The Villainess Doesn't Want Love (20 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 9
“Are you stupid? What if you say you want to do it right there?”
Karina asked Mikhail, who was preparing for the duel, in a reproachful tone.
“If you want to be my bodyguard, you have to prove your strength first, right?”
At his nonchalant expression, Karina swallowed a sigh.
“Even so, come on. Do you even know who your opponent is supposed to be?”
“A knight, isn’t he? From what I saw, he looked exactly like the same knight who guarded the Duchess earlier.”
Right.
The problem was that the knight named Gilford was no ordinary swordsman.
‘Even if I fought anyone here, it wouldn’t be easy…’
This place was the North—the edge of the world.
An endless frozen wasteland of eternal ice stretched out as far as the eye could see.
The knights of the North, tempered by monstrous creatures and brutal cold in this hellish land, were incredibly strong.
Strong enough that calling them the strongest on the continent wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
And now he wanted to duel one of those knights.
“It’s not too late yet. Why don’t you just give up now?”
“Why? Are you afraid I’ll lose?”
“I’m telling you, they’re not ordinary knights. A typical mage wouldn’t even get a chance to cast a spell! You might end up seriously injured—not just a minor scrape.”
“So, an ordinary mage isn’t even worth being considered an opponent…”
Mikhail swept his eyes across the knights gathered in the training yard and flashed a confident smile.
“From what I can see, there doesn’t seem to be anyone strong enough to worry about.”
At his composed demeanor, Karina frowned.
“This pointless stubbornness…”
“If anything, please call it confidence instead.”
“If you get hurt because of this—sigh, never mind. Forget it.”
Karina sighed once again.
“Don’t worry—just trust me for once. After all, I’m the Duchess’s bodyguard; do you really think I’d lose to some mediocre knights?”
His provocative words made the surrounding atmosphere tense.
‘What is he even trying to accomplish by saying things like that in this situation? This man…’
Karina felt flustered and frustrated by Mikhail’s bold declaration.
How had things ended up like this?
‘I just wanted to get away from Jeremiah’s watch…’
Karina pinched the bridge of her nose as if she had a headache.
Then, regaining her composure, she spoke seriously.
“If it looks dangerous, just surrender and step down. I’ll handle everything after that. Understand?”
At her words, Mikhail curled the corners of his lips into a smile.
“Are you worried about me right now? That feels nice. Occasionally, this kind of thing isn’t so bad.”
“…”
Karina had only said it because she was genuinely worried he might die or get seriously hurt.
But he brushed it off so casually, as if it were a joke, and it instantly soured her mood.
“Remember what I said and get up there quickly. Besides, don’t we have something we need to discuss alone?”
She added this, recalling the moment he revealed he belonged to the Mage Tower.
“Don’t forget your promise to explain everything to me in detail later.”
After firmly reminding him, she sent him off toward the dueling grounds.
[This is the timeline separator]Mikhail ascended onto the dueling platform with a leisurely stride.
The previously quiet surroundings stirred with murmurs.
Just as expected, the mood was far from ordinary—in fact, it was even more serious than anticipated.
“You said there wasn’t anyone strong here, right?”
Having apparently heard Mikhail’s earlier remark, Gilford, who had stepped forward as his opponent, looked extremely displeased.
“I sincerely hope your sword is as sharp as your tongue.”
The moment the match began, Gilford fiercely pressed the attack against Mikhail.
His momentum was ferocious beyond compare.
Whether stunned by his opponent’s strength or not, Mikhail desperately focused only on dodging, unable to mount any proper counterattack.
‘This isn’t going to work.’
Watching Mikhail’s retreating back, Karina clenched her fists tightly.
He was dodging well enough for now,
but he looked so perilous that it wouldn’t have been surprising if he were struck down by a blade at any moment, blood spraying everywhere.
No matter how she thought about it, this was a fight he couldn’t possibly win.
The wall standing before this wandering mage—North’s knights—was simply too massive to overcome.
‘I have to stop this fight.’
Resolved, Karina walked toward Jeremiah.
He was speaking with the captain of the knights.
She had assumed they were discussing Mikhail, but in fact, they were talking about the prison break incident.
It seemed there were still fugitives who hadn’t been captured.
Seeing Jeremiah’s complete lack of concern for Mikhail, Karina bit her lower lip.
“Come talk to me for a moment.”
“…What is it?”
