Chapter 4
After a stormy night passed, the mansion became bustling. Noctum, who treated Charlotte like a delicate cotton candy that might dissolve at any moment, began placing restrictions on her.
It was as though he remembered every word he had said while drunk. Determined that Charlotte would never utter the word “divorce” again, he cleared away everything associated with it.
Oddly enough, this included her meetings with Adrian Berche. Because of this, Charlotte couldn’t meet Adrian for several months.
From her perspective, this was practically like having the future villain removed, so she didn’t mind. However, Noctum, unaware of this, would occasionally observe Charlotte’s reactions nervously.
Regardless, Charlotte ignored everything Noctum did. After all, she knew that no matter how tightly he bound her now, she would inevitably be discarded when the female lead appeared.
Time flew by in the blink of an eye.
The seasons changed three times, and before she knew it, spring had arrived.
The season when flowers bloomed beautifully. The social scene was in a frenzy over the debutante event that occurred only once a year.
“Are you cold? Shall I prepare an evening cape enchanted with a warming spell?”
Anna, who was helping Charlotte prepare for the imperial ball, looked at her shivering figure with concern.
Charlotte glanced at the wedding ring on her fourth finger and shook her head. It wasn’t the cold that was making her tremble.
“I’m fine. What about His Excellency?”
“He’s waiting outside.”
“Let’s go.”
At Charlotte’s words, Anna gave her hair one final adjustment before opening the door.
Despite seeing her face every other day due to his persistent efforts, Noctum always blushed when he looked at Charlotte.
“You look beautiful again today, madam.”
“…Thank you.”
It was a strange, bittersweet feeling to see a man with a face more beautiful than any woman in the empire compliment her appearance.
When she nodded reluctantly, Noctum’s face brightened as he led her by the hand. With so many eyes watching, she couldn’t afford to reject him, so she quietly placed her hand in his.
Her cool hand met his warm one, akin to lava. Although such contact was neither rare nor overly common, Noctum’s shoulders tensed with nervousness.
His fingers gripped hers tightly, warming her hand to the point where she frowned slightly. From above, his voice drifted down.
“Your hands are cold. Are you unwell? The ball is irrelevant; we must see a physician immediately—”
Oh, come on. As Noctum continued fussing, Charlotte relaxed her tense lips and climbed into the carriage.
“Stop making such a fuss. It’s just the cold wind.”
She turned her head to the window, trying to avoid his concerned gaze, but ironically, his reflection appeared in the glass, forcing her to look at him again.
Unaware that she was watching, Noctum kept stealing glances at her, carefully assessing her complexion.
Even though the carriage was enchanted with a warming spell, Charlotte’s face looked pale, and her body trembled as though she’d been submerged in icy water.
What should I do? How can I make her comfortable? As he visibly fretted, Charlotte gave a bitter smile.
After today, I won’t see this side of him anymore.
“I shouldn’t have come.”
Regret surged over her like a tidal wave. It was a feeling she shouldn’t have had in the first place. At this moment, Charlotte realized she had harbored a sliver of hope in him.
“What am I even doing at this point…?”
But it was too late. Today was the day her husband would meet the “real” female lead.
“Let’s go back, madam.”
Noticing the faint sigh escaping from her, Noctum spoke with a face full of concern. However, Charlotte firmly shook her head.
“No. Let’s continue.”
There was no turning back. They had to go. It was the only fate assigned to them.
Shadows fell across Charlotte’s face, and she could no longer see his reflection in the window.
Unlike her, staring powerlessly out the window, Noctum was busy fidgeting. His hand hovered, raised and lowered repeatedly, before he finally summoned the courage to extend it toward her pale hand.
It’s not inappropriate. I just want to use my magic to comfort you.
He repeated this excuse in his mind over and over. It wasn’t that he desperately wanted to touch her—it was purely to console her in her evident discomfort.
His hand inched closer. Just as he mustered the final bit of courage to reach out further, Charlotte suddenly spoke to him.
“Noctum, do you believe in fate?”
“…What?”
Good heavens, the madam initiated a conversation with me!
Could it be that I’ve lost my mind? His head spun as his heart pounded uncontrollably. Struggling to regain his composure, he heard her speak again.
“I believe in fate. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have become your wife.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the carriage came to a stop. Charlotte stood, stepping out lightly without anyone’s assistance.
Click. The sharp sound of her high heels meeting dry ground snapped Noctum out of his stupor. On instinct, he reached out toward her.
This time, I’ll have the courage to stop her.
Despite his resolve, Noctum’s determination crumbled instantly when she turned to him with a bright smile—the first she had ever shown him.
It was a smile that seemed both liberating and sorrowful. As Noctum stared blankly at her, she turned her gaze elsewhere.
Where are you looking? Look at me, Charlotte.
Despite his silent plea, his eyes involuntarily followed hers.
Her gaze was fixed on a woman with lush, cotton-candy-like pink hair.
A face that seemed the complete opposite of Charlotte’s. A sigh escaped Noctum’s lips.
At the same time, the woman’s eyes landed on Noctum as if by destiny.
Charlotte observed it all, her expression detached, as though her story had already concluded.
“Then I will accept all the fates thrown at me, Nocturne.”
Even my death.
