The Reason The Villain Covets Me

⁦⁠♡⁩ TL: Khadija SK

 

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The Villainess Annette.

 

That was the name the girl received in the world she incarnated into.

 

In the novel, Annette was supposed to commit repeated atrocities of sins and destruction to match her reputation as a villainess.

 

So, after being surprised by the beautiful face reflected in the mirror, it was up to the embodied woman to think about the plot of the novel and find a way to change her life so that people around her would love her.

 

However, she didn’t have much time to change her fate because as soon as she opened her eyes in Annette’s body, she was confined to an asylum.

 

It wasn’t that she was suffering from any real mental problems.

 

Of course, the mental state of the villainess Annette was questionable, but at least the embodied Annette was normal.

 

However, Annette was imprisoned due to complex circumstances, and the Odentia Empire was not familiar with the concept of a mental ward; hence there was no knowledge or appropriate treatment for mental illnesses.

 

Elysia was described as more of a detention camp than a mental asylum.

 

The chilly air would seep through the walls even in the middle of summer.

 

Exposure to this cold air could lead to losing the sun’s rays altogether, not to mention causing the inmates to suffer from real mental illnesses.

 

There wasn’t much to do in a place like this, so all Annette did when she was imprisoned in Elysia was stare at the ceiling and walls, then sleep.

 

And of course, today would have been another day similar to yesterday…

 

If only that man hadn’t come.

 

Right before the appearance of that “man,” Annette, as usual, was staring at the dimly lit walls in an ongoing attempt to discern the nature of the decaying shapes scattered, resembling zodiacs.

 

Creak_

 

At that moment, the heavy iron door opened with a terrifying sound.

 

Annette closed her eyes, avoiding the bright light that flooded the room, then the man standing by the door spoke.

 

“It’s time to take your medication.”

 

The voice was harsh like the asylum’s bed, but it was softer than the screams of the madwoman coming from the adjacent room.

 

When Annette didn’t respond, the doctor finally forced her to wake up.

 

Annoyance was evident in his thick hands’ movements.

 

When she was forced to open her eyes, Annette’s face was beautiful but devoid of expressions.

 

If one were to search for emotions in her countenance, only lethargy would be found enveloping the corners of her face.

 

Her face reflected her acceptance of death with resignation.

 

“Swallow it.”

 

“I am the Marquise, and you cannot treat me disrespectfully. If my father, Marquis Cheringen, has died, shouldn’t I be the Marquise now?”

 

For the first time in days, a cracked voice emerged from her chapped lips.

 

The doctor’s expressions wrinkled.

 

“Did you kill your father with your own hands because you wanted to claim the title of Marquise?”

 

“I didn’t kill him.”

 

“No one believes that. The newspapers are still talking about the murder of Marquis Cheringen.”

 

“You don’t see my disappearance announcement in the newspapers, do you? Kidnapping and imprisoning a beautiful woman like me deserves a knighthood.”

 

“You are not imprisoned. You are detained because you are not mentally sound. We are saving your life because you could be executed if you go to court.”

 

“They can’t send me to jail if there’s no evidence, so they treat me like I’m mentally disturbed and lock me up in a place like this.”

 

Annette’s bright green eyes narrowed sharply.

 

The doctor blinked, almost believing her innocence.

 

‘She’s a witch.’

 

It wasn’t clear whether she was a murderer or not, but it was certain that she had strange manipulative powers.

 

As Annette said, there was no evidence that she had committed the murder.

 

However, under these circumstances, she was the only possible culprit.

 

Because alongside the deceased Marquis, Annette was holding a gun.

 

There were some mysterious matters, but all the evidence pointed to Annette as the killer.

 

“We’ve spoken with your relatives, and they said you are the killer.”

 

“They are greedy for my title and wealth.”

 

Marquis Borhardt Cheringen loved his daughter exceptionally and promised her to inherit all his titles and possessions.

 

After Annette became his heiress, there was discontent within the Cheringen family because they couldn’t appoint a woman to the family’s destiny.

 

So they seized this opportunity and acted like wolves to take Annette’s position.

 

“I don’t understand why they are so eager for my position when the Cheringen family will be destroyed in the future without leaving a trace anyway?”

 

“The Cheringen family will be fine without you.”

 

“No, they will be accused of treason and slaughtered down to the smallest member. This is the end of the family that produced an evil woman.”

 

“Are you saying you are a prophet who knows the future?”

 

“You said you are a doctor, but how can you be so stupid? I don’t know the future, but this world exists within a book, and I know the end of this book.”

 

The doctor laughed.

 

Annette said crazy things about this world being just a fictional world in a novel and that she already knows the ending.

 

How could she claim she’s from another world while she can’t leave the mental institution even if she’s normal?

 

“If you keep saying things like that, you’ll never leave this place.”

 

Of course, Annette knew exactly how the doctor viewed her when she started talking about reincarnation.

 

She knew what she knew, but she decided to let go of the talk and be patient.

 

Annette didn’t intend to ask the doctor to believe her, so her stance never faltered, and she didn’t lose her composure.

 

But there was something about the realistic manner in which she spoke that turned people’s feelings upside down.

