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If My Husband Is a Narrow-Eyed Villain, I’m in Trouble — Chapter : 05
So this was what people meant when they said humans were scarier than ghosts.
Should she pretend to faint right now?
Or would it be better to jump over the balcony railing, even if she broke a few bones in the process?
“Miss Diana.”
While countless thoughts raced through her mind, Ian had already approached and grabbed her before she could escape.
His hand felt unusually hot.
No, I have to say something!
If she stayed silent now, she would only make herself more suspicious.
Even knowing that, it was hard to force out words. It felt like someone had wrapped a rope tightly around her throat.
“I didn’t hear…”
“……”
“I didn’t hear anything.”
She answered while trying her best not to tremble, but even her own voice sounded unfamiliar to her ears.
“Is that truly so?”
“……”
“It would be better for you to answer honestly. Depending on your answer…”
Depending on her answer, what?
What comes after that? Why did he stop talking there?!
Diana wanted to cry.
The truly terrifying part was that she could easily imagine the unspoken ending.
If she mentioned even one more word about casino losses or anything else, she probably wouldn’t even leave behind a corpse.
“I really didn’t hear anything. More importantly, you’re too close. Let go of me…”
Diana first tried to shake off his hand.
No, she planned to shake him off.
Had he realized she intended to run the moment he released her?
Instead of letting go, Ian moved even closer to Diana as she tried desperately to push him away, and now he had an arm around her waist.
How could such a slender body have such monstrous strength?
Just as cold sweat began forming on Diana’s back—
“Diana, are you here?”
As if by miracle, the lounge door suddenly opened and a savior appeared.
It was none other than her mother and Duchess Crawford.
They must have been searching for Diana after she suddenly disappeared without a word. The noblewomen looking around the room quickly discovered the two of them.
“My goodness, Diana!”
“……Ian?”
A dark lounge with no one else around.
A man and woman pressed close together.
Diana trying to push him away, and Ian forcibly holding onto her.
“Good heavens… Ian Crawford!!”
No matter who saw it, the situation looked completely inappropriate.
Shock spread across not only her mother’s face, but the duchess’s as well.
“Have you completely lost your mind?! What are you doing in a place like this?!”
“That’s not it, Aunt. This is a misunderstanding.”
“What misunderstanding?! I saw it with my own eyes! Let go of her immediately!”
The furious duchess shouted at him.
At this point, even Ian could no longer keep holding onto Diana.
“……My apologies.”
Ian looked like he still had something to say, but he loosened the hand wrapped around her waist.
The moment she escaped his grasp, Diana quickly moved away from him.
I-I survived…
But her relief only lasted for a moment.
Now she had to face two pairs of worried eyes staring directly at her.
Both the duchess and her mother were looking at her with extremely burdensome expressions.
I think I know exactly what kind of misunderstanding they’re having.
A man and woman who went out for a walk together, found alone in a dark lounge while pressed closely together.
There was no way people wouldn’t misunderstand.
“I’ll explain everything myself.”
“You stay quiet.”
“Aunt, a moment ago—”
“I told you to stay quiet! No matter how passionate young people are, how could you think of treating a woman like this?!”
As a result, all the blame was falling entirely onto Ian.
I understand Mother misunderstanding, but even Duchess Crawford is misunderstanding?
Did she really distrust Ian that much?
Diana quietly glanced toward him.
“Are you alright, Diana?”
“……Yes.”
“Are you truly alright?”
Behind the question of whether she was alright were many other meanings besides simply asking if she was hurt.
“Really. Why would I lie?”
Diana quickly nodded toward her mother.
How could she possibly survive the aftermath of turning Ian Crawford into some shameless criminal?!
“The young duke was helping me.”
“……Helping you?”
“Yes. My shoe broke, so I stumbled. I lost my balance for a moment because I felt dizzy.”
Diana subtly showed them her damaged shoe.
“I’m sorry for worrying everyone. But truly, nothing happened.”
“Miss Diana, is that really true? You don’t need to worry about anyone else. You may speak honestly.”
“I already explained everything. Please clear up the misunderstanding, Duchess.”
If she really spoke honestly, she could not even imagine what would happen.
As a side character with a loose tongue, wouldn’t she simply end up brutally killed by the villain?
Half convinced of that future, Diana forced herself to smile calmly.
“Ian, tell me yourself. Is it true that you were escorting Miss Diana here?”
“Yes.”
Only one person here knew this was a lie.
Ian Crawford.
“It is exactly as Miss Diana said.”
“You, who avoided even being alone with women, helped escort Miss Diana?”
Only then did the anger disappear from the duchess’s eyes.