The ball proceeded exactly as Charlotte knew from the novel.
Nocturne treated Charlotte as if she didn’t exist at the ballroom. It was a natural outcome. Right now, he was completely engrossed in looking at the female protagonist, Muse Callio.
Unlike her calm demeanor, the surrounding nobles began to murmur as they observed Nocturne’s actions.
“The Grand Duke seems to have finally been freed from that wicked dark magic.”
“Hmph, wouldn’t it have been better if it happened sooner? Tsk, I shouldn’t have married off my youngest daughter just last week…”
“By the way, do you see the young lady speaking with the Grand Duke? Isn’t she the young lady of the Callio family that recently naturalized into the Empire?”
“As expected, she exudes elegance from head to toe, unlike someone else.”
Charlotte tried her best to maintain a blank expression despite the words piercing her ears.
Though the nobles covered their mouths with fans and wine glasses as they spoke, it was clear they deliberately raised their voices.
Ignoring the many gazes directed her way, she left the ballroom.
If she stayed any longer, rumors would start spreading that she was poisoning a delicate woman just for holding a water glass.
“Or perhaps, by now, worse slander has already spread in my absence.”
A faint laugh escaped her lips.
Being labeled as the villainess of a novel meant dealing with such things.
Could she change the villainess’s role with a bit of effort?
Would the people around her, like in other novels, suddenly start falling over themselves for her?
Perhaps that might work for others, but not here.
At least, not for Charlotte Daphne.
“Madam? His Grace…”
“He won’t be returning home tonight. You can leave first.”
“What? Oh, yes, yes…”
She urged the puzzled coachman to leave the ballroom. Charlotte gazed at the brilliantly lit ballroom of the Imperial Palace from within the dim carriage.
It couldn’t be, but it felt like Nocturne and Muse’s silhouettes were reflected on the window.
Perhaps because my husband had flawlessly completed his role as the male protagonist’s first chapter, time flew by like it had wings, and three months had passed.
During this time, Charlotte’s daily life remained largely unchanged.
Rumors far exceeding mere insolence, increasingly malicious third-rate gossip articles, and even Adrian quietly extending a helping hand.
If there was anything different from the novel, it was surprisingly Nocturne’s behavior.
Having met the female protagonist, he should’ve had no reason to care about her, but Nocturne continued to visit Charlotte.
His actions were not particularly different. He would inquire about her well-being in the morning or coincidentally show up in the garden where she took walks.
At first, she thought he was bringing up the topic of divorce, but that wasn’t it.
Instead, he began asking strange questions.
“What do you think is the most comfortable place to live in the Empire, Madam?”
“Which do you prefer, mountains or the sea?”
“Do women generally prefer something small and cozy, or something grand and vast?”
“Madam, what do you think about keeping pets?”
“Still, would women prefer money over flowers?”
Whenever she answered inadvertently, he would smile brightly and then leave.
At first, she thought these gifts were meant for Lady Muse, but even that assumption was proven wrong.
If it were true, the social circle wouldn’t have been this quiet.
Thus, peaceful yet baffling days passed.
Then, on July 3rd, 847 of the Imperial Calendar, Charlotte stiffened upon seeing a letter tucked into a gossip magazine.
The letter bore the seal of the Imperial Family, a mix of gold and white.
When she opened it with a letter knife, she found a letter written on what appeared to be blood-red paper. Just from that, Charlotte knew her fate was nearing its end.
“For nobles of high rank, they honor their achievements by sending summons on red paper out of courtesy, even if they’re criminals.”
Reading about it in books as a child felt different than experiencing it herself.
As she unfolded the neatly folded letter, it contained a summons for Charlotte Daphne Aphros, a criminal, to appear in court the next day, where her crimes would be judged.
Charlotte began reading the list of accusations.
-
Learning forbidden dark magic, thereby violating the Empire’s laws.
-
Damaging the dignity of the nobility and failing to uphold integrity and propriety.
-
Causing injury to Imperial citizens with dark magic.
-
Attempted murder with implied intent.
Charlotte swore she had never committed such crimes in her life, but that didn’t matter.
These charges were crafted to align with the original novel’s plot.
“Whatever the case, it seems I’m going to die.”
What was even more disheartening was that, even with death looming just ahead, Charlotte felt no particular emotion.
She calmly ran her fingers over the letter, then stood and headed toward Nocturne’s office. At the very least, she thought she should bid him farewell.
However, she never managed to meet him.
Fate played a cruel trick—he had left for an out-of-town trip.
To be alone until the very end.
Even so, it felt strangely fitting for the end of a villainess, and she let out a hollow laugh.
Charlotte gazed at the white camellias visible from outside the office window, then opened the office door.
If she couldn’t see him, she thought she might at least take a walk in his garden.
But even that idea never came to fruition.
“Madam! Oh, how could this happen? Hic, His Grace, His Grace has…”
The usually composed and meticulous butler was in tears.
“What… what is it?”
A sense of unease crept over her.
As if to confirm her worst fears, the butler conveyed something unbelievable.
“His Grace has passed away in a carriage accident…”
“Nocturne… Nocturne is dead?”
The male protagonist of this novel, the one meant to send her to the guillotine—Nocturne Aphros.
Her husband was dead.
