The Villainess Doesn't Want Love (20 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 2
Jeremiah’s appearance completely overturned the chaotic atmosphere.
“Huh!”
With a startled gasp, the maids before me—who had been stiff and rigid—now lowered their heads respectfully.
The maids who had spoken insolently and added snide remarks to every sentence suddenly fell silent like mutes fed honey, transforming instantly into docile sheep.
Even the head maid was no exception.
He was the Duke of the Empire and master of the North.
Though his striking looks and intelligent aura had set high society ablaze, what truly distinguished him wasn’t his appearance—but his skill.
He was the Empire’s strongest swordsman.
On the night of the crimson full moon,
he single-handedly wiped out the flood of northern monsters that surged like waves—an anecdote still recounted like legend among the Empire’s people to this day.
Moreover, even his status was flawless; he was a legitimate heir to the throne, bearing the Imperial bloodline.
Beauty, strength, and noble lineage—
he was, in every aspect, a perfectly complete man.
That man was Jeremiah Colesburg.
Jeremiah approached Karina.
Even dressed in casual attire—a fitted shirt and black trousers—he exuded superiority and nobility.
When he looked down at Karina, a formidable pressure emanated from him.
This was the first time she had seen him since returning to the past.
Yet Karina showed no surprise whatsoever at his sudden appearance.
Though his handsome features and allure remained unchanged, her heart—now cold as ice—showed not even the slightest flicker of disturbance.
“You’ve come at just the right time.”
Instead, Karina greeted him with a natural smile.
At that sight, a flicker of interest sparked in Jeremiah’s eyes.
Karina’s demeanor was utterly different from her usual self.
“What’s going on?”
Jeremiah asked again, his voice a pleasing baritone.
“Who are you planning to dismiss?”
Karina gestured vaguely toward the subdued maids.
“All of the maids present here.”
“On what grounds?”
At Jeremiah’s dry inquiry, Karina simply shrugged.
“There’s no need to keep employing maids who refuse to obey their master’s orders.”
“Master?”
“The moment I married His Grace, I became the Duchess. Isn’t that enough qualification to be called their master?”
“…I never granted you the authority to decide appointments among the Duke’s household staff.”
“Then you should’ve properly trained them from the very beginning.”
At her sharp retort, Jeremiah’s voice dropped low.
“Most of the Duke’s maids are descendants of those who served our house since previous generations—loyal vassals who have served our family for generations.”
Jeremiah calmly continued his explanation, his sharpened gaze pressing firmly on Karina.
“Are you saying their training was insufficient?”
His tone and attitude carried the air of a lecture.
In the past, she would have been utterly shocked and flustered by his domineering words and actions. But now, things were different.
Karina faintly lifted one corner of her mouth and thrust the problematic stew right in front of Jeremiah.
“What are you doing?”
Jeremiah frowned.
The head maid, watching silently from the side, turned pale.
“What does this look like?”
A repulsive smell of spices stung his nose.
“What is this trash?”
“The maids brought this stew claiming it was my breakfast.”
Inside the bowl, hardened clumps of congealed grease floated messily atop murky, dark-red broth.
“Are you telling me the maids who served this as food received excellent training?”
“……”
“Worse yet, they didn’t even realize this was an issue.”
After finishing her explanation, Karina glanced sideways at the maids. Those who had just moments ago been demanding to know what the problem was now trembled with fear.
After a moment of silence, Jeremiah spoke again.
“I will personally identify those who took part in this prank and ensure they receive appropriate discipline and punishment.”
Soft sobs and hiccup-like whimpers arose among the maids.
The head maid’s face had also turned deathly pale.
“But I won’t dismiss them.”
Despite witnessing the maids’ prank with his own eyes, Jeremiah firmly declared he would not fire them.
“I’m not sure whether mere discipline will make these foolish maids any smarter… Fine. Do as you wish.”
Karina sarcastically acknowledged his decision with a serene and gentle expression.
Then, she roughly thrust the ruined stew toward the head maid.
“Ugh!”
The stew sloshed, splattering foul liquid everywhere. The head maid’s clothes were now smeared with grease and chunks.
“Get rid of it.”
Barely suppressing her nausea, the head maid quickly composed herself and replied,
“Yes, my lady.”
Perhaps because Jeremiah stood before her, the head maid obediently took the bowl.
“Then I shall take my leave. Enjoy your meal, Your Grace.”
With an elegant bow, Karina passed by Jeremiah and exited the dining hall.
[This is the timeline separator]Back in his study, Jeremiah summoned his butler, Jansen.
“Investigate what happened in the dining hall, ascertain the full details, and report back to me.”
