The Villainess' Joyful Married Life (59 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 6
‘Even seeing that face no longer stirs my heart. I don’t even feel like talking to him.’
Eshika entered the room, stretched once, then lay down on the bed.
Through the small window of the attic room, the sky was visible.
She closed her eyes, watching the drifting fragment clouds.
Memories flashed through her mind—her first encounter with Kalian Klaus and the moment she fell for him.
Alongside it, the days of Young Ryung meeting the Emperor in her past life overlapped vividly.
‘The outcome was utter ruin. How foolish I was, chasing after an empty shell.’
Eshika opened her eyes once more.
‘But from now on, this life belongs to me.’
A cold, sharp glint filled her blue eyes.
Though she hadn’t yet regained her past strength, she possessed the knowledge and experience to clearly assess her current situation.
Circumstances would change—slowly, yet undeniably.
Thud—
Suddenly, the door opened without so much as a knock.
Four women stood before Eshika as she slowly rose from the bed.
The three in front were the Dowager Duchess’s personal maids—
women who, backed by the Dowager’s authority, manipulated the entire ducal household.
‘I expected it, but their reaction was impressively swift.’
Behind them stood Yuri, newly appointed as senior maid.
A crooked smirk tugged at the corner of her lips.
The three maids poured bucketfuls of icy water directly onto Eshika.
Splash—Splash—
The cold water drenched her completely.
Her neatly combed hair was soaked through, as was her clothing.
Even after they emptied the buckets, water continued dripping steadily from her chin and sleeve cuffs.
Yuri stepped forward with deliberate clicks of her shoes, stopping right in front of Eshika.
She tilted her chin upward and declared,
“The Dowager Duchess ordered us to bring you some refreshing cold water.”
A cold smile curled at the edges of Yuri’s lips.
“She said it’s far more effective than fragrant tea for curing arrogance.”
Amusement and mockery tinged her voice.
“But really… you look just like a drowned rat, don’t you?”
At Yuri’s words, the maids behind her burst into laughter.
Water droplets dripped steadily from Eshika’s hair, and her wet strands clung to her face.
Yuri felt deeply satisfied seeing Eshika in such disarray.
How dare this hollow excuse for a wife presume to be special enough to share tea with Kalian?
Moreover, it was said she left without even a bow, while Kalian remained seated.
She’d deliberately stoked the Dowager’s anger with reports of this incident.
They’d even gone so far as to fetch freezing water—surely Eshika must be half out of her mind by now.
Slowly, Eshika pushed the wet strands from her eyes.
“…….”
When Yuri met Eshika’s blue gaze, her eyebrows twitched.
She’d expected fear or tears after that icy dousing—but there was no trace of emotion in those eyes.
Yuri couldn’t possibly know.
Chun Young Ryung had trained for dozens of days in glacial valleys since childhood.
Though her body remained frail, her willpower would never flinch at something so trivial.
“…Hah.”
Casually, she stepped down from the bed and swept her hair from front to back.
Even the maids behind Yuri flinched at Eshika’s indifferent reaction.
After all, bullying only feels satisfying when the victim reacts.
But Eshika…?
“…Are you done?”
With a calm expression—no, with eyes that seemed to mock their foolishness—she leaned close to Yuri’s face.
Yuri’s smugly raised lip trembled faintly.
“…You…!”
“Tell the Dowager Duchess I appreciated the cold water.”
Eshika’s lips moved slightly as her voice drifted out.
“Imagine—a future daughter-in-law personally delivering it. What an honor. I suppose we’re growing quite close?”
Her gaze then shifted to the maids behind Yuri.
At the words ‘future daughter-in-law,’ Yuri’s hand twitched.
“What do you mean by—?!”
“Aren’t you embarrassed saying such things in front of the maids? Weren’t you the one who claimed you’d become Klaus’s daughter-in-law?”
“…!”
It wasn’t yet time for the Dowager to learn Yuri was targeting Kalian.
Precisely because of the Dowager’s fierce maternal protectiveness, Eshika had suffered so greatly.
If Yuri—who had just bribed her way into becoming senior maid—dared draw the Dowager’s ire… she might find her very life in peril.
“When did I ever say such a thing?!”
Yuri glanced back to find her maids exchanging ambiguous glances.
Meanwhile, Eshika watched her flustered struggle with evident delight, a faint smile playing at her lips.
‘Could she have deliberately provoked this?’
Yuri’s eyes wavered. Impossible—Eshika, that foolish girl, couldn’t possibly devise such a calculated move!
Gritting her teeth, she seethed inwardly.
“And furthermore.”
Eshika turned her gaze toward the maids behind Yuri.
“Emilia, Annie, Lusa. I’ll remember well what the three of you did today. Your manner of serving your superiors is truly… admirable.”
At her calm yet icy tone, even the frozen maids flinched.
“One day soon… I’ll be sure to reward you properly.”
The Duchess knew their names?