At the same time, another emotion appeared instead—confusion and hope.
“I merely did what any gentleman should do. Aunt, you still judge me too harshly.”
Ian’s face once again carried that polite, businesslike smile.
He had returned to his usual self.
However, even after the misunderstanding had supposedly been cleared up, Ian’s gaze remained fixed on Diana.
Diana pretended not to notice the obvious attention, but she felt like the heroine of a horror movie.
“Mother, I think it would be best if we returned home for today.”
“Yes, let’s do that. We’ll take our leave now, Duchess.”
“Very well. I’ll contact you again soon, Helena.”
Even while the polite farewells continued, that uncomfortable gaze never left her.
“……Then excuse me.”
Could this truly be their last meeting?
Like the cursed doll cliché in horror movies.
No matter how many times you throw it away or burn it, it always comes back to follow you.
“I hope you return safely, Miss Diana.”
The feeling Ian gave her was disturbingly similar.
“Do you think Young Duke Crawford might actually like you?”
On the carriage ride home from the party, Diana nearly broke into a cold sweat dealing with her strangely excited mother.
Helena’s attitude, which had started with “Just try meeting him once,” had completely changed.
“He couldn’t take his eyes off you, Diana.”
And in a rather troublesome way too.
“……I don’t think so.”
“But he personally supported you and even escorted you to the lounge because he was worried about you.”
“Yes, he certainly lived up to his reputation as a gentleman.”
Diana desperately tried to explain things away, but she also understood why her mother misunderstood so badly.
Even from an outsider’s perspective, Ian Crawford’s gaze had looked unusually intense.
I should have denied it more firmly.
I didn’t hear anything. When did you arrive? I didn’t even notice you were there.
She should have said things like that and made sure no problems were left behind!
Will Ian Crawford really leave things alone like this?
Wouldn’t he try contacting her again somehow?
The worse her imagination became, the more terrified Diana felt.
That night, she even dreamed of Ian Crawford chasing her while holding a noose.
This is the worst!
But the real nightmare came afterward.
Four days later, shocking news arrived like a bolt from the blue.
“Diana, the young duke says he would like to meet you again.”
“What?”
“He must have enjoyed your meeting that day. He sent a letter saying he’d like to have tea with you.”
Diana doubted her own ears.
Could there possibly be another Young Duke Crawford in the world?
Or was this some kind of hidden camera prank?
“I told you! Young Duke Crawford really likes you!”
Unlike Diana, who was completely shocked by the unexpected request for another meeting, her mother looked excited like a young girl.
“He even said he would adjust to our family’s schedule for this visit. My goodness, he must be so busy, yet he’s so considerate.”
“Uh……”
“This is no time to stand around. I need to tell Ilma to prepare to receive guests immediately.”
“W-Wait! Just a moment, Mother!”
Still in shock, Diana hurriedly stopped her mother.
“That letter really came from the Crawford duchy?”
“It did. Why?”
“I’m just surprised. I only showed him my worst side, so I can’t believe he actually enjoyed himself…”
Diana knew exactly how her parents would interpret this situation.
If things went well, it would not simply end with an engagement.
It was also the perfect opportunity to strengthen their family’s position with the support of the ducal house.
That was why, for the past three days, Diana had repeatedly emphasized that nothing had happened between her and the young duke.
She also made sure to remind them not to expect too much.
But apparently that consideration had only added fuel to the fire.
Seeing the joy shining in her mother’s eyes felt so unfamiliar that it nearly drove Diana crazy. She could practically hear the gears of her imagination spinning wildly.
“That’s simply how relationships between men and women are. The more cautious they are, the harder it becomes. Perhaps the young duke felt the same way? He must have been nervous too.”
No. Absolutely not, Mother.
That definitely wasn’t it!
Diana shivered as she remembered Ian Crawford’s cold expression.
“But the atmosphere really wasn’t like that……”
“Haha, really?”
“Why are you smiling like that?”
“Because it seems the young duke thinks very highly of you.”
Diana stared suspiciously at her mother, who was grinning brightly.
“When people search for a marriage partner, sometimes they instinctively know. They feel that this is someone they could truly marry someday. Perhaps the young duke felt that way about you?”
Mother, aren’t you jumping to conclusions a little too much today?
Especially when it comes to assuming other people’s feelings.
“Anyway, since the letter arrived, go read it. And don’t forget to send a reply before noon.”
Laughing happily, her mother went off to find the gardener, looking more cheerful than ever.
“Instinctively… know?”
Diana stood there blankly for a moment.
Then she slowly unfolded the letter that had supposedly come from Ian.
