The Reason The Villain Covets Me

⁦⁠♡⁩ TL: Khadija SK

 

✧✧✧✧✧

 

Bang!

 

Rainwater flowed at the same time the sound of gunfire pierced the dark sky filled with clouds.

 

A frightened deer fled from the gunshot, so Theodore furrowed his brow as he watched the animal disappear from sight.

 

It wasn’t unusual for raindrops to halt his unsuccessful hunting attempts once again.

 

His day had been unlucky and unfortunate since he woke up in the morning.

 

This chase had been futile.

 

The fact that he would have to return empty-handed made him even angrier.

 

But Theodore wasn’t foolish enough to wander in the rainy forest searching for a new prey.

 

Instead, he was rational and objective enough to know the root of the problem; that he came to the hunting grounds before sunset primarily.

 

However, today was the day he felt compelled to kill something to relieve his nerves.

 

From his appearance, it was also wrong for him to return to the palace, so he had to spend the night in a small cottage located in the hunting grounds.

 

The only thing Theodore did well today was to drive away the guard to get an empty room for himself.

 

Turning back, Theodore cursed this muddy hunting ground.

 

He had intended to discard his muddy boots and go to sleep after drinking a glass of strong liquor.

 

But fate was terribly against him today.

 

It happened when he harshly opened the cottage door…

 

“Hello.”

 

There was someone in the room who shouldn’t be there.

 

It was a woman Theodore knew the face of well.

 

She was a beautiful woman who shone brilliantly even on a dark and rainy day.

 

Even in this gloomy weather, her hair shimmered as if she had stolen the sun hidden by the dark clouds and concealed it among her wavy strands.

 

She was Annette Cheringen, famous for three things: her beauty, her family’s reputation, and her unrequited love for the crown prince.

 

Theodore sometimes found her a comedic character because she was the daughter of Marquis Cheringen yet still pursued the crown prince who didn’t love her, but he had no intention of insulting her appearance.

 

She was too beautiful to deny that.

 

“I didn’t summon a wh*re here.”

 

Annette Cheringen’s blonde hair was dry with no trace of moisture.

 

This meant that she had been waiting for Theodore in the cottage before the rain started.

 

“Of course, the grand duke is not the kind to invite women to his own hunting grounds.”

 

The girl did not retreat even when described as a wh*re.

 

She was absolutely audacious.

 

Theodore thought so.

 

“If you already know that, then leave from here. I failed to kill the prey, and I am now inclined to shoot from my gun even at people.”

 

“What if I came here as a wh*re?”

 

Annette Cheringen laughed lightly.

 

Even her smile was full of charm.

 

It was as if she were a woman born to seduce men.

 

In fact, there were plenty of men willing to put themselves at her feet at just one gesture from her.

 

But of course, it didn’t seem that was the purpose of Annette Cheringen’s visit today.

 

“With my knowledge of your highness’s sharp mood, I will skip unnecessary greetings. Just because it’s a beautiful day doesn’t mean I can joke easily with the grand duke it seems.”

 

“What business does the Marquis Cheringen’s daughter have with me?”

 

Mentioning the Cheringen family name meant that she and Theodore were political rivals, and her father’s title meant that her father held a valuable position that could be considered among the main pillars of the Audentian Empire, and the word daughter meant that they had few common affairs that allowed her to communicate with Theodore.

 

Especially since her father was basically the one who entered into a struggle with Theodore for political reasons.

 

However, the reason Theodore remembered her was Hugo.

 

She was the woman who stood out in society even when she remained silent behind closed doors because of her beauty and held a great deal of love for the crown prince, so even Theodore, regardless of his lack of concern for others’ romantic feelings, it was impossible not to know that.

 

He heard that she had been busy these days harassing the crown prince’s lover, Ivon.

 

Theodore didn’t know how such an empty-headed and stupid woman had entered his hunting grounds.

 

“I asked you what you want from me.”

 

“I have a favor I want to ask of you. If I disappear in the near future, please look for me.”

 

“Do you mean to play hide and seek with me?”

 

“Assuming so, if I may express myself.”

 

“Does playing hide and seek with a hunter in hunting grounds mean that it is acceptable to catch and kill you?”

 

Theodore weighed whether he had more bullets or patience left.

 

Why did this woman suddenly come here and ask him to look for her?

 

Theodore hated people who spoke without context or logic.

 

He took off his muddy boot and threw it beside Annette.

 

The chair jolted as it collided with his shoe slightly.

 

His action was a sign of the dissatisfaction he felt towards her b*llsh*t.

 

“There’s no use in your threats.”

 

Annette Cheringen smiled again without batting an eyelash.

 

Theodore’s mood was as low as the sincerity of her smile.

 

“Five minutes. That’s the time I have left before my patience runs out. If you have anything to say, say it quickly and leave my sight immediately.”

 

“That’s enough for me.”

 

Annette Cheringen took another step closer to Theodore.

 

This was somewhat intriguing.

 

Theodore was a man who could commit all kinds of evil, yet he still didn’t like dealing with women.

 

Nothing a woman could offer him, from love to her body, could satisfy him.

 

Despite his appearance that made women want to touch him, women dared not touch him because they knew his bad temper.

 

It had been a long time since there was a woman who wasn’t afraid to approach him.

 

“Would you believe me, Your Highness, if I told you that this world is a world in a book?”

 

“Four minutes.”

