The Villainess Doesn't Want Love (20 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 14
“I’ve put it all on.”
Mikhail came out of the small room after changing his clothes.
He loosened the tie around his neck with a finger, as if it were stifling him.
“It’s still uncomfortable…”
Karina examined Mikhail’s appearance.
“What are you talking about? It suits you really well.”
Despite his complaints, the knight’s uniform actually suited him quite well.
The muted red shirt made his skin appear even paler, and his sharply tailored black trousers complemented it perfectly.
An elegant vest and jacket, embroidered with intricate golden thread, accentuated his tall, slender frame.
His silver hair, glittering in the sunlight streaming through the window, looked as if dusted with moonlight.
“How can you be so handsome yet keep wearing those old, shabby clothes?”
“I do look good in anything I wear.”
Mikhail said with a smug shrug.
He acted as if that awkward moment from earlier had never happened, completely carefree.
Karina actually preferred him behaving this way.
Smiling silently, Karina added,
“From now on, all you have to do is stay by my side and guard me. Simple, right?”
“Even inside the ducal mansion?”
“You don’t need to guard me inside the mansion, but you don’t have anything else to do anyway, right? Just stay by my side and protect me.”
At her words, a satisfied smile appeared on Mikhail’s face.
“I’ll do just that.”
Karina liked his cheerful reply.
“Now that we’re ready, shall we go?”
Karina stood up from her seat.
“Right now? Where are we going?”
At his question, Karina smiled and replied,
“You’ll find out if you follow me.”
[This is the timeline separator]As soon as they stepped outside the mansion, Karina gave him a warning first.
“Once we arrive, stay quiet and don’t step forward until I tell you to.”
“Where on earth are we going that you’re being so cautious?”
“I told you—you’ll find out if you follow me.”
When Karina and Mikhail reached the main gate of the mansion, the knights on guard approached them.
She told the knights her purpose was inspecting the nearby village. Everyone intuitively assumed she just wanted to sightsee in town.
“Please wait a moment. We’ll prepare some knights right away.”
“No. It’s just a light outing—I don’t want to make a fuss by bringing along a whole escort. I already have a bodyguard, so there’s no need to worry.”
The knights were not pleased with the duchess’s decision to leave the mansion accompanied only by Mikhail.
However, since they all knew Mikhail had defeated Gilford and claimed the position as the duchess’s personal guard, they couldn’t openly express their discontent.
‘The knights’ expressions toward Mikhail don’t look good at all.’
Karina noticed the hostility some of them directed at Mikhail.
It was understandable—the knights, proud of being the continent’s strongest, had just been bested by a mere wandering mage, wounding their pride.
Mikhail, however, remained relaxed even in the face of their overt animosity.
‘At this rate, a fight’s bound to break out. I’ll need to arrange a proper setting soon.’
Thus, Karina headed toward the village with Mikhail in the carriage.
[This is the timeline separator]“Did you find out anything?”
Jeremiah ordered his aide to report the results of his investigation.
“According to the Mage Tower, he is indeed a mage affiliated with them.”
“So what he said was true, then.”
“Yes. They also confirmed he’s been living as a wanderer under the pretense of spiritual training.”
“Did they say anything else?”
“They mentioned he was quite a handful even while at the Mage Tower, so minor troubles might arise—but his nature isn’t bad, so keeping him around could actually be helpful…”
“Ha.”
Jeremiah scoffed incredulously.
“What is the duchess doing right now?”
“Her Grace has gone out.”
“Alone?”
“No. The gatekeeper saw her leave with her bodyguard.”
At the aide’s reply, Jeremiah’s eyebrows furrowed.
“She went out alone with just her bodyguard? Where to?”
“She didn’t specify a destination—only said it was for a village inspection. It seemed like she just wanted to look around town.”
‘It hasn’t even been long since he became her guard, yet she’s already going out alone with him.’
Jeremiah was displeased with Karina’s unannounced departure.
“When the duchess returns, report to me immediately.”
“Yes, understood.”
