Please Don’t Come To The Villainess’ Stationery Store!

The next morning,

I headed to the palace with Dominic to file for a building usage change and a stationery store opening.

Dominic, still lacking an identity, couldn’t enter the palace in human form with me. So, he transformed into a long sword, which I was holding.

I arrived in front of the palace by rented carriage, verified my identity, and headed to the office in charge of business registration.

Passing through crowded places and a garden that resembled a narrow path, I soon reached the office.

It was peaceful, with few people around and only a tall man in the distance besides us.

“Starting off on a good note.”

I hummed monotonously as I walked.

But then, someone blocked my path. It was…

“Long time no see.”

It was Duke Lennox Hessmann, the male protagonist and my fiancé.

“……”

Of course, I tried to ignore Lennox and walk past him. There was no reason to acknowledge him.

The problem was that he openly called out to me while I was walking on the palace road.

“Lady Meldenik Babeloa.”

Though there weren’t many people around, being in the palace, he looked at me with a gentle smile.

“What’s with him? He used to treat me like a useless invisible person”

I frowned, remembering the comments he made in the past.

Initially, Lennox was also warm towards Meldenik.

“Lady Meldenik. Good morning.”

“Meldenik, who had no one close by due to rumors of being cursed, easily fell for him.”

“Do you not dislike me, Your Grace the Duke of Hessmann?”

“How could I? You are necessary and useful person to me. Call me Lennox.”

“Yes, …Lennox.”

To Meldenik, who received cold treatment from everyone, he was the only salvation.

However, as soon as Lennox had sufficiently charmed Meldenik, he flipped his attitude completely.

“You are not beautiful. Therefore, that dress does not suit you.”

He policed Meldenik’s clothes and makeup,

“As you know, you have no talent for business.”

He disregarded Meldenik’s talents.

“Why are you conducting business with Sheria instead of me?”

“You are incompetent, and Lady Sheria Babeloa is competent.”

Knowing Meldenik felt inferior to Sheria, he still compared the two.

When Sheria and Lennox became partners at the ball, Meldenik asked,

“Surely, you and Sheria don’t have some sort of relationship?”

Lennox’s rhetoric was skillful. He brainwashed Meldenik, who suspected an affair between the two.

“Listen well. If I were to have an affair with Miss Sheria, it would be because you are not attractive enough to me.”

“…That’s not an issue with my attractiveness…”

“Are you defying what I say?”

He manipulated Meldenick like this, subtly.

Especially since Meldenick was already despised, he made her lose her self-esteem and spiral down.

“It’s because of me that someone like you is treated well.”

Eventually, Meldenick began to believe she was foolish and delegated all decision-making to him.

“Listen only to me. We will definitely get married.”

Meldenik endured all the disregard, contempt, and gaslighting with the single-minded intention of wanting to marry him.

“Because Meldenik loved Lennox too much.”

Recalling the past felt as if Lennox’s baritone voice was chillingly echoing in her ears.

I glared at him.

“Crazy bastard. This pisses me off no matter how I think about it.”

Thinking of the covert contempt, disregard, and verbal abuse made anger rise within me.

As if it read my mind, the sword in my hand vibrated slightly, as though telling me to calm down.

Yet, I gripped the sword tightly.

After all, this man was someone I had to meet at least once. If he provokes me from over there, there’s no reason for me to be dishearted.

“I greet Your Grace, the Duke of Hessmann.”

He briefly furrowed his brows, as if wondering why I didn’t call him by the name Lennox.

I scanned him from his black hair to his brown eyes in a single glance.

Even though he was a knight with a sword, his pale skin always matched his cold expression and was chillingly well-suited.

He certainly had the visuals of the main male character. To me, though, he was just a man of infidelity.

After scanning my face carefully, he asked me gently.

“Miss Meldenik, I heard you left your family.”

“Yes, Your Grace. Since I’ve left my family, I am now simply Meldenik.”

At my answer, he whispered coldly.

“How can that be? I haven’t permitted it, what do you mean by that?”

“…….”

“Please end your affair within a month. I do not like the woman who is to be my wife living indecently. You are planning to get married soon, aren’t you?”

I openly frowned.

‘A guy planning on getting married is cheating?’

I never expected marriage talk to come out of this man’s mouth.

I was so stunned and suffocated that I momentarily lost my words.

At this point, where I have lost a hundred billion becquerels, he was already playing a love game with my sister Sheria.

