The Dark Lord Obsesses Over His Fake Wife (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 5
My reflection appeared in the mirror in the bathroom.
Skin white to the point of pallor, platinum hair tinged with pink, navy-blue eyes. A slender, doll-like, beautiful body—marred by countless scars.
My face and arms were flawlessly smooth, making the scars seem even more jarring and grotesque.
I’d never shown my scars to anyone before, so this felt awkward.
“Don’t they look terribly ugly?”
“Oh—no, my lady. How did you…?”
Betty’s shocked gaze drifted from my waist down to the scar on my thigh. The more she looked at the scars, the more rigid her expression became.
“I’m sorry. I should’ve warned you—you wouldn’t have been so startled.”
Truthfully, even I didn’t find it a pleasant sight.
‘How did these scars even appear?’
I touched the scar near my waist, lost in thought.
All these scars had suddenly appeared overnight. That’s why I didn’t know their cause.
At first, there were only one or two, but each time I woke up, more had inexplicably multiplied.
‘At least they don’t hurt.’
They looked painful—like wounds from brutal beatings or stabbings—but since they formed while I slept, there was no pain at all.
So, no treatment was needed.
‘Not that the Libertan household would’ve treated me even if I were in pain.’
I often fell ill. Even minor stress would spike my fever until I was groaning in bed. Perhaps that’s why the Libertan ducal house was so reluctant to send a physician whenever I was unwell.
‘They probably didn’t want to bother caring for me.’
Strangely, the scars only appeared on parts hidden by clothing, so I never risked unwanted misunderstandings.
“I can bathe alone, so if it’s too disturbing, you can leave as you are. Just prepare fresh clothes for me.”
Betty gently grasped both my hands, her voice trembling as if holding back tears.
“N-no, not at all. They’re not ugly in the slightest.”
That couldn’t possibly be true.
“You don’t need to lie. I have eyes too.”
“Scars are just scars, my lady. You’re far too beautiful for them to matter.”
Betty openly grieved over my wounds. I began to wonder if this moment was orchestrated by Johan’s orders.
‘But Johan couldn’t have known about my scars beforehand.’
Betty paused briefly, then met my eyes with a strained expression before speaking slowly.
“And my older brother also has a large scar, so this isn’t strange to me.”
“Your brother had a scar?”
“Yes. He suffered a severe burn for answering a high noble disrespectfully. Though… that wasn’t the only reason.”
There was a character in the original story with such a past.
But I couldn’t recall clearly now. After all, the original plot revolved around me, so other characters’ backstories rarely appeared.
“…That must’ve hurt a lot.”
“It did. But you must’ve suffered too, my lady.”
I hesitated for a moment before replying casually.
For some reason, lying while discussing such a tragic family history pricked my conscience—especially since her brother had been burned for such an absurd reason.
“No. I didn’t feel any pain at all. It’s probably different from your brother’s case.”
“I see.”
“And these scars happened because of my own mistake.”
I mumbled vaguely, worried Johan might hear something strange.
‘A beloved adopted daughter wouldn’t have scars like these.’
If I insisted they were from a foolish adopted child’s accident, maybe it’d seem less suspicious? I gently wiped the tears gathering at the corners of Betty’s eyes and smiled softly.
“So don’t make such a serious face. Honestly, it didn’t hurt at all—despite how it looks.”
At that, Betty—who’d been sniffling—finally burst into tears. Clear tears streamed continuously down her freckled cheeks.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, my lady. I’m truly sorry.”
It seemed the misunderstanding had only deepened.
“I told you not to cry.”
“I… I did something wrong.”
“What did you do wrong?”
Honestly, I couldn’t understand why Betty was apologizing while crying like this.
After struggling to wipe her tears, Betty finally calmed her breathing and spoke.
“Ah… From now on, may I be the one to attend your baths? I’ll make sure no one else finds out.”
“If you want to, go ahead.”
Somehow, my words didn’t seem to get through at all.
Ah. I don’t know.
I clearly told the truth.
I entered the bath. The water was pleasantly warm, and just soaking in it lifted my mood. Especially with the sweet scent of scented oil—it felt wonderful.
‘A luxury I could never enjoy in the Libertan ducal house.’
Delicious desserts too—though I’d only been here a short while, many pleasant things had already happened.
‘Being a fake wife isn’t so bad at this rate.’
Betty, who’d been hesitating, finally parted her trembling lips.
“…And.”
Even as tears kept falling, her eyes held a resolute determination.
“I’ll absolutely keep your scars a secret.”
How strange.
In the original story, Betty hadn’t treated the Blanchet household’s fake wife kindly at all.
‘She wasn’t even a significant side character to begin with.’
I stared at Betty’s face as she tightly held my hands, lost in thought. It was easy to see through those who hated me—most unintentionally revealed their true feelings.
But Betty’s reaction was hard to judge as genuine or not.
‘Why doesn’t Betty seem like she’s lying?’
Probably because I wanted her to be sincere.
‘…It’s sad to have no one on my side.’
