The Villain Is Obsessed With His Fake Wife

10. I smell another bastard

Erich’s pale face was filled with tension.

“Are you doing that just for the few words I said?”

“No. It’s not like that.”

“No, what’s wrong!”

Erich burst into anger. She then added a word reluctantly, as if he was sorry.

“I think I said it wrong. So come down quickly.”

No matter how you look at it, the reaction was a little strange. What happened?

‘Or did he think I was in danger?’

But that was kind of odd. This window was not to the point where her hand could slip and cause her fall. She looked down again, wondering if she was misunderstanding the window frame. The moment she thought she could see a little far below, Erich shouted ‘No!’ again. She was startled by the sound and fell further.

‘But why is Erich worried about my safety?’

From Erich’s point of view, shouldn’t he want her to fall from there and die? He would be able to deal with the enemies easily.

‘Could it be to make me die more painfully?’

The reason was definitely possible. Now that the situation had come to this, she asked him, wiping away her tears.

“…why?”

“Why, what? What are you talking about?”

“Isn’t that what you wanted?”

Then, Erich’s bluish-gray eyes became empty.

“…that.”

Erich, who was silent for a while, brought out his words with a troubled voice.

“Because I can’t let you die easily.”

So she was right! Erich’s bluish-grey eyes were constantly shaking as he stared at her standing on the window sill. Looking closely, his clenched fists even trembled. It seems that he was very angry that he was doing this to save her.

“So don’t try to escape like this.”

Nervous last words. There was no reason to stand by the window any longer as long as he had confirmed his purpose. She came down slowly from the window. Then Erich saw that she had come down and sat down as if his legs had lost strength.

‘Why the hell is he doing that?’

While Erich was distracted, she grabbed the magic book she had secretly taken out and moved outside. At that time, Erich called her without even turning his head.

“You.”

Now this bastard didn’t even call her ‘madam’. She was nervous because she was afraid that the magic book she was holding would be taken away.

“If I hadn’t stopped you, would you have really jumped?”

“No.”

“…Are you asking me to believe that?”

Trust was also very important between people. Even if she said it honestly, it didn’t seem like it would work at all.

“Then is there any reason not to believe it?”

Erich’s hand caught her eye as she tried to ignore him and leave. She felt like she was going to bleed no matter how hard she was holding it.

‘Ehh.’

It didn’t seem like a human thing to leave a shocked person alone. She calmly told Erich.

“What am I supposed to do when I think about things that didn’t happen?”

“…”

“The reality is the same.”

Contrary to his misconception, after telling him that she was alive and well, she hugged the book and ran away. Fortunately, Erich didn’t catch her stealing the magic book.

* * *

Erich recognized her at first sight.

‘Estel Libertan.’

It wasn’t just because of the sweet color like a bud that just bloomed. Estelle exuded a noble and lovely atmosphere, like a grown-up young lady, all over her body.

“Nice to meet you. Baron Boulogne.”

Hateful Libertan. Erich wanted to take revenge on Libertan, who had even treasoned his loyal family, who eventually killed his parents and left behind indelible burns. After all, the Baron de Boulogne was a vassal who took on the dirty work of Libertane, so he had to pay the price of losing a vassal. Erich considered the price appropriate if it was the death of his cherished adopted daughter.

“Oh, I’m looking for a book to pass the time.”

Erich, the aide, had to perfectly carry out the orders of his master, John. However, when he saw Estelle’s calm face, he couldn’t control the anger that was burning inside him.

‘Even if it’s for revenge.’

He didn’t like the fact that she was allowed to live like that.

“Yes. It’s been a while since I came, but everyone is so kind and nice.”

So he looked at the woman with hostile eyes, and laughed.

“This is not Libertan. It’s not a place where you can walk around carelessly with a smile on your face. I want you to know that.”

The moment she heard that, her already white face became even paler. A face that looked like it’s about to crumble. He felt kind of uncomfortable.

“…I understood.”