They often ran into each other as if by fate, felt mutual affection, and Lennox, despite clearly having a fiancée, showed interest in Sheria.

‘He always openly ignored me and took Sheria’s side.’

Is he now enjoying the feeling of secretly nurturing love, making a mockery of Meldenik and violating taboos?

‘Delusional that no one knows of their affair.’

Now that Sheria has briefly left for a warm, holy country in the south, Lennox must be feeling her absence and fostering his desperate love even more.

And he talks about having a wedding?

‘Crazy.’

Since we’ve run into each other, I have to confront him directly.

“Your Excellency, I knew all about it.”

“What do you mean?”

His attitude was calm, but his gaze was unmistakable.

He looked at me as if I were bothersome.

With a look as if he’s looking at a bug.

‘It’s strange how much he detests me now, considering how Meldenik used to be oblivious and clingy in the past.’

Why on earth are they trying to get married despite such circumstances?

I looked at him and whispered clearly.

“It’s about your relationship with Lady Sheria, Duke.”

Lennox and Sheria shared a secret love.

Of course, people doubted the relationship between Lennox and Sheria. However, they pretended to be indifferent on the outside.

‘They wouldn’t have wanted to be branded as adulterers.’

Some people lamented that without Meldenik, the two could have been in love.

In “Lovers Under a Spell,” Meldenik was merely an obstacle to love, and nothing more than an impurity to high society people.

Despite that, Meldenik was the true fiancée of Duke Lennox Hessmann.

“Ah.”

Lennox seemed startled by my words but smiled calmly.

“Didn’t I tell you it’s not an affair? Trust only my words,” he said.

In the original story, Meldenik couldn’t break off the engagement despite the shame.

She clung desperately, begging for love. Because she loved him.

But I was different.

‘But an affair is an affair, no matter the reason.’

“I don’t want to hear excuses.”

I glared at him, enunciating each word clearly.

“I intend to break off our engagement, Your Excellency.”

“…What?”

For the first time, he looked surprised, his eyes widening.

“Oh, I’ll offer you an alternative. You could marry my sister Sheria. That way, the marriage between our families for strategic reasons would go through without any issue. Neat, right?”

Lennox, with a rarely seen flustered expression, spoke up.

“I’ve always said that I have no intention of marrying Sheria. She is elegant, beautiful, and lovely unlike you, but…”

‘What the, why start praising Sheria all of a sudden?’

I looked at him with a disdainful gaze.

Caught up in his theatrical love, Lennox couldn’t finish his sentence and shook his head in denial.

“Yes, you are different in many ways, but I still plan to marry you.”

I didn’t know where to begin.

So, he plans to romance and marry two different women, what a separate world he lives in.

However, I had no intention of playing along with his antics. I was going to rewrite the ending of this novel myself.

“So, you won’t marry Sheria, is that it?”

“That’s right.”

“Then marry Lady Hildegard. But I’m not going to marry you.”

Let him overcome the 30-year age gap between them.

I believed in responding to illogic with illogic.

At my words, he washed his face with his hands, looking as if he had run out of arguments.

“Lady Meldenik Babeloa, what kind of tactic is this?”

He seems not convinced yet.

I quietly drew the sword from its sheath in my hand. Though I had made it look as mundane as possible, like a self-defense sword, it was obvious Lennox would be taken aback.

“Are you… drawing a sword in the imperial palace? You, dare to me?”

I looked at him.

As expected, he was looking at me with surprised eyes.

‘I guess it’s surprising since I’m fighting back after being ignored and gaslighted every time.’

And there’s one more person who’s surprised here.

‘What, what are you doing. Mel!’

It’s Dominic.

According to the original story, telepathy could only be used in emergencies, but it seems Dominic was quite hurried now.

Inside, I spoke to Dominic.

‘Sorry. I’ll give you a bonus.’

Dominic quickly changed his stance.

‘It has to be in gold.’

Having received his approval, I grabbed the handle of the sword and drove its blade into the ground with force.

Bang!

The tip of the sword was deeply implanted in the ground.

After briefly mourning for Dominic, I continued speaking to Lennox.

“It seems you don’t understand, your excellency, I formally request a dissolution of our engagement.”

Plunging the sword into the ground signifies a challenge to a duel.

The next morning,

I headed to the palace with Dominic to file for a building usage change and a stationery store opening.