Though he had appeared calm before Karina, while issuing this order he was now icy cold enough to send chills down one’s spine.
“Identify everyone—no matter how minor their involvement—and root them out.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
After Jansen bowed and left, Jeremiah leaned back in his study chair.
He rubbed his face with one hand, his expression darkening.
He recalled the stew Karina had presented to him in the dining hall.
The sight of that inedible mess—indistinguishable from garbage—had completely killed his appetite.
“Hah…”
Jeremiah let out a deep sigh.
Karina, whom he’d met in the dining hall—
her bold, steady gaze and confident words had felt utterly unfamiliar.
She used to constantly watch his every move, always acting with timidity. But the woman he’d just encountered was rough and cold.
‘Was she always like this?’
Jeremiah’s eyes sank deeper in thought.
After a while lost in contemplation, he quickly brushed aside his distracting thoughts and refocused on the documents needing his attention.
[This is the timeline separator]‘Ah, I’m tired.’
After that tense confrontation in the dining hall, fatigue weighed on her.
Karina sat on her bed and closed her eyes for a moment.
‘So far, nothing seems different from the past.’
The maids’ disrespect and bullying, Jeremiah’s cold demeanor, even the arrogant head maid—
‘…It really does seem I’ve returned.’
Clearly, she had indeed traveled back to the past as expected.
Just then, a knock sounded at the door.
Knock knock.
Before she could even grant permission, the door swung open abruptly.
“Your Grace.”
It was the head maid.
“Lady Caroline requests your presence.”
Karina’s expression darkened.
She must have scurried straight to Caroline to tattle about what happened in the dining hall.
‘Otherwise, Caroline would have no reason to summon me right now.’
But before that—
‘I never even gave her permission to enter…’
It had been the same when they brought her meal.
Karina was deeply irritated by the maids’ rude habit of entering without permission.
‘In the past, I would’ve just endured it and let it slide—but not this time.’
The Karina of the past had desperately wanted to become part of the Duke’s family.
Her timid nature made even initiating conversation difficult, yet she had tried her best.
But all her efforts were met only with suspicion and outright rejection.
‘They even went so far as to ignore and torment me.’
Her hard work had been utterly meaningless, often earning her ridicule behind her back.
Yet despite all that humiliation, Karina had remained optimistic:
‘They’re probably just not used to me yet.’
‘Someday, I’ll truly be accepted as a proper member of this family.’
‘If I just try a little harder, it’ll work out.’
Sadly, her wish never came true.
Not only did no one recognize her sincerity, but over time the harassment grew worse and more blatant.
Now that she’d returned three years into the past,
Karina had absolutely no intention of being pushed around again.
‘I need to nip this in the bud right from the start.’
Having made up her mind, Karina turned her head.
“Head Maid.”
Even when called by Karina, the head maid inwardly scoffed.
She knew well how Karina was treated within the Duke’s household.
Thus, despite Karina’s stern summons, she intended to respond with a mocking smirk and relaxed ease.
“……!”
But the moment she met Karina’s venom-filled glare, she instinctively stepped backward.
That chilling look from the dining hall hadn’t been her imagination.
“Do you even know who I am?”
“……?”
Startled by Karina’s icy question, the head maid quickly gathered her wits and stammered,
“Y-Your Grace, the Duchess.”
“Yes. That’s right. I am the Duchess, wed to Duke Colesburg—the official mistress of this household. Then…”
Karina slowly swept her languid gaze up and down the head maid.
“And who are you?”
“Me?”
“What gives you the right to enter the Duchess’s private quarters without permission?”
“……”
The head maid was utterly flustered by this pointed rebuke.
She wondered whether the Karina standing before her was truly the same woman she knew.
“Have your ears stopped working too?”
Pressed again by Karina’s question, the head maid finally found her voice, remembering the powerful patron backing her.
“My apologies, but I came only to deliver Lady Caroline’s message—she insists you come immediately……”
Karina used to obey Caroline’s every word without question. Naturally, the head maid assumed it would be the same this time.
“So you recklessly barged into the Duchess’s room just to deliver a message from the Princess?”
“……!”
‘Just’?!
Shocked by Karina’s audacity in referring to Caroline as ‘just’ the Princess, the head maid stood dumbfounded.
“You’re the head maid—you can’t possibly be so foolish as to not know who your superiors are.”
“…I’m sorry.”
Sensing the atmosphere had turned dangerous, the head maid quickly adopted a humble stance.
“I’ll let this serve as a warning. But from now on, anyone who acts so arrogantly without recognizing their master will be whipped like a disobedient dog.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll be more careful.”