Estelle did not manage to cry even with a face that looked like she was about to collapse.

“I’m sorry for coming to the study on my own. Maybe, I was so excited that I forgot my situation.”

Estelle didn’t get angry with Erich no matter how much he insulted or put her down. Rather, she seemed accustomed to such insults.

“It’s because I’m a hostess who doesn’t live up to the baron’s expectations. Then it must be my fault.”

The more Erich talked to the pitiful Estelle, the more he felt like he had become the perpetrator. Why? Dark blue eyes shimmering with strange sadness.

“But there is nothing I can do but apologize.”

In the end, Erich couldn’t stand it and ran away. However, even after running away like that, Erich could not easily regain his stability. He wasn’t running away. He shouldn’t have been swayed by the other person’s apology, he should have been more scolding and harsh. If that was the case, he wouldn’t have been thinking about Estelle so stupidly. Now he was starting to feel a strange sense of anxiety. They said that that woman with an innocent smile was about to destroy the grand revenge he had set for Libertan. So Erich opened his fiercer eyes and watched Estelle’s every move. Because he thought that she must have been liaising with Libertan. But another strange thing happened.

“Ah, I must have been mistaken.”

It was not a mistake anyone could have made casually. Baron Gaspear was a completely different person from Lexius Polman, and he was not even related to him.

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

Estelle praised the amethyst brooch that Viscount Gaspeare wasn’t even wearing. And in the Blanchett family, there was only one famous case when it came to an amethyst brooch. An incident related to ‘Lexius Polman’, which Estelle herself talked about. At first, Erich was very confused by Estelle’s words. Although the incident was famous within Blanchett, he never thought it would come out of Estelle’s mouth.

“…An amethyst brooch came from Viscount Gaspeare’s bedroom.”

Even Viscount Gaspeare was found to be the real culprit.

‘What are you thinking?’

If she was trying to build up the Blanchett family’s trust, it would have been better to be honest and say that she knew the culprit. However, Estelle’s actions were too ambiguous to reveal the culprit.

‘Why…’

Estelle even turned around and barely breathed a sigh of relief after she said all of her nonchalantly. It looked like she made a big decision and moved.

‘What is her purpose?’

When he thought of Estelle, his mind was complicated. At that time, Erich entered the study and witnessed another shocking scene. He looked at the title of the book Estelle was holding and threw it away. <Death without pain…> He couldn’t see it well because it was far away, but he could see the front part clearly. Erich wandered around the forbidden library and approached Estelle, who managed to pull out such a book.

“[I want to die. In a situation where there was no escape, it seemed that there was no other way-]”

Could it be that she was protesting that he had spoken viciously? The complicated thoughts disappeared and anger rose. He felt pitiful for himself for thinking about penetrating the thoughts of such a woman.

‘A brazen woman.’

As expected, the vulgar nature of the Libertans could not be hidden. So Erich was no longer shaken by Estelle’s apology.

‘I’m glad I realized that terrible nature.’

Then he returned to the study where he went out with an ominous premonition.

‘What is that…’

Before he knew it, Estelle was standing by the window. Her shiny platinum hair swayed precariously by the window. The wind from the window blew strong, as if it would blow Estelle away at any moment.

“Is it my fault…”

There, Estelle was crying.

“It ends up like this.”

At that moment, his mind went blank. In an instant, Erich remembered what he had said and threw it away.

‘Why are you asking me that? Atonement is something you have to think about on your own, isn’t it?’

Did she really think that dying like that was an atonement?

‘Or not… Was it a woman’s own act to inform of Viscount Gaspeare?’

Once he thought about it, the woman’s behavior was strange, but he began to understand it. And the more he understood, the more his fear grew.

‘Are you going to die like that?’

A sense of guilt came over him, as if he had tormented a helpless young animal. Estelle looked at him and didn’t even move. Her calm face seemed blurry like a mirage.

“Wait a moment!”