“A one-on-one duel between a mage and a knight? Doesn’t that seem unfair to you?”
Generally speaking, mages stood no chance against knights in close combat. To cast spells, mages needed time to chant incantations, which knights wouldn’t allow in direct combat.
On an open battlefield it might be different, but in a confined dueling arena, mages were overwhelmingly at a disadvantage.
“…It was his own choice.”
“Even so! Sending an inexperienced wandering mage against Gilford? That’s just going too far!”
Gilford was one of the strongest knights in the entire order, easily ranked among the top few.
Yet despite Karina’s protest, Jeremiah didn’t so much as raise an eyebrow.
“He claimed he would replace my knight as your bodyguard. Then naturally, he must demonstrate that he’s capable enough.”
“These knights here aren’t ordinary people! You know perfectly well he can’t possibly win!”
“…Then perhaps my knights should continue as your bodyguards.”
“Why are you pushing this so far?”
“I’d like to ask you the same. What exactly is wrong with my knights protecting you?”
“It’s not the protection I distrust—it’s you I can’t trust.”
“What did you say?”
At Karina’s words, Jeremiah’s face twisted with anger.
Just then—
BOOM!
“…!”
A sudden, deafening explosion thundered through the air.
Startled, Karina turned her head toward the dueling grounds from where the blast had come.
But she couldn’t see anything—the broad back of the man standing before her blocked her view.
‘Jeremiah?’
The man who had just been radiating cold indifference toward her was now standing directly in front of her, shielding her.
‘Huh. When did he…?’
Now that she thought about it, during the explosion caused by the prison break in the city,
she’d had the same feeling—seeing his back as he stood right before her, shielding her then too.
A small doubt flickered through her mind.
‘Could it be… he was trying to protect me…?’
Karina immediately shook her head vigorously.
“That’s impossible.”
She firmly dismissed the useless thought and refocused on the situation before her.
‘I hope Mikhail didn’t get hurt during that commotion…’
Since the explosion had come from the dueling grounds, she was even more anxious.
She peeked her head out from beside Jeremiah’s broad back.
The dueling grounds were filled with hazy smoke.
From within it, a man staggered out.
“Cough, cough… Did I overuse my magic power?”
Karina’s eyes widened in shock.
Fanning the smoke away with his hand, the man who appeared was surprisingly Mikhail himself.
Karina asked him,
“Are you hurt?”
“Well… I did pass out, but I don’t think I’m seriously injured.”
“You passed out?”
‘He walked out on his own feet, yet suddenly says he passed out?’
Karina frowned, bewildered by his words.
Only then did Mikhail realize what she was asking and replied,
“Oh! You were asking about me? Of course I’m perfectly fine.”
“Then who was it that passed out…?”
“The other guy.”
Mikhail jerked his chin toward the far side of the dueling grounds.
There, someone lay collapsed as if dead.
It was Gilford, Mikhail’s opponent.
“…Huh?”
Karina’s eyes went wide with astonishment.
Mikhail—who she’d assumed would surely lose—had won.
And not just won; he’d won overwhelmingly.
“H-how… how did you manage that?”
Flustered, she asked him, and Mikhail answered with a slightly annoyed tone.
“To be precise, this is all the Duchess’s fault. You kept insisting how incredibly strong these knights are, so I panicked and ended up using way too much magic power.”
“What?”
Karina looked at Mikhail with a complicated expression.
While everyone stood frozen in disbelief at this unexpected turn of events, Mikhail grinned.
Then, he looked straight at Jeremiah and asked,
“Is this enough?”
“…”
“At this point, I think my strength has been sufficiently proven, wouldn’t you agree?”
He stood facing Jeremiah directly.
Though anyone else might have felt intimidated, Mikhail seemed entirely unaffected.
A heavy silence fell over the area.
The tense stillness, which had lasted for a while, was abruptly broken by Mikhail’s next words.
“Then, from now on, I’ll take over as the Duchess’s bodyguard.”
At his confident declaration, Jeremiah reluctantly gave his permission with a stiff expression.
“…I’ll entrust it to you—for now. But if you make even a single mistake, I’ll cut you loose immediately.”
His low, gravelly voice carried a deadly edge.
“That won’t happen.”
Mikhail replied confidently.
[This is the timeline separator]“I’ve been assigned as a bodyguard.”
“…What?”
A dazed voice came through the communication orb.
“What did you say you’re going to do?”
