The Reason The Villain Covets Me

⁦⁠♡⁩ TL: Khadija SK

 

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“What test must I undergo?”

 

“First, tell me three things – which may be helpful to me – about the future you know. Then we’ll see how useful the information you provide will be.”

 

Theodore proudly asked about her knowledge of the future.

 

He was a man accustomed to asserting himself and demanding what he wanted, so he always speaks to others in a commanding tone.

 

Annette seethed with anger at the arrogant man’s attitude, but she somehow endured it.

 

“Did you inform the owner of your body – the original Annette – about the plot of this book?”

 

“No.”

 

“Two crowns. That’s the title.”

 

“Two crowns?”

 

Theodore expressed his curiosity clearly; he must have understood the meaning of “crown.”

 

“One emperor, one empress. So, that means two people, Crown Prince Hugo and his lover Ivon.”

 

The plot of the story “Two Crowns” was exceedingly mundane.

 

It was just a shallow story designed to showcase the great love between Hugo and Ivon.

 

A simple story with an uninspiring ending where the two main characters don the emperor’s crown and kiss each other.

 

All the other characters – except the two main characters – were merely tools to bestow upon them love and honor.

 

When Annette and Theodore attempted schemes, they did nothing but polish the crowns of the main characters to make them shine brighter.

 

After all, villains are just sacrificial beings for the main characters’ sake.

 

There were challenges in the main characters’ path, but they were designed to be overcome smoothly.

 

There were trials and tribulations in their lives, but they went smoothly.

 

The trials and tragedies were just means to nourish the love between them.

 

“Do you understand now how implausible it is for you to claim that you will take the crown in a world designed for the main characters to wear it?”

 

“Do you mean I should surrender?”

 

“I mean don’t be arrogant. And know that without me, you cannot change the ending.”

 

“So you’re a goddess who will grant my wish?”

 

“I am not a goddess, but I am the only one who can fulfill your desires. So treat me as I deserve.”

 

Theodore’s lips curled as if mocking Annette’s words.

 

His mounting anger at the realization that his fate had already been determined led him to mock Annette.

 

Accepting the fact that he was born for Hugo’s sake was more difficult than accepting the disdainful looks he received as an illegitimate child when he was young.

 

Why should one person exist for the love story of another?

 

Why don’t others have value for their existence?

 

Shouldn’t he at least be grateful for the fact that he got the key to change the world?

 

Theodore burst into laughter at the fact that this dying woman was the only key to changing his fate.

 

“You said you want to know three things about the future. I will tell you, so listen to me carefully.”

 

Annette carefully listed who Theodore should get rid of, who he should keep, and who he should bring to his side.

 

“If you can do as I said, you will at least realize that I am a qualified trickster.”

 

Annette presented a product, and whether Theodore bought it or not was up to his choices.

 

Theodore stared into Annette’s eyes to see if what she said was true.

 

Those who stared directly into his predatory eyes would fear and tell the truth.

 

However, only Theodore’s face was reflected in Annette’s eyes, not fear.

 

Annette never flinched because she was not afraid of Theodore, and he couldn’t read her true intentions because she was not affected by him at all.

 

Instead, Theodore felt trapped in Annette’s gaze.

 

Her bright green eyes were captivating, like the leaves of mature trees bathed in strong sunlight on a warm summer day.

 

She was trapped in a decaying room, her skin cracked, and her body weakened, but her eyes never lost their sparkle.

 

She borrowed Annette Cheringen’s body, but at least the eyes belonged to the soul inside that body.

 

The soul opened her mouth and gave him a stern warning.

 

“I won’t let you get away with deceiving me. Return me to my world at any cost.”

 

Annette’s determination to survive and return to her world was not weak at all.

 

***

 

After Annette regained consciousness, Theodore returned to his palace.

 

Now, only the servants remained in the villa.

 

Because the personal guards stayed away from Annette’s sight, the only ones she directly encountered were Lisa the nurse and Emma the maid.

 

Lisa easily discovered the poison Annette ingested and made an antidote for it.

 

This proved she was a qualified nurse.

 

However, apart from Lisa’s skills, the process of extracting the poison from Annette’s body was tough.

 

As the poison was drawn out of her body, the pain intensified.

 

With each sense returning to function, the side effects increased.

 

Annette suffered from fever and shivers, and even if she only drank water, she felt intense nausea in her stomach.

 

She vomited everything that entered her stomach until foam came out of her mouth.

 

While she was still struggling to live, Lisa was very surprised.

 

The fact that Annette was the Grand Duchess and her determination to live was extremely strange.

 

To be frank, Lisa thought it was impossible for Annette to recover, and it wouldn’t be surprising if she died immediately.

 

However, Annette persisted with her weak body.

 

“Do you think I will die soon?”

 

“O- Oh, no, Your Highness the Grand Duchess.”