In the end, Erich couldn’t stand it and grabbed Estelle.

“…why?”

“Why… what? What are you talking about?”

“Isn’t that what you wanted?”

It was what Erich wanted more than anything else. Not too long ago, he had even said that there was no reason why he should go to such lengths to keep such a woman alive. Perhaps, had it not been for the master, John, he would have already put Estelle on the scaffold to the despair of her parents. Because he thought the pain of losing the child he cherished was more certain.

“If I hadn’t stopped you, would you have really jumped?”

He grabbed Estelle as she went outside with a lonely expression on her face and asked. He didn’t have the courage to turn his head and look at the woman’s face.

“No.”

“…Are you asking me to believe that?”

“What do you do when you think about something that didn’t happen?”

Erich seemed to know the expression of the woman he hadn’t even seen. Because he heard the watery voice, he could only imagine the woman’s tears flowing silently.

“The reality is the same.”

He heard Estelle’s footsteps disappearing from the study. Only then did Erich turn his head, unable to take his eyes off the empty seat.

* * *

It was in the garden that she decided to run away. Besides, she had already received permission from John to go to the garden. Looking through the window, people didn’t come in and out. It seemed like the perfect place to hide and read a book. But there was already someone who came before her in the garden.

“Duke?”

Under the huge tree she chose to read. John was already reclining leisurely in a comfortable outfit. John, who was submerged under the shade of a huge tree, reminded her of a satisfied beast lying down after hunting. Because he was so handsome, he became a picture even when he was still.

“I was waiting for you.”

John waved his hand and patted the seat next to him.

“Come here. Isn’t the weather just perfect right now?”

She turned the book cover upside down as naturally as possible and sat down next to John. Then John made her lean on his shoulder with his right hand. Maybe because of the height difference, she couldn’t even reach his shoulders. But it was more comfortable leaning on John’s shoulder rather than on a tree. When she glanced sideways, the ecstatic profile of John’s face, which stretched from his forehead to his strong chin, stood out. He was very handsome from every angle.

“Did you know beforehand that I would be here?”

She didn’t meet anyone on the way. Then he answered with a languid smile.

“There is a way to know everything.”

“Is there a way?”

“This mansion is all within my sphere of influence. You can know anything if you put your mind to it.”

It seemed that the method was black magic.

‘It’s really mean.’

No matter how dark it was, didn’t he have too much power?

“So you’ve been watching me all this time?”

“Of course not. My wife must have a private life too.”

He mischievously folded his eyebrows and smiled.

“It’s me, although I want to know everything about you from one to ten.”

She felt that the end of the words meant that he would do it if she allowed it.

‘Strange.’

Even though it must mean monitoring the fakes he played with so that they didn’t run away, she had a different feeling.

‘I started to feel that John’s gaze was different… Since when?’

It’s funny, but she even had the illusion that John was looking at her now. She puffed out her cheeks and smiled awkwardly.

“That’s a bit unfair.”

“Which part?”

“I don’t know, but only the Duke can continue to know about me.”

“Certainly it could be unfair.”

John nodded his head willingly and grinned.

“So if my wife thinks it is unfair, she should think of her own way.”

“What do you mean?”

“If she wants something, she has to work hard for it.”

Seeing John lightly shrugging his shoulders, her resentment grew. Would a powerless person live in sorrow? Suddenly, John’s big hand grabbed her wrist.

“By the way, ma’am.”

But still his eyes were on her face. She couldn’t even look away and looked at him.

“Did you just meet another guy?”

There was a strange annoyance in his quiet voice.

‘Is he annoyed?’

Wasn’t that a feeling that really didn’t go well with darkness? Embarrassed, she blinked and questioned him.

“Is it another man?”

“Yes. Near my wife…”

John brought her wrist to his mouth and bit her wrist lightly.

“Now it smells like me.”

John’s red marks were left on her sensitive wrist. He twisted the corners of his mouth up as if he was satisfied with the mark.

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Translator Note:

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