Estelle chuckled and casually dropped the dagger on the ground. Johan raised an eyebrow at Estelle’s actions.
‘Is she not going to kill him?’
Estelle’s actions were not what Johan had expected.
“Estelle, planning to seek revenge in a different way?”
Estelle didn’t respond to Johan. Instead, she moved on to another person beside Petty Morrison. And just as she did with Petty Morrison, she asked a similar question.
“Why did you hate me so much? Honestly, I’ll give you a chance to explain.”
Naturally, the answers weren’t satisfactory.
“W-Well, I thought it was okay. I’m sorry!”
Estelle removed the gag again, covered the person’s eyes, and then moved to the side. It seemed like she intended to ask this to everyone present.
‘Well, it probably won’t mean anything.’
The reason Johan had kidnapped and bound them, intending to sacrifice them, was different.
All the people gathered here were trash.
If they were guys with somewhat reasonable crimes, Estelle might be concerned when she found out later. However, Johan still didn’t understand why Estelle didn’t.
‘She was genuinely angry just a moment ago.’
Estelle’s tearful reaction was sincere. Therefore, Johan was convinced of Estelle’s revenge.
“Hurriedly needed money…”
“Our publishing house, due to its small scale, had to attract the attention of the empire urgently—”
However, Estelle calmly listened to their excuses as if she had vented her anger in no time.
‘Why isn’t she seeking revenge?’
It wasn’t for a lack of resentment. It was a situation that would anger anyone. Estelle had even kindly prepared all the evidence for her to understand.
‘Why is this woman…’
Acting in a completely different way from Johan.
“Excuses don’t work, you know?”
“…”
“I don’t know, but there’s nothing we can do. I felt the same way.”
After receiving the last person’s response, Estelle took a slow breath. Johan, while stroking Estelle’s cheek, asked her.
“If it’s hard for you to seek revenge, should I do it for you?”
When you think about it, revenge might be too heavy an emotion for Estelle, who grew up beautifully. So, Johan looked into Estelle’s indigo eyes.
“No, there’s no need.”
“Why?”
Without realizing it, Johan brought his face closer. The grip around Estelle’s cheek tightened.
“You’re letting them go without revenge?”
“Who said I’m not seeking revenge?”
Estelle smiled defiantly.
“This is my way of revenge.”
“…”
“I hope those people reflect on the sins they’ve committed and have a chance to look back and correct them.”
Among this gruesome human trash, Estelle was exceptionally noble. Johan twisted his mouth.
“Do you really believe those people will change?”
“I just want to do it my way.”
“…”
“I’ve thought about it a lot, but in the end, this is what I want.”
Johan felt a profound thirst.
He couldn’t understand Estelle at all. He, who suffered as much as he tortured himself, could only feel relieved when he paid back several times over the damage he received.
Because Johan was a monster striving to be stuck in a larger hell than he created, he would pay back as much as he was tormented.
‘I want to dirty you more.’
Despite the deep scars and trauma in her heart, a woman with a glimmer in her eyes.
“I want to dirty you.”
A woman with deep wounds and trauma in her heart, yet with a glimmer.
“No, I wish you remained the same.”
Johan wanted to drag Estelle down to the hell he was in. However, she, on the contrary, reminded him of the forgotten feelings inside Johan that he thought were infinitely dirty.
His perfect plan to eliminate those who tormented Estelle, and to use them as sacrifices to cure Estelle’s illness.
“Completely failed.”
Once again, Estelle denied his plan.
I glanced at the dagger thrown on the ground.
“I almost killed them for real.”
To be honest, I wanted to kill them all. No, I didn’t want to do it with my own hands. I wanted to ask Johan to bring about a dreadful end, as I didn’t want to dirty my own hands.
If only that passing thought hadn’t occurred.
“How am I any different from Johan if I do this?”
I understand Johan’s actions, but I didn’t want to become like Johan.
“It might be too painful for you then.”
Just as there were unjust victims like me in Johan’s seemingly perfect plan, there could be people like me even in this moment.
“At least, I hope there won’t be people like me, born from such circumstances.”
So, I intentionally listened to each of their situations, even if they didn’t realize the sins they committed.
Although only unacceptable excuses came out as I expected, I wanted to give them a chance.
“If my actions were frustrating, I’m sorry.”
Johan’s gaze intensified, as if he was about to devour me.
A vivid heat engraved in his flickering red eyes, a tingling tension as if I had become a prey.
“So, what opportunity do you want to give them?”
“At the very least, tell them to go back and publish a correction article. Let them admit to the sins they’ve committed. Since public opinion may have changed a lot by now, it shouldn’t be a difficult task.”
“What if it’s the same as before?”
“Then, would I have anything more to say?”
I had no intention of taking responsibility for the lives of fools who were digging their own graves.
“Johan, take care of them in the cruelest way possible. As they’ve missed their chance, they need to pay an even greater price.”
“It’s really strange.”
As if unable to bear it, Johan hugged me tightly. He buried his face in my neck. The breath spreading in my neck was warm and gave me goosebumps.
“I feel like I’ve done something wrong when I look at you. I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“What I can do like this is because Johan is here.”
Just as I could easily deal with them, I would also deal with them when they committed sins again.
“It might annoy Johan from his perspective.”
Honestly, Johan and I had different perspectives. I wouldn’t be threatened in my survival even if I didn’t punish them.
“And there’s one thing I’m grateful to those people for, so I showed a little more consideration.”
“What is it?”
“Those people spread bad rumors, and that’s how I was able to meet Johan.”
I grabbed Johan’s collar and gave him a teasing wink.
“So, I’m fine.”
Then, I lightly kissed Johan’s well-shaped lips.
As Johan breathed in hot air, he pulled my cheeks close, bringing his face near.
“I still can’t beat you.”
At that moment, the dolls, which had been trembling in fear of the bit, horrifyingly crumpled and burst like fireworks. However, what appeared next was not a gruesome fountain of blood.
“This is…”
Shimmering stardust and flower petals fluttered everywhere. My eyes, which had been looking at the enchanting scenery, met Johan’s gaze.
Johan folded his eyes and smiled.
“I wouldn’t do something terrible like revenge on you.”
“What, I was the only one surprised!”
Estelle opened her eyes wide like a rabbit and laughed.
“Are you going to play like this all the time?”
“Sorry, your reaction is too cute, so I keep playing around.”
It was a lie.
This was just a simple illusion. Johan was willing to offer them as a sacrifice, even using different methods. The weird reaction was just a result of an error in dark magic.
Johan’s seemingly lazy laughter hid the fact that his heart was deeply burning black.
With dark magic or the like, Estelle could not be cured. And in this situation where problems kept arising with dark magic, Johan came to one conclusion.
“I’ve startled you enough, so now I’ll take you to a place where you won’t be surprised for real.”
Estelle was already under a curse.
To cure Estelle, the curse must be resolved first.
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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