Yet that was precisely why I needed to think more clearly. There was too much at stake to rely on blind luck.
Betty would report my scars to Johan. After all, she’d been assigned as a spy for exactly that purpose.
With my eyes closed in the warm water, I replied carelessly.
“Thank you.”
Betty had been from a vassal family of the Libertan ducal house.
More precisely, she had been—until the Libertan ducal house discarded her family like a tool. Had it not been for Johan’s grace, she likely wouldn’t even be alive today.
‘Estelle Libertan.’
The detested adopted daughter of the loathsome Libertans.
While her own family suffered endlessly, this woman had lived in luxury.
Even if Estelle herself had done nothing wrong, Betty hated her as much as she hated the Libertans. Even if Estelle wasn’t the perpetrator, she was at least a bystander—
Having remained completely oblivious to the horrors occurring within the Libertan ducal house.
Thus, when assigned as Estelle’s personal maid, Betty obeyed the order without hesitation.
“Stay as close to that woman as possible and become friendly with her.”
“Yes. Understood.”
“Report everything you hear from her to me without omission.”
A spy stationed right beside Estelle to monitor her. Betty felt no sympathy whatsoever for the Libertan’s daughter.
At least, not until she met Estelle in person.
“Pleased to meet you.”
The Estelle Betty saw up close for the first time was utterly unlike the woman she’d imagined.
‘Is this really that Estelle Libertan?’
As a spy, Betty had heard far more rumors about Estelle than others. Among servants especially, Estelle had a fearsome reputation.
Despite gaining her status through sheer luck, she treated servants arrogantly.
Her cruelty was so extreme that attendants changed constantly within days—and then vanished without a trace.
‘She doesn’t look anything like that.’
She was as if the word “lovely” had taken human form. Especially her long, white eyelashes—they looked like a delicate, dreamy white bird crafted from snow.
‘Her personality must differ from her appearance.’
There were countless nobles like that. Especially someone like Estelle, who’d risen from commoner status—it made sense she’d be worse.
But Estelle wasn’t cruel at all. In fact, she’d genuinely worried about Betty’s wounds.
‘Still, it must’ve hurt.’
‘Once this is over, I’ll definitely take you to get treatment.’
Staring at that sugar-doll-like, adorable face, Betty found her guard unconsciously crumbling. So she steeled her heart, reminding herself that such innocence must have been nurtured by the Libertans’ evil deeds.
Yet even that resolve kept wavering.
‘This is the first time I’ve slept in such a fine bed.’
The room the Blanchet ducal house gave her was dim, and the bed wasn’t particularly comfortable.
Yet Estelle showed no anger—only sincere joy.
‘She even worries whether someone like her deserves to be mistress of such a noble house.’
She’d supposedly been so cherished in the Libertan household.
‘Could it be she wasn’t treated properly in the ducal house after all?’
Cracks began forming in the image of Estelle Betty had built from hatred. Even the black-cloth portraits—feared by most as terrifying—had moved Estelle to express genuine condolences.
‘They must be truly important figures to the Blanchet ducal house if they insist on never forgetting them. Thinking that way, they don’t seem scary at all.’
‘I just feel grateful.’
Estelle Libertan was nothing like a Libertan.
If she’d truly been loved and raised by the Libertans since childhood, she surely would’ve inherited their rude and ruthless nature.
‘But I know what kind of person I am. I’m not that good, nor am I skilled at anything.’
‘So Betty, if you ever don’t want to serve me anymore, just say so. I’ll understand completely.’
She looked as if she’d never been loved at all. Especially when smiling wistfully before the portrait—Estelle seemed so small and fragile. Guilt stirred within Betty.
‘Is it right to use her for revenge like this?’
She was merely adopted into the Libertan family.
Betty’s wavering resolve shattered completely the moment she entered to assist Estelle with her bath.
“Can’t I bathe alone?”
She’d forced her way in despite Estelle’s hesitant expression—determined to uncover any hidden secrets.
And the secret Estelle had concealed was unlike anything Betty had imagined.
“Don’t they look terribly ugly?”
A secret no one in the world would have dared to guess.
‘Why…?’
Scars cunningly placed only where clothing would hide them. To anyone’s eyes, they bore clear signs of brutal beatings and trampling—even burn marks were visible.
This cruel secret forced an unbearable truth upon her.
Those monstrous people could never have truly cherished an adopted daughter with no blood relation—but they’d wanted to believe so desperately that they did.
At that moment, Estelle instead apologized to Betty.
“I’m sorry. I should’ve warned you—you wouldn’t have been so startled.”
She shifted all blame onto herself as if making excuses. Yet these scars could never have resulted from mere accidents.
“And these scars happened because of my own mistake.”
In Betty’s eyes, Estelle’s clear, gentle smile appeared.
“So don’t make such a serious face. Honestly, it didn’t hurt at all—despite how it looks.”
That smile held a fragile, ephemeral light—as if it might shatter at any moment. This woman—whom everyone hated and despised as a lucky imposter.
