🔊 TTS Settings
If My Husband Is a Narrow-Eyed Villain, I’m in Trouble — Chapter : 08
After some time, Ian Crawford sent an invitation.
The content was, just like before, flawless. It said he wanted to personally guide her through the ducal estate.
“Three private meetings in a row with the future duke… anyone would think I’m being treated like an official fiancée.”
Instead of changing the original story, things were progressing far too steadily.
The problem was that it was no longer just a matter of whether she would marry or not.
“Can you swear on your family that you heard nothing?”
“I wonder if you would still answer the same even if the Countess’s life was on the line.”
Ever since hearing those words, Diana’s nights had been restless.
She had made her parents avoid going out unless it was absolutely necessary, insisting they only go to safe places. The coachman had even started giving her strange looks.
“This won’t work. I need to settle this once and for all.”
Finally, the day of the appointment arrived.
Just as she was about to leave the mansion with her parasol, Helena approached her with slow steps.
“Diana, are you going out now?”
“Yes. I’m about to leave.”
“I see.”
“I’ll be back before dinner. Even if I’m late, please don’t wait up.”
“Alright.”
Helena came closer and fixed the ribbon of Diana’s bonnet.
Diana silently stood still and accepted her touch.
“Mother.”
“Yes?”
“What would you do if I said I would rather die than get married?”
It was a rather impulsive question.
She expected her mother to panic and ask what she was talking about—but the answer was unexpected.
“Well… if that happened, I suppose I would have to keep trying to persuade you.”
Her mother smiled calmly.
“Diana, you exist within many relationships that make up who you are. And among them, the most important and precious is family.”
“….”
“So I can’t just tell you to go ahead and abandon those relationships.”
Of course, she thought she would be told not to come back home or something like that.
“I believe my beloved daughter will always make wise choices.”
Those unexpectedly warm words made Diana’s eyes well up.
“I’m sorry… I always feel sorry for you. If we were a noble family of higher standing, you wouldn’t have to worry about the family’s position…”
Her mother’s faint apology made her look even smaller.
“If only you had siblings… your burden would be lighter…”
“No, it’s okay. I’m very happy as I am. You know that.”
She shook her head.
Diana understood that just as she had her own situation, her parents also had the responsibility of maintaining the family.
So while they often argued about this topic, it never turned into a real fight.
Helena adjusted Diana’s clothes and patted her shoulder.
“Have a safe trip. Be careful on the road.”
“Yes. I’ll go and come back, Mother.”
With her mother’s words, Diana finally made up her mind.
She left the count’s mansion behind.
* * *
Inside the carriage heading to the ducal estate, Diana recalled memories from her past life after a long time.
In her past life, Diana had lived as a woman named Park Hee-soo until the age of twenty-five.
Park Hee-soo loved her parents, who worked hard despite their tight finances.
She found it hard to endure the subtle favoritism toward her younger brother and the constant “you’re the older sister, so endure it” attitude.
Still, during the rare times they went out to eat together, she comforted herself by thinking her family was at least harmonious enough.
But everything broke when her parents’ restaurant went bankrupt.
“Hee-soo, if you’re going to take a leave of absence anyway, can’t you take out a loan to help with living expenses?”
Since she knew her parents’ situation well, she couldn’t bring herself to refuse.
That was when she truly realized how strongly the saying “eldest daughters are the family’s foundation” could weigh down a person.
What was supposed to be a six-month break became two years.
She gained more part-time work experience than certifications, and her debt kept increasing.
Her friends’ glamorous social media posts became more painful to look at.
“What are you even doing to spend so much money?”
“Is it my fault I don’t have money? Is it my fault?”
“Hey! Who are you talking to your mother like that?!”
Park Hee-soo, who had never rebelled as a child, went through a harsh late adolescence.
Her parents did not comfort her growing frustration. Instead, they tried to strictly control her.
That was when her younger brother caused a major incident.
When he confessed he had failed a crypto investment and was 50 million won in debt, something that had barely been holding together finally snapped.
“How does that even make sense? Is our house a bank? If you caused it, you should fix it yourself!”
“How can you say something so cold as a sister?”
“Me being cold? Mom, how can you say that? Do you want me to go work in a factory or something?!”
While her father silently watched the fight, he eventually slapped his daughter.
Hee-soo left the house that same day.
Fortunately, she managed to get a job at an amusement park, which solved her housing and food issues, but from that day on, she realized something.
Her life would not be easy.
And even knowing that, she would still have to keep living.
Every time she saw children laughing happily with their parents at the amusement park, she thought:
I want to be born into a family like that too.
A family where there is no worry—only love and care.
That unachievable wish stayed in her heart for a long time.
Until she died young in an accident and was reborn as Diana Wellington.
Was her wish that specific?
Diana Wellington’s life could be summed up in one sentence:
A reward for living as Park Hee-soo.
A precious only daughter, a wealthy household, and an environment full of warmth and comfort.
Everything she had ever wanted came true.
Her gentle father and delicate mother treated Diana like something precious.
Even when Diana, after regaining memories of her past life, kept her distance and acted awkwardly, her parents remained the same.
The first conflict she ever had with them was about marriage.
Her parents’ expectations were clear.
They wanted her to marry and build a family, and to feel the same happiness they had experienced.
That was the normal thinking in this world.
The strange one was not her mother. It was herself.
She reminded herself of this while trying to accept the gap in values, because she was now inside a novel.
I am someone from this world. My past life is just memory, and it already ended.
Everything is over. It’s in the past.
But her memories had become information. Even if emotions faded, their influence remained.
Her values had changed. She was still Diana Wellington, but she was no longer exactly the same person.
She could not imagine building a happy family.
Especially not with Ian Crawford.
She did not want to die. She did not want to be engaged to a hidden villain.
What if his kindness was a trick? What if even a glass of water he gave her was poisoned?
She did not want to live her entire life in suspicion. It would be better alone.
Even though she knew her life had fallen into an unfathomable pit, she was tired of just enduring it.
So for Diana, there was only one path left.
“…I also hate fake politeness.”
She muttered to herself.
* * *
The Crawford ducal estate was more like a castle than a mansion.
The vast grounds were so large that it took at least fifteen minutes of walking from the main gate to the house.
On one side was a lush green garden, and on the other, knights in training.
Countless arched windows reflected the power of the ducal family, and the white exterior with dark blue roofing supported by pediment sculptures shone beautifully.
When Diana stepped out of the carriage, an elderly butler approached her.
“Welcome to the Crawford ducal estate, Miss Diana Wellington. I am the butler, Hermann.”
“Nice to meet you, Hermann.”
“You must have had a long journey. The young master is waiting in the study.”
Diana followed behind the butler.
The inside of the mansion was far more spacious than she had imagined.
The floor was covered in diamond-shaped tiles, and there was a central staircase with more than forty steps.
The stone railings and indoor statues were spotless, and a sea-blue carpet ran through the hallway.
The most impressive part was the ceiling.
From the hall to the corridors, every high ceiling was painted with fresco-style scenes of creation myths, making everything feel incredibly vivid.
Compared to that ceiling, even the iron armor and tapestries inside looked like toys.
“Welcome, Miss Diana. Was your journey comfortable?”
So this is the kind of man you grew up becoming.
The moment Diana saw Ian Crawford, she understood why her parents saw him as an opportunity.
A dazzling mansion that made you unconsciously look around.
And yet, the man who would inherit all of it looked like he was already bored to death.
