She's a Villainess but her Husband is Handsome (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 9
…What did you just say?
What did I just hear?
‘Honey??’
Cedric, whose feet had involuntarily stopped on the floor, briefly lowered his gaze before slowly turning his head.
The woman, gripping the hem of her dress tightly with both hands, blinked her large eyes rapidly as she looked at him.
‘Did I hear wrong?’
Just as he doubted himself—
Lorraine, whose eyes met his directly, quickly opened her mouth.
“Honey. Father has come after a long while. Why don’t we have a cup of tea together?”
…Again. She called him “honey.”
Cedric’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Her violet eyes shimmered with earnest longing.
Cedric fully turned his body around from the position where he had been standing with his back to them.
‘Has she changed her mind?’
Lorraine, who had just felt relieved that Cedric intended to stay, slowly blinked her wide-open eyes.
‘But why that expression?’
Her husband’s expression seemed oddly off.
At a glance, he looked as if someone had just struck the back of his head with a stone.
‘Ah! Maybe he hates being here?’
What if he tries to leave again?
I must do whatever it takes to keep him from walking out!
‘Should I just lie on the floor? Or roll sideways in this dress?’
Just as she was mentally simulating countless ways to stop her fleeing husband—
Cedric’s straight, tightly set lips slowly curved upward.
“Lorraine. Are you truly alright with this?”
Her husband showed clear intent to remain.
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
Come over here right now.
With that unspoken plea, Lorraine gently softened her eyes.
Cedric, who had been staring at Lorraine, shifted his gaze toward Hether and closed the distance between them.
Stopping perfectly upright in front of the two, he looked directly into Hether’s eyes.
“Your Grace. If I’m not intruding on your precious time, may I join you?”
He asked politely.
Hether’s expression, which had stiffened slightly, softened almost immediately.
“There’s no intrusion at all. Unfortunately, however, I believe I must take my leave now.”
The man who had just moments ago declared his intention to spend some quiet time with his daughter suddenly said he had to leave.
‘It’s because Cedric is here—he can’t threaten me the way he did earlier.’
Reading his obvious intentions clearly, Lorraine slowly spoke.
“You’ve come after such a long time… only to leave like this?”
She voiced her words with the most regretful tone she could muster.
“Though I’m deeply saddened, I refuse to be the unworthy daughter who steals your precious time.”
In other words, hurry up and get out.
“Hahaha. Lorraine, I do understand your regretful heart. But today isn’t the only day, is it?”
Nonsense flew from his mouth.
‘Fine. Let’s just accept that.’
Thinking it wasn’t even worth responding to, she merely lifted her lips slightly.
“Then I shall take my leave.”
Hether glanced alternately between Lorraine and Cedric before turning toward the door—and Cedric simultaneously turned the same way.
“No need to see me off. Instead, spend some quiet time with my daughter.”
Hether stopped Cedric, who had moved as if to escort him.
“Yes. I’ll follow your words, then. Please take care on your way back.”
Cedric kept his foot, which had started to lift, firmly planted and bowed deeply.
“Take care on your way back.”
Lorraine quickly offered her farewell, prompting Hether to turn toward the door.
The drawing-room door swung wide open, and a servant who had been waiting somewhere nearby immediately followed closely behind Hether.
‘Just who on earth is that skinny man?’
Lorraine’s gaze, which had been fixed on Hether’s retreating back, slowly drifted downward and settled on his bony hand.
‘If Cedric hadn’t shown up, I’d surely have been struck by that hand.’
Her tightly pressed lips twitched.
Thinking about it again, the whole situation was outrageous and infuriating.
‘Then again, you’ve always been like this. Even as a child, you were the type who wouldn’t understand unless hit.’
So it had always been this way?
From Hether’s words, Lorraine inferred she’d endured violence since childhood.
‘Just what happened between us?’
But without knowing Lorraine’s past or the nature of her relationship with Hether, she felt utterly frustrated.
‘In other stories, protagonists who transmigrated remembered everything from their past lives. Why did I have to end up knowing absolutely nothing?’
Just as she was blaming her own circumstances—
Thud.
Cedric sat down in a chair before the drawing-room table.
“Lorraine. Let’s talk for a moment.”
Her mind was too tangled; she didn’t want to talk about anything.
But since he’d helped her escape that crisis, she decided to go along with his wishes for now.
Leaning comfortably against the chair back, the man crossed his long legs and studied her carefully with his blue eyes.
“Yes. Let’s talk.”
Lorraine sat down opposite him.
At that, the servant by the door firmly shut it.
A brief silence passed between the two seated across from each other.
The man, who’d been staring intently, tilted his head slightly and blinked slowly.
Tap tap tap.
Cedric’s long fingers rhythmically tapped the armrest of the chair.
‘Must be a habit.’
It seemed like a mannerism he displayed when concentrating or lost in thought.
“Lorraine.”
At his low call, she lifted her eyes from his fingertips.
“Yes. Please speak.”
She subtly tensed her already straight back.
“I’ve given serious thought to what you said earlier.”
The dignified man spoke in a dignified tone.
“What exactly are you referring to?”
“The divorce you wished for between us.”
Ah… Lorraine slowly closed her slightly parted lips.
Keep going. She gazed at him with that look.
