn’t even show his face.

Yes, that could happen right after the marriage.

It was when the Silent Forest officially became the property of the Rochester Grand Duchy, and the emperor was particularly keeping an eye on the Grand Duchy.

But it’s been four more months since then. The emperor and the emperor’s shadows are loosening their guard.

Yet Reus does nothing.

He only grew endlessly weak by Roel Ibelre’s side during the precious time. No, that’s not all. He gave the woman his everything.

No matter how much he thought about it, the only conclusion he could come to was that Reus Rochester had gone crazy.

“If you keep acting like this, I have no choice but to proceed with things my way.”

Reus didn’t respond this time either. The will not to engage in any conversation today was felt in that silence.

Theron soon clicked his tongue roughly and got up from his seat.

And before disappearing, he said one last thing to Reus.

“You’re not going to give up on your revenge and choose that woman, are you? Right?”

He wasn’t reprimanding him for being a coward. He was just stating the obvious fact that they both knew.

“Stop wasting time. Don’t ruin things just because of the Ibelre bloodline and get your mind straight.”

With those words of warning, Theron vanished in an instant.

Only then did Reus lean back in his chair in any way. A long and deep sigh lasted for quite a while.

Who said anything about giving up revenge?

The reason he had been alive was for revenge against the emperor, so there was no way he would easily abandon it. So Theron’s words weren’t wrong.

But a choice?

‘It’s not even funny.’

That woman has no interest in me at all.

He himself knew better than anyone else that he was the only one who was pathetic.

‘But who’s choosing whom?’

Reus let out a hollow laugh.