Chapter 11

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter Title: Villainess Imprinted with the Male Lead Chapter 1

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‘Mm... is it morning already?’

Luciana, who had been drifting through a languid dream, subtly frowned.

The light tapping at her eyelids felt nothing but warm, yet her body was stiff and achy despite having slept in. It was far from a restful state.

"Ugh."

Why did her body ache so much from the morning?

Did she fall asleep in an awkward position last night? Every time she shifted, a groan escaped her lips against her will.

‘Did Mary forget to close the window by mistake? No way, not in the dead of winter. Could I have caught a cold? My head’s been throbbing a bit...’

Perhaps starting the day with discomfort had chased away the remnants of sleep.

"...?"

Once her mind cleared a little, Luciana realized two things she’d overlooked in her half-asleep haze.

‘Wait, naked?’

One was that her body beneath the covers was completely bare, without a stitch of clothing.

‘A... man...?!’

Even more shocking was that someone was holding her just like that, sleeping soundly with his arms around her.

Sensing the ominous atmosphere, Luciana’s eyes snapped wide open.

"Gasp."

And sure enough, right before her eyes loomed a firm, solid chest—just as she’d feared.

‘What the...’

It wasn’t soft and rounded, but squarely packed and unmistakably masculine.

Her eyes, filled with bewilderment, flew open wide as if struck by lightning on a clear day.

It was too much for her groggy, just-wakened mind to process. She’d frozen solid like a statue, forgetting even to breathe.

‘What on earth happened?’

As Luciana finally drew in a breath, the unfamiliar scent that had been lingering at the tip of her nose flooded deep into her lungs.

"...!"

A cool yet heavy fragrance tickled her insides.

The hairs on her body stood on end. Without realizing it, she tensed her lower abdomen.

Just from smelling his scent, why was her face heating up?

Luciana bit her tongue to stifle it, but the dangerously alluring aroma drew a hot puff of breath from her nostrils.

Twitch.

Her warm exhalation must have brushed against his body. He stirred immediately, reacting in his sleep.

Squeeze.

"...!"

Then, as if cradling a treasured possession, he tightened his arms around her—but the real problem was elsewhere.

‘Eek!’

Luciana gasped as she became acutely aware of the man’s... presence pressing boldly from below. Her face burned as if it might melt.

An unfamiliar scent clinging to the sheets, waking up skin-to-skin with a nameless man.

Before long, Luciana recalled how, at last night’s ball—her first—she’d gotten swept up in the sweet atmosphere and drunk too much.

‘...So it happened.’

She wasn’t foolish enough to misunderstand what had befallen her. The simple deduction came quickly.

‘The headache’s a hangover, I guess. The muscle aches too... all for the same reason.’

The moment reality sank in, her cooling head contrasted sharply with her heart, which raced wildly with vague emotions.

‘Ugh, why’s my heart pounding like this all of a sudden?’

Luciana swallowed dryly, glancing warily to see if the thumping reached him, moving as cautiously as she could.

She didn’t place any grand significance on her virginity. Imperial society didn’t emphasize such things anyway.

It was just a twinge of self-reproach and worry for screwing up after drinking—something even her past life self would never have done.

‘I’ve had an adult mind trapped in a minor’s body for so long... Maybe that’s why I lost control. I drank like a fish without knowing this body’s limits.’

She’d made a huge blunder and blacked out spectacularly to boot. It was undeniably her own carelessness—no excuses, even with ten mouths to speak with.

Fine. What’s done is done.

Regretting it now wouldn’t change the past. Realizing her fretting was pointless, Luciana steadied her chaotic thoughts and shifted her mind elsewhere.

‘That aside... who is he?’

As her agitation settled, curiosity about her bedmate naturally welled up.

"Mm."

No sooner had curiosity struck than a pleasant low timbre, thick with sleep, slipped into her ear.

‘...Nice voice.’

Luciana’s dandelion-yellow eyes fluttered shut slowly.

Should she really be this relaxed after what happened? Yet leaning against his warm torso, listening to his sleepy murmurs, she felt languid like a cat basking in the sun.

His deep voice, the faint scent that made her want to snuggle closer, and finally, the rugged muscles to her taste—they all planted subtle seeds of anticipation.

Gulp.

She remembered little through the alcohol haze, but her throat’s heavy rasp suggested the night had gone well.

"Mm..."

"Ah!"

It happened then.

As if punishing her for lewd thoughts about him, the man pulled her even tighter.

"?!"

At the same moment, her unguarded crimson lips brushed his firm chest. It happened so fast she had no time to dodge, accidentally pressing a kiss to his bare skin.

‘What the...!’

For all her earlier naughty imaginings, Luciana jerked her head back rigidly, clamping her lips shut as if she’d crossed a forbidden line.

"Eek."

As her soft lips rubbed with a faint sound, a heavy baritone rumbled from above.

That’s when the muscles embracing her shifted subtly.

‘...He’s awake.’

Though they’d sinned together, a thick tension hung in the air.

What would he say first upon noticing her? What expression would he wear? In mere seconds, countless thoughts branched out.

They weren’t lovers, after all. He had no obligation to be kind. Still, they’d shared a night—surely it wouldn’t end awkwardly with flushed faces and hasty goodbyes.

That was Luciana’s small hope.

Or so she thought.

"Kch, damn it!"

But as if mocking her, the man greeted her with a rough shove.

"Ah!"

When had he been hugging her like a lover?

Without so much as a polite greeting, he shoved her away brusquely.

His gesture was like brushing off a bug. It made her earlier fancies seem ridiculous—he acted as if last night was the worst mistake of his life.

Luciana was, naturally, dumbfounded by his attitude.

Did he think she was the only one flustered here? Sure, but curses weren’t enough—he had to hurl her aside too?

‘Ow, that hurts. What kind of manners are these?’

Absurdity drew repeated dry laughs from her, but Luciana calmly pulled the covers over herself and sat up. Her disheveled pink hair fluttered like battle flags, as if ready for war.

‘Anyone would think I hunted down an innocent guy and gobbled him up.’

The rejection in his touch felt too deliberate for mere surprise.

‘Does this even make sense?’

She’d lived a lonely life without lovers or fiancés until adulthood, but she wasn’t some savage barbarian ignorant enough to assault an innocent man and steal his purity.

Luciana had been tipsy that night.

People joked that alcohol granted superhuman strength sometimes, but how could a delicate noble lady, far from martial prowess, overpower a strapping man?

Besides, he wasn’t some soft scholar who lived by books alone—his body bore the marks of long, rigorous training.

And such a man couldn’t control a woman half his size?

‘Anyone with a bit of thought would see through it.’

She didn’t care about the rest, but she had to clear up this misunderstanding or she’d never rest easy.

"Excuse me."

Luciana called out to him in a voice thick with dissatisfaction.

Let’s see that smug face of yours.

As Luciana boldly lifted her head to face her one-night partner, her gaze met eerie ruby-red eyes, like blood-soaked gems.

"...Huh?"