The Villain Family Opposes Independence (13 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 13

I swear, he was a man I’d never seen before in my life.

There was no way I’d forget someone with such a striking appearance—I was certain of it.

Even when I questioned him, the man remained silent, only staring at me.

An indescribable emotion flickered in his crimson eyes. I couldn’t understand why he was looking at me like that.

Regardless, I couldn’t just let this man go—he knew my name from my previous life.

“I asked what you wanted.”

“…….”

Just as I was about to press him seriously, seeing he had no intention of speaking—

“-die Ferdia!”

A familiar voice rang out from a distance.

“Carlot?”

I turned toward the sound. Carlot wasn’t visible yet, but he seemed to be nearby, perhaps in the adjacent alley.

‘I should head back. But first, I need to figure out who that man is.’

The thought had barely crossed my mind when—

A strange scent brushed past my nose.

“I will come find you soon.”

A low, quiet voice reached my ears.

“……What?”

When I turned back to look, the man had vanished without a trace.

I stared blankly at the spot where he’d just been.

‘What on earth was that?’

It felt as though I’d been bewitched.

Though our encounter had lasted only a fleeting moment, it felt like ages had passed.

But I had no time to linger in such thoughts.

Carlot, having finally spotted me, strode over with long steps and grabbed both my shoulders.

“Hey, you…! What do you think you’re doing, disappearing like that? Where have you even been?”

His grip tightened as his brow furrowed. It didn’t hurt, but the pressure on my shoulders made me frown involuntarily.

“Do you even realize how dangerous it is to wander around alone without an escort? Even on Twanette Street—”

“Why?”

At my short question, Carlot froze, then blinked dazedly, lips parting slightly.

“What?”

“I just don’t understand.”

“What don’t you—”

“It’s none of your concern whether I live or die.”

Thud……

The hands gripping my shoulders went limp and dropped lifelessly to his sides.

It was obvious, yet Carlot’s shocked expression still made no sense to me.

Even if something terrible happened to me while wandering alone—or if I even died—it had nothing to do with him.

After all, to him, I wasn’t family—just a bastard child. My death held no meaning for him.

He was the one who most wished for me to vanish.

‘That’s you, Carlot.’

I remembered clearly.

His words from childhood: “That filthy bastard should just die.”

He might not remember—he’d been younger than me then.

I looked up at Carlot, now deathly pale. I wasn’t entirely clueless about why he acted that way.

Carlot was the least “Ferdia-like” among all Ferdia’s children.

He constantly sought approval from both the Duke and Duchess.

So of course it wounded his pride—having received a direct order from the Duke to guard me, only to lose me for a moment.

The fact that he searched for me alone, without telling anyone, even after I vanished, confirmed it.

‘If I’d really been kidnapped, I might already be dead.’

I gazed at Carlot, lost in idle thoughts.

“Well, I’m back safe now—so it’s fine.”

I’d been a bit worried he’d ask where I’d gone, but surprisingly, Carlot didn’t ask a thing.

He just stared at me with an unreadable expression.

Could he actually be feeling guilty for failing to guard me properly?

Since I’d admittedly left on my own, I added a line to reassure him.

“Don’t worry—I won’t tell Father anything, so you don’t need to feel responsible. Let’s not stir up unnecessary trouble.”

Between the solo outing and everything that happened, exhaustion hit me hard. All I wanted was to go home and soak in a warm bath.

“Let’s go back, Karl.”

“…….”

I walked past Carlot, who stood there clenching his fists.

In his other hand, he tightly held the parasol I’d lost.

[This is the timeline separator]

The entire carriage ride back was cloaked in silence. Carlot kept his lips sealed, staring fixedly out the window.

He must’ve been angry that I’d gone off alone.

But what surprised me was that Carlot, whom I expected to explode in fury, remained unusually quiet.

‘Has he matured?’

No way.

Whatever Carlot was feeling, I had something far more pressing on my mind.

That red-eyed man who’d suddenly appeared and grabbed me.

“Yoon Ga Eul.”

I hadn’t misheard. He’d truly called me by my name from my previous life.

Not Elodie Ferdia—but Yoon Ga Eul.

This wasn’t something I could just brush off. Lost in thought, I ran through various possibilities.

‘Could that man have reincarnated into this book as well?’

The most plausible explanation was that he, like me, had been reborn into this story. After all, there was no guarantee I was the only one.

Since he knew my name, he might have known me in my past life.

‘But why did he stare at me like that?’

Was he an enemy from my previous life? I didn’t recall making enemies like that……

I tried to remember if the original story featured anyone with black hair and red eyes—but no, there wasn’t.

Either way, I couldn’t tell whether his appearance would help or hinder me.

‘I’ve only just started saving up my independence fund—having an obstacle like him would be a problem.’

He’d said he’d come find me, but how would he even know who I am or where to look?

In any case, he was an enigma wrapped in mystery.

By the time I’d finished these thoughts, the carriage had already entered the estate.

Just as I stepped down from the main house carriage and was about to head toward the annex—

“……Hey.”

I turned at the sound of my name. Carlot still stood stiffly behind me.

“What?”

“Come inside and take it. Some cake or something.”

“Oh, right.”

I’d completely forgotten I’d insisted on eating cake just to get Carlot off my back.

Thinking only of “Fondant Chocolat,” I’d walked into the main house without concern—but now my eyes widened in shock.

Dessert boxes were piled up like a mountain.

“Why’d you buy so much……?”

At my question, Carlot simply nodded, as if it were obvious.

“I waited so long—it made me mad, and I didn’t want it to go to waste.”