 

“In fact, this world is nothing more than a stage created for a specific main character. What do you think would be my role and your role, Your Highness, considering that we are characters on the stage of that play?”

 

“If you don’t hurry with your words, I’ll consider your nonsense your final will.”

 

“We are the villains. The main character is Ivon.”

 

“Well, then, I suppose the male lead of the novel is the crown prince, who loves Miss Ivon now.”

 

“Yes. The crown prince is indeed Ivon’s steadfast partner and the male lead of this story. That’s why Your Highness Theodore can’t defeat the crown prince even if he dies and leaves this life.”

 

Theodore stopped mocking and immediately picked up his long rifle used for hunting.

 

The idea that he couldn’t defeat Hugo provoked him.

 

The last remnants of logic in his mind, which had been holding on thanks to the thought of the liquor he would drink after the woman left, flew away with the wind.

 

Hugo was Theodore’s nephew and the same age as him.

 

His nephew, who was promised the position of crown prince since birth due to his lineage.

 

On the other hand, Theodore was the second son of the late emperor.

 

The late emperor was very fond of his son (Theodore), who came from his beautiful mistress, but that was all.

 

Because the throne was surely given to his eldest son, Theodore’s half-brother, and the legitimate son, Filibert.

 

(T.N: Filibert is Hugo’s father and the ML’s uncle)

 

Except under extraordinary circumstances, the next emperor would be Hugo.

 

No one thought that Theodore, who was neither the legitimate son nor the eldest son, could ascend the throne.

 

Except Theodore himself.

 

“My patience has run out. I won’t listen to you for another second, so leave now.”

 

The barrel of the gun, which had been aimed at deer, was directed towards Annette Cheringen’s head, but she didn’t flee like the frightened deer.

 

“I heard that another gold mine was found on the crown prince’s land today? Isn’t it a wonderful coincidence that gold suddenly appears from land that was once barren when it belonged to Your Highness, the grand duke?”

 

Theodore’s grip tightened.

 

A huge unprecedented gold mine had been discovered in a poor southern town.

 

Mimingen Land originally belonged to Theodore, but the land was taken from him in a bet with Hugo.

 

It had been barren when it was his, but at the moment it fell into Hugo’s hands, it turned into a gold mine.

 

And today, the reason for his late visit to the hunting grounds to vent his anger was the discovery of the gold mine on Mimingen Land.

 

That’s how things were all the time.

 

Theodore was smarter and more fit than Hugo, but regardless of what he did, victory was always Hugo’s, no matter what they competed for.

 

Every triumph in the hunting festival, every imperial competition, even this damned empire as a whole, everything shone as if it were a gift prepared for Hugo alone.

 

It was natural for the man who had no interest in the imperial throne to be given the title of crown prince.

 

On the other hand, Theodore was treated as guilty simply because he was greedy for imperial power.

 

He wondered all his life why his intentions and ambitions were judged and condemned by everyone just because he was born as the illegitimate son of the late emperor.

 

“The grand duke can never surpass the crown prince. Just as, despite all the evils I do and no matter how hard I try, whether through honest or crooked ways, I can’t defeat Ivon to become the crown prince.”

 

“This is the final warning I give you. I don’t want to declare war on Marquis Cheringen, so leave now.”

 

“My father will die soon. And of course, I will too.”

 

Annette Cheringen looked a little sad as she spoke about the marquis’s death, but that wasn’t enough to turn Theodore’s anger into sympathy.

 

Specifically, that was because he couldn’t see her sadness, and even if he could, her sadness wasn’t something he would care about.

 

“This conversation between us today will be my first and last conversation with you, Your Highness. The next time you see me, I won’t be me.”

 

Annette Cheringen lifted the cover of the cloak she was wearing and covered her head.

 

“I’m tired of playing the role of the villainess. But the Duke is perfectly suited for this role. As a show of support from me, I’ll allow you to know the secret of the world I discovered the hard way.”

 

Annette Cheringen pushed the barrel of the gun aimed at her head aside and approached Theodore…

 

Then she whispered in his ear.

 

Theodore’s expression changed slightly as he listened to her.

 

Her words were clearly nonsense.

 

After finishing her whisper, Annette Cheringen picked up a pistol from among the weapons on the table.

 

“I’ll take this as payment for threatening my life. Goodbye now.”

 

Annette Cheringen disappeared, pistol in hand, amidst the roar of the rain.

 

It seemed as if she was someone going far away from sight.

 

***

 

In the residence of Marquis Cheringen, a few days after the night Annette Cheringen visited the hunting grounds…

 

Someone who wasn’t her woke up in Annette’s body.

 

The girl blinked her eyes with an empty mind.

 

After the mist cleared from her blurry vision, she tried to lift her body, but it was extremely difficult for her to support her weak limbs.

 

In the moment she finally raised her hands slowly and with convulsive and heavy movements…

 

“Aaaah!”

 

A horrifying scream echoed throughout the place.

 

The girl opened her heavy eyelids, then saw Marquis Borhardt Cheringen, who fell to the ground due to a gunshot wound, blood streaming from his body like a fountain.

 

He was a lifeless body.

 

The marquis died even without closing his eyes while holding his gaping wound to prevent the blood flow.

 

After witnessing the horrific scene, the girl hoped that this moment was just a nightmare.

 

But what happened in that moment was a terrifying reality more than any nightmare.

 

That day was the day Marquis Cheringen died.

 

And his only daughter, Annette Cheringen, was accused of committing the crime.

 

✧✧✧✧✧