TVOWW 76

Chapter 76

Honeymoon

(2022.08.23)

All the blood in my body suddenly ran cold.

The pounding of my heart echoed loudly in my ears. Johan narrowed his eyes as he caught my startled reaction.

“Why, does my revenge seem too cruel?”

“A little?”

My mouth went dry.

But instead of avoiding Johan’s gaze, I held it steadily. His red eyes looked especially cold and ominous today.

“I don’t really understand why you have to go that far.”

“Well.”

Johan brushed his thumb across the corner of my lips. The intimate touch sent a shiver racing up the back of my neck.

“Everyone has their circumstances. If you start weighing the severity of every crime, it never ends. Just think about how many people have unavoidable reasons for what they do.”

“……”

“Could you really take revenge if you considered all that?”

Johan whispered in a languid voice. It was soft and drowsy, almost like he was half-asleep, but there was a chilling undertone that couldn’t be hidden.

“That’s why, from the start, there’s no such thing as ‘too much’ in revenge. Once you decide to end someone properly, you can’t hesitate. You have to move with every means possible to achieve your goal.”

For some reason, it felt less like he was speaking to me, and more like he was speaking to himself.

The Johan of the past—nothing left but revenge, throwing his whole life into that hell.

“But Johan.”

I held the right hand that was cupping my cheek.

“What if one day, you become the one someone takes revenge on?”

“Me?”

“Of course, you would have tied up every loose end thoroughly. You were so meticulous that even I said you were merciless. Maybe there’s no one bold enough to even attempt revenge on you.”

And indeed, Johan was extremely capable.

Even now, I couldn’t grasp just how much he knew about me, or what—if anything—was beyond his ability.

“But still, things in this world don’t always go as you plan.”

If things had gone the way they were “supposed” to, I should have been killed in revenge long ago.

Yet here I was, alive. At Johan’s side, wearing the title of his official wife, living far better than I had in Libertane.

‘Did Johan ever plan for someone like me in his future?’

I couldn’t be certain of his feelings, but something had undeniably changed.

“As long as you’re human, there will always be things you don’t know. The blade you swing might end up at your own throat someday.”

“Are you trying to warn me?”

“Think of it less as a warning, more as… worrying about you.”

Johan gently brushed his hand through my hair. His touch was as tender as always, yet the unease inside me didn’t go away.

“Even if you became the target of revenge yourself, would you never change your decisions?”

Our eyes met.

We quietly looked at each other for a while.

Clatter—the carriage jolted, and our toes touched lightly. A prickling shiver ran through me, making my shoulders flinch.

Expressionless, Johan lifted only the corners of his lips.

“I don’t change my decisions.”

His reply was cold, unwavering.

“I always make the best decision for the time. Even if it turns out to be wrong, it was still my choice. There’s no helping it.”

“I see.”

“But don’t worry. I don’t know what you’re so anxious about, but—”

His voice sank low and rich.

“I don’t make wrong choices. So don’t be afraid. No matter what attack comes, I’ll protect you.”

What I was afraid of wasn’t the world.

It was him.

“That’s reassuring.”

You.

“I can’t tell you how lucky I feel that Johan is my husband.”

It wasn’t an unexpected answer, but somehow my trust felt like it cracked. I fidgeted with my cold fingers.

‘But this isn’t something Johan can control.’

It was all in my heart.

This was my habit—overthinking, complicating, exhausting myself. I tried to bury those cold thoughts deep underwater.

‘Estelle, you know Johan couldn’t help it.’

He wasn’t wrong, logically. And I knew his past better than anyone. Of course I could understand.

‘Johan doesn’t see me as just a target of revenge anymore.’

Since leaving Libertane for the Blanchet Duchy, my life had become much easier. Johan hadn’t once threatened my life like in the original story.

Maybe—just maybe—he even loved me.

‘I’m fine.’

I closed and opened my eyes, and strangely, I really did feel fine.

“But after Miryu’s wedding, you said we’d go on a date. What have you prepared, Johan?”

I clasped his hand with both of mine and asked. Johan looked at me fondly and smiled.

“Our honeymoon.”

Huh?

Crown Prince Carlos visited the Empress’s palace.

As always, the Empress lived quietly in the deepest part of the palace. Standing at the door, Carlos sneered at his mother.

“You’re still the same, Mother.”

“……Your Highness.”

The Empress addressed her son with composure.

“You’ve only just been released from confinement. Please behave yourself so as not to defy His Majesty’s will again.”

“Yes, well, I’ve already received new orders from Father, just as you wished.”

Carlos mockingly showed her a letter stamped with the Emperor’s seal.

“Strange, isn’t it? Chancellor Ortega, whom Father prized far above me, must be too busy. So even this useless son of his has a use.”

“His Majesty treasures you deeply.”

The Empress’s tone was gentle, almost pleading.

“He is only strict because he wants to raise you to be worthy of inheriting such a great position.”

“You always say the same thing, Mother.”

“One day, you’ll understand.”

“I’d rather not.”

Carlos tilted his head lazily.

“And really, there’s no need. You spend your life cooped up here, making sure not to cross Father’s will. Why should I bother understanding that?”

“……Carlos.”

His mother’s hand, stilling over her embroidery, trembled slightly.

