The Villain Is Obsessed With His Fake Wife

8. Feed me with your mouth

The Knight Commander gave John a letter from the Duke of Libertan. The content of the letter was as reported by the knight commander. [Duke Blanchett, please let me see my married daughter just one more time. If you do that, I will admit all the sins of the Duke of Libertan, just as Duke Blanchett wants.] A heavy silence settled in the hall after reading the letter. The knight commander opened his mouth while looking at Erich.

“It seems that the Duke of Libertan loved his daughter more than I thought. But there’s no way to get out of there anyway, so he might think it’s better to see the face of his beloved daughter one more time and die.”

“I don’t think you’re wrong, but the Duke of Libertan is not someone to give up just because he cares for his daughter.”

After frowning for a moment, Erich corrected his glasses and replied calmly.

“Maybe… I don’t think they’re trying to hide their true purpose. What do you think, Master?”

“You are probably right.”

John answered in a nonchalant tone.

“Even if he really cares for his daughter, it’s not easy to set that condition. Unless there is some goal.”

Knock, knock.

He heard knocking on the office from outside. All three eyes turned to the door. The door opened slowly, and a woman peeked out through the gap.

“Will I get in the way if I go in now?”

“Ma’am?”

Everyone was taken aback by the sudden appearance of Estelle. In particular, the atmosphere became more awkward because they were talking about Estelle just a moment ago. John asked Estelle with a skillful smile.

“What is my wife doing in my office?”

“In the meantime, she has never been to the office where the Duke works.”

Estelle was carrying a tray of tea and cups. Her slender arms swayed as if they were about to drop the tray. The Knight Commander said, “Give it to me,” and took the tray she was holding and placed it on John’s desk. Estelle looked at John with a more relaxed smile.

“Actually, since I won’t be attending the dinner party, I wanted to do something for the Duke, even if it’s not a big deal.”

John slightly raised one eyebrow and asked in a bored voice.

“Aren’t you sad that I told you not to come?”

“To be honest, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t sad. But I don’t care.”

As the faint scent of tea spread, Estelle smiled casually.

“The Duke knows more about the vassals of the Blanchett family than I do. If the Duke thought it wasn’t the right time yet, I think there must be a reason. Yes?”

“Thank you for trusting me.”

“I didn’t do anything.”

Having said that, Estelle looked at John and then glanced at the two people around her and asked.

“Are you two people working with the Duke?”

“Ah, madam. Nice to see you. I am the captain of the knights-”

It was the knight commander who took the tray of tea, who had just seen Estelle for the first time, and was greeting her.

“She’s someone you don’t need to know.”

John interrupted the knight commander with a voice that sounded strangely displeased. Then the captain of the knights pointed at him with his index finger and was confused.

“You mean?”

“Is there any reason why my wife should know you?”

“If you ask me why, I don’t think so…”

The knight leader nodded awkwardly, scratched the back of his neck, and greeted her lightly.

“Hello, madam. He is said to be a no-nonsense bastard.”

“Yes. Nice to meet you.”

Estelle glanced at the Knight Commander and Erich, then spoke to John.

“You seem to be busy, so I’ll leave. Have a good meeting.”

John grabbed Estelle as she was about to leave.

“Ma’am.”

He looked at the bewildered Estelle and gently pulled the corners of his lips into a smile.

“What if you leave it like this?”

“So what?”

“Originally, I don’t drink tea or anything like that.”

John’s red eyes flashed seductively.

“So here. Like last time, I have to feed it directly into my mouth to eat.”

As soon as she heard those words, Estelle’s cheeks brightened. When Estelle tried to back him up, he held her hand tightly to prevent her from escaping.

‘It’s fun.’

The more Estelle’s reaction intensified, the better John felt.

“Come on. There is nothing wrong with feeding each other between husband and wife.”

John held onto Estelle’s hands and kissed the backs of them. The lips that had touched the back of her hand slowly reached the tip of her hand. He smiled seductively.

“If you don’t want to hand-feed, you can feed me by mouth. Which one would you like?”

“I won’t do either!”

Estelle, whose cheeks were so red that they could no longer blush, shook off John’s hand and ran away. John, who was watching Estelle run away with her white blonde hair fluttering, burst into a refreshing laugh. The knight commander asked Erich.

“I haven’t left for a while in the land of dreams, have I?”

Erich pretended not to hear the knight commander’s question and ignored it. Then, the knight commander blew a whistle with his arms crossed as he looked at the door Estelle had left.

“You two look really good. People who don’t know would think that you are a good couple.”

“That means the Master’s plan is going well.”

Erich put the knight commander’s words in order and spoke to John.

“Did she hear what we were talking about outside?”

