“Episode 2”
This… Was this how novels went?
Feeling annoyed at the spoilers, she had abandoned novels before. It seemed like those unfortunate enough to fall over would break their noses, and that was exactly what happened.
Yuliana forced another smile to suppress the urge to cry. Her lips seemed to be stuck in a forced smile, and he looked at her as if she were an angel smiling down from heaven
“Thank you for your hard work.”
Her husband, who looked like a demon cutting off the legs of an enemy and running away, smiled brightly. Then he lightly kissed Yuliana’s cheek, with a shy smile like a boy in love.
“With this kind of greeting, I could fight barbarians for years.”
“What, what a scary thing to say…”
Yuliana laughed nervously and quickly changed the subject.
“Ha-ha-ha,” she chuckled, quickly pulling back.
Standing beside the black horse, Evan watched her quietly until she told him to come this way. Then, he gently grabbed her hand as she reached out as if trying to warm up in the chilly breeze and said,
“Evan, since you’re offering, please come in for some tea.”As soon as her words ended, Evan, who had been standing as if glued just a moment ago, suddenly dashed inside the mansion with astonishing speed, despite wearing heavy armor.
After Evan Hillchen stormed into the mansion like a whirlwind, Yuliana, who had been standing blankly for a few minutes, suddenly snapped out of her daze. She followed him into the mansion in a hurry.
Arriving at the door of the drawing-room in a fluster, she leaned her head through the gap, trying to calm her pounding heart.
But something was odd. The drawing-room remained exactly as Yuliana had left it several tens of minutes ago, despite the maids mentioning his arrival earlier.
“Where did he go?”
“Right here.”
Surprised by the sudden voice, Yuliana jumped in her place. Evan stood behind her, not entering the drawing-room. Perhaps he had been waiting in the adjacent small room, as the warm glow of a fireplace emanated from him.
“Oh, why were you there?”
She tried to sound gentle as she spoke, but Evan answered with a faint smile.
“I wanted to come in with you.”
“You didn’t have to…”
“I was afraid I’d wake up from this dream.”
Evan Hillchen, towering nearly 190 centimeters tall and exuding a refined aura even while holding a sword, seemed out of place speaking in such a fragile tone.
Yuliana hesitated to respond, closing and opening her eyes. Whoever wishes this was a dream must be lucky!
“…It’s impossible for it to be a dream.”
At Yuliana’s somewhat sarcastic tone, Evan seemed relieved and whispered as if to himself,
“Why are you so kind, Yuliana? What happened during the year I was gone?””Ah, oh my! That couldn’t be true. It’s all thanks to Evan, Duke, who tirelessly works day and night, that our household remains peaceful and, um—”
“Are you feeling guilty because of your lovers wandering around the mansion?”
“…”
Yuliana froze.
How could she forget? Until she realized that this was a world in a romance fantasy novel, and until she knew that there was a villainess named “Akeun” lurking around like a seasoning, Yuliana Oban thought she was the protagonist and this was her world.
However, that enthusiastic Yuliana was now long gone. The current Yuliana, who had grasped her role in the twists of fate, shoulder-slumped and replied, “Oh, you knew? Um, yes. I’m so sorry—”
“Why lie to me?”
Evan spoke in a tone that was difficult to decipher, seemingly kind at first listen. And as soon as he finished speaking, he reached out and brushed her chin with his hand. It was a very gentle touch, but Yuliana shivered momentarily, unable to discern his intentions beyond the touch.
“It’s, it’s not a lie. I just wanted to… I mean, you must have been through so much on the battlefield—”
“I don’t want to hear such lies. I’m just curious about why you’re so carelessly kind. Perhaps, are you thinking of escaping too? Are you planning to bid farewell to me and your little minions forever?”
“Who, who said I’m running away with someone?!”
Yuliana burst out in anger.
The memory of playing with those nondescript masses of people now had to be buried in the past. Soon, when the true heroine arrived in this novel, there would be chaos. Thinking of being labeled as Akeun, stuck by Evan Hillchen’s side, and not knowing what fate awaited her, Yuliana felt a sense of dread. Even considering escaping alone… it wouldn’t be refreshing at all!
“Can’t you just accept it? I can be kind too. At least on the day my husband returns!”
“I’m deeply moved by that.”
Evan chuckled and briefly traced under Yuliana’s chin before letting go.
Then he said, “As you know, I’m also one of Yuliana Oban’s little minions.”He said with a hint of self-pity. And while Yuliana was frozen in place, he entered the reception room first.
“…This is a disaster.”
As the night grew dark, Yuliana muttered while staring at the window ledge where not a single bird had perched.