“You heard me. I’ve been assigned as a bodyguard.”
“…A bodyguard? Whose?”
“The Duchess of the Northern Colesburg Archducal House.”
“…”
Despite his cheerful smile, there was no reply from the other end for a long time.
As soon as the duel ended and he had a spare moment, Mikhail contacted the Mage Tower.
When someone had questioned his identity, he’d told them to verify it directly with the Tower himself.
He knew his activities would be exposed once the Tower was contacted anyway.
Besides, he needed to get his story straight with them first—better to contact them proactively now to avoid hearing endless complaints later.
“…Have you gone mad?”
Well, maybe not.
“In any case, that’s how it is now. So if the North contacts the Mage Tower, handle it well on your end…”
“Are you seriously out of your mind?! Just a few months ago, you vanished again after leaving just a scrap of paper!”
Before Mikhail could finish his sentence, a furious shout erupted from the other side of the magical communication orb.
“Do you even realize how hard I struggled to find you after that?! And when I finally did, you threatened me not to tell anyone! Then out of nowhere, you demand money claiming you’re short on guards, order me to catch the real culprit behind the Northern prison explosion—using me however you please! Do you have any idea how much stress I’ve been under?!”
Max, Mikhail’s second-in-command, vented all his pent-up frustration in a single breathless tirade.
“And now what? Guarding the Duchess in the North?! Do you really have time to waste idly in a place like that?!”
Mikhail listened silently to Max’s outburst and thought to himself,
‘This guy must have really bottled a lot up…’
He knew exactly how to handle situations like this.
In a gentle, soothing tone, he began to placate his subordinate.
“I know, I know. But that’s precisely why I’m asking you—you’re capable and competent. I wouldn’t be able to do this if it weren’t for you. You know that.”
“I’m not falling for that sweet talk anymore! Come back to the Mage Tower immediately!”
Mikhail’s usual tactic of offering praise failed again today.
‘Ah, damn it. He’s really worked up. What should I do?’
Mikhail scratched the back of his head.
“Max, calm down and listen. I’m here strictly for an investigation—an investigation.”
Even upon hearing the word “investigation,” Max narrowed his eyes skeptically.
“What investigation? You just want to loaf around, don’t you? If you’re going to waste time in the North like this, come back to the Mage Tower right now! Do you even know how much work is piling up?!”
Despite Max’s complaints, Mikhail didn’t even blink and continued speaking as if he hadn’t heard a word.
“I’m getting a strangely familiar feeling from this Duchess—something very similar to what we’re searching for.”
“…!”
At the mention of “that,” Max finally showed signs of calming down.
“…Are you serious?”
“Absolutely. You know I’m usually quite accurate about these things.”
Max gave him a blank stare but didn’t contradict him, despite Mikhail’s obvious bragging.
“I plan to stay here for a while and keep a close eye on the Duchess. To confirm exactly what it is I’m sensing, it’s best if I stick by her side all day. Believe it or not, I’m actually working hard.”
“Huuuh… If you put it that way, I understand for now.”
Max sighed and pressed his fingers hard against his temples, looking thoroughly exasperated.
Satisfied with Max’s reaction, Mikhail smiled contentedly.
But that smile quickly vanished at Max’s next words.
“But this time, I’ll report everything directly to Her Ladyship as well—so please keep that in mind.”
“What? Wait…!”
Before Mikhail could even react, the light in the magical communication orb abruptly flickered out without a trace.
“Ah…”
Staring at the extinguished orb, Mikhail pressed a hand to his forehead.
“Well… this time I’m really in for it.”
Internally sighing, Mikhail retraced the chain of events that had led to this mess.
Naturally, Karina’s face came to mind.
He had told his subordinate Max it was for an investigation—but that wasn’t the truth.
Accepting Karina’s offer to become her bodyguard had been a purely impulsive decision.
‘Why did I do that?’
Even he couldn’t understand why he’d so readily agreed.
The “investigation” excuse was something he’d only thought up afterward to justify it.
He recalled the moment on the dueling grounds when he’d knocked down the opposing knight—and Karina’s stunned, wide-eyed gaze fixed upon him.
“Haha.”
An incredulous chuckle escaped him, yet the feeling wasn’t unpleasant.
No—in fact, it was rather nice.
Mikhail tucked the extinguished communication orb back into his pocket.
“Then, let’s go again.”
A small smile lingered on his lips as he resumed walking.
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
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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.