The Duchess of Klaus was supposed to be a frail, ornamental woman who did nothing but adorn herself with jewels.
When the Dowager, disapproving of her uselessness, threatened to expel her, Eshika had pleaded desperately, agreeing to move to this grimy attic room to reflect on her conduct—but people don’t change so easily.
Yet the Duchess, now drenched and shivering, bore eyes that…
‘I feel a chill down my spine.’
Her gaze was unnervingly sharp, a quiet lethality in her stillness, her lips twisted into a faint, witchlike smile.
The maids’ faces grew steadily more rigid.
“L-let’s go!”
Yuri spun around abruptly, her clenched fists trembling.
The three maids hurried after her.
Their once-proud strides had turned into anxious, hurried steps.
**
“Mistress, I brought dry clothes, but… the clothes…”
Cella bowed deeply before Eshika, begging forgiveness.
“I’m sorry, but I could only find a maid’s outfit.”
Eshika changed without a word, but Cella remained watchful.
Eshika combed her wet hair back, thinking.
Of the lavish gowns she’d brought when she first married into the house.
Originally, she’d been assigned a spacious, sunlit room—
a chamber fitting for the Duchess of Klaus, resplendent and grand.
But the Dowager found fault with everything, tormenting Eshika relentlessly, and Kalian offered no protection whatsoever, leaving Eshika’s position ever more precarious.
Finally, the Dowager issued an ultimatum: if she continued such wasteful behavior and disgraced the family name, she would be forced into divorce…
So Eshika moved herself into this sunless, isolated attic room,
handing over nearly all her dresses and jewels to the Dowager—keeping only two formal gowns.
Yuri had ruined one of those two under the pretense of an accident, leaving Eshika effectively with only one outfit.
‘And this dress is likely also the Dowager’s doing.’
For a noblewoman to wear a maid’s clothing was deeply humiliating.
Thus, Eshika had faced a choice: shiver in her soaked garments until they dried, or endure the bitter shame of dressing like a common servant.
“What do you think, Cella?”
Having adjusted her attire, Eshika—now clad in the maid’s outfit—asked Cella.
Cella slowly raised her head, surprised by what she saw.
“Mistress…”
Even a plain maid’s dress couldn’t hide Eshika’s distinction.
An innate nobility radiated from her posture, and though Cella hadn’t noticed it before, Eshika now seemed undeniably beautiful.
‘Why doesn’t His Grace the Duke cherish his wife?’
The thought struck Cella so suddenly.
“It fits you perfectly, Mistress, but surely you, as the Du… Duchess, shouldn’t be wearing a maid’s dress…”
“I meant, do I look like an actual maid?”
“Of course not! You are the noble Duchess of—!”
Eshika knit her delicate brows.
“I’m asking what I’d need to do to convincingly pass as a maid.”
Startled, Cella replied,
“…Maids always tie their hair back. You should do the same.”
“Yes. That’s exactly the answer I wanted. I prefer practicality. I’ve had enough of pretty but useless things—wore them to my fill in my past life…”
With a wicked glint in her eyes, Eshika smiled faintly.
“In that sense, both this outfit you brought me and your suggestion to tie my hair… please me greatly.”
“Th-thank you.”
Eshika gazed at her reflection in the mirror.
Fortune turns like the wind—who wouldn’t rejoice at gaining such comfortable, functional attire?
Cella, who had braced herself for anger or despair from the Duchess, could only stare blankly, utterly bewildered.
Eshika, twisting her hair into a single braid, smiled as if genuinely delighted.
And in that moment, a man was heading toward the Klaus ducal estate.
When yandere male lead believes she loves him — but she never did
“How dare you!”
“How dare you make me love you, only to cast me aside as nothing more than a friend?!?
“I will never accept that.”
“I will never let you return to him.”
“Even if I have to burn myself to ashes.”
“Even if I must shatter my purity, my dignity, my very soul.”
“I will never let you escape me!”
This was the first novel that introduced me to the matriarchal genre. I’ve read it three times already!
At first, the male lead despised the female lead. Later, he misunderstood that she liked him, so he condescendingly and reluctantly reciprocated her feelings.
Then, he suddenly discovered that she was kind to everyone in the same way, and there was already someone she cherished in her heart, and that person was not him.
The male lead couldn’t believe it, he became angry and crazy. He was determined to capture her body and heart by any means necessary.
Synopsis:
Want to see how a green tea bitch male lead falls in love with the female lead?
Want to see how he flirtatiously pursues the female lead?
Want to see how he gets slapped in the face repeatedly?
The male lead is a green tea bitch, a poisonous lotus, jealous, ruthless, unscrupulous, with a venomous heart, and he’s also a delusional maniac.
The female lead is righteous, positive energy-filled, kind, a holy mother.
Let’s see how two people with extreme personalities come together~
_____
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MANGA DISCUSSION
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Chapter Comments (331)
(THAT Resban ending…)
This is the part I’m most interested in.
