Chapter 23

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter Title: Chapter 7. The Villainess, As She Was (1)

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“How big are your guts...”

“Who knows, probably normal-sized. Your tolerance for alcohol is average, after all.”

“Must be like you’ve got five or six lives.”

“Just the one, which is why I’m going through all this trouble.”

“Or maybe you enjoy the pain.”

“I hate pain more than anything in the world.”

“Then why the hell are you doing this?”

“My body just moved on its own...”

For example, it was like that instinct where you reach out faster than you can think when you see a kid about to get hit by a car right in front of you.

Edelaine, who had been making excuses, rested her chin on her hand and looked at Lloyd.

“I did have a plan. Shane was right there with me.”

“I heard the culprit was over 190 centimeters tall.”

“Well, yeah. That’s right. He suddenly went berserk and attacked. Listen, Lloyd. I think the warlock was among them. Otherwise, there’s no way he’d attack in a crowded place with witnesses, no warning, no calculation...”

“And you even knew the culprit wasn’t in his right mind.”

“I’m telling you, Shane was right there.”

“And you trusted that bastard?”

Saying she trusted him here—would that make her a fool? Edelaine hesitated, unable to answer right away. Lloyd shot her a blatantly pitiful look.

Edelaine protested softly.

“Ah, come on, he wouldn’t just let me die.”

“Looks like you’ve forgotten why you’re in this mess right now.”

“There were plenty of eyes on us.”

“You seemed like the type who thinks things through.”

“......”

“Would a guy like that bribe newspapers, dig traps, kidnap and imprison someone, and hold their family hostage to force a marriage?”

“Exactly. If he was going to let me die pointlessly, he wouldn’t go through all that hassle.”

Lloyd lifted his tawny eyes to look at Edelaine. His cold words came with an unexpected glint in his gaze, making her chuckle a little.

“To make me miserable and get his revenge, he has to keep me alive first. Paradoxically, that makes being by Shane’s side the safest place.”

“So... you were thinking?”

“What the hell kind of opinion did you have of me...”

“I thought you’d fallen completely for the honey trap.”

“......”

He must have been sulking because she’d left him out of the loop. His expression was as blank as ever, hard to read, but there was pettiness in the set of his mouth and eyes.

Shane doesn’t approach so stubbornly when he’s around.

That meant she hardly ever got to chat leisurely with Lloyd. She’d just leave short notes on the reports he put in the study.

The notes were usually nagging like ‘You’re not exercising enough’ or ‘Drink more water.’ It had to be a coincidence that they sounded just like what a vet would say when you take your dog to the clinic.

If Shane hadn’t come home and immediately called the doctor so dramatically this time—and if he hadn’t left again after hearing she was fine—she probably wouldn’t have approached. She’d have stood at a distance and left a note saying ‘Have you lost your mind?’...

Shane hadn’t said a word the whole way home.

He seemed worried since he was mad about her almost getting hurt, but they weren’t close enough for her to soothe him like she did Lloyd, so Edelaine kept quiet too.

I shouldn’t have patted his head.

Edelaine changed the subject.

“When’s Lucian available?”

“He says he doesn’t want to meet because he’s scared of your husband, ma’am.”

“Only scared of Shane? Not scared of me, the one who sold him off?”

“You never said anything like that.”

She could practically see Lucian’s smirking face. What reason would I have not to sell off a friend with no debts left who fetched a good price?

None, really. Edelaine inwardly admitted it, and she hated herself a little for it.

“Guess Lucian won’t cooperate again.”

“He doesn’t want to die either, after all.”

“Then I’ll have to persuade him...”

Whether persuasion or escape, it would take time.

Edelaine decided to put off escaping for now and handle what needed doing first.

“Lloyd, pull a list of the nobles who were at that gathering today and investigate them.”

“Nobles only?”

“Yeah. Just the nobles.”

In this world where everything had changed, the only clue from the novel she could use was that the warlock was from an imperial noble family.

Lloyd would get mad again if she said it was thanks to the attack, but it had narrowed down the vague suspects. She considered it good luck.

Edelaine couldn’t believe it was coincidence that Genevieve had become endangered right after she returned to Delmuse.

Does true coincidence even exist in this world?

It was as if the world had been waiting for the ‘villainess’ to return before the stalled gears started turning again.

And that felt ominous.

That night, Shane came home late.

Edelaine, who had bathed leisurely and lain down early, opened her eyes at the sound of the door.

“Thought you were asleep.”

“Can’t sleep.”

Even with her eyes closed, her mind was too full for sleep to come.

Edelaine sat up in bed and stared straight at Shane. His freshly washed face looked better than during the day, at least.

Still pale as a ghost, though.

Shane approached and checked near her neck. Edelaine helpfully tilted her chin up, stretching her neck long for him. His careful fingers touched her skin.

“No bruises. Thanks to getting rescued the moment he grabbed me.”

“......”

“The doctor said I’m fine.”

There wasn’t even a mark from being grabbed. Even overly attentive Lloyd had criticized her actions but not fussed over wounds.

His hand, stroking from below her ear along her neck muscle, paused. His large hand slowly gripped her throat in a threatening manner, but Edelaine just watched. She met his sunken blue eyes directly and gave a slight smile.

“Want to kill me?”

“......”

“Will you let me go then?”

Edelaine watched quietly as Shane bit his lip.

She knew this would hurt him, but she couldn’t stop.

“Shane, tell me. What do I have to do for you to let me go?”

“Be quiet, Edelaine.”

Shane’s jaw clenched tight. The gritted-teeth man growled as if suppressing his anger.

But the hand on her throat still held no real force.

“I’ll do whatever you say.”

“Shut up. Please.”

“I got my name back, married you obediently. What more do you want?”

There was no way to part without hurting him.

Edelaine had planned to give it time for a while.

With no immediate escape, she’d wait for Shane to be satisfied.

She thought his revenge thirst would fade if she left him be long enough.

Whether lingering attachment to a possession he couldn’t have, or resentment toward his deceitful fiancée, if it would dissipate with time, she’d wait.

But if what he harbored was love, Edelaine could never accept it.

“You wanted me unhappy, right? Should I cry? Beg while crying?”

“Edelaine.”

His voice cracked at the end. Edelaine didn’t stop.

“Should I kneel and beg you to let me go? I will, if that’s what it takes.”

She could see Shane’s radiant smile, as if he owned the world.

Edelaine wished he’d keep getting angry at her.

Not serving him like a servant, not assigning watchers under the guise of protection—he should have raged. Not tender hand-holding through the night.

Not paling desperately just because she’d almost gotten hurt.

If it weren’t for that, she might have endured the peaceful times like in their childhood a bit longer.

“Just being here already makes me miserable. How do I prove it, Shane?”

“......”

“I really can’t take it anymore. I can’t endure it, so please let me go. Please stop. I’m begging you like this...”

Edelaine could only survive by leaving Delmuse, away from being a mere accessory in the restarting ‘story.’

Half-hearted kindness would only wound Shane more since she couldn’t accept him. She had to push him away decisively.

A short laugh escaped Shane’s previously expressionless lips.

“......Me.”

Edelaine saw his hand tremble as it left her throat.

“You think a few words like that can hurt me? Edelaine.”

“......”

“If you thought this would make me let you go, then you’re the one underestimating me.”

Now it was Edelaine’s turn to bite her lip.

Shane sneered.

Anticipating what came next, Edelaine squeezed her eyes shut.

“That I love you—it still seems utterly repulsive to you.”

“Stop.”

Shane kissed her closed eyes and said,

“I’ve given up on you loving me too.”