That pure, harmless smile now felt unbearably tragic.
She was neither a lucky girl nor the hated princess of the Libertans.
In the end, Betty completely broke down.
“I’ll absolutely keep your scars a secret.”
And she resolved to stand on the woman’s side.
Though powerless herself, she wanted to stand with this pitiful woman whom everyone hated and despised.
The Libertan ducal house had regained its lost vitality.
After all, marrying off a single adopted daughter had instantly settled all their enormous debts. The Duchess of Libertan approached the Duke, wine glass in hand.
“How fortunate that child turned out to be so useful.”
“Yes. At least she repaid us before leaving. Still…”
The Duke’s eyes landed on a spot in his study.
“She was a good child.”
The very spot where Estelle had stood whenever she was scolded.
‘She always stood there, trying so hard to earn love.’
Strangely, now that she was gone, he found himself oddly worried about her—though she’d been nothing more than a girl brought in for her usefulness.
‘She won’t survive intact in the Blanchet ducal house.’
He’d deliberately told Estelle nothing about the Libertans, knowing full well the truth.
That the Blanchet ducal house was the family the Libertans had destroyed by falsely accusing them of treason—and that they undoubtedly hated Estelle and sought revenge.
‘Is this really the end?’
At first, he’d thought he’d cleverly sold off a useless adopted daughter as a scapegoat. But the more he reflected, the more it felt off.
‘There’s no way he’d end his revenge with just Estelle.’
This was hatred strong enough to annihilate an entire noble house. It couldn’t possibly conclude so easily.
‘Yet it’s also true he didn’t seize the chance to destroy the Libertans.’
The Duke was certain this inconsistency was a trap.
“My lady. We still have our informants placed within the Blanchet ducal house, correct?”
“You mean those incompetent fools who couldn’t even warn us about the Blanchet household’s traps?”
Duchess Roselia frowned and nodded.
“We were too overwhelmed to extract them in time. Are they even worth keeping?”
“We’ll need to verify the situation inside the Blanchet ducal house—”
Just then, commotion erupted beyond the study. The noble Duchess’s brow furrowed.
“What’s this disturbance on such a fine day?”
Rough footsteps and screams grew louder. The head butler, pale as death, burst through the door—the front of his clothes stained with blood.
“My lord, it’s urgent! You must come out immediately!”
“What’s happened?”
“Knights from the Imperial Palace have stormed the mansion…!”
At that moment, the Imperial Palace knights behind the butler shoved him aside and marched forcefully into the study.
“What is the meaning of this? Imperial Palace knights—here?”
The knights gave no reply. Only after the chaos settled did an utterly incongruous man slowly step forward from among them.
Unlike the knights, he wore a tailored black suit instead of armor.
The man who entered with deliberate slowness surveyed the Duke and Duchess of Libertan with perfectly restrained movements.
“You both look much improved since last we met.”
“Duke Blanchet?”
The Duke of Libertan glared fiercely at Duke Blanchet.
“The debt issue was settled. Why involve Imperial Palace knights? Surely you wouldn’t break our—”
“The debt has been fully settled.”
Johan sneered with an expressionless face, only the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. His arrogant gaze pinned the Duke of Libertan like a weight.
“This is a separate matter.”
Standing before Johan, the Duke of Libertan instinctively shrank under the overwhelming pressure. His voice trembled as he spoke.
“What other issue could there be?”
“Treason.”
Johan took a step forward and elegantly patted the Duke of Libertan’s shoulder.
“The Libertan ducal house’s crime of treason has been exposed.”
“T-that’s absurd…!”
“Indeed—how could you commit such a horrific crime?”
Johan leaned close to the suddenly ashen Duke’s ear and whispered lowly.
“This is only the beginning. Feel free to look forward to it.”
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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MANGA DISCUSSION
4 Comments
Chapter Comments (48)
Summer fairy, from now on your life will be filled with a gentle wind that brings a light breeze. 💮🍃
You will never face any difficulties anymore.
How my summer fairy defeated the demon with her kindness and gentleness.
My summer fairy is number one.💮🍃
It’s good that you went to the study room,
summer fairy. 💮
Gathering information is important.
Inline Comments (21)
Estelle was a greater villainess than even the Libertan ducal couple. Leandro al
Leandro sees himself as a chivalrous knight who will save even the wicked and bring them back to their senses. Arrogant.
‘She doesn’t understand what’s truly precious.’
What is valuable? An arrogant fiancé abandoned her.
All the composure he’d so skillfully maintained was utterly useless before such
Love works wonders. Johan is still unaware of his true feelings.
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agustus_orchid
The scar is very bad. You monsters.
What did you do to beat up Estelle?
Or did you beat her because you were bored?
agustus_orchid
Will everything end when you give Estelle to Johan?
Johan won’t stop until he destroys you all.
agustus_orchid
Did the scar form spontaneously?
Were you not beaten?
I’m relieved if you weren’t beaten.
agustus_orchid
Estelle, you won Betty over to your side. Congratulations, sweetie.