The Reason The Villain Covets Me

⁦⁠♡⁩ TL: Khadija SK

 

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Only Theodore and Annette remained in the living room.

 

Annette looked at Theodore with calm, vacant eyes.

 

“If you have something to say to me, please finish it quickly. As you can see, I am not feeling well, so I want to rest.”

 

“Have you decided to give up speaking after that fit of anger in the carriage?”

 

“I don’t feel comfortable talking to people who are not comfortable with me.”

 

“You don’t even flinch when you boldly claim that speaking with me is uncomfortable?”

 

“That’s because I’m not saying anything wrong. There’s no reason to avoid someone’s gaze when you’re right. If I’m uncomfortable with you, then it must be because your highness has wronged me.”

 

Annette calmly cut through Theodor’s words, one after the other, without sarcasm.

 

The cold, brick-like words piled up one after another to form a hard wall between them.

 

A clear wall that bluntly stated she didn’t want to build any knowledge, friendship, emotion, or intimate relationship with him in the future.

 

“I’m also a busy person, so I’ll cut to the chase. Are you sure the medication you took earlier is the poison we’re looking for?”

 

“Those were the only medication pills I took during my stay at the asylum. Usually, the nurse distributes medication to the other patients, but the son of the hospital’s director was the one who personally brought those pills to me and made sure I swallowed them.”

 

“Did you continue taking them even after you knew they were poison?”

 

“If I didn’t take them, they would have mixed them with food and given them to me without my knowledge. Swallowing them and vomiting whatever I could afterwards was the least logical thing I could do. So don’t look at me as if I’m foolish.”

 

Annette knew well that if she refused the small pills given to her, a conspiracy to kill her would emerge.

 

However, if she refused to take the medication, she would still be forced to take it one way or another, just as before Theodor appeared when they forced her to swallow a large number of pills.

 

So she had no choice but to obediently take it.

 

Annette said firmly.

 

She admitted taking the poison and awaited the day she would die.

 

Her calm demeanor made Theodor suspect that the woman was speaking about someone else, then suddenly he felt satisfaction.

 

Annette swallowed the poison without hesitation and did not fear death.

 

People who don’t fear death usually don’t restrict what they do.

 

Having such people on his side was useful in many ways.

 

How could he not be happy after acquiring a highly profitable product, difficult to obtain compared to its benefits, right in his hands?

 

“When did you take the pills?”

 

“When the hospital director came and you two started talking. Before he came, the doctor your highness hit, forced me to swallow the pills, so the pills were scattered everywhere.”

 

“You didn’t know what I might have proposed at that time, yet you hid the poison in your pocket anyway?”

 

“Of course, I had to take it. That doctor made me swallow a large amount. So even if I managed to leave, if I couldn’t find an antidote for what I had eaten, I would die.”

 

As Theodor threatened the hospital director, Annette picked up the pills she could find in front of her and hid them in her clothes.

 

She was thinking about living in that moment.

 

At this point, Theodore had no choice but to confess.

 

He didn’t know if Annette was a goddess or just a trickster, but she was a woman who knew how to defend her life well.

 

“If you want to use me, keep my life first.”

 

“Of course, I’ll do that. I’ll try to find a new doctor, then she’ll analyze the poison.”

 

“I don’t want another doctor. I’ll leave it to Lisa.”

 

“Do you believe that nurse will save your life?”

 

“You should believe that too.”

 

“Did that woman appear as a character in the novel you read?”

 

Theodor asked with some anticipation.

 

Annette must have had a reason to trust that nurse to the extent of risking her life like this.

 

Theodor wondered if the nurse who trembled before him was one of the main characters in the novel, because if so, she might be useful to him in the future.

 

However, the answer that followed disappointed Theodor’s expectations.

 

“There was no nurse named Lisa among the characters I saw in the book.”

 

“Why do you trust someone you don’t know?”

 

“Because I can’t delay removing the poison from my body any longer, and that nurse doesn’t seem like someone who plays with a patient’s life. Even if the choices in front of me are not the best, I have no choice but to choose from what’s available.”

 

“Is it just a hunch?”

 

Theodor quickly felt bored.

 

The type he hated more than any other was optimistic people filled with hope and believing in people’s efforts and good intentions.

 

But he had no idea that his new chess piece would bring such silly ideas.

 

He was disappointed because he wanted Annette to be an entertaining person, not an ordinary human.

 

“What about this? The nurse made a medical mistake and is now unemployed. So you shouldn’t trust people solely based on intuition.”

 

“That’s not something I’d like to hear from someone who decided to stand with me based on his intuition alone and on the words of a suspicious woman with questionable mental balance.”

 

“Does my mental balance seem suspicious to you as well?”

 

“Are you trying to say that I should trust you, Grand Duke?”

 

“Isn’t it better that you trust me a little? I am the one holding your life.”