Understanding Karina’s firm resolve, the head maid was so frightened she couldn’t even raise her head.
‘Not completely clueless, I see.’
Karina coldly observed the head maid for a moment before adding,
“And tell Caroline this: if she has something to say to me, she should come herself—don’t send someone else.”
“……!”
The head maid was stunned yet again.
She never imagined Karina would speak so boldly against Caroline, whom she once feared so deeply.
Did she really think she could handle the consequences? Or was this just reckless bravado?
So bewildered by Karina’s changed behavior, the head maid nearly broke into a cold sweat.
“Yes… Understood.”
Struggling to control her expression, the head maid quickly took her leave.
‘Caroline, huh…’
After the head maid departed, Karina reflected on Caroline.
‘Right. She was there too.’
Caroline Colesburg.
She was the Princess of House Colesburg—Jeremiah’s elder sister.
After their parents perished in a tragic accident, Caroline had taken charge of managing the household.
When Karina became Duchess, Caroline should have rightfully handed over those duties—but under the pretense of helping Karina adjust, she had stubbornly remained in the household.
Before her regression, Caroline had continually trampled Karina’s confidence and self-worth with cunning words and actions.
‘As Duchess, you should embody modesty and humility as virtues. Don’t be greedy.’
Claiming Karina needed to set an example for the common folk, Caroline ensured she couldn’t bring proper furniture or decent clothing and jewelry.
Whenever Karina tried confiding her worries about Jeremiah’s coldness, Caroline would mock her instead of offering comfort.
‘Even if it’s hard, you must endure and persevere. Didn’t you say you loved Jeremiah? How can you complain so weakly over something this trivial if you truly love him?’
Whenever Karina made the slightest mistake, Caroline openly criticized and humiliated her in front of the staff.
‘See? What did I tell you? If you can’t even do it properly, why make such a mess of things?’
She constantly interfered, criticized, and nitpicked—laughing at Karina’s flustered state.
If Karina ever tried to protest even a word about her unfair treatment, Caroline would cut her off with a reproachful tone:
‘Everything we do is for your sake—to help you become someone worthy of being Duchess. Understand?’
‘How can you possibly twist my good intentions like this? I’m deeply disappointed in you, Duchess.’
The Karina of the past had foolishly accepted all this without a single word of protest.
Caroline’s words had shackled her like chains.
Even recalling them now filled her with irritation.
She was furious at her past self for simply enduring it all.
‘I won’t be bullied anymore.’
Thinking of how Caroline had tormented her made her grind her teeth in anger.
‘Actually… this might be for the best.’
Returning to the past had one clear advantage:
‘I’ll correct the mistakes of the past. No—I’ll repay her exactly as she repaid me.’
Suddenly, she became curious about the expression Caroline would make.
After all, someone who couldn’t even lift her head properly in Karina’s presence had just been ordered to come in person if she had anything to say.
‘She must be making quite a sight right now. Pity I won’t get to see it myself.’
Karina smirked scornfully.
Male lead is reincarnated to save his wife
I’ve also read this one twice already. The female lead is kinda soft and gets embarrassed easily—not really my type, but the plot is definitely worth reading. Hurry up and read it, y’all!
Intro
When Shen Yuan encountered Su Jin again in his previous life, she had already become the Prime Minister of the current dynasty. As for him, the former top young master of the capital, he had long since fallen into the abyss, becoming a singer on a pleasure boat.
After a song ended, he was redeemed and sent to the Su Residence.
Su Jin respected and cherished him, gave him a roof over his head, and bestowed him with warmth. Shen Yuan fell deeper and deeper, but before he could express his feelings, Su Jin passed away.
Shen Yuan died to follow her in death, but instead, he returned to when he was fifteen years old.
At that time, he was not yet engaged, and Su Jin was just a poor scholar.
Shen Yuan gritted his teeth, casting aside all his pride, and thought of ways to coax and entice her every day.
The colder and more indifferent Su Jin was towards him, the more proactive Shen Yuan became.
He was not afraid of being mocked by the world, only wanting to marry his Wife-master early, to hold her hand and never let go for a lifetime.
[Note: This story will not specifically point out the male lead’s reincarnation time point; it’s all in the details. Whenever you feel that the male lead is acting strangely, he has most likely been reincarnated.]
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
Chapter Comments (10)
Inline Comments (163)
Caroline’s face froze solid.
Haha, get your face off the floor, ugly!
Jeremiah, too, glanced at the dresses. Even to his untrained eye, they looked st
Get some glasses lol
Every outfit Caroline had given her through the merchant was overly gaudy.
😏
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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.