“Right… I see……”

I was relieved.

At least this second Ferdia son hadn’t bought out the whole shop…….

[This is the timeline separator]

All kinds of boxes were neatly stacked in front of the annex stairs.

There were shopping items from Twanette Street—clothes and jewelry from the boutiques, purchased on the Duke’s orders—and dessert boxes Carlot had bought from the pâtisserie, one of each variety.

I pointed to one of the boxes being carried by a servant.

“Give that formal attire to Carlot.”

I didn’t forget to offload the unnecessary men’s formalwear onto him.

Just then, Martha came down the stairs and gasped in surprise.

“Miss, what are all these boxes?”

“Desserts. Take them and share with the annex staff.”

“Goodness! How exciting! Thank you, Miss!”

Martha squealed as she opened the dessert boxes.

She adored sweets—anything small, cute, and charming sent her into raptures.

Come to think of it, she also liked handsome young men and could recite the names of noble heirs by heart.

‘That red-eyed man—he carried himself with grace. He didn’t seem like a commoner.’

Martha might know something, so I asked just in case.

“Martha, do you know of any man in his early twenties with black hair and red eyes?”

“I know most young nobles in their twenties…… but no one with that description. Why?”

“Never mind.”

“You don’t sound like it’s ‘never mind.’ Did you fall for someone?”

Martha asked slyly, but I cut the conversation short without hesitation.

“Prepare my bath.”

“Yes, miss.”

Martha pouted and climbed the stairs.

My thoughts grew even more tangled.

‘This is dangerous.’

I needed to find that man before he found me—and uncover who he really was.

.

.

.

When I stepped out after bathing, a letter stamped with the imperial seal sat on the table.

“Miss. His Highness the First Prince sent you a letter.”

“I see.”

This was the first contact since the Emperor’s birthday banquet, where I’d gleefully stomped on his feet.

Sitting on the sofa, I opened the letter and narrowed my eyes.

He wanted to invite me to dinner and asked which date would suit me.

Was he trying to play the role of fiancé after all this time?

To me, who held not a shred of lingering affection for the First Prince, it was nothing but a nuisance.

I immediately picked up a pen and wrote a reply.

In short:

[Due to poor health, I cannot attend. Please forgive my discourtesy.]

After sealing the barely proper reply, I summoned a servant to deliver it at once.

‘Why should I go just because he calls?’

Truthfully, I wasn’t entirely without calculation—he might finally decide to break off the engagement if I kept acting like this.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Disappeared secretly, you say……”

Yansi’s slender fingers, clad in black gloves, slowly traced over the report handed by his subordinate.

The subject was Elodie Ferdia.

He’d stationed someone to watch her after her recent behavior began to trouble him.

She’d rarely left the annex until today, when she suddenly went out and took unexpected action.

He knew Elodie had been allowed out after exposing the Advisor’s betrayal to Duke Ferdia and had gone out with Carlot as her escort.

“Hmm.”

What intrigued him most was where Elodie had secretly gone while Carlot was at the pâtisserie.

The Mage Tower.

Since surveillance hadn’t been close, the report didn’t specify why she’d gone—but if he truly wanted to know, he could find out, even at great risk.

‘I’ll set that aside for now.’

There was something even more interesting.

A report mentioned a man Elodie met just before Carlot found her.

The report even named him—and he was a truly unexpected figure.

‘As far as I know, this man and Elodie have never crossed paths.’

It was impossible.

He and the Ferdia young lady lived in entirely different worlds.

Stepping out of his office to clear his head, Yansi met Carlot in the hallway.

“Karl. Did you enjoy your outing?”

Though he knew every detail from the report, Yansi pretended ignorance flawlessly.

Unsuspicious, Carlot just shrugged.

“It was… whatever.”

“You seem tired. Next time, I’ll ask Father to let me accompany you.”

He offered kindly, but Yansi had his own motives—if he escorted Elodie, he could observe her closely.

But Carlot’s reaction was unexpected.

Carlot stiffened, then quickly shook his head.

“No thanks. You hate her anyway.”

“Wasn’t it you who hated Elodie, Karl?”

“…….”

Normally, Carlot would’ve snapped back—but now he avoided Yansi’s gaze with a sullen expression.

“I’m going to bed. Guarding her was tiring, even though I never do it.”

Yansi noticed Carlot was clearly dodging his question but chose to let it pass.

“Alright. Sleep well, Karl.”

A gentle smile graced Yansi’s face as he bid his younger brother goodnight.

But the moment Carlot turned and disappeared, the smile vanished.

His face became utterly blank, devoid of expression.

Something about Elodie Ferdia had changed from a certain day onward.

Her actions were far from ordinary.

Wasn’t it already suspicious that she’d detected and exposed the Advisor’s collusion with the Second Prince? The Elodie Ferdia he knew wasn’t sharp enough for that.

Recently, even the family atmosphere had shifted drastically.

His mother—who used to ignore Elodie completely during family meals—now occasionally shared tea with her. His father, who’d shown no interest in Elodie, had even assigned one of his sons as her escort.

And Carlot’s behavior today was deeply suspicious too.

For Yansi, who demanded everything remain under his control, this was an unwelcome development.

His wandering steps led him to the garden.

His fingers absentmindedly brushed a single rose.

Hssss—

The rose withered instantly due to his unconsciously manifested power of annihilation, then scattered in the breeze.

Yansi’s expression crumbled.

‘……Again.’

His power had flared up uncontrollably again. In that instant, an unwanted memory resurfaced.

Yansi pressed his fingers hard against his lips.

He felt unwell.