[This is the timeline separator]After stepping down from the carriage in the busy district, Karina passed through the market and entered a dark, narrow alleyway.
The deeper part of the alley was dirty and deserted.
Perhaps because few people passed through, it gave off an eerie atmosphere even in broad daylight.
“You knew about a place like this too?”
Mikhail looked genuinely surprised.
“Well… it just happened that way…”
In truth, Karina didn’t know much about back alleys. Even in her previous life, she had only visited once while searching for a shadow merchant.
After taking a moment to steel herself, Karina stepped into the alley.
It was different from how she remembered—more chaotic and far filthier.
Fortunately, however, the shabby tavern she was looking for was still there.
To reach the shadow merchant, she had to go through that tavern.
More precisely, the bartender there served as the shadow merchant’s broker.
Jingle.
As she opened the door, a dull bell rang. Karina halted abruptly just as she was about to step inside absentmindedly.
Inside the tavern was pure chaos.
Drunken patrons with flushed faces, thugs with bloodshot eyes, obvious hoodlums, and women who looked strangely haggard—
all sorts of people filled the place. Their one common trait? They were all dead drunk, even in the middle of the day.
When she glanced around, she noticed a group at one table wearing hoods pulled low over their faces, completely concealing their appearances.
‘This is definitely the right place… isn’t it?’
When she’d come here before, it had been somewhat disorderly, but not this utterly wrecked.
Back then, the mess seemed deliberately staged to keep prying eyes away—but now it was just genuine pandemonium.
Karina hesitated for a moment, trying to recall whether she’d come to the right place.
Quietly standing behind her, Mikhail asked,
“Are you certain this is the place you intended to visit?”
“…”
Karina couldn’t immediately confirm his question.
But no matter how she thought about it, this had to be the right spot.
As Karina hesitated, blocking the entrance, a gruff voice called out from the counter.
“If you’re here to drink, come in. If not, get out.”
“…!”
The blunt dismissal snapped Karina back to her senses.
Having come this far, she couldn’t just turn back now—so she entered the tavern.
She immediately walked straight to the counter and sat down.
“What’ll you have?”
At the question about her order, Karina recalled her memories from the past.
Since shadow merchants operated mainly in the underworld, they had many secretive and hidden protocols.
Thus, they used coded phrases to distinguish legitimate clients.
For instance, in this tavern, a peculiar order served that very purpose.
‘The password was definitely…’
Speaking clearly but in a hushed tone—as if fearing someone might overhear—Karina said,
“One drop of tears, filled with the scent of violets bathed in blue moonlight, please.”
“…?”
At her order, the bartender’s face twisted in confusion.
“Blue violet… what?”
He stared at Karina as if she’d just spouted nonsense.
His voice was loud enough that others in the tavern overheard him too.
“Pffft! Where’d you hear such a bizarre, unheard-of drink name?”
“Hey, Harris—sure you’re not just too ignorant to know it?”
“Shut it. There’s no drink in this world I don’t know.”
“You clearly don’t. Looks like she’s some highborn lady used to fancy tastes—you think you’d even understand her refined palate?”
“No matter what, there’s no drink in the world called ‘blue violet tears’ or whatever. If it existed, I’d know it.”
Bartender Harris declared firmly, glaring at Karina.
“If you’re just here to spout nonsense, leave now. I don’t have time to waste listening to drivel.”
Harris waved his hand impatiently, as if shooing away a fly.
Karina was actually taken aback by his cold reaction.
‘He doesn’t know “blue moonlight”? Could the password be different right now?’
The passphrase she’d just used wouldn’t be established until three years from now, so it was possible the code had changed.
Having no other choice, she decided to ask outright.
“I came here looking for a shadow merchant.”
“A shadow merchant?”
Harris snorted derisively at her question.
“What shadow merchant?”
“I have a job I’d like to commission.”
Laughter immediately burst out from various corners of the tavern.
“Who exactly are you trying to hire?”
“This guy here seems the least passed out—here, take him if you need someone!”
