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Chapter 8
“Your Highness! Please wake up!”
“Ugh… Just five more minutes…”
“Today’s the day you’re meeting with Duke Siegbrecht!”
“…Then I’ll sleep ten more minutes.”
I was forced to get up. Apparently, the influence of the so-called villain mastermind was stronger than I thought.
He had already managed to win over my nanny just by name alone. Impressive—really impressive.
By the time I was awake, everything was already prepared for me to wash up.
When I came out and looked in the mirror, thankfully the red marks on my neck had faded.
But that wasn’t the real problem.
What was a problem was the flashy dress hanging right in front of me.
“Nanny. Something simpler than this.”
“Huh? But, Your Highness… You’re meeting Duke Siegbrecht today…”
“Simple. Please.”
I needed to get away from the villain. A glamorous, beautiful dress would only make things worse.
Still, I was a princess, so I couldn’t go too plain either.
I chose something moderately elegant—decorative enough to look proper, but not ostentatious.
Once I’d put on a soft lilac-and-white dress, my nanny led me to the vanity.
“Nanny…?”
“It’s time to do your hair and makeup, Your Highness.”
“No. I’m not putting on makeup today.”
“Of course, even without it you’re stunning, but still…”
“That’s not what I mean.”
“Then at least earrings and a necklace—”
“…Fine. Just those.”
My nanny looked disappointed, but perhaps she feared I’d refuse even that, so she hurried to bring out the jewelry.
She picked out a set—a necklace and earrings made of deep violet gemstones.
“Your Highness… Are you truly stopping at this?”
“Yes. Just bring me a hat.”
“…Understood.”
She clearly wanted to do more, but there was no helping it.
After all, the villain—he—would lose interest in me the moment he saw Cecile, the true heroine.
In the original story, Yulia (my character) had met the villain before he ever saw the heroine.
She’d even followed him around before his obsession with the heroine began.
And even then, he hadn’t spared her the slightest interest.
“I’ll be going now.”
“Yes, Your Highness. Here’s your hat.”
I took the carriage toward Duke Siegbrecht’s estate.
Of course, as the obedient daughter I was, I brought escorts with me.
(Definitely not because I was afraid of the villain. Absolutely not.)
Just as I was about to step down from the carriage, the door opened—and he was right there.
My heart nearly stopped.
“…Weren’t you supposed to be waiting inside?”
“It’s only proper for a husband to escort his wife.”
“…We’re not married. And I have no intention of marrying you.”
“You will be, soon enough.”
Hopeless. Completely hopeless.
Talking to him felt like throwing words into a void.
“Yulia, it’s been a while since you’ve been here, hasn’t it? I’ve prepared a room for you to stay in anytime you like…”
“Weren’t we going out?”
If I stayed inside that mansion, something awful like last time might happen again.
That was the one thing I had to avoid.
I couldn’t forget—my goal was to stay away from the villain and protect my family’s peace.
“…Hmm. So you wanted to go on a date outside, then? Well, there’s plenty of time for that.”
He led me into a carriage emblazoned with the Siegbrecht family crest.
I decided I needed to make myself clear.
“I don’t want to go inside your mansion.”
“Why not? There’s no place more full of our memories.”
“Memories? I’d rather forget everything that happened there!”
“Hmm… I doubt you’ll find any man who can satisfy you like I can.”
How could someone say such a thing so casually?!
My face was burning so hot I could barely keep it lifted.
“I told you before—I want to be with someone I love—”
“Physical love is still love, isn’t it?”
“…I meant emotional love.”
“I can fulfill that too, if that’s what you want.”
“You don’t love me, though.”
Because you don’t know how to love. Even in the original story, you didn’t.
—Do you think I love that woman? Do I look like someone capable of love?
Chester had always mistaken obsession and possession for love.
He didn’t know warmth, or tenderness.
It was a warped sort of “love.”
Readers in the comments had insisted, “That’s still love!”—but maybe it was because he’d lost his parents at a young age.
Maybe he’d just never learned what love was.
But that was something I could think about only as a reader.
As the person living it… I wanted no part of it.
“How can you know whether I love you or not?”