“From what I see, the madam doesn’t seem to have a big idea? She was purely looking at the master…”

“Don’t let your guard down. After all, she is a woman from Libertan. We don’t know what she’s going to do.”

Erich sighed and pressed his temple.

“Master. As expected, how about inviting her to dinner today as planned? So, can’t we check how far we’ve heard today?”

“Erich.”

John called out to Erich in a voice that was understandably low.

“Since when did you question my decisions?”

“I made a mistake.”

Erich hastily lowered his head. Originally, John didn’t change the decision he made well. It’s a decision he had already overturned once, so he wouldn’t change it.

“I’ll tell them that you’re going to dinner tonight, master alone.”

The knight commander interrupted after Erich finished speaking.

“Then do you intend to grant Duke Libertan’s request?”

John, who had been looking at Libertan’s letter for a while, raised one corner of his mouth and sneered.

* * *

When she went outside, she was in a state of confusion.

‘The Duke and Duchess of Libertan asked to see me just once?’

In an instant, the faces of the Duke and Duchess of Libertan came to mind and she was dumbfounded.

‘Why on earth?’

To be honest, she wasn’t really curious. It didn’t seem like a good ide to look for the reason. Falling for treason, it must have been difficult enough to lend a hand to someone like her.

‘The problem is me.’

The image of a beloved adopted child would be maintained, but as the Duke and Duchess of Libertan come out stronger, they would be hated more than before.

‘Could this have something to do with not being invited to dinner with the vassals this time?’

Already having a headache, she let out a deep sigh. It seemed that it would be very difficult to prepare for the incident because it did not appear in the original story. At that time, Betty, who recommended today’s refreshments, approached her with a curious expression.

“Lady. What was the master’s reaction? Were you uncomfortable?”

“No, that’s not it… He didn’t even seem to like it that much.”

“But I think he left the refreshments as is?”

“That’s right.”

“Then he seems to be happy.”

Seeing Estelle’s empty hands, Betty shrugged her shoulders. She couldn’t believe it, so she asked Betty again.

“Are you sure?”

“Sure. How much the master hates people entering without prior permission. The lady even brought tea with her.”

“… In other words, Betty, you suggested something the Duke might hate.”

At her point, Betty made an urgent excuse.

“I did it knowing it would work out. The important thing is that the lady made it possible to leave the tea she brought with her and asked for snacks. He really liked it!”

Betty excitedly clasped her hands into fists, as if she had entered it herself. Somehow she wondered if it was to hide her laxity, but she decided not to argue any further. There was no point in discussing with Betty what it really was like anyway.

“Maybe he didn’t feel ashamed because I was his wife.”

“… The master?”

Betty’s eyes were full of disbelief, as if the John she knew and the John she knew were completely different people.

“If the madam thinks so, I can’t help it, but… The master really hates letting other people into his space.”

Anyway, I didn’t go to dinner with my vassals, so my time was wasted. So, I was going to visit the library, which I couldn’t go to because of Erich the other day. However, it was locked with a padlock, probably because it was the day the retainers came as guests.

‘Should I ask Betty about the key?’

Originally, it wasn’t her inclination to move so aggressively, but she thought it would be better to find a book on dark magic and read it when the mansion was so hectic that it was locked with a padlock. She went back to the place where she finally separated from Betty. Then, a strange sound came from the garden near the mansion.

-…to… Stell.

Normally, it would be frightening to hear a sudden strange sound, but it didn’t sound scary, and it was a voice that felt warm.

‘Who is it?’

She looked around, but there was no one around.

‘I thought they called my name.’

So she deliberately walked towards the garden where the noise was coming from. The Duchy of Blanchett has beautifully decorated all the gardens except for the rose garden, which was taken care of by John’s mother, the former Duchess. In particular, dense trees were planted at the back of the mansion to make it feel like a forest, which also had a taste of its own.

‘As expected, there is nothing.’

She purposely turned to the source of the sound and asked, ‘Didn’t you talk to me?’, but there was no answer. The bright summer smell, unique to summer, stimulated the tip of her nose.

‘Is it time for the summer festival to start soon?’

It was no exaggeration to say that summer was the period when the most events were held in the empire. Even after the summer festival was over, several events overlapped over a short period of time, so it felt especially longer. As soon as they left the garden, they ran into Erich and John, who were entering the mansion, and a vassal who seemed to be visiting for dinner.

“Why is your wife here…”

At first, John slightly furrowed his straight eyebrows, but he greeted her right away.

“This is my wife, Estelle Blanchett.”

“Hello, Duchess Blanchett.”

The vassal bowed his head politely. The moment they met properly, she couldn’t help but be quite surprised.

“Lexius Fallman?”