Cuz we’ve already established that:1. Resban is an extremely powerful martial artist.
2. Eshika immediately recognized his cultivation.
3. He has characteristics that remind her of the man from her previous life.
4. She specifically thought drawing his attention would be dangerous.
5. She is currently disguised as a maid.
6. And now… BAM. He catches her by the waist 🤣🤣🤣Unlike Kalian, Resban actually seems capable of noticing things.
So I’m wondering whether he’s going to recognize that something is off about this supposedly ordinary maid.
Cuuuz Eshika has already demonstrated that she’s dramatically different from the woman everyone knew. Her posture, eyes, movements, cultivation, awareness—all of it has changed.
Resban is precisely the sort of person who could potentially notice those tiny inconsistencies.That’s what makes their encounter exciting. It’s not simply “Oh, handsome male lead catches beautiful female lead”
It’s potentially “oh sh*. A person capable of detecting masters just physically caught the reincarnated former Demon Sect heiress who is desperately trying not to attract attention”😂
Meanwhile Eshika is probably internally going
“…Of ALL the people I could have collided with” 🤣🤣🤣🤣 (Also, Eshika calling Kalian a golden carriage filled with horse dung)
That was chef’s kiss— it shows just how completely her perception has changed.
She doesn’t want Kalian anymore.
She doesn’t want his approval.
She doesn’t want Yuri to lose him because Eshika wants him back.
She wants to watch the entire structure that once imprisoned her collapse under its own weight.
& that’s the revenge arc I think we’re responding to so strongly. It’s not really about winning Kalian back. It’s about Eshika realizing “I wasted an entire lifetime trying to obtain this man’s love. I’m not making that mistake twice”
Which makes every subsequent interaction with him increasingly funny because he’s still operating under the assumption that she desperately wants him 🤣🤣
He’s going to have a very interesting time when he eventually realizes that she genuinely doesn’t care anymore.(Yuri’s consequences are deliciously ironic)
Yuri blaming Eshika for getting whipped instead of realizing that she herself openly declared her intention to become Kalian’s wife is such a perfect illustration of her character.
Then Eshika walks in wearing a maid uniform like: “Oh, you got beaten because of me? Anyway, here’s some water”
Girl…😭
The saltwater was absolutely petty, but narratively it works because Eshika is basically showing Yuri ~You wanted to play the role of my enemy while I was powerless. Now you’re going to learn what happens when I actually fight back~
aaaaans I REALLY like the distinction between Eshika’s revenge and her old behavior.
Old Eshika would have screamed, cried, attacked Yuri, and created exactly the spectacle Yuri wanted.
New Eshika just calmly says things that make Yuri destroy herself.
That’s muchhhh more satisfying.
Inline Comments (39)
“You betrayed your friend, stole her jewels, and now you fawn over the Grand Lad
Why did they become friends to begin with? It’s not like yuri knew eshika would marry him
Cella spat out bloody saliva and glared at Yuri.
Does cella know martial arts at this point or no? I remember she asked
“This mother… can’t bear living under such injustice… uuhuhu….”
This guy is hopefully just gonna be an endgame final boss or something
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Onigirimamireads
Side note 3: The maid’s outfit scene is especially clever because something intended to strip her of status accidentally gives her greater freedom. She’s no longer obsessed with looking like the Duchess. She’s thinking practically—and that makes her much harder to control.
Cella is becoming such a fun little barometer for the reader, too. She’s constantly going, “wait… this isn’t the woman I thought she was”. Every chapter she’s discovering another layer of Eshika. LOL
Onigirimamireads
Side note 1: Young Ryung’s past life really changed what Eshika considers humiliating. In her first life, she was willing to sacrifice almost everything for love and status, but now she seems much more concerned with survival, freedom, and usefulness. A maid’s dress that would have devastated the old Eshika is practically a blessing to the woman she has become. That’s actually such a good way of showing how fundamentally her values have changed.
Onigirimamireads
(The maid’s dress)
I love how Eshika doesn’t even view the maid’s dress as an insult. Everyone else sees it as humiliation, while she’s basically thinking, “waaait a sec… this is actually comfortable and practical?” Haha
After a lifetime of being dressed up for appearances, she’s finally discovering the joy of clothes that are actually useful.
Just like me, who finds joy in pockets in my dresses 🤣
Onigirimamireads
(Why she doesn’t expose Yuri yet)
I actually like that Eshika isn’t immediately exposing Yuri to the Dowager Duchess. She understands that Yuri’s current position is useful, but also dangerous, and that the Dowager is fiercely protective of her own interests. If Yuri gets caught too early, Eshika loses the opportunity to let her dig herself deeper. She’s playing the long game
Onigirimamireads
(The final line & because the chapter ends with “a man was heading toward the Klaus ducal estate”)
Of course, just when Eshika is getting comfortable in her new maid disguise, a mysterious man is conveniently heading toward the estate. I remember enough to know that this is probably where things are about to get interesting.