“As Duke Calyps mentioned, unpleasant rumors about us are circulating among the nobility.”
“…”
“Given that even I’ve heard these rumors, it seems they’ve spread further than I imagined.”
So his earlier claim of hearing it for the first time had been a lie.
“And so?”
“Well, gossip from others can simply be ignored. If we consider only our relationship, a straightforward divorce wouldn’t be difficult.”
The man spoke cleanly, briefly lifting his lips.
“But as I’ve said, our union was decreed by royal command—it isn’t something we can decide so easily.”
“…”
“As evidenced by how quickly Duke Hether Calyps rushed here, this marriage isn’t merely our personal matter.”
He was right.
Because of Hether, she now realized it wasn’t the time to recklessly demand divorce out of a simple desire to escape misery.
“Moreover, for me to obtain what I desire, now is not the time.”
Cedric’s eyes darkened with intensity.
This seriousness in his expression was something she’d never seen before.
Lorraine narrowed her eyes slightly and focused intently on the man before her.
“Cedric. What is it that you want to obtain?”
“Hmm…”
The man inhaled deeply, then straightened his relaxed posture.
After pausing as if catching his breath, he slowly began to speak.
“Originally, Father promised me a title in exchange for marrying you.”
This was not only a detail absent from the original story, but even if Lorraine had known it, the current her had no way of knowing.
“Of course, it’s a secret known only between Father and me—neither my elder brother nor my mother is aware.”
A glance warned her to be discreet.
“But as the rumors spreading among other nobles clearly show, Father is also viewing our relationship as precarious.”
“…”
“The moment this marriage ends, if Father changes his mind, I’ll have no grounds to object.”
That absolutely must not happen.
Cedric’s expression instantly grew heavy.
‘Cedric… so you’re an ambitious man after all.’
Realizing this unknown truth, Lorraine slowly opened her mouth.
“So you’re suggesting we maintain this marriage?”
“Precisely. However…”
“However, what?”
“Our relationship must change somewhat. No—more precisely, Lorraine, you must change.”
Hmm. Lorraine took a short breath.
“How exactly should I change?”
“For starters, stop acting as though you’re desperate to be driven out of this house.”
Lorraine’s eyes widened momentarily.
Readers of the original story had clamored for Lorraine—who clung parasitically to the protagonists and committed wicked deeds—to be expelled immediately. Yet—
‘Isn’t Lorraine the one who wants to leave this house more than anyone? Otherwise, there’d be no reason for this.’
—was how she’d interpreted the story differently.
It surprised her that Cedric viewed Lorraine from the exact same perspective as she did.
To hide her astonishment, she gently softened her eyes.
“Why do you think I want to be driven out of here?”
“Someone who didn’t would never have spoken of divorce.”
“…”
“The moment that word left your lips, my thoughts became clear.”
Interpreting his words—
He’d been searching for a reason behind Lorraine’s odd behavior, and the moment she mentioned divorce, he concluded all her actions had been aimed solely at achieving that divorce.
Was it really like that?
Lorraine relaxed the intensity in her eyes.
‘Anyway, even if I leave here, I’ve got nowhere left to go.’
At the moment Hether threatened her, she realized leaving this place wouldn’t lead to a path of flowers, but to a muddy swamp.
‘I still don’t understand how this world operates—perhaps following Cedric’s advice is actually better for my current situation.’
She decided it would be wiser to secure at least one solid foothold before leaving, rather than charge in blindly.
She looked directly at the man who had just rejected divorce at the perfect moment.
“My thinking was shortsighted. I simply didn’t want to live with a husband who showed me not even a shred of interest.”
“…”
“But you’re right—it’s clearly not just our private matter.”
Cedric gave a slight nod.
“Then let’s divorce after you’ve received your ducal title.”
“Agreed. And I, too, was shortsighted. For that, I’ll offer my apology.”
“…An apology?”
The man, puzzled by her words, let a faint smile cross his lips.
“You called me a husband who shows no interest even to his own wife—so I suppose it’s no wonder such rumors have spread.”
So what exactly are you trying to say?
As she stared blankly at him—
“I’ve also decided to change my behavior.”
“…”
“I hope you won’t be startled.”
“…Yes?”
Just as she felt an oddly chilling quality in the smile of the man before her—
“You’ll soon receive attention you’ve never experienced before.”
His deep voice slipped into her ears.
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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MANGA DISCUSSION
2 Comments
Chapter Comments (89)
Wow, what is this? Does our girl have healing powers? How amazing!
Oh, it’s clear that bad guys and trouble are coming, poor dear Lauren.
yes leave that boring life and earn some money being a doctor
Inline Comments (38)
‘What exactly is her true nature? Is she kind or not?’
The answer is no 🫠 there is no way she can be kind with that comment
-“Of course, it’s true Lorraine has a bad reputation and enjoys the company of m
🥲 Ah, I see. It is one of those green tea types…
I was just admiring how handsome you are—but you had to go and look so scary.
A hadsome face is a hadsome face, it should be admired, doesn’t matter who it belongs to!!!
YOUR COMMENT
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Miioo
Hahaha, what’s this, Cedric? He looks like he’s preparing for war.
debban23
hhhmmm,well that was fast,cedric changing his attitude