“Are you scolding me now?”

The Empress fell silent. Carlos smirked at her silence.

“I will never marry a woman like you. Choosing a woman who won’t interfere with my power, just for convenience—that’s not my taste.”

Annoyed by her lack of reaction, he ruffled his bangs carelessly and left without even saying goodbye.

The Empress didn’t try to stop him.

‘Foolish woman.’

Carlos despised her every moment. To wield the great authority of an Empress yet do nothing with it—how pathetic.

‘……She’s just like Estelle.’

For some reason, Estelle came to mind.

‘That lowborn girl seems to be doing quite well for herself.’

—“Your Highness, a huge scandal just erupted in society!”
—“The lady everyone thought was the victim—Lady Juti—turns out she staged it all! She harassed Duchess Blanchet while pretending to be the injured one!”
—“All those awful rumors about the Libertane duke’s daughter—they’re saying now it was all baseless. No one actually spread them knowingly….”

Even during confinement, social climbers eager for his favor whispered the latest news to him.

‘So, her life’s finally turned rosy?’

Her false charges cleared, now a duchess in full. Perhaps she had even forgotten the Crown Prince existed.

‘……Forget me?’

A sudden rage boiled inside him.

‘How dare she?’

Carlos had thought of Estelle constantly during his confinement.

—“Your Highness, do you truly mean to marry me?”
—“Maybe, maybe not. Depends on what the Libertane girl shows me. Why, do you want to marry me? But women like you—there are plenty.”

A woman he had planned to toy with and discard, drawn in by the rumors of lowly blood. Different from other noble girls who chased him—so he called her, only to insult her.

‘I’m still thinking about you.’

It felt unfair.

Every time he thought of her, he felt a hollow emptiness. No matter how much he drank or filled his bed with women who resembled her, the emptiness remained.

‘It’s not like she was worth anything.’

From childhood, Carlos had envisioned a clear type for his future Empress:

A woman strong enough to stand proudly at his side, even amid his extravagant bloodline, and support him. Even if she consumed some of his power, she could not be weak.

That was why he let Estelle go.

—“Why are you staring blankly like that? Want to join in?”

She had annoyed him, especially with those sad eyes when she saw him with another woman.

—“Too bad, I don’t enjoy threesomes. I’ve got urgent business here, so wait until I’m done.”
—“But I have to be back on time….”
—“Then leave. Why should I bother caring about you? We’re nothing.”

And yet—

‘Why can’t I think of anyone but her?’

Bang!

Carlos slammed his head against a palace wall as he passed.

‘She’s not the right woman for you.’

Not least because she belonged to another man.

‘But still… if it’s Estelle….’

A sharp ache stabbed his chest.

Getting entangled in something sordid over a mere woman wasn’t befitting a Crown Prince. Next time, it might not end with simple confinement.

“Seeing her do well somewhere else—it grates on me.”

Yes, he needed to fill this emptiness once and for all.

‘Somehow, I need to see her again.’

Just once.

If he could see her as nothing more than a proper duchess now—ordinary, common, like all the rest—

‘Then she’ll mean nothing.’

Johan hadn’t been lying.

As soon as we returned to the Blanchet estate, we packed and teleported to the coastal town of Hermil. Thankfully, this time Johan didn’t use the same potion as before.

‘It’s a failed experiment, but it’ll still work.’

He had dismissed it as a failure, but—

‘The fact that he can create new potions at all is amazing.’

It was a sudden trip, but since it was my first time seeing the sea, I was brimming with excitement.

“Johan, they say the sea is nearby! Let’s go see it right now!”

“Is the sea that fascinating?”

He gave me a languid smile, amused by my excitement.

“Of course! I’ve never seen it before. What about you?”

“A few times. With family, and sometimes for business.”

“And how was it then?”

“The sea at the Sephirot coast? Always the same.”

His voice held little enthusiasm.

“But I knew you’d love it, so I’ve already booked us on a passenger ship touring the area. You can enjoy it as much as you like.”

“A passenger ship?”

I blinked.

‘Wouldn’t that be crowded?’

As if reading my thoughts, Johan chuckled and pressed down the brim of my hat.

“Don’t worry. Right now, all the nobles are flocking to the capital. No one here will recognize you. That’s why I chose this place.”

“You thought of even that?”

“Of course. If it’s about you, I think of everything.”

I looked up at him, clutching my hat strings. Dressed more casually than usual, Johan bumped his forehead lightly against mine.

“And I’m right here beside you. What’s there to worry about?”

He whispered with a smile.

“If it really bothers you, I’ll just cancel the whole ship by force.”

“No! That would draw even more attention!”

He pulled me into his arms.

“Shall we go, my lady?”

“Yes, my lord.”

Leaning into his embrace, I thought—

‘Yes. I’ll trust Johan.’

He was too wonderful, too kind, for all of this to be fake.

“So what do people usually do on passenger ships?”

“Well, I did prepare a little event for you.”

“You prepared even more?! Now I’m nervous.”

“Look forward to it.”

“……What if we just don’t go?”

“Not an option.”

No matter what anyone said—this moment was real.

A dark prison.

Pale and gaunt after only a few days, Miryu sat with a lifeless expression—until someone appeared before her. Her eyes suddenly widened.

“Why are you here…?”