At that time, he was the man she saw in the black cloth portrait.

‘Aren’t there only people who died loyal to the Blanchett family in the black cloth portraits?’

But she didn’t know how a person who was still alive could keep his eyes open. Then the man was visibly taken aback.

“Madam, what are you talking about? Why does Sir Lexius Polman’s name suddenly appear…”

“Ah, I must have been mistaken for a moment.”

Black cloth portraits were originally drawn in a bizarre way, so she thought she just mistook someone who resembled them.

‘If I hadn’t said anything, I could have passed.’

The problem was that she was so surprised that he called out his name. John’s sharp gaze turned to the man. Somehow, the atmosphere became more awkward. She looked at the man’s figure in order to relieve the atmosphere she had ruined as much as possible.

‘At times like this, praise is the answer.’

At that time, the amethyst brooch hanging on the man’s chest sparkled exceptionally in the sunlight. Not only amethyst, but also diamonds were embedded nearby, making it very gorgeous.

‘I think the design is different from the brooches that are usually made for men.’

Even so, if it was a brooch enough to do, it must be a brooch that this person cherished very much.

“The amethyst brooch is very pretty. The outfit and the brooch go very well together.”

“…yes?”

The vassal asked with a pale face. It was definitely a different reaction from what she wanted.

‘It must have been a brooch with a big story.’

So he must have been surprised when she mentioned it. At that time, Erich seemed to be trying to say something. Just in time, John raised his hand and stopped Erich from speaking. John asked, looking straight into her indigo blue eyes.

“Viscount Gaspeare’s brooch is gorgeous, isn’t it? Does your wife like that brooch?”

“I would be happy with any brooch if the Duke gave it to me. But I don’t think that brooch is to my liking.”

If there’s a lesson from childhood, it’s that pretending to be calm was the safest option in unfamiliar situations. She laughed like nothing had happened.

“Then I’ll just go. I may not be able to attend, but I hope you have a good time.”

After saying hello, she turned around as calmly as possible. When she couldn’t see his face, she finally let out a sigh of relief.

‘What is this, I’m nervous again.’

Whatever the case may be, it seems that John’s judgment in preventing her from attending the dinner party was correct.

* * *

After Estelle left. Johan looked back at Viscount Gaspeare with an expressionless face.

“Do you know what my wife means?”

“I-I don’t know at all. It’s an amethyst brooch. As you can see, Master, I am not wearing any brooches.”

There was no brooch on the viscount’s bosom.

“Okay? Then why did my wife call you Lexius Polman by name?”

Viscount Gaspeare had nothing to do with Sir Lexius Polman. However, the reason why those words were particularly meaningful was because they were investigating the amethyst brooch case at the time when Sir Lexius Polman, a loyalist, was murdered. It was also an incident that automatically disappeared when the Duke of Blanchett was arrested for treason.

“I really don’t know. There is no doubt that the madam conspires against me. After all, she is a woman from Libertan! She’s obviously trying to cause trouble in the Blanchett family…”

As Viscount Gaspear looked around with a pale face, Erich grabbed him with a skillful hand.

“We’ll find out which one is true when we check it out.”

A dry laugh escaped from John’s careless lips.

“Either my wife said something stupid, or you did something really stupid.”

“…”

“If my wife’s been talking nonsense, I’ll make amends with my whole heart.”

* * *

Viscount Gaspier admitted his guilt as soon as he was taken to his cellar. At that time, instead of taking care of the corruption case at an orphanage in the capital, he received an amethyst brooch as a bribe, and when he was caught wrongly, he killed Sir Lexi Fallman. After that, luckily, the Blanchett duke family went extinct, and they were able to get out of the situation. Johann looked at the amethyst brooch from Viscount Gaspear’s bosom.

‘As soon as I asked about the magic that hid the amethyst brooch, Viscount Gaspeare vomited blood and died.’

It was a magic that even John, who was well versed in magic, did not notice. John thought of Estelle, who had been talking about the amethyst brooch, as if it were obvious.

‘How on earth did my wife know that?’

The sudden proposal of Libertan, and the behavior of the lady who cannot grasp her purpose and method. And even unintentionally resolved past events. He needed to check it out.

* * *

By the time she found Betty, it was already dinner time. She ate dinner alone, not needing to have dinner with the vassals. To be honest, no one bothered her, so it was a pleasant evening. Dessert was eaten twice more. However, as the evening drew to a close, real problems began to worry. She didn’t know what she did wrong, so the first thing to do is to figure out the current situation.

‘I’ll go to the office tomorrow and check John’s reaction…’

When she finished eating and returned to her room, John was waiting for her in the room.

“Ma’am. Did you have a good dinner?”

He greeted her while wearing only a gown.

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