Shortly after, she wrapped her trembling shoulders and closed the window. Then she paced anxiously around the room, biting her lip.
Eventually, unable to bear it any longer, she dove into the blanket as if diving into water. Yuliana thrashed her arms and legs towards the empty space, letting out a sleepy scream.
“Ahh!”
Her scream, restrained to a certain extent as she didn’t want the lady of the mansion to hear her madness in the middle of the night, was nonetheless a cry of frustration. But it was only natural that no matter what she did, her heart wouldn’t ease. Yuliana buried her face deeply into the pillow.
“I knew Evan liked me, but who would have thought he’d like me so desperately, so obsessively…”
Initially, she had tried to foster their relationship in the right direction, to welcome her husband’s return in a suitable manner. But upon reflection, Evan had always been enamored with Yuliana Oban, his own person, from the beginning.
“If I suggest divorce, he’ll never agree, will he…?”
Yuliana murmured sadly.
Surely in the novel, it was said that ‘he fell in love at first sight’. She often visited the Hillchen Mansion in her childhood memories, and it seemed that was when she first met Evan Hillchen, the male protagonist.
“No, what did I do to make him fall in love at first sight?”
Yuliana got up slowly and stared at the mirror opposite her.
“…Well, I guess I am pretty.”
The illegitimate child, who had suffered abuse in her childhood and hadn’t even been acknowledged, was the one Evan Hillchen, the heir, fell in love with at first sight. And even if it wasn’t Evan Hillchen, anyone with eyes would have fallen for Yuliana Oban at first sight. Her dark red hair cascaded down to her waist like waves along a riverbank, and her petite face and finely featured facial features exuded balanced beauty. Additionally, her mysterious bronze-colored eyes sparkled with exceptional brilliance.
The important thing was that despite having such an angelic face, she was nothing short of a demon inside. It was quite astonishing that Yuliana Oban, who had been self-centered since childhood, would be kind to someone like Evan, who was practically a thug. So, what reason did Evan have to like Yuliana Oban?
Yuliana self-analyzed, turning her head this way and that. No matter how she looked at it, there was nothing noteworthy about her except her appearance. Then was it something like facial compatibility?
“…Ugh, I don’t know.”
She sighed deeply, feeling regret for the past where she committed all sorts of misdeeds and stepped on every death flag in order. Yuliana closed her eyes tightly, lost in thought.
“The important thing is that the male lead is completely infatuated with me. I wanted to test the waters today to see how much he likes me… But he’s showing his affection more blatantly than I expected. Ah, right. He’s the one who went to the battlefield for a year just to gain his wife’s approval… I just can’t understand why. Is it really because of my face?”
Yuliana abruptly stood up. Then she pinched her chin and furrowed her brows. With her legs spread out haphazardly, she looked like a master. Of course, due to her sporadic knowledge of the future, she was even more confused, like a solitary rock pillar.
“Liking someone who’s trying to kill you. There couldn’t be a more painful past 1 for the male lead.”
Along with that, Evan Hillchen was one of the justifiable misdeeds that Yuliana Oban would use to defend herself.
“It’s unfair. I wouldn’t try to kill him!”
Yuliana covered her face in anguish.
Things couldn’t go according to the plot of the novel. She didn’t want to get involved in the execution of the Hillchen Viscount. At the same time, she didn’t want to leave a painful past 1 for the male lead.
“I guess I should be grateful that I realized I was reincarnated before the events of the novel started…”
Yuliana vowed to plan things out even if she had to stay up all night. And as she pondered various ideas, she stumbled upon a true solution.
By that time, her temples were throbbing. So, wanting to take a short break, she lay down on her bed, unaware that she would fall asleep without even realizing it. “Ah, have I fallen asleep?”
Yuliana woke up from a shallow sleep, realizing that she was sitting dazedly in the parlor. She remembered being lost in thought after treating her husband to
tea and skipping dinner, just moments ago.
Is it really morning?
Or, could it be another fantasy-related regression to the past? Yuliana glanced around swiftly.
But the parlor looked exactly the same as she remembered from yesterday. Even her husband, calmly sipping his tea, was unchanged. Yuliana closed her eyes and pondered.
“…Ah, this must be a nightmare.”
The dominance of Evan in the parlor felt like a nightmare to Yuliana Oban now.
If things continued like this, she would be misunderstood as one of the foolish lovers discussing murder, and Evan, justified by self-defense, would execute the villainous Yuliana Oban. Just thinking about such a future made it clear to her that this was indeed a nightmare.
“Um, whatever.”
“Yuliana.”
“Yes, yes?”