 

The doctor felt insulted by the idea of her manipulating him, so he putted the pills in Annette’s hand with a hateful and resentful grip.

 

“Swallow it. You deserve to go to jail for killing the Marquis, but luckily for you, you’ve been admitted to a mental asylum.”

 

Annette stared at her hand holding the pills, paler than the white tablets.

 

Her pale, translucent skin was thinner and more transparent to the point where she thought her bones might be visible under the sunlight.

 

Annette looked at the pills and threw them into her mouth.

 

The doctor smiled and watched Annette’s smooth face.

 

It was a face too good to deserve death in a place like this.

 

Annette now wore shabby clothes; but the woman who once wore the finest clothes and adornments was so beautiful that the word “flower” wasn’t enough to describe her beauty.

 

If it weren’t for the complicated situation they were in, he would have tried to force her to do something with him.

 

Annette felt the doctor’s constant fixed gaze on her.

 

For a moment, a different light shone in Annette’s vacant eyes.

 

Spit_

 

Annette spat the medicine onto the doctor’s face.

 

Her saliva and the pills stuck to the doctor’s eyes.

 

“I told you not to look at me with those filthy eyes.”

 

The doctor wiped his face hastily with disinfectant, then grabbed Annette’s face and forcibly opened her mouth.

 

“Gag!”

 

“D*mn you, you wh*re, how dare you spit in my face! Swallow it. Swallow this medicine!”

 

“Mmmh…”

 

The doctor poured the entire bottle of pills into Annette’s mouth.

 

Annette tried to cover her mouth with both her hands, but her weak body, deprived of food, couldn’t withstand the man’s strong grip.

 

The doctor was now choking Annette.

 

Unable to breathe, Annette struggled and trembled.

 

His anger boiled over much this time and exceeded the limits.

 

In the end, the tightly closed mouth was forcibly opened, and the pills entered.

 

The doctor dropped the bottle with a clatter and stepped back.

 

Annette coughed violently, her choked breaths subsiding.

 

Then a faint voice, yet stronger than Annette’s cough, came from where was the door.

 

“How dare you do something like this to the Grand Duchess?”

 

A tall man suddenly appeared and began to randomly beat the doctor.

 

The doctor trembled helplessly as every swift and fierce grip swung towards him mercilessly.

 

“You kept my missing wife locked up in a place like this.”

 

His missing wife?

 

It seemed that the man, who appeared as a beast rather than a rescuer, was trying to imitate a husband punishing the wicked man who assaulted his beloved wife.

 

Under these circumstances, that wife was Annette, but Annette didn’t know who the man was.

 

Since Annette’s fate was to die at a young age due to her crimes, she didn’t have time for marriage or a husband.

 

While wondering if Annette in the novel had a hidden lover, the woman watched the doctor as he was beaten until his back became softer than his stomach.

 

The unknown man’s grip flew in all directions.

 

‘I think stabbing him with a knife would be more merciful.’

 

The man was cruel, as if he were born to inflict pain on others.

 

Perhaps it was because of his silver hair that shook with every swing of his fists, but strangely, Annette repeatedly remembered the name of a specific person.

 

Many spectators gathered at the door, but no one dared to stop what was happening.

 

The doctor quickly fainted, and Annette’s cough stopped shortly after.

 

The man threw the swollen doctor against the wall and approached Annette.

 

He also reminded her of someone with a sharp jaw contrasting with his soft and flowing hair like a bird’s feather.

 

‘This is impossible… Could this man be that person from the novel?’

 

As the man approached and knelt on one knee, Annette instinctively avoided him, but he was faster than her and hugged her tenderly.

 

His action was extremely sudden.

 

“My dear Annette.”

 

His voice was calm and gentle.

 

It was hard to believe that such a tone came from the mouth of a person whose fingers were stained with blood.

 

“Who are you…”

 

“It’s me. Your husband, Theodore. I’ve finally found you.”

 

Theodore.

 

Annette’s body stiffened at the mention of this name.

 

If he was the Theodore she knew, then the doctor who collapsed should be thankful that this man didn’t have a knife in his hand.

 

If Theodore had a small weapon, he would have surely tortured him more severely.

 

When the name she had imagined matched the name spoken by the man, Annette felt choked up again.

 

Perhaps due to the tension in her body, Theodore hugged her tighter and placed his lips directly beside her ears.

 

A sharp whisper, completely different from the gentle tone he had just used, pierced Annette’s ears.

 

“Dear creature from beyond this world. If you wish to leave here, pretend that you love me and play along with me now.”

 

It was a threat disguised clearly as a suggestion.

 

This man knew that Annette was reincarnated.

 

“Do you understand what I’m talking about?”

 

Annette nodded her head.

 

Who was this man? How did he know who she was?

 

Did he want her to pretend to love him if she wanted to leave? Did he mean to get her out of here? Would he be her savior?

 

If he was the villain in this novel, she had to push him away immediately and not even breathe in front of him.

 

But Annette had no other choice.

 

She had to hold onto his hand to survive in this cold asylum.

 

“You finally came here~ I’ve been waiting for you to find me.”

 

Annette smiled brightly as she wrapped her arms around the neck of the husband she had just met.

 

She decided to become the devil’s wife in order to live.

 

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