 

When Theodor reached his hand towards Annette’s neck and grabbed it as if he were about to choke her, she responded immediately without hesitation.

 

“I will trust you as much as you trust me, Your Grace.”

 

This means she didn’t trust him at all.

 

Theodor felt relieved by her words, which surprised him.

 

Action was the law of success when dealing with people who had many doubts.

 

Therefore, Annette was a suitable partner for work.

 

“If that woman finds the antidote, I will save your life this time.”

 

“You will benefit more by keeping me alive.”

 

“So let’s call it a deal. Isn’t that what you want?”

 

“That’s right. This is a deal, and there’s one condition I want: to be saved and returned to my world. This is the only deal I want, and nothing else tempts me.”

 

Annette was tired of this world.

 

Once she opened her eyes in an unknown body, she became a killer and lived imprisoned in a asyly with lunatics.

 

There is still a terrible psychological shock inside her.

 

Regardless of the good things that could happen, she could never love this world.

 

There was no person, wealth, or fame that could make her want to live in this world.

 

“Now it’s my turn to present the conditions.” (~Theodore)

 

“I’m listening.”

 

Theodor liked this conversation very much.

 

Exchanging goals without any fuss means that the desired outcome is assured, and such transactions usually have a high success rate.

 

Theodor was able to recognize this from a few words of conversation.

 

He didn’t believe that Annette was a true goddess from another world, but she could definitely help him greatly.

 

This woman would have a significant impact on his life in one way or another.

 

He didn’t know if the winds that carried Annette were a gentle spring breeze or a destructive hurricane, but it was certain that they were the winds that would reflect Theodor’s life path.

 

“I want only one thing. Hugo. To get rid of that fool and obtain the Emperor’s crown.”

 

Hugo was the only opponent Theodor couldn’t defeat.

 

Comparing Theodor’s and Hugo’s hunting skills, Theodor was much better, but Hugo won at the annual Imperial Hunting Festival.

 

Even if Theodor hunted more than 10 deer all day long, there was no way for him to win because an idiotic bear would appear in front of Hugo, who didn’t intend to hunt, and would fall to his death on his own.

 

Then Theodor would lose his clear victory against Hugo.

 

Sometimes, even those who stood by Hugo wondered why Theodor was defeated.

 

With the continuing defeats that could not be understood by natural instinct, Theodor had no choice but to feel danger.

 

The most ridiculous thing that appeared before him was Annette.

 

Theodore decided to give this woman a part of his life.

 

So, of course, verifying her usefulness was necessary.

 

Annette looked at Theodore, who was thinking like this.

 

“Is my safety guaranteed until you become Emperor?”

 

Safety was the most important issue for Annette.

 

If she returned to Chirengen immediately, she would fall into the hands of her relatives who would kill her, so she urgently needed a way to protect her life.

 

“No matter how powerful their position is in chirengen, they won’t be able to mistreat the Grand Duchess.”

 

“Did you mean to protect me when you said you would make me the Grand Duchess?”

 

“I have already prepared the legal documents for that. There is a small problem, but it can be solved if you pretend to love me and not the Crown Prince.”

 

“But…”

 

Annette was the first to reveal her confusion with an awkward expression.

 

Marriage was a surefire way to secure Theodor’s protection for her, but it was too difficult.

 

It was hard to believe that the marriage of the Grand Duke, who was not a rural villager, could be resolved with just a few papers.

 

Theodor answered as if he had read Annette’s concerns.

 

“If you prove your value to my plan, I can solve the matter to that extent.”

 

“Proof? You’ve already admitted me before.”

 

It was reckless to do all this without trusting Annette.

 

So, she wondered again what he meant by proving something last time.

 

“That means proving your value, not where you came from. How do I know if you are a true goddess or just a fake impostor?”

 

He was a brutal man, and his suspicions didn’t cease even when he brought Annette and hid her in his house.

 

If Annette doesn’t prove her usefulness now, he won’t hesitate to kill her immediately.

 

Annette bit her lip and realized the extent of her predicament.

 

The most important thing in trading and dealing is not to fall into the trap and not to reveal your true desires.

 

But Annette had already lost.

 

Her desire to return to her original world completely had been exposed, and she had nothing to offer in return, but she had much to gain from Theodor.

 

So, no matter how unreasonable the circumstances Theodor would impose, she had to agree to them just.

 

“Are you sure there’s a way to return me to my world?”

 

“If I say no, what will you do?”

 

Annette secretly bit the inside of her cheek, then tasted the sharp tang of blood in her torn mouth.

 

She glared at Theodor with anger, but his gaze was filled with mockery.

 

“Thanks to your character, you won’t die easily.”

 

Her determination and pride were a source of ridicule for Theodor.

 

Annette clenched her fists tightly to remember the humiliation she had just experienced, and her hidden hatred leaked out from between the grip of her trembling hand.

 

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