Yuliana choked slightly as she drank her tea, startled by Evan speaking at such a timing, just like in reality. This was too much of an impressive nightmare.
“Is this to your liking?”
“Pardon?”
Yuliana raised her eyebrows, feeling the cowardice of dreams that made her recall yesterday’s events twice. There was no need for the dream to show this mistake again!
“Oh, my. The servants must have made a mistake. Evan, I distinctly remember telling them to get rid of these teacups because you wouldn’t like them… It’s true!”
Unfortunately, the teacups prepared by the servants were part of a tea set gifted by one of Yuliana’s various lovers. And to make matters worse, they were engraved with the initials of both Yuliana and the gift giver.
In the past, Yuliana had never felt like a married woman. She referred to herself as a victim of strategic marriage and accepted the onslaught of gifts from her lovers, behaving like the ultimate villainess. She even publicly displayed them in the mansion or created a ‘room’ to store the gifts.
Her peculiar actions often became gossip fodder even outside the social circles of the mansion. Of course, Yuliana never paid any heed to such idle chatter.
But now, feeling like she had fallen into a trap of her own making, Yuliana sweated profusely as she faced her husband’s eyes, which seemed to pierce even in her dreams.
“I-I’ll get rid of them right away.”
“No need for that.”
Perhaps because it was a dream, her husband’s face seemed to carry a sad expression unlike yesterday afternoon.
Yuliana hurriedly explained herself.
“I-I’m a married woman. It’s been two years since we got married—”
“If you use this as an excuse to torment me further, I won’t be able to bear it.”
“W-What are you saying?”
Yuliana glanced at him anxiously. Evan, with his expressionless face, seemed to have nothing more to say, as if he had closed his mouth shut.
Then, with a clink, he gently placed the teacup back down and spoke softly. “Yuliana.”
“Yes?!”
Yuliana stood up straight, as if she were a soldier at attention. She looked intently at her husband with dazzling deep blue eyes, even in her dream. Just like yesterday afternoon, Evan Hillchen in the dream was radiating solemnity.
“But, it’s becoming difficult to endure. You’ve endured countless humiliations to make sure I don’t feel ashamed even a little bit. You always told me to achieve something if I came from humble origins. Since I’m only good at killing people, you said I should face the barbarians for the empire and die in battle. Then naturally, I would become a hero’s widow, and that would be glorious.”
“Oh my. Did, did I say such things? I-I just—”
She tried to brush it off, but Yuliana remembered saying those words. The insults she had hurled at him countless times became vividly clear to her at times like this.
“…Ugh.”
Yuliana anxiously covered her lips.
Evan, hiding his emotions so well they were unreadable, leaned back on the sofa casually. He gently traced the surface of the teacup with his hand, as if he were lightly touching Yuliana’s cheek. It was a subtle and calm gesture.
“But what should I do?”
“….”
Yuliana sucked her lower lip in anxiety. Evan, observing her silently, was the epitome of calmness. Then, for the first time, he brightened up and smiled warmly.
“How could I turn such a lovely wife as you into a widow?”
As if responding to Yuliana’s silent threat, he immediately raised the white flag.
“I-I’ll throw them away right away.”
“What will you throw away?”
Even though he knew exactly what she meant, he pretended not to, tilting his head as if he had no idea. At the same time, unknowingly, his fingernails etched marks on the gift given to his wife by a stranger. When Evan’s smooth nails brushed against it, leaving a long scratch mark like a wound, Yuliana spoke up.
“…You know what I mean.”
Yuliana made a conscious effort to suppress her voice, struggling not to let her past memories take over. Despite the memories flooding back from her past life, it was difficult to forget her past, where she lived recklessly, disregarding her temperament. Yuliana, on the verge of death from suppressing her nature, tried not to be confrontational with Evan. Watching Yuliana, who seemed to be struggling to maintain her composure, Evan remarked, “You’re becoming increasingly peculiar.”
“What do you mean?”
Yuliana pretended not to know, hastily lifting the teacup and drinking the seemingly endless black tea.
Evan scrutinized her closely and muttered, “I can’t even guess what cruel thoughts you might be having this time.”
“I’m not the only one who’s constantly plotting behind someone’s back.”
Yuliana grumbled.
Evan responded with a peculiar smile, “Well, no matter how cruel you become, what does it matter? Yuliana, no matter what you do, I can endure it.”
“Always saying the same thing.”
Yuliana lightly replied as if joking, then struggled to finish the tea that just wouldn’t go down.
Evan casually held up the teacup given by his wife’s lover and replied, “Yuliana, you already know I can handle it.”
Oh, the world…
Yuliana felt disheartened.