A man who looked like a thief, thoroughly drunk and slurring his words, grabbed the neck of his staggering companion beside him and hoisted him up.
A few others who hadn’t yet fully passed out from drinking chuckled mockingly.
Seeing Karina’s frown, Harris spoke again from behind the counter.
“There’s no such thing here. Where did you even hear that nonsense?”
Karina was utterly flustered.
‘What on earth is going on? This wasn’t supposed to happen.’
Caught completely off guard by the unexpected situation, Karina froze in confusion.
Just then, Harris started scolding the other customers.
“Hey! If you’re gonna sprawl out and sleep, get out! Or order more drinks!”
“We’d order if we had money!”
Even at a customer’s desperate shout, Harris remained visibly annoyed.
“Then stop hogging space and get out before I kick your heavy ass out myself!”
He turned back to Karina and spoke again.
“And you—why are you still here? Hurry up and leave.”
Harris waved his hand dismissively at her.
Still stunned, Karina hesitated.
She had heard rumors about shadow merchants several times even before her marriage while living in the capital, so she was certain they existed.
Maybe they pretended not to know unless introduced through their private channels?
‘In that case…’
Karina pulled a coin purse from her pocket and placed it on the counter in front of Harris.
“Listen carefully. I came here to place a commission. If you bring me the information I want, I’ll pay you.”
Since she didn’t know the proper password or method to contact the shadow merchant, she figured she had to try something.
But things didn’t go as Karina expected.
“Ugh, I already told you—there’s no such thing! Just go home!”
As Harris waved his hand dismissively, he accidentally hit the coin purse, knocking it over.
Gold coins spilled out onto the counter with a clinking sound.
The clatter drew everyone’s attention, and people murmured excitedly at the sight of the gold.
“…!”
“Look at that!”
“Whoa—it’s gold coins!”
“How much is that even worth?”
“Is she nobility?”
“Idiot—nobles wouldn’t set foot in a place like this.”
Before the whispers died down,
a thin, nasty-looking man who had been eyeing Karina suspiciously suddenly darted forward.
“Hey, miss. You’ve got plenty of money, huh?”
A strong stench of alcohol hit her as the thin man spoke.
“Are you the daughter of some rich merchant family?”
As he spoke, several rough-looking thugs—apparently his companions—closed in around her.
“Our funds are running a bit low these days. It’d be really nice if a kind lady like you could help us out.”
Karina frowned.
Male lead is a Love-Obsessed Merman
When he discovers she has gone, he risks everything to pursue her on land, enduring agonizing pain to transform his tail into human legs…
One-line summary: Male lead chases female lead. The male lead’s love is a bit sick, an invincible love brain.
Synopsis
During a voyage at sea, Jiang Yang accidentally captures a merman.
Servant: I heard that mermen are fierce and brutal.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman obediently rubbing her palm like a puppy: “You call this fierce and brutal?”
Servant: I heard that mermen have no human nature.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman with wet puppy eyes, obsessively calling her ‘A Yang’ like a childish infant: “You call this having no human nature?”
With great difficulty, she releases the merman back into the sea and returns to shore.
Who would have thought that in less than half a month, the merman, who should have been freely wandering in the South China Sea, would shed his scales, endure the pain of losing his tail, transform into human legs, and come ashore to find her?
He kneels at her feet, rubbing her palm, with merman tears rolling down: “A Yang, don’t abandon me.”
_____
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Chapter Comments (10)
Inline Comments (158)
“I can help you—with the Duchess’s divorce.”
And then get with him.Even though he’s hiding things, he still seems more honest and trustworthy than the duke at this point.
“I can help you—with the Duchess’s divorce.”
Let him see we need a fallback plan.
"You should consider yourself honored just because I came all the way here to me
“The lady doth protests too much, methinks.” What else do they say, “pride cometh before the fall?”
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I love when it’s just them
i’m really hoping for divorce next chapter
why did I unlock all the chapters? I wish I didn’t do that because he’s irritating me.