 

“It’s okay to call me by my name comfortably. No, if it’s uncomfortable, you can call me by my name uncomfortably. But please refrain from calling me Grand Duchess as much as possible.”

 

Annette shook her head in annoyance.

 

“If I go to the Grand Duke’s Palace, I will be tired of hearing this word, so I don’t want to start hearing it now. Just call me Annette.”

 

“How dare I address the Grand Duchess as…”

 

“I really hate that title.”

 

There was genuine disdain in Annette’s eyes.

 

Annette had become the desired wife and a part of the royal family, but she was not happy at all.

 

Lisa wondered why she became the Grand Duchess in the first place while hating it so much.

 

When Lisa first heard that Annette was the Grand Duchess, she thought it was just a lie.

 

However, there was no reason for the imperial family to stage a play just to deceive a nurse, so they were indeed a couple, but they didn’t get along well.

 

They were both incredibly beautiful, unlike anything Lisa had ever seen in her life, but each of them was so magnificent that they didn’t match each other at all.

 

Annette was too small and fragile to withstand Theodore’s deadly force.

 

But of course, when Lisa saw Annette alive and kicking, her thoughts changed 180 degrees.

 

If her eyes resembled spring buds, her vitality resembled the green summer grass swaying in the wind.

 

She had a powerful energy that seemed to penetrate Theodore’s cold blue eyes.

 

If Theodore was ice, then Annette was fire.

 

The reason the two were attracted to each other and the reason they avoided each other was that they were opposites.

 

“I can’t die like this. Even if I die, I want to go back to my world and die there.”

 

Annette sometimes said things that Lisa couldn’t understand.

 

The place called “my world” did not refer to Grand Duke Clayst’s Palace or Marquis Cheringen’s Palace.

 

Lisa didn’t know what kind of place it was, but it was clear that it was the reason for Annette’s will to live.

 

“Even if the detoxification process is over, I won’t return to normal completely, right?”

 

“You won’t have the same body as before. But fortunately, this is not an illness, so as long as you don’t ingest the poison again, you can live a normal life.”

 

“I’m glad if that’s the case.”

 

Annette spoke to herself and laughed self-deprecatingly; she had a habit of replacing mourning with laughter.

 

Annette’s smile was bright, but in the moment when hidden sadness reflected in her eyes, a terrifying energy flowed from her.

 

“However, I will live less than the original lifespan, right?”

 

“If you manage your system well, you’ll live like others. It’s a poison that can lead to death if taken for more than a year, but if taken for only about three months, you can overcome it.”

 

“Then I won’t die within a year or two?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“That’s enough.”

 

“What do you mean that’s enough?”

 

“It’s time to prepare to return to my world.”

 

Annette looked at her thin hands.

 

She felt the pain vividly as if they were her own hands, but she also felt that it was a body of someone else other than her.

 

Fortunately, her determination to return didn’t fade.

 

It was unfortunate for Lisa, who did everything she could to save her, but Annette didn’t care whether her body’s life ended or not.

 

It was enough for her to exhaust that body and leave this place and return to her world.

 

She didn’t care about the fate of a body that had nothing to do with her and that she would leave behind after discovering the damn way to put Theodore on the throne and return to where she belonged.

 

If Annette, the villainess, was the one who brought her here, then the death of her body would be a good revenge.

 

Annette clenched her teeth and swallowed the porridge.

 

It was food that didn’t need to be chewed, but she chewed it.

 

With this, she expressed her will to survive no matter what happened.

 

She had to eat and live.

 

From now on, Annette had to tear apart the main characters in the novel, chew them up, and throw them to Theodore, instead of this watery porridge.

 

The main characters’ life would end with a happy ending no matter what happened, so her path was difficult to win against such a life.

 

Annette examined what she had to do in the future.

 

First and foremost, she needed to establish relationships with the main characters who would become her enemies so she could monitor them.

 

She also had to confront the criminal suspicions surrounding her and clear herself of the accusations.

 

At the same time, she had to use the rumors describing her as the ruthless killer who murdered her own father as a point of strength and exploit it to her advantage.

 

Furthermore, she had to deal with her relatives who aimed to secure the title of Marquess Cheringen and leverage her family’s position to increase Theodore’s power.

 

There was a lot to be done to ensure a safe return to her world.

 

Annette quietly regained her health.

 

Outside the villa, the small grapevines stretched endlessly, growing day by day.

 

While the farmer tended to the grapes, Annette tended to herself.

 

As the summer sun grew stronger, Annette regained her will and health.

 

As the hot season intensified, the grapes, which were not fully ripe when Theodore first brought her here, matured into full fruits.

 

Theodore never visited the villa, even as the grapes changed color, and Annette regained her physical health using her frustration as motivation to persevere.

 

That was the summer they were in different places.

 

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