Dominic, still lacking an identity, couldn’t enter the palace in human form with me. So, he transformed into a long sword, which I was holding.

I arrived in front of the palace by rented carriage, verified my identity, and headed to the office in charge of business registration.

Passing through crowded places and a garden that resembled a narrow path, I soon reached the office.

It was peaceful, with few people around and only a tall man in the distance besides us.

“Starting off on a good note.”

I hummed monotonously as I walked.

But then, someone blocked my path. It was…

“Long time no see.”

It was Duke Lennox Hesman, the male protagonist and my fiancé.

“……”

Of course, I tried to ignore Lennox and walk past him. There was no reason to acknowledge him.

The problem was that he openly called out to me while I was walking on the palace road.

“Lady Meldenik Babeloa.”

Though there weren’t many people around, being in the palace, he looked at me with a gentle smile.

“What’s with him? He used to treat me like a useless invisible person”

I frowned, remembering the comments he made in the past.

Initially, Lennox was also warm towards Meldenik.

“Lady Meldenik. Good morning.”

“Meldenik, who had no one close by due to rumors of being cursed, easily fell for him.”

“Do you not dislike me, Your Grace the Duke of Hesman?”

“How could I? You are necessary and useful person to me. Call me Lennox.”

“Yes, …Lennox.”

To Meldenik, who received cold treatment from everyone, he was the only salvation.

However, as soon as Lennox had sufficiently charmed Meldenik, he flipped his attitude completely.

“You are not beautiful. Therefore, that dress does not suit you.”

He policed Meldenik’s clothes and makeup,

“As you know, you have no talent for business.”

He disregarded Meldenik’s talents.

“Why are you conducting business with Sheria instead of me?”

“You are incompetent, and Lady Sheria Babeloa is competent.”

Knowing Meldenik felt inferior to Sheria, he still compared the two.

When Sheria and Lennox became partners at the ball, Meldenik asked,

“Surely, you and Sheria don’t have some sort of relationship?”

Lennox’s rhetoric was skillful. He brainwashed Meldenik, who suspected an affair between the two.

“Listen well. If I were to have an affair with Miss Sheria, it would be because you are not attractive enough to me.”

“…That’s not an issue with my attractiveness…”

“Are you defying what I say?”

He manipulated Meldenick like this, subtly.

Especially since Meldenick was already despised, he made her lose her self-esteem and spiral down.

“It’s because of me that someone like you is treated well.”

Eventually, Meldenick began to believe she was foolish and delegated all decision-making to him.

“Listen only to me. We will definitely get married.”

Meldenik endured all the disregard, contempt, and gaslighting with the single-minded intention of wanting to marry him.

“Because Meldenik loved Lennox too much.”

Recalling the past felt as if Lennox’s baritone voice was chillingly echoing in her ears.

I glared at him.

“Crazy bastard. This pisses me off no matter how I think about it.”

Thinking of the covert contempt, disregard, and verbal abuse made anger rise within me.

As if it read my mind, the sword in my hand vibrated slightly, as though telling me to calm down.

Yet, I gripped the sword tightly.

After all, this man was someone I had to meet at least once. If he provokes me from over there, there’s no reason for me to be dishearted.

“I greet Your Grace, the Duke of Hesman.”

He briefly furrowed his brows, as if wondering why I didn’t call him by the name Lennox.

I scanned him from his black hair to his brown eyes in a single glance.

Even though he was a knight with a sword, his pale skin always matched his cold expression and was chillingly well-suited.

He certainly had the visuals of the main male character. To me, though, he was just a man of infidelity.

After scanning my face carefully, he asked me gently.

“Miss Meldenik, I heard you left your family.”

“Yes, Your Grace. Since I’ve left my family, I am now simply Meldenik.”

At my answer, he whispered coldly.

“How can that be? I haven’t permitted it, what do you mean by that?”

“…….”

“Please end your affair within a month. I do not like the woman who is to be my wife living indecently. You are planning to get married soon, aren’t you?”

I openly frowned.

‘A guy planning on getting married is cheating?’

I never expected marriage talk to come out of this man’s mouth.

I was so stunned and suffocated that I momentarily lost my words.

At this point, where I have lost a hundred billion becquerels, he was already playing a love game with my sister Sheria.

They often ran into each other as if by fate, felt mutual affection, and Lennox, despite clearly having a fiancée, showed interest in Sheria.

‘He always openly ignored me and took Sheria’s side.’