“…Then what about you, Duke?”
“Have you forgotten my name again?”
An unspoken threat.
I knew exactly what could happen if I didn’t call him by name, so I quickly corrected myself.
“…Chester, what do you think love is?”
“What do you think, Yulia?”
“I asked first.”
I expected him to say he didn’t know love. That would’ve made sense.
But what he said instead went far beyond what I’d imagined.
“Physical attraction is love, too.”
“…”
What the hell was he even saying?
I knew he wasn’t right in the head, but hearing it out loud—he was worse than I imagined.
My pupils must have trembled.
In the original, he and the heroine never once slept together, so a line like that had never appeared.
My hands were shaking.
“I’m the opposite. I think love is emotional attraction.”
“Then I’ll match that. If that’s what you want, I’ll gladly oblige.”
“…I like gentle people.”
Because you are anything but gentle.
That’s exactly why I said it—to make that clear.
No matter how well you pretend, you’ll never be gentle.
You’re the kind of person who will eventually turn your back on me.
“I like kind, gentle, handsome people.”
“That person you’re waiting for—he fits all those conditions?”
“…Yes. He’s kind, gentle, and very handsome.”
Probably.
He was such a softhearted person, someone who couldn’t even cry properly over his parents’ deaths.
Like a sad little puppy.
“Then I seem to meet all of Yulia’s conditions.”
“…What?”
I couldn’t believe my ears.
Sure, handsome maybe—but the rest? Not even close.
“I’m quite kind and gentle, actually.”
“…Do you even believe what you’re saying?”
“I pride myself on being kind and gentle—at least when we’re not in bed.”
“Why would you bring that up now?!”
“If you’d like, I can try to be kind and gentle in bed as well.”
I wanted to cover his mouth. My face was burning.
Just thinking about that day made me shudder.
My biggest mistake in life was that one night with the villain.
“Then, when and where should we—”
“Don’t you dare bring that up again.”
“…As you wish.”
Just then, the carriage stopped. I had no idea where we were, but I let him escort me out.
“Yulia, I’m glad to see you liked the gift I sent again.”
“…What?”
“It was worth having them crafted just for you.”
Wait. Hold on.
Nanny! Don’t tell me these earrings and this necklace—were gifts from him?!
In fact, every piece of jewelry she’d laid out this morning was probably from the villain.
“…I’d like to return them to their rightful owner.”
“Once you become the Duchess of Siegbrecht, they’ll all be yours anyway.”
“No! I told you—I’m not marrying you!”
“Yes, yes. Think whatever you like, Yulia.”
Ugh, I was so done with him.
I hated how it felt like I was the only frustrated one here.
Why was he suddenly acting like this?
If only he weren’t the villain… I might actually have fallen for him.
“Where are we going?”
“To somewhere you’ll like.”
After a short walk, we stopped in front of a quaint little café.
I actually knew this place—I rarely went out, but when I did, I often came here.
It was also quite popular among the young ladies of society.
When did he even find that out? How terrifying.
As we stepped inside, I saw Cecile.
Relief and joy washed over me—but then came the worry.
What should I do about the villain standing right beside me?
No, wait. This was perfect!
If the villain saw the original heroine in person, he’d surely lose interest in me.
I ran toward her on purpose.
“Cecile!”
“Oh! Yulia!”
“I haven’t seen you since your birthday! It’s so good to see you!”
Oh, my savior!
You see that, villain?
She’s the one you’re supposed to obsess over—not me!
Was I finally going to escape him?
My heart was pounding with hopeful relief.
“Yulia, who’s the gentleman beside you…?”
“This is Duke Chester Siegbrecht.”
When I introduced him, he replied as if the effort alone annoyed him.
“Yes.”
“Ah… I’m Cecile Chloe. It’s an honor to meet you.”
“Yes.”
That was it. A curt, flat, uninterested yes.
It was so unlike the story that I was left completely dumbfounded.
I glanced up at him in shock.
“Yulia, if we’re done here, let’s go upstairs.”
Wait, what?
Why was he, of all people, looking so disinterested?
Wasn’t Cecile the one he was supposed to fall for?!