Is he now enjoying the feeling of secretly nurturing love, making a mockery of Meldenik and violating taboos?

‘Delusional that no one knows of their affair.’

Now that Sheria has briefly left for a warm, holy country in the south, Lennox must be feeling her absence and fostering his desperate love even more.

And he talks about having a wedding?

‘Crazy.’

Since we’ve run into each other, I have to confront him directly.

“Your Excellency, I knew all about it.”

“What do you mean?”

His attitude was calm, but his gaze was unmistakable.

He looked at me as if I were bothersome.

With a look as if he’s looking at a bug.

‘It’s strange how much he detests me now, considering how Meldenik used to be oblivious and clingy in the past.’

Why on earth are they trying to get married despite such circumstances?

I looked at him and whispered clearly.

“It’s about your relationship with Lady Sheria, Duke.”

Lennox and Sheria shared a secret love.

Of course, people doubted the relationship between Lennox and Sheria. However, they pretended to be indifferent on the outside.

‘They wouldn’t have wanted to be branded as adulterers.’

Some people lamented that without Meldenik, the two could have been in love.

In “Lovers Under a Spell,” Meldenik was merely an obstacle to love, and nothing more than an impurity to high society people.

Despite that, Meldenik was the true fiancée of Duke Lennox Hesman.

“Ah.”

Lennox seemed startled by my words but smiled calmly.

“Didn’t I tell you it’s not an affair? Trust only my words,” he said.

In the original story, Meldenik couldn’t break off the engagement despite the shame.

She clung desperately, begging for love. Because she loved him.

But I was different.

‘But an affair is an affair, no matter the reason.’

“I don’t want to hear excuses.”

I glared at him, enunciating each word clearly.

“I intend to break off our engagement, Your Excellency.”

“…What?”

For the first time, he looked surprised, his eyes widening.

“Oh, I’ll offer you an alternative. You could marry my sister Sheria. That way, the marriage between our families for strategic reasons would go through without any issue. Neat, right?”

Lennox, with a rarely seen flustered expression, spoke up.

“I’ve always said that I have no intention of marrying Sheria. She is elegant, beautiful, and lovely unlike you, but…”

‘What the, why start praising Sheria all of a sudden?’

I looked at him with a disdainful gaze.

Caught up in his theatrical love, Lennox couldn’t finish his sentence and shook his head in denial.

“Yes, you are different in many ways, but I still plan to marry you.”

I didn’t know where to begin.

So, he plans to romance and marry two different women, what a separate world he lives in.

However, I had no intention of playing along with his antics. I was going to rewrite the ending of this novel myself.

“So, you won’t marry Sheria, is that it?”

“That’s right.”

“Then marry Lady Hildegard. But I’m not going to marry you.”

Let him overcome the 30-year age gap between them.

I believed in responding to illogic with illogic.

At my words, he washed his face with his hands, looking as if he had run out of arguments.

“Lady Meldenik Babeloa, what kind of tactic is this?”

He seems not convinced yet.

I quietly drew the sword from its sheath in my hand. Though I had made it look as mundane as possible, like a self-defense sword, it was obvious Lennox would be taken aback.

“Are you… drawing a sword in the imperial palace? You, dare to me?”

I looked at him.

As expected, he was looking at me with surprised eyes.

‘I guess it’s surprising since I’m fighting back after being ignored and gaslighted every time.’

And there’s one more person who’s surprised here.

‘What, what are you doing. Mel!’

It’s Dominic.

According to the original story, telepathy could only be used in emergencies, but it seems Dominic was quite hurried now.

Inside, I spoke to Dominic.

‘Sorry. I’ll give you a bonus.’

Dominic quickly changed his stance.

‘It has to be in gold.’

Having received his approval, I grabbed the handle of the sword and drove its blade into the ground with force.

Bang!

The tip of the sword was deeply implanted in the ground.

After briefly mourning for Dominic, I continued speaking to Lennox.

“It seems you don’t understand, your excellency, I formally request a dissolution of our engagement.”

Plunging the sword into the ground signifies a challenge to a duel.

Of course, it wasn’t an official challenge to a duel.

‘It means I’ll find a way to dissolve our engagement if you don’t agree to it.’

However, Lennox was bound to be confused.

I stared at him, pulled out the sword I had plunged, and elegantly placed it back into its sheath.

“Then, this is it. You must be clear about my intentions now, so I will soon send you a letter of engagement termination to your place.”